Need to Know

Lee Rigby: fallen British soldier's family tribute

2013-05-24T16:24:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Mail reports:

Serving his country on the dusty battlefields of Afghanistan, he risked his life facing Taliban bullets and roadside bombs.

Back in Britain after a gruelling deployment in one of the most dangerous places imaginable, Drummer Lee Rigby would have been thankful to have emerged unscathed.

But, four years later, on a supposedly safe London high street, the young soldier was brutally cut down in his prime, butchered by crazed Islamic fanatics wielding cleavers and knives.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Lee-Rigby:-fallen-British-soldiers-family-tribute/-468324555153909917.html

McCain: Republicans pushing too far to make changes to Senate minority laws

2013-05-24T16:23:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CBS reports:

A long-simmering feud between establishment Republicans and Tea Partyers broke into full view Thursday, with Sen. John McCain accusing younger colleagues of overplaying their hands and tempting Democrats to change Senate rules that protect the minority party.

Tactics for dealing with the government’s budget and debt became the latest quarrel In a string of them between McCain —sometimes joined by other traditionalist Republicans —and Tea Party champions such as Ted Cruz of Texas, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mike Lee of Utah and Marco Rubio of Florida.

Those four won Senate seats by defying the party establishment, and are shaking up the tradition-bound Senate with no-compromise, no-apology stands on key issues like debt and deficits, government spending and the use of drones in the war on terrorism.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/McCain:-Republicans-pushing-too-far-to-make-changes-to-Senate-minority-laws/-341424147388608648.html

Boehner: Senate Immigration Bill is a flop

2013-05-24T16:22:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Times reports:

House Speaker John A. Boehner on Thursday flatly ruled out chances of the House passing the Senate’s immigration bill, saying his chamber will debate its own bill instead.

The Ohio Republican and his top lieutenants in the party issued a joint statement that seemed designed to tamp down some of the momentum behind the Senate bill, which emerged from a committee on a bipartisan 13-5 vote this week, and to stake out a House GOP position.

“While we applaud the progress made by our Senate colleagues, there are numerous ways in which the House will approach the issue differently,” the Republican leaders said in their statement. “The House remains committed to fixing our broken immigration system, but we will not simply take up and accept the bill that is emerging in the Senate if it passes. Rather, through regular order, the House will work its will and produce its own legislation.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Boehner:-Senate-Immigration-Bill-is-a-flop/130890022520636264.html

Pelosi: The IRS scandal happened under Bush's watch

2013-05-24T16:22:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Real Clear Politics reports:

REPORTER: Since the IRS happened on President Obama's watch, how much of a hit -- or do you think at all Democrats will take a hit on the IRS in the 2014 midterms?

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: Well, you said it happened under his watch. It happened under the appointment of the head of the IRS, who was appointed by President Bush. His length of stay extended into President Obama's stay. I think that that points to the fact -- why is this a politicized issue? We all are concerned about how the IRS does what it's supposed to do but does not do it in a selective way.

I said before what they did was wrong. The Inspector General has said over and over it is not illegal. The committee wants to challenge the Inspector General on his findings, so that will unfold. But again the IRS is an independent agency. So the inference to be drawn happened on his watch is that it happened on his watch the way some other cabinet agency of government would. No, this is an independent agency is headed up by a Bush appointee. What they did was wrong. We have to make sure it doesn't happen again. Selective review. We don't like it on our side or their side. It has no place.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Pelosi:-The-IRS-scandal-happened-under-Bushs-watch/-500771669593571164.html

Lerner's replacement is making changes to the IRS division

2013-05-24T16:21:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CBS reports:

Moving quickly to stem a raging controversy, the new acting head of the Internal Revenue Service started cleaning house Thursday by replacing the supervisor who oversaw agents involved in targeting Tea Party groups.

A day after she refused to answer questions at a congressional hearing, Lois Lerner was placed on administrative leave, according to congressional sources.

Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, a senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said Lerner was asked to resign but refused, so she was placed on leave. An IRS spokeswoman said the agency could not comment on Lerner’s status because it was a private personnel matter.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Lerners-replacement-is-making-changes-to-the-IRS-division/-65332012955254127.html

Plane on fire in London sky

2013-05-24T16:20:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Sky News reports:

A British Airways plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Heathrow Airport as eyewitnesses reported seeing the aircraft "on fire" flying over central London.

A man who only gave his first name as Jamie told Sky News: "As you looked up you could just see the flames being chucked out of the engine ... It was on full fire when we saw it."

There were 186 flight cancellations in total and BA cancelled all short-haul flights in and out of the West London airport until 4pm when they resumed.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Plane-on-fire-in-London-sky/608339283612337565.html

Fighter jets move to Pakistan plane for 'an incident on the plane'

2013-05-24T16:19:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Sky News reports:

"The two middle-aged passengers who previously had the altercation were simply asked to come with police who had boarded the aircraft. They were then handcuffed and taken away."

Zohaib Sattar was awaiting the arrival of his wife and father, who he spoke to on the phone shortly after the plane touched down at Stansted.

"They have taken two people off the plane and are checking the plane all over," he said. "My father said there was no warning or threat. All of a sudden, the plane just turned around."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Fighter-jets-move-to-Pakistan-plane-for-an-incident-on-the-plane/-964292036707775381.html

Revealed: Jay Carney's Fave Rock Band (Puff piece alert!)

2013-05-24T14:16:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Newsbusters reports:

The Washington Post carried a huge, almost life-size picture of Jay Carney’s head in the Style section on Friday. But it was designed as a pick-me-up for the embattled Obama spinner. It was a story about...Carney and his favorite rock band.

“Benghazi and the IRS have kept Carney scrambling, and he hasn’t had much time to listen to ‘English Little League,’ the latest album from the Ohio indie-rock band [Guided by Voices] he has affectionately name-dropped in more than one news briefing.” Critics want Carney canned, but the Post wants him to feel happy about the “beer-soaked brilliance” of his favorite rockers:

Carney, who has fronted “terrible, terrible” garage bands since his adolescence, says he always has been drawn to the idea of regular dudes making extraordinary rock-and-roll. But above all, Guided by Voices songs simply make him happy.

Perhaps the Post should have just bought him tickets to the 9:30 Club or something. This is embarrassing blast of “beat sweetening,” sucking up to the press secretary, which usually happens at the start of the administration, not at its scandalous low point. Music writer Chris Richards explained how Carney has brought the band up in the White House briefing room:

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Revealed:-Jay-Carneys-Fave-Rock-Band-Puff-piece-alert!/-452764422601771964.html

Obama reveals conflicted thinking on drone strikes

2013-05-24T11:47:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The LA Times reports:

At times defensive, solemn, lawyerly and personal, President Obama on Thursday offered a rare glimpse of the burden that the nation's fight against terrorism has placed on the man who leads it.

In a speech spanning nearly an hour, the former constitutional law professor addressed what is likely to be a central piece of his legacy, weighing what is "effective" and "legal" in warfare against what is "wise or moral."

Obama acknowledged that drone strikes he has ordered have killed innocent people.

"For me and those in my chain of command, those deaths will haunt us as long as we live, just as we are haunted by the civilian casualties that have occurred throughout conventional fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq," he said.

At the core of his speech was a detailed case for the continued, if more circumscribed, use of unmanned aircraft: a bullet-pointed defense aimed squarely at liberal critics.

The president not only dealt with critics rhetorically, but he also confronted a prominent one in the audience at National Defense University. Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of the antiwar group Code Pink, interrupted the president's speech numerous times to shout accusations that have dogged him for years.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-reveals-conflicted-thinking-on-drone-strikes/169470926830889174.html

Lee Rigby, 25, victim of Islamic jihadist machete attack

2013-05-23T18:36:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The BBC reports:

Drummer Rigby, 25, from Manchester, leaves behind a two-year-old son.

Two suspects shot by police after Wednesday's attack in Woolwich remain under arrest. A further two people have been arrested on conspiracy to murder.

The two suspects who were shot, believed to include Michael Adebolajo, were known to security services.

Scotland Yard said the latest arrests were of a man and woman, both aged 29.

The victim's name was announced by the Ministry of Defence pending formal police identification. A post mortem examination was being carried out on Thursday.

In a statement the MoD said: "An extremely popular and witty soldier, Drummer Rigby was a larger than life personality within the Corps of Drums and was well known, liked and respected across the Second Fusiliers.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Lee-Rigby,-25,-victim-of-Islamic-jihadist-machete-attack/-196055080662872712.html

RAZZLE DAZZLE OF THE DAY: Obama prom photo

2013-05-23T17:35:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Mediaite reports:

In the midst of cries of doom and gloom for the Obama administration, Time magazine brought us a tidbit that is decidedly unserious: President Obama‘s prom photo from 1979 in Hawaii. Obtained from his schoolmate Kelli Allman, the photo shows the president at age 17 alongside his friend and their dates.

Obama was sporting a white suit jacket, while his date Megan Hughes is on the right in the light blue dress. They’re joined by his friend (“constant companion”) Greg Orme and his date, Allman.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/RAZZLE-DAZZLE-OF-THE-DAY:-Obama-prom-photo/-76019995518245579.html

Obama's culture of intimidation

2013-05-23T12:10:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Post reports:

Revelations about the Internal Revenue Service targeting conservative groups have raised important questions about the Obama administration’s commitment to the First Amendment. Yet there is ample evidence to suggest that the culture of intimidation in which these tactics were allowed to flourish goes well beyond one agency or a few rogue employees.

For years, administration officials have used the power of the federal government to isolate their opponents. Meanwhile, the unionized employees who populate the IRS and other agencies across the country routinely take their cues from union bosses, whose political donations and speeches show their support for the White House. When it comes to rewarding friends and punishing enemies, the IRS is not alone.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obamas-culture-of-intimidation/-234215689820065763.html

Feds to spend $472,150 to teach...what?!!

2013-05-23T11:47:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNS News reports:

The Department of Interior will be spending $472,150 to teach survival skills to bonytails and sucker fish.

“The objective of the proposed project is to determine if training increases Bonytail and Razorback Sucker survival when exposed to predators,” the grant abstract states.

“This proposal builds upon the 2012 Bureau of Reclamation assistance agreement with the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) tasked with investigating the potential for training Bonytail and Razorback Suckers to recognize and avoid predators," says the abstract for the program.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Feds-to-spend-$472,150-to-teach...what!!/-545877790930153910.html

Boston bombing suspect associate shot dead by FBI

2013-05-22T16:03:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox Orlando reports:

An FBI agent in Orlando shot dead a man questioned in the Boston bombing investigation whom the agency says turned violent during an interview early Wednesday.

The suspect was identified by the FBI as Ibragim Todashev, 27, of Orlando.

FBI spokesman Paul Bresson said the agent involved in the shooting on Peregrine Avenue near Kirkman and Vineland roads, near Universal Orlando, acted on an imminent threat and shot Todashev during an interview. The FBI agent was "conducting official duties" when Todashev initiated a "violent confrontation" and was shot, agent Dave Couvertier said in a statement.

The agent was with two Massachusetts State Police troopers and other law enforcement personnel at the time, Couvertier said.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Boston-bombing-suspect-associate-shot-dead-by-FBI/343070325303438676.html

Benghazi suspects identified

2013-05-22T16:02:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Breitbart reports:

U.S. officials say they have identified five men they believe might be behind the attack on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, last year. The officials say they have enough evidence to justify seizing them by military force as suspected terrorists _ but not enough proof to try them in a U.S. civilian court as the Obama administration prefers.

So the officials say the men remain at large while the FBI gathers more evidence. The decision not to seize the men militarily underscores the White House's aim to move away from hunting terrorists as enemy combatants and toward trying them as criminals in a civilian justice system.

The officials spoke only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss sensitive briefings publicly.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Benghazi-suspects-identified/-49164484488690602.html

DOJ spying on Rosen's parents, too

2013-05-22T16:02:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Breitbart reports:

Fox News' Bret Baier reports that Department of Justice documents show that James Rosen's parent's home phone records were seized in an investigation into Rosen's reporting activity.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/DOJ-spying-on-Rosens-parents,-too/166949909610509226.html

Issa warns Hillary to be ready for testimony

2013-05-22T16:01:00Z

Posted By: Staff

National Review reports:

Since Hillary Clinton last came up to Capitol Hill, we’ve learned senior State Department officials sought to scrub references to terrorism from the infamous Benghazi talking points to insulate Foggy Bottom from political criticism — citing concerns of their “building’s leadership” to justify the demands.

The rising temperature of the scandal means it’s possible that Hillary could be asked to return and testify again. If she comes back, she had better be prepared, says House Oversight and Government Reform chairman Darrell Issa.

“We are interviewing lots of people, most of them under oath,” Issa says, describing the “methodical” approach his committee has been using for months.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Issa-warns-Hillary-to-be-ready-for-testimony/160062240297097148.html

Obama ratings dip, voters say government 'out of control'

2013-05-22T11:43:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News reports:

After a week of revelations about government spying on reporters and the Internal Revenue Service targeting conservatives, most voters feel “like the federal government has gotten out of control and is threatening the basic civil liberties of Americans.”

At the same time, a new Fox News poll finds disapproval of President Obama’s job performance is above 50 percent for the first time in a year, his honesty rating is at a new low and half of voters already think he’s a lame-duck.

More than two-thirds of voters -- 68 percent -- feel the government is out of control and threatening their civil liberties. About one quarter disagree (26 percent).

Nearly half of Democrats (47 percent), as well as large numbers of independents (76 percent) and Republicans (87 percent) feel Uncle Sam is taking liberties with their liberties.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-ratings-dip,-voters-say-government-out-of-control/-753113173088712077.html

Hot mic catches Chuck Schumer protecting 'Gang of 8′ Republicans?

2013-05-21T20:59:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

During a vote on an amendment to that would limit the eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit during a Judicial Committee hearing on Monday, New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer was caught on microphone asking someone who appeared to be a staffer, “Do our Republicans have a pass on this one if they want?”

The amendment split the so-called “Gang of Eight” along party lines, failing by a vote of 8-10. However, the hot mic incident raises the question: do “Gang of Eight” members Sens. Jeff Flake, Lindsey Graham, John McCain and Marco Rubio need Schumer’s permission to vote along party lines.

Had the amendment passed, it would have provided that only citizens and lawful permanent residents are eligible for Earned Income Tax Credit.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Hot-mic-catches-Chuck-Schumer-protecting-Gang-of-88242;-Republicans/-316296529560294378.html

IRS went after Conservative interns during audit

2013-05-21T19:39:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) demanded information about conservative groups’ college-aged interns, prompting outrage from one of the country’s top conservative activist organizations and leading one former intern to wonder whether his family’s pizza parlor would be endangered.

The IRS requested, in an audit, the names of the conservative Leadership Institute’s 2008 interns, as well as specific information about their internship work and where the interns were employed in 2012, according to a document request the IRS sent to the Leadership Institute, dated February 14, 2012.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/IRS-went-after-Conservative-interns-during-audit/-305860778697276724.html

'The Loop' never extends all the way to the Oval Office

2013-05-21T11:50:00Z

Posted By: Staff

National Review reports:

The “worst tornado in the history of the world” hit the Oklahoma City suburbs yesterday. You know what to do: American Red Cross. Salvation Army. Recovers.org. Mercury One is organizing two truckloads from the Dallas area.

The Tuesday edition of the Morning Jolt begins…

Hey, I’m Just the President, Nobody Ever Tells Me Anything Around Here.

Let me get this straight: to hear Jay Carney tell it, the president is pleased that no one in his senior staff told him that the IRS was targeting his political enemies?

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/The-Loop-never-extends-all-the-way-to-the-Oval-Office/-426607829158923632.html

Ex-Diplomats say new Benghazi whistle blowers info devastating to Clinton & Obama

2013-05-21T11:46:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Pajamas Media reports:

More whistleblowers will emerge shortly in the escalating Benghazi scandal, according to two former U.S. diplomats who spoke with PJ Media Monday afternoon.

These whistleblowers, colleagues of the former diplomats, are currently securing legal counsel because they work in areas not fully protected by the Whistleblower law.

According to the diplomats, what these whistleblowers will say will be at least as explosive as what we have already learned about the scandal, including details about what really transpired in Benghazi that are potentially devastating to both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

The former diplomats inform PJM the new revelations concentrate in two areas — what Ambassador Chris Stevens was actually doing in Benghazi and the pressure put on General Carter Ham, then in command of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and therefore responsible for Libya, not to act to protect jeopardized U.S. personnel.

Stevens’ mission in Benghazi, they will say, was to buy back Stinger missiles from al-Qaeda groups issued to them by the State Department, not by the CIA. Such a mission would usually be a CIA effort, but the intelligence agency had opposed the idea because of the high risk involved in arming “insurgents” with powerful weapons that endanger civilian aircraft.

Hillary Clinton still wanted to proceed because, in part, as one of the diplomats said, she wanted “to overthrow Gaddafi on the cheap.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Ex-Diplomats-say-new-Benghazi-whistle-blowers-info-devastating-to-Clinton--Obama/657311001795030813.html

Richmond-area MS-13 gang leader convicted of murder

2013-05-21T04:50:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Times Dispatch reports:

The leader of a Richmond-area clique of the MS-13 gang was convicted by a federal jury Monday on murder, maiming and conspiracy charges.

Jose Armando “Pantro” Bran, 30, stood calmly as the verdicts were read. He faces up to two life terms plus 50 years when sentenced Aug. 15 by U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne.

Bran’s trial began May 13 on charges that he ordered the July 24, 2011, slaying of Osbin Noel Hernandez-Gonzales and the Jan. 14, 2012, maiming of Florentino Ayala.

After a week of testimony, evidence and argument, the jury began deliberations Friday, broke for the weekend and resumed Monday morning. They reached a verdict about 2:30 p.m.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Richmond-area-MS-13-gang-leader-convicted-of-murder/-588861875317081123.html

Cameron to Tories: I'm not sneering at you

2013-05-20T23:54:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Telegraph reports:

The Prime Minister tonight sent a “personal message” to thousands of party volunteers, insisting that despite their differences over Europe and gay marriage, the leadership and the party had “a deep and lasting friendship”.

Mr Cameron’s email was his first comment since The Daily Telegraph and other newspapers disclosed on Saturday that a member of his inner circle had described Conservative association members as “mad, swivel-eyed loons”.

The Prime Minister did not refer explicitly to the remark, but insisted that he admired and respected his party’s activists.

“I am proud to lead this party. I am proud of what you do,” he said. “I would never have around me those who sneered or thought otherwise. We are a team, from the parish council to the local association to Parliament, and I never forget it.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Cameron-to-Tories:--Im-not-sneering-at-you/-59271042982198340.html

Senior Tories to warn No 10 of declining confidence in Cameron

2013-05-20T23:53:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Guardian reports:

David Cameron moved to repair relations with a bruised Conservative party by emailing a "personal note" to all members in which he said he would never work with anyone who "sneered" at activists.

Amid anger in the party at the allegations that a senior member of his inner circle had referred to activists as "mad swivel-eyed loons", the prime minister said the party was held together by "a deep and lasting friendship".

Cameron reached out after senior Tories, who were enraged by allegations that the Tory co-chairman Lord Feldman had made disparaging remarks about Tory activists, warned of a sea change in the parliamentary party as growing numbers of MPs decide that the prime minister is becoming a liability. Feldman strenuously denied the allegations which he described as "completely untrue".

But senior figures indicated that the chairman of the Conservative backbench 1922 committee, Graham Brady, was expected to receive further letters calling for a confidence vote. Brady, who is understood to have been sent a limited number in recent months, will have to call a vote if he receives at least 46.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Senior-Tories-to-warn-No-10-of-declining-confidence-in-Cameron/-378760465137297982.html

POTUS gets racial in commencement speech

2013-05-20T16:13:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Post reports:

President Obama on Sunday summoned the graduates of historically black Morehouse College to “transform the way we think about manhood,” urging the young men to avoid the temptation to make excuses and to take responsibility for their families and their communities.

Delivering a commencement address at the all-male private liberal arts college in Atlanta, Obama spoke in deeply personal terms about the “special obligation” he feels as a black man to help those left behind.

“There but for the grace of God, I might be in their shoes,” Obama said. “I might have been in prison. I might have been unemployed. I might not have been able to support a family — and that motivates me.”

The president also reflected on the absence of his father growing up, noting that he was raised by a “heroic single mother,” and urged the young graduates not to shrink from their family responsibilities.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/POTUS-gets-racial-in-commencement-speech/-678648505231451625.html

AP CEO says sources won't talk now after seizure

2013-05-20T16:13:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Post reports:

The president and chief executive officer of The Associated Press on Sunday called the government’s secret seizure of two months of reporters’ phone records “unconstitutional” and said the news cooperative had not ruled out legal action against the Justice Department.

Gary Pruitt, in his first television interviews since it was revealed the Justice Department subpoenaed phone records of AP reporters and editors, said the move already has had a chilling effect on journalism. Pruitt said the seizure has made sources less willing to talk to AP journalists and, in the long term, could limit Americans’ information from all news outlets.

Pruitt told CBS’ ”Face the Nation” that the government has no business monitoring the AP’s newsgathering activities.

“And if they restrict that apparatus ... the people of the United States will only know what the government wants them to know and that’s not what the framers of the Constitution had in mind when they wrote the First Amendment,” he said.

In a separate interview with the AP, Pruitt said the news cooperative had not decided its next move but had not ruled out legal action against the government. He said the Justice Department’s investigation is out of control and President Barack Obama should rein it in.

“It’s too early to know if we’ll take legal action but I can tell you we are positively displeased and we do feel that our constitutional rights have been violated,” Pruitt said.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/AP-CEO-says-sources-wont-talk-now-after-seizure/-972281555945506818.html

WH says IRS did nothing wrong

2013-05-20T16:12:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Times reports:

A besieged White House dug in its heels Sunday and defended figures at the center of the unfolding Internal Revenue Service scandal while reiterating that President Obama knew nothing of the misdeeds inside the agency.

White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer, appearing on four Sunday morning political talk shows, offered strong support for Sarah Hall Ingram, who led the agency’s tax-exempt division as it admittedly targeted conservative groups. She recently was promoted to chief of the health care reform office, tasked with implementing “Obamacare.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/WH-says-IRS-did-nothing-wrong/-498659584697502851.html

Conservative reporters targeted too

2013-05-20T16:11:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Post reports:

When the Justice Department began investigating possible leaks of classified information about North Korea in 2009, investigators did more than obtain telephone records of a working journalist suspected of receiving the secret material.

They used security badge access records to track the reporter’s comings and goings from the State Department, according to a newly obtained court affidavit. They traced the timing of his calls with a State Department security adviser suspected of sharing the classified report. They obtained a search warrant for the reporter’s personal e-mails.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Conservative-reporters-targeted-too/504149633680612206.html

Immigration & border unions opposition to reform bill

2013-05-20T16:05:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Breitbart reports:

The union representing 12,000 adjudications officers and staff for the United States Citizen and Immigration Services Council (USCIS) came out in opposition to the “Gang of Eight” immigration bill on Monday morning.

The USCIS Council and its president, Kenneth Palinkas, joined the letter the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Council, the National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers, and sheriffs from around the country have signed declaring the 867 page immigration bill makes problems worse for immigration law enforcement rather than better.

In that letter, law enforcement officials noted that there has been a rush on the border by illegal immigrants seeking to get inside the United States before the passage of the amnesty bill from the Gang of Eight. They also wrote that the bill “provides no guarantee of increased border security.”

USCIS officers would be crucial to the implementation of immigration reform if the current bill was passed; USCIS handles the applications of immigrants who want to enter the United States and would be charged with processing the applications for amnesty for the at least 11 million illegal immigrants currently in the United States.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Immigration--border-unions-opposition-to-reform-bill/583840123924357502.html

Chinese hackers resume attacks against U.S.

2013-05-20T15:54:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Salon.com reports:

It had been three months since regular cyberattacks aimed at gaining information from U.S. companies and government agencies were traced to the Chinese military. Some commentators thought that the naming in the U.S. media of the PLA unit linked to a spate of attacks (including against the AP and the New York Times) had pushed the Chinese hackers into inaction. However, according to the Times Monday, “Unit 61398, whose well-guarded 12-story white headquarters on the edges of Shanghai became the symbol of Chinese cyberpower, is back in business, according to American officials and security companies.”

Chinese officials have continuously denied that their military is connected to cyberattacks against the U.S., while the White House has warned China against continued data theft attacks.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Chinese-hackers-resume-attacks-against-U.S./226562187302597146.html

Immig. fight moves to House, deep divide persists

2013-05-20T12:27:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Examiner reports:

There will be an event on Capitol Hill this week that will tell us a lot about the future of comprehensive immigration reform. On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the Senate Gang of Eight reform proposal. It doesn’t have any great official purpose; the Gang bill hasn’t even made it through the Senate Judiciary Committee, much less the full Senate, and is not before the House. So the House committee meeting will be all talk. But the session could tell us a lot about whether House Republicans will be able to support anything that resembles the Senate proposal, or whether there is an unbridgeable divide between the two.

There are serious doubts about whether the GOP-led House and the Democratic-led Senate can reach an agreement. Even the title Republican House committee chairman Bob Goodlatte has given to the hearing could spell trouble: “S. 744 and the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986: Lessons Learned or Mistakes Repeated?” The “S. 744″ in the title is the Gang of Eight bill, while the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act is the spectacular failure — one that led to the arrival of millions of illegal immigrants in the United States — that many of today’s lawmakers say they would like to avoid. Just bringing up 1986 is something Republicans who oppose comprehensive reform do a lot; Democrats, not so much. But on Wednesday, it will be the frame around the whole issue.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Immig.-fight-moves-to-House,-deep-divide-persists/-761424602311920535.html

ChicagoLand: 5 dead, 18 wounded in city gun violence

2013-05-20T12:12:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Sun Times reports:

Five people have been killed and at least 18 others wounded — including a 12-year-old boy left in critical condition — in shootings across the city since Friday night.

The most recent fatal shooting happened around 2:10 a.m. Sunday in the 300 block of South Cicero in the West Side’s Austin neighborhood, police said. Edward Jordan, 53, of the 4900 block of West Lexington, was shot in the neck and later died at Mount Sinai Hospital, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/ChicagoLand:-5-dead,-18-wounded-in-city-gun-violence/-809165649143945740.html

REVOLVING DOOR: $334m for Anthrax drug for Pentagon advisor

2013-05-20T11:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The LA Times reports:

Over the last decade, former Navy Secretary Richard J. Danzig, a prominent lawyer, presidential advisor and biowarfare consultant to the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security, has urged the government to counter what he called a major threat to national security.

Terrorists, he warned, could easily engineer a devastating killer germ: a form of anthrax resistant to common antibiotics.

U.S. intelligence agencies have never established that any nation or terrorist group has made such a weapon, and biodefense scientists say doing so would be very difficult. Nevertheless, Danzig has energetically promoted the threat — and prodded the government to stockpile a new type of drug to defend against it. Advertisement

Danzig did this while serving as a director of a biotech startup that won $334 million in federal contracts to supply just such a drug, a Los Angeles Times investigation found.

By his own account, Danzig encouraged Human Genome Sciences Inc. to develop the compound, and from 2001 through 2012 he collected more than $1 million in director's fees and other compensation from the company, records show.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/REVOLVING-DOOR:-$334m--for-Anthrax-drug-for-Pentagon-advisor/-964760360288208403.html

Obummer Economy Update: The nation's poverty growth--suburbia!

2013-05-20T11:46:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The LA Times reports:

Bucking longstanding patterns in the United States, more poor people now live in the nation's suburbs than in urban areas, according to a new analysis.

As poverty mounted throughout the nation over the past decade, the number of poor people living in suburbs surged 67% between 2000 and 2011 — a much bigger jump than in cities, researchers for the Brookings Institution said in a book published today. Suburbs still have a smaller percentage of their population living in poverty than cities do, but the sheer number of poor people scattered in the suburbs has jumped beyond that of cities.

Authors Elizabeth Kneebone and Alan Berube cited a long list of reasons for the shift.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obummer-Economy-Update:-The-nations-poverty-growth--suburbia!/385545716079619678.html

Marine, dog reunited

2013-05-18T14:27:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP reports:

When Marine Sgt. Ross Gundlach served as a dog handler in Afghanistan, he told the yellow lab who was his constant companion that he'd look her up when he returned home.

"I promised her if we made it out of alive, I'd do whatever it took to find her," Gundlach said.

On Friday, he made good on that vow with help from some sentimental state officials in Iowa who know how to pull off a surprise.

Since leaving active duty to take classes at the University of Wisconsin this summer, Gundlach, of Madison, Wis., had been seeking to adopt 4-year-old Casey.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Marine,-dog-reunited/-539418955618361384.html

This is your brain on big government

2013-05-17T18:36:00Z

Posted By: Staff

National Review reports:

If Obama’s Rose Parade of scandals gives you a headache, here’s why: This is your brain on Big Government.

The deteriorating developments on Benghazi, the IRS, the Justice Department’s Associated Press probe, health secretary Kathleen Sebelius’s Obamacare shakedown, and the “Affordable” Care Act’s unaffordability all offer a vivid, daily tutorial on the costs and pitfalls of unlimited government. The dangers of America’s bloated, bullying state are inescapable.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/This-is-your-brain-on-big-government/-630899168722818810.html

Retired general blasts President Obama for ordering U.S. Marine to break military rules by holding an umbrella

2013-05-17T18:35:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

President Obama humiliated the marine who he asked to hold his umbrella by making him ‘look like a butler’, a respected military general claimed today.

Thomas McInerney, a former United States Air Force Lieutenant General, said that the President showed a ‘lack of respect’ by making the soldier shelter him from a shower.

He also said that the President has plenty of aides so did not understand why one of them could not have held the umbrella.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Retired-general-blasts-President-Obama-for-ordering-U.S.-Marine-to-break-military-rules-by-holding-an-umbrella/-177796470056330452.html

4th Annual Abortion 'Bowl-a-thon' breaks fundraising record, raises $500K to help poor women, girls buy abortions

2013-05-17T18:34:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNS News reports:

An abortion fundraising group held its annual “Bowl-a-Thon” in April, raising more than $500,000 to “help women and girls pay for abortions they couldn’t otherwise afford.”

The fourth annual “National Abortion Access Bowl-a-Thon” broke fundraising records with a total of $552,498 raised.

“THANK YOU for making the Fourth Annual National Abortion Access Bowl-a-Thon such a success!” the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF), which sponsors the event, wrote on its website. “Together, you raised over a HALF A MILLION DOLLARS for abortion access—nearly $50,000 more than the initial goal”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/4th-Annual-Abortion-Bowl-a-thon-breaks-fundraising-record,-raises-$500K-to-help-poor-women,-girls-buy-abortions/917407059975805884.html

Poll: 90 percent think IRS scandal hurts Obama

2013-05-17T18:33:00Z

Posted By: Staff

According to a National Journal survey of top Democratic and Republican insiders overwhelming majorities in both parties say that the IRS scandal has hurt President Obama. Ninety percent of Democrats and 91 percent of Republicans say that the President has suffered at least some damage while 50 percent of Democrats and 77 percent of Republicans say the scandal has done serious damage to Obama.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Poll:-90-percent-think-IRS-scandal-hurts-Obama/-493819323612953521.html

DOJ wiretapped congressmen too

2013-05-16T15:22:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Weekly Standard reports:

California congressman Devin Nunes made the claim yesterday that the Justice Department wiretapped telephones in the House of Representative's Cloak Room, an exclusive part of the Capitol where members are able to privately interact with one another. Nunes made the claim on Hugh Hewitt's radio show.

"I don’t trust the Department of Justice on this," said Hewitt, referring to the subpoenas the Justice Department to obtain the Associated Press's phone records. "Do you, Congressman Nunes?"

"No, I absolutely do not, especially after this wiretapping incident, essentially, of the House of Representative. I don’t think people are focusing on the right thing when they talk about going after the AP reporters. The big problem that I see is that they actually tapped right where I’m sitting right now, the Cloak Room," Nunes respond.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/DOJ-wiretapped-congressmen-too/545911348552943515.html

Petraeus was against talking points

2013-05-16T15:21:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox reports:

Then CIA-Director David Petraeus objected to the final talking points the Obama administration used after the deadly assault on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, because he wanted to see more details revealed to the public, according to emails released Wednesday by the White House.

Under pressure in the investigation that continues eight months after the attacks, the White House on Wednesday released 99 pages of emails and a single page of hand-written notes made by Petraeus' deputy, Mike Morell, after a meeting at the White House on Saturday, Sept. 15. On that page, Morell scratched out from the CIA's early drafts of talking points mentions of al-Qaida, the experience of fighters in Libya, Islamic extremists and a warning to the Cairo embassy on the eve of the attacks of calls for a demonstration and break-in by jihadists.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Petraeus-was-against-talking-points/737681725688623409.html

Rice gets a promotion?

2013-05-16T15:21:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Foreign Policy.com reports:

Insiders with ties to the Obama administration tell The Cable that U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice has become the heir apparent to National Security Advisor Tom Donilon -- a post at the epicenter of foreign-policy decision making and arguably more influential than secretary of state, a job for which she withdrew her candidacy last fall amid severe political pressure.

"It's definitely happening," a source who recently spoke with Rice told The Cable. "She is sure she is coming and so too her husband and closest friends."

"Susan is a very likely candidate to replace him whenever he would choose to leave," agreed Dennis Ross, a former special assistant to President Obama and counselor at the Washington Institute. "She is close to the president, has the credentials, and has a breadth of experience."

Both sources said the timing of succession was uncertain. "I don't believe Tom Donilon is about to leave but would be surprised if he were to remain for the whole second term," Ross said. "But in answer to your question, [Rice's appointment] is very logical."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Rice-gets-a-promotion/38796214458035626.html

No special counsel for Benghazi

2013-05-16T15:19:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Breitbart reports:

Breitbart News has obtained an exclusive video of Attorney General Eric Holder flatly rejecting the idea of appointing a special counsel to investigate Benghazi.

Filmed on May 15 and provided to Breitbart News by Special Operations Speaks, the video shows Holder emerge from his car and walk towards the Rayburn House Office Building for hearings on the IRS scandal. Holder is clearly asked, "Mr. Holder, will you appoint a Special Counsel to investigate Benghazi?"

In equally clear tones, Holder answers, "No," and disappears into the building.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/No-special-counsel-for-Benghazi/689191699211397341.html

Emails explicitly contradict previous claims

2013-05-16T15:19:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Weekly Standard reports:

The White House on Wednesday released 94 pages of emails between top administration and intelligence officials who helped shape the talking points about the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that the CIA would provide to policymakers in both the legislative and executive branches.

The documents, first reported by THE WEEKLY STANDARD in articles here and here, directly contradict claims by White House press secretary Jay Carney and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the revisions of those talking points were driven by the intelligence community and show heavy input from top Obama administration officials, particularly those at the State Department.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Emails-explicitly-contradict-previous-claims/989808213044547186.html

Gap in emails from WH

2013-05-16T15:18:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

The Benghazi-related emails released by the White House late May 15 exclude the critical emails between administration officials that were sent during the crucial first two days after the deadly jihadi attack that killed four Americans last September.

The 100 pages of partially redacted emails also conclude with a dismissive message from CIA chief David Petraeus.

“Frankly, I’d just as soon not use this,” Petraeus said about the heavily edited, four-sentence “talking points” that the White House used to downplay Al Qaeda’s role in the Sep. 11 attack on the poorly protected diplomatic compound.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Gap-in-emails-from-WH/722392440396311488.html

IRS denied tax-exempt status to pro-lifers for Planned Parenthood

2013-05-16T12:41:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Examiner reports:

IRS officials refused to grant tax exempt status two pro-life organizations because of their position on the abortion issue, according to a non-profit law firm, which said that one group was pressured not to protest a pro-choice organization that endorsed President Obama during the last election. “In one case, the IRS withheld approval of an application for tax exempt status for Coalition for Life of Iowa. In a phone call to Coalition for Life of Iowa leaders on June 6, 2009, the IRS agent ‘Ms. Richards’ told the group to send a letter to the IRS with the entire board’s signatures stating that, under perjury of the law, they do not picket/protest or organize groups to picket or protest outside of Planned Parenthood,” the Thomas More Society announced today . “Once the IRS received this letter, their application would be approved.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/IRS-denied-tax-exempt-status-to-pro-lifers-for-Planned-Parenthood/602054582912621846.html

6 people jailed for insulting Bahrain's king on Twitter

2013-05-16T02:13:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Post reports:

A Bahraini court jailed six people for a year on Wednesday for insulting King Hamad bin Issa al Khalifa in messages on the microblogging site Twitter, the official news agency said.

The six were accused of writing remarks "undermining the values and traditions of Bahrain's society towards the king on Twitter," the Bahrain News Agency quoted the head of the public prosecutor's office, Nayef Youssef, as saying in a statement.

He said freedom of opinion and expression were guaranteed by the Gulf Arab island state's constitution, law and international conventions, but should not be used in a way that contradicted the norms of society.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/6-people-jailed-for-insulting-Bahrains-king-on-Twitter/-556112912196569409.html

Senate Dems pushed for IRS tea party snooping

2013-05-16T00:11:00Z

Posted By: Staff

US News reports:

With Washington gripped by a trio of exploding scandals this week – from Benghazi to government spying on news outlets to thug tactics by the Internal Revenue Service – Senate Democrats seem to be hoping that if they just yell loud enough then voters will overlook a key role they played in at least one of them.

They quickly sensed the political toxicity associated with Friday's admission by the IRS that they selectively targeted conservative organizations for special government scrutiny, and so Democrats didn't waste any time springing into action. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana, for example, vowed congressional hearings and called the IRS actions "an outrageous abuse of power and a breach of the public's trust."

He was joined by a chorus of other Democrats including Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire who called it "completely unacceptable," Kay Hagan of North Carolina who called it "disturbing and troubling," and Mark Pryor of Arkansas who tweeted that he's "working to get to bottom of this so we can fire those responsible & ensure this never happens again."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Senate-Dems-pushed-for-IRS-tea-party-snooping/317754236575256104.html

Stuck Documentary

2013-05-15T16:13:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Click for more info on the film.

They speak a different language, but it’s easy to understand what they want. They are children in Haiti, Central America, and Asia who all want parents.

Parents, just like Michael and Kimberly Stewart in Austin. The couple discovered their son, Kelly, in Haiti a few years ago.

“I got to the bottom of the stairs and looked across the toddler room and saw him,” said Michael, talking about one of the first times he met Kelly in a Haiti orphanage.

After prayer, piles of paperwork and thousands of dollars in fees later, the Haiti orphanage approved moving forward with his adoption.

Two years later though, Kelly remains stuck thousands of miles away from the two people he considers his parents.

Kimberly says visiting him every few months helps, but it’s confusing to their son.

“These trips are wonderful, and I wouldn’t not go because you’re bonding. But the more you bond, the harder it gets to say bye because you’re family and you realize it’s not right and he realizes it’s not right,” Kimberly said.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Stuck-Documentary/-896461721163561032.html

WH knows how to do nothing if not blame others

2013-05-15T16:10:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Weekly Standard:

"David, it's a lot, especially when you begin with Benghazi, move on into the IRS, and now AP/FBI," said anchor Brian Williams. "I looked up in the cable coverage this afternoon, [it] was asking, is this the curse of a second term?"

"Well, there's some of that and this is a trifecta that really goes to the president's trust, that goes to the question of incompetence within the administration," said Gregory. "The IRS issue stands out to advisers I've talked to in the White House to outside allies, to the president. They say this is so egregious, something has to be done. There's frustration I can tell you within the administration that more was not done within the Treasury Department to deal with this a little bit more quickly."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/WH-knows-how-to-do-nothing-if-not-blame-others/546068352631267563.html

Holder follows Obama in playing the blame game

2013-05-15T16:09:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Mail reports:

Attorney General Eric Holder went on the defensive on Tuesday explaining why the Justice Department secretly obtained two months worth of reporters' telephone records in an 'unprecedented' search for a confidential source.

'This was a very serious leak and a very, very serious leak,' Holder said at a press conference explaining the department's actions which have been criticized for going against the constitutional right to a free press.

Holder said that he recused himself from the making the controversial decision to subpoena the phone records of Associated Press journalists, saying that it was made by Deputy Attorney General James Cole.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Holder-follows-Obama-in-playing-the-blame-game/249962892117810777.html

IRS wants to know what you ate for breakfast

2013-05-15T16:08:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico:

The Internal Revenue Service asked tea party groups to see donor rolls.

It asked for printouts of Facebook posts.

And it asked what books people were reading.

A POLITICO review of documents from 11 tea party and conservative groups that the IRS scrutinized in 2012 shows the agency wanted to know everything — in some cases, it even seemed curious what members were thinking. The review included interviews with groups or their representatives from Hawaii, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas and elsewhere.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/IRS-wants-to-know-what-you-ate-for-breakfast/-388772797107725855.html

IRS ordered conserv. ed. group to turn over a list of HS & college kids trained

2013-05-15T11:51:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Mail reports:

When a Tennessee lawyer asked the IRS for tax-exempt status for a mentoring group that trained high school and college students about conservative political philosophy, the agency responded with a list of 95 questions in 31 parts, including an ultimatum for a list of everyone the group had trained, or planned to train.

'Provide details regarding all training you have provided or will provide,' the IRS demanded. 'Indicate who has received or will receive the training and submit copies of the training material.'

That question was part of the tax collection agency's February 14, 2012 letter to Kevin Kookogey. founder of the group Linchpins of Liberty. He had submitted his application 13 months earlier.

'Can you imagine my responsibility to parents if I disclosed the names of their children to the IRS?' he asked MailOnline.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/IRS-ordered-conserv.-ed.-group-to-turn-over-a-list-of-HS--college-kids-trained/-200801014385172412.html

Obama's dangerous new narrative

2013-05-15T11:39:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

No contemporary American politician has benefited more from the power of good storytelling than Barack Obama. He vaulted from obscurity to the presidency on the power of narrative — invoking his biography and personal values to make a larger point about how he would lead the nation.

So presumably no one understands more vividly than Obama and his close aides just how toxic and potentially paralyzing his situation has become this spring, as four distinct ethical and policy controversies have simultaneously converged.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obamas-dangerous-new-narrative/948054541749803962.html

FAA bonuses and the sequester

2013-05-15T01:02:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Airline passengers were plenty angry last month when the Federal Aviation Administration chose to impose flight delays rather than accept modest and more sensible budget cuts. Those passengers will now be thrilled to learn what the FAA was funding instead of air-traffic control.

According to an internal FAA document we've obtained, on January 14 Administrator Michael Huerta notified employees that the FAA would soon award bonuses. Organizational Success Increases (OSIs) boosted salaries by 1% and the pay hikes from Superior Contribution Increases (SCIs) ranged from 0.6% to 1.8%. The bonus programs were available to most FAA employees. Allegedly short of cash, the FAA would subsequently impose its version of "organizational success" on departure terminals across the country. Agency staff began receiving their expanded paychecks in February, a mere two months before the flight delays that Mr. Huerta would claim were the unavoidable result of the federal budget sequester.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/FAA-bonuses-and-the-sequester/-261485876257017985.html

Jeff Sessions versus the open borders gang

2013-05-14T21:09:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Sen. Jeff Sessions is frustrated.

The Alabama Republican and chief opponent of the Senate's bipartisan immigration bill has found little success at the two recent hearings to consider amendments to said bill.

That's largely because members of the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" have been able to accomplish their stated goal of defeating amendments designed to gut this legislation, which include some from Sessions.

It helps that Democrats outnumber Republicans on the Judiciary Committee, where amendments to the bill are being considered. But even Republicans who are likely to join Sessions in voting against the final bill aren't on board with all of his ideas on immigration.

The entire committee, save Sessions, voted against a Sessions amendment that would have restricted the number of people eligible to enter the U.S. on green cards and work visas. The amendment would have capped the number of legal immigrants at 33 million over 10 years. The proposal was voted down 17-1.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a vocal opponent of the "Gang of Eight" bill, rejected the notion that the government should significantly restrict the future flow of immigrants.

"We need to remain a nation that not just welcomes, but celebrates legal immigrants," Cruz said. "I think we should expand legal immigration but do so in conjunction with putting real teeth on border [enforcement]."

Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), a Republican on the "Gang of Eight," offered up a master class in trolling by claiming that Sessions agreed with "people on the Democratic side," including labor unions, on lower future flow.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Jeff-Sessions-versus-the-open-borders-gang/-712715286672017223.html

IRS intimidation forced founder to shut down tea party group

2013-05-14T19:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Breitbart reports:

The IRS scandal is growing by leaps and bounds in a way that must be terrifying to an Administration already dealing with fallout from the uncovering of their Libya lies and the knowledge that the Department of Justice seized the phone records of 20 Associated Press reporters. Tuesday morning, ABC News revealed what might have been the political motivation behind the IRS's decision to target Tea party groups -- to ensure they weren't as effective in 2012 as they were in 2010.

In the 2010 midterms, even the media that despises the Tea Party will admit that the nationwide grassroots movement was a major factor behind record GOP electoral gains. By the time the smoke cleared, Obama had lost the House and his filibuster-proof majority in the United States Senate.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/IRS-intimidation-forced-founder-to-shut-down-tea-party-group/-333851987633314816.html

Scientists track giant whales by their earthshaking calls

2013-05-14T19:24:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Seattle Times reports:

At first, the whale chatter was just a nuisance.

When Seattle scientists set out to monitor earthquakes off the Northwest coast, they expected their underwater seismometers to occasionally pick up the booming voice of the fin whale — the second-largest creature on Earth. But what they wound up with was such a cacophony that they had trouble zeroing in on the actual tremors.

“It was a very big pain,” said William Wilcock, a marine geophysicist at the University of Washington.

To separate tens of thousands of small quakes from hundreds of thousands of whale calls, he and his students were forced to write their own automated program. Now, they’re mining that mountain of discarded data for insights into one of the sea’s least-known and most endangered giants.

“Basically, we can track the whales using techniques very similar to the ones we use to locate earthquakes,” Wilcock said.

Second only to blue whales in size, fin whales remain shrouded in mystery because they’re so challenging to study. Nobody knows where they give birth or even why they sing.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Scientists-track-giant-whales-by-their-earthshaking-calls/94329972565239421.html

POTUS blames Rush for gridlock

2013-05-14T15:40:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Atlantic Wire reports:

President Obama told donors like Jessica Biel, Justin Timberlake (who was wearing hipster glasses), and Tommy Hilfiger that Washington gridlock is pretty much Rush Limbaugh's fault on Monday evening at a fundraiser at Harvey Weinstein's house in New York's Greenwich Village. Obama admitted that his theory — that after the 2012 election, the Republican "fever" would break, and they'd decide to co-sign some of his agenda — was wrong. "My thinking was when we beat them in 2012 that might break the fever, and it’s not quite broken yet," Obama said, according to the White House pool report. This is because of a certain corpulent radio host. "I genuinely believe there are Republicans out there who would like to work with us but they’re fearful of their base and they’re concerned about what Rush Limbaugh might say about them. And as a consequence we get the kind of gridlock that makes people cynical about government."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/POTUS-blames-Rush-for-gridlock/-261784900002901920.html

Obama's claim he called Benghazi an 'act of terrorism' 4 Pinnochios

2013-05-14T15:39:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Post reports:

Once again, it appears that we must parse a few presidential words. We went through this question at length during the 2012 election, but perhaps a refresher course is in order.

Notably, during a debate with Republican nominee Mitt Romney, President Obama said that he immediately told the American people that the killing of the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in Libya “was an act of terror.” But now he says he called it “an act of terrorism.”

Some readers may object to this continuing focus on words, but presidential aides spend a lot of time on words. Words have consequences. Is there a difference between “act of terror” and “act of terrorism”?

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obamas-claim-he-called-Benghazi-an-act-of-terrorism-4-Pinnochios/436257418738381199.html

Wasn't really just 'low level IRS workers'

2013-05-14T15:38:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Reuters reports:

Higher-level Internal Revenue Service officials took part in discussions as far back as August 2011 about targeting by lower-level tax agents of "Tea Party" and other conservative groups, according to documents reviewed by Reuters on Monday.

The documents show the offices of the IRS's chief counsel and deputy commissioner for services and enforcement communicated about the targeting with lower-level officials on August 4, 2011, and March 8, 2012, respectively.

The two communications occurred weeks and months before Doug Shulman, then the commissioner of the IRS, told congressional panels in late March 2012 that no groups were being targeted for extra scrutiny by the tax agency.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Wasnt-really-just-low-level-IRS-workers/288035862833296565.html

Sweeping subpoenas for source records at AP

2013-05-14T15:38:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Post reports:

In a sweeping and unusual move, the Justice Department secretly obtained two months’ worth of telephone records of journalists working for the Associated Press as part of a year-long investigation into the disclosure of classified information about a failed al-Qaeda plot last year.

The AP’s president said Monday that federal authorities obtained cellular, office and home telephone records of individual reporters and an editor; AP general office numbers in Washington, New York and Hartford, Conn.; and the main number for AP reporters covering Congress. He called the Justice Department’s actions a “massive and unprecedented intrusion” into newsgathering activities.

The aggressive investigation into the possible disclosure of classified information to the AP is part of a pattern in which the Obama administration has pursued current and former government officials suspected of releasing secret material. Six officials have been prosecuted, more than under all previous administrations combined.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Sweeping-subpoenas-for-source-records-at-AP/-732799655648906254.html

And when it rains, apparently it pours on BHO

2013-05-14T15:37:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

Scandal politics are sweeping Capitol Hill.

Just days after news broke that the IRS targeted conservative nonprofits, Speaker John Boehner’s House committees will morph into mock courtrooms where the White House will be the defendant in what amounts to a number of high-stakes political trials.

The most recent scandal to grip the Obama administration came Monday evening, when The Associated Press disclosed that the Justice Department sought its reporters’ phone records — including those of correspondents who sit in the Capitol. Within hours, House Republicans vowed to investigate. To make things worse for President Barack Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder is scheduled to be on Capitol Hill Wednesday for a House Judiciary Committee hearing.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/And-when-it-rains,-apparently-it-pours-on-BHO/-537566122542087519.html

The 55 questions the IRS asked one tea party group

2013-05-14T01:56:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Mail reports:

The Internal Revenue Service wrote to the Richmond Tea Party last year demanding to know the names of all its financial donors and volunteers, as part of a 55-question inquisition into its application for tax-exempt status, MailOnline has learned.

The agency wanted to know 'the names of the donors, contributors, and grantors' for every year 'from inception to the present.'

It also demanded 'the amounts of each of the donations, contributions, and grants and the dates you received them.'

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/The-55-questions-the-IRS-asked-one-tea-party-group/127908063305086244.html

Chinese automakers quietly making presence felt in Detroit

2013-05-13T16:07:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Times reports:

Dozens of companies from China are putting down roots in Detroit, part of the country’s steady push into the American auto industry.

Chinese-owned companies are investing in American businesses and new vehicle technology, selling everything from seat belts to shock absorbers in retail stores, and hiring experienced engineers and designers in an effort to soak up the talent and expertise of domestic automakers and their suppliers.

While starting with batteries and auto parts, the spread of Chinese business is expected to result eventually in the sale of Chinese cars in the United States.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Chinese-automakers-quietly-making-presence-felt-in-Detroit/-459274120766259918.html

Children and guns: the fear and the reality

2013-05-13T11:50:00Z

Posted By: Staff

National Review reports:

Should you ask your neighbors if they own a gun before your child plays at their house? And what do you do if they say yes?

After the tragic accidental death this month of a two-year-old Kentucky girl who had been shot by her five-year-old brother, the answer may seem obvious: Do not let your child play at a gun owner’s home, at least if you are not sure he is locking up his guns.

