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 | February 20, 2015 |
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| THE FIGHT AGAINST ISIS |
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The Hill: Obama Doubles Down In Extremism Debate
President Obama sought Thursday to rally world leaders behind his push to stop extremist groups like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), while doubling down on terminology that has sparked fierce criticism from conservatives. "The notion that the West is at war with Islam is an ugly lie. And all of us, regardless of faith, have a responsibility to reject it,” Obama said during a speech at the State Department to representatives from more than 60 countries. The speech largely echoed a keynote address the president gave on Wednesday to the White House’s Summit on Countering Violent Extremism where he defended his administration’s refusal to say the U.S. is at war with Islam. And for the second straight day, his remarks drew swift fire from the Republicans. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) responded to Obama’s “lie” comment in a tweet. “The notion that radical Islam isn't at war with the West is an ugly lie,” he said. Read more..
WSJ: U.S. Sees Need Of Up To 25,000 Iraqis To Retake Mosul
The U.S. estimates it will take as many as 25,000 Iraqis to dislodge up to 2,000 Islamic State fighters from Mosul, a senior military official said Thursday, outlining a broad plan to use overwhelming force to regain control of Iraq’s second-largest city. To avoid both the heat of summer and the start of Ramadan in June, U.S. officials said the Mosul offensive should begin by April or May. But the senior official said that if the Iraqis aren’t ready “we have not closed the door” to delaying. Read more..
AP: Turkey, US Sign Deal To Train, Arm Syrian Rebels: US Embassy
Turkey and the United States signed an agreement Thursday to train and arm Syrian rebels fighting the Islamic State group, said the U.S. Embassy in Ankara. The two countries have been in talks about such a pact for several months. The deal was signed Thursday evening by U.S Ambassador John Bass and Turkish Foreign Ministry undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu, said Embassy spokesman Joe Wierichs. He gave no further details. Sinirlioglu called the deal "an important step" in the strategic partnership between Turkey and the United States, according to Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency.Read more..
Reuters: Minnesota Man Charged With Conspiring To Support Islamic State
A Minnesota man pulled off an airplane bound for Turkey last year has been indicted on charges of conspiring to support Islamic State and lying to federal agents investigating recruitment by militant groups, prosecutors said on Thursday. Hamza Ahmed, 19, and three other young Minnesota men were stopped from taking international flights from New York on Nov. 8 after traveling by bus from Minneapolis, prosecutors said. He has been detained since he was charged in early February with making a false statement to federal agents and is also charged with attempting to provide material support to Islamic State militants, prosecutors said in a statement. Read more..
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| More News |
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| POLITICAL NEWS |
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Bloomberg Politics: Rudy Giuliani Backs Off Assertion That Obama Doesn't Love America
It may be as close as Rudy Giuliani will come to a retraction. The former New York City Mayor called into Bloomberg Politics' With All Due Respect on Thursday to try and walk back comments he made a day earlier at New York's 21 Club where he stated, "I do not believe, and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America." When pressed over whether he stood by his remarks about Obama's love of the country, Giuliani softened his tone. “Well actually, if I could express it more clearly, what I mean is he doesn’t express it,” Giuliani said. “I shouldn’t say that the president does or does not love anything. I don’t know, I’m not a psychiatrist, and he doesn’t have one and he doesn’t need one.” Read more..
NYT: Giuliani: Obama Had a White Mother, So I’m Not A Racist
Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York on Thursday defended his assertion that President Obama did not love America, and said that his criticism of Mr. Obama’s upbringing should not be considered racist because the president was raised by “a white mother.” ... In an interview with The New York Times, Mr. Giuliani dismissed the criticism and said he was describing the worldview that had shaped Mr. Obama’s upbringing. “Some people thought it was racist — I thought that was a joke, since he was brought up by a white mother, a white grandfather, went to white schools, and most of this he learned from white people,” Mr. Giuliani said in the interview. “This isn’t racism. This is socialism or possibly anti-colonialism.” He also challenged a reporter to find examples of Mr. Obama expressing love for his country. Read more..
