Regardless of what Congress ends up doing about the future of the tax system, you don't need to pay more than you owe for the 2016 tax filing season. You can probably whittle your liability by going through last year's records and checking to see if tips from tax professionals may apply to you. Whether you use a professional tax preparer or software, or handle the return on your own, you will need to assemble information and gather receipts and tax documents. Here are the basics: You need to track your income, but you are likely to get plenty of help on that. Be prepared for a blizzard of tax forms. Employers issue Forms to employees. Banks, brokerage houses and other payers, including businesses that use independent contractors, issue Forms 1099 and sometimes Schedules reporting the money they paid. They must report these payments to the I. R. S. as well, and discrepancies are likely to result in an I. R. S. notice. But it is up to the taxpayer to claim itemized deductions and available tax credits. If you neglect to do so, you may end up overpaying. Taking deductions requires good . Consider the rules for charitable deductions on donated money, household items or clothing, valuable art or properties. Sidney Kess, a New York accountant and lawyer, who is a senior consultant to the accounting firm Citrin Cooperman, said your own check is sufficient for gifts of less than $250, but for higher amounts a receipt from the charity is needed. "To claim a deduction for items or property worth over $500 but less than $5, 000, in addition to a written acknowledgment, records have to show when and how you got the property, the cost or other basis, and you must report this information on Form 8283," Mr. Kess said. "For a deduction over $5, 000, you need an appraisal from a qualified appraiser. " But is only part of what confronts taxpayers trying to reduce liabilities. The tax code — four million words by some estimates — is of complexities, but therein lie opportunities. Mr. Kess discussed one such opportunity: deciding how family members should file their returns. Like so much involving taxes, it's complicated. Say a couple has a daughter in college who earned money from a summer job. The couple provides more than half her support and could claim her as a dependent, but the I. R. S. imposes certain limits. Personal exemptions, which exclude $4, 050 per person from income, begin to phase out for married couples filing jointly with adjusted gross income of $311, 300 and are eliminated when income reaches $433, 800. If the parents had an income below those levels, they would probably have claimed their daughter as a dependent. Because their income is above the upper limit, they do not do so. Instead, she claims her own exemption on her return reporting her summer income, and she can take an education credit as well. Her parents could not get that credit because of their high income. Individual Retirement Accounts and Health Savings Accounts can be used to shelter tax refunds, noted Barbara Weltman, a lawyer in Vero Beach, Fla. and author of two J. K. Lasser books, "1001 Deductions Tax Breaks 2017," and "Small Business Taxes 2017," both published by Wiley. "You can use your tax refund to lower your 2016 tax," Ms. Weltman said, "but you have to file as early as you can" because the deadline for depositing the money into an I. R. A. or H. S. A. is the same as the due date for filing tax returns, April 18 this year. If you are eligible for an I. R. A. or H. S. A. claim deductions for them on the return, based on the amounts calculated by the accounts' custodians, and include Form 8888, directing the I. R. S. to deposit those amounts directly into the accounts. Tell your account custodian (it may be a bank or a mutual fund company or a brokerage) that the deposit should be applied to 2016, she said. Any excess from the refund can go to your regular bank account. Julian Block, a tax lawyer in Larchmont, N. Y. said that big refunds can sometimes cause problems. He cited the case of a new client who, he discovered, had been receiving a plump refund every year. Mr. Block advised him to file a revised Form with his employer, aimed at reducing the amount of money being held out of his regular paycheck and paring down his refund. The reason, Mr. Block said, is that online identity thieves are increasingly active, and if they file a fraudulent return using your Social Security number and claiming a refund, your own refund will be delayed while the I. R. S. sorts it out. Of course, you won't be held liable for the actions of a thief. If, instead, you owe a small balance to the I. R. S. you won't have that headache, though you will need to check whether your identity has been compromised in other areas of your financial life. Mr. Block also noted that there is an alternative to an I. R. A. for some older people, including people who turn a hobby into a small business or do work like child care. If they are over age 70½, such people can no longer contribute to an I. R. A. but they can set up and contribute to a Simplified Employee Pension Plan. That enables them to deduct contributions now and withdraw money in later years. It will be taxable then, but their income may be lower, too. For tax purposes, alimony counts as earned income, he added, so recipients who otherwise qualify for an I. R. A. may contribute the alimony to it and claim a deduction. Many people do not realize that they are allowed to deduct the cost of health insurance, regardless of whether their unreimbursed medical expenses are high enough to take a deduction on Schedule A, Mr. Block said. They can deduct the health insurance cost on the front of the Form 1040, on Line 29. That's just one of several deductions on the front of the 1040 that are worth keeping in mind. Others include teachers' outlays of up to $250 for students or for their own professional development, the deductible part of tax, student loan interest, alimony paid and an H. S. A. deduction for those who are eligible. All are especially valuable because they reduce adjusted gross income on Line 37. That number ripples all through a tax return, often limiting other tax breaks. In addition to filing a 2016 return by April 18, many taxpayers must file Form to pay quarterly estimated taxes on income on which no taxes are withheld, like income interest, dividends and capital gains on investments, or rental and royalty income. Preparers often base the calculations on the previous year's taxes, Mr. Kess said, but if tax cuts are indeed enacted by Congress, estimates based on 2016 taxes may turn out to be too high. If that happens, you will need to recalculate the estimate later — in June, September or even the end of the year, depending on when a law is enacted — and can reduce the payments accordingly. For anyone thinking, "I wish I'd known that last year," Greg Rosica, a tax partner with EY, formerly Ernst Young, in Tampa, Fla. says it's probably not too late. Whatever the reason, you realize belatedly that you failed to take a deduction for which you were qualified. All is not lost. "It's fairly simple to amend returns," Mr. Rosica said. Taxpayers may file a Form 1040X up to three years beyond its original due date. Say you filed a Form 1040 for 2013 income in March 2014. The due date was April 15, 2014, so you have until April 18 this year. But if you filed under an automatic extension in 2014, you have until Oct. 16 of this year to file the amended return. Mr. Rosica is a member of the editorial board for the "EY Tax Guide 2017," which is published by Wiley, and includes this tip: Many taxpayers know they can deduct state income taxes on their federal return, but many do not realize they have the option of deducting sales taxes instead. That is advantageous if you live in a state like Texas, New Hampshire or South Dakota that has no state income tax. It may also be a boon to anyone who bought a item like a car with a big sales tax, and is often the best choice for people over age 65 because many states — even New York — exempt Social Security income and some income from state income taxes. Both Mr. Rosica and Mr. Kess advised taxpayers to check the tax consequences of any big life changes that may have taken place, like getting married or divorced or having a baby, all of which could affect filing status and the number of personal exemptions, as well as bring medical expenses that may have tax consequences. Changing jobs or moving may also mean income changes that would affect withholding. If you have a financial account outside the United States, be careful to report it, Ms. Weltman said. "Foreign financial accounts are high on the I. R. S. scrutiny list, and people who fail to disclose foreign accounts can be penalized severely," she said, including people who inherited accounts overseas and those who worked abroad and still have ties where they once lived. FinCEN Form 114, the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, is used for accounts of $10, 000 or more and is filed electronically with the Treasury, while Form 8938, which is attached to Form 1040, is used in more complex situations, with the lowest threshold being for accounts of $50, 000.


Germany would take advantage of any trade opportunities in Asia and South America left by a protectionist United States, Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said, after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). "If Trump starts a trade war with Asia and South America, it will open opportunities for us," Gabriel told Handelsblatt newspaper in an interview published on Tuesday. "Trump must simply recognize that the U.S. economy often isn't competitive, while the German (economy) is," he said, criticizing Trump's threat to impose a 35 percent tariff on German cars imported from Mexico. Trump signed an executive order formally withdrawing from the 12-nation TPP on Monday, following through on a promise made during his election campaign. He called the move a "great thing for the American worker". Gabriel - Economy Minister and leader of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), who is expected to run against Chancellor Angela Merkel in September's election - said German industry should remain confident in the face of Trump's moves. Barely 10 percent of German exports go to the United States, Gabriel said, while 60 percent go to other countries in Europe. "You can see the weight of our economic interests," said Gabriel. "Germany should act with self-confidence and not be fearful or servile." "We are a highly successful, technologically advanced export nation with many hard-working people and smart companies." Bernd Lange, a Social Democrat and chairman of the trade committee in the European Parliament, told broadcaster rbb that Germany and the European Union should look into expanding trade with China and other countries. "We must certainly speak with China because it is trying to jump into the gap left by the United States, even if they have other practices," he said. Lange said the European Union should also push for closer ties with countries that had similar values, including Canada, Japan and Australia. He said he expected the European Parliament to approve a free trade agreement with Canada by a large majority.