This shooting came just a couple of days after a prominent opinion piece in the Motherlode blog at the New York Times, in which a parent, Lisa Maxbauer, worried about her six-year-old’s visiting homes of gun owners. Another recent article at CNN, by Judith Palfrey, warned readers: “Never keep a loaded gun in the house or the car,” and “guns and ammunition should be locked away safely in separate locations in the house.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Children-and-guns:-the-fear-and-the-reality/430186744614337571.html

Wider problems found at IRS

2013-05-13T11:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

The Internal Revenue Service's scrutiny of conservative groups went beyond those with "tea party" or "patriot" in their names—as the agency admitted Friday—to also include ones worried about government spending, debt or taxes, and even ones that lobbied to "make America a better place to live," according to new details of a government probe.

The investigation also revealed that a high-ranking IRS official knew as early as mid-2011 that conservative groups were being inappropriately targeted—nearly a year before then-IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman told a congressional committee the agency wasn't targeting conservative groups.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Wider-problems-found-at-IRS/-638947072819758270.html

Issa plans depositions for Mullen, Pickering

2013-05-13T11:44:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP reports:

The Republican chairman of the House oversight panel is asking a veteran diplomat and a former chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff for sworn testimony about their investigation into the deaths of four Americans at a diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya.

Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, planned on Monday to seek depositions from retired Ambassador Thomas Pickering and retired Adm. Mike Mullen. Issa, who is leading Republicans' investigations into the attacks on a State Department consulate last September, said he wants to know with whom the pair spoke to reach their conclusion that then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton did not direct the response to the pair of nighttime attacks in Libya.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Issa-plans-depositions-for-Mullen,-Pickering/-576811773686738139.html

Chinafornia? Sacramento seeks trade ties with Chinese city

2013-05-13T11:42:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Sacramento Bee reports:

Nearly three dozen officials from the city of Sacramento, local food and agricultural companies, and clean technology firms will head to Chongqing, China, this week to take part in a trade and commerce show held annually in the massive business hub.

The delegation is an extension of the city's growing relationship with Chongqing, a municipality of nearly 30 million people in southwest China that serves as a major manufacturing and commercial center.

Last July, Sacramento – spearheaded by former Councilman Rob Fong – signed a memorandum of understanding with Wang Yi, the president of the Chongqing Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Commission. The agreement sought to develop business and educational ties between the cities.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Chinafornia-Sacramento-seeks-trade-ties-with-Chinese-city/757480324148902141.html

School driver accused of bus abuse

2013-05-13T02:50:00Z

Posted By: Staff

ABC reports:

A Polk County, Fla. school bus driver who allegedly set up a fight between two teenage passengers and encouraged them to brawl in the front yard of her home is in custody, charged with two counts of child abuse, according to the county sheriff's office.

Authorities said Patrice Sanders, 29, of Lakeland, Fla., was driving students home from three different Bartow, Fla. area schools when she spotted two girls arguing in the back of the bus Thursday afternoon.

"This is going to be handled today and they just need to fight," Sanders reportedly said.

Instead of making her normal route, Sanders allegedly skipped the rest of the bus stops, drove 20 miles to her home, and ordered all 34 students on board to get off the bus. She reportedly even offered the 13-year-old and the 16-year-old who she thought needed to duke it out Vaseline or baby oil so they wouldn't scratch their faces.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/School-driver-accused-of-bus-abuse/-993820663912631062.html

Ga. HS teens suspended for getting pierced in locker room

2013-05-13T02:49:00Z

Posted By: Staff

ABC reports:

Four teenage girls at an Atlanta high school were suspended after they snuck away to the gym locker room to endure amateur tongue, navel, and lip piercings during school hours.

Reon Grinage, 14, told ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB-TV that a friend of hers came to Cross Keys High School with a piercing kit she ordered off the Internet.

One day after gym class, the two teenagers, as well as two other girls, waited in the locker room. But instead of changing from their gym clothes to their school clothes to go to lunch, the four hung back to get pierced.

"She was like, 'Do you want to do it?' I was like, 'Sure.' And she had the whole kit and everything," Grinage told WSB-TV.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Ga.-HS-teens-suspended-for-getting-pierced-in-locker-room/289793427680021.html

Danger ahead: Colo. leftwing coup a blueprint for US

2013-05-11T14:04:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Examiner reports:

When the gun control debate began in the Colorado legislature nearly two months ago, many residents in the state were left scratching their heads, wondering how their state fell into the hands of leftwing extremists who not only disregard gun rights but encourage one another to ignore the protests, emails, phone calls, and letters from constituents.

"What on earth has happened to my state?" one Colorado resident asked in despair.

It turns out that what happened in Colorado was not a spontaneous reaction to criminal violence but the consequence of a longterm, planned strategy among Democratic operatives to oust conservatives from office and replace them with leftwing extremists.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Danger-ahead:-Colo.-leftwing-coup-a-blueprint-for-US/267868939704337488.html

Whistleblower demoted for fighting for truth

2013-05-10T14:55:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Times reports:

A veteran diplomat gave a riveting minute-by-minute account on Wednesday of the lethal terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, last Sept. 11 and described its contentious aftermath at a charged Congressional hearing that reflected the weighty political stakes perceived by both parties.

During a chaotic night at the American Embassy in Tripoli, hundreds of miles away, the diplomat, Gregory Hicks, got what he called “the saddest phone call I’ve ever had in my life” informing him that Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens was dead and that he was now the highest-ranking American in Libya. For his leadership that night when four Americans were killed, Mr. Hicks said in nearly six hours of testimony, he subsequently received calls from both Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and President Obama.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Whistleblower-demoted-for-fighting-for-truth/-998490365773788514.html

Dems continue to deny Benghazi

2013-05-10T14:54:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Boston Globe reports:

Politicians love few things better than a scandal to trip up their opponents, and Republicans hope last year’s fatal attack on U.S. diplomats in Libya will do exactly that to Hillary Rodham Clinton and other Democrats.

History suggests it might be a tough lift. The issue is complex, the next presidential election is more than three years away, and a number of reports and officials have disputed criticisms of Clinton’s role when she was secretary of state.

Still, Republicans and conservative talk hosts are hammering away at Clinton’s and the Obama administration’s handling of the 8-month-old tragedy. A daylong House Oversight Committee hearing Wednesday starred three State Department officials invited by Republicans.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Dems-continue-to-deny-Benghazi/-631079707644776418.html

Death to kidnappers

2013-05-10T14:53:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CBS News reports:

An Ohio prosecutor says he may seek the death penalty against the man accused of imprisoning three women at his home for about a decade for forcing them to suffer miscarriages.

Cuyahoga County prosecutor Thomas McGinty says Ohio law calls for the death penalty for the "most depraved criminals who commit aggravated murder during the course of a kidnapping." He says aggravated murder charges could be filed related to pregnancies terminated by force.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Death-to-kidnappers/-583165905873372109.html

OUTRAGE! Obama administration allowed radical cleric to curse US Navy SEAL heroes at funeral services

2013-05-10T12:06:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Gateway Pundit reports:

Today three families of Navy SEAL Team VI special forces servicemen, along with one family of an Army National Guardsman, appeared at a press conference to disclose never before revealed information about how and why their sons along with 26 others died in a fatal helicopter crash in Afghanistan on August 6, 2011. This was just months after the successful raid on the Bin Laden compound in Pakistan.

At the press conference today the families released video on how military brass, while prohibiting any mention of a Judeo-Christian God, invited a Muslim cleric to the funeral for the fallen Navy SEAL Team VI heroes. This cleric disparaged in Arabic the memory of these servicemen by damning them as infidels to Allah. A video of the Muslim cleric’s “prayer” was shown this morning with a certified translation.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/OUTRAGE!-Obama-administration-allowed-radical-cleric-to-curse-US-Navy-SEAL-heroes-at-funeral-services/-157048683743436769.html

Sorry college grads, I probably won't hire you

2013-05-10T02:33:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal:

Dear college graduates:

The next month is going to be thrilling as you cross this major milestone in your education. Enjoy the pomp and circumstance, the congratulations, and the parties. But when it's all over and you're ready to go out into the world, you'd probably like to meet me, or others like me—I'm your next potential dream boss. I run a cool, rapidly growing company in the digital field, where the work is interesting and rewarding. But I've got to be honest about some unfortunate news: I'm probably not going to hire you.

This isn't because I don't have positions that need filling. On the contrary, I'm constantly searching for talented new employees, and if someone with the right skills walked into my office, he or she would likely leave it with a very compelling offer. The problem is that the right skills are very hard to find. And I'm sorry to say it, dear graduates, but you probably don't have them.

In part, it's not your fault. If you grew up and went to school in the United States, you were educated in a system that has eight times as many high-school football teams as high schools that teach advanced placement computer-science classes. Things are hardly better in the universities. According to one recent report, in the next decade American colleges will mint 40,000 graduates with a bachelor's degree in computer science, though the U.S. economy is slated to create 120,000 computing jobs that require such degrees. You don't have to be a math major to do the math: That's three times as many jobs as we have people qualified to fill them.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Sorry-college-grads,-I-probably-wont-hire-you/-116987975110839252.html

Obama orders top aides to praise Obamacare during commencement speeches

2013-05-09T20:46:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Examiner reports:

President Obama has ordered his Cabinet officials to praise Obamacare when giving speeches at college commencement ceremonies, even as the president’s aides fear that poor implementation of the law will tarnish his legacy.

“To counter the criticism, the White House has told all Cabinet members and senior officials to use commencement speeches to drive home for graduating college students and their parents the benefits they gain from a provision of the law that allows young adults to stay on their family’s insurance plans until they turn 26,” Bloomberg reports.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., did her part to tout the law to young people Thursday. “That’s a big thing for a young person coming out of school,” she said of the new rule allowing children to stay on their parents’ insurance policies during her weekly press briefing. “We just think it’s really going to be liberating.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-orders-top-aides-to-praise-Obamacare-during-commencement-speeches/-612632592413741567.html

Bill gives DHS Sec. 'virtually unlimited discretion to waive any manner of crimes

2013-05-09T16:59:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNS News reports:

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) entered a letter from law enforcement officials nationwide warning of the dangers of the immigration bill S.744 into the judiciary committee record today.

The letter To Congress from the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Council of the American Federation of Government Employees Affiliated with AFL-CIO warns of the discretionary power the bill gives to “political appointees” and takes away from law enforcers:

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Bill-gives-DHS-Sec.-virtually-unlimited-discretion-to-waive-any-manner-of-crimes/838602089909268211.html

Media continues to coverup Benghazi

2013-05-09T16:02:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News reports:

In the real world, when you cover up four murders after the fact, you likely go to jail. In government, you retire with dignity and run for president with full media support.

Up until yesterday, that was the Benghazi scenario following the death of four Americans including our ambassador to Libya.

The Obama administration has lied, stonewalled, bullied, and intimidated – the true marks of an open and transparent administration. And, with a few notable exceptions, the American media haven’t just let them get away it. Heck, they’ve helped.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Media-continues-to-coverup-Benghazi/443308646180403360.html

Pundits say POTUS resignation to come

2013-05-09T16:01:00Z

Posted By: Staff

World Net Daily:

To this day, it is not known what role President Richard Nixon played in the break-in at the Watergate Hotel, but the tape recordings from the White House confirm he and Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman discussed using the CIA to slow down the FBI investigation.

It was the cover-up, as history records, that eventually brought about Nixon’s resignation in disgrace.

Now, Congress is investigating an alleged cover-up of the terrorist attack Sept. 11, 2012, on the U.S. foreign service facility in Benghazi, Libya, amid predictions from prominent voices that the scandal will bring down the Obama administration.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Pundits-say-POTUS-resignation-to-come/-516188389195306790.html

White House tries to blow off hearings

2013-05-09T16:00:00Z

Posted By: Staff

USA Today reports:

The White House said the Benghazi hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday is covering old ground, and is the result of efforts by some Republicans to politicize the Sept. 11 attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Libya.

"There are attempts to politicize this," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.

Carney spoke as the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on the attack last September that led to the deaths of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, a committee member, said witnesses will show how the country was misled by the Obama administration about the events leading up to the attack in Libya and the handling of it afterward.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/White-House-tries-to-blow-off-hearings/337491638484233226.html

Hearings in full swing, but yahoo's front page is bomber burial

2013-05-09T16:00:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Yahoo News:

Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev has been buried in an undisclosed location outside the city of Worcester, police said Thursday after a frustrating weeklong search for a community willing to take the body.

"As a result of our public appeal for help, a courageous and compassionate individual came forward to provide the assistance needed to properly bury the deceased," Worcester police said in a statement.

Sgt. Kerry Hazelhurst said the body was no longer in Worcester and is now entombed. Police did not specify where the body was taken.

Tsarnaev's body had been at the Graham Putnam & Mahoney Funeral Parlors. Director Peter Stefan had said he could not find a community willing to take the body, including Cambridge, where the family had lived for a decade. Tsarnaev's uncle, Ruslan Tsarni, had custody of the body.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Hearings-in-full-swing,-but-yahoos-front-page-is-bomber-burial/553441227826226628.html

Hicks says he is 'stunned' at video explanation

2013-05-09T15:59:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The BBC reports:

Gregory Hicks, deputy chief of mission in Tripoli, said he was "stunned" by UN Ambassador Susan Rice's comments that the attack was spontaneous.

He also told lawmakers he received a phone call from US Envoy Christopher Stevens, just before he died.

Three other Americans were killed in the attack on 11 September 2012. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote

My jaw dropped and I was embarrassed”

Gregory Hicks on his reaction to Susan Rice's comments

During several hours of emotional testimony before a House of Representatives committee on Wednesday, Mr Hicks described the moment he was informed of the attack.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Hicks-says-he-is-stunned-at-video-explanation/482734212170042632.html

Washington Post takes time to defend administration

2013-05-09T15:58:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Post reports:

Gregory Hicks, the deputy chief of mission in Libya at the time of the attack, testified that it was clear from his perspective that this was a terrorist attack. The last words he heard from J. Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador who was killed in the attack, were: “Greg, we’re under attack.”

But the attack occurred shortly after violent protests outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, which muddied the news reporting and may have shaped official perceptions.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Washington-Post-takes-time-to-defend-administration/-899495096741778618.html

Syria silencing rebel communications?

2013-05-08T16:35:00Z

Posted By: Staff

BBC News reports:

The internet in Syria appears to have returned after a nationwide blackout knocked the country offline for more than 19 hours.

Monitoring company Renesys noted signs of activity at around 14:30 GMT (17:30 local time) on Wednesday.

Local state-run media had reported earlier that a "fault in optical fibre cables" was to blame for the blackout.

However, experts dismissed this explanation as "unlikely".

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Syria-silencing-rebel-communications/412469074498111664.html

Obama makes no strides by dining with Dems

2013-05-08T16:34:00Z

Posted By: Staff

USA Today reports:

President Obama's legislative dinner diplomacy continues Wednesday evening, this time with House Democrats.

The president, who has dined twice previously with groups of Senate Republicans, breaks bread with House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and some of her top lieutenants.

The budget and debt reduction are likely topics of discussion. So are immigration and gun control.

Perhaps also on the agenda: The 2014 congressional elections, as Democrats seek to regain control of the U.S. House and again make Pelosi the speaker of the House.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-makes-no-strides-by-dining-with-Dems/-623366785252562465.html

Hagel trying to serve as distraction from Benghazi

2013-05-08T16:32:00Z

Posted By: Staff

ABC News reports:

The growing problem of sexual assault in the armed forces could threaten the military's ability to do its job and to recruit strong candidates to serve their country, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said today.

The issue took center stage in Washington after the arrest of the officer who ran the Air Force's sexual assault prevention office on a sexual battery charge was confirmed Monday, a day before the Pentagon released a report that found sexual assaults in the military have risen 6 percent.

The arrest this past weekend in Arlington, Va., of Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, who headed the Air Force's office of sexual assault prevention, sparked outrage about the military's response to sexual assault among service members. He was removed from his post on Monday after the Air Force found out about his arrest.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Hagel-trying-to-serve-as-distraction-from-Benghazi/-17918036394374318.html

911 operator's behavior under fire

2013-05-08T16:32:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News reports:

The 911 call made by Amanda Berry, one of three kidnap victims who police say were held in a Cleveland basement for a decade, is under review after possible procedural errors by the dispatcher.

"While the call-taker complied with policies and procedures which enabled a very fast response by police, we have noted some concerns which will be the focus of our review, including the call-taker's failure to remain on the line with Ms. Berry until police arrived on the scene," Martin L. Flask, the director of the Cleveland Department of Public Safety told Fox8.com.

In the 911 transcript, the operator interacts with Berry. At one point, after Berry asks for a police, the operator responds, "We're going to send them as soon as we get a car open."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/911-operators-behavior-under-fire/30672900012332532.html

There could be more kidnap victims

2013-05-08T16:31:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News reports:

Cleveland police are searching properties Wednesday morning near the home called a 'house of horrors' after they were reportedly alerted by one of the kidnap victims that there may be more women.

Details of a possible fourth victim came to light during police interviews with the oldest victim, Michelle Knight, who reportedly said there was another girl at the home about 10 years ago, but disappeared.

In 2007, Ashley Summers, a 14 year old, disappeared in the same neighborhood. Initially it was believed Summers was a runaway but a few years later, police saw a potential link with the other missing girls.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/There-could-be-more-kidnap-victims/507453090855605913.html

Barkley: "I played with gay players." (The nation yawns.)

2013-05-08T16:13:00Z

Posted By: Staff

NBC Sports reports:

Jason Collins became the first openly homosexual athlete in major American team sports when he wrote an account in Sports Illustrated describing his experiences as a gay player in the NBA. The 12-year-veteran contacted the magazine because he wanted to use their forum as the platform to tell the world his story.

On April 29th, Dan Patrick broke the story of Collins coming out, and it immediately rose to the top of the sports news cycle.

The response to Collins’ decision has been overwhelmingly positive, but the concept of playing with a gay player is still a major talking point across the world of sports. Former NBA star Charles Barkley joined The Dan Patrick Show and talked about Collins’ decision to come out, telling Patrick about his experiences with gay players in the locker room.

During the interview, Barkley stated that everyone who has played in the NBA has had a gay teammate at some point.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Barkley:-I-played-with-gay-players.--The-nation-yawns./-270216729974326841.html

2/3 of senators to vote on U.S.-Mexico border without having seen it

2013-05-08T11:56:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Times reports:

Border security is a key sticking point in this year’s immigration debate, but only a little more than one-third of senators have been to the southwestern border during their time in office to get a firsthand look at the security situation, according to a survey of the chamber’s members by The Washington Times.

Of 100 senators, 34 said they have been down to observe the border, 64 senators have not, and two — the Democratic chairman of the Judiciary Committee, which is writing the bill, and the chamber’s Republican leader — refused to answer.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/2/3-of-senators-to-vote-on-U.S.-Mexico-border-without-having-seen-it/-657769687083834625.html

Disconnect: Immig & gun control at bottom of Americans' concerns, but top of DC's

2013-05-08T11:44:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

The two issues dominating Washington in recent months — gun control and immigration — are near the bottom of Americans’ concerns, according to a new poll.

Only 50 percent of Americans said reforming immigration should be a high priority in the Gallup poll on Tuesday and 55 percent said the same of reducing gun violence. Those two issues were at the bottom of a list of 12 presented by Gallup.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Disconnect:-Immig--gun-control-at-bottom-of-Americans-concerns,-but-top-of-DCs/-79523683780784810.html

Michelle: White House garden 'semi-open to the public'

2013-05-07T20:41:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

Michelle Obama told an audience attending her book signing Tuesday that the White House garden is still “semi-open to the public” because visitors can see it through the fence.

She was promoting her book, “American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America,” released in May 2012.

“[M]y goal in this book is to share the story of the creation of the garden,” Michelle Obama said during the Tuesday morning signing at Washington’s Politics and Prose Bookstore, “because while it is semi-open to the public — because if you visit the White House along the South Lawn, you can see the garden from outside of the White House.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Michelle:-White-House-garden-semi-open-to-the-public/-256102894766740201.html

10,962,532: U.S. disability beneficiaries exceed pop. of Greece

2013-05-07T19:54:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNS News reports:

The total number of people in the United States now receiving federal disability benefits hit a record 10,962,532 million in April, which exceeds the 10,815,197 people who live in the nation of Greece.

According to newly released data from the Social Security Administration, the record 10,962,532 total disability beneficiaries in April, included a record 8,865,586 disabled workers (up from 8,853,614 in March), 1,936,236 children of disabled workers, and 160,710 spouses of disabled workers.

According to its latest census, Greece had only 10,815,197 residents.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/10,962,532:-U.S.-disability-beneficiaries-exceed-pop.-of-Greece/-213152054042829477.html

Special operators blocked from Benghazi

2013-05-07T16:05:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP reports:

Four members of Army special forces ready to head to Benghazi, Libya, after the deadly assault on the American diplomatic mission had ended were told not to go, according to a former top diplomat.

Gregory Hicks also argued in an interview with Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that if the U.S. military had flown aircraft over the Benghazi facility after it came under siege it might have prevented the second attack on the CIA annex that killed two CIA security officers.

Excerpts of the interview with the former deputy chief in Libya were released Monday in advance of Hicks' testimony on Wednesday before the panel.

The Sept. 11, 2012, assault killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. Nearly eight months later, Republicans insist that the Obama administration is guilty of a cover-up of the events despite a scathing independent report that faulted the State Department for inadequate security at the diplomatic mission.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Special-operators-blocked-from-Benghazi/-597846945821087946.html

Colorado DWI (Driving While Illegal) update--licenses around corner?

2013-05-07T12:07:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Denver Post reports:

Lawmakers in Colorado's House gave an initial OK on Monday to a contentious measure that would allow those in the country illegally to obtain a state-issued form of a driver's license.

Democrats insist the measure is a public safety issue, while Republicans voiced concerns these identification cards could go to individuals with criminal backgrounds.

"This bill addresses a public safety concern that's been lacking for years, and that's making sure all residents using our roads know the rules regardless of their documentation," said Rep. Jovan Melton, an Aurora Democrat, who is championing the effort in the House.

Senate Bill 251 passed through the Senate last month with zero Republican support.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Colorado-DWI-Driving-While-Illegal-update--licenses-around-corner/833912167234067291.html

Perpetual Obama party--guest list revealed....

2013-05-07T12:06:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hill reports:

Bill and Hillary Clinton, actress Kerry Washington, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and producer Harvey Weinstein were among those who joined the Obamas at the White House’s secret post-inauguration bash.

President Obama and Michelle Obama held the hush-hush, swanky, ultra-A-list party to celebrate his second term the night he took the oath of office. The party was not announced or listed on his official schedule, but a few of the guests tweeted about the event, which is what publicly revealed its existence.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Perpetual-Obama-party--guest-list-revealed..../314913261496445008.html

Gun control ads have red state Dems worrying

2013-05-07T11:52:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s aides met recently with staffers of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to warn them: Targeting vulnerable Democrats like Arkansas’s Mark Pryor on gun control could backfire on the party, several sources told POLITICO.

Ads from the Bloomberg-funded Mayors Against Illegal Guns are going up soon in Alaska, Arkansas and North Dakota — three states with Democratic senators who broke with the White House on last month’s background checks vote.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Gun-control-ads-have-red-state-Dems-worrying/-72235473389556593.html

Rural blacks claim racial bias as farms rely on Latinos

2013-05-07T11:44:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Times reports:

For years, labor unions and immigrant rights activists have accused large-scale farmers, like those harvesting sweet Vidalia onions here this month, of exploiting Mexican guest workers. Working for hours on end under a punishing sun, the pickers are said to be crowded into squalid camps, driven without a break and even cheated of wages.

But as Congress weighs immigration legislation expected to expand the guest worker program, another group is increasingly crying foul — Americans, mostly black, who live near the farms and say they want the field work but cannot get it because it is going to Mexicans. They contend that they are illegally discouraged from applying for work and treated shabbily by farmers who prefer the foreigners for their malleability.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Rural-blacks-claim-racial-bias-as-farms-rely-on-Latinos/401122174649972239.html

Christie reveals secret stomach surgery to lose weight

2013-05-07T11:40:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Post reports:

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie secretly underwent lap-band stomach surgery to aggressively slim down for the sake of his wife and kids, he revealed to The Post last night.

The Garden State governor agreed to the operation at the urging of family and friends after turning 50 last September.

He told The Post he was thinking of his four kids and how it was time to start improving his health when he decided to have the procedure.

“I’ve struggled with this issue for 20 years,” he said. “For me, this is about turning 50 and looking at my children and wanting to be there for them.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Christie-reveals-secret-stomach-surgery-to-lose-weight/-1616673255915770.html

Florida flips back

2013-05-07T01:13:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

The nine Republican Governors who decided earlier this year to pump some helium into the ObamaCare balloon and expand Medicaid forgot about that saving grace of American politics: the separation of powers. On Friday Florida became the latest state to reject the expansion, as Governor Rick Scott failed to convince the GOP-controlled legislature to approve his Medicaid flip.

Mr. Scott's Medicaid plans stalled as the Florida Senate and House stalemated and adjourned for the year. Unless the Governor recalls legislators for a special session, the state won't participate in new Medicaid. Opposition is concentrated in the lower chamber, where conservatives are concerned about Medicaid's large and growing costs and the Florida budget's dependence on federal funds.

They're right to worry. The Obama Administration is attempting to bribe states by financing all of the expansion for a few years, with an assist from the hospitals and other providers lobbying for more money from Uncle Sugar. But these promises can't last. The Government Accountability Office reported last week that the average state "fiscal gap" is 14.2% over the next 50 years, largely because of health-care costs. That means states will need to raise taxes or cut spending or both by that amount—and that's before new Medicaid kicks in.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Florida-flips-back/812685529823945979.html

Backroom internet tax ambush

2013-05-07T01:12:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Now that the Senate has approved a bill to give state and local governments more power to collect Internet sales taxes, the bill's author intends to find out what's in it. Specifically he's trying to find out how many audits his bill authorizes against e-commerce companies.

This bizarre turn in Wyoming Senator Mike Enzi's effort to increase tax collections online comes courtesy of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. On Monday the Senate voted 69-27 to approve Mr. Enzi's Marketplace Fairness Act, which forces online retailers to collect sales taxes for all of America's 9,600 state and local governments.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Backroom-internet-tax-ambush/564908517373254702.html

Obamacare's slow death...panel

2013-05-06T19:01:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Post reports:

With a mandate to drive down Medicare spending, the Independent Payment Advisory Board has always been among the health law’s most-controversial provisions.

Legislators in both parties have attacked the board’s power to dictate Medicare spending cuts without Congress’ seal of approval. While IPAB is specifically barred from changing Medicare’s benefits or increasing cost-sharing, critics worry that cutting doctors’ payment rates could lead to worse care.

For now, IPAB doomsayers can rest assured: The cost-cutting board has been effectively neutered for 2015, the first year in which it’s spending recommendations could go into effect. It has lost its power to make any of these binding cuts.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obamacares-slow-death...panel/-774755910727856928.html

Diplomat: U.S. Special Forces told "you can't go" to Benghazi during attacks

2013-05-06T18:01:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CBS News reports:

The deputy of slain U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens has told congressional investigators that a team of Special Forces prepared to fly from Tripoli to Benghazi during the Sept. 11, 2012 attacks was forbidden from doing so by U.S. Special Operations Command South Africa.

The account from Gregory Hicks is in stark contrast to assertions from the Obama administration, which insisted that nobody was ever told to stand down and that all available resources were utilized. Hicks gave private testimony to congressional investigators last month in advance of his upcoming appearance at a congressional hearing Wednesday.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Diplomat:-U.S.-Special-Forces-told-you-cant-go-to-Benghazi-during-attacks/-901607174606662271.html

30,000 Ride for Boston

2013-05-06T17:17:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CBSNewYork.com reports:

In another show of intercity solidarity, more than 32,000 riders were expected in New York City on Sunday for the Five Boro Bike Tour to help raise money for the Boston Marathon bombing victims.

Security at the tour, the largest cycling event in America, was increased in the wake of the bombings. Backpacks, saddle bags and hydration systems were banned from the 40 mile, car-free ride through the five boroughs, though water bottles and fanny packs were permitted. The finishing area on Staten Island was also limited to the tour's participants and volunteers, due to the enhanced security.

And according to CBSNewYork.com, organizers called off the pyrotechnics that usually mark the start of the race.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/30,000-Ride-for-Boston/624860585617976349.html

Maryland gets rid of Domestic-Partners-With-Benefits

2013-05-06T17:16:00Z

Posted By: Staff

NBC reports:

Starting in January, Maryland will no longer honor benefits to state employees in domestic partnerships because the state now recognizes same-sex marriage.

The Washington Examiner reports that state employees will need to get married to keep their spouses and children covered by their insurance.

The change affects fewer than 300 current state employees or retirees.

Couples in domestic partnerships will receive health benefits through the end of the year.

Maryland will stop accepting domestic partnership applications next month.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Maryland-gets-rid-of-Domestic-Partners-With-Benefits/568453367941270030.html

Update: Fur Nightclub still isn't safe

2013-05-06T17:15:00Z

Posted By: Staff

A man was stabbed at Fur Nightclub overnight Monday.

Authorities say the victim, a man in his 20s, was stabbed twice, once in the chest, around 2:15 a.m. He was transported to a local hospital in critical condition.

It's currently unknown whether any arrests were made.

Authorities say Fur Nightclub was the same club that suspects in a mass drive-by shooting visited prior to opening fire on a crowd in the 1200 block of N. Capitol Street in March. In that case, 13 people were injured.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Update:-Fur-Nightclub-still-isnt-safe/463210723861447394.html

No Rest For the Wicked: Tsarnaev Brother not welcome in cemetaries

2013-05-06T17:14:00Z

Posted By: Staff

A funeral director trying to find a cemetery to take the body of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev is going next to the city where Tsarnaev lived, but will run into another obstacle: It doesn't want him.

Worcester funeral director Peter Stefan said he plans to ask the city of Cambridge to provide a plot because he hasn't been able to find a cemetery in Massachusetts willing to accept Tsarnaev's remains. He said if Cambridge turns him down, he will seek help from state officials.

Cambridge City Manager Robert Healy said in a statement Sunday that he is urging the funeral director and Tsarnaev's family not to request a burial permit for the city-owned cemetery.

"The difficult and stressful efforts of the citizens of the City of Cambridge to return to a peaceful life would be adversely impacted by the turmoil, protests, and wide spread media presence at such an interment," Healy said.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/No-Rest-For-the-Wicked:-Tsarnaev-Brother-not-welcome-in-cemetaries/336685744073605823.html

YouTube unsatisfied with current ads

2013-05-06T17:13:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hollywood reporter reports:

Charging subscription fees will allow the online video giant owned by Google to add a second revenue stream.

YouTube is close to launching paid subscription offers that the Google-owned online video giant had been expected to start offering eventually.

The new a la carte subscription plans for for some of its professional video channels could be announced as early as this week, the Financial Times reported.

Charging subscription fees will allow the online video provider to add a second revenue stream and help finance a broader content offer.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/YouTube-unsatisfied-with-current-ads/299596008684772500.html

Job tours but still no White House Tours?

2013-05-06T17:13:00Z

Posted By: Staff

USA Today reports:

President Obama is turning back to the jobs issue, launching a series of "Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity Tours" starting Thursday with an appearance in Texas.

Obama will visit growing areas "to learn what has helped them become successful and use these models of growth to encourage Congress to act," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

On Thursday, the president opens the new effort with a tour in Austin, where he will visit a high school, and speak with leaders of the city's high-tech industries.

Earnest said the president will also speak with "workers who are working hard to get into and stay in the middle class to discuss his vision for ensuring that hard work leads to a decent living."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Job-tours-but-still-no-White-House-Tours/673616478402247059.html

Job tours but still no White House Tours?

2013-05-06T17:11:00Z

Posted By: Staff

USA Today reports:

President Obama is turning back to the jobs issue, launching a series of "Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity Tours" starting Thursday with an appearance in Texas.

Obama will visit growing areas "to learn what has helped them become successful and use these models of growth to encourage Congress to act," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

On Thursday, the president opens the new effort with a tour in Austin, where he will visit a high school, and speak with leaders of the city's high-tech industries.

Earnest said the president will also speak with "workers who are working hard to get into and stay in the middle class to discuss his vision for ensuring that hard work leads to a decent living."

The tours -- no other stops have been announced -- seem similar to the "White House to Main Street" events that Obama conducted during his first term.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Job-tours-but-still-no-White-House-Tours/811254724144889161.html

Neo-Nazi trial starts in Germany

2013-05-06T17:11:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The LA Times reports:

The surviving member of an alleged neo-Nazi cell accused of a string of racially motivated murders went on trial Monday in a case that has forced Germany to confront the extent to which racism continues to pervade society here.

Beate Zschaepe, 38, is accused of complicity in the murder of eight Turks, a Greek and a policewoman between 2000 and 2007. Her trial in Munich is expected to raise questions about the failings of security services and police, who suspected the slain immigrants of having connections to organized crime and failed to pursue tips about a far-right gang.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Neo-Nazi-trial-starts-in-Germany/41495327466538557.html

Referee's family holds vigil

2013-05-06T17:10:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News reports:

The oldest daughter of the Utah soccer referee who died Saturday a week after a teenage player punched him in the head hopes to forgive the young man who did it -- but not yet.

"I will, but not today; it's too soon," said Johana Portillo, 26, speaking Sunday night at a vigil to honor her father, Ricardo Portillo. "He was a father, he was a friend, he was a grandfather; he left a whole family behind. They should think before they do something stupid."

Police have accused a 17-year-old player in a recreational soccer league of punching Ricardo Portillo, 46, after he called a foul on him and issued him a yellow card.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Referees-family-holds-vigil/823546850543765139.html

Same sex immigration debate set

2013-05-06T12:14:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Senators began laying the groundwork Sunday for formal debate on immigration-overhaul legislation, including a provision that would extend immigration rights for same-sex couples.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to consider the bill this week as Congress returns from a recess. A group of eight senators crafted a bill that would increase border security, create new work-visa programs and offer a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants in the U.S.

On the issue of immigration rights for same-sex couples, Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, warned on CNN that the group of negotiators didn't have a "specific agreement."

"I support this, and I hope that we can find a way through it that preserves immigration reform," Mr. Durbin said. He added both sides may have to accept parts of the bill they don't like.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Same-sex-immigration-debate-set/-904824141227147524.html

Obama housing nominee helped create the subprime crisis

2013-05-06T11:44:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

Mel Watt, President Obama’s nominee for director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, pushed government programs to help welfare recipients buy homes during the creation of the subprime mortgage bubble.

Watt, a 20-year Member of Congress from North Carolina’s 12th district, also had a hand in programs allowing borrowers with poor credit to buy homes with no down payment. The American financial system was subsequently destroyed when millions of bad borrowers defaulted on their loans, setting off a market crash that wiped out nearly 40 percent of the net worth of Americans.

In 2002, Watt teamed up with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, Bank of America, BB&T, and UJAMMA Inc., to announce Pathways to Homeownership, a pilot initiative designed to give home loans to welfare recipients.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-housing-nominee-helped-create-the-subprime-crisis/555701479595313025.html

Holding noses, insurers start selling Obamacare

2013-05-06T11:43:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

The insurance industry may have a love-hate relationship with Obamacare — but a “train wreck” is definitely not good for the bottom line.

So health insurers are planning campaigns for the summer and fall to persuade a skeptical public to sign up and get covered by the health reform law.

“I don’t think I know anyone in the insurance industry that supported the Affordable Care Act,” said Robert Laszewski, a former insurance executive and industry consultant. “But Obama’s right, we’re joined at the hip now,” he said, referring to the message President Barack Obama reportedly conveyed to the industry at a White House meeting a few weeks ago.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Holding-noses,-insurers-start-selling-Obamacare/639603597177544241.html

The Young and the Jobless

2013-05-06T11:40:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Times reports:

The idle young European, stranded without work by the Continent’s dysfunction, is one of the global economy’s stock characters. Yet it might be time to add another, even more common protagonist: the idle young American.

For all of Europe’s troubles — a left-right combination of sclerotic labor markets and austerity — the United States has quietly surpassed much of Europe in the percentage of young adults without jobs. It’s not just Europe, either. Over the last 12 years, the United States has gone from having the highest share of employed 25- to 34-year-olds among large, wealthy economies to having among the lowest.

The grim shift — “a historic turnaround,” says Robert A. Moffitt, a Johns Hopkins University economist — stems from two underappreciated aspects of our long economic slump. First, it has exacted the harshest toll on the young — even harsher than on people in their 50s and 60s, who have also suffered. And while the American economy has come back more robustly than some of its global rivals in terms of overall production, the recovery has been strangely light on new jobs, even after Friday’s better-than-expected unemployment report. American companies are doing more with less.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/The-Young-and-the-Jobless/107181121572661755.html

Clinton sought end-run around counter-terrorism buro during Benghazi

2013-05-06T11:38:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News reports:

On the night of Sept. 11, as the Obama administration scrambled to respond to the Benghazi terror attacks, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and a key aide effectively tried to cut the department's own counterterrorism bureau out of the chain of reporting and decision-making, according to a "whistle-blower" witness from that bureau who will soon testify to the charge before Congress, Fox News has learned.

That witness is Mark I. Thompson, a former Marine and now the deputy coordinator for operations in the agency’s counterterrorism bureau. Sources tell Fox News Thompson will level the allegation against Clinton during testimony on Wednesday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.

Fox News has also learned that another official from the counterterrorism bureau -- independently of Thompson -- voiced the same complaint about Clinton and Under Secretary for Management Patrick Kennedy to trusted national security colleagues back in October.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Clinton-sought-end-run-around-counter-terrorism-buro-during-Benghazi/45568706666753984.html

Tattoo nightmares---hilarious!!

2013-05-05T22:21:00Z

Posted By: Staff

47 Cringeworthy Tattoos Being Regretted As We Speak

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Tattoo-nightmares---hilarious!!/375336680845111433.html

Obama reaching out to Mexican young people

2013-05-03T15:14:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP reports:

President Barack Obama and Mexico's new president, Enrique Pena Nieto, are stepping gingerly to avoid any suggestion of meddling in each other's most contentious issues. Instead, Obama is drawing attention to the cultural ties that have linked the two nations and the economic bonds that have begun to take hold more recently.

Obama was to deliver a speech Friday to an audience made up primarily of students, highlighting the role they can play in deciding Mexico's future and promoting the type of broad exchanges he envisions under a new immigration regime in the United States. After his speech, Obama was to meet privately with Mexican businessmen, where he would stress the commercial ties between the two countries. Mexico is the second-largest export market for U.S. goods and services.

Later, he was to travel to Costa Rica, where he planned to deliver a blunter message to Central American leaders struggling with weak economies and drug violence.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-reaching-out-to-Mexican-young-people/616657043818770506.html

Boston bombers planned July 4th attacks

2013-05-03T15:13:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hill reports:

The two brothers accused of last month’s Boston Marathon terrorist attack initially planned a July 4th attack on the city, The New York Times reported Friday.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, who is in custody awaiting trial, told investigators that he and his brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, who died following a shootout with police, wanted to plant bombs at an Independence Day celebration on the Charles River Esplanade, but settled on the finish line of the Boston Marathon after scouting the city for attack sites.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Boston-bombers-planned-July-4th-attacks/907073637685982841.html

Newest unemployment numbers

2013-05-03T15:12:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hill reports:

The economy added 165,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

The monthly job numbers were better than expected, but the brightest spot of the report was in revisions for the previous two months.

Employers added 114,000 more jobs than initially estimated — up to 332,000 from 268,000 in February and up to 138,000 from 88,000 in March.

The revised figures should calm some concerns that the economic recovery is faltering even as worries remain about the effects of across-the-board spending cuts and tax hikes.

Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Analytics, called the report a "relief and "a pleasant surprise" further saying, "I think job growth is slowing but not nearly as much as feared."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Newest-unemployment-numbers/524155474222908295.html

Tea Party looks to obamacare for new life in 2014

2013-05-03T15:11:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hill reports:

The Tea Party movement is preparing to use ObamaCare's rollout to catapult itself back into political power.

Tea Party leaders have been watching closely as President Obama and other prominent Democrats predict glitches in the law's implementation. Conservative activists see these concessions as a major boon for Tea Party candidates in 2014 as Republicans seek to hold the House and take the Senate.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Tea-Party-looks-to-obamacare-for-new-life-in-2014/267823951783261536.html

OFA's first foray falls short

2013-05-03T11:47:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

President Barack Obama’s man in North Dakota couldn’t pitch in to help shame Sen. Heidi Heitkamp for her vote against gun control — he was busy with his new job selling Toyotas.

Organizing for Action’s top Montana official wouldn’t canvass the state to turn up the heat on Sen. Max Baucus because there was no reimbursement for the gas money.

Alaska Sens. Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski haven’t had to worry about running up against OFA’s influence there, since Obama’s former state director there has turned back to building up her own political consulting business — “I need to get to making money,” she said.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/OFAs-first-foray-falls-short/144921799498914221.html

Suicide rates rise sharply in US

2013-05-03T11:45:00Z

Posted By: Staff

NY Times reports:

Suicide rates among middle-aged Americans have risen sharply in the past decade, prompting concern that a generation of baby boomers who have faced years of economic worry and easy access to prescription painkillers may be particularly vulnerable to self-inflicted harm.

More people now die of suicide than in car accidents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which published the findings in Friday’s issue of its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. In 2010 there were 33,687 deaths from motor vehicle crashes and 38,364 suicides.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Suicide-rates-rise-sharply-in-US/791605754502244321.html

CNN: Three operatives linked to Benghazi

2013-05-02T20:59:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNN reports:

Several Yemeni men belonging to al Qaeda took part in the terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi last September, according to several sources who have spoken with CNN.

One senior U.S. law enforcement official told CNN that "three or four members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula," or AQAP, took part in the attack.

Another source briefed on the Benghazi investigation said Western intelligence services suspect the men may have been sent by the group specifically to carry out the attack. But it's not been ruled out that they were already in the city and participated as the opportunity arose.

The attack on the compound and subsequently on a "safe-house" to which Americans had been evacuated left four U.S. citizens dead, including the ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/CNN:--Three-operatives-linked-to-Benghazi/563441810008183616.html

Russia space junk continues cold war

2013-05-02T14:06:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News reports:

A high-tech NASA telescope in orbit escaped a potentially disastrous collision with a Soviet-era Russian spy satellite last year in a close call that highlights the growing threat of orbital debris around Earth.

NASA's $690 million Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope — which studies the most powerful explosions in the universe — narrowly avoided a direct hit with the defunct 1.5-ton Russian reconnaissance satellite Cosmos 1805 on April 3, 2012, space agency officials announced Tuesday, April 30. The potential space collision was avoided when engineers commanded Fermi to fire its thrusters in a critical dodging maneuver to move out of harm's way.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Russia-space-junk-continues-cold-war/-635855787194496168.html

New Evidence: Jamestown settlers were cannibals

2013-05-02T14:05:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Telegraph reports:

For years, there have been tales of people in the first permanent English settlement in America eating dogs, cats, rats, mice, snakes and shoe leather to stave off starvation.

There were also written accounts of settlers eating their own dead, but archaeologists had been sceptical of those stories.

But now, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and archaeologists from Jamestown have announced the discovery of the bones of a 14-year-old girl that show clear signs that she was cannibalised.

The remains of the 14-year-old girl, named 'Jane' by researchers, were discovered in the summer of 2012 and mark the fourth set of human remains uncovered at Jamestown outside of graves.

Evidence indicates clumsy chops to the body and head of the girl, who appears to have already been dead at the time.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/New-Evidence:-Jamestown-settlers-were-cannibals/579772226122463387.html

Job market still not at pre-Obama levels

2013-05-02T14:04:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNN reports:

First-time claims for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in five years last week, signaling fewer layoffs in the economy.

About 324,000 people filed initial claims, the Labor Department said Thursday. The report was better than expected on all accounts. Economists were anticipating an increase in claims, but instead, the report showed claims had declined by 18,000 from the prior week, marking the lowest level since January 2008.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Job-market-still-not-at-pre-Obama-levels/-991480233115223449.html

Man sells fake bomb detectors

2013-05-02T14:03:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Reuters reports:

James McCormick, 56, was convicted of fraud last week for selling equipment based on a $20 novelty machine for finding lost golf balls.

McCormick made more than $40 million from sales in Iraq alone, British police say. His customers also included the United Nations.

Judge Richard Hone said at London's Old Bailey court that McCormick had blood on his hands and used a callous confidence trick likely to have contributed to the death of innocent people.

"The device was useless, the profit outrageous and your culpability as a fraudster has to be placed in the highest category. Your profits were obscene. You have neither insight, shame or any sense of remorse," Hone said, quoted by the Press Association.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Man-sells-fake-bomb-detectors/-885036806144408917.html

WH denies any Benghazi muzzling; hearings planned

2013-05-02T12:11:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The White House denied Wednesday that State Department officials are muzzling would-be whistleblowers about last year’s terrorist attacks on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi by blocking security clearances for their attorneys.

“These allegations are part of an unfortunate pattern of spreading misinformation and politicizing this issue,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said.

Rep. Darrell E. Issa, California Republican and chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and former U.S. prosecutor Victoria Toensing have separately leveled charges that the State Department is blocking clearances for attorneys for potential whistleblowers, who may want someone to help represent them before Congress or help shield them from retaliation afterward because of their testimony.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/WH-denies-any-Benghazi-muzzling;-hearings-planned/707324073446624684.html

USDA spending $4 million on food stamps at farmers markets

2013-05-02T11:38:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

The Department of Agriculture announced a $4 million dollar, expanded-eligibility plan to increase food stamp access at farmers markets this week.

Agriculture Undersecretary Kevin Concannon announced that in an effort to make more produce readily available to participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamp program, the agency is expanding the use of wireless point-of-sale equipment to farmers markets and direct marketing farmers who do not already have such equipment.

“These grants increase the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables to SNAP customers and further encourage them to purchase and prepare healthy foods for their families using SNAP benefits,” Concannon said in a statement.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/USDA-spending-$4-million-on-food-stamps-at-farmers-markets/834893643778029648.html

Obama's "Fairness" economy has backfired

2013-05-02T11:33:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Real Clear Politics reports:

One of the most seductive parts of President Barack Obama's political message (and the message of progressive Democrats in general) is sympathy for the poor and a willingness to talk about the disparities of capitalism -- about the rich being too rich and the poor being screwed. In some ways, it's the predominant message of the Obama era.

And though it's reasonable to contend that Republicans need to display more compassion -- if for nothing else than their own political survival -- isn't it also reasonable to take stock of how things have gone for the poor under four-plus years of progressive rule?

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obamas-Fairness-economy-has-backfired/70064274748448474.html

NKorea sentences American to 15 years labor

2013-05-02T11:32:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP reports:

An American detained for nearly six months in North Korea has been sentenced to 15 years of "compulsory labor" for unspecified crimes against the state, Pyongyang announced Thursday.

The sentencing of Kenneth Bae, described by friends as a devout Christian and a tour operator, will further complicate already strained relations between Pyongyang and Washington as the countries pursue tentative diplomacy following weeks of warlike threats from North Korea.

Pyongyang's official state media said Bae's trial took place Tuesday, but the dispatch provided few new details. Bae was tried in the country's Supreme Court on charges of plotting to overthrow the government. He could've faced the death penalty.

"The Supreme Court sentenced him to 15 years of compulsory labor for this crime," the Korean Central News Agency said.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/NKorea-sentences-American-to-15-years-labor/-848196906750189176.html

Physical by smartphone becoming real possibility

2013-05-02T11:31:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP reports:

It's not a "Star Trek" tricorder, but by hooking a variety of gadgets onto a smartphone you could almost get a complete physical - without the paper gown or even a visit to the doctor's office.

Blood pressure? Just plug the arm cuff into the phone for a quick reading.

Heart OK? Put your fingers in the right spot, and the squiggly rhythm of an EKG appears on the phone's screen.

Plug in a few more devices and you could have photos of your eardrum (Look, no infection!) and the back of your eye, listen to your heartbeat, chart your lung function, even get a sonogram.

If this sounds like a little too much DIY medical care, well, the idea isn't to self-diagnose with Dr. iPhone. But companies are rapidly developing miniature medical devices that tap the power of the ubiquitous smartphone in hopes of changing how people monitor their own health.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Physical-by-smartphone-becoming-real-possibility/748351683395031970.html

Three more suspects taken into custody in Boston Bombing

2013-05-01T18:40:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News reports:

Three additional male suspects were taken into custody in the Boston Marathon bombing case on charges of conspiring to obstruct justice and making false statements, the U.S. Attorney said.

Police would not confirm when the suspects were taken into custody, and referred further questions to the FBI.

Prior to the latest development, authorities had named only brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev as suspects in the April 15 bombing at the finish line of the world famous race.

Two of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s former UMass-Dartmouth classmates, Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov, are from Kazakhstan and faced an immigration hearing this morning, sources said. Sources told Fox News the two will be named in the charges.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Three-more-suspects-taken-into-custody-in-Boston-Bombing/176396028325125587.html

Rubio: Immigration bill probably won't pass the House

2013-05-01T16:47:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Post reports:

One of the reasons lawmakers will have a tough time overhauling the nation’s immigration laws is all of the different players in the process, and where they have each lined up their pieces, so to speak.

To start with, let’s take a look at Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the leading conservative voice for reform.

On Tuesday, Rubio, the most prominent conservative member of the Senate’s “Gang of Eight,” said that the bill he helped craft would probably not pass the GOP-controlled House without some tweaks.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Rubio:-Immigration-bill-probably-wont-pass-the-House/-916074052540153304.html

NYU professor argues against nuclear family, monogamy, anti-polygamy laws

2013-05-01T16:46:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

During a law school debate on April 15, New York University professor of social and cultural analysis Judith Stacey argued against the nuclear family and monogamous relationships, and for decriminalizing polygamy.

The debate, sponsored by the conservative Federalist Society and between Ms. Stacey and the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Ryan T. Anderson, was on “the defense of marriage.”

Among Ms. Stacey’s wicked smart musings: “I say why should there be marriage at all;” “What should limit it to two and why should it be monogamous? Nothing in view gives the state that particular interest;” and “So I would agree that we should get rid of the sexual family, there’s no reason in the contemporary world to base our relationships necessarily on sex.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/NYU-professor-argues-against-nuclear-family,-monogamy,-anti-polygamy-laws/653519289581921607.html

Obama sees 'bumps' for health law

2013-05-01T16:45:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Amid signs of early snags in the federal health law, President Barack Obama on Tuesday acknowledged it could face a rocky rollout this fall but said officials are racing to get the new insurance system ready in time.

The main goal of the 2010 law is to bring health-insurance coverage to Americans who lack it, yet two of the measure's key ways of doing this have hit obstacles.

More than half of the states are on track to sit out the law's Medicaid-expansion goal initially—which means millions of low-income Americans won't have access to health insurance through Medicaid as the law anticipated.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-sees-bumps-for-health-law/-86286023982860832.html

Pentagon Confirms may court martial soldiers who share Christian Faith

2013-05-01T16:44:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Breitbart reports:

The Pentagon has released a statement confirming that soldiers could be prosecuted for promoting their faith: "Religious proselytization is not permitted within the Department of Defense...Court martials and non-judicial punishments are decided on a case-by-case basis...”.

The statement, released to Fox News, follows a Breitbart News report on Obama administration Pentagon appointees meeting with anti-Christian extremist Mikey Weinstein to develop court-martial procedures to punish Christians in the military who express or share their faith.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Pentagon-Confirms-may-court-martial-soldiers-who-share-Christian-Faith/428996578756374553.html

Case Worker: Illegal Aliens Got Food Stamps by the "Vanload"

2013-05-01T15:41:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Judicial Watch reports:

For decades the U.S. government has knowingly given illegal immigrants food stamps, according to a former certification case worker who denounced the costly practice back in the 1980s but was essentially ordered to keep a lid on it.