TIME: Bobby Jindal: Gist Of Giuliani’s Statement On Obama ‘Is True’
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal stood by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s criticism of President Obama Wednesday. “The gist of what Mayor Giuliani said – that the President has shown himself to be completely unable to speak the truth about the nature of the threats from these ISIS terrorists — is true,” Jindal, a likely GOP presidential candidate, said in a statement to TIME. “If you are looking for someone to condemn the Mayor, look elsewhere.” Read more..
Mediaite: Scott Walker Declines To Comment On Whether He Thinks Obama Loves America
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker was at the event last night where Rudy Giuliani said he doesn’t think President Obama loves America because he wasn’t raised to and often criticizes the U.S., but when asked about that today, Walker declined to share his personal view on the matter. Walker was asked by CNBC to react to Giuliani’s comments this morning. “The mayor can speak for himself,” he said. “I’m not gonna comment on what the president thinks or not, he can speak for himself.” Read more..
Huffington Post: Debbie Wasserman Schultz Slams Rudy Giuliani For 'Ugly' Obama Comments
Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) on Thursday denounced former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani for saying President Barack Obama "doesn't love" America. ... “Sure, we have policy differences, and we should talk about them. Sure, we have big differences over the direction we should take the country; we should talk about those too. But for them, it’s more than that. It’s personal, and it’s ugly, and there’s no sign of it getting better," she said of Republicans. “In all seriousness, I rarely agreed with President Bush, but I never questioned his love for our country," she added. "I don’t often agree with my Republican colleagues on the Hill, but I know they love America." Read more..
NYT: Some Chris Christie Supporters Now Turn Their Backs
He does not return phone calls. He does not ask for support. He arrives late for meetings. And he acts as if he has all the time in the world. The complaints have piled up for weeks, dismaying many longtime supporters of Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and sending others into the arms of his rivals for the presidential nomination, according to interviews with more than two dozen Republican donors and strategists. As a half-dozen other candidates aggressively raise money and chase endorsements in Iowa and New Hampshire, friends and detractors alike say Mr. Christie’s view of his status and pre-eminence within the Republican field is increasingly at odds with the picture outside his inner circle.Read more..
MassLive: Elizabeth Warren: For Thousands Urging 2016 Presidential Run, It's About Her Message, Not The Messenger
Warren was asked not the tired question of if she will run for president (which she's repeatedly said no to), but instead what she thinks about the fact that her message has resonated with so many people, including supporters of her place in the Senate and a growing movement calling for her to run for president. She paused for a second, with microphones close to her face with TV cameras surrounding her, and explained why she thinks the movement isn't so much about her as it is the message she's delivering. "Americans understand that the game is rigged, and they've had enough of it. They're ready to fight back. They want a Washington that works for them," Warren said. "I think that people are getting more engaged, politically, and they're seeing through a lot of the rhetoric that politicians have been throwing out there for a long time. They want to see some real change, and I think that's what we need to work on." Read more..
Politico: Wasserman Schultz’s Office Said She’d Switch Positions On Medical Pot If Donor Took Back His Criticism, Emails Show
Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s office offered to change her position on medical marijuana if a major Florida donor recanted his withering criticism of her, according to emails obtained by POLITICO. The proposal to Orlando trial lawyer John Morgan was straightforward: retract critical statements he made to a reporter in return for Wasserman Schultz publicly backing his cannabis initiative that she had trashed just months earlier. Morgan declined the offer with a sharp email reply sent to a go-between, who described the congresswoman as being in a “tizzy.” “No,” Morgan responded. “She is a bully. I beat bullies up for a living.” Wasserman Schultz declined to comment. Read more..
The Hill: Clinton Foundation To Reconsider Taking Foreign Donations If Hillary Runs
The Clinton Foundation said Thursday that it would evaluate its policies on accepting foreign donations if Hillary Clinton runs for president in 2016. "Should Secretary Clinton decide to run for office, we will continue to ensure the Foundation's policies and practices regarding support from international partners are appropriate, just as we did when she served as Secretary of State," the foundation said in a statement. The foundation's practices have come under scrutiny after The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that it had dropped a self-imposed ban on accepting donations from foreign nations. Read more..