The 2016 election has been particularly hard on relationships. Social media is beginning to resemble a large echo chamber, with people with diverse views unfriending each other. It s not hard to imagine that those disagreements would go beyond social media, but it s especially shocking when political differences actually end a marriage.Gayle McCormick is a retired prison guard from California. She describes herself as a Democrat leaning toward socialist. Her husband, though, voted for Trump, and for that, their marriage is over. It totally undid me that he could vote for Trump, said McCormick, 73, who had not thought of leaving the conservative Republican before but felt betrayed by his support for Trump. I felt like I had been fooling myself, she said. It opened up areas between us I had not faced before. I realised how far I had gone in my life to accept things I would have never accepted when I was younger. Source: IndependentIt might seem silly to leave a 22 year marriage over a political disagreement, but this election was about much more than typical Democrat vs. Republican rancor. We aren t just talking about federal government vs. state government or the size of people s taxes. This election was largely about who we are as people. While it s clear that not everyone who voted for Trump is racist, misogynistic and xenophobic, everyone who voted for Trump doesn t see racism, misogyny and xenophobia as deal breakers.Through accusations of corruption hurled at Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump has shown himself to be far more corrupt than any Clinton could dream of. Trump has been given carte blanche to run the government like a child dictator, tweeting fantasies of revenge over every perceived slight. Donald Trump is toxic. Hell, the world is about to break up with us over Trump s election. It stands to reason that personal relationships wouldn t fare much better.


U.S. oil and gas industry workers have contributed only slightly more money to the campaign of Democrat Hillary Clinton than to Republican Donald Trump since the two clinched their parties' nominations for the White House, according to Reuters' review of federal disclosures. The nearly even support suggests ambivalence in the industry between two rivals who have put forward wildly different energy visions. Trump calls for a drastic reduction in regulations to bolster drilling, while Clinton advocates tougher environmental protections and more renewables. Employees in the industry gave Clinton $114,141 and Trump $99,302 since July 1, Reuters found in reviewing individual campaign contributions exceeding $200 and donations funneled through their joint fundraising committees. Both were officially nominated by their parties in mid-July. Several oil and gas industry employees reached by Reuters said they did not donate just because of the candidates' energy policies. Most requested anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the election. "I am moved by the disturbing nature of what I see in Trump's vision for America on trade, the economy and national security," said American Gas Association head Dave McCurdy, who has contributed to Clinton's campaign. He added, however, that he agreed with Clinton on reducing carbon dioxide emissions blamed for climate change and felt natural gas would play a role in that effort. The association has not endorsed a candidate. Continental Resources Inc Chief Executive Officer Harold Hamm, who has contributed repeatedly to Trump's campaign, has argued in favor of the candidate's energy policies. Hamm has said bolstering U.S. drilling would reduce dependence on Middle East oil, whose proceeds he says finance terrorist attacks. A Continental official did not respond to a request for comment from Hamm. An energy lobbyist based in Washington said he understood the industry's ambivalence. "Clinton is pro-regulation, which hurts," he said, requesting anonymity. "And Trump has no record in the industry, so there's no evidence he understands the issues." Clinton had far exceeded Trump in campaign contributions from industry employees during the primaries, but donations to the Republican side of the ledger were split among a much larger number of candidates than on the Democratic side. During the Republican primaries, the industry had taken an early liking to former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, giving him more than all his rivals combined, before he dropped out of the race in February.


Saudi royal family members, officials and businessmen arrested in an anti-corruption crackdown this month will be granted due process, Saudi Arabia s U.N. Ambassador Abdallah Al-Mouallimi said on Monday. Authorities have detained dozens of top Saudis including billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal in a move widely seen as an attempt by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to neuter any opposition to his lightning ascent to power. Those held face accusations of money laundering, extortion, bribery and exploiting public office for personal gain. A Saudi anti-corruption committee has been given the power to seize companies, funds and other assets ahead of criminal inquiries. I can assure you there will be due process for anybody who is detained, Al-Mouallimi told reporters at the United Nations. When asked how many people had been detained, he said: I do not have a figure to share with you. This is something that the security authorities will announce in due course. U.S. President Donald Trump has endorsed the crackdown, saying some of those arrested have been milking Saudi Arabia for years, though the State Department has urged Riyadh to carry out prosecutions in a fair and transparent manner. Human Rights Watch has also called on Saudi authorities to immediately reveal the legal and evidentiary basis for each person s detention and make certain that each person detained can exercise their due process rights . (This version of the story corrects Saudi U.N. ambassador s name in paragraphs 1 and 4)


The Turkish prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will soon leave office, a government official said. His departure is occurring amid a disagreement between the two men over Mr. Erdogan's drive for more power. The two leaders met on Wednesday night, according to the Turkish official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a decision that had not been announced publicly. "It's unlikely that Davutoglu will run for leadership again," he said. The prime minister is expected to hold a news conference on Thursday after a meeting with officials of the governing Justice and Development Party, or A. K. P. according to Turkish news reports, which also said that Mr. Davutoglu was likely to step aside after a coming special party congress. The leadership change atop the Islamist party comes as the country is facing multiple challenges, including a war with Kurdish militants, terrorist attacks by Islamic State fighters, and the arrival of millions of Syrian refugees. The shuffle clears the way for Mr. Erdogan, who critics say has become increasingly authoritarian, to consolidate even more authority. Under Turkey's Constitution, the prime minister is the most powerful official, and the president, although he has some genuine powers, is a largely ceremonial figure. But Mr. Erdogan has not been like previous Turkish presidents, and there has been little doubt that he is the country's political figure. Mr. Davutoglu, who became prime minister in 2014, after Mr. Erdogan was elected president, had long been seen as subservient to Mr. Erdogan. But simmering tensions between them boiled over this week, leading to speculation in the Turkish news media about a rift. The tensions apparently reached a breaking point last week, after party officials stripped Mr. Davutoglu of his power to choose provincial party leaders. "Even with a person as compliant as Davutoglu, the relationship didn't work," said Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat and the chairman of the Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies, a research organization here. In public, Mr. Davutoglu has sought mostly to play the role of party loyalist and devotee to Mr. Erdogan, but analysts say the two men have privately differed on several issues. Mr. Davutoglu was said to be resistant to Mr. Erdogan's ambition to rewrite Turkey's Constitution and establish an executive presidency. Recently, Mr. Davutoglu had suggested he was willing to return to peace negotiations to end a long war — which resumed in earnest last year — with the Kurdistan Worker's Party, or P. K. K. while Mr. Erdogan has appeared more hawkish. The two leaders also seemed to differ on monetary policy, with Mr. Davutoglu supporting the independence of the central bank, and Mr. Erdogan seeking to intervene for lower interest rates. In choosing to step down as the leader of the A. K. P. Mr. Davutoglu will clear the way for Mr. Erdogan to pick a new party boss who will then become prime minister. "The new elected prime minister's main mission will be to drive forward the presidential agenda," Mr. Ulgen said. But even with a new prime minister, it will not be so easy for Mr. Erdogan to alter the Constitution as he wants. The A. K. P. which has been in power for more than a decade, with Mr. Erdogan the prime minister for much of that time, does not have enough seats in Parliament to approve the changes on its own or call a national referendum on a new constitution. Most opinion polls show the Turkish public opposes Mr. Erdogan's proposed presidential system. Mr. Erdogan rose to power in 2003, and the A. K. P. won several national elections. But last June, the party lost its parliamentary majority and the Kurdish political party won seats in Parliament for the first time. That is when war resumed between the Turkish state and the Kurdish P. K. K. which seemed eager to return to arms. Critics of Mr. Erdogan said he sought to use the conflict as a political strategy to regain nationalist votes. Indeed, after failed coalition talks with opposition parties last summer, Mr. Erdogan called for new elections, and the party regained its majority in November. With Mr. Erdogan's not having enough support to amend the Constitution, analysts have predicted that with a new prime minister, he could move to hold early elections in a bid to amass more seats in Parliament.


Whenever we have a terror attack in America, the media goes to great lengths to make sure no one assumes of the killer was a Muslim. Meanwhile, the media has gone out of their way to convince Americans that all Hispanics hate Trump. Isn t it interesting how quickly they print a story about the murderer of two Muslim men who witnesses describe as a tall Hispanic man and then blame Trump? An imam and his assistant were shot and killed in broad daylight as they walked home from a mosque in Queens.Police said a gunman walked up to religious leader, Maulama Akonjee, 55, on Saturday afternoon as he and his assistant, Thara Uddin, 64, were leaving the Al-Furqan Jame Masjid Mosque in Ozone Park.Both men were rushed to Jamaica hospital, where Akonjee, a married father-of-three, was pronounced dead.His assistant died about fours later.Imam Akonjee was described as a revered religious leader. He came to Queens from Bangladesh a little less than two years ago, according to the New York Daily News.After the shooting a crowd of angry Muslim men gathered at the scene insisting it was a hate crime, saying the two men were specifically targeted. That s not what America is about, local resident Khairul Islam told the newspaper. We blame Donald Trump for this Trump and his drama has created Islamophobia. Did it ever occur to these angry Muslims that Islamaphobia is rooted in the idea that almost every time we have a terror attack on our soil at the hands of a radical Muslim, we rarely see a Muslim who will speak out against it? Police said they received multiple 911 calls of two males being shot at the corner of Liberty Avenue and 79 Street around 1.50pm.Both men suffered gunshot wounds to the back of the head and were rushed to the hospital in critical condition.Witnesses said the shooter was tall and Hispanic.They said the man was carrying a large handgun and wearing a dark blue shirt and short pants.