The retired assistant case manager, Craig McNees, was in charge of vetting food-stamp applicants in north Florida and Indiana in the ’80s and says the program was infested with fraud and corruption that was perpetually ignored by management. “Illegals would come in by the vanload and we were told to give them their stuff,” McNees said. “Management knew very well they were illegal. It was so rampant that some employees would tell their illegal relatives to come get food stamps.”

McNees contacted Judicial Watch after reading documents obtained by JW from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) detailing how the agency is working with the Mexican government to promote participation by illegal aliens in the U.S. food stamp program. The effort includes a Spanish-language flyer provided to the Mexican Embassy by the USDA ensuring that Mexicans in the U.S. don’t need to declare their immigration status to get financial assistance from Uncle Sam.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Case-Worker:-Illegal-Aliens-Got-Food-Stamps-by-the-Vanload/-591929985116376963.html

Pentagon: Religious proselytizing is not permitted

2013-05-01T15:39:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Religious liberty groups have grave concerns after they learned the Pentagon is vetting its guide on religious tolerance with a group that compared Christian evangelism to “rape” and advocated that military personnel who proselytize should be court martialed.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation is calling on the Air Force to enforce a regulation that they believe calls for the court martial of any service member caught proselytizing.

President Mikey Weinstein and others from his organization met privately with Pentagon officials on April 23. He said U.S. troops who proselytize are guilty of sedition and treason and should be punished – by the hundreds if necessary – to stave off what he called a “tidal wave of fundamentalists.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Pentagon:-Religious-proselytizing-is-not-permitted/610127651656644061.html

The Coming Welfare Wave

2013-05-01T13:18:00Z

Posted By: Staff

National Review reports:

The Gang of Eight’s immigration bill could make illegal immigrants eligible for state and local welfare benefits almost immediately after it is passed, according to Senator Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.), one of the proposal’s leading critics. Further, he contends, some particular categories of amnestied immigrants and their relatives would be eligible for federal benefits long before the 13-year waiting period usually cited by the bill’s advocates, such as Senator Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.), who challenged Sessions’s argument in a press release on Tuesday. These are just a couple of reasons why Sessions and others are calling on the Gang of Eight to allow amendments to the legislation.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/The-Coming-Welfare-Wave/5578418315476230.html

Obama Blocks Benghazi Testimonies?

2013-04-30T17:00:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Blaze reports:

President Obama on Tuesday said he is unaware that anyone has been blocked from testifying on the deadly Sept. 11, 2012, attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

“There are people in your own State Department saying they have been blocked from coming forward,” said Fox News’ Ed Henry, “that they survived the terror attack and they want to tell their story.”

He is referring to recent reports that at least four officials at the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency have been warned by unnamed Obama administration officials about testifying on the Benghazi terror attacks.

“Will you help them come forward and say it once and for all?” Henry asked.

“Ed,” the president responded. “I’m not familiar with this notion that anybody has been blocked from testifying. What I’ll do is I’ll find out what, exactly, you’re referring to.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-Blocks-Benghazi-Testimonies/-879800433646576952.html

Obama moves his red line

2013-04-30T17:00:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Blaze reports:

With evidence that Syria has purportedly used chemical weapons against its own people, President Barack Obama spoke out today against Bashar al-Assad and his regime. That said, he was seemingly somewhat more measured and cautious than he has been in the past when describing about how the United States plans to handle the contentious scenario.

Last year, Obama said that the use of chemical weapons would be a “red line” — one that would apparently determine whether more drastic steps would be needed to prevent additional abuses.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-moves-his-red-line/310492833149877305.html

Why the online sales tax may die in the House

2013-04-30T14:07:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

The online sales tax bill will face an uphill battle in the Republican-dominated House of Representatives, despite broad bipartisan support in the Senate.

The Marketplace Fairness Act, which will allow states the authority to collect sales taxes from online retailers outside of their state, is scheduled for a vote in the Senate in early May and is expected to pass. The fast tracking that it experienced in the Senate, however, is unlikely to be replicated in the House.

So far, Republican leadership has shown little interest in championing the issue of online sales taxation.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Why-the-online-sales-tax-may-die-in-the-House/518191541488950178.html

Female DNA found on the Boston bomb

2013-04-30T14:06:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Investigators have found female DNA on at least one of the bombs used in the Boston Marathon attacks, though they haven't determined whose DNA it is or whether its presence means a woman helped the two brothers suspected in the bombings, according to U.S. officials briefed on the probe.

In another development, Russian officials revealed details about contacts between the older brother and suspected Islamist radicals in the Caucasus, including Internet exchanges that led to concerns by investigators that he was trying to join up with jihadist fighters.

Speaking Monday about the DNA discovery, the U.S. officials cautioned that there could be multiple explanations for why genetic material from someone other than the two bombing suspects—Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his younger brother, Dzhokhar—could have been found on remnants of the exploded devices. It could have come, for example, from a store clerk who handled materials used in the bombs or a stray hair that ended up in the bomb.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Female-DNA-found-on-the-Boston-bomb/337636697124730317.html

Gun backlog hits 2 million!

2013-04-30T14:05:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Info Wars reports:

“America is weaponizing itself at an unheard of pace, with both Sturm, Ruger shipments and units produced surpassing 500,000 each in one quarter for the first time in history,” reports Zero Hedge.

Figures show that units produced and shipped by the company have gone beyond 1 million a quarter for the first time ever.

There is also a 2 million backlog on guns on order, a 100% increase from a year ago and a 40% increase on the previous quarter.

As we previously reported, demand is so high that customers are not even waiting for gun stores to stock shelves before purchasing ammunition and firearms.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Gun-backlog-hits-2-million!/-305718816750628278.html

Boston bombers get 100K in benefits!

2013-04-30T14:04:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Boston Herald reports:

The Tsarnaev family, including the suspected terrorists and their parents, benefited from more than $100,000 in taxpayer-funded assistance — a bonanza ranging from cash and food stamps to Section 8 housing from 2002 to 2012, the Herald has learned.

“The breadth of the benefits the family was receiving was stunning,” said a person with knowledge of documents handed over to a legislative committee today.

The state has handed over more than 500 documents to the 11-member House Post Audit and Oversight Committee, which today met for the first time and plans to call in officials from the Department of Transitional Assistance to testify.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Boston-bombers-get-100K-in-benefits!/-223088772213207099.html

Boston bomber gets seasoned defense team

2013-04-30T11:49:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP reports:

One lawyer won acquittal for a Saudi man charged with carrying three firecracker-like devices on a plane, arguing he was a victim of hysteria over airport security after the Sept. 11 attacks. Another has managed to avert death sentences for some of the highest-profile criminals of our time, including the Unabomber and the gunman whose rampage injured former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Together, they are staring down what may become their biggest challenge so far: how to defend the man authorities say helped plan and carry out the Boston Marathon bombings, an attack that killed three people, injured more than 260 and virtually shut down the city during an intense manhunt.

The team that will be led by Miriam Conrad, the chief federal public defender for Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, got a major boost Monday with the addition of prominent San Diego lawyer and death penalty opponent Judy Clarke. Not that Conrad is considered any slouch.

"She is as tenacious as they come," said Joshua Levy, a former assistant U.S. attorney in Boston who has gone up against Conrad in federal court. "I always found her to be very smart and focused on whatever she perceived as chinks in the armor in the government's case. She would zone in on that."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Boston-bomber-gets-seasoned-defense-team/-393906440447437191.html

Pentagon is paying China--yes China--to carry data

2013-04-30T11:47:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Wired reports:

The Pentagon is so starved for bandwidth that it’s paying a Chinese satellite firm to help it communicate and share data.

U.S. troops operating on the African continent are now using the recently-launched Apstar-7 satellite to keep in touch and share information. And the $10 million, one-year deal lease — publicly unveiled late last week during an ordinarily-sleepy Capitol Hill subcommittee hearing — has put American politicians and policy-makers in bit of a bind. Over the last several years, the U.S. government has publicly and loudly expressed its concern that too much sensitive American data passes through Chinese electronics — and that those electronics could be sieves for Beijing’s intelligence services. But the Pentagon says it has no other choice than to use the Chinese satellite. The need for bandwidth is that great, and no other satellite firm provides the continent-wide coverage that the military requires.

“That bandwidth was available only on a Chinese satellite,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy Doug Loverro told a House Armed Services Committee panel, in remarks first reported by InsideDefense.com. “We recognize that there is concerns across the community on the usage of Chinese satellites to support our warfighter. And yet, we also recognize that our warfighters need support, and sometimes we must go to the only place that we can get it from.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Pentagon-is-paying-China--yes-China--to-carry-data/-283997448154277855.html

Girls opt for plastic surgery to look like Michelle

2013-04-30T11:43:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Post reports:

Women are embracing with open arms the chance to look like Michelle Obama in a sleeveless dress.

Upper-arm lift procedures have shot up 4,378 percent over the past decade, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons reported yesterday.

Last year, 15,000 Americans — 98 percent of them women — had liposuction to get rid of excess fat, or a surgical procedure called brachioplasty to remove flabby, loose skin hanging from the back of the upper arms. In 2000, just over 300 had the procedures.

The trend’s popularity is partly because people who have lost huge amounts of weight through diet and exercise or with bariatric surgery later want to lose the “batwing’’ skin drooping from their arms, and undergo a brachioplasty

Another factor is that “celebrities from the White House to the red carpet may be having an influence,’’ the ASPS said.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Girls-opt-for-plastic-surgery-to-look-like-Michelle/497128201624039184.html

Next challenge for health care law: carrying it out

2013-04-30T00:58:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Times reports:

This month, a political organization aligned with House Republicans sent an e-mail to reporters attacking President Obama’s health care law.

“Young adults on parents’ plan pay more,” said the organization, the YG Network, citing a new employee benefits study. The e-mail’s subject line read “So Much for Popularity.”

Actually, the study did not show those young adults were paying more. It showed insurance companies were, because they had begun providing health coverage to those young adults, as called for under the law.

The missive, inaccurate though it was, illustrates the immense challenge facing the Obama administration as it puts in place the most significant parts of the 2010 law. Few government initiatives reach so many corners of the American economy and society — and have as much potential to generate trouble for the party in the White House.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Next-challenge-for-health-care-law:-carrying-it-out/784847814064171284.html

The Coming Obamacare Shock

2013-04-30T00:52:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

In recent weeks, there have been increasing expressions of concern from surprising quarters about the implementation of ObamaCare. Montana Sen. Max Baucus, a Democrat, called it a "train wreck." A Democratic colleague, West Virginia's Sen. Jay Rockefeller, described the massive Affordable Care Act as "beyond comprehension." Henry Chao, the government's chief technical officer in charge of putting in place the insurance exchanges mandated by the law, was quoted in the Congressional Quarterly as saying "I'm pretty nervous . . . Let's just make sure it's not a third-world experience."

These individuals are worried for good reason. The unpopular health-care law's rollout is going to be rough. It will also administer several price (and other) shocks to tens of millions of Americans.

Start with people who have individual and small-group health insurance. These policies are most affected by ObamaCare's community-rating regulations, which require insurers to accept everyone but limit or ban them from varying premiums based on age or health. The law also mandates "essential" benefits that are far more generous than those currently offered.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/The-Coming-Obamacare-Shock/893075228546067340.html

Bill on Sales Tax divides the GOP

2013-04-29T16:32:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Times reports:

Legislation that would force Internet retailers to collect sales taxes from their customers has put antitax and small-government activists like Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform and the Heritage Foundation in an unusual position: they’re losing.

For years, conservative Republican lawmakers have been influenced heavily by the antitax activists in Washington, who have dictated outcomes and become the arbiters of what is and is not a tax increase. But on the question of Internet taxation, their voices have begun to be drowned out by the pleas of struggling retailers back home who complain that their online competitors enjoy an unfair price advantage.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Bill-on-Sales-Tax-divides-the-GOP/-129883344079629418.html

Black Voters Surpass Whites

2013-04-29T15:19:00Z

Posted By: Staff

America's blacks voted at a higher rate than other minority groups in 2012 and by most measures surpassed the white turnout for the first time, reflecting a deeply polarized presidential election in which blacks strongly supported Barack Obama while many whites stayed home.

Had people voted last November at the same rates they did in 2004, when black turnout was below its current historic levels, Republican Mitt Romney would have won narrowly, according to an analysis conducted for The Associated Press.

Census data and exit polling show that whites and blacks will remain the two largest racial groups of eligible voters for the next decade. Last year's heavy black turnout came despite concerns about the effect of new voter-identification laws on minority voting, outweighed by the desire to re-elect the first black president.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Black-Voters-Surpass-Whites/-93662489511992349.html

Down to the Wire for Zimmerman

2013-04-29T15:18:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Prosecutors in Florida want George Zimmerman to state publicly at a court hearing on Tuesday whether he will pursue his immunity defense in the 2012 shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin on the basis of the state's "Stand Your Ground" law, or waive his right to use it.

Prosecutors asked Judge Debra Nelson in a motion to remind Zimmerman "that should defendant in fact wish to waive any pre-trial immunity challenge under this statute, he may not attempt to do so later, particularly once trial has commenced."

Zimmerman will attend Tuesday's hearing, according to his lawyer, Mark O'Mara. However, O'Mara told Reuters he hadn't decided what he will do if the judge tries to question his client.

"I know the state would like to have that information, it seems. I don't feel compelled to advise anybody of my strategy in this case," O'Mara said.

Zimmerman goes on trial June 10 on a second-degree murder charge for shooting Martin after prosecutors say he profiled and confronted the unarmed black teenager, despite a police dispatcher instructing him not to do so.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Down-to-the-Wire-for-Zimmerman/-795936653818591873.html

Christie still backing Obama, despite Citizen Outcries

2013-04-29T15:17:00Z

Posted By: Staff

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Monday that President Barack Obama "has kept every promise he's made" about helping the state recover from Superstorm Sandy.

Speaking on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program on the 6-month anniversary of the deadly storm, the Republican governor said presidential politics were the last thing on his mind as he toured storm-devastated areas with Obama last fall.

"The president has kept every promise he's made," said Christie, widely considered a potential candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. "I think he's done a good job. He kept his word."

Christie's warm embrace of Obama after the storm angered some Republicans, who said it helped tip a close presidential election to the Democrat and away from Mitt Romney, who Christie endorsed and for whom he campaigned last fall.

Christie says he and Obama have fundamentally different views on governing. But he said the two men did what needed to be done for a devastated region.

"I've got a job to do," he said. "You wake up and 7 million of your 8.8 million citizens are out of power, you're not thinking about presidential politics."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Christie-still-backing-Obama,-despite-Citizen-Outcries/213233762860001335.html

Afghans reject the Taliban

2013-04-29T15:01:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Maj. Gen. Robert B. Abrams, the top U.S. and NATO commander in southern Afghanistan, is confident the country won’t fall back into the grips of the Taliban and other extremists when international forces pull out in two years—pointing to what he calls a “homegrown” rejection of the Taliban and the readiness of the Afghan security forces.

“No one expected it to happen in the place we're today,” the commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division tells On the Radar, standing in the same region of Afghanistan where al Qaeda trained many of the 9/11 perpetrators just over a decade ago.

“All the places in southern Afghanistan considered the heartland for the Taliban, no one expected that the people here would rise up against the Taliban in a sort of homegrown, anti-Taliban movement, and it happened here. It is real,” Abrams says.

Abrams tells the story of a village in the Panjwai region, located in the Kandahar province of southern Afghanistan, where a village elder pushed the Taliban out of the village after they threatened his sons.

“He said, ‘that is it,’” Abrams recounts. “That was, literally, the straw that broke the camel's back. He called the chief of police, ‘we need your help, and I will help you,’ and that has, it has now blossomed now into multiple villages across western Panjwai.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Afghans-reject-the-Taliban/672767250032625660.html

Tim Tebow dropped again?

2013-04-29T15:00:00Z

Posted By: Staff

USA Today reports:

Tim Tebow couldn't get any playing time last season when the New York Jets had three quarterbacks on the roster. Following the selection of Geno Smith last week, they had six.

Well, now they have five.

Tebow was informed Monday morning when he arrived at the team's facility he'll be waived, and the team put out a statement:

"We have a great deal of respect for Tim Tebow," said Jets head coach Rex Ryan. "Unfortunately, things did not work out the way we all had hoped. Tim is an extremely hard worker, evident by the shape he came back in this offseason (losing weight). We wish him the best moving forward."

Tebow will now have to pass through waivers. Teams will have until 4 p.m. ET Tuesday to put in claims for him.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Tim-Tebow-dropped-again/-820980397799535059.html

Many Michelles in plastic surgery's future

2013-04-29T14:59:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The LA Times reports:

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons released its latest cosmetic and resconstructive surgery statistics on Monday.

Many of the trends were familiar. In all, the group reported, Americans underwent 1.6 million cosmetic surgeries, including face-lifts, liposuction and rhinoplasty; 13 million minimally invasive procedures (think Botox injections) and 5.6 million reconstructive procedures (including tumor removal and scar revision). People in the U.S. spent $11 billion on the cosmetic procedures alone.

Once again, for the seventh year in a row, breast augmentation was the most popular form of cosmetic surgery, with 286,000 operations performed. Botox treatments reached an all-time high of 6.1 million injections. People between the ages of 40 and 54 accounted for the largest portion of the cosmetic procedures: 6.8 million, or 48%. Ninety-one percent of cosmetic procedures were in women.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Many-Michelles-in-plastic-surgerys-future/-55587972666436997.html

Cincinnati School Shooting, One Injured

2013-04-29T14:41:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Daily News reports:

A male student shot himself with a gun inside of his Cincinnati high school Monday morning, according to reports.

Authorities arrived at La Salle High School after several students called 911 around 9 a.m. The victim, believed to have been trying to commit suicide in a classroom, was rushed to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office said.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Cincinnati-School-Shooting,-One-Injured/-934832515303824798.html

Egyptian police allow deadly attack on Coptic Cathedral

2013-04-29T12:18:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News reports:

Newly-emerged video appears to show Egyptian police standing idly by - and even helping attackers during a deadly assault earlier this month on a Coptic cathedral where Christians were mourning five men killed in an earlier clash with Muslims.

The video shot April 7 and first obtained by MidEast Christian News, shows a men shooting guns, wielding machetes and hurling stones and possibly Molotov cocktails as mourners carry caskets out of St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Abbassia District of Cairo as uniformed police watch, unmoving. At one point, a police officer appears to help a gunman take aim at a courtyard full of mourners who had spilled out of the church. The attack left two Copts dead and another 84 people injured, including 11 police officers.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Egyptian-police-allow-deadly-attack-on-Coptic-Cathedral/-89190303872585866.html

5 major concerns with the Gang of 8 Bill

2013-04-29T11:47:00Z

Posted By: Staff

National Review reports:

Conservative critics of the Gang of Eight’s immigration-reform bill worry that the bill’s Republican backers, well meaning as they might be, are putting politics before policy by letting their desire to win over Hispanic voters blind them to what’s actually in the bill. Here are five major concerns these critics have identified:

Border Security
Those favoring an “enforcement first” approach to immigration reform — 68 percent of registered voters, and 66 percent of Democrats, according to a recent Fox News poll — are bound to be disappointed by what the bill has to offer.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/5-major-concerns-with-the-Gang-of-8-Bill/629208639242439931.html

Syria crosses 'red line' with chemical weapons

2013-04-26T15:27:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

White House officials are aggressively downplaying the growing evidence that Syria’s government has twice crossed a national security “red line” announced by President Barack Obama.

The announced “red line” was intended to deter the embattled Syrian dictatorship, headed by Bashar al-Assad, from using chemical weapons against the various Islamist and local rebel factions now trying to seize the capital city of Damascus.

“I think what the Assad regime needs to know is that we are watching this incredibly closely,” a White House official told reporters Thursday afternoon. “Were he to undertake any additional use [of chemical weapons], he would be doing so under very careful monitoring from us and the international community.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Syria-crosses-red-line-with-chemical-weapons/493200606916054648.html

Illegal immigrants can get food stamps

2013-04-26T15:27:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

The Department of Agriculture, via the Mexican government, assures potentially ineligible immigrants that they can still apply for food stamps on behalf of their eligible children without giving information about their immigration status, according to documents released Thursday by Judicial Watch.

A USDA Spanish language flyer provided to the Mexican Embassy, according to Judicial Watch, reads that if potentially ineligible immigrants want to obtain benefits for their children they “need not divulge information regarding your immigration status in seeking this benefit for your children.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Illegal-immigrants-can-get-food-stamps/-25894305767978270.html

Obama used Bush library speech to push immigration reform

2013-04-26T15:26:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Weekly Standard reports:

"Seven years ago, President Bush restarted an important conversation by speaking with the American people about our history as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants," said Obama. "And even though comprehensive immigration reform has taken a little longer than any of us expected, I am hopeful that this year, with the help of Speaker Boehner, and some of the senators and members of Congress who are here today, that we bring it home for our families, our economy, our security, and for this incredible country that we love. And if we do that it will be in large part thanks to the hard work of President George W. Bush."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-used-Bush-library-speech-to-push-immigration-reform/-733214803287108608.html

CA bill would allow non-citizen on juries

2013-04-26T15:25:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP reports:

The California Assembly passed a bill on Thursday that would make the state the first in the nation to allow non-citizens who are in the country legally to serve on jury duty.

Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, said his bill, AB1401, would help California widen the pool of prospective jurors and help integrate immigrants into the community.

It does not change other criteria for being eligible to serve on a jury, such as being at least 18, living in the county that is making the summons, and being proficient in English.

The bill passed 45-25 largely on a party-line vote in the Democratic-controlled Assembly and will move on to the Senate. One Democrat - Assemblyman Adam Gray, of Merced - voted no, while some other Democrats did not vote.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/CA-bill-would-allow-non-citizen-on-juries/346899394954928056.html

Homeland using 1,000 More Round Per Person Than Army

2013-04-26T15:24:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News reports:

Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz said Thursday that the Department of Homeland Security is using roughly 1,000 rounds of ammunition more per person than the U.S. Army, as he and other lawmakers sharply questioned DHS officials on their "massive" bullet buys.

"It is entirely ... inexplicable why the Department of Homeland Security needs so much ammunition," Chaffetz, R-Utah, said at a hearing.

The hearing itself was unusual, as questions about the department's ammunition purchases until recently had bubbled largely under the radar -- on blogs and in the occasional news article. But as the Department of Homeland Security found itself publicly defending the purchases, lawmakers gradually showed more interest in the issue.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Homeland-using-1,000-More-Round-Per-Person-Than-Army/98877382198289588.html

U.S. economy grows less than expected in first quarters

2013-04-26T15:23:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox Business reports:

U.S. economic growth regained speed in the first quarter, but not as much as expected, which could heighten fears the already weakening economy could struggle to handle deep government spending cuts and higher taxes.

Gross domestic product expanded at 2.5% annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Friday, after growth nearly stalled at 0.4% in the fourth quarter. The increase, however, missed economists' expectations for a 3.0% growth pace.

Part of the acceleration in activity reflected farmers' filling up silos after a drought last summer decimated crop output. Removing inventories, the growth rate was a tepid 1.5%.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/U.S.-economy-grows-less-than-expected-in-first-quarters/803999581397049848.html

The chart that could sever Obama's coalition

2013-04-26T11:39:00Z

Posted By: Staff

National Journal reports:

What could dissolve the powerful electoral coalition that powered both of President Obama’s victories? The latest Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll points to the greatest risk: continuing economic dissatisfaction.

The survey shows some clear continuing signs of strength for Obama with the key elements of the “coalition of the ascendant” that reelected him. African-Americans, Hispanics, members of the millennial generation ages 18-29, and college-educated white women—the growing groups that provided Obama his critical support last November—all said in the poll they trusted Obama more than congressional Republicans to develop solutions to the country’s economic problems. All four groups are also more likely than the public overall to reject the Reaganesque argument that government is more the problem than the solution to the country’s challenges. Moreover, the first three groups are also more likely than the public overall to say Obama’s agenda will increase opportunity for people like them.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/The-chart-that-could-sever-Obamas-coalition/399742166883808375.html

Russia: Tamerlan Tsarnaev did not contact terror groups

2013-04-25T21:12:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Boston.com reports:

Russia has informed the United States that it knew of no contact between Tamerlan Tsarnaev and any known terrorist groups during his six-month trip to Dagestan in 2012, according to an official who attended a closed-door Senate briefing Thursday morning by top counterterrorism officials.

Russia provided the information to US authorities five days ago, the official said.

The statements could bolster theories that Tsarnaev and his younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, were acting on their own when they allegedly planted two bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, and not at the behest of any foreign terror groups.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Russia:-Tamerlan-Tsarnaev-did-not-contact-terror-groups/347957245196752254.html

Obama-Phone Over?

2013-04-25T14:57:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Times reports:

Nearly 50 congressional members have signed on to legislation that would put a stop to the government’s free phone program, known loosely as “Obama-phone.”

The program is formally called Lifeline and started under the Ronald Reagan administration as a means of providing landline phone service to poor people in case of emergency. It’s grown to the point the Federal Communications Commission under President Obama now admits it’s rife with waste and fraud.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that 41 percent of the program’s 6 million participants couldn’t provide requested information that proved their eligibility.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-Phone-Over/-710265988133937315.html

Sen. Reid says Gov is 'Inherently Good'

2013-04-25T14:56:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Times reports:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he can’t understand why the tea party remains popular, given its similarity to the anarchist movement and its steadfast opposition to the “inherently good” government.

Mr. Reid, Nevada Democrat, made the statements during floor remarks in the Senate earlier this week, expressing dismay over legislation stalled because of tea party opposition, Breitbart reported.

“We have a situation where this country has been driven by the tea party for the last number of years,” he said, adding that he learned about anarchists in high school. And though “they were different than the tea party because they were violent,” he said, as Breitbart reported, the two movements do have similarities.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Sen.-Reid-says-Gov-is-Inherently-Good/383124479112381828.html

Sequester Ends DHS Stockpile

2013-04-25T14:55:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Tight budgets are forcing the Homeland Security Department to buy less ammunition, two top officials are slated to tell Congress on Thursday as the House oversight committee continues investigating the Obama administration’s ammunition purchases.

Despite the potential for cuts, the department still reported stockpiling more than 260 million rounds of ammunition as of November 2012 — a two-year supply, according to information provided to the committee ahead of a hearing on Thursday.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Sequester-Ends-DHS-Stockpile/-220940927176863462.html

China Warns Japan about Waters

2013-04-25T14:54:00Z

Posted By: Staff

There will be no future for Japan's relations with its Asian neighbors if Japanese leaders regard aggression, expansion and colonial rule by the country's former militarists as "proud history and tradition," a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Thursday.

Hua Chunying's remarks came after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reportedly told a parliamentary panel on Wednesday that it is only natural to honor the spirit of the war dead who gave their lives for the country, in the wake of protests from China and the Republic of Korea over his Cabinet members' recent visits to the war-related Yasukuni Shrine.

Abe also said his ministers will not yield to any threats, and it is also his job to protect Japanese pride, which rests on history and tradition.

Hua said the essence of issues regarding Yasukuni Shrine is how Japanese government and leaders understand and treat the country's history of invading other Asian countries.

If Japanese leaders regard aggression, expansion and colonial rule by the country's former militarists as "proud history and tradition," and attempt to challenge the results of World War II and post-war order, Japan can never escape its historical shadow and there will be no future for Japan's relations with its Asian neighbors, Hua told a regular news briefing.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/China-Warns-Japan-about-Waters/-19783233724866370.html

Tamerlan's mother knew all along

2013-04-25T14:53:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News reports:

The mother of Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev knew as early as 2011 that her son had been radicalized and sent text messages to family in Russia suggesting he was willing to die for Islam, the FBI told lawmakers this week according to two officials with knowledge of the Capitol Hill briefing.

Tsarnaev, who was killed days after the April 15 bombing in a shootout with police, is said to have embraced radical Islam in recent years and recruited his younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, to carry out the attack that killed three and wounded more than 180 near the finish line of the world's most prestigious road race.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Tamerlans-mother-knew-all-along/-786561025445070091.html

Barney Frank says GOP Aligned with Al Qaeda

2013-04-25T14:53:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Buzzfeed reports:

Former Congressman Barney Frank doesn't care that al-Qaeda attacked him in the latest issue of their Inspire magazine, which al-Qaeda publishes intermittently to inspire terrorist attacks in Western nations.

In fact, Frank said he finds it "ironic," comparing al-Qaeda's opposition to his marriage to a man to opposition he said he received from the American right wing.

"I thought there was an irony there," Frank told BuzzFeed when reached by phone Wednesday night. "It sounded like what the tea party said when I got married."

Frank married his partner of seven years, Jim Ready, last year in a ceremony in Newton, Massachusetts, that was officiated by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. Newton was part of the district Frank represented as a congressman for more than 30 years. In 1987, Frank became the second member of Congress to say he was gay.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Barney-Frank-says-GOP-Aligned-with-Al-Qaeda/970306594333734107.html

Celubutainment presidency: Justin Timberlake joins Obama fundraiser

2013-04-25T11:44:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Post reports:

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel have come aboard to co-host a Barack Obama fund-raising reception being thrown by Harvey Weinstein and Georgina Chapman next month, Page Six has exclusively learned. The president’s expected to appear May 13 at the DNC reception, being held at the Manhattan home of Weinstein and Chapman. The intimate party is billed to include fewer than 65 guests with tickets costing $32,400 per couple. Timberlake was spotted playfully cutting a rug with Jimmy Fallon, right next to Gabrielle Giffords’ table, at a Time 100 gala Tuesday night.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Celubutainment-presidency:-Justin-Timberlake-joins-Obama-fundraiser/304814484850325888.html

Gen. Amos argues against "neo-isolationism"

2013-04-25T11:41:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Free Beacon reports:

The top commander of the Marine Corps blasted what he called “neo-isolationism” at a congressional hearing Wednesday morning.

Gen. James Amos said mandatory cuts to the military’s budget, also known as sequestration, would hurt the ability of the United States to project power around the world.

“Neo-isolationism does not advance our national interests,” Amos, a four star general, told a Senate appropriations subcommittee. Amos then noted that forward operating bases serve the nation’s interests.

His statement stands in sharp contrast to the foreign policy proposals of other prominent political leaders.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Gen.-Amos-argues-against-neo-isolationism/835801549799341061.html

Poll shows gun control failure greeted with relief by many

2013-04-25T02:17:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Mediaite reports:

“How can something have 90% support and not happen?” asked President Barack Obama on the day the Senate failed to pass even a modest reform of the nation’s gun laws. The answer to his rhetorical question is simple: it can’t. A Washington Post/Pew Research Center poll showed on Wednesday that the public is far less enraged about the Senate’s failure to pass new gun laws than, say, Joe Scarborough. The poll found that only a plurality, 47 percent, were disappointed that the Senate did not pass any new laws, including an expansion of background checks for gun purchasers. 39 percent, however, expressed either relief or happiness over the failure to pass new gun laws. Furthermore, a plurality of self-identified independents expressed satisfaction with the fact that no new gun laws were passed.

The WaPo/Pew poll, taken between April 18 – 24 of 1,002 adults with a margin of error of +/- 3.7 percent, showed that only a plurality are disappointed by the failure to pass new gun laws. This figure is boyed by the 67 percent of Democrats who are frustrated by the Senate’s inaction. 51 percent of Republicans were “relieved” or “very happy” by the failure to pass new gun laws. 48 percent of independents said the same, while just 41 percent said they were either “disappointed” or “angry” over the lack of new gun control.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Poll-shows-gun-control-failure-greeted-with-relief-by-many/-548845645069498616.html

Must Read: Dr. Jerry Singer - How Government Killed the Medical Profession

2013-04-24T15:57:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Dr. Jerry Singer:

I am a general surgeon with more than three decades in private clinical practice. And I am fed up. Since the late 1970s, I have witnessed remarkable technological revolutions in medicine, from CT scans to robot-assisted surgery. But I have also watched as medicine slowly evolved into the domain of technicians, bookkeepers, and clerks.

Government interventions over the past four decades have yielded a cascade of perverse incentives, bureaucratic diktats, and economic pressures that together are forcing doctors to sacrifice their independent professional medical judgment, and their integrity. The consequence is clear: Many doctors from my generation are exiting the field. Others are seeing their private practices threatened with bankruptcy, or are giving up their autonomy for the life of a shift-working hospital employee. Governments and hospital administrators hold all the power, while doctors—and worse still, patients—hold none.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Must-Read:-Dr.-Jerry-Singer---How-Government-Killed-the-Medical-Profession/846072162254735163.html

Juvee Escapees Kill Two

2013-04-24T15:01:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News reports:

Two teenagers are accused of escaping from a juvenile rehabilitation camp then fatally beating and stabbing an elderly couple at a vacation cabin in southwest Missouri.

Seventeen-year-old Anthony Zarro of Spring, Texas, and 16-year-old Christopher Allen, of Nashville, Tenn., are charged with first-degree murder in the January killing of 70-year-old Paul Brian Brooks and his 69-year-old wife, Margaret.

The Brooks, of Baldwin, Mich., were staying in a vacation cabin near Lampe, 50 miles south of Springfield, when they were killed.

Circuit Court Judge Alan Blankenship ruled Tuesday that the boys will be tried as adults. The Springfield News-Leader reports (http://sgfnow.co/15K0qPr ) that Blankenship doubted the teens could be rehabilitated.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Juvee-Escapees-Kill-Two/464983071549629035.html

Ford rising despite economy, refusal to take bailouts

2013-04-24T15:00:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The LA Times reports:

Ford Motor Co.’s first-quarter profit rose more than 15%, helped by record earnings in North America and strong performance by its auto loan financing arm.

Ford’s net income was $1.6 billion, or 40 cents per share, compared to $1.4 billion, or 35 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue rose 10% to $35.8 billion.

“We continue to expect 2013 to be another strong year as we go further in strengthening our global product lineup and improving the compet

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Ford-rising-despite-economy,-refusal-to-take-bailouts/708884665399271720.html

Gen. Petraeus to teach at CUNY

2013-04-24T14:57:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Times reports:

David H. Petraeus, who resigned as director of the Central Intelligence Agency last November after having an extramarital affair with his biographer, will serve as a visiting professor at the City University of New York next academic year, the university announced on Tuesday.

Mr. Petraeus, who will be the next visiting professor of public policy at the university’s Macaulay Honors College, had been approached by many universities, but settled on CUNY because he admires its diversity of students, locations and offerings, his lawyer, Robert Barnett, said in an interview.

In a statement, Mr. Petraeus said he looked forward to leading a seminar “that examines the developments that could position the United States — and our North American partners — to lead the world out of the current global economic slowdown.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Gen.-Petraeus-to-teach-at-CUNY/-211022087339020772.html

PA lawmakers approve bill to prevent abortion coverage under Obamacare

2013-04-24T11:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

National Review reports:

A bill to prevent coverage for most abortions under the insurance marketplace being set up as part of the federal health care overhaul is on its way to the Pennsylvania Senate after approval Tuesday by the House.

The House voted 144-53 in favor of the proposal that would provide exceptions only for rape, incest or when the mother’s life is in danger.

During hours of heated debate, Democratic opponents portrayed the measure as a new restriction on reproductive rights, and a needless risk to women’s health.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/PA-lawmakers-approve-bill-to-prevent-abortion-coverage-under-Obamacare/585851477730231870.html

What Boston means for immigration

2013-04-24T11:47:00Z

Posted By: Staff

National Review reports:

The Boston Marathon bombing has intensified objections to the Gang of Eight’s so-called comprehensive-immigration-reform bill, and rightly so: The terrorist attack in Boston underlines several failures in our immigration system — failures that the bill under consideration would do little or nothing to rectify and would in some cases make considerably worse.

From a domestic-policy point of view, the most critical of these failures is the failure to maintain an immigration system oriented toward assimilation — the unapologetic expectation that immigrants will be fully immersed in American life. Assimilation has important cultural and economic benefits. It also makes immigrants less likely to become Islamist terrorists. The case of Tamerlan Tsarnaev — a non-citizen, charged in 2009 with a violent crime, flagged by a foreign intelligence service as a likely Islamic radical and terror threat, who traveled abroad to jihadist hot spots before returning to the United States to carry out his attack — suggests very strongly that our screening-and-evaluations system is broken. The case of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev suggests very strongly that our ability and willingness to fully assimilate immigrants is damaged, much as the London bombings pointed toward the United Kingdom’s inability or unwillingness to assimilate its immigrants.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/What-Boston-means-for-immigration/614557138476577913.html

Too fat to fly at Southwest

2013-04-24T11:45:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News reports:

A Southwest Airlines passenger says he was booted off a flight from Chicago to Denver on Sunday because of his weight.

Matthew Harper told KDVR.com that he "felt like a criminal" when a Southwest official reportedly demanded he get off the plane.

"I’m 34 years old, and I’ve never been humiliated like this in my life. I mean, when I got back on the plane, only thing I could do was put my head down," Harper told the station.

Harper, who weighs about 340 pounds, said he was taken off the plane in front of other passengers waiting to board and was told the flight was overbooked, according to the report.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Too-fat-to-fly-at-Southwest/-855594455858369389.html

Tamerlan Tsarnaev got Mass. welfare benefits

2013-04-24T11:42:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Boston Herald reports:

Marathon bombings mastermind Tamerlan Tsarnaev was living on taxpayer-funded state welfare benefits even as he was delving deep into the world of radical anti-American Islamism, the Herald has learned.

State officials confirmed last night that Tsarnaev, slain in a raging gun battle with police last Friday, was receiving benefits along with his wife, Katherine Russell Tsarnaev, and their 3-year-old daughter. The state’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services said those benefits ended in 2012 when the couple stopped meeting income eligibility limits. Russell Tsarnaev’s attorney has claimed Katherine — who had converted to Islam — was working up to 80 hours a week as a home health aide while Tsarnaev stayed at home.

In addition, both of Tsarnaev’s parents received benefits, and accused brother bombers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan were recipients through their parents when they were younger, according to the state.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Tamerlan-Tsarnaev-got-Mass.-welfare-benefits/-141266360063037191.html

Another one of Rubio's new buddies supports immig. reform

2013-04-24T02:23:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano mounted a vigorous defense of the Senate Gang of Eight’s comprehensive immigration plan on Tuesday, calling the legislation an “important first step” to reforming the nation’s immigration laws.

In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Napolitano said the 844-page bill would improve the immigration system in several ways: it would modernize the current legal immigration system, implement stricter accountability measures for employers and improve border security.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Another-one-of-Rubios-new-buddies-supports-immig.-reform/-393447070745447804.html

House nixes provision to keep employers from asking for Facebook passwords is blocked

2013-04-23T22:11:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Mail reports:

An attempt to ban US bosses from asking employees to hand over their Facebook login details has been blocked by Congress.

A last minute alteration to the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) that would have prevented employers demanding that prospective employees disclose social media passwords as a condition of employment was voted down in the house of representatives.

The proposal, put forward by Democrat Ed Perlmutter was defeated by a 224-189 majority, according to the Huffington Post.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/House-nixes-provision-to-keep-employers-from-asking-for-Facebook-passwords-is-blocked/-98557296914170896.html

Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev may have killed before?

2013-04-23T13:59:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Post reports:

Tamerlan Tsarnaev Now Being Investigated For Throat Slashing Death Of Friend And Two Others…On September 11, 2011

Update to story here. When I read there was marijuana poured over the bodies, first thing I thought was “it’s a ruse”, real drug dealer killings wouldn’t waste the product. But someone trying to misdirect police might do something like that.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Boston-bomber-Tamerlan-Tsarnaev-may-have-killed-before/925908433206255522.html

Boston bombing suspect charged and faces possible death penalty

2013-04-23T13:58:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Post reports:

Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was charged yesterday with using a weapon of mass destruction, as dramatic new details painted a chilling picture of how he and his older brother methodically planted two explosives-laden backpacks near the finish line.

Tsarnaev, 19, was charged from his hospital bed with one count of using and conspiring with his older brother, Tamerlan to use a WMD resulting in death.

He was also charged with malicious destruction of property by means of an explosive device resulting in death.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Boston-bombing-suspect-charged-and-faces-possible-death-penalty/-13827474099543233.html

99.5% illegal immigrants approved for legal status

2013-04-23T13:57:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Times reports:

The administration has approved 99.5 percent of applications of those who have applied for legal status under President Obama’s nondeportation policy for young adults, granting legal status to more than 250,000 formerly illegal immigrants.

Officials said they expect the approval rate to drop as more cases make their way through the system, as it takes longer to deny an application than to approve it. Indeed, the approval rate already has dropped from 99.8 percent just a month ago.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/99.5-illegal-immigrants-approved-for-legal-status/-47326397218754975.html

Bloomberg: Interpretation of Constitution must change after Boston bombing

2013-04-23T13:55:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Politicker reports:

In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday the country’s interpretation of the Constitution will “have to change” to allow for greater security to stave off future attacks.

“The people who are worried about privacy have a legitimate worry,” Mr. Bloomberg said during a press conference in Midtown. “But we live in a complex word where you’re going to have to have a level of security greater than you did back in the olden days, if you will. And our laws and our interpretation of the Constitution, I think, have to change.”

Mr. Bloomberg, who has come under fire for the N.Y.P.D.’s monitoring of Muslim communities and other aggressive tactics, said the rest of the country needs to learn from the attacks.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Bloomberg:-Interpretation-of-Constitution-must-change-after-Boston-bombing/-277106290209781544.html

Flight delays increase due to FAA budget cuts

2013-04-23T13:54:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP reports:

Flight delays piled up across the country Monday as thousands of air traffic controllers began taking unpaid days off because of federal budget cuts, providing the most visible impact yet of Congress and the White House's failure to agree on a long-term deficit-reduction plan.

The Federal Aviation Administration kept planes on the ground because there weren't enough controllers to monitor busy air corridors. Cascading delays held up flights at some of nation's busiest airports, including New York, Baltimore and Washington. Many operations were more than two hours behind schedule.

At one point, the delays were so bad that passengers on several Washington-New York shuttle flights could have reached their destination faster by taking the train.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Flight-delays-increase-due-to-FAA-budget-cuts/-489054400507258778.html

Seniors scammed by Obamacare

2013-04-23T13:54:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Everyday Health reports:

One recent morning, 86-year-old Evelyne Lois Such was sitting at her kitchen table in Denver when the phone rang. She didn’t recognize the phone number or the deep voice on the other end of the line. “He asked if I was a senior, and I said yes, and he said we are sending out all new Medicare cards and I want to make sure I have all of your statistics correct,” Such recounts.

At first, the caller didn’t seem too fishy; he started by running through her address and phone number, just to make sure they were right. But then he read off a series of numbers and asked if it was her bank routing number. “I didn’t know really at the time whether it was or not, but I just said no. He said, well could you give it to me so I’ll have it correctly, and I said, well I’m not so sure about that. And he started to say something and I hung up.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Seniors-scammed-by-Obamacare/-748344208722286638.html

Obama endorses Internet Sales Tax

2013-04-23T13:52:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hill reports:

Legislation that would empower states to tax online purchases cleared a key hurdle in the Senate on Monday after winning an enthusiastic endorsement from President Obama.

Senators advanced the bill in 74-20 procedural vote on Monday evening, just one vote short of the backing it received in a test vote last month. Twenty-six Republicans joined Democrats in moving forward with the bill.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-endorses-Internet-Sales-Tax/682408783036845242.html

Chris Matthews: What difference does it make if bombers were motivated by Islam?

2013-04-23T13:51:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Tingles Runs Interference For Jihad: “What Difference Does It Make” If The Boston Bombers Were Motivated By Islam?…

Would he be saying the same thing if the bombers were “right-wing?” We all know the answer to that question.

CHRIS MATTHEWS, MSNBC: I know we’re filled in this country with some strange thinking people, truthers, birthers that have off-the-wall theories. I don’t know how anybody could look at this evidence presented so far and have some other theory of the case besides the indictment, itself.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Chris-Matthews:-What-difference-does-it-make-if-bombers-were-motivated-by-Islam/85013982631734807.html

Duh! TSA to delay small knives on planes

2013-04-23T00:25:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The LA Times reports:

The Transportation Security Administration will temporarily delay a policy change that would have allowed passengers to carry small folding knives onto planes.

In a letter to TSA employees, TSA chief John Pistole said he decided to maintain, at least temporarily, the ban on knives on planes after a meeting Monday with an aviation security panel. The changes were scheduled to take effect Thursday.

Pisotle's letter did not say when he might reconsider easing the knife ban. TSA officials declined to comment.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Duh!-TSA-to-delay-small-knives-on-planes/-819552019108422793.html

TAX & SPEND: IRS overpaid up to $13.6B in low-income tax credits

2013-04-22T23:54:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hill reports:

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) overpaid between $11.6 billion and $13.6 billion in tax credits designed to help low-income families in fiscal 2012 , the Treasury Department announced in a report released Monday.

The overpayments account for 21 percent to 25 percent of the tax credits issued under the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the IRS estimated.

The report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the department's IRS watchdog, highlights the difficulties faced by the agency in properly issuing refunds and credits under the popular program.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/TAX--SPEND:-IRS-overpaid-up-to-$13.6B-in-low-income-tax-credits/176163870862715144.html

Senators wanting to rush immigration reform through

2013-04-22T15:46:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News reports:

The Boston bombings and the foreign-born suspects have become part of the Capitol Hill debates on legislation to overhaul immigration law -- with critics of the proposal saying Sunday the terror attacks expose gaps in the country's system and supporters saying the tragedy could be a turning point in fixing a broken system.

“Now is the time to bring all of the 11 million (illegal immigrants) out of the shadows and find out who they are,” South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We may find some terrorists in our midst who have been hiding in the shadows.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Senators-wanting-to-rush-immigration-reform-through/-414029184445516513.html

Latest news about suspect's condition

2013-04-22T15:45:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNN reports:

Despite being seriously wounded and heavily sedated, the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings is answering brief questions from authorities by nodding his head, a source with first-hand knowledge of the investigation told CNN Monday.

Authorities are asking Dzhokhar Tsarnaev whether there are more bombs, explosives caches or weapons, and whether anyone was helping him and his brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the source said.

Investigators are going into Tsarnaev's room at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston every few hours to ask questions in the presence of doctors, the source said.

It wasn't immediately clear what information he may be communicating to investigators.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Latest-news-about-suspects-condition/-446852707996341189.html

Interview from a woman who knew the Boston bombers

2013-04-22T15:45:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News reports:

I started getting facials from Zubeidat Tsarnaeva (pronounced Zu-bey-da) six years ago when I was 17 at a spa in the Boston area. She soon after left the spa and contacted my mom to have us start coming to her house, at 410 Norfolk St., right on the line of Cambridge and Somerville.

All throughout my senior year of high school and four years of college I went to her house about three times a year. The last time I went to the house was in December and January of 2011/2012.

The first few years the third-floor apartment was often crowded with her two sons, now identified as the alleged Boston bombers, and her two daughters, one of which was around my age. It was definitely not a glamorous place to get a facial, as the “spa” was set up in her living room, and during these years the family expanded.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Interview-from-a-woman-who-knew-the-Boston-bombers/496451891605402557.html

Boston marathon bombings: turn to religion split terrorists' home

2013-04-22T11:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

After last week's Boston Marathon bombings, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva phoned her son Tamerlan in Massachusetts to make sure he was safe.

"Mama, why are you worrying?" Tamerlan replied from Boston, laughing.

Days later, it was the son who phoned his mother. The two, in recent years, had shared a powerful transformation to a more intense brand of Islam.

"The police, they have started shooting at us, they are chasing us," Mrs. Tsarnaeva says Tamerlan told her. "Mama, I love you." Then the phone went silent.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Boston-marathon-bombings:-turn-to-religion-split-terrorists-home/648529376314618221.html

Special interests provided 40% of Obama inaugural funds

2013-04-22T11:45:00Z

Posted By: Staff

USA Today reports:

More than $18 million raised for President Obama's second inauguration came from corporations, unions and other special-interest groups, according to newly filed disclosure reports.

Those donations made up more than 40% of the total collected by the Presidential Inaugural Committee. In all, the committee reported net contributions of $43.2 million. That's $10 million less than organizers raised for Obama's first inauguration in 2009.

Obama, who championed limits on political spending during his campaigns, rejected corporate donations for his first inauguration, but reversed course after he won a second term.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Special-interests-provided-40-of-Obama-inaugural-funds/82510190518403617.html

Boston nurses tell of bloody marathon aftermath

2013-04-22T11:44:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

The screams and cries of bloody marathon bombing victims still haunt the nurses who treated them one week ago. They did their jobs as they were trained to do, putting their own fears in a box during their 12-hour shifts so they could better comfort their patients.

Only now are these nurses beginning to come to grips with what they endured — and are still enduring as they continue to care for survivors. They are angry, sad and tired. A few confess they would have trouble caring for the surviving suspect, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, if he were at their hospital and they were assigned his room.

And they are thankful. They tick off the list of their hospital colleagues for praise: from the security officers who guarded the doors to the ER crews who mopped up trails of blood. The doctors and — especially — the other nurses.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Boston-nurses-tell-of-bloody-marathon-aftermath/-567661566347728441.html

Rubio aide compares plight of illegals to slavery

2013-04-22T11:42:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

The battle within the Republican Party over the so-called Gang of Eight’s 844-page immigration bill has often been contentious, but in recent days it has escalated.

Despite his plea for cooler heads to prevail in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing last, Alex Conant, press secretary for Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, likened the current plight of illegal immigrants to that of slaves in 19th century America.

Conant made his remarks in a Twitter argument with the Washington Examiner’s Conn Carroll, who accused the Florida Republican of “selling lies.” Conant replied by asking Carroll for suggestions.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Rubio-aide-compares-plight-of-illegals-to-slavery/454556537731740769.html

Peddling untruths to sell Immigration

2013-04-22T11:41:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Mediaite reports:

Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ), ‘Gang of 8′ member, posted an op-ed in National Review on Saturday entitled: “The Conservative Case for Immigration Reform.” Flake’s pitch consisted of the standard Gang of 8 talking points – it also consisted of the misinformation we have seen recently from Senator Marco Rubio, his fellow ‘Gang of 8′ member.

In the op-ed, Flake claims:

Because DHS hasn’t always addressed the situation at the border realistically, the bill requires that if they do not achieve a 90 percent effectiveness rate within five years (meaning that 9 of every 10 illegal border crossers is apprehended), another $2 billion will be spent to implement recommendations from a commission of border stakeholders, who, for the first time, will have meaningful authority to increase border security.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Peddling-untruths-to-sell--Immigration/-596970005743874190.html

Bomb suspect's mother: Tamerlan Tsarnaev's last call

2013-04-22T02:59:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The LA Times reports:

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older of the two brothers suspected in the Boston Marathon bombings, called his mother Thursday morning, hours before being killed in a shootout with police, and told her he had received a call from the FBI, she said.

“He would call me every day from America in the last days,” Zubeidat Tsarnaev said Sunday in a telephone interview with The Times from her home in the Russian republic of Dagestan, “and during our last conversation on the morning [before the shootout], he was especially touching and tender and alarmed at the same time,” she said. “He said he got a private phone call from [the FBI] and said that they told him he was under suspicion and should come see them.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Bomb-suspects-mother:-Tamerlan-Tsarnaevs-last-call/79621012954094289.html

Who outside of Kermit Gosnell's abortion clinic knew about the horrors

2013-04-21T23:21:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Breitbart reports:

Who outside of Kermit Gosnell’s abortion clinic knew about the massacre of the innocents but didn’t say a word to the authorities about it?

Planned Parenthood, that’s who. This week, Planned Parenthood Southeast Pennsylvania president and CEO Dayle Steinberg, speaking at a fundraiser, no less, admitted that she knew what was going on at Gosnell’s butcher shop. She and her organization did not report it to state health officials or anyone else who could have stepped in.

