Obama-era cash traced to Iran-backed terrorists
The U.S. government has traced some of the $1.7 billion released to Iran by the Obama administration to Iranian-backed terrorists in the two years since the cash was transferred.
News
Russians penetrated U.S. voter systems, says top U.S. official
The U.S. official in charge of protecting American elections from hacking says the Russians successfully penetrated the voter registration rolls of several U.S. states prior to the 2016 presidential election.
Syria used banned chemical weapons in Sunday gas attack, officials say
Amnesty International has accused the Assad regime of showing “utter contempt” of international law following a chlorine gas attack on the town of Saraqib Sunday. This latest chemical attack comes just one day before the U.N. Security Council failed to agree on a U.S.-proposed statement Monday condemning the continued use of chemical weapons in the war-torn nation. Russia was blamed by some diplomats for its failure.
Trump: ‘I’d love to see a shutdown’ unless Dems fix immigration
President Trump said Tuesday that he would ‘love to see a shutdown’ over immigration if Democrats don’t come to the table to negotiate on border security and other stiff enforcement measures, escalating the stakes with less than four weeks to go before a deadline for action.
Trump dossier author misled FBI, Grassley says in criminal referral to Justice Dept.
Christopher Steele, author of the infamous Trump-Russia dossier, misled the FBI into making false assertions to a judge to gain a wiretap on a Trump campaign volunteer, according to a Senate document released Tuesday evening.
Judge rules California can’t force Christian baker to make same-sex wedding cakes
A California judge refused this week to order a baker to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, ruling that to do otherwise would be to trample on the baker’s free speech rights.
Syria says Israeli war planes target a position near Damascus – state TV
The Syrian army said Israeli war planes fired a number of rockets from Lebanese airspace targeting an army position in a rural area near Damascus on Wednesday, a statement carried by Syrian state television said.
House moves forward on bill that would avert shutdown
The House voted Tuesday to avert another government shutdown, approving a bill to fund the military for the rest of the year and domestic operations for six more weeks, as all sides sounded optimistic about a broader deal.
House Republicans Working on Averting Another Shutdown
House Republican leaders are grappling for a strategy to avert another government shutdown at midnight Thursday.
Dow Plunges 1,175 Points in the Worst Day for Stocks Since 2011
The Dow Jones industrial average plunged more than 1,100 points Monday. It was the worst loss for the financial markets in six and a half years.
With high-tech warships, Navy readies to guard gas fields from Hezbollah, Hamas
The Israeli Navy is charged with defending the country’s territorial waters, an area that is twice as large as the state itself and is becoming increasingly crowded with highly lucrative natural gas fields and shipping lanes, and it needs help.
Abbas sets conditions for fresh peace talks, with diminished US role
The Palestinians are prepared to return to the negotiating table with Israel, but only on the basis of an international multilateral mechanism, the Arab Peace Initiative and international resolutions pertaining to the Israeli-Arab conflict, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday.
UN Demands Iran’s Islamic Regime Give Christians a Fair Trial
Four U.N. human rights experts have issued a joint statement, urging Iran to ensure ‘a fair and transparent final hearing’ at the country’s Revolutionary Court for three Iranian Christians who have been sentenced for ‘conducting evangelism’ and ‘illegal house church activities,’ among other charges.
Machines Had Their Fingerprints All Over a Dow Rout for the Ages
Risk parity funds. Volatility-targeting programs. Statistical arbitrage. Sometimes the U.S. stock market seems like a giant science project, one that can quickly turn hazardous for its human inhabitants.
US ‘gravely alarmed’ after fresh Syria chemical weapons attack
The US said it was ‘gravely alarmed’ by reports of chemical weapons attacks by the Syrian regime Monday, as it accused Russia of protecting Syrian President Bashar Assad from responsibility for the use of chlorine gas against civilians in recent weeks.
Germany sold technology to Iran for use in Syrian chemical attacks
Germany’s Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control approved a license for a company to sell military applicable technology to Iranian companies that subsequently was used in Syrian regime chemical weapons attacks, reported the German publication Bild on Monday.
House GOP: More memos to come
‘The memo’ — which pitted the Justice Department against the White House and brought ugly partisan sniping into stark relief — is only the beginning. Republican sources close to Devin Nunes tell me he’s assured them there’s much more to come.
U.S., Turkish forces on course for clash in Syrian town
The U.S. and Turkish militaries are on a collision course, and the point of impact for the two NATO allies is the Syrian town of Manbij.
France: French, Turkish leaders discuss Syria ‘road map’
French officials say President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are talking about working on a ‘diplomatic road map’ for Syria in the ‘coming weeks.’
U.S. flu outbreak worsens; hospitalizations highest in nearly a decade: CDC
The U.S. flu outbreak worsened over the past week as more people headed to doctors’ offices and emergency rooms, with hospitalizations at the highest in nearly 10 years, U.S. health officials said on Friday.