A 5.4 magnitude quake struck southern Mexico on Friday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, but there were no immediate reports of damage. It was not immediately clear if the tremor was an aftershock from a powerful series of quakes last month that destroyed buildings in Mexico City and killed nearly 500 people. The epicenter of Friday s tremor was just off the coast of Oaxaca state, in Mexico s southwest, and it struck at a depth of 59.5 kilometers (37 miles), according to the USGS. An 8.1 magnitude earthquake struck Oaxaca on Sept. 7 near the town of Juchitan, flattening thousands of buildings in the humid market town. Fausto Lugo, Mexico City s emergency services chief, said on local television that Friday s earthquake was felt lightly in the capital, but there were no reports of damages.


Email  Bev Harris, elections expert and founder of Black Box Voting, believes our elections are vulnerable to wholesale fraud via manipulation of vote totals in the centralized computer databases. She recently appeared on the Alex Jones Show, where she demonstrated a computer script named Fraction Magic that can alter vote totals all the way down to the precinct level and make the final vote totals add up to a desired result.  Fraction Magic was written by Bennie Smith, a computer professional from Memphis, Tennessee. He demonstrated how it works by entering a desired outcome in an overlay and then he and Bev Harris watched as Fraction Magic altered all the precinct totals and recalculated all the subtotals up to the final totals Bennie Smith had specified. He added, "You can create plausible results that really pass off as the real thing."  Harris reported that she tested Fraction Magic on her copy of the database of all votes cast in the general election in Alaska in 2004. She fed in desired outcomes and Fraction Magic performed the necessary vote count alterations all the way down to the precinct level in four seconds.  Both Harris and Smith expressed concern about the number of people who have the necessary access level to the vote totals databases. They would include numerous IT people, vendors, consultants, technicians, and others. Election officials rarely, if ever, make public lists of names of people who have privileged access to the election databases.  An extremely disturbing trend in American elections is the recent use of encryption to keep precinct totals secret until after they are in the hands of centralized elections offices. The American people are being told this is secure transmission and modernization. The spin in the news media has been to marvel at the skillful technology. But not enough people are asking what benefit we are achieving by concealing public information from the public .  Concealing precinct vote totals from the public until reviewed centrally was one of the tactics used by Hitler and Stalin. That's how they had the ability to alter vote totals without being caught. No one but a few insiders had any election totals until the centralized authority had the ability to rework the numbers if necessary to achieve their desired results and then release election results.  The term "wholesale election fraud" refers to one act by a fraudster that changes a large number of votes, such as in a computer, or alters the vote totals hoping no one will audit the results and verify the totals. "Retail election fraud" refers to cheating one vote at a time, such as when people cast multiple absentee ballots or vote multiple times in person in an election. These people are known in the trade as "repeaters," and their ability to repeat vote is greatly enhanced both by early voting and by either lax enforcement of voter ID laws or no voter ID requirement.  Specifying a vote total or percentage and then working it down is not a new form of corruption in American politics. Tracy Campbell described how political boss George Parr operated in his book Deliver the Vote : Parr's aide and feared enforcer, Luis Salas, later related how the Parr machine ruled: "Parr was the Godfather. He had life or death control. We could tell any election judge, 'Give us 80 percent of the vote and the other guy 20 percent.' We had it made in every election."  Campbell also described how another 200 votes appeared after Lyndon Johnson issued the order to "find the votes" when he needed them to win the senate runoff election in Texas in 1948.  In Precinct Number 13, the precinct of Luis Salas, where he had manufactured a vote for Johnson of 765 to 60, the tally was now different. When one of the committee members read the totals for the precinct of Salas, the new total was 965 to 60. In the interim, obviously, one of Parr's men had simply taken a pen and closed the top loop of the "7" to create a "9".  Because the precinct totals were public information, were reported immediately, and were obtained by Governor Coke Stevenson right away, he was able to identify the precinct where the extra 200 votes were added. Unfortunately, too many people in positions of power were on Johnson's side.  The concept behind Fraction Magic is not new to politics. What is different is the scale to which it can enable specifying an election result and make the subtotals match.  The fact that a program such as Fraction Magic can do what it does should be a wake-up call for the way we conduct our elections. We need to return to our traditional constitutionally correct decentralized counting of votes at the precinct level. We need a paper trail in the voting equipment. We must allow public access to any member of the public who wishes to observe the vote counts. And we must make precinct totals public immediately after the votes are counted, including posting them on the door of the voting site building.  If we do not, we run the risk of having our election results altered by the very people we hire to ensure that our elections are honest and accurate.


During Saturday's GOP Weekly Address, Senator Deb Fischer ( ) stated, "Obamacare failed because it took choices away from patients and families. It took choices away from all of us. Well, it's time to get our choices, our control, back so we can promote our health and wellness. "[Transcript (via ABC News Radio) as Follows: "Hi, I'm Deb Fischer, United States Senator from the great state of Nebraska. When I hear from patients and their families about Obamacare, they tell me the law is a broken promise. They couldn't keep the plan they liked. Or the doctor they trusted. Their costs shot up, not down. Jim, a grandfather from Grand Island, Nebraska, says this: 'Our kids' new insurance premiums went up 36 percent, which is over 50 percent of their income … This leaves my grandkids with no insurance.' Tim from Kearney, Nebraska saw his health insurance premium jump 60 percent. Obamacare's financial cost is . But it has another, hidden cost. One you can't count with dollars and cents. It's an emotional toll. The worry that comes from a lack of control. How many of you have seen your health care costs increase? How many of those you know have lost their health care? In November, the American people said, 'Enough.' They asked us to stop the hurt. This week, the Senate answered: we voted to put the tools in place to repeal Obamacare. Now, we will begin the process of putting the American people in charge of their health care. Congress will work with the 's administration to put patients and families first — not Washington. We will work for a stable transition period to protect families. We will fight for patients with conditions, children, parents, and people who need to be protected. Our goal is a sustainable solution that gives patients flexibility and choices in their coverage. Obamacare failed because it took choices away from patients and families. It took choices away from all of us. Well, it's time to get our choices, our control, back so we can promote our health and wellness. We Americans believe in freedom. Of speech. Of religion. Why not in health care too? Freedom is powerful. It made thirteen tiny colonies the greatest nation on earth. It took a man to the moon. It cured polio. We're on the path now to giving families freedom in health care. To restoring choice and control. To delivering compassionate, personalized care that treats people like people, not numbers. Sadly, Democrats in Washington have stated their plan is to frighten Americans about this process. That kind of attitude, peddling dread and pushing anxiety, will not help the American people. It's time to move forward. Let's put this failed law behind us and focus on making life easier for families. The American people deserve health care reform done the right way and for the right reasons. I am committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to deliver the results the American people need and deserve. It's the right thing to do. Thanks for listening. Thank you, and God bless. " Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett


The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a bid by North Carolina to reinstate for November's elections several voting restrictions, including a requirement that people show identification at the polls. The eight-justice court, divided in most part 4-4, rejected a request made by Republican Governor Pat McCrory after an appeals court ruled last month that the 2013 law discriminates against minority voters. Five votes are needed for an emergency request to be granted. "We're thrilled. Elections in North Carolina this fall are going to be conducted under a fair and nondiscriminatory election law scheme," said Allison Riggs, a lawyer with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, one of the civil rights groups that challenged the law. The U.S. Justice Department, which has also been involved in fighting the law, did not immediately comment on the decision. McCrory said in a statement that the state "has been denied basic voting rights already granted to more than 30 other states to protect the integrity of one person, one vote through a common-sense voter ID law." The brief order noted that three of the court's conservatives, including Chief Justice John Roberts, would have allowed the voter identification provision and limits on early voting to be in effect for the election. Justice Clarence Thomas agreed on that point, but was the only justice to say he would have also allowed a requirement blocking pre-registration of 16-year-olds to stay in place. McCrory's lawyers said the status quo should be maintained so close to the election, citing court precedent in their favor. The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on July 29 that the law intentionally discriminated against minority voters. The same court refused to put its decision on hold for the Nov. 8 election. Critics say such laws, passed in Republican-governed states, make voting harder for minorities such as African-Americans and Hispanics, who tend to support Democrats. Backers say the laws are necessary to prevent voter fraud. The court is currently short one justice following the death of conservative Antonin Scalia in February, which likely deprived the conservative justices of the fifth vote they needed to grant the request. The high court could yet be asked to weigh in on other voting restrictions ahead of the election, with several cases pending in lower courts.