So what was the abortion organization’s response? Try this: Steinberg said they left it up to the traumatized women themselves to report the horror: “We would always encourage them to report it to the Department of Health,” she said.

Gosnell performed abortions later than Planned Parenthood does, which may have led the abortion provider to ignore the horror and carnage and encourage the women seeking these abortions to visit Gosnell.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Who-outside-of-Kermit-Gosnells-abortion-clinic-knew-about-the-horrors/-516465391466993710.html

FBI hunting 12-strong terrorist "sleeper cell" linked to brothers

2013-04-21T17:06:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Mirror reports:

The FBI was last night hunting a 12-strong terrorist “sleeper cell” linked to the Boston marathon bomb brothers.

Police believe Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were specially trained to carry out the devastating attack.

More than 1,000 FBI operatives were last night working to track down the cell and arrested a man and two women 60 miles from Boston in the hours before Dzhokhar’s dramatic capture after a bloody shootout on Friday.

A source close to the investigation said: “We have no doubt the brothers were not acting alone. The devices used to detonate the two bombs were highly sophisticated and not the kind of thing people learn from Google.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/FBI-hunting-12-strong-terrorist-sleeper-cell-linked-to-brothers/392583167145459418.html

FLASHBACK: Attack on Rep. King's Muslim-American Radicalization Hearings

2013-04-19T16:22:00Z

Posted By: Staff

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/FLASHBACK:--Attack-on-Rep.-Kings-Muslim-American-Radicalization-Hearings/-60252438292849398.html

Family speaks: one an "angel" the other a "loser"

2013-04-19T15:21:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Slate reports:

The Associated Press managed to track down Anzor Tsarnaev, the father of the two suspects. Here's what he had to say:

Anzor Tsarnaev spoke with The Associated Press by telephone from the Russian city of Makhachkala on Friday after police said one of his sons, 26-year-old Tamerlan, had been killed in a shootout and the other, Dzhokhar, was being intensely pursued.

"My son is a true angel," the elder Tsarnaev said. "Dzhokhar is a second-year medical student in the U.S. He is such an intelligent boy. We expected him to come on holidays here."

CBS Boston, meanwhile, got a hold of their uncle, Ruslan Tsarni, who offered a different take on the two young men:

He described Tamerlan as a “loser.” Tsarni was shocked when he was informed of the unfolding situation that left Tamerlan Tsarnaev dead in a shootout. “He deserved his. He absolutely deserved his,” Tsarni said. “They do not deserve to live on this earth.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Family-speaks:-one-an-angel-the-other-a-loser/27790807331507776.html

Bomb victim helps identify suspects

2013-04-19T15:20:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News reports:

A 27-year-old man whose legs were blown off by the Boston bombings reportedly helped FBI agents identify one of the suspects, saying the man looked him in the eye as he placed a bag filled with explosives at his feet.

Jeff Bauman was waiting for his girlfriend to cross the finish line just before 3 p.m. Monday when a man wearing a cap, sunglasses and a black jacket dropped a bag at Bauman's feet, his brother, Chris Bauman, told Bloomberg News.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Bomb-victim-helps-identify-suspects/-998698395798748599.html

Boston under lockdown

2013-04-19T15:20:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Yahoo News reports:

A late-night police chase and shootout has left one marathon bombing suspect dead and another on the run, police here said, as residents of the still-grieving city were ordered by officials to "shelter in place" while the manhunt continues. One police officer was killed and another was seriously wounded during the violent spree.

Authorities identified the surviving Boston bomb suspect as Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, of Cambridge, Mass., and said that the suspects were brothers. The second bombing suspect is Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, according to NBC News, who was found with an IED on his body. The brothers' family is believed to be originally from Chechnya, a volatile southern Russian republic. Photographer Johannes Hirn took this photo essay of the older brother, a boxer. The captions suggest Tsarnaev came to America as a child with his family as refugees after fleeing Chechnya. Dhokhar Tsarnaev posted links to Islamic and pro-Chechnyan independence sites on what appears to be his social media page.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Boston-under-lockdown/314077271754347277.html

One Suspect dead

2013-04-19T15:19:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hill reports:

One suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings is dead, and police are engaged in a tense manhunt for a second man following a bloody overnight shootout that left a police officer dead.

The city of Watertown, Mass., was effectively on lockdown and police told residents in other communities — including the entire city of Boston, Cambridge, Belmont, Newton and Waltham — to remain in their homes.

Law enforcement officials are searching for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19. His brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed during a firefight.

"We are asking people to shelter in place, that is stay in place, with their door locked," Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) said at an 8 a.m. news briefing in Watertown.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/One-Suspect-dead/350516558446292587.html

I DON'T UNDERSTAND THEM

2013-04-19T14:37:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News:

The brothers behind Monday's deadly bombing at the Boston Marathon are believed to have come to the U.S. from Chechnya as long as a decade ago, but apparently never fit in with the American culture.

“I don’t have a single American friend, I don’t understand them,” the older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed in a shootout with police hours after the pair was identified as suspects, told a photographer in 2009.

What drove him and his brother, Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, who lived with him in Cambridge, Mass., to perpetrate the deadly attack — which killed three people and injured 176 others — is not clear. They are believed to be Muslim and to have had military training overseas. But the older brother, who was 26, also worked out in a gym and dreamed of making the U.S. Olympic boxing team, according to an online photojournalism slideshow that chronicled his training.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/I-DONT-UNDERSTAND-THEM/-84418267633280330.html

The government's broke - hooray

2013-04-19T11:55:00Z

Posted By: Staff

John Fund:

Imagine what the media reaction would be if in the aftermath of yesterday’s Senate vote blocking new background checks, a leading official of the gun lobby had explained his side’s success by saying: “Bribery isn’t what it once was. The government has no money. Once upon a time you would throw somebody a post office or a research facility in times like this. Frankly, there’s not a lot of leverage.” Washington would be in full outrage mode, and there would be demands to find out who had made such an offensive claim.

Of course, no such pro-gun official has said any such thing. But Politico reports that an official of one of the major gun-control lobbies told them precisely that. Save for a few blog posts and articles, the remark has gone unnoticed, despite the obvious legal implications.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/The-governments-broke---hooray/-49939122967632699.html

Will the GOP embrace amnesty?

2013-04-19T11:54:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Pat Buchanan:

During President Eisenhower's first term, 60 years ago, the United States faced an invasion across its southern border.

Illegal aliens had been coming since World War II. But, suddenly, the number was over 1 million. Crime was rising in Texas. The illegals were taking the jobs of U.S. farm workers.

Under Gen. Joseph May Swing, the Immigration and Naturalization Service launched "Operation Wetback" and began rounding up and deporting Mexican border-crossers by ship and bus. By the end of Ike's second term, illegal entries had fallen by 90 percent.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Will-the-GOP-embrace-amnesty/-568266240538995830.html

America's just not that into Obama

2013-04-19T11:51:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Townhall reports:

"You know, I actually believe my own bull----."

That's what President Obama once told a reporter. If the man ever uttered a statement that spoke more to his approach to politics, I haven't heard it.

Whether it stems from a grandiose overconfidence in his own powers of persuasion, or the lessons he took from his years as a community organizer, or his own messianic conviction that he is on the right side of everything, including history itself, the president has operated under the theory that he can move the American people to his causes. And he can't. He just can't. Yes, he got elected and re-elected, and that's saying something. But whatever personal popularity the man has doesn't transfer to domestic policy.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Americas-just-not-that-into-Obama/796964850435170367.html

The deportation lie

2013-04-19T11:47:00Z

Posted By: Staff

National Review:

It is one of the Obama administration’s favorite talking points on immigration: It has been deporting illegal immigrants in record numbers. That bolsters its credentials on enforcement and supports the argument that, now that we’ve gotten tough on the border, it is time to enact comprehensive immigration reform.

But figures recently unearthed by a federal lawsuit in Texas cast serious doubt on the administration’s deportation claims. The number of deportations appears to have declined significantly during the president’s term in office.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/The-deportation-lie/870342118964983981.html

8.5 Percent Unemployment: Rubio's New Normal?

2013-04-18T22:16:00Z

Posted By: Staff

National Review:

Among the many ways the Schumer/Rubio amnesty bill is worse than we thought is one point I haven’t seen any comment on yet. On page 808 (!), there’s a provision that bars issuance of the W guestworker visa in certain metro areas:

(f) EXCLUDED GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION.—No W nonimmigrant may be hired by a registered employer for an eligible occupation located in a metropolitan statistical area that has an unemployment rate that is more than 8 1⁄2 percent as reported in the most recent month preceding the date that the application is submitted to the Secretary

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/8.5-Percent-Unemployment:-Rubios-New-Normal/-756247224329669854.html

Kerry is staying far away from Keystone Pipeline Debate

2013-04-18T15:49:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Profiles In Courage: John Kerry Says On Keystone Pipeline Debate, “I Am Staying As Far Away From That As I Can”…

Today, Secretary of State John Kerry told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that he wasn’t touching the Keystone pipeline decision with a ten-foot pole:

“I am staying as far away from that as I can now so that when the appropriate time comes to me, I am not getting information from any place I shouldn’t be, and I am not getting engaged in the debate at a time that I shouldn’t be,” Kerry told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Kerry-is-staying-far-away-from-Keystone-Pipeline-Debate/954952411178258140.html

Man arrested for ricin laced letters

2013-04-18T15:37:00Z

Posted By: Staff

NBC News reports:

Federal agents on Wednesday arrested a suspect in the mailing of letters to President Barack Obama and a U.S. senator that initially tested positive for the poison ricin.

The suspect was identified as Paul Kevin Curtis of Tupelo, Miss., federal officials told NBC News. They said he may appear in court as early as Wednesday night.

Both letters carried an identical closing statement, according to an FBI bulletin obtained by NBC News on Wednesday.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Man-arrested-for-ricin-laced-letters/660835470482947416.html

Fertilizer explosion in Waco, TX

2013-04-18T15:36:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Dallas News reports:

Update at 10:05 a.m. Thursday: Washington bureau chief Todd J. Gillman reports that President Barack Obama has spoken to Texas Gov. Rick Perry this morning and has tried to contact West Mayor Tommy Mouska. The president is attending a memorial service this morning for victims of Monday's deadly explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Update at 9:55 a.m. Thursday: The Associated Press reports that the Czech ambassador to the United States is en route to West

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Fertilizer-explosion-in-Waco,-TX/146213681520317844.html

The stress for more surveillance cameras

2013-04-18T15:35:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CBS News reports:

Mayor Rahm Emanuel refused to comment Wednesday on reports a possible suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings has been identified and an arrest is imminent, but he is talking about how surveillance cameras aided the investigation.

CBS News has confirmed authorities have identified a man seen on surveillance video near the site of the attack, and they want to speak to the man, either as a witness or as a possible suspect.

The man sought as a possible suspect is a white male, wearing white baseball cap on backwards, a gray hoodie and a black jacket, according to CBS News. He is 6 feet or 6-feet-2-inches tall with a medium build.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/The-stress-for-more-surveillance-cameras/-224087399602587908.html

Immigration bill would take 3 days to read nonstop

2013-04-18T15:34:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNS News reports:

The 844 page Senate immigration bill (S. 744) creating a "pathway to citizenship" for illegal aliens was introduced overnight Wednesday morning prior to its one and only scheduled hearing Friday morning.

But, given the average person's reading speed, congressmen would need nearly three full days to read it - if they never stopped to eat, sleep, or do anything else.

Given that it takes the average reader a minimum of five minutes to read a page of technical information, a congressman would need 4,220 minutes to read the bill (5 x 844 = 4,220). Divide that by 60 minutes and you get 70.3 hours.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Immigration-bill-would-take-3-days-to-read-nonstop/976961167293950692.html

Saudi "person of interest" in Boston bombings deported

2013-04-18T15:33:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Info Wars reports:

The Saudi “person of interest” suspected of being involved in the Boston Marathon bombings is being deported from the United States next week on “national security grounds,” according to a terrorism expert, who notes that the move is “very unusual,” especially given an unscheduled meeting yesterday between President Obama and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Saudi-person-of-interest-in-Boston-bombings-deported/-983978916324257735.html

Obama meets with Saudi foreign minister

2013-04-18T15:33:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Reuters reports:

U.S. President Barack Obama met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal at the White House on Wednesday and discussed the conflict in Syria, a spokeswoman said.

The meeting was not on Obama's public schedule.

The spokeswoman, Caitlin Hayden, said the president joined a meeting between the Saudi official and Obama's national security adviser, Tom Donilon.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-meets-with-Saudi-foreign-minister/-979867556532544304.html

Obamacare forecast

2013-04-18T11:40:00Z

Posted By: Staff

National Review reports:

One of the little-understood aspects of the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, is that before it was passed, a handful of states — New York, New Jersey, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island — already had nearly identical insurance regulations to those at the heart of the new federal law. They also had some of the highest insurance premiums in the country.

Now that Obamacare implementation is drawing near, it will level the playing field for health insurance nationally — by making insurance much more expensive in the rest of the country, too.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obamacare-forecast/-442245162205073639.html

DC Senate buildings temporarily evacuated, locked down; president sent suspicious letter

2013-04-17T17:03:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

12:50 p.m. – The Daily Caller’s Alex Pappas reports that a loudspeaker message at the Hart Senate Office Building announced that “all tests were negative” — indicating that no poison was found on the suspicious letters.

12:47 p.m. — The Daily Caller’s Alex Pappas reports that a loudspeaker message at the Hart Senate Office Building announced that the Hart building is clear, and both Senate buildings are now open. The Capitol Police issued a statement saying that the suspicious packages have been removed.

12:41 p.m. — The Daily Caller’s Alex Pappas reports that the bomb squad has left the Russell Senate Office Building, the closed hallway has been reopened. A spokesman for Sen. Richard Shelby has confirmed to TheDC that their Russell office received a suspicious package.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/DC-Senate-buildings-temporarily-evacuated,-locked-down;-president-sent-suspicious-letter/473845178183096438.html

Steve King: Boston Bombing raises Immigration Concerns

2013-04-17T15:38:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

Congressman Steve King thinks the unsettled facts in the Boston Marathon bombing Monday should be enough to cause lawmakers pushing along changes to the nation’s immigration laws to step back and “take a look at the big picture.”

“Some of the speculation that has come out is that yes, it was a foreign national and, speculating here, that it was potentially a person on a student visa,” King told National Review in an interview published Tuesday.

The Iowa Republican said that speculation should be enough to give lawmakers enough pause so that they shift their focus away from immigration and to national security.

The New York Post and Fox News have reported that a 20-year-old Saudi national who was injured in one of Monday’s blasts had been detained as a person of interest. Fox News’s source ”stressed that the person of interest is not a suspect.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Steve-King:-Boston-Bombing-raises-Immigration-Concerns/203269128391911872.html

5 Need to Know Points of the Immigration Bill

2013-04-17T15:38:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Red Alert reports:

The bipartisan Senate ‘Gang of Eight’ introduced their much-anticipated comprehensive immigration reform legislation Tuesday morning.

The group, which includes Republican Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.), John McCain (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Jeff Flake (Ariz.), as well as Democratic Sens. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), Dick Durbin (Ill.), Bob Menendez (N.J.), and Michael Bennet (Co.)., had planned a press conference for Tuesday afternoon, however they decided to postpone it in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings Monday.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/5-Need-to-Know-Points-of-the-Immigration-Bill/-961059242188953410.html

Obama won't put up with Kim Kong Un

2013-04-17T15:37:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Red Alert reports:

President Barack Obama made it clear during an interview with NBC’s “TODAY” show that aired Tuesday morning that he will not put up with childish behavior from North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.

“This is the same kind of pattern that we saw his father engage in and his grandfather before that,” Obama told “TODAY” show host Savannah Guthrie. “Since I came into office, the one thing I was clear about was we’re not going to reward this kind of provocative behavior. You don’t get to bang your spoon on the table and somehow you get your way.”

Despite being pressed to do so, the president didn’t feel comfortable elaborating further on the North Korean leader’s behavior.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-wont-put-up-with-Kim-Kong-Un/83787921590613556.html

American's NOT Worried about gun control

2013-04-17T15:36:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Breitbart reports:

The latest poll from Gallup, taken April 4-7, shows that while President Obama and his allies in Congress may think that American minds are focused, laserlike, on gun control and immigration, the truth is precisely the opposite: in listing their priorities, Americans place gun control and immigration well down on their list. The economy finishes number one on Americans’ priority list, with 24 percent of Americans calling it their top priority; number two is unemployment/jobs, with 18 percent. In all, adding together Americans who priorities the economy, unemployment, lack of money, and taxes, 48 percent of Americans put financial priorities at the top of their list.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Americans-NOT-Worried-about-gun-control/895644008056417292.html

G. Jury: Pa. Health Dept. under GOP Gov. stopped 'regular' abortion clinic inspections

2013-04-17T12:31:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNS News reports:

The administration (1995-2001) of Pennsylvania’s Republican Gov. Tom Ridge stopped all "regular" health inspections of abortion clinics, according to the grand jury report on Dr. Kermit Gosnell, who is currently on trial in Philadelphia charged with the first-degree murder of seven babies, the third-degree murder of a woman, and several counts of conspiracy and violation of Pennsylvania’s law against post-24-week abortions.

The inspections policy change occurred with the transition from Democratic Gov. Bob Casey Sr. to Republican Ridge, the report said.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/G.-Jury:-Pa.-Health-Dept.-under-GOP-Gov.-stopped-regular-abortion-clinic-inspections/796578615991106798.html

Dem dodging questions about her possible ties to Gosnell

2013-04-17T11:52:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Newsbusters reports:

As we've noted, the liberal media generally and the Big Three broadcast networks in particular have studiously avoided paying attention to the Kermit Gosnell murder trial. The Philadelphia abortionist is charged with murdering newborns who survived abortion attempts and were born alive.

But aside from the criminal aspect of the case, there's other angle in the Gosnell matter that is of interest to political observers of the 2014 election cycle, particularly the Pennsylvania governor's race. One of the Democrats vying for the nomination to challenge Gov. Tom Corbett (R) is Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.), who operated an abortion clinic from 1975-1988. J.D. Mullane of the Bucks County Courier News has some great, incisive questions for Schwartz connected to the Gosnell matter, particularly whether Schwartz ever referred any patients to Gosnell. Her clinic stopped performing abortions in 1984, but continued with issuing referrals to other clinics. Schwartz has been curiously silent on the issue, and larger media outlets seem to be silent as well, failing to ask her if she ever referred women to Gosnell, for example.

While the 2014 election is still quite a ways off, the Democratic Party primary race is well under way – and rather heated. Schwartz hasn't been helped by going on the record saying, “I do think the respect for life is something that we were built on certainly in our country and that means – obviously different things to different people.” Schwartz uttered that gem last December on C-SPAN's Washington Journal in the aftermath of Sandy Hook.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Dem-dodging-questions-about-her-possible-ties-to-Gosnell/-374666748002739209.html

America the vulnerable

2013-04-17T11:44:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Telegraph reports:

The scenes from Boston feel depressingly familiar. Violence in a crowded public space, blood, screams, panic and the wail of police sirens. This latest American tragedy has taken three lives and left dozens injured, and it only adds to the fear and paranoia that already pervade US politics. Twelve years after the 9/11 attacks, America still feels vulnerable. As it has every right to, for the country finds itself under attack from without and within, locking it into a terrible cycle of violence.

The external threat is easy to account for: the US is caught in a dirty war with an enemy – al-Qaeda – that is willing to treat US citizens like legitimate targets. The 9/11 attacks challenged the historical perception that America is impregnable. Hitherto, the republic had been somewhere that foreigners fled to for safety; now it was a place where foreigners came to fight. America was drawn into an ill-defined War on Terror that forced the administration of George W Bush to scour the world for enemies. First, al-Qaeda had to be blown out of the caves of Afghanistan, then Saddam Hussein had to be driven from power in Iraq. At home, in defence of liberty, liberty was curtailed.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/America-the-vulnerable/-149849960235809450.html

Liberals ecstatic about immigration bill's "clear" path to citizenship

2013-04-17T01:49:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Talking Points Memo reports:

After months of vague talking points about creating a “path to citizenship” versus a “special path to citizenship” versus “amnesty,” the Senate’s “Gang of 8” finally has an immigration bill ready. And, much to the relief of immigration advocates, there is a relatively clear and reliable process for today’s 11 million undocumented residents to eventually become citizens.

That’s good news for the immigrant rights community. But it also means the Republican members of the gang — Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), John McCain (R-AZ), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) — have a difficult path ahead convincing a skeptical party that these features are necessary to passing a final bill. Or as one immigration lawyer sympathetic to reform put it to TPM: “Rubio is going to get crucified for agreeing to this.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Liberals-ecstatic-about-immigration-bills-clear-path-to-citizenship/-978561160007502197.html

Gun control and immigration Reform delayed after Boston bombings?

2013-04-16T21:49:00Z

Posted By: Staff

National Journal reports:

What was billed as a pivotal week for gun control and immigration reform on Capitol Hill has turned into a mourning period for those killed and injured in the bombings in Boston.

Tuesday’s much-anticipated press conference to unveil the first major immigration overhaul in decades was postponed “out of respect for the victims of the terrible tragedy in Boston,” wrote Sen. John McCain of Arizona on Twitter. Gruesome scenes from the finish line of the Boston Marathon have replaced images of the victims of the Newtown school shootings and their families on the front pages.

“Major national calamities like this tend to freeze everything else,” said David Axelrod, a former White House adviser to President Obama. “The focus will be on Boston for days, crowding out other news. Immigration reform, which was on the launching pad, will have to wait for a few days. As for the gun debate, proponents of background checks will delay action because, with nearly 90 percent on their side, they'll want the full attention of the nation on that vote.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Gun-control-and-immigration-Reform-delayed-after-Boston-bombings/-84510285201294348.html

Amnesty Bill Waters Down Current Enforcement Requirements

2013-04-16T20:42:00Z

Posted By: Staff

National Review reports:

Based on the summary I have, the Schumer/Rubio amnesty bill would actually weaken enforcement requirements that are already in current law.

For instance, the bill’s “Border Security Goal” is “An Effectiveness Rate of 90% in a fiscal year for all High Risk Sectors along the Southern Border” defined this way:

“Effectiveness Rate” definition — The number of apprehensions and turn backs in a specific sector divided by the total number of illegal entries.

“High Risk Border Sector” — Border sectors where apprehensions are above 30,000 individuals per year.

But current law, the Secure Fence Act of 2006, requires operational control (similar to the above metric) of all land, and maritime, borders, not just “high risk” areas. Sure, it’s been ignored by the executive, but is that a reason to lower the bar further?

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Amnesty-Bill-Waters-Down-Current-Enforcement-Requirements/-324200699651183242.html

New gun registration takes affect in NY

2013-04-16T15:55:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The LA Times reports:

Even as Congress prepares to debate new gun legislation, New York’s tougher gun control provisions became effective on Monday, the latest example of how the issue has broadened into a battle on the state as well as federal level.

In the wake of the Newtown, Conn., massacre -- which followed mass shootings last year in Colorado and Wisconsin -- many have called for greater control of gun violence. New York was the first to pass a tougher measure, but other states including Colorado, Connecticut and Maryland have also tightened their requirements.

In New York, a one-year registration period began Monday for owners of guns now listed as assault weapons. In addition, gun owners will generally be limited to seven rounds in any ammunition magazine. Since manufacturers don’t make seven-round magazines, an owner can have a 10-round magazine but cannot fill it up.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/New-gun-registration-takes-affect-in-NY/101220081583359782.html

Several loopholes in Immigration Bill

2013-04-16T15:55:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

The Senate’s pending immigration bill contains a number of loopholes that undermine or reverse relatively popular aspects of the controversial law.

The still-secret bill is “a comprehensive special interest bonanza,” Rosemary Jenks, director of government relations for NumbersUSA, an immigration reform group, told The Daily Caller.

“This is what happens when politicians bring in immigration lawyers to write immigration laws,” Jenks added.

She received a 30-page segment of the gargantuan bill from an unidentified source.

Jenks declined to share her text with The Daily Caller, saying the release might reveal the source.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Several-loopholes-in-Immigration-Bill/-988460732790508840.html

First person account of Boston Marathon

2013-04-16T15:01:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

When I arrived near Copley Square immediately after the deadly bombing that rocked the 117th Boston Marathon, the area was a mishmash of marathon volunteers, runners, journalists, and first responders. Confusion reigned.

The bombing, which has so far taken the lives of three people (including eight-year-old Martin Richard of Dorchester) and injured more than 140, is now the focus of an intense local and federal investigation. Police have searched an apartment on Ocean Avenue in the suburb of Revere, according to multiple news sources, and removed two bags of potential evidence. The Revere Fire Department confirms that search on its Facebook page. According to the New York Post, that apartment belongs to a 20-year-old Saudi national who has been taken into custody. Other news reports say no arrests have been made.

None of this was known in the confusion right after the bombing.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/First-person-account-of-Boston-Marathon/578995832992830282.html

Obama anticipates that North Korea will take more proactive moves

2013-04-16T15:00:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Weekly Standard reports:

"Let's move to North Korea," said the NBC journalist. "Is Kim Jong-Un unstable?"

"Well, I'm not a psychiatrist, and I don't know the leader of North Korea," said Obama. "What I do know is, is that the actions they've taken, the rhetoric they've engaged in, has been provocative. It has been condemned across the board internationally, and it's unnecessary, because what it's done is ironically isolated North Korea further. If they want to rejoin the community of nations, that path is available to them.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-anticipates-that-North-Korea-will-take-more-proactive-moves/-889177798713164390.html

8 year-old boy killed, family members

2013-04-16T12:00:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Boston Globe reports:

Two bomb blasts, 12 seconds apart, rocked the finish line of the 117th running of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing at least three people, including an 8-year-old Dorchester boy, wounding more than 130, and leaving the sidewalks of Boylston Street covered in blood.

Medical professionals on hand to care for blisters and sore knees in Copley Square suddenly found themselves treating life-threatening lacerations and lost limbs, as a high holiday in Boston — Patriots Day — turned to an epic tragedy. Emergency workers rushed to the scene, despite the very real possibility of more blasts.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/8-year-old-boy-killed,-family-members/-448385484883614536.html

Heeeeeeeerr's non-amnesty amnesty!

2013-04-16T11:55:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

Senate negotiators have reached an agreement on a bill to make the most substantive changes to immigration laws in nearly three decades.

The bipartisan Gang of Eight plans to file its bill as early as Tuesday — a public roll-out was delayed because of the deadly blasts at the Boston Marathon — and it’s certain to spark an emotional debate that will dominate Washington for the remainder of the year.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Heeeeeeeerrs-non-amnesty-amnesty!/-639513074303626499.html

Rodman going back to NKorea Aug. 1st

2013-04-16T11:53:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Post reports:

Amatuer “ambassador” Dennis Rodman said he’s returning to North Korea, even as the hermit kingdom’s loony leader pumps up the volume on crazy, anti-US threats.

The retired basketball star plans an Aug. 1 visit to North Korea, as a follow-up to his controversial February journey to meet baby-faced tyrant Kim Jong Un.

“We have no plans really, as far as what we’re going to do over there, but we’ll just hang and have some fun!” Rodman told Gossip Extra.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Rodman-going-back-to-NKorea-Aug.-1st/617771859244253216.html

Degradation nation: Sex worker in Silicon Valley

2013-04-16T11:52:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

Tech companies in the Bay area such as Facebook and LinkedIn have gone public and made their early employees wealthy.

Increasingly, the young, rich employees are spending their fortunes on prostitution.

CNNMoney's Laurie Segall interviewed sex workers in the Bay area, as well as local authorities. All of them said prostitution was on the rise and technology is powering it. It has increased the list of clients, and it's making the prostitution business more efficient.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Degradation-nation:-Sex-worker-in-Silicon-Valley/636959942660864229.html

Chris Matthews: 'Normally' domestic terrorists 'tend to be on the far right'

2013-04-16T11:50:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Newsbusters reports:

Just hours after explosions rocked the Boston Marathon on Monday, Chris Matthews speculated, "Normally domestic terrorists, people, tend to be on the far right." He then reconsidered and suggested, "...That’s not a good category, just extremists, let’s call them that." [See video below. MP3 audio here.]

During live coverage, the Hardball host highlighted a possible explosion at John F. Kennedy's presidential library and thought this could be a personal attack on the Democratic Party: "...But going after the Kennedy Library, not something at Bunker Hill, not something from the Freedom Trail or anything that kind of historic, but a modern political figure of the Democratic Party. Does that tell you something?" (Police are now considering the incident at the JFK library to be fire-related.) One can only guess what it tells Chris.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Chris-Matthews:-Normally-domestic-terrorists-tend-to-be-on-the-far-right/-898271421073470784.html

Shameful: New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof links Boston explosion to GOP, others pile on

2013-04-16T11:46:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Newsbusters reports:

Never let a tragedy go to waste. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof on Monday quickly used the explosions in Boston for political gain, linking the Republican Party to the horrific act. At 4:10pm, Kristof tweeted, "explosion is a reminder that ATF needs a director. Shame on Senate Republicans for blocking apptment." [UPDATE: Kristof has "taken back" the comment and deleted the tweet. See below for screen shot of the tweet.]

Kristof then tweeted a link to a Washington Post story about Senator Charles Grassley questioning the fitness of Obama's Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms nominee. Kristof's comments earned a rebuke from the liberal Politico. Dylan Byers reported, "Kristof's tweet earned a number of responses expressing either anger or bafflement."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Shameful:-New-York-Times-columnist-Nicholas-Kristof-links-Boston-explosion-to-GOP,-others-pile-on/751228745535907370.html

CNN analyst suggests 'Right-Wing Extremists' could be behind Boston bombing

2013-04-16T11:45:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Newsbusters reports:

CNN's national security analyst Peter Bergen twice suggested that "right-wing extremists" could be behind Monday's Boston Marathon bombings. Yet over an hour later, CNN reported that Boston Police were not holding anyone in custody as a suspect for the attack.

Appearing on CNN's live coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing with host Jake Tapper, Bergen was asked to explain if the bombing could have been an act of terror. Bergen answered in the affirmative, and proceeded to name possible suspects depending on the type of explosive used

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/CNN-analyst-suggests-Right-Wing-Extremists-could-be-behind-Boston-bombing/254693363450007909.html

Pope Francis reaffirms crackdown on U.S. nuns

2013-04-15T19:32:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The LA Times reports:

Pope Francis has backed the Vatican’s doctrinal crackdown on a major group of American nuns, reasserting the Roman Catholic Church's conservative approach to various social issues in a move that could cool the warm reception he has received from some liberal Catholics since taking office last month.

In a statement issued Monday, the Vatican said Francis had “reaffirmed” the doctrinal evaluation and criticism of U.S. nuns carried out last year by the Vatican under his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. The assessment accused the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an umbrella organization that represents most U.S. female Catholic orders, of promoting “radical feminism” and of ignoring the Vatican’s hard line on same-sex marriage and abortion.

At the time, the Vatican dispatched an archbishop to rewrite the group’s statutes and set up reeducation programs to bring nuns back into line, alleging that leaders of U.S. orders had challenged the church's teachings on women's ordination and ministry to homosexuals.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Pope-Francis-reaffirms-crackdown-on-U.S.-nuns/-596269629654472610.html

Kerry welcomes Chinese Investment in America's Infrastructure

2013-04-15T14:44:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Weekly Standard reports:

Secretary of State John Kerry told the press in Beijing that he discussed with Chinese government officials investing in America's infrastructure. Kerry called the security concerns "very, very few; very, very little."

"We welcome Chinese investment in the United States. And a very, very small percentage of investment is subject to a process where we have a security evaluation because of the nature of the business or the particular location. But it’s very, very few; very, very little. And obviously, there are sometimes concerns when there’s a state ownership of a particular business because that raises a different set of considerations," Kerry said, in response to a question about what he said to encourage Chinese investment in America.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Kerry-welcomes-Chinese-Investment-in-Americas-Infrastructure/-116172927044435630.html

87% of illegals will seek citizenship

2013-04-15T14:43:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Examiner reports:

Nearly nine of 10 illegal immigrants will seek U.S. citizenship if the so-called "Gang of Eight's" comprehensive immigration passes, according to a ground-breaking survey of undocumented immigrants.

A new poll from Latino Decisions found that 87 percent of the immigrants will apply for citizenship if the laws are changed, a stunning figure that suggests over 9 million want to stay in the United States. There an estimated 11 million illegal or undocumented immigrants in the nation.

The poll of 400 Latino adults who self-identified as "non-citizens and not legal permanent residents," also found that most have already set up home in the U.S. which they view as the best place for jobs and family.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/87-of-illegals-will-seek-citizenship/202555900403830191.html

CA signs petition to ban and confiscate firearms

2013-04-15T14:42:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Info Wars reports:

Media critic and social analyst Mark Dice shows how people are literally in a trance as he gets trendy liberals in California to sign a petition banning their birthrights. The public’s zombie-like mental state is what will allow Obama to get his gun ban through. However, some of these people were not just in a trance and nodded their head as they expressed vehement support for repealing the Second Amendment and enacting door to door gun confiscation. The following clip is a stark reminder of how our liberties are in peril and how many Americans are part of a cult of authoritarians masquerading as liberals.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/CA-signs-petition-to-ban-and-confiscate-firearms/693960647469164347.html

Nevada buses hundreds of mentally ill patients out of state for care

2013-04-15T14:42:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Sacramento Bee reports:

Over the past five years, Nevada's primary state psychiatric hospital has put hundreds of mentally ill patients on Greyhound buses and sent them to cities and towns across America.

Since July 2008, Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas has transported more than 1,500 patients to other cities via Greyhound bus, sending at least one person to every state in the continental United States, according to a Bee review of bus receipts kept by Nevada's mental health division.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Nevada-buses-hundreds-of-mentally-ill-patients-out-of-state-for-care/-66047869135009629.html

Manchin-Toomey inching closer to 60 votes

2013-04-15T14:41:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hill reports:

A bipartisan bill on background checks is inching closer to the necessary 60 votes for passage, but it still has a long way to go.

The upcoming vote on a new proposal crafted by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) is expected to go down to the wire. The Hill on Friday contacted many Senate offices to find out their positions on the amendment, which is strongly opposed by the National Rifle Association (NRA).

There are now four Republicans who have publicly committed to supporting the amendment: Sens. Toomey, Mark Kirk (Ill.), Susan Collins (Maine) and John McCain (Ariz.).

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Manchin-Toomey-inching-closer-to-60-votes/-404950532278666895.html

Paul Ryan says GOP must stand strong on Abortion to win elections

2013-04-12T15:27:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hill reports:

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) argued in a speech to activists Thursday night that robust opposition to abortion rights is crucial to the GOP's political chances.

Ryan's remarks to the Susan B. Anthony (SBA) List gala were his most extended on abortion since the 2012 election cycle, when several GOP candidates lost following controversial remarks on abortion and rape.

Ryan, the former GOP vice presidential nominee, acknowledged that a "careless remark or an ugly sign" can damage the cause against abortion rights "in an instant."

But he challenged the view that Republicans should soften their approach in order to attract centrist or female voters, who favored President Obama by more than 10 points in November.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Paul-Ryan-says-GOP-must-stand-strong-on-Abortion-to-win-elections/-512089789272154287.html

North Korea says Japan is first target

2013-04-12T15:27:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hill reports:

In a commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the communist country lashed out at Tokyo's standing orders to destroy any missile heading toward Japan, threatening such actions will result in a nuclear attack against the island nation.

If Japan executes its threat to shoot down any North Korean missile, such a “provocative” intervention would see Tokyo — an enormous conurbation of 30 million people — “consumed in nuclear flames”, KCNA warned.

“Japan is always in the cross-hairs of our revolutionary army and if Japan makes a slightest move, the spark of war will touch Japan first,” the report added.

An official at Japan’s defence ministry said that the country “will take every possible measure to respond to any scenario”, while the US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that a North Korean missile launch would be a “huge mistake”.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/North-Korea-says-Japan-is-first-target/-475413517196926863.html

House gun bill will be ready Monday

2013-04-12T15:26:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

Reps. Peter King and Mike Thompson are planning to introduce a House version of the compromise on background checks for gun buyers on Monday or Tuesday, King told POLITICO exclusively on Friday.

“I will be introducing, along with Mike Thompson [D-Calif.], basically the House version of the Manchin-Toomey bill on Monday or Tuesday at the latest,” the New York Republican said, referencing the bipartisan agreement on background checks reached this week between Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/House-gun-bill-will-be-ready-Monday/719351387742596601.html

Rubio goes all-in on immigration

2013-04-12T15:25:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

Marco Rubio is preparing to go all in to support sweeping immigration legislation, offering himself up as the public face of a bill that will split the Republican Party — but that his allies hope will propel him to the front of the GOP presidential sweepstakes.

After offering lukewarm support until now, Rubio is preparing to fully embrace a measure that is the most significant of his political career so far. The gambit could pay off in spades by crowning a leading presidential contender in 2016, or it could permanently damage the Republican’s brand with conservatives.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Rubio-goes-all-in-on-immigration/790776761205805224.html

US deploys sea radar to track NK threat

2013-04-12T15:24:00Z

Posted By: Staff

ABC reports:

With North Korea’s launch of a mid-range Musudan missile believed to be imminent, a U.S. official confirms that the SBX radar has been deployed to the Pacific to assist with tracking the missile if it is launched. That tracking could help bring a missile down if needed.

The Sea-Based X-Band Radar looks like a giant golf ball placed atop a platform that resembles a floating oil rig.

It contains a precise long-range radar that is part of the integrated missile-defense system and helps track launched missiles so they can be brought down by missile interceptors.

With North Korea threatening to launch missiles against the United States, the Pentagon reportedly sent the radar system out to sea April 1 from its home port of Pearl Harbor to assist with tracking a potential missile launch.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/US-deploys-sea-radar-to-track-NK-threat/-822576146301915903.html

Can we afford another housing boom?

2013-04-12T11:55:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Fannie Mae FNMA -7.41% put an exclamation point on the housing rally with last week's announcement of its largest-ever annual profit. The news comes soon after Fannie's cousin, Freddie Mac, FMCC -8.21% announced its own record high. These results may seem like cause for celebration after years of losses at the two taxpayer-backed mortgage giants. But they also underscore the urgent need for reform to ensure that the next real estate boom doesn't end as badly as the last one.

It's certainly good news that the very long housing recession is finally over, and that prices in most of the country are rising again. For the 12 months through January, the S&P/Case-Shiller index of 20 U.S. cities shows an annual increase in home prices averaging 8.1%. Prices in Miami were up almost 11% on the year, the Las Vegas market enjoyed a pop of more than 15%, and in Phoenix prices jumped more than 23%. Not a single one of the 20 metropolitan areas in the index suffered an annual price decline.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Can-we-afford-another-housing-boom/110788965735033672.html

Progress KY behind McConnell Campaign Recording?

2013-04-11T17:27:00Z

Posted By: Staff

WFPL News reports:

A secret recording of a campaign strategy session between U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell and his advisors was taped by leaders of the Progress Kentucky super PAC, says a longtime local Democratic operative.

Mother Jones Magazine released the tape this week. The meeting itself took place on Feb. 2.

Jacob Conway, who is on the executive committee of the Jefferson County Democratic Party, says that day, Shawn Reilly and Curtis Morrison, who founded and volunteered for Progress Kentucky, respectively, bragged to him about how they recorded the meeting.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Progress-KY-behind-McConnell-Campaign-Recording/361199102421188271.html

Tracking Obama's health law in budget isn't easy

2013-04-11T17:13:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP reports:

Next year is the year President Barack Obama's signature health care law goes into high gear, covering millions of uninsured Americans by a mix of private plans and government programs infused with tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer money.

You'd think there'd be a chapter in the new 2014 budget that lays it all out. Wrong.

Well, maybe a table? Wrong again.

A box? Nope.

It turns out that the costs of the Affordable Care Act - Obamacare to its unyielding Republican foes- are sprinkled here and there through hundreds of pages of budget books. It's partly due to the arcane ways of government budgeting. It may also be an effort to avoid giving foes more of a target.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Tracking-Obamas-health-law-in-budget-isnt-easy/-406044744988838025.html

NK missiles in upright fire position

2013-04-11T15:24:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNN reports:

North Korea has raised at least one missile into its upright firing position, feeding concerns that a launch is imminent, a U.S. official told CNN Thursday.

This comes as the world continued to keep watch for a possible missile launch by the secretive government, and a day before U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to arrive in the region.

In the latest daily tough talk from the North, a government agency is quoted by the state-run media as saying that "war can break out any moment."

The South Koreans -- who've heard the cross-border bombast before -- are taking the swagger in stride. Washington regards much of the North's saber rattling as bluster.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/NK-missiles-in-upright-fire-position/158676569867936640.html

Jay-Z new rap song on trip to Cuba

2013-04-11T15:23:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Weasel Zippers reports:

Rapper Jay-Z released a new track Thursday in which he boasts about his recent trip to Cuba with superstar Beyoncé and says that President Barack Obama told him he’d get him “impeached.”

“I done turned Havana into Atlanta,” Jay-Z raps in “Open Letter,” which he released Thursday. “[…] Boy from the hood, I got White House clearance… Politicians never did s—- for me except lie to me, distort history… They wanna give me jail time and a fine. Fine, let me commit a real crime.”

He later raps: “Hear the freedom in my speech… Obama said, ‘Chill you gonna get me impeached. You don’t need this s—- anyway, chill with me on the beach.’”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Jay-Z-new-rap-song-on-trip-to-Cuba/-118574494574308234.html

Man threatens WH with bomb

2013-04-11T14:52:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hill reports:

A Pennsylvania man arrested on Wednesday morning for making bomb threats near the White House was angry about regulations, according to authorities.

Shortly before 5 a.m. Wednesday morning, Krzystzof Wasik, 44, approached a guard office near the White House and claimed to have a bomb in his nearby truck.

According to an affidavit submitted to the court, the bomb threat was a way for the man to complain about regulations on semi-trailer trucks. He hoped the threat would allow him to speak with President Obama.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Man-threatens-WH-with-bomb/-628127071207427469.html

Michelle compares her self to a murdered teenager

2013-04-11T14:52:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Weekly Standard reports:

In a speech that addressed youth violence in Chicago, First Lady Michelle Obama compared herself to Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old girl murdered soon after attending President Obama's Second Inauguration. "Hadiya Pendleton was me, and I was her," said the first lady.

"Thousands of children in this city live in neighborhoods where a funeral for a teenager is considered unfortunate, but not unusual; where wandering onto the wrong block or even just standing on your own front porch can mean putting yourself at risk," Michelle Obama told the Chicago crowd, according to a transcript provided by the White House.

"Those are the odds that so many young people are facing in this city –- young people like Hadiya Pendleton, whose funeral I attended back in February. And we all know Hadiya’s story. She was 15 years old, an honor student at King College Prep. And she came from a good family -– two devoted parents, plenty of cousins, solid godparents and grandparents, an adoring little brother. The Pendletons are hardworking people. They’re churchgoing folks. And Hadiya’s mother did everything she could for her daughter. She enrolled her in every activity you could imagine -– cheerleading, majorettes, the praise dance ministry -– anything to keep her off the streets and keep her busy.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Michelle-compares-her-self-to-a-murdered-teenager/-928879249061223511.html

Reasons the Obama budget is horrible

2013-04-11T14:51:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Investors reports:

Fiscal Policy: Shorn of its accounting gimmicks, the president's budget isn't a "balanced" plan to get the debt crisis under control. It's a monument to fiscal irresponsibility.

With much fanfare and a lot of media hype, President Obama unveiled his latest budget plan — two months late. An IBD review of Obama's budget finds that, among other things, it:

• Boosts spending and deficits over the next two years. Obama's own budget numbers show that he wants to hike spending over the next two years by $247 billion compared with the "baseline," which even after his proposed new tax hikes would mean $157 billion in additional red ink.

Obama claims he'll get tough on spending and deficits later, but every budget expert knows boosting spending today only makes it harder to cut later.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Reasons-the-Obama-budget-is-horrible/319247149154384167.html

Can the gang of 8 stay united?

2013-04-11T14:50:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

The ideologically diverse Gang of Eight senators weathered months of painstaking negotiations to piece together a complex immigration plan it will soon unveil.

But the eight still face one of their biggest tests: Can they remain united once it leaves their hands?

After being locked out of the process for so long, Democratic and Republican senators are anxious to get a crack at amending the bill, setting up a treacherous path through the Judiciary Committee to the Senate floor that threatens to undermine the delicate compromise.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Can-the-gang-of-8-stay-united/-89917015903733867.html

How the sequester could turn gov't workers into foreign spies

2013-04-11T12:50:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Buzzfeed reports:

The mandatory cuts to federal spending threaten to become an unexpected security nightmare for the federal counterintelligence agencies that protect government institutions against foreign spying.

Lawmakers and officials who oversee security clearances say the abrupt cut to roughly 20 percent of federal workers' pay is pushing tens of thousands into the category of financially strapped government workers for whom foreign agents look in recruiting moles and spies.

It may sound far-fetched, but those with experience in espionage cases said the threat is genuine.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/How-the-sequester-could-turn-govt--workers-into-foreign-spies/740414842950865536.html

Thatcher statue in Westminster 'will be given go-ahead'

2013-04-11T12:46:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Telegraph reports:

The official responsible for planning at Tory Westminster Council has said he and his colleagues are "very up" for a statue of Lady Thatcher in the borough, and suggested putting it in Parliament Square or outside of the Ministry of Defence.

The indication that the council would give planning approval comes after a growing number of calls for Lady Thatcher to be immortalised.

London Mayor Boris Johnson, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, former Cabinet minister Lord Tebbit, Conservative Peer Lord Ashcroft and a number of Falklands veterans have all said she should be publicly honoured in the heart of the capital.

Prime Minister David Cameron has indicated that he welcomes the suggestions, which will be considered in due course.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Thatcher-statue-in-Westminster-will-be-given-go-ahead/51154709633152635.html

America in Decline: Ranks 26 out of 29 for child raising

2013-04-10T19:49:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Mail reports:

Lack of education, cost of healthcare, childhood obesity and teenage pregnancies put the life chances of American children at the bottom of a table of overall well being - far behind those from poorer countries, a damning report has found.

UNICEF ranked the U.S. at the bottom of a league table of the best places to raise a child – below the likes of Slovenia, Greece, Hungary and Slovakia.

Only Lithuania, Latvia and Romania lagged behind.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/America-in-Decline:-Ranks-26-out-of-29-for-child-raising/-28175762168841970.html

Obama's budget raises taxes by $1 Trillion!

2013-04-10T16:15:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Examiner reports:

President Obama’s 2014 budget calls for a trillion dollars in new taxes, almost twice as much as previously thought, The Washington Examiner has learned.

“Of the more than $1 trillion in new taxes, about $800 billion is raised through the individual income tax system, about $125 billion comes from new excise taxes — including new taxes on tobacco and financial companies,” a source familiar with the president’s budget explained. “The remainder comes from reverting back to the 2009 estate tax parameters and other miscellaneous tax increases.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., described the budget as a “left wing wish list” during his speech on the Senate floor this morning.

“The document headed our way does not appear designed to bridge the differences between the House- and Senate-passed budgets,” McConnell said. “That’s the role Americans would expect the President to play at this stage, but his budget simply does not represent some grand pivot from left to center. It’s really just a pivot from left to left.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obamas-budget-raises-taxes-by-$1-Trillion!/812792160606112253.html

Treasury calls Jay Z and Beyonce trip "educational"

2013-04-10T16:14:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Bloomberg reports:

Singer Beyonce and Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter traveled to Cuba “pursuant to an educational exchange trip” organized by an authorized company, the U.S. Treasury Department said in response to inquiries from Florida lawmakers.

The trip by the celebrity couple spurred widespread media coverage after two U.S. representatives from Florida, Republicans Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart, asked the Treasury who approved the travel and for what purpose. U.S. law prohibits financial transactions for tourist activities in Cuba to prevent funding of the government, which controls the industry. The Treasury permits visits for educational reasons.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Treasury-calls-Jay-Z-and-Beyonce-trip-educational/-385058873852944870.html

Toomey and Manchin reach gun compromise

2013-04-10T16:13:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hill reports:

Republican Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) on Wednesday announced a deal to expand background checks for gun sales, paving the way for Senate passage of gun-violence legislation.

The proposal would expand background checks to cover all sales at gun shows and over the Internet. Those background checks would have to be accompanied by records proving to law-enforcement officials they took place.

It would exempt gun sales and transfers between friends and acquaintances without the help of an online intermediary.

"The events at Newtown, surely the events at Newtown, changed us all,” said Manchin, referring to the mass shooting in Connecticut that killed 20 elementary school children in December.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Toomey-and-Manchin-reach-gun-compromise/-702659748128487396.html

MSNBC's Touré founded militant anti-white student paper

2013-04-10T11:49:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

MSNBC host Touré founded a student newspaper dedicated to black liberation theology while he was a college student attending Emory University from 1989 to 1992.

Touré’s flagship publication, The Fire This Time, lavished praise on famous anti-Semites, black supremacists, and conspiracy theorists whom Touré helped bring to campus. Before he became an intense-but-sardonic TV personality, Touré also decried “the suffocating white community” and defended a nationally famous fake hate crime.

In an interview with The Daily Caller, Touré described the newspaper as “an important black voice on campus” and “a form of community building.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/MSNBCs-Touré-founded-militant-anti-white-student-paper/-97715249183647545.html

Margaret Thatcher: why they hate her?

2013-04-10T11:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Telegraph reports:

Many time-honoured social conventions have been discarded in recent times in our headlong rush to demonstrate how modern and relaxed we have all become, but we still, more or less, stick to the maxim of “not speaking ill of the dead”. At least not in the immediate aftermath of their demise, when their families’ grief is still raw.

Yet news of the passing of the frail 87-year-old Baroness Thatcher, so confused that she had to be reminded almost daily that her husband was dead, was greeted with street parties in Brixton, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool and Glasgow. In south London, the scene of rioting in 1981 during her first term in office, the letters on the billboard outside a cinema were rearranged by masked vandals to read “Margaret Thatchers dead LOL [Laugh Out Loud]”. In Glasgow’s George Square, revellers drank champagne, wore party hats and sang, “Ding, dong, the witch is dead”. In Leeds, they shared a celebration cake. In Liverpool they gathered for a “death party”, and in Bristol joined forces under the banner, “May she never RIP”.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Margaret-Thatcher:-why-they-hate-her/13523010523166450.html

Spend-o-rama! Obama to unveil $3.77 T spending plan

2013-04-10T11:47:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Post reports:

President Obama plans Wednesday to unveil a $3.77 trillion spending plan that proposes modest new investments in infrastructure and education, major new taxes for the wealthy and significant reforms aimed at reducing the cost of Social Security and Medicare.

As Washington barrels toward another potential showdown over the federal debt limit later this summer, administration officials said the blueprint lays down the president’s bottom-line offer for getting federal borrowing under control.

“We don’t view this budget as a starting point in the negotiations. This is an offer where the president came more than halfway toward the Republicans,” a senior administration official told reporters Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity to detail the forthcoming document.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Spend-o-rama!-Obama-to-unveil-$3.77-T-spending-plan/950680819890677689.html

Poll: Border security hawks aren't racist, most say

2013-04-10T11:45:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Immigration hawks worried about appearing racist can breathe a sigh of relief.

Only 11 percent of U.S. voters think people who want to secure the border and prevent illegal immigration are racist, according to a poll released this week by Rasmussen Reports. (See the wording here.)

The number was higher for liberals, with 22 percent saying they thought border security advocates were racist, according to Breitbart, which asked Rassmussen for the crosstab data.

