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Al-Aribiya is reporting that three Americans have been kidnapped by militia in Baghdad. ***snip*** Via The Independent: According to Arab news channel Al-Arabiya, well-informed sources in Baghdad have confirmed that the kidnapping took place, although the story is yet to be verified. The identities of the kidnapped Americans or the militias have not yet been confirmed. It seems that Iran has revalidated a long-standing business model used in that part of the world for a few thousand years: kidnap for ransom. It seems much more than a coincidence that after the United States gave up seven prisoners doing time for...

On Sunday, the GOP presidential hopeful acknowledged that his position has changed since 2013, when he helped craft a comprehensive immigration reform bill that included a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants. But that shift, he argued, was a concession to the political realities in Washington –– where House Republicans have refused to consider the issue –– as well as a reaction to recent terrorist attacks he says have exposed holes in the enforcement of existing law. "It is very clear now more than ever that we are not going to be able to do anything on people...

Air Force apologizes for advertising a 'fun shoot' at range on Martin Luther King Day using image of murdered civil rights leader - The controversial poster advertised a skeet shoot at an Air Force base in Georgia - The flyer promised attendees would get 'two rounds and lunch' for $20 and featured a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Air Force officials issued a statement apologizing for the 'insensitive' flyer Officials at an Air Force base in Georgia drew criticism on Thursday after posting controversial flyers advertising a 'Martin Luther King, Jr. fun shoot' featuring a picture of the...

resident Obama today declared at the White House that "Iran will not get its hands on a nuclear bomb" and that their "tireless" negotiations paid off with several American hostages coming home.Obama's Cabinet Room statement came a day after the administration announced the lifting of sanctions on Iran for Implementation Day of the nuclear deal as well as the prisoner swap: seven to Iran, five to the U.S. The administration is claiming the fifth American, student Matthew Trevithick, was released not as part of the swap but as a goodwill gesture by Iran.Obama called the clemency granted to six Iranian–Americans...

Donald Trump unloaded on Sen. Ted Cruz, saying, "I'd do the public a big favor" by suing Cruz over his eligibility to be president. -snip- Stephanopoulos then said, "But you know, the person who sued him probably doesn't have standing, a lot of legal scholars-." Trump interrupted, saying, "That's all right. There will be a lot of people who sue him who do have standing." "Say you have standing, why don't you file the case," Stephanopoulos asked. Trump responded, "Oh that's an interesting case. Wow that sounds like a very good case. I'd do the public a big favor." -snip-...

“The United States and Iran today have settled a long outstanding claim at the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal in the Hague,” the statement from Secretary of State John Kerry reads. “This specific claim was in the amount of a $400 million Trust Fund used by Iran to purchase military equipment from the United States prior to the break in diplomatic ties.” The claim was first filed in 1981 when Iran had an outstanding order for military equipment under the regime, which the U.S. refused to fill after the Iranian revolution. The payment is in addition to the $100 to $150 billion...

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Rep. Peter King is calling out presidential candidate Ted Cruz amid controversy over the senator's comments on "New York values." On Saturday, King tweeted that Ted Cruz was lying when he said he supports New York's firefighters and police. "Not true," the Republican said, adding that Cruz did not co-sponsor or vote in favor of the Zadroga 9/11 Health & Compensation Act. King went on to call Cruz "a fraud." @tedcruz can't tell truth. Says he fights 4 cops & firefighters. Not true. Didn't cosponsor or vote 4 Zadroga 9/11 health bill. What a fraud -...

Donald Trump I've met a lot of people in life and I have found it best to form opinions about them by actually meeting them in person. In 2009 I agreed to do that tv show Celebrity Apprentice on NBC. This meant I had to move to NYC for 6 weeks and spend every day with Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, and Don Jr. I really had no expectations. I think I was actually the only "Celebrity" that had a semi normal manual labor job. I think this gave me a very different perspective on things. I actually think Donald Trump...

A veteran of the Dutch Army has been arrested on suspicion of murder, as it is thought that he killed Islamic State (IS) terrorists when fighting alongside Kurdish YPG forces in Syria. Jitse Akse, 47, was arrested on Wednesday. He was released later that day after being forced to hand over his passport and agreeing to report to the police station weekly, Dutch public broadcaster NOS reported. Despite the fact the Dutch air force is striking IS in neighbouring Iraq, the Dutch citizen could be tried as a murderer for his part in the fight against the terrorists in Northern...