If you listen to Senator Marco Rubio, ISIS is outside your door and is about to attack your family, and the only way to defend against this threat is to buy a gun.Senator Rubio needs the support of diehard conservatives if he is to make any headway in the Iowa caucus or New Hampshire primary, and they are almost as suspicious of his conservative bona fides as they are of figures like Jeb Bush.So in order to get those voters on board, Senator Rubio has to do what he does so well pander.That s why when he appeared on CBS Face the Nation on Sunday morning, Rubio went into detail about the latest revelation from the campaign trail his Christmas Eve purchase of a gun.Rubio told host John Dickerson that he bought a gun in order to defend his family from ISIS.Rubio explains why he purchased a fire arm recently. Explains that it is the last defense between his family & ISIS https://t.co/2AkdTHZ5yh Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 17, 2016He explained: I m a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, I have a right to protect my family if someone were to come after us, in fact, if ISIS were to visit us or our communities at any moment, the last line of defense between ISIS and my family is the ability that I have to protect my family from them or from a criminal or from anyone else that seeks to do us harm. Rarely does a politician so blatantly pander to a constituency group that he or she needs to be viable, but Rubio has gone there.His rhetoric echoes the fevered donation-seeking fantasies of the NRA, who has recently told their followers that they need to have a gun in the house to defend against an ISIS attack just outside their homes.Of course, the unfortunate reality is Senator Rubio and other gun owners are far more likely to hurt themselves or members of their family than to engage in a fantasy shoot-out with an ISIS terrorist.But keeping this level of fear up continues to benefit the right in many ways. Telling people to go out and buy guns creates a false sense of security, and fills the coffers of the gun manufacturers who then donate to Republicans and help to keep them in office, resulting in lax gun legislation or opposition to new laws. Everybody benefits, except public safety and security.Marco s got a gun.


Barack Obama might seem an unlikely investor in the firearms industry. But the U.S. president, a fierce advocate for gun regulation, has money in a pension fund that holds stock in gun and ammunition companies. Although Obama's stake is minuscule, worth no more than $30, it reflects a much larger surge of investment. The president is among millions of Americans buying into gun companies - often unwittingly - as mutual funds have increased such holdings to record levels, according to a Reuters analysis of institutional investment in firearms companies. Since Obama was elected in 2009, mutual funds have raised their stakes to about $510 million from $30 million in the nation's two largest gun manufacturers with publicly traded shares, Smith & Wesson Corp SWHC.O and Sturm, Ruger & Co (RGR.N). That means such stocks are now common in retirement and college savings plans. The influx has helped to boost both companies' shares by more than 750 percent during the Obama presidency; each now has a market value of about $1 billion. Beyond mutual funds, such investments also are held in the portfolios of hedge funds and public pension plans, which are harder to track. The White House declined to comment on Obama's holdings in the Illinois General Assembly's pension plan, which he earned while serving in that state's senate. The president has disclosed between $50,000 and $100,000 in the plan. Other indirect investors in firearms companies include advocates for gun regulation in the U.S. Congress and several parents of children who attended Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut - site of the 2012 massacre of 20 students and six staff members. Fund managers are drawn to the stocks by surging sales. Buyers are arming themselves, analysts said, in response to mass shootings and calls for tougher gun laws. By the end of 2015, more than 150 mutual funds owned Smith & Wesson shares, up from 53 at the end of 2008, and nearly 130 held stock in Ruger, up from 52, according to data from Morningstar Inc. It would have taken investors "minimal due diligence" to see massive profit potential in Ruger stock when Obama was first elected, said Ruger Chief Executive Mike Fifer. Shares hit a low of $4.50 the Friday after that Tuesday election; the stock was changing hands today at $61.61. "Orders at every level of the distribution channel exploded" the week of Obama's election, Fifer recalled. "And continued to do so for months afterward." America's leading ammunition maker, Vista Outdoor Inc (VSTO.N), has drawn investments from 319 funds in its first year of public trading and now has a market value of $2.9 billion. Its bonds are owned by a who's-who of U.S. investment and insurance companies. (For a graphic of top mutual fund investors in the leading gun and ammo stocks, see tmsnrt.rs/1TlCwBz ) Such investments can be hard to identify within large funds, even with concerted effort. Eric Milgram, a corporate research analyst whose two children were at Sandy Hook Elementary during the rampage, tried to purge his portfolio of firearms holdings. But he gave up after a frustrating search through mutual fund stock lists, holding companies and subsidiaries. "I'm disgusted with this industry; I don't want to be invested in it," said Milgram. But, he added, "There are only so many hours in the day." Vanguard Group, the nation's largest fund company, said it was unrealistic to balance political sensibilities with obligations to meet performance benchmarks. "It would be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to fulfill these obligations while managing portfolios that reflect the social concerns of all our clients," said Vanguard spokeswoman Arianna Stefanoni Sherlock. Vanguard does, however, offer a Social Index fund – with about $2 billion in assets out of Vanguard's total of about $3.4 trillion – that excludes firearms companies along with other stocks involved in an array of ethically sensitive industries. Smith & Wesson declined to comment for this story. Vista Outdoor did not respond to requests for comment. Obama and his tiny stake are typical of most Americans with holdings in firearms investments: They are invested in funds that buy shares of the relatively small part of the firearms industry that is publicly traded. But collectively, their investments are a boon to the gun industry and amount to a sizable stake in major gun and ammo makers. For some gun safety advocates, the amounts are less important than the principle. Po Murray, who put four children through Sandy Hook Elementary, has also struggled to determine whether her investments include firearms companies. "It's a real surprise: You find out you could be invested indirectly in Smith & Wesson," said Murray, who chairs the Newtown Action Alliance, a gun safety group. "I don't want to be invested in gun companies." The $16 billion Illinois pension fund that includes Obama's investment holds at least $4.8 million in shares of gun industry stocks, including Smith & Wesson, Ruger, Vista and ammunition maker Olin Corp (OLN.N). Until 2014, the pension fund owned about $1.5 million of the debt of Remington Outdoors, another gun manufacturer. Remington did not respond to requests for comment. The Illinois pension plan also invests in at least one mutual fund with gun industry exposure. The $1.1 billion Templeton Global Smaller Companies Fund owned $9.5 million of Smith & Wesson stock at the end of December, fund disclosures show. Obama and other plan participants have no say in how the money is invested. That's controlled by the Illinois State Board of Investment, which said it has no policy on investing in firearm and ammo companies. (For a graphic showing firearms investments by Obama's Illinois pension fund, see: tmsnrt.rs/1TlCRV0 ) In its analysis, Reuters used mutual fund holdings data from Morningstar and Lipper Inc, a Thomson Reuters company, to examine firearms investments during the Obama presidency. The list of funds holding such stocks includes some of the biggest and most prominent, such as Vanguard and the second-largest fund group, Fidelity Investments. It extends to BlackRock Inc (BLK.N), and Dimensional Fund Advisors. The analysis is based on disclosures made by individual funds. Some of the gun stockholders are passively managed index funds. But many are actively managed, such as Fidelity's $40 billion Low-Priced Stock Fund (FLPSX.O), which has become Smith & Wesson's second-largest mutual fund investor under storied stock-picker Joel Tillinghast. The fund held about 1.1 million shares worth $20 million as of Oct. 31, according to fund disclosures. Fidelity and Dimensional declined to comment. BlackRock - the world's largest asset manager with $4.6 trillion under management - manages $200 billion of that total in investment options that screen out certain stocks, including companies involved in firearms, tobacco and alcohol businesses, spokesman Peter McKillop said. Obama isn't the only gun-regulation advocate with gun-industry holdings. Former congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy - elected after her husband was killed in the 1993 Long Island Rail Road shooting - pushed relentlessly for gun safety legislation. While in office, she held shares worth between $3,003 and $45,000 in at least three exchange-traded funds with stakes in gun and ammo companies, according to her last financial disclosure before retiring last year. She also invested between $2,002 and $30,000 for two grandchildren in so-called 529 college-savings plans that include a Vanguard fund holding firearms stocks, disclosures show. The New York Democrat could not be reached for comment. As a federal retirement benefit, members of the U.S. Congress can participate in a Thrift Savings Plan, which offers an investment option - the S Fund - that holds stock in firearms companies. Financial disclosures show that S Fund investors include Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Senate Democrat and a leading advocate for stricter background checks for gun buyers. Durbin disclosed an S Fund investment of about $115,000. Durbin's office declined to comment. Some members of Congress welcome the investment option. "I'm just grateful the fund managers are investing in something that's making money," said Representative Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican who opposes gun restrictions and has a small investment in the S fund. For all the debate, Obama has made no progress in passing tougher gun laws. Measures such as universal background checks have withered in Congress, where the number of anti-gun control Republicans has grown. Calls for tighter controls have been met with bursts of gun sales, according to U.S. background-check data on gun purchasers. Gun store owners attribute the extra sales to consumers who fear the president will make it harder to buy arms. "Let's just say he's been good for business," Jack Lesher, manager of Chuck's Firearms in Atlanta, said of Obama. Gun sales jumped again recently after the president blasted congressional inaction on gun control and vowed to use executive powers to expand background checks for buyers and bolster licensing requirements for dealers. His announcement followed yet another mass shooting, on Dec. 2 in San Bernardino, California, where a couple pledging allegiance to Islamic State killed 14 people. For the week that ended Dec. 20, firearms background checks - a proxy for guns sales - totaled 839,109, the second-highest week since 1998. Only the week after the Sandy Hook shootings was higher, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Vista's main factories have churned out bullets 24 hours, seven days a week for at least two years, Vista Chief Financial Officer Stephen Nolan told investors in November. Now the industry is ready for an election-year surge. "The politics of gun control could stay in the headlines, which we believe could lead to a record year," wrote Chris Krueger, senior research analyst at Lake Street Capital Markets, in a note to investors in January. Ruger is boosting inventories to prepare, after learning a costly lesson going into the last presidential election. Demand peaked that year, based on the number of FBI background checks sought for new gun purchases. The surge followed Obama's re-election and the Sandy Hook shooting. "When we went into late 2011, we got cleaned out of inventory … even though we increased production dramatically," company CEO Fifer told investors during a November conference call. The company, he said, "probably left money on the table."