Nine percent of conservatives and 6 percent of moderates said immigration hardliners are racist, according to Breitbart.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Poll:-Border-security-hawks-arent-racist,-most-say/406157205880951532.html

The Iron Lady's legacy

2013-04-09T20:56:00Z

Posted By: Staff

National Review reports:

President Obama’s statement honoring Margaret Thatcher was an example of the chameleon-like nature of liberalism. Rewriting history is a liberal specialty. Just as the anti–Cold War liberals were miraculously transformed into cold warriors after the war had been won, yesterday’s anti-Thatcherites are today morphing into something else.

The president’s statement praises Thatcher as one of the “great champions of freedom and liberty” and goes on to observe that “she stands as an example to our daughters that there is no glass ceiling that can’t be shattered.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/The-Iron-Ladys-legacy/243456799796916785.html

CNN Poll: Most Disapprove of Obama on Guns

2013-04-09T20:55:00Z

Posted By: Staff

ABC News reports:

Most Americans disapprove of how President Obama has handled gun-policy issues, a new poll from CNN finds.

The president has been pushing new limits on gun ownership since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut last year captured the nation’s attention and spurred calls for new laws from Democratic members of Congress. The president will travel today to Connecticut to renew that push, as agreement between Republicans and Democrats in both chambers of Congress has been scarce.

CNN and Opinion Research Corp. found that 45 percent approve of Obama’s handling of “gun policy,” while 52 percent disapprove.

It’s unclear why, exactly: CNN didn’t ask respondents whether they’re disappointed with the president because they oppose the gun-control measures he has advocated, or because he hasn’t yet succeeded in enacting new laws.

A mix of the two reasons is the likeliest explanation.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/CNN-Poll:-Most-Disapprove-of-Obama-on-Guns/-521117022310875804.html

Gang of 8 will oppose amendments

2013-04-09T14:17:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Breitbart reports:

All the members of the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” pushing immigration reform in the U.S. Senate will band together to block any efforts by other senators to offer amendments to their legislation once it is introduced, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.

“A bipartisan Senate group on immigration legislation is attempting to craft an agreement so secure that the eight members will oppose amendments to its core provisions, an arrangement that could delay the introduction of a bill, people familiar with the negotiations said,” the Post’s David Nakamura wrote.

In response to Nakamura’s article on Monday, Gang of Eight member Sen. Marco Rubio’s spokesman Alex Conant told Breitbart News that his description of the process being worked on is not correct. “The legislation that the eight senators are working on is only the start of the process; we expect several committee hearings, a full debate, and an open process for other senators to offer amendments,” Conant said. “It’s premature to speculate about what sort of amendments might be offered, but if another senator offers an amendment that improves the legislation consistent with the principles Senator Rubio has outlined, then I would expect members of the group of eight to support it.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Gang-of-8-will-oppose-amendments/-918528332913994935.html

Another expensive WH party

2013-04-09T14:15:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Weekly Standard reports:

As the White House has previously announced, Justin Timberlake (who will be making his White House debut), Al Green, Ben Harper, Queen Latifah, Cyndi Lauper, Joshua Ledet, Sam Moore, Charlie Musselwhite, Mavis Staples, and others will be performing at the exclusive event.

But while the performers are known, the guest list for the private event has not yet been released.

One imagines it's a tough ticket to come by. To attend any event at the White House, one must be invited. (The White House is now closed for public access by members of the general public.) And especially this one, with Hollywood and musical stars--and with remarks by the president of the United States.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Another-expensive-WH-party/-514525498438435927.html

North Korea threatens missile launch tomorrow

2013-04-09T14:14:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Express reports:

North Korea has completed preparations for a mid-range missile launch tomorrow from its east coast, officials in Seoul have revealed – just hours after foreigners living in South Korea were warned to quit the country.

The worrying warning came as speculation heightened that North Korea is planning to pull its ambassador out of the UK after a shipping container was pictured outside the London embassy.

Boxes were seen being loaded onto a large lorry parked outside the pariah state's embassy - an ordinary home in Ealing, west London.Seoul revealed today that foreign nationals in South Korea were told by the North to evacuate in case of a "merciless" war.

"We do not wish harm on foreigners in South Korea should there be a war," said the KCNA news agency, citing its Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/North-Korea-threatens-missile-launch-tomorrow/855770488095737642.html

National Equal Pay Day?

2013-04-09T14:13:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

President Barack Obama officially declared Tuesday “National Equal Pay Day,” symbolically marking how much extra work women supposedly must perform to reach pay parity with men.

“Women — who make up nearly half of our nation’s workforce — face a pay gap that means they earn 23 percent less on average than men do. That disparity is even greater for African-American women and Latinas,” Obama said in a statement issued Monday. “On National Equal Pay Day, we recognize this injustice by marking how far into the new year women have to work just to make what men did in the previous one.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/National-Equal-Pay-Day/-265076246852478411.html

New immigration attack: 'it's too pricey'

2013-04-09T12:41:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

Immigration reform opponents are opening a new front in their bid to derail an overhaul bill: the price tag.

Conservatives contend that costs would be prohibitive — it’s not just about paying for beefed-up border and employer enforcement, but accounting for the burden it would place on Obamacare, Medicare and other government programs in the decades to come.

The exact costs won’t be clear until details of the bill are released and independent budget experts assess the impact of legalizing 11 million undocumented immigrants. Economists on the left and right have argued that the economic benefits outweigh the costs.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/New-immigration-attack:-its-too-pricey/821878828425408740.html

Fox News reporter facing jail for protecting source - mainstream media yawns, raising questions of liberal bias

2013-04-09T11:59:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Forbes reports:

On July 20, 2012, James Holmes entered an Aurora, Colorado midnight screening of “The Dark Night Rises” and let loose with a hail of gunfire that left 12 people dead and 58 injured.

In response to the event that shocked the nation, Fox News sent reporter Jana Winter to Colorado to cover the aftermath of the shooting. Five days following the massacre, Winter broke the story that the alleged killer had, prior to his attack, forwarded a notebook to a University of Colorado psychiatrist that was “filled with details about how he was going to kill people.” Winter’s story was based on information she had received from unnamed law enforcement sources—sources that were, according to Mr. Holmes’ defense attorneys, prevented from discussing the case pursuant to a gag order issued by County Judge William Sylvester.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Fox-News-reporter-facing-jail-for-protecting-source---mainstream-media-yawns,-raising-questions-of-liberal-bias/894950206016684937.html

Bill & Melinda's Gates of protection?

2013-04-09T11:41:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Mail reports:

A small business in California called Origami Condoms is working on a revolutionary new prophylactic modeled after the Japanese art of paper folding which has won the approval of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for being the only design to radically change the contraceptive.

Other condom manufacturers have made continual efforts to make the existing, everyday condom more appealing to users by introducing new textures and flavors.

Origami Condoms' design, which has condoms folded up rather than rolled up like the ones currently for sold at most stores that sell health and convenience products, acts as a loose-fitting sheath when it's in use and is said to move with the natural movement of the body.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Bill--Melindas-Gates-of-protection/483831439829015874.html

The British Left's push for mass immigration prevented others like Thatcher

2013-04-08T15:17:00Z

Posted By: Staff

National Review:

Margaret Thatcher couldn’t be elected today. It’s not just that she was a great woman and such people don’t come along every day. Rather, the British Left made sure of it by altering the electorate through mass immigration.

This isn’t conspiracy mongering. Andrew Neather, a former Labour-party speechwriter, admitted in 2009 that the immigration boom engineered after 2000 was specifically intended to import a new people.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/The-British-Lefts-push-for-mass-immigration-prevented-others-like-Thatcher/-864561026266086564.html

Margaret Thatcher changed the world

2013-04-08T15:10:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Margaret Thatcher, the most dominant British prime minister since Winston Churchill in 1940 and a global champion of the late 20th-century free market economic revival, has died.

Her spokesman, Lord Bell, said on Monday: "It is with great sadness that Mark and Carol Thatcher announced that their mother Baroness Thatcher died peacefully following a stroke this morning. A further statement will be made later."

Downing Street announced that she would receive a ceremonial funeral with military honours at St Paul's Cathedral.

David Cameron, who is cutting short his trip to Europe to return to London following the news, said: "It was with great sadness that l learned of Lady Thatcher's death. We've lost a great leader, a great prime minister and a great Briton."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Margaret-Thatcher-changed-the-world/-167345862908790749.html

The Iron Lady passes

2013-04-08T15:09:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” of British politics, who pulled her country back from 35 years of socialism, led it to victory in the Falklands war and helped guide the United States and the Soviet Union through the cold war’s difficult last years, died Monday. She was 87.

“It is with great sadness that Mark and Carol Thatcher announced that their mother, Baroness Thatcher, died peacefully following a stroke this morning,” a statement from her spokesman, Lord Tim Bell, said. She had been in poor health for months, and suffered from dementia.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/The-Iron-Lady-passes/-134520293625579627.html

Beyonce and Jay Z, cultural amabassadors?

2013-04-08T12:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Beyoncé and Jay-Z looked crazy in love celebrating their fifth anniversary in Cuba last week, but not everyone is smitten over their decision to travel to the embargoed country.

Two Republican members of Congress have asked the U.S. Treasury Department for an investigation into whether the musical power couple – and parents to 1-year-old daughter Blue Ivy – had the required government permission to travel to the communist country.

In a letter written by U.S. Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart – who represent districts in South Florida, where there's a high Cuban-American population – they asked Office of Foreign Assets Control director Adam Szubin for information about the license the couple received, the purpose of their travel, and who approved the trip.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Beyonce-and-Jay-Z,-cultural-amabassadors/628756936638630187.html

Obama gun tour onward to Connecticut

2013-04-08T12:46:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

President Obama will fly to Connecticut Monday to make remarks about the state’s new gun laws. This will be the second time in five days the president has rewarded state-level gun control measures by traveling for in-state appearances.

The President will appear at the University of Hartford to ”continue asking the American people to join him in calling on Congress to pass common-sense measures to reduce gun violence,” according to a White House release Sunday morning.

Connecticut’s legislature passed a 139-page gun control bill last week, which includes universal criminal background checks for all gun sales, creation of a “weapon offender registry,” 10-round limits on ammunition magazines, and other restrictions. The bill is scheduled to be signed later this week by Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-gun-tour-onward-to-Connecticut/586827969145589404.html

Reflections of a Medical ex-Practioner

2013-04-08T11:57:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

A fundamental principle in medicine is that if you get the diagnosis wrong, you'll probably apply the wrong therapy. A corollary is that if the therapy isn't working, increasing the dose may make things worse. That's where we are with ObamaCare.

There are shortcomings aplenty in the health-care field, and changes and improvements are required. But never have I seen so many good intentions leading irreversibly to hell.

Personal experience is by its nature parochial. Yet when it invalidates much of what passes for wisdom, there may be value in sharing it. Here are some facts that may illuminate:

When I graduated from medical school in 1962, the profession of medicine was for many graduates an opportunity to provide care—as distinguished from, though aligned with, treatment—and to provide it to individuals, not to populations or governmentally specified groups. Young doctors hoped to establish an independent business, enjoy lifelong intellectual excitement as knowledge and therapies expanded, and have an income sufficient to live decently and support a family. There have always been some who entered medicine, as with any vocation, to maximize income. Yet most of us who came into the profession in the early 1960s had modest financial aspirations and substantial social commitment.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Reflections-of-a-Medical-ex-Practioner/179355796811639266.html

Special ops veterans' group calls for select probe of Benghazi attack

2013-04-08T11:55:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News reports:

More than 700 Special Operations veterans are urging members of Congress to back a select committee to investigate last year’s Benghazi terrorist attack, according to a letter first obtained by Fox News.

The letter from the group, “Special Operations Speaks,” supports the appointment of a special committee tasked with the single mission of investigating the attack that left Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans dead, and shut down the CIA operation in an annex of the Benghazi consulate, in the Sept. 11, 2012 attack.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Special-ops-veterans-group-calls-for-select-probe-of-Benghazi-attack/-474433984501185087.html

Lean Forward... Collectively: Melissa Harris-Perry's MSNBC ad says all of your children belong to us

2013-04-08T11:52:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Mediaite reports:

The latest MSNBC “Lean Forward” spot featuring Melissa Harris-Perry is a collection of tired progressive cliches on steroids that harken back to the Clinton era. It really outdoes all previous “Lean Forward” ads.

The 30 second spot features Harris-Perry standing on a curving street near some pretty flowers and speaking in the matter-of-fact style that helped land her a weekend show on the progressive cable outlet. There’s so much about this short spot that’s just troubling and wrong that we have to break it down piece by piece.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Lean-Forward...-Collectively:-Melissa-Harris-Perrys-MSNBC-ad-says-all-of-your-children-belong-to-us/-64807234157538375.html

Obama golfing for 2nd weekend in row

2013-04-08T11:47:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Mail reports:

While Friday's job report revealed that the U.S. economy only added 88,000 jobs in March, President Obama has played golf for the second weekend in a row.

Mr Obama took to the greens at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Saturday afternoon with White House aides Marvin Nicholson, Joe Paulsen, and Michael Brush, according to ABC News.

The president made his first golfing trip since the sequester cuts a week earlier, and famously teed off with Tiger Woods on a secretive getaway to Florida in February.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-golfing-for-2nd-weekend-in-row/-107331317842097289.html

Mass shooting strategy: Fight back

2013-04-08T11:45:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Mail reports:

Police are advising people to fight back if they are unable to flee or hide during a mass shooting, a controversial new tactic that authorities say might be the only way to prevent devastating loss of life.

It comes as research based on numerous mass shootings in the U.S., revealed that those who took a more active role had a better chance of survival than those who waited for help to arrive.

One instructional video made last year now advises that the best way to survive a shooting spree is to run, hide or as a last resort, fight.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Mass-shooting-strategy:-Fight-back/771447381922664082.html

Catholics & Evangelicals labeled "religious extremists" by US Army

2013-04-08T04:18:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News reports:

The U.S. Army listed Evangelical Christianity and Catholicism as examples of religious extremism along with Al Qaeda and Hamas during a briefing with an Army Reserve unit based in Pennsylvania, Fox News has learned.

“We find this offensive to have Evangelical Christians and the Catholic Church to be listed among known terrorist groups,” said Ron Crews, executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty. “It is dishonorable for any U.S. military entity to allow this type of wrongheaded characterization.”

The incident occurred during an Army Reserve Equal Opportunity training brief on extremism. Topping the list is Evangelical Christianity. Other organizations listed included Catholicism, Al Qaeda, Hamas, the Ku Klux Klan, Sunni Muslims, and Nation of Islam.

The military also listed “Islamophobia” as a form of religious extremism.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Catholics--Evangelicals-labeled-religious-extremists-by-US-Army/-47288946171882304.html

Immigration bill would import 1 million workers yearly

2013-04-05T15:16:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

The Senate’s draft immigration bill will increase the inflow of foreign workers to 1 million people per year, according to government data and news reports.

The 1 million inflow would provide almost one foreign worker for every four Americans who turn 18.

The rate would be high enough to fill up all the extra non-farm jobs created during the last six months.

The 1 million inflow would include at least 350,000 people capable of competing for middle-class skilled jobs sought by the 1.8 million Americans who graduate from university each year. Only about 10 percent of the workers would be farm workers.

“I believe in a free-market, but this [inflow] will aggravate the problems for [American] graduates,” Richard Vedder, director of the libertarian Center for College Affordability and Productivity, told The Daily Caller.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Immigration-bill-would-import-1-million-workers-yearly/365174715504725982.html

Virginia says no to abortion in obamacare exchanges

2013-04-05T15:15:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hill reports:

Abortion-rights opponents are welcoming a Virginia bill to block the state's ObamaCare insurance exchange from offering plans that cover abortions.

The Susan B. Anthony (SBA) List, which supports political candidates who oppose abortion rights, called the measure's passage Wednesday a triumph for taxpayers who "do not want their tax dollars paying for abortions."

"The SBA List is grateful for the leadership of Governor [Bob] McDonnell (R) in ensuring Virginia taxpayers are not forced to pay for abortions in the state’s healthcare exchange," the group's president, Marjorie Dannenfelser, said in a statement.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Virginia-says-no-to-abortion-in-obamacare-exchanges/-141348947172383654.html

North Korea moves another missile

2013-04-05T15:14:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Times reports:

North Korea has moved a second medium-range missile to its eastern coast, South Korean media reported on Friday. The Yonhap news agency cited a government official as saying that Pyongyang had now loaded two Musudan missiles onto mobile launch pads.

North Korea has placed two of its intermediate range missiles on mobile launchers and hidden them on the east coast of the country, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported on Friday, citing intelligence sources in South Korea.

The report could not be confirmed, but may be intended to demonstrate a threat by the North to either Japan or to U.S. bases on Guam. The North has threatened to attack bases on Guam if the United States launches a strike on it.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/North-Korea-moves-another-missile/-717865652351484133.html

Obama's budget includes tax increases...shocker!

2013-04-05T15:12:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Times reports:

President Obama next week will take the political risk of formally proposing cuts to Social Security and Medicare in his annual budget in an effort to demonstrate his willingness to compromise with Republicans and revive prospects for a long-term deficit-reduction deal, administration officials say.

In a significant shift in fiscal strategy, Mr. Obama on Wednesday will send a budget plan to Capitol Hill that departs from the usual presidential wish list that Republicans typically declare dead on arrival. Instead it will embody the final compromise offer that he made to Speaker John A. Boehner late last year, before Mr. Boehner abandoned negotiations in opposition to the president’s demand for higher taxes from wealthy individuals and some corporations.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obamas-budget-includes-tax-increases...shocker!/-91108628224912925.html

Labor force participation at 1979 levels

2013-04-05T15:07:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Things just keep getting worse for the American worker, and by implication US economy, where as we have shown many times before, it pays just as well to sit back and collect disability and various welfare and entitlement checks, than to work .The best manifestation of this: the number of people not in the labor force which in March soared by a massive 663,000 to a record 90 million Americans who are no longer even looking for work. This was the biggest monthly increase in people dropping out of the labor force since January 2012, when the BLS did its census recast of the labor numbers. And even worse, the labor force participation rate plunged from an already abysmal 63.5% to 63.3% - the lowest since 1979! But at least it helped with the now painfully grotesque propaganda that the US unemployment rate is "improving."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Labor-force-participation-at-1979-levels/-520261596080391946.html

Aetna seeks to avoid Obamacare rules next year

2013-04-05T11:29:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Huffington Post reports:

One of the largest health insurance companies in the United States is advising insurance brokers on how to evade new mandates and benefits set to take effect next year under President Barack Obama's health care reform law.

In an email sent to brokers, the insurance giant Aetna explains how they can renew customers' current health plans before Jan. 1, a strategy the Los Angeles Times reported this week is under consideration at other big health insurance companies.

Obamacare includes a number of new rules for health insurance plans that will become law at the beginning of next year, or whenever existing policies expire. By extending customers' plans before then, health insurance companies and their customers can lock in health plans that don't adhere to those rules for up to one more year.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Aetna-seeks-to-avoid-Obamacare-rules-next-year/230412452425420591.html

Students try to banish Catholic chaplain from campus for anti-gay stance

2013-04-04T16:45:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

Two gay seniors at George Washington University say they feel alienated because the chaplain at George Washington’s Newman Center rejects homosexuality, and they aren’t going to take it anymore.

The seniors, Damian Legacy and Blake Bergen, have announced a coordinated campaign to rid the campus of the Roman Catholic priest, reports The GW Hatchet, the school’s independent student newspaper.

They also assert that 12 or more students have quit the Newman Center in recent years because they can’t tolerate Father Greg Shaffer’s ardent anti-gay – and, for the record, anti-abortion — beliefs.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Students-try-to-banish-Catholic-chaplain-from-campus-for-anti-gay-stance/185977449042255734.html

Obama Priorities! USDA: Meat labels to include where animal born and slaughtered

2013-04-04T13:50:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Daily News reports:

If the feds get their way, meats on supermarket shelves will include some unappetizing details, such as where the animal was slaughtered.

Find that stomach-turning?

Better get used to it: Labels on meat products sold in the U.S. could soon read like a sad mini-biography of the ranch-raised beasts.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-Priorities!--USDA:-Meat-labels-to-include-where-animal-born-and-slaughtered/-606453177201674850.html

Obummer Econ Update! Weekly Jobless Claims Get Weaker as Outlook Dims

2013-04-04T13:06:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Reuters reports:

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose to its highest level in four months last week, suggesting the labor market recovery lost some steam in March.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 28,000 to a seasonally adjusted 385,000, the highest level since November, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

It was the third straight week of gains in claims. Coming on the heels of data on Wednesday showing private employers added the fewest jobs in five months in March, the report implied some weakening in

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obummer-Econ-Update!-Weekly-Jobless-Claims-Get-Weaker-as-Outlook-Dims/-756767874826310274.html

VA waitress invokes 'no guns' policy on armed police officers

2013-04-04T12:31:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Post reports:

While some businesses, such as Starbucks, have no policy on whether you can carry guns inside, the restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings does have a policy: No guns. And when a group of eight plain-clothed Prince William County police officers wearing guns sat down last month at the new BWW in Manassas, near Wellington Road and Market Street, a waitress there refused to serve them.

Jamie Rogers broke this story in the Manassas Patch, and reports that the restaurant’s manager tried to make amends the next day with the Prince William police. “There is no reason why those officers should have been asked to leave,” manager Scott Lupton wrote in a letter. “Police officers are always welcome in my establishment and even though we do have a no-gun policy, as a company that excludes off-duty police officers.” Lupton told Rogers he would try to personally apologize to the officers, and he later told Fox News the officers were not asked to leave. I was unable to reach Lupton Monday.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/VA-waitress-invokes-no-guns-policy-on-armed-police-officers/-499774262065258060.html

Another member of Bloomberg anti-gun group gets arrested

2013-04-04T12:30:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Free Beacon reports:

Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) member and Spring Valley Mayor Noramie Jasmin was arrested yesterday for allegedly accepting bribes from an undercover FBI agent, as part of a wide-ranging federal corruption probe that netted six New York state politicians.

Jasmin and her deputy mayor, Joseph Desmaret, allegedly accepted financial benefits from a federal law enforcement agent posing as a real estate developer, in exchange for her pledge to support the developer’s company, according to a statement released by the FBI.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Another-member-of-Bloomberg-anti-gun-group-gets-arrested/-538518675514149449.html

ACLU: Reid's gun legislation could threaten privacy rights, civil liberties

2013-04-04T12:26:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

As Senate Democrats struggle to build support for new gun control legislation, the American Civil Liberties Union now says it’s among those who have “serious concerns” about the bill.

Those concerns have the capacity to prove a major setback to Sen. Harry Reid’s current gun bill, which includes language from earlier bills introduced by Sens. Chuck Schumer and Barbara Boxer.

In an exclusive interview with The Daily Caller, a top lobbyist for the ACLU announced that the group thinks Reid’s current gun bill could threaten both privacy rights and civil liberties.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/ACLU:-Reids-gun-legislation-could-threaten-privacy-rights,-civil-liberties/-325565061654033355.html

Pro-gun laws gain ground

2013-04-04T12:24:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

President Barack Obama made another push Wednesday to build support for gun-control laws in the wake of December's mass school shooting in Connecticut. But since then, states have passed more measures expanding rather than restricting the right to carry firearms.

Arkansas eliminated prohibitions on carrying firearms in churches and on college campuses. South Dakota authorized school boards to arm teachers. Tennessee passed a law allowing workers to bring guns to work and store them in their vehicles, even if their employer objects. Kentucky shortened the process for obtaining licenses to carry a concealed gun.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Pro-gun-laws-gain-ground/383060851445180871.html

Beware Schumer's latest pose

2013-04-04T12:23:00Z

Posted By: Staff

National Review reports:

Marco Rubio is front and center in the ongoing debate over immigration reform. That makes sense, given his background as the son of Cuban immigrants, his rising-star status within the Republican party, and his not-so-secret aspirations for 2016. Many have argued that the fate of the current reform effort lies in his hands.

Chuck Schumer, on the other hand, the Democratic ringleader of the so-called Gang of Eight, has received far less scrutiny for his role in the talks. A career politician known for his ubiquitous media presence and acute partisanship, Schumer has some Republicans wondering if anything good can come of the gang’s efforts.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Beware-Schumers-latest-pose/613402992913586520.html

On the environment, alarmists are still losing

2013-04-04T12:21:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Real Clear Politics reports:

All that money. All that effort. All the sermonizing and bloodcurdling imagery and still, Americans don't seem to be evolving quickly enough on the environment.

A new poll by Pew Research Center, for instance, finds that a wide majority of Americans support building the Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport Canadian oil to refineries in Texas. Sixty-six percent of Americans favor finishing the pipeline, with only 23 percent in opposition. Strong support cuts through every political distinction -- other than "liberal" Democrats.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/On-the-environment,-alarmists-are-still-losing/-358675299699304534.html

U.S. dials back on Korean show of force

2013-04-04T12:19:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

After a high-visibility display of military power aimed at deterring North Korean provocations, the White House is dialing back the aggressive posture amid fears that it could inadvertently trigger an even deeper crisis, according to U.S. officials.

The U.S. is putting a pause to what several officials described as a step-by-step plan the Obama administration approved earlier this year, dubbed "the playbook," that laid out the sequence and publicity plans for U.S. shows of force during annual war games with South Korea. The playbook included well-publicized flights in recent weeks near North Korea by nuclear-capable B-52 and stealth B-2 bombers, as well as advanced F-22 warplane

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/U.S.-dials-back-on-Korean-show-of-force/496689453860477081.html

Radar shows U.S. border security gaps

2013-04-04T11:43:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The LA Times reports:

A sophisticated airborne radar system developed to track Taliban fighters planting roadside bombs in Afghanistan has found a new use along the U.S. border with Mexico, where it has revealed gaps in security.

Operated from a Predator surveillance drone, the radar system has collected evidence that Border Patrol agents apprehended fewer than half of the foreign migrants and smugglers who had illegally crossed into a 150-square-mile stretch of southern Arizona.

The number of "gotaways," as the Border Patrol calls those who escape apprehension, is both more precise and higher than official estimates.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Radar-shows-U.S.-border-security-gaps/17064726593730781.html

America under Obamacare...Day 1107

2013-04-03T11:56:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Reason.com reports:

About half of ObamaCare’s first-decade cost was supposed to be funded via cuts to Medicare and fees on specific segments of the health industry. Republicans responded by complaining that those cuts would decimate care for seniors, but the real problem was that those cuts, along with some of the other revenue raisers built into the law, were never likely to occur.

ObamaCare’s budget, and the deficit reduction it was alleged to achieve, was in many ways an exercise in wishful thinking: If Congress and Medicare’s administrators allowed the cuts and fees to go through as planned, and if the spending provisions stayed on target, then the law might raise enough revenue to break even, or possibly reduce the deficit somewhat. Well, sure. If. But the smart money was always on many of the cuts and fees and other revenue raisers being wiped from the books just before or shortly after they went into effect. It wasn’t that the various revenue raisers built into the bill were impossible, exactly; it was that they weren’t politically sustainable.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/America-under-Obamacare...Day-1107/-167932174159244756.html

Obama's trash talkers

2013-04-03T11:50:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

A week after leaving the White House earlier this year, David Plouffe took to his new Twitter account to announce that he thinks Karl Rove’s credibility is shot and his understanding of the electorate is “stupefyingly” dumb.

Tommy Vietor, another Obama ex-White House veteran, hit Twitter to offer his own measured critique about a tweet by Sen. John McCain concerning a new documentary on the Benghazi attacks —“disgusting, shameless,” Vietor said.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obamas-trash-talkers/971436925307418889.html

About those tax breaks for big oil

2013-04-03T11:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

President Obama has been telling America for months that special tax breaks for the oil and gas industry must come to an end. The presidential demand always prompts puzzled gazes among tax and energy-industry experts, who ask: What special tax breaks?

Thanks in part to a bill sponsored by Rep. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland and ranking member on the House Budget Committee, it's all much clearer now. The congressman has inadvertently called attention to the fact that those special tax breaks just for the oil and gas industry don't exist. Mr. Van Hollen proposes to create some very special punishments instead. Regardless of the bill's fortunes on Capitol Hill, it has already performed a public service by illuminating the fallacy behind assaults on the industry.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/About-those-tax-breaks-for-big-oil/-802482185309226023.html

White House media access narrows

2013-04-02T14:59:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CBS News reports:

A photo of the Obamas hugging that was released on Election Day 2012 has become the world’s most popular tweet on Twitter. A dressed-up version of Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech, packed with charts and graphs, is huge on YouTube. A playful picture of the president cavorting with a 3-year-old in a Spiderman costume is a favorite online.

It’s all courtesy of the Obama image machine, serving up a stream of words, images and videos that invariably cast the president as commanding, compassionate and on the ball. In this world, Obama’s family is always photogenic, first dog Bo is always well-behaved and the vegetables in the South Lawn kitchen garden always seem succulent.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/White-House-media-access-narrows/-169432443236419709.html

Connecticut passes sweeping gun laws

2013-04-02T14:58:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Boston Globe reports:

Connecticut lawmakers announced a deal Monday on what they called some of the toughest gun laws in the country that were proposed after the December mass shooting at a school in Newtown. Some highlights from the proposal:

GUN LAWS

—Ban sales of high-capacity ammunition magazines;

—Background checks for private gun sales;

—New registry for existing magazines that carry 10 or more bullets;

—Statewide dangerous weapon offender registry, which lawmakers said is the nation’s first;

—Immediate universal background checks for all firearms sales;

—Expansion of Connecticut’s assault weapons ban;

—Safety training and other requirements to buy any rifle, shotgun or ammunition;

—Increases minimum age eligibility for purchase of some semi-automatic rifles to 21;

— Expands requirements for safe storage of firearms;

— Increases penalties for firearms trafficking and illegal possession offenses.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Connecticut-passes-sweeping-gun-laws/-87829440838328708.html

NY Mayoral race fraud

2013-04-02T14:57:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hill reports:

State Sen. Malcolm Smith and city Councilman Dan Halloran were arrested this morning on charges they were plotting to rig this year’s mayoral election through fraud and bribes.

The pols allegedly formed an alliance built on cash payments and fraud to get Smith — one of the state’s top Democrats — placed on the GOP mayoral ballot, sources said.

FBI agents arrested them both at their Queens homes shortly after 6 a.m.

“I have no idea,” Halloran, in handcuffs, told a Post reporter when asked if he knew why he was being arrested.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/NY-Mayoral-race-fraud/-123845068450580020.html

Texas holds strong on no Medicaid expansion

2013-04-02T14:57:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hill reports:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) doubled down Monday in his opposition to expanding Medicaid under President Obama's healthcare law, even though opposing it could cost his state $90 billion.

At a press conference where he was flanked by other conservatives, Perry argued expanding the health insurance program for the poor would make Texas “hostage” to the federal government.

“It would benefit no one in our state to see their taxes skyrocket and our economy crushed as our budget crumbled under the weight of oppressive Medicaid costs,” Perry said at the state capitol.

States can choose whether or not to allow the federal expansion of Medicaid under the Supreme Court’s decision last year to uphold ObamaCare.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Texas-holds-strong-on-no-Medicaid-expansion/-248624748411308924.html

Democrats propose $10,000 fine for gun owners without insurance

2013-04-02T14:56:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

A contingent of liberal Democrats in Congress is proposing a new federal gun control idea: mandatory liability insurance for gun owners.

When New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney introduced the legislation last month with eight other Democrats, she boasted that it is “the first bill to require liability insurance of gun buyers nationwide.”

Maloney’s “Firearm Risk Protection Act” requires gun buyers to have “a qualified liability insurance policy” before they are able to legally purchase a firearm.

It also calls for the federal government to impose a fine as much as $10,000 if a gun owner doesn’t have insurance on a firearm purchased after the bill goes into effect.

“It shall be unlawful for a person who owns a firearm purchased on or after the effective date of this subsection not to be covered by a qualified liability insurance policy,” the bill text reads.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Democrats-propose-$10,000-fine-for-gun-owners-without-insurance/-973365749157661586.html

US teens getting early start on heart disease risk, survey says

2013-04-02T12:00:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The LA Times reports:

The proportion of American adolescents who exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet and are free of risk factors for future heart disease is "alarmingly low," says a major new survey of teen health. The comprehensive five-year assessment of teens' health status warns that the "disconcertingly high" rate of poor health habits among the nation's youth "may contribute to unacceptably high rates of adult-onset cardiovascular disease" as this cohort matures into adulthood.

The new survey, published Monday in the American Heart Assn.'s journal Circulation, culled data on teens from a yearly gauge of the nation's health called the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES). From a representative sample of American adolescents--4,673 kids between the ages of 12 and 19--NHANES captured each subject's body-mass index, dietary intake details, physical activity levels, smoking behavior, blood pressure, total cholesterol and fasting blood glucose levels. Each subject was assigned a cardiovascular health index number on the basis of this mix of signposts.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/US-teens-getting-early-start-on-heart-disease-risk,-survey-says/-385250171020148643.html

NYC's Free rooms are helter shelter

2013-04-02T11:56:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Post reports:

A frustrated Mayor Bloomberg yesterday blasted a policy that allows nonresidents and even foreigners to get costly beds in city homeless shelters with no questions asked.

“When I pointed it out, some said that was ludicrous,” said Bloomberg, referring to his recent statement that a person could fly a private jet into Kennedy, take a limo to the city and get a free bed.

“What is truly ludicrous is a system that allows people from across the country and the world to take advantage like this,” the mayor said in response to a report in The Post that even foreigners were living large in city shelters.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/NYCs-Free-rooms-are-helter-shelter/-209044807981739915.html

Obama proclaims April the month to teach young people 'how to budget responsibly'

2013-04-02T11:54:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNSNews reports:

President Barack Obama, who has increased the national debt by $53,377 per household, has proclaimed April “National Financial Capability Month,” during which his administration will do things such as teach young people “how to budget responsibly."

“I call upon all Americans to observe this month with programs and activities to improve their understanding of financial principles and practices,” Obama said in an official proclamation released Friday.

“My Administration is dedicated to helping people make sound decisions in the marketplace,” he said.

"Together, we can prepare young people to tackle financial challenges--from learning how to budget responsibly to saving for college, starting a business, or opening a retirement account,” he said.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-proclaims-April-the-month-to-teach-young-people-how-to-budget-responsibly/837766720000302714.html

Flight attendants recruit passengers to sign 'no knives' petition

2013-04-02T11:51:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNSNews reports:

Flight attendants are asking airline passengers to petition the White House as part of an effort to get the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to reverse its decision to allow small knives on planes.

The Coalition of Flight Attendant Unions, which represents some 90,000 flight attendants, is handing out leaflets at airports across the country, encouraging passengers to sign a “No Knives on Planes” petition on the White House website.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Flight-attendants-recruit-passengers-to-sign-no-knives-petition/-733844162592920307.html

Conn. proposes toughest gun laws ever seen in US

2013-04-02T11:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Guardian reports:

Politicians announced a deal on Monday on what they called some of the toughest gun laws ever seen in the United States. The measures, proposed after the Sandy Hook mass shooting in the state, include a ban on a new high-capacity ammunition magazine like the one in the massacre that left 20 children and six educators dead.

The proposal also called for background checks for private gun sales and a new registry for existing magazines that carry 10 or more bullets, something of a compromise for parents of the Newtown school victims who had wanted an outright ban on them, while legislators had proposed grandfathering them into the law.

The package also creates what lawmakers said is the nation's first state-wide dangerous weapon offender registry, immediate universal background checks for all firearms sales and expansion of Connecticut's assault weapons ban. A new state-issued eligibility certificate would be needed to purchase any rifle, shotgun or ammunition under the legislation. To get the certificate, a buyer would need to be fingerprinted, take a firearms training course and undergo a national criminal background check and involuntary commitment or voluntary admission check.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Conn.--proposes-toughest-gun-laws-ever-seen-in-US/-23639517600192236.html

Not just teasin'... Tea is really good for you

2013-04-02T11:47:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Post reports:

In the latte-obsessed United States, tea is gaining ground as scientists and the public learn more about its benefits.

A growing body of research suggests that the world’s second-most-consumed beverage — only water is more popular — helps prevent cardiovascular disease, burn calories and ward off some types of cancer.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Not-just-teasin...-Tea-is-really-good-for-you/-683611379546368331.html

Broken Obamacare promises

2013-04-01T14:26:00Z

Posted By: Staff

USA Today reports:

The non-partisan Society of Actuaries last week said that because of Obamacare, insurers could pay an average of 32% more for medical claims. Those costs will be passed onto those who buy insurance on the individual market in the form of dramatically higher premiums.

The new report is further proof that this law is failing to deliver on its promises --and that the opponents were right to be skeptical. According to the new study, medical cost increases in my home state of Kentucky could be as high 34%. In states such as Wisconsin and Ohio, the actuaries predict an 80% increase. This will be a crushing financial blow to hardworking families across the country who are just scraping by as it is.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Broken-Obamacare-promises/-209195860769322178.html

America's trade dilemma

2013-04-01T14:25:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Real Clear Politics reports:

Americans have a love-hate relationship with foreign trade. In the marketplace, we're enthusiasts. During 2012, we scarfed up $2.3 trillion of imports: cars, computers, clothes, smartphones, shoes, toys, oil and much more. We are also eager exporters, though not as successful, peddling $1.6 trillion last year of jets, tractors, pharmaceuticals and corn, among other things. But in the political arena, we're skeptics. By one typical poll, 63 percent of respondents declared trade "bad" because it "results in the loss of jobs and lower wages." Only 30 percent cheered that it reduces prices and expands choices for consumers.

The conflicts permeate public debate. We're obsessed with "competitiveness" and denounce "unfair" trade practices. Led by China and India, "emerging market" countries seem especially threatening. Meanwhile, the White House has proposed new trade pacts with Asia and Europe. Is trade good or bad? Can we separate rhetoric from reality?

A new study by two pro-trade economists tries to do just that. It concludes that trade often receives more blame for our problems than it deserves. Consider the decline of U.S. manufacturing, which is probably the most serious charge leveled against trade.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Americas-trade-dilemma/719372161187567443.html

Second homes forbidden in Beijing

2013-04-01T14:24:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Bloomberg reports:

China’s capital, Beijing, banned single-person households from buying more than one residence and increased the minimum down-payment for all buyers of second homes as the government seeks to cool the property market.

The new measures take effect today, the official Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday. The city will also enforce a 20 percent tax on capital gains from property, it said. Current rules allow each household with a Beijing residence permit to buy a second home, opening the way for couples to divorce on paper to double their ability to invest.

“This will help to calm people’s panic about home prices,” said Yi Xianrong, a Beijing-based researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, which advises the Cabinet. “At the same time, restrictions on home purchases don’t change the fundamental demand, and it seems the new measures in Beijing are aimed more at short-term problems rather than long-term healthy development of the property market.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Second-homes-forbidden-in-Beijing/-157043901898752783.html

Obama still fundraising!

2013-04-01T14:23:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The 2012 election is barely over, but President Obama is already hitting the campaign trail again, heading out to four California fundraisers Wednesday and Thursday to begin raising money to help Democrats keep the Senate and seize the House.

The way-early fundraising blitz suggests Obama is far more focused than the White House is admitting on capturing the House for Democrats so he can railroad legislation through Congress after the 2014 elections.

According to the White House, Obama Wednesday will attend two fundraisers for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the political arm of House Democrats. Politico writes that the fundraisers will each be on San Francisco’s “Billionaires’ Row,” at the homes of Gordon Getty and billionaire Democratic fundraiser and clean-energy advocate Tom Steyer.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-still-fundraising!/-174337967119984158.html

US sends fighter jets to South Korea

2013-04-01T14:23:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Reuters reports:

The United States sent F-22 stealth fighter jets to South Korea on Sunday to join military drills aimed at underscoring the U.S. commitment to defend Seoul in the face of an intensifying campaign of threats from North Korea.

The advanced, radar-evading F-22 Raptors were deployed to Osan Air Base, the main U.S. Air Force base in South Korea, from Japan to support ongoing bilateral exercises, the U.S. military command in South Korea said in a statement that urged North Korea to restrain itself.

"(North Korea) will achieve nothing by threats or provocations, which will only further isolate North Korea and undermine international efforts to ensure peace and stability in Northeast Asia," the statement said.

Sabre-rattling on the Korean peninsula drew a plea for peace from Pope Francis, who in his first Easter Sunday address called for a diplomatic solution to the crisis on the Korean peninsula.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/US-sends-fighter-jets-to-South-Korea/-654576817140751007.html

Illegal border crossings double

2013-04-01T14:22:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Townhall reports:

As the immigration reform Gang of Eight inside the Beltway prepares to announce a deal later this week, claiming border security will come before a path to citizenship for millions of illegals, Border Patrol agents have seen illegal border crossings double and warn the cutting of agent work hours will only result in less border security, not more.

"We've seen the number of illegal aliens double, maybe even triple since amnesty talk started happening," an agent told Townhall, who asked to remain unnamed due to fears of retaliation within Customs and Border Protection [CBP], something he said is common. "A lot of these people, although not the majority, are criminals or aggravated felons. This is a direct danger to our communities."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Illegal-border-crossings-double/504195920022612224.html

Dr. Carson banned from a commencement speech?

2013-04-01T11:49:00Z

Posted By: Staff

National Review reports:

Ben Carson, the noted pediatric neurosurgeon, has become the target of a petition by Johns Hopkins students who want him removed as the medical school’s commencement speaker this spring.

Dr. Carson became a media sensation in January when he questioned Obamacare and progressive taxation in a speech to the National Prayer Breakfast as President Obama sat just a few feet away from him.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Dr.-Carson-banned-from-a-commencement-speech/-480839419744863567.html

The skinny on anti-obesity soda laws

2013-04-01T11:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP reports:

How do you convince millions of average Americans that one of the most complex and controversial programs devised by government may actually be a good deal for them?

With the nation still split over President Barack Obama's health care law, the administration has turned to the science of mass marketing for help in understanding the lives of uninsured people, hoping to craft winning pitches for a surprisingly varied group in society.

The law's supporters will have to make the sale in the run-up to an election - the 2014 midterms. Already Republicans are hoping for an "Obamacare" flop that helps them gain control of the Senate, while Democrats are eager for the public to finally embrace the Affordable Care Act, bringing political deliverance.

It turns out America's more than 48 million uninsured people are no monolithic mass. A marketing analysis posted online by the federal Health and Human Services Department reveals six distinct groups, three of which appear critical to the success or failure of the program.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/The-skinny-on-anti-obesity-soda-laws/-348865317450415925.html

AP scrubs inflammatory comment from Obama's Easter service

2013-04-01T11:40:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Newsbusters reports:

At the Weekly Standard's blog today, Daniel Halper relayed a pool reporter's notes from the Easter service President Barack Obama and his family attended this morning. The highlights from the Rev. Dr. Luis Leon's sermon" included the following statement: "It drives me crazy when the captains of the religious right are always calling us back ... for blacks to be back in the back of the bus ... for women to be back in the kitchen ... for immigrants to be back on their side of the border."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/AP-scrubs-inflammatory-comment-from-Obamas-Easter-service/-485797066643524759.html

Many Conn. State Lawmakers Ambivalent On Gun Control

2013-04-01T03:04:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hartford Courant reports:

State Rep. Daniel Rovero's complicated views on guns were shaped by a pair of intensely emotional experiences that unfolded decades ago.

One occurred when Rovero was a member of his town's volunteer ambulance corps in the 1970s. He was dispatched to a call involving a 13-year-old boy who had been shot while playing with a handgun at a friend's house. The teen died at the hospital.

Rovero also is haunted by another chilling episode from that same period, one that offers a counter-narrative to the dangers of guns. He was home with his teenage daughter when an intruder broke in. A longtime gun owner, Rovero recalled grabbing his pistol and firing a warning shot. The man fled, but was later arrested and identified by police as a serial rapist.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Many-Conn.-State-Lawmakers-Ambivalent-On-Gun-Control/-295022892794005310.html

North Korea's targets

2013-03-29T16:29:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Telegraph reports:

North Korea has revealed its plans to strike targets in Hawaii and the continental United States in photos taken in Kim Jong-un's military command centre.

The photos appeared in the state-run Rodong newspaper and were apparently taken at an "emergency meeting" early on Friday morning. They show Kim signing the order for North Korea's strategic rocket forces to be on standby to fire at US targets, the paper said, with large-scale maps and diagrams in the background.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/North-Koreas-targets/401756493632768617.html

Biden to take third vacation in three months

2013-03-29T16:28:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Vice President Biden today is enjoying his third vacation of the year, a five day sojourn on South Carolina’s luxurious Kiawah Island, where he will no doubt partake of his favorite pastime, golf.

Biden and his wife Jill arrived on the island – known as a golf mecca – Thursday night and are not scheduled to depart before Monday.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Biden-to-take-third-vacation-in-three-months/302936137340232740.html

Cyberattacks seem meant to destroy, not just disrupt

2013-03-29T12:02:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Times reports:

American Express customers trying to gain access to their online accounts Thursday were met with blank screens or an ominous ancient type face. The company confirmed that its Web site had come under attack.

The assault, which took American Express offline for two hours, was the latest in an intensifying campaign of unusually powerful attacks on American financial institutions that began last September and have taken dozens of them offline intermittently, costing millions of dollars.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Cyberattacks-seem-meant-to-destroy,-not-just-disrupt/740880128061921856.html

MPs want immigrant ban to save British jobs

2013-03-29T12:00:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Telegraph reports:

In an article for The Telegraph, the joint chairmen of the cross party group on balanced migration, Frank Field, a former Labour minister, and Nicholas Soames, a former Conservative minister, say that David Cameron must do more to tackle “the elephant in the room” by restricting European immigration.

The MPs, two of the most influential politicians in the immigration debate, suggest that draconian action should now be considered “during periods of high unemployment” — such as now — to protect low-skilled British workers struggling to compete with foreigners for jobs.

One in five young British workers is currently unemployed, with about one million people aged 18 to 24 out of work.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/MPs-want-immigrant-ban-to-save-British-jobs/60630185092383034.html

N.Korea plan to attack US mainland revealed in photos

2013-03-29T11:59:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Telegraph reports:

The photos appeared in the state-run Rodong newspaper and were apparently taken at an "emergency meeting" early on Friday morning. They show Kim signing the order for North Korea's strategic rocket forces to be on standby to fire at US targets, the paper said, with large-scale maps and diagrams in the background.

The images show a chart marked "US mainland strike plan" and missile trajectories that the NK News web site estimates terminate in Hawaii, Washington DC, Los Angeles and Austin, Texas.

The meeting of the Pyongyang's senior military leaders was called after two US B2 bombers, flying out of bases in Missouri, carried out simulated bombing raids on North Korean targets on an island off the coast of South Korea.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/N.Korea-plan-to-attack-US-mainland-revealed-in-photos/84648229621946145.html

Nanny Empire State: "Slaves" of New York

2013-03-29T11:57:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Post reports:

New York’s big government — with its hands deep in taxpayers’ pockets and regulations controlling everyone’s lives — has made the Empire State the worst in the nation for personal liberty, a new study shows.

A war on sugary drinks is the least of freedom-loving New Yorkers’ worries, according a report by George Mason University, which rated the state No. 50 for the level of freedom its residents enjoy.

The university found New York’s government slams citizens from every angle — from huge taxes to tight controls on business to myriad rules on all kinds of fun.

“New York has, by a wide margin, the highest taxes in the country,” the report found.

The study cited New York state’s 14 percent income tax, well above the national average.

New York is also the most indebted state, with 33 percent of income dedicated to borrowing in fiscal year 2010, the report said.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Nanny-Empire-State:-Slaves-of-New-York/-841254535255258825.html

Des Moines Register publishes, pulls map of guarded and unguarded schools

2013-03-29T11:51:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Newsbusters reports:

Apparently the journalistic disease known as obsessive-compulsive interactive map publishing is spreading.

Late last year, Gannett's Journal News in White Plains, New York created a firestorm when it published an interactive map of gun permit holders in two counties north of New York City, obviously giving criminals, depending on how they target victims, the identity of places to rob to get guns or, by inference, people they could be comfortable wouldn't be carrying concealed weapons. On Wednesday evening, the Des Moines Register published an item still present on its site discussing the general degree of presence or absence of resource officers at Iowa schools. It also published a "handy" interactive map, since taken down, of which schools have resource officers, which ones don't, and which ones didn't respond to a survey on the topic.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Des-Moines-Register-publishes,-pulls-map-of-guarded-and-unguarded-schools/5408428917639998.html

More STIs than college grads!

2013-03-28T16:28:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNSNews reports:

According to new data released by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 19.7 million new venereal infections in the United States in 2008, bringing the total number of existing sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the U.S. at that time to 110,197,000.

The 19.7 million new STIs in 2008 vastly outpaced the new jobs and college graduates created in the United States that year or any other year on record, according to government data. The competition was not close.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/More-STIs-than-college-grads!/-166609285236933580.html

McCain: not everyone will be 'totally happy'

2013-03-28T16:28:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Yahoo News reports:

After wrapping a tour of the U.S.-Mexico border Wednesday, Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain and New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer said the bipartisan group crafting an immigration reform bill was "very close" to finishing the legislation. A draft, he noted, should be ready to be introduced when the Senate reconvenes after Easter.

"The bottom line is, we're very close. I'd say we're 90 percent there. We have a few little problems to work on," Schumer told reporters in Arizona after a tour of the U.S. border enforcement facilities. "We're on track to meet our deadline of having a bill when we get back to Congress in April."

Schumer and McCain are part of the team of eight senators tasked with crafting an immigration bill that can pass both chambers of Congress. The group unveiled a blueprint of its plan in January. They called it a "tough but fair" approach to solving the nation's illegal immigration problem.

In a joint press conference Wednesday, Schumer and McCain reiterated that the bill would need to be "comprehensive" to survive, and would address new ways to secure the border, penalize businesses that hire illegal immigrants and provide a "path to citizenship" for illegal immigrants already in the country. On border security, Schumer said that the federal government doesn't necessarily need more boots on the ground along the border, but it will need to invest in new technology.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/McCain:-not-everyone-will-be-totally-happy/-457626178848142346.html

Fat-tax for travellers?

2013-03-28T16:27:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Mail reports:

A pay-what-you-weigh airline pricing scheme should be introduced because heavier people cost more in fuel to fly, a professor has claimed.

Heavier passengers would pay more for their plane tickets and lighter ones less under plans put forward by Dr Bharat P Bhatta.

Writing in this month's Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management publication, Dr Bhatta said weight and space should be taken into account when airlines price their tickets.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Fat-tax-for-travellers/-356039410117352894.html

Internet surveillance state

2013-03-28T16:26:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNN reports:

I'm going to start with three data points.

One: Some of the Chinese military hackers who were implicated in a broad set of attacks against the U.S. government and corporations were identified because they accessed Facebook from the same network infrastructure they used to carry out their attacks.

Two: Hector Monsegur, one of the leaders of the LulzSac hacker movement, was identified and arrested last year by the FBI. Although he practiced good computer security and used an anonymous relay service to protect his identity, he slipped up.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Internet-surveillance-state/-776101911076915544.html

Overturning gay-marriage could hurt the GOP

2013-03-28T16:25:00Z

Posted By: Staff

National Journal reports:

If the Supreme Court rules state gay-marriage bans are unconstitutional, the issue could go a couple of ways. Just as with Roe v. Wade and abortion, gay marriage could remain a fixture in the public discourse long after a justice pens a majority opinion. Or it could move the debate onto the political back burner—and that would be a good thing for the GOP.

The high court will hear oral arguments on gay marriage this week, including whether California’s Proposition 8 ban holds constitutional muster. A ruling that overturns the law could very well just apply to California and similarly situated states, or—although it's unlikely in the extreme—the Court could rule any ban is unconstitutional, closing the door on state laws outlawing gay marriage.