Reuters: Obama Rallies Votes For Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Ahead Of Election
President Barack Obama appeared side-by-side on Thursday with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, his former chief of staff, who has faced declining approval ratings among black voters as he seeks a second term in city elections next week. Obama's appearance at the event, which designated part of the South Side's Pullman neighborhood as a national monument, harkened back to his days as a community advocate on Chicago's predominantly African-American South Side. Patriotic ribbons were tied around street poles on Thursday in the historic neighborhood, which was built for factory workers and was home to the first African-American-led union. Read more..
AP: Liberal Democrats Ask Boehner To Postpone Netanyahu Address
Almost two dozen liberal Democrats on Thursday asked House Speaker John Boehner to postpone Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to a joint meeting of Congress next month. "It appears that you are using a foreign leader as a political tool against the President," the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Boehner. ... "This appears to be an attempt to promote new sanctions legislation against Iran that could undermine critical negotiations," the Democrats wrote. ... It was written by Democratic Reps. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, Steve Cohen of Tennessee and Maxine Waters of California and signed by 20 others. Read more..
USA Today: Jen Psaki To Become Obama Communications Director
Jen Psaki is leaving her post as spokesperson for Secretary of State John Kerry to become the new White House communications director, President Obama said Thursday. "Jen worked on both my campaigns, she's served in the White House, and she's traveled the world as an adviser to Secretary Kerry," Obama said in a statement. "I fully trust Jen — and I am thrilled she's agreed to come back to the White House as Communications Director." Psaki will replace Jennifer Palmieri, who is expected to join Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign after leaving the White House. Read more..
NY Mag: How 6 GOP Presidential Hopefuls Are Slimming Down For The 2016 Election
As Republicans gear up to jockey for the 2016 presidential nomination, several potential candidates have embarked on diet and exercise regimens apparently meant to prepare them for the "physical rigor" of the campaign trail. New Jersey governor Chris Christie and Florida governor Jeb Bush have both appeared noticeably slimmer in recent months, and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee has long profited from the dieting industry. Here's how six GOP presidential hopefuls are preparing their bodies for the presidency. ... Individual diet breakdowns here. Read more..
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| WINTER WEATHER |
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AP: It's Cold, But It Could Get Colder Across The U.S.
Much of the U.S. continued to shiver and suffer in bitter cold Thursday. Temperatures and wind chills dipped near zero or below in the Midwest, Northeast and even the South — where people were most unaccustomed to the weather-related road hazards, school cancellations, public transportation and airport delays, and runs on supplies at stores. The cold snap followed snow and ice storms earlier in the week. The low temperatures caused much freezing and refreezing of snow, ice and roads. Some areas shouldn't expect relief anytime soon — the National Weather Service warned that even colder weather could come later in the week as another cold front drops from Canada. That weather could be some of the coldest since the mid-1990s for parts of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, forecasters said.Read more..
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| GERMANY REJECTS GREECE LOAN EXTENSION REQUEST & OTHER STORIES FOR THIS FRIDAY MORNING... |
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NYT: Greece’s Request For Loan Extension Is Rejected By Germany
Greece is headed toward a potentially destructive standoff with Europe after Germany rejected a last-minute request on Thursday to extend its loan program. Unless the two sides can bridge their differences, Greece could find itself cut off from its financial lifeline and facing insolvency. The country’s current bailout program is set to expire in little more than a week. Neither country seems willing to budge at this point. While Greece on Thursday formally requested a six-month extension of its loan agreement, it stopped short of explicitly agreeing to complete some of the more onerous terms of the bailout. In a two-page letter to eurozone officials, the Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, said the goal was to ensure that “any new measures be fully funded while refraining from unilateral action that would undermine the fiscal targets, economic recovery and financial stability.” Read more..