Eliott Abrams, who was deputy national security adviser in the George W. Bush administration, has been removed from the list of candidates for Deputy Secretary of State. [According to "three Republican sources" who spoke to CNN, Abrams was personally scratched off the list by President Donald Trump, due to "outspoken" criticism of Trump during the 2016 campaign. Abrams had been seen as the top contender for the job, supported by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, and even senior adviser Jared Kushner, who is President Trump's . The CNN sources were bitingly critical of Trump for deciding not to nominate Abrams. "This is a loss for the State Department and the country and, for that matter, for the President," said one, while another maintained Abrams was bumped off the list because of "Donald Trump's thin skin and nothing else. " However, even the CNN article concedes there is more than "thin skin" behind the decision. For one thing, Abrams was not merely critical of Trump in a few random comments last year. He penned a May 2016 for the Weekly Standard entitled, "When You Can't Stand Your Candidate," which declared Trump unfit for office, incorrectly predicted he couldn't possibly win, and compared him to George McGovern. (For those who lack Abrams' perspective on political history, that is not a flattering comparison.) Abrams called for a floor fight at the Republican convention in 2016, to remind Trump "how many in the party oppose and even fear his nomination," warned any Republican with future political aspirations to avoid becoming Trump's running mate, called for a purge of Trumpians from the GOP after Hillary Clinton's inevitable 2016 victory, and suggested running a spoiler candidate to ensure a crushing defeat for Trump. Moreover, there is a substantial difference in foreign policy vision between Trump and Abrams, whom CNN has no difficulty identifying as a "neoconservative" and supporter of the Iraq War. Senator Rand Paul ( ) of the Foreign Relations Committee strongly opposed Abrams' nomination, as reported by Breitbart News earlier this week, because Abrams's worldview was utterly incompatible with Trump's foreign policy agenda. In Senator Paul's case, "strongly opposed" means he wrote an for Rare entitled, "Do Not Let Eliott Abrams Anywhere Near the State Department," which is roughly as unambiguous as Abrams writing a piece about Trump called "When You Can't Stand Your Candidate. " "Crack the door to admit Elliott Abrams and the neocons will scurry in by the hundreds," warned Paul. "Neoconservative interventionists have had us at perpetual war for 25 years. While President Trump has repeatedly stated his belief that the Iraq War was a mistake, the neocons (all of them ) continue to maintain that the Iraq and Libyan Wars were brilliant ideas. These are the same people who think we must blow up half the Middle East, then rebuild it and police it for decades. " Paul was particularly critical of Abrams' devotion to "" slamming the practice as both expensive and ineffective. He was concerned that Abrams would be a poor fit not only for Trump but for Secretary of State Tillerson as well, praising Tillerson for "foreign policy realism" he found utterly lacking in Abrams. Paul viewed Abrams as an exemplar of the sneering, political class in Washington that Trump was elected to fight, and which shows every intention of fighting dirty in return, as the geysers of leaked information pouring from the new administration attest. (In fact, this very story is the subject of leaks intended to manipulate media coverage, as noted above.) Paul said Abrams was untrustworthy due to his role in the scandal: "His conviction for deceiving Congress over secret arms deals, better known as the scandal, show that his neocon agenda trumps his fidelity to the rule of law. The Constitution directs Congress to approve or disapprove of war. It would be a mistake to appoint anyone to the State Department who was previously convicted for defying Congressional authority. " Senator Paul is hardly the only observer to see Abrams' possible appointment this way. The Washington Post found it surprising Abrams was ever under consideration, acknowledging his resumé and reputation as a tough negotiator, but finding little in common with Trump's foreign policy vision beyond being "fiercely . " Fox News host Tucker Carlson said he was "baffled" while interviewing Senator Paul about his . Doug Bandow at Forbes said choosing Abrams "would be a particularly stunning reversal of candidate Trump's claim to reject his predecessors' failed policies of perpetual war. " In short, there is ample reason to believe Trump's decision was about more than "thin skin," and his skin didn't have to be very thin to think Abrams wouldn't be a good fit for an administration he previously regarded as an improbable catastrophe. Six weeks of leaking and bureaucratic sabotage might understandably have reduced the president's tolerance for a Number Two official at the State Department who (according to Senator Paul) once declared Donald Trump unfit to occupy the chair where Washington and Lincoln once sat — but evidently had no such reservations about Hillary Clinton.