However the Court rules, polling clearly shows which direction the country is moving. Public opinion on gay marriage has pretty much reversed over the past decade, with 58 percent of Americans now favoring it, while 36 percent say it should be illegal, according to a recent NBC News/Washington Post poll.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Overturning-gay-marriage-could-hurt-the-GOP/-39075021190775130.html

Secret Service pays cartoonist a visit

2013-03-28T16:25:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Slate reports:

It wasn't exactly a subtle cartoon. On March 8, Norm Augustinus pasted an animated gif at the top of his website—a drawing of the White House, the president, and the First Lady. Over a dozen-odd frames, a drone (marked "drone") hoves into vision and kills them both with lasers. Vice President Biden wheels Nancy Pelosi into the scene; they get lasered, too.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Secret-Service-pays-cartoonist-a-visit/551974495014984187.html

10 reasons why nothing you do on the internet will EVER be private again

2013-03-28T14:38:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Internet is rapidly being transformed into a Big Brother control grid where privacy rights are being systematically strangled to death. The control freaks that run things have become absolutely obsessed with watching, tracking, monitoring and recording virtually everything that you do on the Internet. One thing that you can count on is that nothing you do on the Internet will ever be private again. In fact, if you are obsessed with privacy then the last place you want to be is on the Internet. Most Americans have absolutely no idea how far Internet surveillance has advanced in the past few years. At this point, it would be hard to imagine any place less private than the Internet. Do not ever put anything on the Internet that you would not want the authorities or your employer to hold you accountable for. Basically, the Internet is creating a permanent dossier on each one of us, and we contribute to this process by freely posting gigantic volumes of information about ourselves on social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter. The Internet is the greatest tool for mass communication that the world has perhaps ever seen, and it gives average citizens the ability to communicate with each other like never before, but there is also a downside to using the Internet. Everything that we do on the Internet is being watched, monitored and recorded and there is no longer any such thing as Internet privacy. If you think that you still have any privacy on the Internet, then you are either ignorant of what is going on or you are being delusional.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/10-reasons-why-nothing-you-do-on-the-internet-will-EVER-be-private-again/838763036066831045.html

McConnell taking no prisoners

2013-03-28T12:30:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

Kentucky is the Bluegrass State, but by the time Mitch McConnell is done with his reelection campaign, it may be better known for scorched earth.

The top Senate Republican is preparing to wage a ruthless campaign to hang on to his job. He’s already on the air with nearly $200,000 in TV and radio ads, is assembling streams of data to target voters with tailor-made messages, and has quietly moved to lock down support from virtually every state GOP legislator. He says he’ll use “every penny” of a war chest certain to exceed the $21 million he spent in 2008.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/McConnell-taking-no-prisoners/209785318118686266.html

Tenn. Gov. balks at Medicaid expansion

2013-03-28T11:55:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Times reports:

Gov. Bill Haslam of Tennessee said Wednesday that he would not expand Medicaid in his state as called for in the federal health care overhaul, joining 18 other Republican governors who have rejected expansion for now.

Governor Haslam said he wanted instead to use federal Medicaid money to buy private insurance for as many as 175,000 low-income residents of his state. But he said that plan was being held up because the Obama administration had put too many conditions on the money.

With his health care law, President Obama wanted to make Medicaid, the federal-state health program for poor people, available to many more Americans, covering those earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level (currently up to $15,856 a year for an individual). But when the Supreme Court upheld the law last year, it ruled that states could opt out of the Medicaid expansion.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Tenn.-Gov.-balks-at-Medicaid-expansion/947509630250566121.html

British teen mauled to death by 5 dogs while eating meat pie

2013-03-28T11:54:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Daily News reports:

A 14-year-old British schoolgirl was mauled to death by five dogs afer she walked into a room eating a meat pie, authorities and friends believe.

Jade Lomas-Anderson was alone in her friend's house in the town of Atherton in Greater Manchester on Tuesday afternoon when she was apparently attacked by two bull mastiffs, two Staffordshire bull terriers and one other unidentied dog.

The aggressive mastiffs and terriers were later shot dead by police in the backyard, but the fifth dog was captured alive inside the house. Police will not be able to confirm the breeds until the remains of the dogs are examined.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/British-teen-mauled-to-death-by-5-dogs-while-eating-meat-pie/-321604148360459322.html

$6.5 million apartment for Chinese toddler

2013-03-28T11:51:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Post reports:

A mom in China plunked down $6.5 million on an apartment in one of the swankiest buildings in New York — for her 2-year-old.

She hopes her child will live in Midtown’s not-yet-opened One57 building when the child goes to college, the broker told China’s state media yesterday.

“We’re running around the city looking up things, and I finally said, ‘Well, why exactly are you buying?’ And she said that it had to do with her daughter was either going to go to Columbia or NYU. Maybe Harvard,” said Sotheby’s Kevin Brown.

“And so she needed to be in the center of the city and that was the reason why she was picking this one particular apartment. I said, ‘Oh, well, how old is your daughter?’ And she said, ‘Well, she’s 2,’ ” Brown said.

One57, across from Carnegie Hall, will be completed next year.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/$6.5-million-apartment-for-Chinese-toddler/777429985408287028.html

TravelersToday: Obamas in Bahamas

2013-03-28T11:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Travelers Today reports:

The Obamas went to the Bahamas and not everyone is happy about it. Michelle Obama and daughters, Sasha and Malia are enjoyed spring break in the warm weather on a Bahamas vacation.

According to a US Weekly source, the first daughters and the first lady had fun in the sun at the Atlantis Resort. The girls hung out at a family-friendly cabana and got to swim with dolphins. Malia, 14, and Sasha, 11, also had a chance to dance at Atlantis' teen club CRUSH on March 24. It's not clear if Michelle Obama broke out some moves on the dance floor as well.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/TravelersToday:-Obamas-in-Bahamas/440984620472872968.html

Date night: Obama, GOP senators plan a 2nd dinner

2013-03-28T11:47:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CBS News reports:

President Obama is keeping up his congressional charm offensive, with a second dinner with Senate Republicans planned for next month, CBS News has confirmed.

Mr. Obama wined-and-dined with a dozen GOP senators earlier this month at the Jefferson Hotel near the White House. The dinner was aimed in part at seeing whether the parties could restart talks on a grand budget bargain that has eluded them since the beginning of the president's 2009 administration.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Date-night:-Obama,-GOP-senators-plan-a-2nd-dinner/-213939099626870719.html

Feds fund $880,000 to study benefits of snail sex

2013-03-28T11:45:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNS News reports:

The National Science Foundation awarded a grant for $876,752 to the University of Iowa to study whether there is any benefit to sex among New Zealand mud snails and whether that explains why any organism has sex.

The study, first funded in 2011 and continuing until 2015, will study the New Zealand snails to see if it is better that they reproduce sexually or asexually – the snail can do both – hoping to gain insight on why so many organisms practice sexual reproduction.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Feds-fund-$880,000-to-study-benefits-of-snail-sex/213270754065275989.html

Chief Justice: Obama lacks courage

2013-03-28T11:41:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Click to watch:

CNN's Wolf Blitzer talks to a panel about the Defense of Marriage Act and President Obama's view on the law.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Chief-Justice:-Obama-lacks-courage/-406662511966611965.html

Surveillance Nation: Anonymous phone location data not so anonymous

2013-03-28T11:40:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Wired reports:

Anonymized mobile phone location data produces a GPS fingerprint that can be easily used to identify a user based on little more than tracking the pings a phone makes to cell towers, a new study shows.

Analyzing 15 months of anonymized mobile phone data for about 1.5 million users, researchers at MIT and the Universite Catholique de Louvain in Belgium found that it took very few pieces of data to uniquely identify 95 percent of the users — that is, trace the activity to a specific anonymous individual.

Based on hourly updates of a user’s location, tracked by pings from their mobile phone to nearby cell towers as they moved about or made and received calls and text messages, the researchers could identify the individual from just four “data points.” With just two data points, they could identify about 50 percent of users.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Surveillance-Nation:-Anonymous-phone-location-data-not-so-anonymous/-166512179867630159.html

Border security in exchange for immigration reform? Napolitano says no deal

2013-03-27T18:45:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Byron York:

Republicans working to craft a comprehensive immigration reform bill say there is one rock-bottom requirement for any deal: The border must be secure, and proven to be secure, before any path to citizenship is created for the millions of immigrants currently in the country illegally. That is the one non-negotiable GOP demand. And on Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano flatly rejected it.

“Relying on one thing as a so-called trigger is not the way to go,” Napolitano told a breakfast meeting of journalists. Asked about her department’s recent revelation that it will not produce a long-promised method of measuring border security, known as the Border Condition Index, Napolitano said, “We’re confident that the border is as secure as it’s ever been. But there’s no one number that captures that.” Without a way to measure border security, many Republican reform advocates say, there’s no way to go forward with a reform agreement.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Border-security-in-exchange-for-immigration-reform-Napolitano-says-no-deal/-698124762745475738.html

Schools skipping the Pledge of Alliegance

2013-03-27T18:14:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Lansing State Journal reports:

The Pledge of Allegiance, what many would consider a Norman Rockwell requirement of public education, is no longer a given in an untold number of California classrooms.

And not only do many local schoolkids skip the pledge these days, many don't even know what it is.

Turns out, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance has become passe, considered by some to be an outdated and unnecessary ritual with a constitutionally questionable religious reference and false promises of liberty and justice for all.

Others skip it just to save time.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Schools-skipping-the-Pledge-of-Alliegance/63732623244014442.html

GA teens arrested for baby shooting

2013-03-27T18:13:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Lansing State Journal reports:

Police arrested two teenagers Friday who are suspected in the shooting death of a 13-month-old baby in a stroller and wounding the baby's mother during an attempted robbery.

Seventeen-year-old De'Marquis Elkins is charged as an adult with first-degree murder, along with a 14-year-old who was not identified because he is a juvenile, Police Chief Tobe Green said.

Police announced the arrest Friday afternoon after combing school records and canvassing neighborhoods searching for the pair. The chief said the motive of the "horrendous act" was still under investigation and the weapon had not been found.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/GA-teens-arrested-for-baby-shooting/-212297563636487954.html

NFL player considers coming out

2013-03-27T18:12:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Mail reports:

The National Football League may soon be faced with its first openly gay player - a man who intends to keep playing after coming out.

Football has never had a gay active player in its nearly 100-year history, but some have argued that it's time for a change.

That change is likely to come sooner rather than later, as a player is reportedly preparing to make a public announcement about his sexual orientation before the 2013 season.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/NFL-player-considers-coming-out/-523365947908071983.html

Syrain rebels kidnap Catholic Priest

2013-03-27T18:11:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Public Radio of Armenia reports:

A world wide appeal has been initiated by the Bishop Marayati, Armenian Catholic, of Aleppo for the release of Fr Michael Kayyal who was kidnapped on 9th February 2013 by an Islamic rebel group located some 30 kilometres from the above-mentioned city.

The rebels have made contact with the Archbishop and informed him to mediate with the Syrian authorities with the aim of securing the release of 15 rebel fighters from Syrian prisons. The rebels also made financial demands to the tune of 15,000,000 million Syrian pounds ($250,000 approx).

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Syrain-rebels-kidnap-Catholic-Priest/915597085216747816.html

Economic confidence heads back down

2013-03-27T18:10:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Gallup reports:

Americans' confidence in the economy stalled out last week, with the Gallup Economic Confidence Index dropping slightly to -16 after registering improvements for two straight weeks.

The Economic Confidence Index climbed to -14 two weeks ago, as the U.S. stock market reached record highs, up from -22 in late February/early March as the prospect, and then reality, of federal government sequestration may have been setting in. In early February, weekly confidence reached a five-year high of -8.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Economic-confidence-heads-back-down/-384282374855882564.html

Conflict between DOMA and state laws

2013-03-27T18:09:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

Justice Anthony Kennedy, the swing vote on the high court, questioned whether the Defense of Marriage Act conflicted with state’s rights.

“You are at real risk of running in conflict” with states’ rights, Kennedy said during the court’s oral argument, according to Bloomberg. At the same time, he allowed that there was “quite a bit” to the argument that the federal government needs a standard definition of marriage for tax and other purposes.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Conflict-between-DOMA-and-state-laws/723638758349211256.html

China's Michelle Obama

2013-03-27T16:51:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Is China having a first lady moment? It would certainly seem so. Peng Liyuan, a.k.a. Mrs. Xi Jinping, the wife of China's new president, has emerged swiftly and seemingly decisively, into an overtly more prominent first-lady role than we've seen for some time in China. To be fair she has the track record to be a front-and-center Spouse No. 1 -- she's long been a soprano singer of highly patriotic tunes with a voice that can hit the high notes and shatter glass. Her regular appearances on the long-running, and mostly just plain long, state TV traditional spring festival variety show mean she is universally known in China, whether formally clad in her trim People's Liberation Army olive uniform with plenty of blingy braid attached, or in one of her many elaborate ball gowns belting out a song or three.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Chinas-Michelle-Obama/-734975078304164831.html

How Mexico treats 'undesirable' foreigners

2013-03-27T12:41:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Michelle Malkin:

American politicians in both parties are stampeding all over themselves to pander to Mexico and adopt mass illegal alien amnesty schemes. But while the Mexican government lobbies for more "humane" treatment of illegal border crossers from their country into ours, Mexico remains notoriously restrictionist toward "undesirable" foreigners who break their laws or threaten their security.

Despite widely touted immigration "reforms" adopted in 2011, Mexico still puts Mexico first -- as any country that is serious about protecting its sovereignty should and would.

Article 33 of Mexico's constitution establishes the right of the president to detain and deport "any foreigner" and prohibits foreigners from participating "in any way" in the political affairs of the country.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/How-Mexico-treats-undesirable-foreigners/-466142737750900080.html

Love helps U.S. veteran overcome the scars of war

2013-03-27T11:45:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CBS News reports:

It was ten years ago this month that U.S. combat forces invaded Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein. For many Americans, the war is fading into history. But not for those who fought it, including Marine Cpl. Tony Porta. His story is about tragedy and triumph.

Tony Porta was a 20-year-old Marine running convoys in Iraq in 2007, when his ordeal by fire began.

"I saw my body just burned," he recalled. "I saw my skin melting. It was like a hot candle."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Love-helps-U.S.-veteran-overcome-the-scars-of-war/373168725003570350.html

Sicker shock! Obamacare to raise claims cost 32%

2013-03-27T04:26:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Insurance companies will have to pay out an average of 32 percent more for medical claims on individual health policies under President Barack Obama's overhaul, the nation's leading group of financial risk analysts has estimated.

That's likely to increase premiums for at least some Americans buying individual plans.

The report by the Society of Actuaries could turn into a big headache for the Obama administration at a time when many parts of the country remain skeptical about the Affordable Care Act.

While some states will see medical claims costs per person decline, the report concluded the overwhelming majority will see double-digit increases in their individual health insurance markets, where people purchase coverage directly from insurers.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Sicker-shock!-Obamacare-to-raise-claims-cost-32/-37211661134403711.html

North Dakota signs 'heartbeat' abortion law

2013-03-26T18:52:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed legislation Tuesday that would make North Dakota the nation's most restrictive state on abortion rights, banning the procedure if a fetal heartbeat can be detected—something that can happen as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.

The Republican governor also signed into law another measure that would makes North Dakota the first state to ban abortions based on genetic defects such as Down syndrome, and a measure that requires a doctor who performs abortions to be a physician with hospital-admitting privileges.

The measures, which would take effect Aug. 1, are fueled in part by an attempt to close the state's sole abortion clinic in Fargo. Mr. Dalrymple, in a statement, said the so-called fetal-heartbeat bill is a direct challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion up until a fetus is considered viable, usually at 22 to 24 weeks.

"Although the likelihood of this measure surviving a court challenge remains in question, this bill is nevertheless a legitimate attempt by a state legislature to discover the boundaries of Roe v. Wade," Mr. Dalrymple said. "Because the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed state restrictions on the performing of abortions and because the Supreme Court has never considered this precise restriction ... the constitutionality of this measure is an open question."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/North-Dakota-signs-heartbeat-abortion-law/-255114419648523372.html

Same-sex marriage viewed state-by-state

2013-03-26T18:51:00Z

Posted By: Staff

This Wall Street Journal map shows Same-Sex Marriage in the country.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Same-sex-marriage-viewed-state-by-state/130806812902853512.html

3 billion in student loan debt in 2 months

2013-03-26T18:50:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Banks wrote off $3 billion of student loan debt in the first two months of 2013, up more than 36 percent from the year-ago period, as many graduates remain jobless, underemployed or cash-strapped in a slow U.S. economic recovery, an Equifax study showed.

The credit reporting agency also said Monday that student lending has grown from last year because more people are going back to school and the cost of higher education has risen.

"Continued weakness in labor markets is limiting work options once people graduate or quit their programs, leading to a steady rise in delinquencies and loan write-offs," Equifax Chief Economist Amy Crews Cutts said in a statement.

Equifax analyzes data from more than 500 million consumers to track financial trends.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/3-billion-in-student-loan-debt-in-2-months/-388349692561277994.html

Gun owner refuses to give Mark Kelly AR-15

2013-03-26T18:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Breitbart reports:

Diamondback Police Supply owner Douglas MacKinlay has halted Mark Kelly's attempted purchase of an AR-15 over concerns that Kelly was not in fact buying the gun for himself, and therefore could not have passed question 11a of the NICS background check form 4473.

You'll recall Kelly's AR-15 had been on hold for 20 days because it was a trade-in firearm, and during those 20 days Kelly has not been shy about the fact that his plan was to buy the gun and give it to someone else all along.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Gun-owner-refuses-to-give-Mark-Kelly-AR-15/-720281451213403370.html

$6,000 for "Court-side" seats

2013-03-26T18:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

My Fox Orlando reports:

The most expensive ticket to "The Book of Mormon" on Broadway: $477. The face value of a great seat for this year's Super Bowl: $1,250. Guaranteed seats to watch the U.S. Supreme Court hear this week's gay marriage cases: about $6,000.

Tickets to the two arguments that begin Tuesday are technically free. But getting them requires lining up days or hours ahead, or paying someone else to. The first people got in line Thursday, bringing the price of saving a seat to around $6,000.

For some, putting a value on the seats is meaningless.

"It's just not possible," said Fred Sainz a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights organization, which began employing two people to stand in line Thursday.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/$6,000-for-Court-side-seats/483175385974121940.html

The Obama's spring break is not a "hair-cut"

2013-03-26T18:46:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Breitbart reports:

As spring break begins for schoolchildren across the country, thousands of students will travel to Washington, DC. The trips, funded by bake sales and other events throughout the year, will allow the students to take in Washington's historic landmarks.

One premier destination is off-limits this year, however. A few weeks ago, the Obama Administration announced it was suspending public, self-guided tours of the White House as a result of the automatic sequester cuts that the administration proposed in 2011. While America's students stand outside the White House fence, the First Daughters, Sasha and Malia, are enjoying spring break with friends at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/The-Obamas-spring-break-is-not-a-hair-cut/-124655092681081677.html

China is increasing drones

2013-03-26T18:45:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Free Beacon reports:

China’s military is expanding its unmanned aerial vehicle forces with a new Predator-like armed drone and a new unmanned combat aircraft amid growing tensions with neighbors in Asia, according to U.S. intelligence officials.

New unarmed drone deployments include the recent stationing of reconnaissance and ocean surveillance drones in Northeast Asia near Japan and the Senkaku islands and along China’s southern coast. Drones also are planned for the South China Sea where China has been encroaching on international waters and bullying nations of that region in asserting control over international waters, said officials familiar with intelligence reports.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/China-is-increasing-drones/-250009422044849438.html

Surveillance Nation: Bill Gates' $100 million database to track students

2013-03-26T17:26:00Z

Posted By: Staff

WND reports:

Over the past 18 months, a massive $100 million public-school database spearheaded by the $36.4 billion-strong Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been in the making that freely shares student information with private companies.

The system has been in operation for several months and already contains millions of K-12 students’ personal identification ‒ ranging from name, address, Social Security number, attendance, test scores, homework completion, career goals, learning disabilities, and even hobbies and attitudes about school.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Surveillance-Nation:-Bill-Gates-$100-million-database-to-track-students/338157440334851145.html

Michelle as fashion queen

2013-03-26T12:16:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Digitalspy reports:

Michelle Obama has been cast as the Queen on a first class stamp by The Sunday Times after being dubbed 'The First Lady of Fashion'.

The newspaper's Style Magazine published the design by Grey London after the First Lady was named the 'Best Dressed Woman in the World'.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Michelle-as-fashion-queen/273968030628054275.html

Sharpton MessNBC show has gun sponsor

2013-03-26T11:51:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Newsbusters reports:

Don't tell us that Al Sharpton and MSNBC are hypocrites? Noooo!! The Reverend Al opened his show by praising President Obama's efforts to promote tougher gun control laws. But 28 minutes into the show, a commercial appeared for, of all things . . . Henry Repeating Rifles.

Go to Henry Rifle's website and you'll find one rifle described as "big, brutal and beautiful" and noting that it fires ammunition "said to have killed more game, big and small, and more men, good and bad, than any other in existence." Another model offered for sale, the AR-7, is based on a military rifle, Henry emphasizing that given its lightweight design "you can carry a large quantity of ammunition." Oh the horror! View the video after the jump.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Sharpton-MessNBC-show-has-gun-sponsor/8586954450363763.html

West Virginia Dem dissension: Rockefeller, Manchin split on DOMA

2013-03-26T02:39:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Charleston Daily Mail reports:

U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller says he now opposes a federal law barring same-sex marriage. But his fellow Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin, still supports the U.S. Defense of Marriage Act. The two West Virginia senators offered differing views Monday, ahead of U.S. Supreme Court hearings in gay marriage-related cases. Rockefeller said churches and ministers should never have to perform marriages that violate their beliefs. But he also said the government shouldn't discriminate against same-sex couples. Manchin said his faith has guided his belief that marriage is between one man and one woman. Rockefeller said younger West Virginians and his own children have pushed his generation to revisit its views on this issue. He said this challenging of his beliefs has led him to conclude that the federal law is wrong.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/West-Virginia-Dem-dissension:-Rockefeller,-Manchin-split-on-DOMA/-112707881505552382.html

Conn. mourners remember decorated Army Capt. Andrew Pedersen-Keel, 28

2013-03-26T02:38:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hartford Courant reports:

Nearly 800 people packed St. George Church Monday morning where Army Capt. Andrew Pedersen-Keel was remembered as a decorated, dedicated veteran who planned a legal career.

Pedersen-Keel, 28, died two weeks ago in Afghanistan, shortly before American troops agreed to withdrawal from Wardak province. Reports say he was shot by a man dressed in an Afghan police uniform.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Conn.-mourners-remember-decorated-Army-Capt.-Andrew-Pedersen-Keel,-28/240286259072533448.html

Obama spend-o-rama...designating new nat'l Monuments

2013-03-26T02:37:00Z

Posted By: Staff

ABC News reports:

President Obama today unilaterally designated five new national monuments, sparking criticism from at least one Republican who is questioning the timing and cost of the decision.

Obama used his executive authority under the Antiquities Act to create Rio Grande del Norte National Monument in New Mexico; First State National Monument in Delaware; Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument in Maryland; Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument in Ohio; and San Juan Islands National Monument in Washington state.

"These sites honor the pioneering heroes, spectacular landscapes and rich history that have shaped our extraordinary country," Obama said in a written statement. "By designating these national monuments today, we will ensure they will continue to inspire and be enjoyed by generations of Americans to come."

In a statement released Friday, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings, R-Wash., criticized Obama for "unilaterally ordering the National Park Service to spend scarce dollars" while the nation faces harsh budget cuts as a result of the sequester.

"The Obama administration not only sees the sequester as an opportunity to make automatic spending reductions as painful as possible on the American people, it's also a good time for the president to dictate under a century-old law that the government spend money it doesn't have on property it doesn't even own," he said in the statement, which was recirculated today by House Speaker John Boehner's office.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-spend-o-rama...designating-new-natl-Monuments/-168032830161256282.html

Colorado pot growers gear up for 'green rush'

2013-03-26T02:29:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Post reports:

The pot industry in Colorado is undergoing a massive makeover as it prepares to begin selling marijuana for recreational use legally under state law. Businesses are ramping up production, and trade associations are cleaning up their image, anticipating what could be a billion-dollar industry.

But the entrepreneurs who are hoping to cash in on the “green rush” starting next year are struggling with the unique challenges of conducting a business that the federal government considers a crime.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Colorado-pot-growers-gear-up-for-green-rush/743186117291980207.html

Obamacare's biggest challenge may be coming this fall

2013-03-25T21:30:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The National Constitution Center reports:

The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, celebrated its third anniversary on Saturday, but the controversial law’s biggest challenge is still on the horizon.

In the past three years, the ACA has survived a disastrous midterm election for the Democrats and a nail-biting Supreme Court decision last June, which also changed some key components of the law.

But in October, the ACA faces a daunting task, when as many as 24 million people will start to sign up for private health insurance exchanges run by the government, starting in January 2014.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obamacares-biggest-challenge-may-be-coming-this-fall/-851376895765795142.html

1/3 of Miami Illegals released by ICE are convicts

2013-03-25T15:35:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Miami Herald reports:

José López was at the Krome detention center awaiting possible deportation to his native Nicaragua when, on Feb. 26, immigration officials suddenly released him.

Overjoyed, López went home that day to rejoin his family in Miami for the first time since he was first arrested several months ago and deportation proceedings were initiated.

López was one of the 2,228 immigrant detainees recently released nationwide by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who cited the controversial budgetary sequester.

Among those were 225 foreign nationals freed within the jurisdiction of the ICE Miami deportation unit, which includes Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to ICE spokesman Nestor Yglesias.

A federal official familiar with the issue said that 76 of the 225 had criminal convictions, including two who were considered aggravated felons.

While not in detention any longer, these foreign nationals remain under supervised release.

The detainees were released between Feb. 9 and March 1, federal officials in Miami said.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/1/3-of-Miami-Illegals-released-by-ICE-are-convicts/-62517267538305890.html

Liberalism replacing religion?

2013-03-25T15:34:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Human Events reports:

As the Supreme Court hears arguments for and against gay marriage we might stand back from the whole judicial fracas and ask ourselves a larger and hopefully more startling question: “What is the government doing deciding what marriage is?”

This is really two questions in one. First, how did it come to be that we, as a culture, are in a position where something seemingly so natural, something that existed long before any governments were around, is now up for debate? Second, why is it that we would look to a branch of the government to settle that debate?

The answer to the first question is rather complex. For centuries (not just decades) liberalism has been picking away at the Christian foundations of Western culture. Liberalism is, in essence, a secular and secularizing movement; it is historically defined by its opposition to Christianity. Wherever secular liberalism spreads, Christianity recedes. Look at Europe.

Christianity defined marriage by what we might call radical monogamy: a life-long, entirely exclusive union of one man and one woman. No sex before marriage. No concubines. No polygamy. No divorce (except for infidelity). No homosexuality. No fiddling with little boys.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Liberalism-replacing-religion/-669743275542495104.html

Illegals won't receive healthcare under Obamacare

2013-03-25T15:32:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

The Senate voted down an amendment that would have prevented illegal aliens from receiving taxpayer-funded health care if they are granted legal status in an immigration reform package.

The 43-56 vote — taken during the Senate’s so-called budget vote-o-rama Friday and the early hours of Saturday — split along party lines the “gang of eight” senators currently working on an immigration reform package.

Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions, the sponsor of the amendment, said that the vote put “immigration reform in jeopardy.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Illegals-wont-receive-healthcare-under-Obamacare/-424593616193257192.html

Video-playing illegal immigrant gets 'deferred action' protection

2013-03-25T15:32:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

An unemployed illegal immigrant who has spent the last few years playing video games reportedly used records of his playing time to apply for and receive President Obama’s “deferred action” status.

According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Jose Muñoz was an out-of-work 25-year-old Mexican immigrant who graduated with honors from his Sheboygan, Wisconsin high school in 2005.

Since that time, Muñoz — who was brought to the United States at the age of one — has been out of school and out of work, instead spending time helping his family with household chores and countless hours playing sports video games on his Xbox.

But when President Obama announced last year that his administration would look the other way on prosecuting young illegal immigrants like him, Muñoz jumped at the chance, contacting a local lawyer to help him through the process of applying for “deferred action.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Video-playing-illegal-immigrant-gets-deferred-action-protection/820733416944656890.html

Border patrol uniforms manufactured in Mexico

2013-03-25T15:31:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNS News reports:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has granted uniform contracts to VF Imagewear, Inc., an apparel company that relies on manufacturing sites in Mexico for a “significant percentage” of its occupational garments.

The latest contract with the company was awarded on Dec. 20, 2012, to make “uniform and insignia items” for the CBP at an estimated cost of $6,157,997.57, and a ceiling of $8 million.

The CBP, which is responsible for protecting America’s borders, told CNSNews.com that items from VF Imagewear, a subsidiary of VF Corporation, are manufactured in a number of locations, “including Mexico.”

“There are no domestic preference regulations or statutes applicable to DHS/CBP that would prohibit the manufacture of uniform items in Mexico,” the CBP said. “In fact, United States obligations under International Agreements require that the Agency accept items manufactured in Mexico.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Border-patrol-uniforms-manufactured-in-Mexico/-562025849860878549.html

360,000 more rounds!

2013-03-25T15:30:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Info Wars reports:

While the Department of Homeland Security continues to ignore members of Congress demanding to know why the federal agency is engaged in an apparent arms build-up, the DHS has just announced it plans to purchase another 360,000 rounds of hollow point ammunition to add to the roughly 2 billion bullets already bought over the past year.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/360,000-more-rounds!/150400533459179652.html

Cyprus makes last minute deal

2013-03-25T15:29:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Reuters reports:

Cyprus reached a last-ditch deal with international lenders on a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) rescue plan to avoid economic meltdown, agreeing to close down its second-largest bank and inflict heavy losses on big depositors.

The agreement came hours before a deadline to avert a collapse of the banking system in fraught negotiations between President Nicos Anastasiades and heads of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Without a deal, Cyprus's banking system would have collapsed and the country could have become the first to crash out of the European single currency.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Cyprus-makes-last-minute-deal/234278253760663439.html

AR-15s to protect crops from hogs

2013-03-25T14:21:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNN reports:

Victor Blackwell introduces the owner of Hog Swat and shows what some call a practical use for the AR-15 rifle.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/AR-15s-to-protect-crops-from-hogs/-961162347484007436.html

My kind of town, Chicago is...'Man shot in head over double-parked car'

2013-03-25T11:56:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Chicago Tribune reports:

A 30-year-old man was shot in the head Sunday morning after a confrontation over a car that was double-parked, police said.

The shooting happened about 3:30 a.m. in the 7100 block of South Maplewood Avenue in the Marquette Park neighborhood, police said, one of three shootings overnight that left three people wounded.

Police said the 30-year-old man was shot in the head after an argument, ran west and fell in an alley where an ambulance picked him up and took him to Advocate Christ Medical Center. He was "walking, talking, breathing, living," according to police.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/My-kind-of-town,-Chicago-is...Man-shot-in-head-over-double-parked-car/-729135862705080083.html

Obama to campaign (again) for gun control

2013-03-25T11:49:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Buzzfeed reports:

President Barack Obama is ready to hit the road on a new campaign-style public relations trip, hoping to breathe new life into the push for stronger gun control laws.

With Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid planning to bring a scaled back package of gun legislation to the Senate floor early next month, the White House is hoping they can rebuild some of the momentum that has been lost in the months since the Newtown shootings.

A White House official would not comment on the timing of more presidential travel, but said people should expect to see Obama travel outside DC to bolster his insistence that gun control measures "deserve a vote" in Congress.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-to-campaign-again-for-gun-control/-928899068239224995.html

Texas rep. solicits lobster contribs to "help feed starving democrats"

2013-03-25T11:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Buzzfeed reports:

Texas Republican Congressman Steve Stockman is poking fun at DNC chair Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz by attempting to solicit “emergency shipments” of “lobster, foie gras, and caviar” for her office. The post comes in response to comments the DNC Chair made at a hearing Tuesday saying staffers were getting “priced out” of “a high quality meal.” The website Legistorm shows few of Wasserman-Schultz's staff have six-figure salaries.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Texas-rep.-solicits-lobster-contribs-to-help-feed-starving-democrats/939092335411592604.html

Quinnipiac seeking body donations for new Medical school

2013-03-25T02:21:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hartford Courant reports:

Any new medical school faces challenges, not the least of which is collecting enough dead bodies to train its students.

But thanks to the Internet and a down economy, that task is getting easier.

For all the advances in medical training, there's still no substitute for the human cadaver. And with Quinnipiac University's new medical school, the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, scheduled to begin classes in the fall, educators there are seeking donations.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Quinnipiac-seeking-body-donations-for-new-Medical-school/142144150017849244.html

Al Qaeda Chief In Mali Abou Zeid killed

2013-03-23T19:06:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Huffington Post reports:

The al-Qaida-linked warlord Abou Zeid was killed in combat with French-led troops in Mali in February, France said Saturday, ending weeks of uncertainty about whether one of the group's leading commanders in the region was dead.

In a statement Saturday the office of French President Francois Hollande said the death was "definitively confirmed" and that the killing "marks an important step in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel."

Chad's president had said earlier this month that Chadian troops killed Abou Zeid while fighting to dislodge his al-Qaida affiliate in northern Mali. French officials have maintained for weeks that the Algerian was "probably" dead but waited to conduct DNA tests to verify.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Al-Qaeda-Chief-In-Mali-Abou-Zeid-killed/-987831789422019938.html

Two sisters forge a delicate bond with an Afghan girl

2013-03-22T14:44:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The LA Times reports:

Under the bright lights of a hospital room, the sisters sat next to a frightened little girl who barely acknowledged them. She kept her head down, eyes fixed to the floor. Arefa was 6. Much of her face and hands had been singed, and a cloth hid a head wound that had not healed since a fire raged through her family's tent. She'd flown in the day before from Kabul without her parents.

Jami Valentine and Staci Freeman watched as the doctor pulled back the sticky cloth. The stench intensified; the wound was severely infected. The surgery Arefa came for would have to wait. The infection made it too risky.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Two-sisters-forge-a-delicate-bond-with-an-Afghan-girl/-570009647780008495.html

Gang of 8, close to deal

2013-03-22T14:31:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

With activists and lawmakers anxious to see an immigration bill, Sen. Chuck Schumer and other members of the Gang of Eight seemed optimistic on Thursday that a deal was within reach.

The New York Democrat told Hispanic media outlets Thursday he was confident a deal would be reached in the days ahead, although the group is unlikely to be unveiled before the end of the Easter recess.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Gang-of-8,-close-to-deal/929069937797079321.html

Stanford University drops popular pro-capitalism class

2013-03-22T14:30:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

Stanford University administrators axed a popular course titled “Moral Foundations of Capitalism” that portrayed free markets in a positive light.

John McCaskey, a philosophy professor at Stanford, decided to offer the course after the 2008 financial crash, and began teaching it in 2009. Both the course and McCaskey’s teaching style soon earned rave reviews from students of all political stripes.

“This is one of the most fantastic courses that I have taken at Stanford,” wrote one student.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Stanford-University-drops-popular-pro-capitalism-class/-474232786530113967.html

NY offers money to report illegal gun owners

2013-03-22T14:30:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News reports:

Nearly a year before signing the nation's most stringent gun control measure into law, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo launched a hotline that allows state residents to report illegal gun owners in exchange for a $500 reward.

The measure is part of a four-pronged approach established by the governor's office to reduce gun violence in urban communities, according to CBS6Albany.com.

New Yorkers can call the "Gun Tip Line" if they believe someone they know has an illegal gun. Hotline calls are answered by state police and tips are referred to local law enforcement, the station reported.

“This initiative seeks to turn neighbor against neighbor and use their own tax dollars to pay for the $500 reward,” Republican Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin told the station.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/NY-offers-money-to-report-illegal-gun-owners/-762759458987636419.html

America less popular in Mid East now than during Bush

2013-03-22T12:37:00Z

Posted By: Staff

USA Today reports:

President Obama's first journey to Israel as president comes amid earth-shattering change in Middle East, much of it for the worse. The Arab Spring, which once raised hopes of freedom and dignity, has diverged onto the dark path of Islamist authoritarian rule. In Syria, tens of thousands of people have died in a bitter civil war that might have recently seen its first use of chemical weapons. And Iran continues its march toward nuclear weapons capability, heedless of international condemnation. Obama's effort to seek peace between Palestinians and Israelis is in tatters.

That's why the White House has been lowering expectations for Obama's trip to Israel all this week. He will announce no new peace plan, grand design or major foreign policy initiative. His advisers are calling the trip a "listening tour." That is what you call a state visit when you have little to say.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/America-less-popular-in-Mid-East-now-than-during-Bush/461863165983320954.html

Pope Francis: U.S. was 'stupid' for shuffling around pedophile priests

2013-03-22T11:52:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily News reports:

Pope Francis is staunchly opposed to the “stupid” practice of reassigning priests who are accused of pedophilia, preferring to drum them out of the priesthood instead.

The former archbishop of Buenos Aires — then known as Jorge Cardinal Bergoglio — favors “zero tolerance” for priestly sexual abuse and criticized previous cases in the U.S. where accused clerics were simply moved to other parishes, according to a book of conversations he had with Rabbi Abraham Skorka.

During his 14 years as archbishop, Bergoglio ordered church officials to report all allegations to the police rather than simply moving them to avoid damaging the church.

“That solution was proposed once in the United States ... switching the priests to a different parish. It is a stupid idea,” Bergoglio said. “That way, the priest just takes the problem with him wherever he goes.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Pope-Francis:-U.S.-was-stupid-for-shuffling-around-pedophile priests/808846855953744708.html

Health insurers warn on premiums

2013-03-22T11:51:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal:

Health insurers are privately warning brokers that premiums for many individuals and small businesses could increase sharply next year because of the health-care overhaul law, with the nation's biggest firm projecting that rates could more than double for some consumers buying their own plans.

The projections, made in sessions with brokers and agents, provide some of the most concrete evidence yet of how much insurance companies might increase prices when major provisions of the law kick in next year—a subject of rigorous debate.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Health-insurers-warn-on-premiums/326819880352626360.html

Barack Obama retweets a Yoko Ono anti-gun photo

2013-03-22T11:45:00Z

Posted By: Staff

John Lennon's wife tweeted this picture yesterday in an effort to fight gun violence.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Barack-Obama-retweets-a-Yoko-Ono-anti-gun-photo/245215877645147584.html

Congress holds asteroid hearings, because there are no other problems

2013-03-22T11:43:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Click Here to watch the video.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Congress-holds-asteroid-hearings,-because-there-are-no-other-problems/-403371239894627521.html

Mobile app finds America's "gun-free zones"

2013-03-22T11:41:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Mail reports:

Second Amendment activists in the United States now have a mobile app that will tell them where their guns aren't welcome - and where they can protest by boycotting businesses in so-called 'gun-free zones.'

The December school shooting in Newtown Connecticut occurred in such a zone. U.S. schools and other government buildings are generally inside them. Gun control activists say they make everyone safer, while gun-rights proponents insist they only serve to tell criminals where they can strike without fear of return-fire.

The Gun-Free Zone app is aimed at both groups. It's available for iPhones, iPads and Android devices, and it identifies the 20 nearest businesses, churches, schools and other commercial establishments, telling a user if each one is firearm-friendly or gun-free.

And for pistol-packing enthusiasts, it can tell them where to enforce boycotts.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Mobile-app-finds-Americas-gun-free-zones/-488608851168275826.html

Big Old Bang: Scientists find universe is 80 million years older

2013-03-22T02:50:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Sacramento Bee reports:

A new examination of what is essentially the universe's birth certificate allows astronomers to tweak the age, girth and speed of the cosmos, more secure in their knowledge of how it evolved, what it's made of and its ultimate fate.

Sure, the universe suddenly seems to be showing its age, now calculated at 13.8 billion years - 80 million years older than scientists had thought. It's got about 3 percent more girth - technically it's more matter than mysterious dark energy - and it is expanding about 3 percent more slowly.

But with all that comes the wisdom for humanity. Scientists seem to have gotten a good handle on the Big Bang and what happened just afterward, and may actually understand a bit more about the cosmic question of how we are where we are.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Big-Old-Bang:-Scientists-find-universe-is-80-million-years-older/464458545042336146.html

States of Defiance: Georgia v. nat'l GOP on immigration

2013-03-22T02:14:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

Georgia’s Republican state lawmakers are seeking to crack down further on illegal immigration even as many national GOP leaders are softening their stance.

National Republicans began recalibrating their positions after President Barack Obama won reelection last year with about 70 percent of the Hispanic vote. Now a bipartisan group of U.S. senators is proposing a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S.

Yet in Georgia, Republican legislators are seeking to expand on the stringent immigration law they enacted in 2011. They are weighing new legislation aimed at blocking illegal immigrants from getting a variety of public benefits, including state driver’s licenses and homestead tax exemptions.

The reason for the state-national disconnect is simple, said Merle Black, a political scientist at Emory University: Republicans have been tremendously successful in Georgia and are sticking with what has worked for them. The GOP dominates Georgia’s congressional delegation and controls the governor’s mansion and both chambers of the state Legislature.

“If they are on a path to success, they don’t want to move in a different direction,” Black said. “That’s the usual way you do politics.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/States-of-Defiance:-Georgia-v.-natl-GOP-on-immigration/357411774670202044.html

Eco Madness: Endangered bat to delay DOT projects

2013-03-22T02:10:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

In May of last year one small endangered brown bat, unhappy with her eastern Tennessee cave, embarked on a very expensive trip to Georgia.

Her detection here in a tree in Ellijay has triggered federal rules that are now set to delay $459 million worth of Georgia road projects up to a year and a half, the state Department of Transportation’s staff announced to an incredulous DOT board this week, in order that the DOT can study the projects and determine whether they injure the species and its habitat.

The affected projects cover a swath of north Georgia reaching the borders of Cobb, Fulton and Gwinnett Counties, and the studies alone may cost $8 million or more.

That’s if no other such bats – the Indiana Bat – are found. If they are, more delays and costly work may occur, as the state is required to take conservation measures to protect the habitat if the project will “harm, kill or harass” the bats, said DOT Chief Engineer Russell McMurry.

Officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which located the bat, stressed it was not about one lone bat. They said that they have long believed Georgia to be a summer habitat for larger numbers of the Indiana Bat, and tracking this bat merely proved its existence here. Pete Pattavina, a biologist with the service, cited another case many years ago where one endangered gray bat appeared in the entrance to the UGA football stadium. But research did not suggest that larger numbers of that species had a habitat established here, so the service didn’t restrict any projects.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Eco-Madness:-Endangered-bat-to-delay-DOT-projects/-995987937529379355.html

Some immigration detainees back in custody weeks after surprise release

2013-03-22T01:38:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNN reports:

After months in an immigration detention facility, Hector Adame was so surprised when guards said he could go that he didn't believe them.

"They had to shout (the news) at him so he would leave," his wife, Victorina, said this week.

The family soon learned that Adame -- who had first been arrested on a drunk driving charge -- was one of more than 2,000 immigration detainees federal authorities released last month in a controversial move that officials said would cut costs as forced budget cuts loomed.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Some-immigration-detainees-back-in-custody-weeks-after-surprise-release/591577110522579859.html

Congress says no pay for Obama's budget writers

2013-03-21T14:34:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Examiner reports:

A Texas senator upset that President Obama has yet to deliver his new budget, now 44 days late, is threatening to cut off pay to White House budget writers.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn on Wednesday introduced the No Budget, No OMB Pay Act of 2013, which would withhold the pay for the director of the Office of Management and Budget and top budget officials until the fiscal 2014 budget is delivered.

"For four of the last five years, the president has missed the legal deadline for submitting his budget, and leading from behind has become the standard mode of operation. The American people have been waiting 44 days to hear the president's priorities," said Cornyn.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Congress-says-no-pay-for-Obamas-budget-writers/-317078520044426352.html

Paul Ryan considering presidential run

2013-03-21T14:33:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Examiner reports:

Former vice presidential candidate and current House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., gave a little more oxygen to the idea that he’ll run for president in 2016.

“I’m going to make my mind up later,” Ryan said on CNN today, as NBC’s Kasie Hunt noted. “I will give it serious consideration.” That remark goes beyond his comments earlier this month on Fox News.

“We look back at it as a very positive experience,” Ryan told Fox News’ Chris Wallace. “We actually enjoyed it. We got to meet hundreds of thousands of people who care so much about their country. We learned a lot, just about the greatness of this country. How hard-working people want to get ahead and make a difference. So I actually found it a very pleasant exercise to be candid with you.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Paul-Ryan-considering-presidential-run/-306982985120059788.html

Young conservatives opposing gay marriage come to DC

2013-03-21T14:31:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Times reports:

They hear that their cause is lost, that demographics and the march of history have doomed their campaign to keep marriage only between a man and a woman. But the young conservatives who oppose same-sex marriage — unlike most of their generation — remain undaunted.

They identify themselves as part of the “pro-marriage movement” and see themselves at the beginning of a long political struggle, much like the battle over abortion. If they can begin shifting the terms of the debate away from gay rights and toward the meaning of marriage, they say, they have a chance to survive short-term defeats.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Young-conservatives-opposing-gay-marriage-come-to-DC/741465375583507947.html

More Hillary emails leaked

2013-03-21T14:30:00Z

Posted By: Staff

RT reports:

On the back of widespread public interest RT has decided to publish in their entirety a series of memos which were allegedly sent from a one-time White House aide to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The emails, which were allegedly sent by former political adviser Sidney Blumenthal to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, were forwarded to RT by a hacker using the alias “Guccifer.”

Guccifer was credited with hacking the AOL email account of Blumenthal last week, though the authenticity of the emails has not been verified.

The purported memos appear to contain sensitive information regarding the September 11, 2012 attacks on the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, as well the January 2013 hostage crisis in In Amenas, Algeria.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/More-Hillary-emails-leaked/847995697752972955.html

Carson making conservatives excited about 2016

2013-03-21T14:29:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Times reports:

Dr. Benjamin Carson was a political unknown just weeks ago.

Then with a single speech delivered as President Obama looked stonily on, he was lofted into the conservative firmament as its newest star: a renowned neurosurgeon who is black and has the credibility to attack the president on health care.

In his speech at the National Prayer Breakfast last month, Dr. Carson criticized the health care overhaul and higher taxes on the rich, while warning that “the P.C. police are out in force at all times.”

Overnight, he was embraced by conservatives including those at The Wall Street Journal editorial page, which proclaimed, “Ben Carson for President” — a suggestion Dr. Carson helped feed at a high-profile gathering last weekend, the Conservative Political Action Conference. He was interrupted by sustained cheers when he coyly said, “Let’s just say if you magically put me in the White House...”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Carson-making-conservatives-excited-about-2016/399422224645715478.html

This will work! (Not.) Dallas considers free condoms for school kids

2013-03-20T21:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Breitbart reports:

Dallas County Health and Human Services is now pushing for teens to be provided free condoms and graphic sex education. According to CBS Local, the Director of DCHHS Zachary Thompson “wants the legislature to look into the matter and consider funding the purchase of condoms for Dallas county schools.” Thompson says that Texas has seen an “increase in the number of teen pregnancies statewide as well as STD’s and HIV among 13-18 age group.” He wants the state to pass out condoms in churches.

But Thompson’s message is undercut by the fact that Texas’ pregnancy rates have been dropping, at least in part thanks to the state’s adoption of abstinence only education. There is little evidence to suggest that comprehensive sex education and taxpayer-provided contraception lowers either pregnancy rates or STD rates in other localities.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/This-will-work!-Not.-Dallas-considers-free-condoms-for-school-kids/713821538983086160.html

Ailes couldn't care less what you think

2013-03-20T19:00:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Beast reports:

“I looked at it and thought, someone’s made outrageous statements about our leaders, and that someone sounded like me,” the Fox News chairman told me in an interview. He promptly offered an explanation for that slam and for his dismissal of Vice President Biden as “dumb as an ashtray.”

“Anybody who knows me knows that half the time I’m saying things with a somewhat humorous overtone,” Ailes says.

So is he backing away from the incendiary comments? Not a chance.

“Are every one of those statements true? Yes,” Ailes says. “Should I have said them? Well, that’s a debate.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Ailes-couldnt-care-less-what-you-think/-671561619073695834.html

Teacher remembers Pope Francis as 'naughty' child

2013-03-20T18:58:00Z

Posted By: Staff

People reports:

Today, he is the newly installed 266th Pontiff, but 70-some years ago, Pope Francis (previously Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio) was just a boy with a naughty streak.

Sister Martha Rabino, 71 – head of the Colegio de la Misericordia, a Catholic school in Flores, Buenos Aires, where Pope Francis attended preschool – says she's heard all about his reputation as a boy and gotten to know him as an adult.

"All his life he has remained in touch with us," she tells PEOPLE. "He comes spend the afternoon with us twice a year, when he gets all the nuns together and we have tea, and then we take mass."

"As a boy, he was a little naughty," says Rabino. "Sister Rose had been his teacher and died at age 101. He was very fond of her. He would always visit her … he would love to ask her, 'What was I like as a little boy?' And she would always say, 'You were a devil!' and he would laugh and laugh."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Teacher-remembers-Pope-Francis-as-naughty-child/860988063190002170.html

White House War on Women?

2013-03-20T18:55:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNS News reports:

Seventy-percent of the White House staffers who made the top annual salary of $172,200 in 2012 were men and 30 percent were women, according to a White House report on staff compensation.

In addition, men on the White House staff are paid, on average, $86,260.89 and women are paid, on average, $76,162.65. That means the average man on the White House staff is paid about $10,098--about 13 percent--more than the average woman.

In Obama's White House, women on average earn only 88.3 percent of what the men earn.

Those numbers conflict with the pay-equity philosophy espoused by the president and his administration.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/White-House-War-on-Women/317729981458245256.html

The blob that ate children

2013-03-20T18:54:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Real Clear Politics reports:

Shortly after I did my first TV special on education, "Stupid in America," hundreds of union teachers showed up outside my office to yell at me. They were angry because I said union rules were a big reason American kids don't learn.

The union is a big reason kids don't like school and learn less. Union contracts limit flexibility, limit promotion of good teachers, waste money and make it hard for principals to fire even terrible teachers.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/The-blob-that-ate-children/575293510965125754.html

Assault weapon ban excluded from gun bill

2013-03-20T16:59:00Z

Posted By: Staff

USA Today reports:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday he hopes to have a bill to address gun violence on the Senate floor soon after the Easter break, but confirmed that measure will not include the assault weapons ban.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., told reporters Tuesday she is disappointed that her assault weapons ban will not be part of a larger bill, but acknowledged it will likely make it easier to pass gun-related legislation through the Senate.

Feinstein said Reid told her Monday afternoon that the ban on certain types of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines would not be part of package of bills that would make up the Senate legislation.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Assault-weapon-ban-excluded-from-gun-bill/-594663321822387758.html

Then and now: Iraq in pictures

2013-03-20T16:56:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Mail reports:

In a remarkable photographic essay to mark the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, Associated Press photographer Maya Alleruzzo revisited places in the Middle Eastern country where photos from the controversial war had been previously taken.

Marking a decade since the March 2003 assault on the country and its regime led by Saddam Hussein, Alleruzzo juxtaposed iconic images from the past against the backdrop of now calmer country that has struggled through a bloody reinvention.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Then-and-now:-Iraq-in-pictures/-64590118332618081.html

Police demand to search house over a facebook gun picture

2013-03-20T16:55:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Mail reports:

Proud New Jersey dad Shawn Moore posted this photo of his camouflage-clad 10-year-old son holding a .22 rifle on Facebook.

Shortly afterwards an anonymous call was made to New Jersey’s Department of Youth and Family Services, who showed up at the Moores' home in Carneys Point last Friday demanding to see his firearms or else they would take the child.

