Free Republic

Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that the United States will increase the number of refugees it accepts annually from around the world to 85,000 in 2016 and 100,000 in 2017. “This step is in keeping with America’s best tradition as a land of second chances and a beacon of hope,” Kerry said following a meeting with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier about the Syrian refugee crisis, the Associated Press reported. The number would mark a more than 40 percent increase in accepted refugees over two years. Currently, the U.S. caps the number of refugees at 70,000. Earlier this...

For the “No Drama” Obama team, the spiralling controversy has been an alarming distraction in the midst of the US economic meltdown. Obama has yet to release a promised timeline of contacts between members of his transition team and the governor's office, while Emanuel is thought to be consulting lawyers. *** Private telephone discussions between Emanuel and John Harris, Blagojevich’s chief of staff, began as early as the weekend before the November 4 election, the Chicago Tribune revealed yesterday. Emanuel let it be known that Valerie Jarrett, an Obama adviser, Tammy Duckworth, a wounded Iraq war veteran, and two other...