Patrick Henningsen 21st Century WireJudging by both the words, and deeds of the Obama White House and its political diplomatic appointees led by perfidious John Kerry and caustic Samantha Power all evidence to date points to the US wanting to escalate its war on Syria while happily baiting a military confrontation, and World War scenario with Russia and its allies in the process. If this latest leak is indeed true and time will certainly tell whether or not it is, it would constitute one of the most egregious violations of both US and international law by the United States government and its theocratic dictator partner in Saudi Arabia.Washington s own anti-terror legislation expressly forbids colluding to provide logistical or material support for terrorist groups, and this US-Saudi venture would be the latest in a long list of violations According to news released today (see report below), US President Barack Obama has been briefed that the operation to liberate the ISIS stronghold in Mosul in Iraq is scheduled for the second half of October. Here s what makes this a potential shocker: the operation allows for safe passage for 9,000 ISIS fighters on the proviso that they are transferred from Iraq to eastern Syria in order to help US plans for regime change there. At the time of the assault, coalition aircraft would strike only on a pre-agreed detached buildings in the city, which are empty, the source said. According to him [the source], the plan of Washington and Riyadh also provides that the rebels move from Mosul to Syria for the attack on the government-controlled town of troops. Essentially, Washington and Saudi Arabia, will allow 9,000 ISIS (Islamic State) fighter FREE passage into Syria if they agree to join Washington s regime change operations there. This could also include, eastern regions of Syria to follow a major offensive operation, which involves the capture of Deir ez-Zor and Palmyra, the source added.Before you write this story off as some ornate Russian psychological operation, consider the long trend arch. The US along with its generous Gulf sidekicks, have already established a solid track record of aiding and abetting ISIS not just in Syria, but in Iraq too.The record shows that the US is guilty on a number of counts If the Mosul leak is true, then it wouldn t be the first time that the US has provided cover in the military pantomime the world has come to know as the fight against ISIS. When large ISIS convoys crossed the Syrian desert to invade and occupy the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra in May 2015, the US Coalition airforce did nothing, and allowed ISIS to take and destroy part of the world s great historic cultural heritage, along with the murder of scores of innocent civilians.Professor Tim Anderson from Sydney University states: U.S. weapons with Israeli ammunition were used by Islamic State group when taking over Palmyra. The extremists also had U.S. military rations. The U.S., which since 2014 claimed to be conducting a war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, and which had air power and sophisticated surveillance of the region, did nothing to stop the huge ISIS advance on Palmyra. The US isn t even shy about its laissez-faire policy with ISIS in the field, with the New York Times openly boasting, Any airstrikes against Islamic State militants in and around Palmyra would probably benefit the forces of President Bashar al-Assad. So far, United States-led airstrikes in Syria have largely focused on areas far outside government control, to avoid the perception of aiding a leader whose ouster President Obama has called for. Following the derelict incident, New York Times reporters Hwaida Saad and Kareem Fahim, were still kicking and screaming for regime change like petulant children at the news of ISIS fleeing and Palmyra being liberated by the Syrian Army and Russians. They said that, Mr. Assad s contention that his government is a bulwark against the transnational extremist group has been bolstered, but added that his foes and some allies argue that he must leave power as part of a political settlement to end the war in Syria. In other words: we still want regime change! This says volumes about who is really enforcing New York Times editorial lines (either the US State Dept, or the CIA, take your pick).More importantly however, is what kind of message an US statement like that sends to ISIS, as well as Al Nusra and other terrorist brigades inside Syria, which is basically, we do not need to worry about US air strikes, only Syrian Army and Russian strikes. This situation really sums up the utter fraud and contempt of the US deception in Syria, and it s no surprise that the Russian Foreign Ministry are reticent to extend themselves any more where the US is concerned.Then, in March 2016, when ISIS fled Palmyra, back across the desert towards Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa the great and powerful US Coalition airforce actually helped ISIS in a number of ways, including allowing them free passage once more.In late August, we were told that the Turkish Army, alongside allied Syrian rebels (terrorist group Faylaq al-Sham) backed by the US air cover, invaded Syria in order to capture the ISIS-held town of Jarabulus, Syria, this supposedly to cut off ISIS s last open route into Turkey. But what happened to ISIS?The NYT even admitted that, it appeared that most of the militants had fled without a fight. Here, ISIS appears to have been given advanced warning by either US or Turkish intelligence, as they left the contested town of Jarabulus quietly, but in droves. In reality, Turkey twisted this operation in order to attack and degrade Kurdish militias including the US-backed artificial construct called the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and pro-Kurdish People s Protection Units (YPG) and Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Syrian affiliate of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Iraq and Turkey all of whom are meant to be fighting ISIS. Instead, they are now busy dodging Turkish artillery rounds. Confusing, yes, but true nonetheless.It s also common knowledge now, that top of the line US weaponry is being used by ISIS, both in Iraq, in Afghanistan and in Syria as well. In fact, if not for US weapons and supplies (along with US air intervention, or noninterventions), ISIS would have struggled to maintain many of the strategic positions it enjoys today. For the last 3 years, US officials have been dodging this issue, and when they do admit this is true, their patronizing party line is that, this must be a mistake, if they do have US weapons, we didn t mean it. As if the world was born yesterday.Perhaps the most flagrant violation by the US-led forces in aiding and abetting ISIS took place on Sept 17, 2016, when the US-led Coalition bombed Syrian Army positions outside of Deir ez-Zor near al-Tharda Mountain, killing some 80 soldiers and injuring 100 more. As if by design, an ISIS offensive began immediately following the US massacre of Syrian soldiers. Clearly, this bold move by the Pentagon paved the way for a major ISIS advance.To any normal observer, the US attack was a belligerent act of war that effective destroyed an already fragile bilateral ceasefire agreement, and yet the US response was to somehow blame Russia for calling an emergency UNSC meeting to discuss the incident. Judging by this response, it s pretty clear that US wants to see the Syrian Conflict carry on for a while, and it will need groups like ISIS to make that happen. The other problem with Washington s hollow righteousness in the Middle East is that there are key members of the US-led Coalition who are financing ISIS, Al Nusra Front, Nour al Din Zinki, and Arar al Sham (all moderate terrorists we re told) militants in Syria, Iraq and beyond. This fact was recently admitted by former US Secretary of State and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, as revealed in this week s batch of Wikileaks emails. Clinton writes: While this military/para-military operation is moving forward, we need to use our diplomatic and more traditional intelligence assets to bring pressure on the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL and other radical Sunni groups in the region. Add to that the multiple exposures over the last 3 years of the US CIA illegally trafficking lethal arms to Al Nusra and other terrorists through covert operations like Timber Sycamore.Still, US and NATO member state officials and their media gatekeepers continue to deny it and play dumb, rather than come clean that the United States and its partners in the region are helping, not hindering ISIS terrorism.Some might ask: why would they do a thing like that? By now, the answer should be simple, but threefold:What s so comical yet even more tragic, is how prominent the topic of ISIS factors into all of the vapid national security debates and media panels in this year s US Presidential election, and in the dumbed-down coverage of the delusional US mainstream media, led by Pentagon surrogate CNN, and hopeless FOX News. Judging by their prosaic coverage , neither the networks, nor Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump have the slightest clue of what the reality on the ground is. Instead we here, My ISIS plan is better than yours! The US political conversation has gone beyond ridiculousness.The corps of US military and CIA media spokesman aren t much better. The sad part is some of them do know what is really happening, but would rather lie to the American public.With so much double dealing, who can you trust? Certainly not anyone in Washington.More on the White House s latest dangerous proposition .RTThe US and Saudi Arabia have agreed to grant free passage to thousands of Islamic State militants before the Iraqi city of Mosul is stormed. The jihadists will be redeployed to fight against the government in Syria, a military-diplomatic source told RIA Novosti. More than 9,000 Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS, ISIL) militants will be redeployed from Mosul to the eastern regions of Syria to carry out a major offensive operation, which involves capturing Deir ez-Zor and Palmyra, the source said.According to the anonymous diplomatic source, US President Barack Obama has already sanctioned an operation to liberate Mosul, due to take place in October.During the storm of the city in northern Iraq the US-led coalition s planes would only strike detached, vacated or uninhabited buildings, while keeping terrorists as targets, he said.In September, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter confirmed that Washington would send an additional 600 troops to Iraq to help liberate Mosul at the request of the local authorities.The source suggested that redeployment of IS militants is necessary because Washington must somehow counter Russia s achievements in Syria, try to diminish their importance. Apart from the purely political dividends, the other purpose of this operation, obviously, will be to discredit the success of Russian Airspace forces. And, of course, it s an attempt to undermine Syrian President (Bashar) Assad, he said.The leadership of Saudi Arabia s General Intelligence Directorate will be the mediators and guarantors of the agreement on safe passage for the jihadists from Mosul, he claimed.The source added that a similar scheme had been used by the US and its allies during the liberation of the Iraqi city of Fallujah Continue this story at RTREAD MORE SYRIA NEWS: 21st Century Wire Syria FilesSUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV


U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, who sparred with Donald Trump at times during his presidential campaign, pledged on Wednesday to work closely with the president-elect to forge an aggressive Republican legislative agenda from the outset of 2017. At a news conference in his hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin, Ryan said he and Trump are arranging a meeting to discuss the transition to a new Congress and administration, as well as the Republican agenda for the lame-duck session of Congress that begins on Monday. Tuesday's election results will give the Republicans simultaneous control of the White House, Senate and House for the first time since early 2007. "He just earned a mandate and we now just have a unified Republican government," Ryan said of Trump. "The opportunity is now here. And the opportunity is to go big, to go bold and to get things done." Ryan said he expected his six-point "A Better Way" blueprint to provide a framework for future action. The plan, which House Republicans used an election platform, calls for initiatives that include repealing and replacing Obamacare, reforming the U.S. tax code and scaling back federal regulations on industry. Ryan had been slow to endorse Trump for president and clashed with the wealthy businessman over his incendiary campaign rhetoric, accusing him of making comment that was "the textbook definition of racism" about a judge of Mexican heritage. Last month Trump described Ryan as "a very weak and ineffective leader." But on Wednesday Ryan said he and Trump had held two "fantastic conversations" in the past 18 hours. Ryan's aim is to "make sure that when his hand comes off the Bible, when he is sworn in as president, we are hitting the ground running." Ryan said Republicans in Congress also would coordinate with Trump on the upcoming lame duck session on what can be achieved. The speaker also said it was time for "redemption, not recrimination" and dismissed concerns about civil liberties created by Trump campaign talk. "Donald Trump heard a voice out in this country that no one else heard. He connected in ways with people no one else did. He turned politics on its head," Ryan said. "Donald Trump provided the kind of coattails that got a lot of people over the finish line so that we could maintain our strong House and Senate majorities." There had been speculation Ryan would not run for the speaker job in January but last week his staff said he would run for re-election to the post.


The White House led people to believe that a U.S. aircraft carrier was on his way to the waters off the Korean peninsula in a show of military strength. White House press secretary said, I think when you see a carrier group steaming into an area like that, the forward presence of that is clearly, through almost every instance, a huge deterrence, he said, adding that it gives the President options in the region. However, none of that is true because the U.S. aircraft carrier was traveling in the opposite direction.According to vice-president Mike Pence, the claims of the location of the U.S. aircraft carrier supposedly on its way off the Korean peninsula were not made intentionally. Or in reality, he s saying the White House doesn t know how to communicate because it s so inept, or perhaps, Trump used this to bolster his alleged presidency so that his first 100 days in office won t appear to be a complete disaster.Politico reports:Earlier this month, White House and Pentagon officials announced that the USS Carl Vinson and its accompanying battle group had been deployed off the coast of the Korean peninsula, a response to a missile test launched by North Korea. But on Monday, Defense News reported that the Carl Vinson was nowhere near the Korean peninsula and had instead been photographed near Indonesia.After reports from major outlets saying that the Carl Vinson had not immediately turned north towards the Korean peninsula, government officials were left having to explain why the aircraft carrier had not been deployed as initially described.Pence was asked during an interview with CNN if the remarks from White House and Pentagon officials had been intentional and the vice-president said, oh, I think not then went on to say there was already a strong U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific region, including in Japan and South Korea. Pence did not explain why government officials declared that the that the strike group was steaming up toward the sea of Japan. Here is Sean Spicer saying exactly that on Monday:CNN interviewed Pence aboard the USS Ronald Reagan at the U.S. Yokosuka naval base in Tokyo Bay and addressed the crew saying that the U.S. would work diligently with allies to maintain and increase pressure on North Korea. The United States of America will always seek peace but under President Trump, the shield stands guard and the sword stands ready, Pence said. Those who would challenge our resolve or readiness should know, we will defeat any attack and meet any use of conventional or nuclear weapons with an overwhelming and effective American response. The word effective doesn t mean what Pence thinks it means.Just one week after the announcement that the carrier was off the Korean peninsula, an official Navy photo showed that the strike group was actually farther away from the claimed location than it had been at the time of the announcement.Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images.