The Intercept: The Great SIM Heist: How Spies Stole The Keys To The Encryption Castle
American and British spies hacked into the internal computer network of the largest manufacturer of SIM cards in the world, stealing encryption keys used to protect the privacy of cellphone communications across the globe, according to top-secret documents provided to The Intercept by National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden. The hack was perpetrated by a joint unit consisting of operatives from the NSA and its British counterpart Government Communications Headquarters, or GCHQ. The breach, detailed in a secret 2010 GCHQ document, gave the surveillance agencies the potential to secretly monitor a large portion of the world’s cellular communications, including both voice and data. Read more..
USA Today: Superbug Cases Spur FDA Warning On Dirty Medical Scopes
The Food and Drug Administration warned doctors and hospitals Thursday to use extra caution in disinfecting a hard-to-clean medical scope that has been linked to the spread of powerful "superbugs" in outbreaks across the country. The agency said that even meticulous cleaning of the duodenoscopes, which are used on about 500,000 patients a year, may not entirely eliminate the risk. And it advised doctors and hospitals that it is studying possible solutions, including new disinfection protocols. Read more..
NYT: Saudi King Unleashes A Torrent Of Money As Bonuses Flow To The Masses
European leaders are still battling over austerity. The United States Congress is gearing up for another fight over the budget. But in Saudi Arabia, there are no such troubles when you are king — and you just dole out billions and billions of dollars to ordinary Saudis by royal decree. Not surprisingly, Saudis are very happy with their new monarch, King Salman. “It is party time for Saudi Arabia right now,” said John Sfakianakis, the Riyadh-based Middle East director of the Ashmore Group, an investment company, who estimates that the king’s post-coronation giveaway will ultimately cost more than $32 billion. That is a lot of cash, more, for example, than the entire annual budget for Nigeria, which has Africa’s largest economy. Read more..
Reuters: Venezuela Mayor Antonio Ledezma Arrested
Venezuelan intelligence agents on Thursday arrested opposition leader and Caracas metropolitan mayor Antonio Ledezma, witnesses said, after accusations he was involved in a coup attempt against President Nicolas Maduro. The agents took him from his office in the banking district of Caracas, without giving a reason, according to witnesses including an opposition legislator and Ledezma's wife. "I just saw how they took Ledezma out of his office as if he were a dog," wrote opposition legislator Ismael Garcia via Twitter. "They broke down the doors without an arrest warrant." Read more..
WSJ: Britain Deploys Fighter Jets To Escort Russian Bombers Near Its Airspace
Britain deployed fighter jets to escort two Russian bombers away from the Cornish coast, the second time in three weeks the U.K. has warned off Kremlin warplanes near its airspace. The encounter is the latest in a series of increasingly frequent occurrences of midair interceptions in European airspace, which come amid heightened tensions between Europe and Russia over the crisis in Ukraine. A U.K. Ministry of Defense spokeswoman said Thursday that rapid reaction Typhoon fighter aircraft had been dispatched the previous day to meet two Russian long-range Tu-95 Bear bombers that were flying close to U.K. airspace. The Royal Air Force then escorted the Russian planes “until they were out of the U.K. area of interest,” the spokeswoman said. Read more..
USA Today: Nutrition Panel Urges Americans To Eat Green
Americans should consider the health of the planet along with the health of their hearts when deciding what to eat, according to an expert panel that advises the federal government on nutrition. It is the first time the advisory committee, which updates its recommendations in a report every five years, has considered the environmental impact of food choices. Also for the first time, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee singled out "added sugars" -- those not naturally found in foods such as fruit --encouraging Americans to sharply cut back. Read more..
Bloomberg: Apple Wants To Start Producing Cars as Soon As 2020
Apple Inc., which has been working secretly on a car, is pushing its team to begin production of an electric vehicle as early as 2020, people with knowledge of the matter said. The timeframe -- automakers typically spend five to seven years developing a car -- underscores the project’s aggressive goals and could set the stage for a battle for customers with Tesla Motors Inc. and General Motors Co., both of which are targeting a 2017 release of an electric vehicle that can go more than 200 miles on a single charge and cost less than $40,000. Read more..
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