Young Josh Moore got the semiautomatic Smith & Wesson M&P15-22 as a present for his upcoming 11th birthday after he passed a state firearms safety test and became certified to go hunting.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Police-demand-to-search-house-over-a-facebook-gun-picture/504065734150931754.html

Rodman reveals Kim's secret children

2013-03-20T16:15:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

America’s Sweetheart™ Dennis Rodman is now BFF with North Korea’s dictator, but the two might not be LOLing over text messages after The Worm has revealed that Kim is a dad of secret (though apparently legitimate) children.

That information and other Kim tidbits came out during an interview with UK’s The Sun after his visit to North Korea.

Rodman claims all Kim wants to do is listen to American pop music from Michael Jackson and the Bee Gees and shoot some hoops. The flamboyant one-time Chicago Bulls forward swears Kim doesn’t want to bomb the crap out of his neighbors or engage in a war with the United States, even though Kim was overseeing live-fire missile testing this week.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Rodman-reveals-Kims-secret-children/837946787351101906.html

Bombings on 10 year Iraq War Anniversary

2013-03-20T16:15:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Slate reports:

On the eve of the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, a wave of bombings struck the Baghdad area and killed 57 people in what was a stark demonstration of how the country remains unstable more than a year after the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops, reports the Associated Press. Suicide blasts and car bombs struck Shiite Muslim districts in the latest example of how Sunni Muslim insurgents with ties to al-Qaida are once again gaining ground in Iraq, in part due to the war in neighboring Syria, points out Reuters. The Sunni insurgents are increasingly attacking Shiite targets in what appears to be an attempt to provoke sectarian strife.

In an article earlier this month, the Guardian detailed how sectarian violence is returning to Iraq, this time “defined by a political agenda” rather than “sectarian hatred for its own sake as was visible five years ago.” Although no one has claimed responsibility for the Tuesday blasts, Reuters points out that Islamic State of Iraq, a wing of al-Qaida, has vowed to take back control of areas it lost against U.S. troops.

Tuesday’s attacks were hugely symbolic, considering they came 10 years to the day that Washington announced its “shock and awe” campaign of airstrikes on March 19, 2003, and started the bombing before dawn the following day in Iraq. Ten years ago today, Bush announced the military operations "to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger." He warned the war “could be longer and more difficult than some predict” but ultimately said it would give Iraqis a “united, stable, and free country.” After $61 billion in U.S. reconstruction funds, not to mention 189,000 deaths, “reality has fallen short of these expectations,” points out NBC News.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Bombings-on-10-year-Iraq-War-Anniversary/-716087645549084256.html

Rand Paul: Don't call it a path to citizenship!

2013-03-20T16:14:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Slate reports:

Confusion strikes. Tuesday morning, everyone (Slatest included) reported that tea party darling Sen. Rand Paul was backing a path to citizenship. It’s the latest example of GOP turnaround on immigration as a way of capturing Latino voters! Eh, not so fast. Even though Paul did say illegal immigrants should be allowed to become taxpayers, he never actually said “citizenship” in his 17-minute speech, and aides quickly went out of their way to insist that all the path-to-citizenship talk was misguided. Instead, the important part of his speech, they argued, was that Paul was backing an idea to give probationary legal worker status to illegal immigrants while increasing the focus on border security. Part of the confusion seems to be that the Associated Press was the first to use the path-to-citizenship language based on a copy of the speech Paul’s office gave the news agency Monday night. In that version, Paul specifically made a mention to working on a way that would allow illegal immigrants to obtain green cards. But there was no reference to green cards when he actually spoke Tuesday morning, explains the AP.

Paul told the Washington Post that he never used the word citizenship on purpose. ”Basically what I want to do is to expand the worker visa program, have border security and then as far as how people become citizens, there already is a process for how people become citizens. The main difference is I wouldn’t have people be forced to go home. You’d just get in line. But you get in the same line everyone is in.” So, Paul’s plan would make it easier to become citizens, but he doesn’t want to hear any of this path-to-citizenship nonsense. Um, OK. The obvious question: Why? Oh, it’s semantics. “I think the whole debate on immigration is trapped in a couple of words: path to citizenship and amnesty,” he said. “Can’t we just have reform and not refer to them by names?”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Rand-Paul:-Dont-call-it-a-path-to-citizenship!/-188207393361545760.html

White House doesn't label Jerusalem as an Israeli city

2013-03-20T16:13:00Z

Posted By: Staff

WND reports:

The White House has released what it says is a map of Israel. The only problem is that Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights are missing.

An Obama administration video highlighting the president’s plans for his Mideast trip depicts Jerusalem, the Golan and the West Bank – also known as Judea and Samaria – as non-Israeli territory.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/White-House-doesnt-label-Jerusalem-as-an-Israeli-city/-430458541301185993.html

Obama's limo breaks down in Israel

2013-03-20T16:12:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Guardian reports:

One of the limousines in Barack Obama's fleet has broken after reports that it was mistakenly filled with the wrong fuel at the start of the US president's visit to Israel.

Another limo is on its way from Jordan, according to Ma'an News agency, citing Israel's Channel 10, to replace one that was filled with diesel instead of gasolene.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obamas-limo-breaks-down-in-Israel/863201543264551377.html

Obummer economy update: Low-wage workers gloomy about future

2013-03-20T11:50:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP reports:

America's lower-income workers have posted the biggest job gains since the deep 2007-09 recession - but few are bragging.

As a workforce sector, those earning $35,000 or less annually are generally pessimistic about their finances and career prospects. Many see themselves as worse off now than during the recession, a two-part Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey of workers and employers shows.

The survey revealed that many people at the lowest rung in the workplace view their jobs as a dead end. Half were "not too" or "not at all" confident that their jobs would help them achieve long-term career goals. And only 41 percent of workers at the same place for more than a decade reported ever receiving a promotion.

Yet 44 percent of employers surveyed said it's hard to recruit people with appropriate skills or experiences to do lower-wage jobs, particularly in manufacturing (54 percent). While 88 percent of employers said they were investing in training and education for employee advancement, awareness and use of such programs among the lower-wage workers was only modest.

Although President Barack Obama made it a national goal to "equip our citizens with the skills and training" to compete for good jobs, the survey shows a U.S. workforce that has grown increasingly polarized, with workers and their bosses seeing many things differently.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obummer-economy-update:-Low-wage-workers-gloomy-about-future/-302672320963179935.html

'House of horrors' abortion clinic worker testifies in capital murder trial

2013-03-19T23:17:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Mail reports:

A medical assistant told a jury Tuesday that she snipped the spines of at least 10 babies during unorthodox late-term abortions at a West Philadelphia clinic.

Adrienne Moton's testimony as part of her guilty plea to third-degree murder, came in the capital murder trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, the clinic owner, who is on trial in the deaths of a patient and seven babies.

Prosecutors accuse him of killing late-term, viable babies after they were delivered alive, in violation of state abortion laws.

Gosnell's lawyer denies the murder charge and disputes that any babies were born alive. He also challenges the gestational age of the aborted fetuses, calling them inexact estimates.

Moton, the first employee to testify, sobbed as she recalled taking a cell phone photograph of one baby left in her work area. She thought he could have survived, given his size and pinkish color. She had measured him at nearly 30 weeks.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/House-of-horrors-abortion-clinic-worker-testifies-in-capital-murder-trial/-675218915311453595.html

Amnesty fix is in? Boehner voices support for House immig. deal

2013-03-19T22:10:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hill reports:

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Tuesday voiced support for the work of a secretive bipartisan immigration coalition in the House, but he said Republican lawmakers must be educated on the issue before legislation can advance.

A group of eight lawmakers — four Republicans and four Democrats — has been meeting privately for years to craft a comprehensive immigration overhaul, and they told Boehner and other Republican leaders last week that they were close to a deal.

“They’re essentially in agreement over how to proceed,” Boehner told reporters at a press conference. “But this is just the beginning of the process. There’s a lot of education that needs to be done, because more than half of our members have never dealt with the issue of immigration reform, both on the legal side and on the illegal side.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Amnesty-fix-is-in-Boehner-voices-support-for-House-immig.-deal/-947420659530195622.html

Conn. offered deal to mfger of AR-15 days before Newtown

2013-03-19T22:01:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hartford Courant reports:

Eight days before Adam Lanza used a Bushmaster AR-15 semiautomatic rifle to kill 26 children and women on Dec. 14 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, state officials offered the manufacturer of the gun a development deal to move its corporate headquarters to Connecticut.

On Dec. 6, a top state economic development official sent the Freedom Group an offer for a $1-million loan at the low annual rate of 2 percent for 10 years – plus other incentives for the company to move its headquarters, with 25 top executives, from Madison, North Carolina, to Stamford.

The department withdrew the offer on Dec. 18, four days after the Newtown massacre, according to records released in response to a Courant freedom of information request.

The deal was yanked because of a combination of factors, one of them the announcement by the Freedom Group's owner – the private equity and hedge fund group Cerberus Capital Management – that it was putting the firearms maker up for sale.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Conn.-offered-deal-to-mfger-of-AR-15-days-before-Newtown/-297289263231264029.html

Yakima, Wash. church hosting gun-training classes

2013-03-19T21:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP reports:

Sharon Eggleston filed into the Open Bible Christian Center recently not to worship but to learn how to shoot a gun.

"Actually, I've been praying about it," the 70-year-old said about taking the gun training class at the Yakima church. "For protection."

She was among more than a dozen women enrolled in the five-hour class in how to properly handle and shoot a gun.

As incongruous as it may seem to hold firearms training in a church, it's not unheard of.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Yakima,-Wash.-church-hosting-gun-training-classes/-158184497178908583.html

War drums: U.S. commander: NATO makes plans for Syria

2013-03-19T21:37:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Seattle Times reports:

The top U.S. military commander in Europe said Tuesday that NATO is conducting contingency planning for possible military involvement in Syria and American forces would be prepared if called upon by the United Nations and member countries.

The Syrian civil war marked an ignominious two-year milestone this week with no sign that President Bashar Assad is close to giving up power. Adm. James Stavridis, commander of U.S. European Command, told a Senate panel that the United States is "looking at a variety of operations."

"We are prepared if called upon to be engaged," Stavridis told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/War-drums:-U.S.-commander:-NATO-makes-plans-for-Syria/842271644986258817.html

Zing! See-through yoga pants a pain for Lululemon

2013-03-19T21:34:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Sacramento Bee reports:

Lululemon has yanked its popular black yoga pants from store shelves and online after it found that the sheer material used was revealing too much of its loyal customers.

The see-through yoga garb is the latest in a series of quality glitches that threaten to alienate the retailer's hardcore fan base, which has so far been more than willing to shell out $100 for pants and other athletic garments.

Eva Glettner, 33, of Los Angeles is a case in point. Glettner, who has been a devoted fan of Lululemon, said she'll now shop only at Target to buy her yoga outfits.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Zing!--See-through-yoga-pants-a-pain-for-Lululemon/-79392619143761867.html

Out of the shadows: 20 reputed gang members accused of extorting food trucks

2013-03-19T21:31:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The LA Times reports:

At least 20 reputed members of one of Los Angeles' most notorious gangs have been indicted in connection with a violent extortion racket that targeted food-truck operators in the Hollywood area over at least five years, according to state grand jury records unsealed Monday in a downtown courtroom.

The 20 defendants — including four women — named in indictments returned Jan. 28 are allegedly tied to Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13. The individuals, charged with extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion, are all being held on bail ranging from $2 million to just more than $3 million.

At least five other individuals are also under indictment but were not named because details in the grand jury indictments against them remain sealed, authorities said. It was not clear what sentences the defendants could face.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Out-of-the-shadows:-20-reputed-gang-members-accused-of-extorting-food-trucks/385522438163192901.html

Perez nominated to head Labor Department

2013-03-19T14:57:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

President Obama nominated Thomas Perez on Monday to run the Labor Department, praising him as "a consensus-builder" who passed the nation's "first statewide living-wage law" in Maryland. That isn't his only talent. Consider how Mr. Perez worked behind the scenes to undermine two civil cases against the City of St. Paul in order to stop a Supreme Court case that might have repudiated his discrimination enforcement theories.

These columns first reported on the curious St. Paul episode in February 2012 ("Squeezed in St. Paul"), after the Minnesota city withdrew a case that it had spent almost a decade litigating and that the U.S. Supreme Court had already agreed to hear. We've since learned more about how it happened, and we've seen emails that illustrate the strong-arm role played by Mr. Perez in his current job as head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. It's a story of how political muscle undermined the rule of law.

Mr. Perez is a champion of disparate-impact theory, which purports to prove racial discrimination by examining statistics rather than intent or specific cases. Soon after Mr. Perez assumed his job in October 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder established a unit under Mr. Perez to examine loans to minorities. The unit proceeded to threaten a series of lawsuits against banks under the 1968 Fair Housing Act.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Perez-nominated-to-head-Labor-Department/351669694966472311.html

Libertarian Republicans love Rand Paul

2013-03-19T14:56:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Guardian reports:

Rand Paul won the presidential straw poll at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), but he appears to have won the debate on drones by an even larger margin.

A poll of CPAC attendees found that 86% opposed the use of drones to "kill US citizens," while 70% were against using them to "spy on U.S. citizens". More strikingly, 50% of respondents at America's largest gathering of conservative activists agreed with the following statement: "Nearly 70 years after the end of World War II, it's time for our European, Asian, and other allies to provide for their own defense."

Only 34% agreed with this statement: "As the world's only superpower, the US needs to bear the responsibility of protecting our allies in Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world." Another 17% didn't know, weren't sure or preferred not to say.

The wording of the questions certainly made conservatives more likely to give non-interventionist responses. One simple edit in the drone questions –changing "US citizens" to "terrorists" – might have elicited a somewhat different answer. Nevertheless, the momentum definitely appears to have shifted. Gone are the days of Americans supporting anything in the name of US security.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Libertarian-Republicans-love-Rand-Paul/610480713889273626.html

Conservatives need to keep fighting Obamacare

2013-03-19T14:56:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

Though the odds of Obamacare’s repeal look stark in the aftermath of President Barack Obama’s re-election, The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Jim Antle argues that the law’s repeal remains a worthwhile pursuit for the GOP.

“The implementation of Obamacare is going to be rife with problems,” Antle told The Daily Caller in an interview about his new book, “Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped.”

“Those problems will either be solved by blaming the remaining private sector elements, further expanding government, and moving toward a single payer health care system, or they will be solved by unwinding Obamacare’s tangled web of regulations, mandates, and subsidies, moving toward a genuine free market in health care.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Conservatives-need-to-keep-fighting-Obamacare/-356401530148157572.html

Congressmen fear seats due to sequestration

2013-03-19T14:54:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

Rep. Bill Enyart might be a Democrat and Rep. Rodney Davis a Republican, but the two rookie lawmakers in Southern Illinois share one fear.

Sequestration could cost them their seats.

Enyart and Davis are three months into their new jobs — representing next-door districts — and constituents already are blaming them for not doing enough to stop the automatic spending cuts.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Congressmen-fear-seats-due-to-sequestration/272439793523776890.html

Hillary Hacker distributes memos

2013-03-19T14:53:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Smoking Gun reports:

Armed with confidential memos to Hillary Clinton that were stolen from the e-mail account of a former White House aide, a hacker has distributed some of the documents to a wide array of congressional aides, political figures, and journalists worldwide.

In a series of weekend e-mail blasts, the hacker known as “Guccifer” disseminated four recent memos to Clinton from Sidney Blumenthal, a longtime confidant of the former Secretary of State.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Hillary-Hacker-distributes-memos/757611674517863875.html

No More Egg Roll?

2013-03-19T14:52:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Post reports:

For more than a century, the White House Easter Egg Roll has been insulated from the sort of partisan sniping that now dominates Washington politics.

That tradition ended Monday, when Republicans started complaining about a notice that the event could be canceled due to a potential government shutdown. The Obama administration has already come under GOP criticism for canceling White House tours due to the mandatory, across-the-board cuts known as sequestration.

The memo — which doesn’t actually say the White House is nixing the bunny fest, but just that it might do so at some point during the next couple of weeks — warns ticket-holders that the nation’s financial woes may affect the 135th Easter Egg role slated for April 1. (Note: this is not an April’s Fools Day joke.)

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/No-More-Egg-Roll/851970197712539826.html

What Republicans need to win Senate in '14

2013-03-19T12:23:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

To erase Democrats’ 55-45 advantage, the GOP needs to net six seats. There are seven states now represented by Democrats that Mitt Romney won last year. Republicans need to carry most of them, and retirements in West Virginia and likely South Dakota help.

But they can’t count on running the table in red states. Republicans also must compete in places that Barack Obama just carried, purple states like New Hampshire, Minnesota and Colorado.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/What-Republicans-need-to-win-Senate-in-14/602006583838943460.html

Young adults in U.S. increasingly avoid credit cards

2013-03-19T01:56:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports:

Charlie Frohne never wanted a Visa or MasterCard, afraid of incurring debts he couldn't repay. As the 30-year-old searched for a Manhattan apartment, he found landlords treated his lack of a credit history as a liability.

His experience highlights a growing reluctance among young adults to use plastic for everyday purchases. Thirty-nine percent of undergraduate students between the ages of 18 and 24 owned a credit card in 2012, down from 49 percent in 2010, a Sallie Mae and Ipsos Public Affairs survey found. And young adults who do have credit cards are carrying smaller balances: A median of $1,600 in 2010 compared with $2,500 in 2001 for under-35 households, according to Federal Reserve data.

The trend, rooted in stricter lending rules and weaker job outlooks for young Americans since the 2008-2009 recession, has implications for the strength of the economy. As people in Frohne's age group eschew plastic, fewer are building the credit histories that would help them to gain financing for purchases of homes and cars that are critical to economic growth.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Young-adults-in-U.S.-increasingly-avoid-credit-cards/-645850844370939277.html

Zing! Organic baby food--stupid!

2013-03-18T21:27:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Post reports:

The squeezable pouches of organic baby food hit the market about five years ago and have exploded in popularity since, according to organic baby food manufacturer Happy Family.

Parents love the pouches for the convenience: They can squirt the puree onto a spoon for the baby; when the child gets older, he or she can suck the food straight out of the pouch. There is very little mess. In the last few years, Gerber and other power players in the baby food market added pouches to their product lines, and not just for organics, according to Mintel. And just as conventional baby foods come in pouches these days, some organics are sold in jars. (While the pouches are parent-friendly, they are not so planet-friendly. The plastic cap is the only part that’s recyclable. The pouch is made of foil and plastic and is therefore headed for the landfill, according to Shazi Visram, the founder and chief executive of Happy Family.)

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Zing!-Organic-baby-food--stupid!/516739762657279747.html

China's abortion count: 336 million

2013-03-18T16:16:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Slate reports:

Official data from China’s health ministry has revealed just how pervasive abortions have been in China since it instituted its one-child policy. Since 1971, Chinese doctors have performed 336 million abortions in a country with a population of 1.35 billion. They have also performed 196 million sterilizations and inserted 403 million intrauterine devices, a birth control procedure that some have said are forced on women in China, reports the Financial Times. China has estimated that without the birth restrictions its population would now be around 30 percent larger.

In the United States, with about one-quarter of China’s population, an estimated 50 million abortions have been performed since the Roe v Wade decision legalized the practice in 1973. Even though many have been calling for a softening of the one-child rule, the number of procedures has remained steady since the late 1990s, with around 7 million abortions and 2 million sterilizations per year.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Chinas-abortion-count:-336-million/-842185155953418709.html

Dissatisfaction with Democratic Party

2013-03-18T16:15:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

As a lifelong Democrat, I have a mental picture these days of my president, smiling broadly, at the wheel of a speeding convertible. His passengers are Democratic elected officials and candidates. Ahead of them, concealed by a bend in the road, is a concrete barrier.

They didn't have to take that route. Other Democratic presidents have won bipartisan support for proposals as liberal in their time as some of Mr. Obama's are now. Why does this administration seem so determined to head toward a potential crash and burn?

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Dissatisfaction-with-Democratic-Party/-570786097111465110.html

GOP goes digital

2013-03-18T14:50:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

The Republican Party is working with Silicon Valley investors on a venture, backed by political strategist Karl Rove, to create a digital platform for targeting voters and donors, an effort that is adding to tensions between the party's establishment and its insurgent wings.

The talks on a new technology effort come as the Republican National Committee prepares to roll out an overall blueprint Monday for reviving the GOP after last year's losses. As part of that effort, the RNC, the party's main campaign arm, is trying to make up ground on the digital front against Democrats, who proved far more tech-savvy during the 2012 campaign.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/GOP-goes-digital/345449627386219133.html

Several states circumventing federal gun laws

2013-03-18T14:49:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNS News reports:

Shortly after voters in Colorado and Washington State approved measures that legalized the recreational use of marijuana, President Obama told Barbara Walters that his Justice Department would not prosecute pot users in these states.

"We've got bigger fish to fry," Obama said.

Although the state measures defy federal law, it appears Barack Obama is giving each state a pass on this issue.

But, will Obama also respect states that pass legislation in defiance of federal law when it comes to firearms?

On March 12 and 14, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed both Sen. Charles Schumer's (D-NY) "Fix Gun Checks Act," which would criminalize all private firearm sales and Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-CA) "Assault Weapons Ban."

These bills have a long way to go before they become law - if they ever do - but states across the nation are introducing their own legislation to preemptively defeat any new federal gun laws.

In Ohio, two senators have introduced SB36, which would prohibit firearms seizures, registration and bans in their state.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Several-states-circumventing-federal-gun-laws/885070215838806856.html

NRA to oppose UN gun grab

2013-03-18T14:49:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Post reports:

The National Rifle Association, which is battling a raft of gun control measures on Capitol Hill, also has an international fight on its hand as it gears up to oppose a U.N. treaty designed to restrict the flow of arms to conflict zones.

Negotiations open Monday in New York on the Arms Trade Treaty, which would require countries to determine whether weapons they sell would be used to commit serious human rights violations, terrorism or transnational organized crime.

The gun lobby fears that the treaty would be used to regulate civilian weapons. Human rights activists counter that it would reduce the trafficking of weapons, including small arms such as the ubiquitous AK-47 assault rifle, to outlaw regimes and rebel groups engaged in atrocities against civilian populations.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/NRA-to-oppose-UN-gun-grab/-186699621848013891.html

Financial trouble in Cyprus threatens Euro

2013-03-18T14:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Reuters reports:

The surprise decision by euro zone leaders to part-fund a bailout of Cyprus by taxing bank deposits sent shockwaves through financial markets on Monday, with shares and the bonds of struggling euro zone governments tumbling.

The bloc struck a deal on Saturday to hand Cyprus rescue loans worth 10 billion euros ($13 billion), but defied warnings - including from the European Central Bank - and imposed a levy that would see those with cash in the island's banks lose between 6.75 and 9.9 percent of their money.

Parliament in Cyprus put off a vote on the measure - which has shaken depositors' confidence in banks across the continent - until Tuesday, however, and with public anger at the deal widespread the government said it was already looking to ease the pain for small savers.

Without the rescue, Cyprus would have be unable to avoid a default. That would have undermined the promise that Greece's debt writedown last year was a one-off, but the unprecedented move to hit depositors adds a radical new dimension to the crisis across the euro zone.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Financial-trouble-in-Cyprus-threatens-Euro/222006296121921032.html

Could Rand Paul be the 2016 GOP nominee?

2013-03-18T13:01:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CBS reports:

Twice, former Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, won the straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference - in 2010 and 2011.

Both times, Paul's victory was dismissed by most Republican political pros as a fluke - a product of the unique cross-section of the conservative movement represented at CPAC. Paul had his supporters, they conceded, but he was ultimately a gadfly. He could not win the GOP presidential nomination, and if he somehow accomplished that impossible task, he most certainly could not win the presidency.

And both times, those political pros were right: Ron Paul's straw poll victories evinced a passionate core of disciples who were never able to turn him into a viable presidential candidate.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Could-Rand-Paul-be-the-2016-GOP-nominee/-421152007011016823.html

Michelle Obama invites Pendleton family to White House Easter egg hunt

2013-03-18T11:40:00Z

Posted By: Staff

NBC reports:

The family of slain teen Hadiya Pendleton has reportedly been invited to another White House function by First Lady Michelle Obama.

Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton and her 10-year-old son Nathaniel Pendleton were invited to the annual White House Easter Egg Roll held on April 1, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The Pendleton family has been present at various political events such as the President’s State of the Union speech. The first lady also attended the funeral of the slain teen.

The death of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton, who was gunned down just weeks after performing at the President’s inauguration festivities, continues to be the pinnacle of Chicago violence.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Michelle-Obama-invites-Pendleton-family-to-White-House-Easter-egg-hunt/333356356590143593.html

Obama policies cause flood of illegal immigrants

2013-03-18T11:39:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Free Beacon reports:

The recent release of illegal immigrants in detention, the Obama administration’s renewed push for amnesty, and the planned furlough of thousands of border patrol agents will result in more illegal crossings, immigration experts and border officials say.

“It’s the perfect storm,” said Stuart Harris, the vice president of Local 1929 of the National Border Patrol Council in El Paso, Texas.

The planned furloughs of border patrol guards and the push for immigration reform has now given illegal immigrants the perfect opportunity to come across the border, he said.

“Now’s the time to do it,” Harris said.

Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the nonpartisan Center for Immigration Studies, agreed.

“It’s a giant catch and release program,” she said. “Why go through the expense of applying for a visa, when you can get turned down?”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-policies-cause-flood-of-illegal-immigrants/855500047216225910.html

May the power of Christ compel you...to stop global warming

2013-03-17T20:05:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The LA Times reports:

As the shopkeepers in this capital city readied for St. Patrick’s Day under typically intermittent rainy skies, Father Sean McDonagh’s attention was on the new pope’s agenda.

The Columban priest, whose order has a long tradition of missionary work, has been an outspoken critic of Vatican policies. With Pope Francis’ honeymoon period underway he, like many, is waiting to see what issues will be at the center of the new papal agenda.

McDonagh, 69, believes Francis needs to go green, making environmentalism the No. 1 priority for the Catholic Church. And he’s willing to appeal to the sweet tooth to make his point.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/May-the-power-of-Christ-compel-you...to-stop-global-warming/-760451209208445195.html

Yes, it's come to this: Must a voter be a citizen?

2013-03-17T14:33:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP reports:

The Supreme Court will struggle this week with the validity of an Arizona law that tries to keep illegal immigrants from voting by demanding all state residents show documents proving their U.S. citizenship before registering to vote in national elections.

The high court will hear arguments Monday over the legality of Arizona's voter-approved requirement that prospective voters document their citizenship in order to use a registration form produced under the federal "Motor Voter" voter registration law that doesn't require such documentation.

This case focuses on voter registration in Arizona, which has tangled frequently with the federal government over immigration issues involving the Mexican border. But it has broader implications because four other states - Alabama, Georgia, Kansas and Tennessee - have similar requirements, and 12 other states are contemplating similar legislation, officials say.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Yes,-its-come-to-this:-Must-a-voter-be-a--citizen/495208316928070659.html

Thousands of illegal immigrants released from jail

2013-03-15T14:07:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

The Obama administration reversed itself Thursday, acknowledging to Congress that it had, in fact, released more than 2,000 illegal immigrants from immigration jails due to budget constraints during three weeks in February.

The director of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, John Morton, said his agency had released 2,228 illegal immigrants during that period for what he called "solely budgetary reasons." The figure was significantly higher than the "few hundred" immigrants the Obama administration had publicly acknowledged were released under the budget-savings process. He testified during a hearing by a House appropriations subcommittee.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Thousands-of-illegal-immigrants-released-from-jail/91627663774640213.html

Rubio and Paul at CPAC

2013-03-15T14:06:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

Senators Marco Rubio and Rand Paul packed the hall at CPAC Thursday, injecting some electricity into the sober conservative conference by offering two very different visions for the Republican party — and both bringing activists looking for victory in 2016 to their feet.

Republicans may privately say that CPAC no longer represents mainstream America, but that didn’t deter the two rival stars –and every other GOP politician looking sideways at the White House — from rushing over. Over the next few days Rep. Paul Ryan, Jeb Bush, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and others will try out their conservative bona fides with this crowd and try to capture a slice of the market.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Rubio-and-Paul-at-CPAC/-950652824328412757.html

Supreme Court to rule on AZ voter laws

2013-03-15T14:05:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Slate reports:

You’ve probably heard that the Supreme Court may be on the verge of striking down an integral part of the Voting Rights Act. That case, however, is not the only chance that the highest court will have this term to affect voting rights around the country. On Monday, the justices will hear oral arguments in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc., a case that concerns Arizona’s power to impose its own conditions on top of the federal rules for voter registration.

The case began as a challenge to Proposition 200, an initiative passed by Arizona voters in 2004 that requires voters to prove that they are U.S. citizens by showing a birth certificate, passport, driver’s license, naturalization certificate, or tribal document before registering and also to show identification when casting their ballots. Under the law, state election officials must reject any voter registration forms not accompanied by sufficient evidence of citizenship—even the federal form produced by Congress under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), which doesn’t generally require the documents Arizona does.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Supreme-Court-to-rule-on-AZ-voter-laws/-871057291065518624.html

Iran "one year away" from nuke

2013-03-15T14:04:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CBS reports:

Iran is about a year away from developing a nuclear weapon and the United States remains committed to doing everything in its power to prevent that from happening, President Barack Obama said in an exclusive interview aired Thursday on Israeli TV.

Just days before he is to arrive in Israel for his first presidential visit, Obama told Israel’s Channel 2 TV that while he still prefers diplomacy over force, but that a nuclear Iran is a “red line” and all options remain on the table to stop it.

“Right now, we think it would take over a year or so for Iran to actually develop a nuclear weapon, but obviously we don’t want to cut it too close,” he said. “So when I’m consulting with Bibi (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) as I have over the last several years on this issue, my message to him will be the same as before: `If we can resolve it diplomatically that is a more lasting solution. But if not I continue to keep all options on the table.”‘

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Iran-one-year-away-from-nuke/-656347040393060541.html

Four things Barack Obama is not

2013-03-15T11:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Buzzfeed reports:

The President said “I'm not Charlie Brown with a football,” while on Capitol Hill today meeting with Democrats and Republicans according to Politico.

Obama reportedly told Senate Democrats concerned with the drone program that he wasn't Dick Cheney — at least according to a Politico titled "President Obama: I'm no Dick Cheney on drones."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Four-things-Barack-Obama-is-not/15214565572522712.html

Why work stress affects women more than men

2013-03-15T11:44:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Huffington Post reports:

If you're sitting stressed out at work right now -- or lying in bed too stressed to sleep -- you are not alone. A new survey by the American Psychological Association, conducted in January and released on March 5th, found that "one-third of employees experience chronic stress related to work" and that work stress is especially acute in women.

According to the APA, which surveyed 1,501 employed adults, women are more likely to report that they feel tense during work (37 percent of women versus 33 percent of men) and less likely to feel there are enough opportunities for internal career advancement (35 percent of women versus 43 percent of men). Women are also less likely to report feeling valued by their employer than men (48 percent of women versus 54 percent of men).

While both genders feel they are paid too little for their work -- fifty-four percent of all employees surveyed say they feel inadequately compensated -- women were more likely than men to feel underpaid.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Why-work-stress-affects-women-more-than-men/-660637412708675604.html

Boom! Assault Weapons Ban Passes Senate Cmtee

2013-03-14T18:40:00Z

Posted By: Staff

ABC News reports:

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted in favor of the assault weapons ban bill today, the most controversial of the gun measures put forward since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which occurred three months ago today.

The assault weapons ban, which was sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., passed on a strictly party-line vote - 10-8 - and faced fierce opposition from Republicans on the committee, at one point turning personal when Sen. Ted Cruz, R- Texas, questioned Feinstein about the constitutionality of her bill.

"The question that I would pose to the senior senator from California is would she deem it consistent with the Bill of Rights for Congress to engage in the same endeavor that we are contemplating doing with the Second Amendment in the context of the First or Fourth Amendment?" Cruz asked.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Boom!-Assault-Weapons-Ban-Passes-Senate-Cmtee/-565966144446972239.html

Secretary of "Illegal Alien" Labor Nominee

2013-03-14T15:19:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Human Events reports:

The Beltway is buzzing over President Obama’s likely nomination of Thomas E. Perez as the next head of the U.S. Department of Labor. But when Americans find out whom Perez has lobbied for most aggressively over the course of his extremist leftwing social justice career, they’ll be wondering which country Obama’s pick really plans to serve.

Press accounts describe Perez, currently the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s civil rights division, as a “tireless advocate of worker and civil rights.” The son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Perez was a former special counsel for the late illegal alien amnesty champion Sen. Ted Kennedy.

During the Clinton years, Perez worked at the Justice Department to establish a “Worker Exploitation Task Force” to enhance working conditions for … illegal alien workers. While holding down his government position, Perez volunteered for Casa de Maryland. This notorious illegal alien advocacy group is funded through a combination of taxpayer-subsidized grants (totaling $5 million in 2010 alone from Maryland and local governments) and radical liberal philanthropy, including billionaire George Soros’ Open Society Institute.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Secretary-of-Illegal-Alien-Labor-Nominee/-109622699188407087.html

10 facts about Pope Francis

2013-03-14T15:18:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

Jose Mario Bergoglio was named Pope Francis on Wednesday. The 76-year-old was a surprise choice as many observers expected the College of Cardinals to choose a younger man after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Here are 10 things you should know about the Argentine:

1. Francis is the first Jesuit to serve as pope. In the United States, Jesuits are best known for founding colleges and universities, including Boston College, Georgetown and Marquette University.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/10-facts-about-Pope-Francis/-262891505956045803.html

Biden to attend Pope's Mass of Inauguration

2013-03-14T15:17:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

Vice President Joe Biden will be heading to Rome later this month to attend Pope Francis I’s Mass of Inauguration.

Biden offered he and his wife Jill’s congratulations to the new pope in a statement Wednesday afternoon.

“I am happy to have the chance to personally relay my well wishes, and those of the American people, when I travel to Rome for his inaugural Mass,” Biden said.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Biden-to-attend-Popes-Mass-of-Inauguration/-965275107975869189.html

Michigan expected to announce takeover of Detroit's finances

2013-03-14T14:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Reuters reports:

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is expected to announce on Thursday an emergency state takeover of Detroit, putting a lawyer with extensive experience managing corporate bankruptcies in charge of the destitute city's finances.

The dramatic move will culminate the long decline of the once thriving center of the U.S. auto industry and birthplace of the Motown trend in popular music.

Republican Snyder is "highly likely" to name an emergency financial manager for Detroit at a news conference scheduled for 2 p.m. local time on Thursday, a source with direct knowledge of the decision said.

The top candidate for the job is Kevyn Orr, 54, a partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm Jones Day, who has long experience handling corporate bankruptcy and restructuring cases, said another source with direct knowledge of the choice.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Michigan-expected-to-announce-takeover-of-Detroits-finances/-26177633904838374.html

Boehner on charm offensive

2013-03-14T14:46:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Post reports:

So it was a good meeting. House Republicans welcomed the chance for a frank exchange of ideas with President Obama on Wednesday. Outreach is always positive, and more Republicans in this town need the opportunity to have an open dialogue with our president. I hope these discussions continue.

Yet, while this may have been the first time some of my colleagues have heard the president’s arguments so personally and directly, I’ve heard them all many times before. If we’re going to find bipartisan solutions, the president will have to move beyond the same proposals and Democratic dogma. For all of Washington’s focus on the president’s outreach to Republicans, it’s his engagement with members of his own party that will determine whether we succeed in dealing with the challenges facing our economy.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Boehner-on-charm-offensive/-119593452174989803.html

Pew Poll finds attitude shift among working moms

2013-03-14T11:51:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP reports:

Working mothers increasingly want full-time jobs, and tough economic times might be a big reason, according to a national survey.

In the Pew Research Center study being released Thursday, researchers saw a big spike in the share of working mothers who said they'd prefer to work full time; 37 percent said that was their ideal, up from 21 percent in 2007.

The poll comes amid a national debate on women in the workplace ignited by top Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg, who writes in a new book about the need for women to be more professionally aggressive.

In "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead," Sandberg argues that women have not made true progress in the workplace over the past decade and that they need to raise their hands more and "lean in" if they want to land more senior positions in corporate America.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Pew-Poll-finds-attitude-shift-among-working-moms/-576391243296149737.html

A false dichotomy

2013-03-14T11:46:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Thomas Sowell:

The desire of intellectuals for some grand theory that will explain complex patterns by a solitary and simple factor has produced many ideas that do not stand up under scrutiny, but which have nevertheless had widespread acceptance — and sometimes catastrophic consequences — in countries around the world.

The theory of genetic determinism that dominated the early 20th century led to many harmful consequences ranging from racial segregation and discrimination up to and including the Holocaust. The currently prevailing theory is that malice of one sort or another explains group differences in outcomes. Whether the lethal results of this theory add up to as many murders as there were in the Holocaust is a question whose answer would require a detailed study of the history of lethal outbursts against groups hated for their success.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/A-false-dichotomy/-46291677354378865.html

New Pope slips out of Vatican for morning prayer visit

2013-03-14T11:44:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Reuters reports:

Pope Francis, barely 12 hours after his election, quietly left the Vatican early on Thursday to pray for guidance as he looks to usher a Roman Catholic Church mired in intrigue and scandal into a new age of simplicity and humility.

Francis, the Argentinian cardinal who has become the first pope born outside Europe in 1,300 years, went to Rome's 5th-century Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore; there he prayed before a famed icon of Mary, the mother of Jesus, which is known as the Salus Populi Romani, or Protectress of the Roman People.

"He spoke to us cordially, like a father," said Father Ludovico Melo, a priest who prayed with the new pontiff. "We were given 10 minutes' advance notice that the pope was coming."

The first leader of the church to come from the Americas, home to nearly half the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, Francis also takes the title of bishop of Rome.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/New-Pope-slips-out-of-Vatican-for-morning-prayer-visit/-153841153087038048.html

'The Bachelor' Star Sean Lowe and fiance...abstaining

2013-03-14T11:43:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Sean Lowe and fiancee Catherine Giudici are planning their wedding following Sean's proposal on "The Bachelor" season finale in Thailand. Sean and Catherine, however, said that they would wait until their wedding day to consummate their relationship. As a conservative Christian, Sean explained, "From my perspective, I've lived life kind of selfishly for a long time. Now, I'm going to try to live it the way I know to be right. It's a personal choice for me." In regards to her husband-to-be's wish, Catherine said, "I honor him."

Sean claimed that the "virgin bachelor" label attached to him did not bother him at all. "I don't pay attention to the labels. This attention is just for a short season of my life, so I'm not going to get too stressed out about it," he said. However, Sean admitted that he would love to have their wedding soon, for obvious reason. "I'm a guy. I'd go to the courthouse tomorrow if she'd let me." he told PEOPLE.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/The-Bachelor-Star-Sean-Lowe-and-fiance...abstaining/62913958270423372.html

Pro-amnesty groups sue federal border agencies

2013-03-14T03:15:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP Reports:

Immigrant advocacy groups have filed nearly a dozen complaints and lawsuits against U.S. Customs and Border Protection across the country, claiming federal agents and officers mistreated and discriminated against illegal immigrants and U.S. citizens alike.

The groups alleged Wednesday that officers at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., were complicit in sending a 4-year-old American girl to Guatemala without giving her parents a chance to retrieve her. Officers also detained a naturalized citizen who had been working with farmworkers in New York, kept women in cold detention cells in Texas and lied on an arrest report that led to an illegal immigrant's detention in Washington state, the advocacy groups said.

The complaints are the latest in a series of legal actions taken against U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Border Patrol from immigrant advocacy groups, who have long sought to reform the agency's conduct on the southern and northern border. The cases involve federal administrative complaints against the agency and lawsuits filed in federal court.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Pro-amnesty-groups-sue-federal-border-agencies/405036535997415474.html

Behind the scenes, GOP sees same President Obama

2013-03-13T23:07:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico Reports:

After years of pining for more face time with the president, House Republicans found out Wednesday that Barack Obama looks and sounds the same behind-closed-doors as he does on TV.

That’s not to say they didn’t appreciate the personal touches — gentle banter, praise for some of their ideas, and handshakes all around afterward — but the president’s rare meeting with House Republicans in the basement of the Capitol yielded little in the way of movement on either side of the partisan divide. It’s the first time the president has met with the House GOP since 2011.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Behind-the-scenes,-GOP-sees-same-President-Obama/526690804163369108.html

Poll: Protection is the main reason for owning guns

2013-03-13T15:03:00Z

Posted By: Staff

USA Today Reports:

American gun owners are increasingly keeping firearms for protection instead of for hunting and sporting purposes, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center.

Among gun owners surveyed, 48% said they own them for protection, while 32% said they own a firearm mainly for hunting purposes. That's a large shift from 1999 when 26% of those surveyed said they owned a gun for protection, while 49% said they used it mainly for hunting, according to an August 1999 poll conducted by ABC News and The Washington Post.

Non-gun owners also cited safety as a main reason for not owning a firearm – 39% said accidents were among their greatest concerns about having a gun

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Poll:-Protection-is-the-main-reason-for-owning-guns/-359009907535978153.html

Gay marriage almost law in Colorado

2013-03-13T14:20:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller Reports:

Gay couples in Colorado will have the right enter into civil unions as of May 1, pending the expected endorsement of Gov. John Hickenlooper on a bill that sailed through both the Democratic-controlled House and Senate.

The bill passed its next-to-last legislative hurdle on Tuesday, when the House passed it by a vote of 39-26, with two Republicans voting in favor. Hickenlooper has said he would sign the bill into law.

In a welcome rest from the rancor that has characterized much of the legislative session over gun control, the civil union bill was debated without much of the heated rhetoric that characterized its attempt at passage last year.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Gay-marriage-almost-law-in-Colorado/104187482669860057.html

Why Detroit is in trouble

2013-03-13T14:19:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Times Reports:

This city was already sinking under hundreds of millions of dollars in bills that it could not pay when a municipal auditor brought in a veteran financial consultant to dig through the books. A seasoned turnaround man and former actuary with Ford Motor Co., he was stunned by what he found: an additional $7.2 billion in retiree health costs that had never been reported, or even tallied up.

“The city must take some drastic steps,” the consultant, John Boyle, warned the City Council in delivering his report at a public meeting in 2005. Among the options he suggested was filing for bankruptcy.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Why-Detroit-is-in-trouble/989472712199572212.html

Obamacare affects your pet too!

2013-03-13T14:18:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CBS News Reports:

Pet owners listen up: You may want to start saving more money for veterinarian care this year. The reason goes all the way back to Washington and an unintended consequence from medical reform.

Dog owner Lori Heiselman was surprised where her veterinarian posted a warning on Facebook.

The notice read: “Because medical equipment and supplies will be going up in cost, that extra expense will have to passed on to the customers.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obamacare-affects-your-pet-too!/-167271099116783672.html

White House tours to resume for schools

2013-03-13T14:17:00Z

Posted By: Staff

ABC News Reports:

Four days after shuttering the White House to the public to cut costs, President Obama says he’s asking the U.S. Secret Service about the possibility of resuming tours for school groups, which have begun descending on the nation’s capital for spring break.

“What I’m asking them is are there ways, for example, for us to accommodate school groups … who may have traveled here with some bake sales,” Obama told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in an interview on “Good Morning America.” “Can we make sure that kids, potentially, can still come to tour?”

Obama’s comments suggested, contrary to previous statements by the administration, that the decision to scrap the tours fell solely to the Secret Service.

“I have to say this was not a decision that went up to the White House,” Obama said in the interview. “But what the Secret Service explained to us was that they’re going to have to furlough some folks.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/White-House-tours-to-resume-for-schools/642702344260157609.html

Democrat's new budget adds 1 trillion in taxes

2013-03-13T14:16:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hill Reports:

The first budget from Senate Democrats in four years includes nearly $1 trillion in new taxes but would not balance the budget.

The blueprint unveiled by Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) on Tuesday to her Democratic colleagues would also turn off the next nine years of the sequester and replace those spending cuts with a 50-50 mix of tax increases and spending cuts.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Democrats-new-budget-adds-1-trillion-in-taxes/890591871200663723.html

Obama says we don't have an immediate debt problem

2013-03-13T14:15:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Weekly Standard Reports:

In an interview that was released this morning with former Clinton aide George Stephanopoulos on ABC, President Obama talked a little about his view of the debt.

"[W]e don’t have an immediate crisis in terms of debt," Obama said. "In fact, for the next ten years, it’s gonna be in a sustainable place."

Obama continued, "The question is, can we do it smarter, can we do it better? And– you know, what I’m saying to them is I am prepared to do some tough stuff. Neither side’s gonna get 100%. That’s what the American people are lookin’ for. That’s what’s gonna be good for jobs. That’s what’s gonna be good for growth."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-says-we-dont-have-an-immediate-debt-problem/-983618143741305427.html

Karzai seeks to boost image by vilifying America

2013-03-13T12:40:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Times Reports:

The longest shadow in Afghan politics is cast by a traffic post that used to stand in Ariana Square outside the presidential palace: the Taliban hanged Najibullah, the last president of the Communist government, from it shortly after they marched into Kabul in 1996.

That history, and the reality that every modern Afghan leader has been ousted or executed, has surely not escaped President Hamid Karzai as he faces what is expected to be his final year in office, and with the American military pullout well under way.

Seeking a nobler ending than his predecessors after his long tenure in the palace, Mr. Karzai is taking a gamble: intensifying his vilification of his American allies at a critical moment in their Afghan endgame, risking their support for him in order to save himself politically.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Karzai-seeks-to-boost-image-by-vilifying-America/877463070119713250.html

Idaho Girl Scouts seek end to sales tax on cookies

2013-03-13T11:49:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller Reports:

Everyone knows how hard it is to say no to Girl Scout cookies. Idaho lawmakers found it difficult to say no to the Girl Scouts’ request for a tax break.

Idaho’s House tax committee voted unanimously on Monday to remove the sales tax collected on cookie sales in their state, which amounted to 22 cents for every $3.75 box of cookies.

While the bill will still need to pass the full House and Senate and then be signed into law, it aims to end Idaho’s status as one of the last two states to tax the beloved treats. Hawaii still collects sales tax on Girl Scout cookie sales.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Idaho-Girl-Scouts-seek-end-to-sales-tax-on-cookies/206001143670808892.html

Teen smartphone ownership skyrockets in U.S.

2013-03-13T11:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNet Reports:

The old stereotype that teens love using telephones still holds true even in the digital age.

Now, though, instead of landlines, almost all teenagers use cell phones. And, according to a new Pew Research Center report (PDF) released today, more and more U.S. adolescents own smartphones. Pew's survey looked at technology use in 802 teens from the ages 12 to 17 in July and September of 2012.

Seventy-eight percent of American teens owned a cell phone in 2012 and nearly half of that group had a smartphone. This means that overall 37 percent of all teenagers had a smartphone last year, which is up from just 23 percent in 2011.

And, teens aren't just using these phones to chat and text with friends; smartphones are also their central means for accessing the Internet. According to Pew, 25 percent of teens are "cell-mostly" Internet users. For comparison, only 15 percent of adults say they access the Internet mostly on their mobile devices.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Teen-smartphone-ownership-skyrockets-in-U.S./-137261201705491199.html

Celeb-u-fools! Dennis Rodman says fire up the Pope mobile

2013-03-13T11:46:00Z

Posted By: Staff

TMZ:

Dennis Rodman plans to take a spin in the Popemobile during his trip to Rome ... but he tells TMZ, that's only the BEGINNING of his plans to change the world by meeting the new Pontiff.

Rodman was at Miami International Airport yesterday -- where he boarded his flight for Rome -- and we were able to fire off a bunch of questions before he took off.

Among the highlights ... Rodman discusses the most surprising thing he experienced in North Korea (involving a mummified Kim Jong Il), how he plans to broker peace between North Korea and the U.S. and what his agenda is for Vatican City ... we weren't kidding about the Popemobile.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Celeb-u-fools!-Dennis-Rodman-says-fire-up-the-Pope-mobile/261513917752748337.html

Ryan's new vision

2013-03-13T11:45:00Z

Posted By: Staff

National Review:

Paul Ryan and House Republicans are in a familiar quandary: They know that it is necessary, both economically and politically, for them to introduce a budget with reforms sufficient to place the national debt on a path toward stabilization. They also know that such a budget has only the most theoretical chance of passing Harry Reid’s Democrat-controlled Senate or being signed into law by President Barack Obama. The question before them is how many steps toward fiscal rectitude they can take before the budget debate ceases to be an exercise in balancing politics with policy and becomes instead an exercise in politics exclusively.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Ryans-new-vision/176349620562147343.html

Chris Christie to minority-heavy town hall: "It's harder to hate up close"

2013-03-13T11:43:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Buzzfeed reports:

At a town hall appearance Tuesday in Paterson, N.J., Gov. Chris Christie made a candid reelection pitch to a crowd of 700 constituents who all but certainly did not vote for the Republican four years ago during his first gubernatorial race.

In 2009, then-incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine received 85 percent of the Paterson vote — about 17,300 votes in total, compared to Christie's 2,200 — in the heavily Democratic city where one-third of residents are African-American, and more than half of residents of every race identified as Hispanic.

"The purpose of spending this time together is it becomes harder to hate up close," said Christie, as the event came to a close. "We realize we're all human beings. We all have our strengths and our weaknesses. We all have our insecurities. We all have our great successes and our disappointments. And as we get to know each other, it becomes a lot harder then to yell and scream at each other."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Chris-Christie-to-minority-heavy-town-hall:-Its-harder-to-hate-up-close/211690682011610118.html

San Fran Outrage: Ad campaign referencing "killing Jews"

2013-03-13T11:40:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Mail reports:

Several anti-Islamic ads featuring the photographs and quotes of Osama bin Laden, the Times Square Bomber, and the alleged Fort Hood shooter have caused outrage in San Francisco after their release today.

The ads, which will run for the next month, are featured on 10 buses in the Bay Area and have caused a stir in the community, sparking a fierce debate between free speech and hate speech.

The ads were paid for by the American Freedom Defense Initiative. One of the spots contains a quote attributed to Hamas, the militant Islamic group, and reads: ‘Killing Jews is worship that brings us closer to Allah.’

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/San-Fran-Outrage:-Ad-campaign-referencing-killing-Jews/-185883651413162784.html

Why is Homeland Security purchasing 1.6 billion rounds of ammo?

2013-03-12T19:08:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Forbes reports:

The Denver Post, on February 15th, ran an Associated Press article entitled Homeland Security aims to buy 1.6b rounds of ammo, so far to little notice. It confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security has issued an open purchase order for 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition. As reported elsewhere, some of this purchase order is for hollow-point rounds, forbidden by international law for use in war, along with a frightening amount specialized for snipers. Also reported elsewhere, at the height of the Iraq War the Army was expending less than 6 million rounds a month. Therefore 1.6 billion rounds would be enough to sustain a hot war for 20+ years. In America.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Why-is-Homeland-Security-purchasing-1.6-billion-rounds-of-ammo/-154773097290603988.html

Rand Paul leads GOP contenders in poll for 2016

2013-03-12T15:59:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is leading an online poll being conducted by Contract From America as the conservative pick for president in 2016.

With 190,000 votes cast as of Monday morning, Paul leads, with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio rounding out the top three. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush are running in last place, ranked 32 and 31 respectively.

Contract From America (CFA) is a nonprofit conservative organization that promotes the “Contract From America” that was first drafted and embraced in 2010 by tea party Republicans.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Rand-Paul-leads-GOP-contenders-in-poll-for-2016/-837585274248741865.html

Filibusters aren't only used by Democrats anymore

2013-03-12T15:58:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Senate Republicans used a filibuster last week to block the nomination of Caitlin Halligan to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, and Democrats are in full boil. President Obama denounced "the Republican pattern of obstruction," but Republicans are merely following the filibuster precedent that Democrats set when George W. Bush was President. Turnabout is unfair play.

