instruction:
Given a document, find the main entity about whom the author is writing. Write the full name if mentioned in the text. Note that URLs in the text have been replaced with [Link].
question:
Leading Tory Brexit supporters have urged the prime minister to take advantage German Chancellor Angela Merkel ’ s weakness and failure to form a government . Theresa May has reportedly agreed with her cabinet to roughly double the offered Brexit ‘ divorce bill  ’ but Iain Duncan Smith   the former Conservative Party leader   urged her to “ sit tight ”  The Times reports . advertisement Jacob Rees - Mogg   Tory MP for North East Somerset   said that it would be “ foolish ” to hike the offer at a time when Mrs .  Merkel  needed to reassure German voters and businesses they will still be able to trade with the UK .  He  told the paper : “ Approving a higher divorce bill at this stage would be foolish … As for Germany   its domestic political concerns make it less likely that it would want to risk the damage that could be done to its industry from the UK imposing tariffs on its exports .” Mr . Duncan Smith added : “ When you look at what is going on in Europe the idea that out of that chaotic situation can come any sort of understanding is clearly not right   so we will have to sit tight .” May Expected to Offer EU £ 40 Billion – But Leavers Ask : What Are We Getting in Return ? The German chancellor ’ s Christian Democratic Union ( CDU ) and sister Christian Social Union ( CSU ) parties recently suffered their worst election result since 1949   with the populist   right - wing Alternative for Germany ( AfD ) surging . Their former coalition partner   the Social Democrats ( SDP )  also had their worst post - war election performance and announced they would quit the “ grand coalition ” and go into opposition . Mrs . Merkel had since failed to form a government with Germany ’ s Free Democrats and the Greens   with ideological differences proving too great . On Monday   she said she was “ very sceptical ” about running a minority government and hinted at fresh elections . Reports of  Mrs  . Merkel ’ s admission came on the same day reports claimed  Mrs  . May planned to double her previous offer to the European Union ( EU ) of roughly £ 20 billion to £ 40 billion . Economic commitments in the region totalling roughly £ 20 billion are to be added to the £ 20 billion already acknowledged as owed in  Mrs  . May ’ s Florence speech . A government source suggested that Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Environment Secretary Michael Gove had signed up to the plan   despite previously opposing a large pay - out .
answer:
Mrs Merkel


question:
Could a small force of American soldiers have prevented Iraq from sliding back into chaos , as Governor Bush claims ? 
The exchange started like this : at the end of Jeb Bush 's town-hall meeting in Reno , Nevada , on Wednesday , a college student named Ivy Ziedrich stood up and said that she had heard Bush blame the growth of ISIS on President Obama , in particular on his decision to withdraw American troops from Iraq in 2011 . 
The origins of ISIS , Ziedrich said , lay in the decision by Bush 's brother , in 2003 , to disband the Iraqi Army following the toppling of Saddam Hussein 's government . 
Wow ," Bush said . 
Here is what happened : In 2003 , the U.S. military , on orders of President Bush , invaded Iraq , and nineteen days later threw out Saddam 's government . 
Historians -- along with Governor Bush and Ivy Ziedrich -- will be arguing about the question for a long time . 
"All right ," Bush said . 
Bush Administration officials involved in the decision -- like Paul Bremer and Walter Slocombe -- argued that they were effectively ratifying the reality that the Iraqi Army had already disintegrated . 
But the Bush White House went ahead . 
While it 's true that George W. Bush took actions that helped enable the creation of the Iraqi insurgency , and that some leaders of the insurgency formed ISIS , it 's not true that he "created" ISIS . 
And there 's a good argument to be made that an insurgency would have formed following the invasion of Iraq even if President Bush had kept the Iraqi Army together . 
Indeed , by 2011 the situation in Iraq -- as former Governor Bush said -- was relatively stable . 
But let 's get to Governor Bush 's assertion -- that Iraq went down the tubes because of President Obama 's decision to pull out all American forces , and that Obama could easily have left behind a residual force that would have kept the peace . 
"When we left Iraq , security had been arranged ," Bush said . 
A few days after that , President Bush or someone in his Administration decreed the dissolution of the Iraqi Army . 
Bush did n't like it : he offered a retort and then left the stage . 
So , on this , Governor Bush is n't entirely accurate , but makes a good point : the Obama Administration might have been able to keep some forces in Iraq if it had really tried .
answer:
George W Bush


question:
In the latest twist in the sexual harassment controversies roiling Congress  Republicans have taken to defending  Democratic Sen. Al Franken .
Yes  thatâs right. While  Franken  announced Thursday  he  would resign in the âcoming weeksâ amid growing allegations of sexual misconduct  some Republicans are not so sure  he  should have to leave the Senate.
âWhat you saw today was a lynch mob â former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Wednesday on Laura Ingrahamâs Fox News show after at least 35 Democratic Senators called on  Franken  to step aside. âLetâs not have due process. Letâs not ask anybody any questions. Letâs not have any chance to have a hearing. Letâs just lynch him  because when we get done lynching him  weâll be so pure.â
Eight women have accused  Franken  of sexually harassing them  with the most recent being a woman who told Politico this week that  Franken  tried to forcibly kiss her in 2006.
But Gingrich is not alone in claiming the Democrats are not acting entirely out of sincere moral concern. When interviewing Gingrich on Wednesday  Ingraham also said she believes the Democrats are using  Franken âs situation to claim the moral high ground so they can try to take down Republicans accused of sexual misconduct like President Donald Trump and Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore.
They have used a variety of tactics to dismiss the claims against him  but many of them come down to Republicans saying they do not have proof he did anything wrong. That seems to be the argument GOPers are using again to defend  Franken .
And the Washington Examinerâs Byron York also raised concerns about  Franken  not receiving due process.
answer:

Al Franken