The uproar over Donald Trump's latest comments is a classic case of media-generated outrage. All over the newspapers, all over the airwaves, there is shock and horror that Trump would appeal to Russia to furnish Hillary Clinton's hacked emails. The lines seemed so obviously sarcastic to me, as I watched Trump's presser from the Democratic convention here in Philadelphia, that I didn't see the tsunami coming. Maybe I'm wrong, but as a longtime Trump-watcher, that's how it came off to me. But think about the media coverage for a minute. To believe that the Republican nominee was dead serious in urging an adversary of the United States to commit or complete an act of espionage against his Democratic opponent is to believe that Trump is clinically insane. And I do think many journalists and commentators view him as a bit unhinged. That's why this makes sense to them. They think Trump is so off the wall that it seems perfectly plausible. Others, I believe, don't believe Trump really meant it, but they think he stepped in it with the remarks and are happy to bash him over it. Look, Trump says a lot of incendiary things. His comments on Mexicans and Muslims and the like get him into trouble and are more than fair game for criticism. But this one is different. "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing," Trump said. He added that the press would love that. Trump is a master, of course, of saying things that are just far enough over the line that he drives a story for days. In this case, it means keeping a focus on the 33,000 emails that Clinton deleted from her private server as pundits and politicians debate whether he crossed a line—siphoning covering from the convention speeches by President Obama, Vice President Biden, Bill Clinton and others. Trump now says he was being sarcastic and we don't even know whether the Russians are behind the hacking. What's striking about the coverage is that it barely acknowledges that this could be an open question: The New York Times headline: "Donald Trump's Appeal to Russia Shocks Foreign Policy Experts": "There is simply no precedent for this: A presidential candidate publicly appealing to a foreign adversary to intervene in the election on his behalf." The Washington Post lead: "Republican nominee Donald Trump pleaded directly Wednesday with the Russian government to meddle in the U.S. presidential election by finding and releasing tens of thousands of private emails from his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton — an extraordinary and perhaps unprecedented maneuver in American politics." Politico's lead: "Donald Trump's call on Russia to hack Hillary Clinton's emails has shocked, flabbergasted and appalled lawmakers and national security experts across the political spectrum, with one saying it was 'tantamount to treason.'"  "Is it possible that Trump was being sarcastic? That he was joking?" CNN's Carol Costello asked her panel. The response was no, and even if he was, it wasn't funny. This is why professional politicians avoid sarcasm, to avoid uttering words that create an uproar. But Trump delights in it, which is why his supporters love him, his detractors view him as reckless and the media can never seem to get enough. Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz.


Newly released financial disclosures reveal Bill Clinton received $16.46 million in payments from a George Soros-backed for-profit education company, as Hillary Clinton s State Department funneled tens of millions of dollars to a group run by the company s chairman.With $4 billion in annual revenue, Laureate Education is America s largest for-profit college company. From 2010 until just days before the 2015 release of Clinton Cash, Bill Clinton served as Laureate s honorary chancellor. When the Clinton campaign team obtained a copy of the book and its Clinton-Laureate connection revelation, Bill Clinton abruptly resigned.Laureate s chairman and longtime Clinton crony, Douglas Becker, is also the chairman of a nonprofit sister organization called the International Youth Foundation (IYF). Indeed, IYF s offices are less than a mile from Laureate s in Baltimore. Shortly after Laureate made Bill Clinton its honorary chancellor in April 2010, Hillary Clinton made Laureate part of her State Department Global Partnership. IYF received USAID funds before Hillary s tenure at the State Dept. But the grants the group received exploded after Bill Clinton was put on the Laureate payroll.According to a Bloomberg analysis of the Clinton Cash revelation: In 2009, the year before Bill Clinton joined Laureate, the nonprofit received 11 grants worth $9 million from the State Department or the affiliated USAID. In 2010, the group received 14 grants worth $15.1 million. In 2011, 13 grants added up to $14.6 million. The following year, those numbers jumped: IYF received 21 grants worth $25.5 million, including a direct grant from the State Department.


PAY TO PLAY : Hillary's Two Big Favors For Morocco Netted Her $28 Million PAY TO PLAY : Hillary's Two Big Favors For Morocco Netted Her $28 Million Breaking News By TruthFeedNews October 31, 2016  By Richard Pollock – DailyCaller  Hillary Clinton did two huge favors for Morocco during her tenure as secretary of state while the Clinton Foundation accepted up to $28 million in donations from the country's ruler, King Mohammed VI, according to new information obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation Investigative Group.  Clinton and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Lisa Jackson tried to shut down the Florida-based Mosaic Company in 2011, operator of America's largest phosphate mining facility.  Jackson's close ties and loyalty to the Clintons were revealed when she joined the Clinton Foundation's board of directors in 2013, just months after she left the EPA. Jackson is also close to John Podesta , Clinton's national campaign chairman.  Morocco's state-owned phosphate company, OCP, would ostensibly have benefited from Jackson's move to shut down Mosaic. Mohammed donated up to $15 million to the Clinton Foundation through OCP.  Clinton also relaxed U.S. foreign aid restrictions on Morocco, thus allowing U.S. funds to be used in the territory of Western Sahara where OCP operates phosphate mining operations. The aid restrictions stemmed from Morocco's illegal occupation of the territory since 1974.  Morocco is repeatedly condemned for seizing the territory and for unilaterally extracting the country's valuable minerals, impoverishing what's left of the local Sahrawi Arabs.  No nation recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara and the United Nation's Security Council legal office and the International Court of Justice both demand that Muhammed withdraw his claim over the territory and end illegal extraction of minerals.  An email WikiLeaks made public last week illustrated how Clinton, while acting as secretary of state, negotiated an additional $12 million donation to the Clinton Foundation from Muhammed in return for holding the 2015 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) meeting in Marrakech, Morocco. Another $1 million payment came from OCP to cover the expenses of the CGI meeting.  The regulatory assault against the U.S. phosphate industry began in earnest when Jackson launched a barrage of intimidating regulatory initiatives against Mosaic. Environmental concerns about phosphates date from 1979 but the EPA did little to address concerns related to phosphate mining until Jackson's 2011 moves.  The regulatory assault on the U.S. phosphate industry encompassed several agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS aircraft flew at low altitudes over Mosaic's central Florida operations in search of environmental problems. The EPA also threatened large Superfund penalties, which could have bankrupted Mosaic.  Phosphates are essential ingredients in fertilizers used in American farming. Closing or reducing Mosaic's output would have cost tens of thousands of American jobs and injured the country's agricultural productivity.  It also would leave the U.S. dependent upon foreign phosphate producers, but particularly Morocco's OCP. The only other countries that mine phosphates are Russia, China and Saudi Arabia.  Rep. Dennis Ross, a Republican congressman who represents the Florida district where Mosaic operates, told TheDCNF he now sees why the EPA went after Mosaic.  "The tactics makes perfect sense as to why the EPA, under Lisa Jackson's tutelage, targeted Mosaic's phosphate operations in my district. I was never given any answers when I questioned Lisa Jackson about the EPA's deliberate actions against Mosaic," Ross told TheDCNF.  "Now I know why. An environmental concern never existed. This targeting was all done as a payback to Morocco for donating millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation," Ross said.  An uproar from Florida regulators push-back from the state's congressional delegation and the agency's tenuous legal position all forced the EPA to end its threats against Mosaic.  Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican who is vice-chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and a vocal critic of the Clinton Foundation, agreed with Ross, saying "these facts seem to reveal the possibility of more pay-to-play activities at the Clinton Foundation."  "It would be especially troubling if the Clinton Foundation was working with the EPA to suppress the American phosphate industry in favor of Morocco. The EPA and Clinton Foundation should be forthcoming about their dealings with the Moroccan government and the American phosphate industry."  Clinton's 2012 support of a rider on the U.S. foreign aid bill permitting foreign aid to be sent to the Western Sahara arguably legitimized Moroccan occupation of territory and depopulated the Sahrawi Arabs. Native Moroccans were sent into the country by the government to extract the minerals.  The rider approved by Clinton said that U.S. foreign aid funds "may be used in regions and territories administered by Morocco," meaning, the Western Sahara. The Western Sahara is classified a "Non-Self-Governing Territory" under international law.  "Previously, United States excluded Western Sahara from bilateral assistance to avoid seeming to endorse Moroccan control," said Eugene Kontorovich, a professor at Northwestern University School of Law, in a legal review of occupied territories around the world.  Hans Corell, the U.N. Security Council's Under-Secretary for Legal Affairs, said in January 2002 that "if further exploration and exploitation activities were to proceed in disregard of the interests and wishes of the people of Western Sahara, they would be in violation of the international law principles applicable to mineral resource activities in Non-Self-Governing Territories."  A Dec. 10, 2015 report by the International Court of Justice ruled that "the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Morocco over Western Sahara is not recognized by the European Union or its Member States, or more generally by the UN, and the absence of any international mandate capable of justifying Moroccan presence on that territory."  But none of that mattered to former President Bill Clinton, who said nothing about the world's condemnation of Morocco's exploitation of the area for its phosphate industry, while speaking at the Clinton Foundation's 2015 Marrakech CGI conference. Instead, he praised it.  "The Moroccans who are here will tell you that in the last several years, they have become the Saudi Arabia of phosphates, and what they have done with it, to diversify their economy and to make it part of a comprehensive strategy instead of another example of resource curse, is very impressive indeed," Clinton said.  "Hillary Clinton sold her soul when they accepted that money," reported Politico the day after the Marrakech CGI conference.  H/T – DailyCaller  Support the Trump Movement and help us fight Liberal Media Bias. Please LIKE and SHARE this story on Facebook or Twitter.