Today on CNN's State of the Nation, Jake Tapper revisited an old question with Donald Trump. He asked him about his faith and specifically about if he had ever asked forgiveness. By my count this is the third time that Trump has been asked the question. At he Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa, back in June: Trump, who told CNN earlier that he is both anti-abortion and anti-same-sex marriage, said people are surprised to learn about his Christian faith. "People are so shocked when they find ... out I am Protestant. I am Presbyterian. And I go to church...

The always astute and acerbic Pat Condell's reaction to the recent organized molestation, robbery and rape of women across Germany and the rest of Europe.

ISIS massacres 300 and kidnaps at least 400 including women and children during attack on government-held city ISIS have abducted at least 400 civilians including women and children after capturing new territory in an assault on Syria's eastern city of Deir Ezzor. Activists from the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said they believed ISIS rounded up the civilians following an attack on the north of the city. 'After their attack on Deir Ezzor yesterday, IS abducted at least 400 civilians from the residents of the Al-Baghaliyeh suburb it captured and adjacent areas in the northwest of the city,' the...

Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," Republican presidential candidate former Florida Governor Jeb Bush said he doesn’t have to worry about if he will support his rival Donald Trump because "He's not going to win the nomination and I am."

-snip- One "Amigo" is in the Bush camp -- and another is being courted. Sen. Lindsey Graham endorsed Jeb Bush this past week, calling him best-prepared among the Republican candidates to be commander in chief. Graham's own presidential campaign didn't get very far, but Bush is hoping his endorsement helps in the senator's home state of South Carolina. And now, the former Florida governor is trying to enlist Graham's help in winning another high profile endorsement: that of Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain. McCain, of course, was the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, and traveled often with Graham and then-Sen. Joseph...

The joyful grinder now talks of giving himself therapy. The question came from the audience, but it might as well have come from inside Jeb Bush's own brain: "Why would you want to be President of a nation that would consider voting for Donald Trump?" The former Florida Governor shook his head on this snowy Saturday morning. Such questions are not uncommon at Bush's campaign events. With less than a month before voters in leadoff Iowa and New Hampshire, they are ones he has been struggling to answer for himself. These days, as he goes from event to event, it...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau remains "the most out-of-control, unaccountable, and nontransparent agency in the federal government... And we can say that without reservation because this is one of the only agencies that literally operates outside of congressional oversight," added Wise, whose Virgina-based organization "works to protect consumers' right to access free-market goods and services." The CFPB, created under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, is funded largely by fees banks pay to the Federal Reserve. While its director, Richard Cordray, has bragged that his bureau has levied more than $141 million in fines used for CFPB education programs or reparation to...

Sen. Marco Rubio blew it. During his appearance on this morning's edition of NBC's Meet the Press Sen. Marco Rubio made a huge mistake when he said that illegal immigrants that haven't committed major crimes could be allowed to stay. According to NBC's Sally Bronston, when asked if he is still in favor of finding a way for millions of illegals to stay in the United States legally, Rubio replied: If you're a criminal alien, no, you can't stay. If you're someone that hasn't been here for a very long time, you can't stay, I don't think you're gonna round...

New Hampshire Democrats have an important choice to make on Feb. 9. And the choice is clear: Donald Trump for President. For decades, Trump has consistently supported bigger government, and ridiculed conservative principles.During his first - run for the Presidency in 1999, Trump told Larry King, “I believe in universal health care.” He repeated that support in his 2000 book, backing a system like Canada’s single-payer system. And Trump has been consistent, praising Scotland’s single-payer health care system this year. Trump can carry the Democrat’s banner as a longtime advocate for government takeover of health care.Trump has a long history...

I keep trying to like Trump but then he says things like he did in the debate and in the days since. What's wrong with the guy? I agree with Levin. Knock it off! And I'm from New York. And yes Cruz was right about New York values.

Donald Trump has been trying to burnish his conservative credentials in his recent attacks on other Republican candidates. Despite his normal attacks on Lindsey Graham and Jeb Bush, he has now taken to attacking Ted Cruz, calling him an "ultimate hypocrite" and implying that he is ineligible to run for the Presidency. Now it is revealed that Trump attacked current Kentucky Governor and former Senate candidate Matt Bevin. Before Bevin's victory last November he attempted to unseat Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in the 2014 Senate primary.