U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with Senate Republicans at their weekly policy lunch next Tuesday, a member of the Senate's Republican leadership said on Thursday. "Our entire GOP conference looks forward to welcoming Pres. Trump to lunch to press our common agenda and speed a great American recovery," Senator John Barrasso, the head of the Republican Policy Committee, said on Twitter in announcing the Oct. 24 meeting.


Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, in response to his name appearing in a trove of leaked documents about offshore investments, said he left a company registered in tax haven Barbados before taking a ministerial post with a previous government. The so-called Paradise Papers published on Sunday showed the investments of wealthy people and institutions ranging from United States Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to Britain s Queen Elizabeth. Reuters has not independently verified the documents. Santos was listed in the leaked documents as a board member of insurance company Nova Holding in April and May 2000 and also Global Tuition, an insurance firm focused on education, from April 1999 to May 2001. Santos said in a statement on Sunday that he left Global Tuition before taking up his duties as Finance Minister in the government of then-President Andres Pastrana in August 2000. He said he was not a partner, did not invest any money and was not paid for serving on the board. I imagine they delayed in officially registering the changes, Santos said in answers given to El Espectador newspaper and released by his office. I participated until before I became Finance Minister. Santos said that after 2000 he was a Global Tuition client for some of their insurance for the education of my three children. Global Tuition s office was closed in Colombia for a public holiday on Monday and could not be reached for comment. The company s office in the United States said any comment would come from the Colombia office. The president s statement did not mention the other company, Nova Holding. Nova Holding could not immediately be reached for comment. The documents were obtained by Germany s Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and some media outlets, including El Espectador and Connectas website in Colombia. The names of three former Colombian defense ministers and two former ambassadors to the United States also appear in the leaked papers.


The actress Carrie Fisher, best known for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the "Star Wars" movies, was hospitalized in intensive care on Friday night after a medical episode aboard a flight to Los Angeles from London, The Associated Press reported. [ Read our obituary for Carrie Fisher ] Her brother, Todd Fisher, told The A. P. that Ms. Fisher was receiving excellent care but that he could not classify her condition. He had earlier said that she was in stable condition and was out of the emergency room at a Los Angeles hospital. In a subsequent interview he said many details about her condition or what caused the medical emergency were unknown. The Los Angeles Fire Department said in a statement that paramedics responded to Los Angeles International Airport around 12:10 p. m. for a patient on an inbound flight who was in cardiac arrest. They "aggressively treated" the patient, who was not named. Several news accounts identified the passenger as Ms. Fisher, 60. Luke Punzenberger, a spokesman for United Airlines, said in an email that medical personnel met the flight after crew members reported that a passenger was unresponsive. News of Ms. Fisher's medical episode prompted an outpouring of concern on Twitter from "Star Wars" and fans. Ms. Fisher is the daughter of the actress Debbie Reynolds and the singer Eddie Fisher. In addition to her performances in the original "Star Wars" trilogy and last year in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," Ms. Fisher has written books chronicling her life in Hollywood and battles with drug addiction. One of the books, "Postcards From the Edge," was adapted into a 1990 movie that starred Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine.


Islamic State has claimed suicide attacks that killed at least 50 people and injured more than 80 in a southern Iraqi city on Thursday. A statement on the Amaq news agency, which supports the hardline Sunni Muslim group, said the attacks carried out by the its suicide fighters targeted a restaurant and a checkpoint, killing dozens of Shi ites .


President Obama is right it appears the people running the Trump campaign skipped their history and civics classes.After Donald Trump got a lashing from black activists after claiming it s never been worse for them than it is right now, one would think the campaign would have gotten the message and moved on accordingly.Wrong.As usual, no one in the Trump campaign learns their lesson. And their sheer ignorance has cost them a key staff member in a key swing state.Trump s campaign chair in the prominent Mahoning County in Ohio, Kathy Miller, has resigned from her position after denying there was any racism in the 1960s and that if black people weren t successful in the last 50 years, it s their own fault. She also said there wasn t any racism until Obama got elected and skirted problems under the table:If you re black and you haven t been successful in the last 50 years, it s your own fault. You ve had every opportunity, it was given to you. You ve had the same schools everybody else went to. You had benefits to go to college that white kids didn t have. You had all the advantages and didn t take advantage of it. It s not our fault, certainly.Miller then doubled down, calling the Black Lives Matter movement a stupid waste of time and said low voter turnout in the African American community as due to the way they re raised. What does the way they re raised, supposed to mean? Maybe Miller should take a look at the fact that the Trump kids didn t vote (and couldn t even vote for their dad) before speculating on how an entire race raises their kids.Miller resigned, gave a half-ass apology, and distanced herself from the campaign. Of course Trump s Ohio state director, Bob Paduchik stressed that Miller s comments were not reflective of the campaign, and reduced her position to that of a simple volunteer to steer away any influence she once held.Once again, the Trump campaign deflects, blames, and dodges responsibility. Oh, and it once again shows that it s being run by a bunch of entitled white racists.Featured image a screen-grab


At a Donald Trump rally in North Carolina, a proud Ginger Glover waved a "Lyin' Hillary Doll" with a special edition noose on it.  Watch a clip with Glover at the Wednesday rally here via NBC News :  Glover said the noose was her way of making a point that Hillary Clinton should be "incarcerated at the very least," but when asked said she doesn't think Clinton should be killed.  Yet her employees put the noose on the doll for her and she brought it out in public and waved it around. For "effect."  Where is all of the Trump rallies' violent rhetoric and imagery going?  Donald Trump seems to attract people who are angry and want someone to blame.  The Washington Post did an incredible story on Melanie Austin, a Trump supporter who said Trump sees the world like she does. She realized this days after she had been injected with something intended to "calm" her, after she was involuntarily committed for homicidal ideation against President Obama.  The first time she had seen him, at a rally in June, she was just beginning to realize how many people saw the world the way she did, that she was one among millions. At the time, her hips were still sore from a series of injections intended to calm her. She had gotten them in February, during a difficult time in her life, when she had been involuntarily hospitalized for several weeks after what she called a "rant," a series of online postings that included one saying that Obama should be hanged and the White House fumigated and burned to the ground. On her discharge papers, in a box labeled "medical problem," a doctor had typed "homicidal ideation."  Donald Trump and the alt-right, and indeed way too many elected Republicans, have already pointed these folks at Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama as Evil People Who Must Be Harmed. When you attract unstable people who are easily manipulated out of anger and fear and then direct them to harm someone, as Trump and his advisers have done suggesting Hillary Clinton might be shot and saying she should be executed with a firing squad, you are responsible for inciting violence.  Things are not going well for Trump supporters, and even buoyed as they are with unscientific online polls and delusions fed by the alt-right media and Fox News, they smell defeat.  Perhaps that's not connected to this specific woman who brought a Hillary Clinton doll in a noose to wave at a Trump rally last night, but it is a trend we're seeing in general – angry Trump fans using more and more violent rhetoric.  There will be more of this, not less, as Trump's likely defeat becomes reality outside of tinfoil circles.  This is political intimidation that mimics Donald Trump's despotic promises to jail Clinton even though she's been cleared of wrong-doing in all of the relentless Republican investigations into her activities as Secretary of State.  Of which there will be plenty more, Republicans promise us, should she win — because just like the Trump camp doesn't want you to vote, Republicans only want government to work when they're not in power.  The potent mixture of tinfoil and rage is creating a toxic brew of violent fantasies and rhetoric among Trump supporters.  Image: Screencap from NBC News video


Over two dozen people were injured in clashes on Friday between Honduran security forces and protesters demanding a vote recount for last month s contentious and still unresolved presidential election, according to the Red Cross. Supporters of the center-left Opposition Alliance Against the Dictatorship, led by TV star Salvador Nasralla, set fire to tires across the country, blocking major thoroughfares in the capital, Tegucigalpa, and the second city of San Pedro Sula. Police and soldiers responded with tear gas to rock-throwing protesters who set fire to a vehicle for carrying soldiers in Tegucigalpa. Near San Pedro Sula, protesters blocked a road leading to the key Puerto Cortes port, before being moved on by security forces. The Honduran branch of the International Committee of the Red Cross said that 27 people had been injured in the clashes. At least five of those injured in the northern city of Villanueva, near San Pedro Sula, had been shot, it said. Honduras has been roiled by political instability in the wake of the Nov. 26 vote, which remains unresolved. Nasralla trails conservative President Juan Orlando Hernandez by 1.6 percentage points according to the official count, which has been questioned by the two main opposition parties and a wide swathe of the diplomatic corps. Honduras electoral tribunal said on Sunday that a partial recount of votes showed broadly the same result as previously, maintaining Hernandez s lead. It has until Dec. 26 to declare a winner. Last week, Honduras two main opposition parties presented formal requests to annul the results of the election.