Filibusters of judicial nominees used to be taboo, and last week Majority Leader Harry Reid took to the Senate floor to recall the supposed good-old days, citing the 1991 Supreme Court nomination of Clarence Thomas.

"I was very troubled with Justice Thomas" who was then an appellate judge, Mr. Reid said, "and a decision had to be made by me and many others: Should we allow Justice Thomas an up-or-down vote." He added that it "would have been so easy to stop that nomination" but "it would have been the wrong thing to do."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Filibusters-arent-only-used-by-Democrats-anymore/155748334219077222.html

Paul Ryan's budget revealed

2013-03-12T15:57:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

The next few weeks could determine whether the politics of the 2012 election will spill over into the budget talks of 2013.

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) plans on Tuesday to introduce a proposal to overhaul Medicare and Medicaid that is almost identical to the Republican presidential platform in 2012.

He will propose letting seniors buy private insurance or remain in Medicare, with premiums subsidized by the federal government, and turning Medicaid into a block-grant program. The moves would save hundreds of billions of dollars over 10 years, while potentially raising costs for Medicare beneficiaries and sharply cutting the number of Medicaid recipients. His budget would also repeal the White House's 2010 health-care law.

All three planks have been offered before and have won widespread Republican backing. The measures have never advanced in the Senate amid opposition from Democrats.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Paul-Ryans-budget-revealed/-36651895543091965.html

Republicans making inroads with Latino voters

2013-03-12T15:56:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Rep. Steve Pearce is the rarest of Republican Party officeholders, a very conservative Anglo who keeps winning elections from a predominantly Latino electorate.

As the national GOP seeks to improve its dismal standing with Hispanic voters, the 65-year-old former oil man has some advice.

"You just have to show up, all the time, everywhere," he said, during a recent barnstorm tour of his district, which sprawls across the southern half of this border state. "Most Republicans don't bother. I do. I bother."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Republicans-making-inroads-with-Latino-voters/613446505229654022.html

Banks too big to jail?

2013-03-12T15:55:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Are banks too big to jail?

If there was any doubt about the answer to that question, Eric H. Holder Jr., the nation’s attorney general, last week blurted out what we’ve all known to be true but few inside the Obama administration have said aloud: Yes, they are.

“I am concerned that the size of some of these institutions becomes so large that it does become difficult for us to prosecute them when we are hit with indications that if we do prosecute — if we do bring a criminal charge — it will have a negative impact on the national economy, perhaps even the world economy,” Mr. Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee. “I think that is a function of the fact that some of these institutions have become too large.”

Mr. Holder continued, acknowledging that the size of banks “has an inhibiting influence.” He said that it affects “our ability to bring resolutions that I think would be more appropriate.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Banks-too-big-to-jail/616974478212501305.html

Billionaire Paulson considers move to Puerto Rico

2013-03-12T15:55:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Bloomberg reports:

John Paulson, a lifelong New Yorker, is exploring a move to Puerto Rico, where a new law would eliminate taxes on gains from the $9.5 billion he has invested in his own hedge funds, according to four people who have spoken to him about a possible relocation.

Ten wealthy Americans have already taken advantage of the year-old Puerto Rican law that lets new residents pay no local or U.S. federal taxes on capital gains, according to Alberto Baco Bague, Secretary of Economic Development and Commerce of Puerto Rico. The marginal tax rate for affluent New Yorkers can exceed 50 percent on ordinary income.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Billionaire-Paulson-considers-move-to-Puerto-Rico/-109963197010784419.html

More Americans opting to cut cord on traditional TV

2013-03-12T11:37:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Cnet Reports:

While the vast majority of U.S. residents own televisions and watch them regularly, more and more people are opting to toss their cable plans and use other devices for entertainment.

A new report by Nielsen finds that those people who have elected to go "Zero TV" have more than doubled since 2007. Currently, more than 5 million people don't have broadcast television in their home, while in 2007 just 2 million didn't.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/More-Americans-opting-to-cut-cord-on-traditional-TV/-201232302261232719.html

RNC launches digital overhaul following election flop

2013-03-12T03:21:00Z

Posted By: Staff

NBC News Reports:

Republicans will embark upon a major restructuring of their digital strategy as part of the Republican National Committee's new autopsy of the 2012 elections, NBC News has learned.

When the RNC on Monday releases the findings of its "Growth and Opportunity Project" — the report ordered by Chairman Reince Priebus on the party's losses in the 2012 campaign — it will emphasize closing the GOP's widely-reported technological gap versus Democrats.

RNC chief of staff Mike Shields, whom Priebus recently hired to help shepherd the RNC's modernization, said he is working on "fundamentally restructuring the way the RNC works so it is centered around the technology department."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/RNC-launches-digital-overhaul-following-election-flop/-523224970002589193.html

2014 Tricks: No charm for GOP from DWS

2013-03-12T03:20:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Roll Call Reports:

With House Budget Chairman Paul D. Ryan set to release his new budget on Tuesday, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee warned House Republicans eyeing Senate races that it will use their votes for the plan against them in paid media.

On Monday, DSCC Executive Director Guy Cecil and Democratic pollster Geoff Garin told reporters that the Wisconsin Republican’s previous budget plan hurt GOP Senate candidates last year. Cecil said that all of the post-election analysis has overlooked that fact in favor of a focus on the GOP’s candidate quality problem, polling inaccuracies and, according to the DSCC, faulty messaging.

“We’ll be launching an online media campaign to educate voters on Facebook and other social media,” Cecil said. “We’ll be launching an email campaign to engage our volunteers and our donors in this fight. And really this is the first in several steps to hold Republicans accountable on the air, on the ground, in the mail and online.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/2014-Tricks:-No-charm-for-GOP-from-DWS/-851549405111837371.html

"...path to legal status"

2013-03-11T18:04:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The LA Times Reports:

Eight senators who have spent weeks trying to write a bipartisan bill to overhaul immigration laws have privately agreed on the most contentious part of the draft — how to offer legal status to the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants.

According to aides familiar with the closed-door negotiations, the bill would require illegal immigrants to register with Homeland Security Department authorities, file federal income taxes for their time in America and pay a still-to-be-determined fine. They also must have a clean law enforcement record.

Once granted probationary legal status, immigrants would be allowed to work but would be barred from receiving federal public benefits, including food stamps, family cash assistance, Medicaid and unemployment insurance.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/...path-to-legal-status/792957468754152864.html

We should give more money to the military to support this?

2013-03-11T18:00:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Boston Globe Reports:

America’s top military officer in charge of monitoring hostile actions by North Korea, escalating tensions between China and Japan, and a spike in computer attacks traced to China provides an unexpected answer when asked what is the biggest long-term security threat in the Pacific region: climate change.

Navy Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III, in an interview at a Cambridge hotel Friday after he met with scholars at Harvard and Tufts universities, said significant upheaval related to the warming planet “is probably the most likely thing that is going to happen . . . that will cripple the security environment, probably more likely than the other scenarios we all often talk about.’’

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/We-should-give-more-money-to-the-military-to-support-this/679787470756603888.html

Students to wear

2013-03-11T17:33:00Z

Posted By: Staff

EAGnews.org Reports:

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction runs several programs that heavily emphasize racial issues in public schools.

Some feel that one of those programs – an Americorps operation called VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) – may go a bit overboard by encouraging white students to wear a white wristband “as a reminder about your (white) privilege.”
Geared towards high school students, the program “seeks to build capacity in schools and districts serving low-income families to develop an effective, sustainable, research-based program of family-school-community partnerships,” according to its Facebook page.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Students-to-wear/-885652481119983370.html

Food stamps at new high

2013-03-11T17:31:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Weekly Standard Reports:

On Friday, the United States Department of Agriculture quietly released new statistics related to the food stamps program, officially known as SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). The numbers reveal, in 2012, the food stamps program was the biggest it's ever been, with an average of 46,609,072 people on the program every month of last year. 47,791,996 people were on the program in the month of December 2012.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Food-stamps-at-new-high/-543695950873467686.html

Obama stays out of gun negotiations

2013-03-11T17:31:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP Reports:

With gun legislation taking shape on Capitol Hill, President Barack Obama has kept a low profile on an issue he has made a critical part of his second-term agenda.

The president has not been highly visible in the debate during the past three weeks as gun bills are being written. He's been embroiled in a budget battle that has dominated his time and for now is letting Vice President Joe Biden bang the drum for tighter firearms laws.

White House officials say the president plans to speak out on gun control as the issue moves toward a Senate vote in the coming weeks. But for now, he's staying out of delicate negotiations among lawmakers. The White House says he will become more vocal if the legislative process hits a roadblock.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-stays-out-of-gun-negotiations/-543638538332560467.html

Not just about drones

2013-03-11T12:18:00Z

Posted By: Staff

As Sen. Rand Paul acknowledged early on in his epic 13-hour speech Wednesday (highlights here), his decision to mount an old-fashioned, talk-till-you-drop filibuster of John Brennan’s confirmation as CIA director didn’t really have much to do with Brennan personally. But neither was it really, at a fundamental level, about the narrow question of whether the president can “drop a Hellfire missile on your cafe experience” as you sit sipping a latte on American soil. If any citizens were realistically worried about that prospect, Attorney General Eric Holder has (somewhat belatedly) answered that question in the negative, prompting Paul to declare victory on that front.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Not-just-about-drones/131367805887994369.html

Look out Lindsey, meet Rosie the riveting

2013-03-11T12:09:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Buzzfeed Reports:

The first woman to ever graduate from the Citadel — who is also the co-owner of a controversial South Carolina political blog — is weighing a primary challenge to Senator Lindsey Graham in 2014, two Republican sources suggested Saturday.

Conservatives have long mulled a challenge to Graham, seen in some circles as too establishmentarian for the state's conservative grassroots, and allies of Senator Rand Paul — whose filibuster last week Graham denounced — hope State Senator Tom Davis, who backed Paul for president, will enter the race. But another conservative candidate could be Nancy Mace, best known in local political circles as the partial owner of FITSNews, whose name is short for "Faith In The Sound" after a George Michael lyric and which has for several years served as the center ring of the state's sometimes hallucinatory political circus.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Look-out-Lindsey,-meet-Rosie-the-riveting/-853787108866157299.html

F-bombs fly in this White House

2013-03-11T11:59:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Newsbusters Reports:

The Washington Post's Dana Milbank made an interesting observation Sunday about the vulgarity prominent in the current presidential administration.

Appearing on CNN's Reliable Sources, Milbank said, "The number of F-bombs being dropped by this White House, scholars are going to look in the national archives in 20 or 30 years and they're going to be shocked by the language that was coming out of this place.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/F-bombs-fly-in-this-White-House/861498144401714684.html

It's about time: some Dems seek Obama distance

2013-03-11T11:47:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico Reports:

President Barack Obama says he’s ready to do whatever it takes to help Democrats win the House next year — a feat that could make the difference between limping to the end of his presidency and going out with a bang. But some Democratic candidates and operatives in the districts on which control of the House will hinge said in interviews with POLITICO that the message and issues Obama has emphasized since the election are creating a difficult political headwind for them.

Obama’s political choices, they say, reflect a tone-deafness to the challenges they face competing for moderate and conservative-leaning seats.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Its-about-time:-some-Dems-seek-Obama-distance/-916561178651649811.html

NYC's drink police fan out to enforce the ban

2013-03-11T11:43:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Mail Reports:

Come Tuesday city inspectors will be armed with 17-ounce cups to police New York City Mayor Bloomberg’s controversial new law banning large sodas and other sugary drinks.

The Health Department will begin implementing routine inspections to make sure eateries, including sit down restaurants and fast food chains, are not selling sugary beverages in servings larger than 16 ounces.

Those inspectors will have specially ordered measuring cups to help them enforce the new rule, Deputy Health Commissioner Daniel Kass said in an affidavit recently filed as part of the legal challenge to Bloomberg’s anti-big-soda policy.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/NYCs-drink-police-fan-out-to-enforce-the-ban/-610127839211523323.html

Former Lehmann exec regrets career ahead of children

2013-03-11T11:42:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Mail Reports:

The former finance boss of Lehman Brothers has revealed she deeply regrets the sacrifices she made for her job and told working women: 'It's not worth it'.

Erin Callan, who was Chief Financial Officer at the bank and one of the most powerful women in finance, says the price she paid to rise to the top of the male-dominated Wall Street world was too high - and that she regrets not having children.

Callan, 47, revealed that the lack of balance in her life led to her divorce from her first husband, because she would never do anything on the weekends except sleep to 'recharge' or get an early start on Monday's meetings.

'Sometimes young women tell me they admire what I’ve done. As they see it, I worked hard for 20 years and can now spend the next 20 focused on other things.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Former-Lehmann-exec-regrets-career-ahead-of-children/-201718189717223007.html

Christian protesters, police clash in Pakistan

2013-03-10T20:42:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP Reports:

Hundreds of Christians clashed with police across Pakistan on Sunday, a day after a Muslim mob burned dozens of homes owned by members of the minority religious group in retaliation for alleged insults against Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

Christians are often the target of Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws, which rights activists say are frequently used to persecute religious minorities or settle personal disputes. Politicians have been reluctant to reform the laws for fear of being attacked by religious radicals, as has happened in the past.

The plight of Pakistan's other religious minorities, such as Shiite Muslims, Hindus and Ahmadis, has also deepened in recent years as hard-line interpretations of Islam have gained ground and militants have stepped up attacks against groups they oppose. Most Pakistanis are Sunni Muslims.

The latest incident began Friday after a Muslim in the eastern city of Lahore accused a Christian man of blasphemy - an offense punishable by life in prison or even death. A day later, hundreds of angry Muslims rampaged through the Christian neighborhood, burning about 170 houses.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Christian-protesters,-police-clash-in-Pakistan/-739108693897706723.html

Lower tuition for illegal students passes Colorado House

2013-03-09T15:41:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News Reports:

The cheers of immigrant students echoed through the Colorado Capitol on Friday after the House passed a bill allowing students who entered the U.S. illegally to pay lower college tuition, a measure that will soon become law.

Students hugged and wiped away tears outside the House chamber after the vote, sending the proposal to Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper, who is expected to sign it sometime this month.

The historic vote comes a decade after the bill was first introduced. Along the way, Colorado lawmakers grappled with immigration and passed strict enforcement laws, including one to deny non-emergency benefits to illegal immigrants.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Lower-tuition-for-illegal-students-passes-Colorado-House/191156547371438506.html

Some US towns seek to make gun ownership mandatory

2013-03-09T15:40:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News Reports:

A town of 140 people in western Maine is considering an ordinance making gun ownership mandatory, the latest of a handful of communities nationwide to pass or consider such a rule even though the measures are widely considered unenforceable.

All three members of the Board of Selectmen in Byron favor it, and Head Selectman Anne Simmons-Edmunds said she expects residents to approve it at Monday's town meeting, a New England institution where townspeople vote up or down on municipal proposals.

"We're hoping that the town will get on board with us but will accept whatever the town wants," Simmons-Edmunds said Friday.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Some-US-towns-seek-to-make-gun-ownership-mandatory/68463148247329908.html

Americans favor Tea Party principles

2013-03-08T18:55:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller:

The left has never really known what to do with the Tea Party. In the beginning of our movement, the left was quick to deny the very existence of our grassroots efforts, calling it “Astroturf” — the product of evil, corporate interests that, somehow, were financing every handmade sign being waved across the country.

The problem was, that narrative never really stuck. How could it? You can only blame the Koch brothers for so long. But just as quickly as liberals had jumped to deny our existence as a movement, they jumped to the other extreme — that there once was a Tea Party movement, but it is, essentially, no more.

And yet, whenever liberals are dealt a defeat, they blame it on the Tea Party.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Americans-favor-Tea-Party-principles/-228017587633557133.html

Why we give foreign aid

2013-03-08T18:54:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Charles Krauthammer:

Sequestration is not the best time to be doling out foreign aid, surely the most unpopular item in the federal budget. Especially when the recipient is President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt.

Morsi is intent on getting the release of Omar Abdel-Rahman (the Blind Sheik), serving a life sentence for masterminding the 1993 World Trade Center attack that killed six and wounded more than a thousand. Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood is openly anti-Christian, anti-Semitic and otherwise prolifically intolerant. Just three years ago, Morsi called on Egyptians to nurse their children and grandchildren on hatred for Jews, whom he has called “the descendants of apes and pigs.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Why-we-give-foreign-aid/-548799313199877030.html

TSA screeners let through fake test bomb

2013-03-08T18:53:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Post reports:

An undercover TSA inspector with an improvised explosive device stuffed in his pants got past two security screenings at Newark Airport — including a pat-down — and was cleared to get on board a commercial flight, sources told The Post yesterday.

The breach took place Feb. 25, when the Transportation Security Administration’s special operations team — the agency’s version of internal affairs — staged a mock intrusion at the airport.

“This episode once again demonstrates how Newark Airport is the Ground Zero of TSA failures,” a source said.

The “bomber” was part of the four-person “Red Team” that posed as ticketed passengers and filed through the B1 checkpoint of Terminal B — home of American Airlines, JetBlue and Delta, sources said.

With the inert “bomb” stashed somewhere in his pants, he got through the magnetometer undetected at around 11 a.m. He was then pulled aside for a physical screening, and a TSA agent failed to discover the IED and allowed the “bomber” to go to his gate.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/TSA-screeners-let-through-fake-test-bomb/994895730075010199.html

New deadly virus

2013-03-08T18:52:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Reuters reports:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday warned state and local health officials about potential infections from a deadly virus previously unseen in humans that has now sickened 14 people and killed 8.

Most of the infections have occurred in the Middle East, but a new analysis of three confirmed infections in Britain suggests the virus can pass from person to person rather than from animal to humans, the CDC said in its Weekly Morbidity and Mortality Report on Thursday.

The virus is a coronavirus, part of the same family of viruses as the common cold and the deadly outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that first emerged in Asia in 2003. The new virus is not the same as SARS, but like the SARS virus, it is similar to those found in bats.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/New-deadly-virus/-316794484189472966.html

Christie Crushes Cuomo for Prez

2013-03-08T18:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Post reports:

There’s a battle of the Hudson brewing in national politics — and Gov. Cuomo is getting clobbered.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie would trounce Cuomo, 45 percent to 28 percent, should they wind up facing each other in a 2016 race for the White House, according to a new Quinnipiac University Poll.

That’s a much weaker showing against Christie than that of Vice President Joe Biden, whom the Jersey gov barely beats, 43 to 40.

One reason Christie does so well against Cuomo is that he crushes the New Yorker among crucial independents, 47 to 20.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Christie-Crushes-Cuomo-for-Prez/-573669368202900161.html

Rand's stand on drones scrambles partisan lines

2013-03-08T18:47:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Times reports:

Senator Rand Paul’s intention was to highlight his misgivings about how drones are used. He ended up enmeshing his fellow Republicans in a broader debate over national security that scrambled the politics of left and right.

After invoking and being embraced by civil-liberties-minded liberals during a 13-hour filibuster starting Wednesday on the Senate floor, Mr. Paul, of Kentucky, was showered with praise on Thursday by both the Tea Party movement and the provocateurs of the peace group Code Pink. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican minority leader, praised Mr. Paul’s conviction.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Rands-stand-on-drones-scrambles-partisan-lines/254083616357813052.html

Prof forces students to lobby government to ban soda

2013-03-08T18:45:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

If students want to pass John Banzhaf’s law class, they’ll have to fight for increased government regulation in the food and beverages industry.

Banzhaf, a law professor at George Washington University, will require his students to lobby state and local governments to ban sugary beverages, according to a press release. The release was put out by Banzhaf himself, who summarized the objective as “Undergrads Required to Lobby for Obama Policy.”

“Some 200 undergrads will be asked to contact legislators in their home cities, counties, or states asking them to adopt legislation similar to that already adopted in New York City … banning restaurants, delis, movie theaters and many other businesses from selling high-sugar drinks in cups or containers larger than 16 ounces,” said the press release.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Prof-forces-students-to-lobby-government-to-ban-soda/-706521844585242724.html

Diplomat calls for end to drunkenness at end

2013-03-08T18:43:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Times reports:

When the United Nations began renovating its Manhattan headquarters in 2009, one of the first casualties of the construction was the storied Delegate’s Lounge, where for decades the delicate work of diplomacy was aided by a good stiff drink.

The loss of the bar led to protest from diplomats and their staffs, and a temporary outpost was soon established.

That bar is also now gone, but the thirst for liquor at the United Nations is apparently still strong.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Diplomat-calls-for-end-to-drunkenness-at-end/117660162847280860.html

The First Ad of The 2016 Iowa Caucus

2013-03-08T18:42:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Buzzfeel Reports:

The conservative Patriot Super PAC has made a $4,300 ad buy in Iowa for a television spot against current Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's potential presidential campaign in three years, according to the the Sunlight Foundation's news blog.

The ad warns voters in Iowa, where the first contest of the presidential primary is traditionally held, that McDonnell "pushed the largest tax increase in Virginia history."

McDonnell, already rumored to be a Republican candidate for 2016, is term-limited and will step down as governor early next year.

The website for Patriot Super PAC says the group is "dedicated to the core principles of liberty and limited government on which our country was founded."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/The-First-Ad-of-The-2016-Iowa-Caucus/683045300093115459.html

Obama: Not bringing

2013-03-08T18:41:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CBS News:

President Obama is playing down expectations for a Mideast peace breakthrough during his upcoming trip to Israel, telling American Jewish leaders that he won't be carrying a "grand peace plan" when he arrives in the region later this month.

Mr. Obama, in an hour-long private meeting at the White House on Thursday, acknowledged that near-term prospects for peace are bleak, according to a person who attended the discussion. But the president said a deal with the Palestinians remains the only way for Israel to achieve long-term security.

Israel's political climate makes the prospects for jumpstarting peace talks all the more unlikely during Mr. Obama's trip. Elections in January weakened Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who since then has struggled to form a coalition government.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama:-Not-bringing/917357740297825373.html

Unemployment at 7.7%

2013-03-08T18:32:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Yahoo reports:

A burst of hiring last month added 236,000 U.S. jobs and reduced the unemployment rate to 7.7 percent from 7.9 percent in January. The robust gains suggested that the economy can strengthen further despite higher taxes and government spending cuts.

The February jobs report issued Friday by the Labor Department provided encouraging details: The unemployment rate is at its lowest level in four years. Job growth has averaged more than 200,000 a month since November. Wages rose. And the job gains were broad-based, led by the most construction hiring in six years.

Employers have been emboldened by a rebounding U.S. economy. The housing, auto and manufacturing sectors have improved. Corporate profits are strong. And the Dow Jones industrial average is at a record high.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Unemployment-at-7.7/119138600817708160.html

Dems give excuses for not joining anti-drone filibuster

2013-03-08T12:49:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP reports:

After just one Democrat participated in Rand Paul's filibuster Wednesday — a thirteen-hour stand against the nomination of John Brennan over administration drone strikes — Senate liberals defended their absence from the floor, calling the filibuster a "distraction" that wouldn't "move this issue forward."

Spokesmen for two Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, referred BuzzFeed to Wednesday's hearing with Attorney General Eric Holder, where members of the committee from both parties condemned the secrecy around the president's drone program.

"Senator Coons has publicly called for a rethinking of the United States strategy on drones and remains committed to being an active part of that discussion," said Ian Koski, his communications director, "but in his two years in the Senate, he's seen dozens and dozens of filibusters and didn't believe another filibuster would help move this issue forward."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Dems-give-excuses-for-not-joining-anti-drone-filibuster/-254810667797638083.html

Body of Chavez, like Lenin, to be put on permanent display

2013-03-08T12:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP reports:

Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh, and now Hugo Chavez. The late leader's supporters have put him on a pedestal long provided for the world's great leftist revolutionaries by saying they will embalm his body for perpetual display.

Vice President Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's acting head of state, said Thursday that Chavez's body would be forever displayed inside a glass tomb at a military museum not far from the presidential palace from which the socialist firebrand ruled for 14 years.

"We have decided to prepare the body of our 'Comandante President,' to embalm it so that it remains open for all time for the people. Just like Ho Chi Minh. Just like Lenin. Just like Mao Zedong," Maduro said.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Body-of-Chavez,-like-Lenin,-to-be-put-on-permanent-display/206528298042695012.html

Rand Paul captures hearts of young voters

2013-03-08T12:46:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Mediaite reports:

Much will be written about Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) filibuster. It may be viewed through the prism of history as a turning point. It may be quickly forgotten as subsequent events diminish its relevance. Before Wednesday, however, Paul spoke for a narrow slice of the Republican Party’s coalition. Today, he speaks for a reinvigorated GOP base. But as the hours wore on, another phenomenon began to take shape – Paul’s ultimately unsuccessful efforts to rein in the president spoke directly to the forgotten millions of Americans wary of the ever-expanding scope of the unconstrained global war on terror. Paul offered himself up as something of a martyr. His voice, once lonely, grew in stature as his Republican colleagues – one after the next – shared his demand for redress from the White House, though all knew that would not be forthcoming. It was poetic. It was romantic. What may be most important, it reframed Congressional Republicans. All of the sudden, they were fighting for a cause with self-evident nobility that requires no public education campaign: life, liberty, and due process. In filibustering, Paul chipped away at the monopoly on romance that the left has enjoyed for more than a century.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Rand-Paul-captures-hearts-of-young-voters/-718133099999423668.html

At Arizona border, bodies keep coming

2013-03-07T17:46:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP reports:

The body of Ildefonso Martinez arrived on a Friday night last April as John Doe, Case No. 12-01000. He wore black Nike shoes, a Perry Ellis belt, jeans with a 34-inch waist, a Casio watch.

For medical examiners at the Pima County morgue, his was an unusual case. Not in how he died - making the same arduous journey that has claimed thousands of illegal immigrants - but rather because he was identified so quickly.

The death of migrants crossing the border has long been a tragic consequence of illegal immigration and, many say, the increase in U.S. border enforcement. For some, the problem is a powerful motivator in pushing Congress to act this year on immigration reform. But critics say proposals offered so far call for more enforcement with few specifics on how to save lives.

"The language coming out is alarmingly more of the same," said Kat Rodriguez of Coalicion de Derechos Humanos in Tucson, who gathers information on missing migrants from family and friends to give to medical examiners trying to identify the dead.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/At-Arizona-border,-bodies-keep-coming/-166087939356836063.html

Bin Laden's son-in-law in custody

2013-03-07T17:41:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

A son-in-law of Osama bin Laden and longtime suspected member of al Qaeda has been captured and brought to New York City by U.S. counterterrorism operatives, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, identified by counterterrorism officials as a spokesman for the terror group once led by his father-in-law, was recently deported from Turkey to Jordan, where U.S. agents captured him, one person familiar with the case said.

On Thursday, officials said the suspect was in federal custody in New York City and would likely make a court appearance later this week. It wasn't yet clear what specific charges he faces, but U.S. officials consider him a longtime member of the core al Qaeda terrorist group.

The suspect was flown to New York by the Federal Bureau of Investigation last week, and he has been talking to interrogators since then, according to the people familiar with the case.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, Mr. Abu Ghaith appeared in al Qaeda videos condemning the U.S. air strikes on Afghanistan, saying al Qaeda would retaliate against the U.S. and Britain. After those videos appeared, Kuwait stripped him of citizenship.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Bin-Ladens-son-in-law-in-custody/50161938648863683.html

Can the IRS handle Obamacare?

2013-03-07T17:40:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

This week the IRS announced that it was finally able to begin accepting all individual income tax returns to process refunds — nearly two months after tax season officially began. Up until now, millions of Americans wanting to claim tax refunds have been stymied by the IRS’s inability to update its computer systems to reflect the new post-fiscal cliff tax law. The bad news for taxpayers is that things will only get worse as the IRS begins to implement most of the provisions of the Obamacare healthcare law.

According to a series of reports published by the non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO), there are no fewer than 47 ways that the IRS will implement Obamacare. The list is all too familiar to those who have been tracking Obamacare’s costs to taxpayers for years. Manufacturers of medical devices will face a gross receipts tax of 2.3 percent, which will be passed along to consumers as higher prices and higher insurance premiums. Since 2011, owners of pre-tax health savings accounts and workplace flex accounts have not been able to use these products to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines. The IRS also has some large responsibilities related to Obamacare, like enforcing the deeply unpopular individual mandate.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Can-the-IRS-handle-Obamacare/-714897781695752313.html

41% of Democrats OK with drone attacks on Americans

2013-03-07T17:40:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Hot Air reports:

“On his own.” To be clear, they think he should have the power to do this “on his own.” This is what years of screeching during the Bush era about “the unitary executive” has come to.

I feel like I should issue a correction here. Back when Rand Paul was stumping against John Brennan on grounds that he wouldn’t give a straight answer about whether the White House can order a U.S. citizen killed on U.S. soil, I argued that Brennan’s silence wasn’t a big deal because the public simply wouldn’t stand for drone attacks here and O would surely realize that. Correction: A big chunk of the public, nearly a majority, would stand for it just fine.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/41-of-Democrats-OK-with-drone-attacks-on-Americans/-385868299433131579.html

Obama courting Paul Ryan

2013-03-07T17:39:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

GOP budget chief Rep. Paul Ryan will provide the next backdrop for President Barack Obama’s high-profile political charm offensive.

Both are expected to meet for lunch today at the White House, according to an White House leak given to favored media outlets.

The event will boost media coverage of Obama’s new claim to bipartisan outreach, which can help him weaken GOP legislators’ solidarity and also boost his public-approval polls by appearing to seek bipartisan comity in Washington .

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-courting-Paul-Ryan/277622525930638914.html

North Korea says they will attack America

2013-03-07T17:38:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Sun reports:

The provocative statement comes weeks after the country conducted underground nuclear tests which caused a massive earthquake.

America’s west coast cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco are feared to be in Kim’s sights.

A foreign ministry spokesman said: "Since the United States is about to ignite a nuclear war, we will be exercising our right to pre-emptive nuclear attack against the headquarters of the aggressor in order to protect our supreme interest."
The UN today has voted implement its toughest restrictions yet on North Korea in a bid to halt its nuclear ambitions.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said: "The international community will not tolerate its pursuit of nuclear weapons."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/North-Korea-says-they-will-attack-America/-819764433421428194.html

Senate committee starting votes on curbing guns

2013-03-07T12:57:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP reports:

President Barack Obama's prospects for winning near-universal background checks for gun purchases seemed shaky as the Senate Judiciary Committee prepared for Congress' first votes on curbing firearms since December's horrific shootings at a Connecticut elementary school.

The Democratic-led panel had four bills on its agenda Thursday as lawmakers began shaping their response to the slaughter of 20 first-graders and six staffers in Newtown, Conn. The shootings elevated guns to a top-tier national issue, though many of Obama's proposals have encountered opposition from the National Rifle Association and many Republicans.

Besides expanding background checks, the other measures would ban assault weapons and ammunition magazines carrying more than 10 rounds, make gun trafficking and the purchase of firearms for people barred from owning them federal crimes, and provide more money for schools to buy video cameras and other safety equipment.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Senate-committee-starting-votes-on-curbing-guns/-55018620520900503.html

Art & Soul: Filipino cardinal stirs papal talk with rapid rise

2013-03-07T12:55:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP reports:

Asia's most prominent Roman Catholic leader knows how to reach the masses: He sings on stage, preaches on TV, brings churchgoers to laughter and tears with his homilies. And he's on Facebook.

But Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle's best response against the tide of secularism, clergy sex abuse scandals and rival-faith competition could be his reputation for humility. His compassion for the poor and unassuming ways have impressed followers in his homeland, Asia's largest Catholic nation, and church leaders in the Vatican.

Tagle's rising star has opened a previously unimaginable possibility: An Asian pope.

The Filipino prelate's chances are considered remote, as many believe that Latin America or Africa - with their faster growing Catholic flocks - would be more logical choices if the papal electors look beyond Europe. But even the hint of papal consideration has electrified many in the heavily Catholic Philippines, where past pontiffs had been welcomed by millions with rock-star intensity.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Art--Soul:-Filipino-cardinal-stirs-papal-talk-with-rapid-rise/-318721425091536938.html

GOP House approves CR funding all of Obamacare

2013-03-07T12:53:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNS News reports:

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted 267-151 on Wednesday to approve a $982-billion continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government through the rest of fiscal 2013 that fully funds the implementation of Obamacare during that period.

The House Republican leaders turned aside requests from groups of conservative members to include language in the bill that would have withheld funding for implementation of all of Obamacare, or, alternatively, that would have withheld funding for the Obamacare regulation that requires health-plans to provide cost-free coverage for sterilizations, contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/GOP-House-approves-CR-funding-all-of-Obamacare/205389993441469369.html

Capitol visitors stay late into night to witness Rand Paul filibuster

2013-03-07T12:51:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Buzzfeed reports:

As Sen. Rand Paul ferried a filibuster from Wednesday night into the wee hours of Thursday morning, a few dozen committed members of the public took in the spectacle from the Senate gallery.

They came for fun and education, to satisfy curiosity or to witness some manner of history.

As the clock ticked toward midnight, roughly 12 hours after Paul first began expounding on the administration's policies regarding the use of unmanned drones on U.S. soil, a couple from Utah wandered the grounds of the Capitol, looking for the entrance to the Senate.

"We just thought it'd be fun to watch," they told this reporter, who pointed them in the right direction.

Theo Wallace, visiting D.C. from Duluth, Minn., for a leadership institute, was likewise curious, and so he found his way to the public gallery in the Senate with a group of friends. There aren't that many talking filibusters, after all, he noted.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Capitol-visitors-stay-late-into-night-to-witness-Rand-Paul-filibuster/332686316071854565.html

Ad campaign fights it out over meaning of "jihad"

2013-03-07T12:49:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Times reports:

There is an advertising war being fought here — not over soda or car brands but over the true meaning of the word “jihad.”

Backing a continuing effort that has featured billboards on the sides of Chicago buses, the local chapter of a national Muslim advocacy group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, has been promoting a nonviolent meaning of the word — “to struggle” — that applies to everyday life.

Supporters say jihad is a spiritual concept that has been misused by extremists and inaccurately linked to terrorism, and they are determined to reclaim that definition with the ad campaign, called My Jihad.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Ad-campaign-fights-it-out-over-meaning-of-jihad/153057142190273964.html

Adopted Chinese deaf girl, 5, hears for the first time

2013-03-07T12:43:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Mail reports:

A Tulsa family is celebrating after the deaf little girl they adopted from China was able to hear for the first time - a moment they described as 'breathtaking'.

Gifted a cochlear implant, Jayde Scholl now squeals and laughs with delight as she listens to the sound of her adoptive mother Jaque Scholl's voice.

On Tuesday the implant was switched on, marking the end of a two adoption process for Jayde after she spent the first four-years of her life in a Chinese orphanage after being abandoned in a town square at the age of eight-months.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Adopted-Chinese-deaf-girl,-5,-hears-for-the-first-time/-844850276974312722.html

How typical of the Left to idolize a despot

2013-03-07T12:41:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Mail reports:

Scenes of mass grief and hysteria have accompanied the deaths of many dictators, from the Soviet Union’s Josef Stalin in 1953 to North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il in 2011.

The public mourning in Venezuela following the death this week of the country’s Socialist President Hugo Chavez from cancer at the age of 58 will be played out for weeks.

The Venezuelan people have been whipped into hysteria by the propaganda of the sinister — and aggressively anti-American — political machine Chavez left behind as his legacy.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/How-typical-of-the-Left-to-idolize-a-despot/-236361860806185998.html

Vatican imposes media blackout--GOOD!

2013-03-06T20:35:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Post reports:

The College of Cardinals that will elect the next pope cut off formal communications with the news media on Wednesday after their private deliberations emerged in the Italian press, raising the specter of a leaking scandal that cast a pall over the last year in office of Pope Benedict XVI.

“Concern was expressed in the General Congregation about leaks of confidential proceedings reported in Italian newspapers,” said Sister Mary Ann Walsh, director of media relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, who has organized news conferences with American cardinals in recent days. “As a precaution, the cardinals have agreed not to do interviews.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Vatican-imposes-media-blackout--GOOD!/-62213667598198748.html

TSA $50-Million sequester-eve deal

2013-03-06T20:05:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNS News reports:

The impending sequester did not prevent the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from acting in late February to seal a $50-million deal to purchase new uniforms for its agents--uniforms that will be partly manufactured in Mexico.

Soon after this new investment in TSA uniforms, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned Americans that the lines are already lengthening at airports due to the sequester.

"We are already seeing the effect on the ports of entry, the big airports for example," Napolitano told Politico on Monday. "Some of them had very long lines this weekend."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/TSA-$50-Million-sequester-eve-deal/-106848243040142735.html

White House closes its doors

2013-03-06T20:04:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNN reports:

Visitors to Washington D.C. hoping to take a tour of the White House will soon be out of luck. The White House Visitor Center has canceled all tours effective Saturday March 9, a move meant to cut costs in the wake of forced spending cuts that hit the entire federal government last Friday.

An automated message at the visitor center's hotline informed callers of the news on Tuesday.

"Due to staffing reductions resulting from sequestration we regret to inform that White House tours will be canceled effective Saturday March 9, 2013 until further notice," the message said. "Unfortunately we will not be able to reschedule affected tours."

A White House spokesman said this is the first consequence of the forced budget cuts on the White House. The reductions will hit Secret Service staffing and staffing at the visitors office that processes the names of tour participants.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/White-House-closes-its-doors/-74965050814870220.html

Larger spending cuts would help the economy

2013-03-06T20:03:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

President Obama's most recent prescription for economic growth—more government stimulus spending, new social programs, higher taxes on upper-income earners, subsidies for some industries and increased regulation for all of them—is likely to have the same anemic results as in his first administration.

Recall: The $825 billion stimulus program did little economic good at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars per job, even based on the administration's own inflated job estimates. Cash for Clunkers cost $3 billion merely to shift car sales forward a few months. The PPIP (Public-Private Investment Program for Legacy Assets) to buy toxic assets from the banks to speed lending generated just 3% of the $1 trillion that the program planners anticipated.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Larger-spending-cuts-would-help-the-economy/-734075093000442977.html

Chavez uncensored

2013-03-06T20:02:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Reuters reports:

Venezuela's late president, Hugo Chavez, courted controversy throughout his 14 years in power.

Here are some of his best-known quotes:

AFTER A FAILED COUP AS AN ARMY OFFICER, 1992

"For now, lamentably, the objectives we sought were not achieved. ... New situations will come and the country must definitively get on the path to a better destiny."

AS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, 1998

"I'm not the devil."

"Cuba is a dictatorship."

Nationalization plans? "No, absolutely nothing."

Hand over power in five years? "Of course, I am willing to give up power even earlier."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Chavez-uncensored/205052328304080820.html

Two sides of Hugo Chavez

2013-03-06T20:01:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Hugo Chavez, the revolutionary giant of Latin America, has died in a military hospital in Caracas. Although adored by many of Venezuela’s poor and lionised among the Western Left, the record he leaves behind is mixed at best. It’s also, sadly, typical of a strain of Latin American populism that puts rhetoric above substance and class war above national interest. He might have seemed like the future to those with short memories, but he was really a very old fashioned demagogue.

First, the good stuff. Chavez spent Venezuela’s oil money on reducing destitution and expanding access to healthcare and education. As a result, poverty was cut in half, child mortality fell by a third and death from malnutrition fell by 50 per cent. Homelessness was reduced and almost everyone gained access to clean drinking water. To his fans, this was all part of new model of development that was socialist without rejecting some element of free enterprise and activist without sacrificing democratic checks and balances. Between communism and capitalism, Chavez’s revolution held out the hope for a future without the exploitation that invariably accompanies both.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Two-sides-of-Hugo-Chavez/-546428291941889950.html

WaPo quietly edits Mendenez hooker story

2013-03-06T20:00:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Caller reports:

Without informing readers in the story or elsewhere, on Monday night The Washington Post deleted its explicit claim that the Dominican prostitute who recanted her allegation against Sen. Robert Menendez had appeared in a video posted to The Daily Caller.

In a story by investigative reporter Carol Leonnig, the Post initially reported at 4:47 p.m. that “the women’s videotaped claims, with their faces obscured, were played on the conservative Web site The Daily Caller. The news site reported that ‘the two women said they met Menendez around Easter at Casa de Campo, an expensive 7,000-acre resort in the Dominican Republic.’”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/WaPo-quietly-edits-Mendenez-hooker-story/310648447852179047.html

D.C. snow freezes climate change hearing

2013-03-06T19:58:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hill reports:

The House Science, Space and Technology subcommittee on Environment was scheduled to hear from a panel that included a pair of witnesses more skeptical of some of the scientific consensus regarding climate change.

The snowstorm that struck Washington early Wednesday put those plans on hold.

The Washington area is under a winter storm warning until 3 a.m. Thursday. The National Weather Service forecast a potential 6 to 12 inches of snowfall inside the Beltway.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/D.C.-snow-freezes-climate-change-hearing/463308559154135238.html

AP: Chavez a 'Master Communicator' and 'Fine Baseball Player'

2013-03-06T13:06:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Newsbusters reports:

Frank Bajak of the AP lionized Venezuelan autocrat and "fighter" Hugo Chavez minutes after his death on Tuesday, playing up in the second sentence of his item how the "former paratroop commander and fiery populist...outsmarted his rivals time and again." Bajak later hyped Chavez as a "master communicator and savvy political strategist."

The journalist even went so far to point out how the far-left despot was supposedly a "fine baseball player and hoped he might one day pitch in the U.S. major leagues. When he joined the military at age 17, he aimed to keep honing his baseball skills in the capital." Bajak only mentioned Chavez's abuse of power in passing in the 24th and 25th paragraphs of his article...

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/AP:-Chavez-a-Master-Communicator-and-Fine-Baseball-Player/-612242022494949360.html

Not a dictator

2013-03-06T12:54:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Let's dwell on that interesting exchange at Friday's press conference between President Obama and CNN's Jessica Yellin:

Yellin: Mr. President, to your question, what could you do--first of all, couldn't you just have them down here and refuse to let them leave the room until you have a deal?

Obama: I mean, Jessica, I am not a dictator. I'm the President. So, ultimately, if Mitch McConnell or John Boehner say, we need to go to catch a plane, I can't have Secret Service block the doorway, right?

When we first heard Obama's "I am not a dictator," as we noted Friday, it reminded us of Nixon's "I am not a crook." But on further reflection, Clinton's "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" is a more apt comparison. Of course Obama is not attempting to cover up wrongful behavior, but he did answer Yellin's question in a weirdly literal way that was both a deflection and a revelation.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Not-a-dictator/-515389861871182998.html

Too much spent in Iraq for too few results, report finds

2013-03-06T12:52:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Fox News reports:

Ten years and $60 billion in American taxpayer funds later, Iraq is still so unstable and broken that even its leaders question whether U.S. efforts to rebuild the war-torn nation were worth the cost.

In his final report to Congress, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen's conclusion was all too clear: Since the invasion a decade ago this month, the U.S. has spent too much money in Iraq for too few results.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Too-much-spent-in-Iraq-for-too-few-results,-report-finds/249509740034347598.html

Reuters/Ipsos: Obama approval drops to 43 pct.

2013-03-06T12:51:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Less than two months into his second term, President Barack Obama's approval rating has dropped and Americans blame him and his fellow Democrats almost as much as his Republican opponents for a fiscal mess.

A Reuters/Ipsos online poll released on Wednesday showed 43 percent of people approve of Obama's handling of his job, down 7 percentage points from February 19.

Most of that steep drop came in the week to February 26 when it was becoming clear that Washington was going to be unable to put aside partisan differences and agree to halt automatic budget cuts which started last Friday.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Reuters/Ipsos:-Obama-approval-drops-to-43-pct./-862826409699714955.html

Ailes: Obama was worried about Hannity

2013-03-06T12:44:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

Vanity Fair has just released an exclusive excerpt from the forthcoming Roger Ailes biography by Zev Chafets, which includes a report of a 2008 meeting between the Fox News chief and then-presidential candidate Barack Obama. The meeting, which also involved News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch and Obama aide Robert Gibbs, was arranged by the Obama campaign and took place in a private room at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Manhattan.

According to Chafets' report, which is based off interviews with Ailes, Obama told the Fox News chief he was concerned about the way he was being portrayed on the network, and chiefly by Fox News host Sean Hannity. Ailes responded by telling Obama that Hannity was anti-Obama, but that he shouldn't worry about it because "nobody who watches Sean [is] going to vote for you anyway."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Ailes:-Obama-was-worried-about-Hannity/38445769956576636.html

The immigration gold rush--internet marriages on rise

2013-03-06T12:43:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Times reports:

With a red embroidered veil draped over her dark hair, Punam Chowdhury held her breath last month as her fiancé said the words that would make them husband and wife. After she echoed them, they were married. Guests erupted in applause; the bride and groom traded bashful smiles.

Just then, the Internet connection cut out, and the wedding was abruptly over.

Normally one of the most intimate moments two people can share, the marriage had taken place from opposite ends of the globe over the video chat program Skype, with Ms. Chowdhury, an American citizen, in a mosque in Jackson Heights, Queens, and her new husband, Tanvir Ahmmed, in his living room with a Shariah judge in his native Bangladesh.

Their courtship, like so many others, had taken place almost entirely over the Internet - they had met in person only once, years earlier, in passing. But in a twist that underscores technology's ability to upend traditional notions about romance, people are not just finding their match online, but also saying "I do" there.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/The-immigration-gold-rush--internet-marriages-on-rise/431845356890024829.html

TSA allowing knives and golf clubs

2013-03-05T17:49:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Bloomberg reports:

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration will let people carry small pocketknives onto passenger planes for the first time since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, along with golf clubs, hockey sticks and plastic Wiffle Ball-style bats.

The agency will permit knives with retractable blades shorter than 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) and narrower than 1/2 inch at the widest point, TSA Administrator John Pistole said today at an aviation security conference in Brooklyn. The change, to conform with international rules, will take effect April 25.

Pistole, the former No. 2 official at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has stressed the use of intelligence and “risk- based” security during his tenure leading TSA. The agency is moving away from uniform procedures that apply to every passenger and toward efforts to perform background checks on passengers before they arrive at an airport.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/TSA-allowing-knives-and-golf-clubs/-540134806577681837.html

February's debt is 6 times what the sequester cut

2013-03-05T17:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNS News reports:

During the month of February--as President Barack Obama was warning Americans they would see dramatic effects in their lives if “sequestration” of some planned federal spending kicked in--the federal government’s debt climbed by $253.5 billion.

That one-month increase in the debt was nearly six times as much as the $44 billion in spending cuts the Congressional Budget Office estimates will take place in all of fiscal 2013 as a result of sequestration.

At the close of business on Jan. 31, 2013, the federal debt was $16,433,791,850,294.04, according to the U.S. Treasury. At the close of business on Feb. 28, 2013, the federal debt was $16,687,289,180,215.37. Thus, the federal debt increased $253,497,329,921.33 during the month

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Februarys-debt-is-6-times-what-the-sequester-cut/-707742779318262574.html

Christie praised for "unshackling" from GOP

2013-03-05T17:48:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Mediaite reports:

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie slammed Washington and President Obama‘s leadership (or lack thereof) on Monday, as he is wont to do — and Morning Joe took note (as they, too, are wont to do). Looking of course at 2016, panelist Mark Halperin praised the governor for being willing to “unshackle” himself from the Republican Party.

“If anybody in this room thinks they understand Washington D.C., please come on up, stand behind the podium, and you give the answers, because I don’t have the first damn idea of what they’re doing down there,” Christie said yesterday. “Real leadership would get this fixed. You get everybody in a room and you fix it. And you don’t let them leave until you fix it.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Christie-praised-for-unshackling-from-GOP/-121610775286543915.html

Obama's "retraining plan" near impossible

2013-03-05T17:44:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Reuters reports:

Some schools rally around a football team. Harper College has rallied around a number.

When President Barack Obama called for 5 million more community-college graduates by the end of the decade to boost U.S. competitiveness, this commuter school 30 miles northwest of Chicago figured out it would need to produce 10,604 additional graduates to do its part.

It won't be able to count on much government help.

Even as Harper and many of the nation's 1,200 other two-year community colleges try to deliver on Obama's vision of a revitalized manufacturing sector and a better-skilled work force, support from the federal and state governments is eroding.

"I've been in this business for 42 years. I've never seen anything like this - the pressure on the business model, the pressure on the whole institution of higher education," Harper College President Ken Ender said in an interview.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obamas-retraining-plan-near-impossible/20700222469973041.html

China's defense budget to raise 10.7%

2013-03-05T17:44:00Z

Posted By: Staff

France24 reports:

China's defence budget is set to rise 10.7 percent this year, state media said on Tuesday as the national parliament's annual gathering opens, a slight drop from a 11.2 percent increase in 2012.

"China plans to raise its defence budget by 10.7 percent to 720.2 billion yuan" ($115.7 billion) in 2013, the Xinhua news agency said, citing a budget report that will be reviewed by the National People's Congress (NPC), the national legislature.

China's military budgets have risen steadily in recent years along with the country's booming economic growth, and experts say the actual totals are usually substantially higher than the publicly announced figures.

The increases have become a sensitive topic as they come with China taking what some neighbouring countries consider a more assertive military stance on long-simmering territorial disputes.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Chinas-defense-budget-to-raise-10.7/826379229550482932.html

$250 million to Egypt despite sequester

2013-03-05T17:43:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Great news for the Egyptian theocracy, courtesy of the UK Guardian:

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday rewarded Egypt for president Mohammed Morsi’s pledges of political and economic reforms by releasing $250m in American aid to support the country’s “future as a democracy”.

[...] Egypt is trying to meet conditions to close on a $4.8bn loan package from the International Monetary Fund. An agreement would unlock more of the $1bn in US assistance promised by President Barack Obama last year and set to begin flowing with Kerry’s announcement.

“The United States can and wants to do more,” Kerry said. “Reaching an agreement with the IMF will require further effort on the part of the Egyptian government and broad support for reform by all Egyptians. When Egypt takes the difficult steps to strengthen its economy and build political unity and justice, we will work with our Congress at home on additional support.”

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/$250-million-to-Egypt-despite-sequester/-684883329410022045.html

Larger spending cuts would help the economy

2013-03-05T13:04:00Z

Then & Now: Obama once used Walmart ties as negative

2013-03-05T13:03:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Buzzfeed reports:

President Barack Obama nominated Sylvia Mathews Burwell, a one-time Clinton deputy-OMB director and current president of Walmart's charitable arm the Walmart Foundation, to be his next budget chief Monday.

But it was not long ago Obama was using ties to Walmart as a wedge issue attacking Hillary Clinton's service on the board of directors of the world's largest retailer.

"While I was working on those streets watching those folks see their jobs shift overseas, you were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board at Walmart," then-Senator Obama said to Hillary Clinton in a 2008 debate.

Bill Clinton defended his wife's service at Walmart saying it was "it was the right thing for her to do."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Then--Now:-Obama-once-used-Walmart-ties-as-negative/258777407754774518.html

Michelle's Rules: Kids in bad areas should exercise indoors

2013-03-05T13:00:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Daily Mail reports:

First lady Michelle Obama said Monday that kids living in unsafe neighborhoods should find creative ways to exercise indoors.

'We as the community, the adults surrounding these kids, we’ve got to get creative,' Obama said during a Google Hangout Monday. 'I would encourage parents that if they also find themselves in a situation where they can’t get outside, then let’s figure out what we can do indoors because it doesn’t take the great outdoors to be moving every day.'

Obama made the remarks in response to a parent who voiced concerns over the recent shooting death of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old Chicago girl who was killed at a park near her school.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Michelles-Rules:-Kids-in-bad-areas-should-exercise-indoors/-449932030098454994.html

GOP still playing blame game after '12

2013-03-05T12:56:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

Four months after taking an electoral pounding, Republicans can’t agree on what went wrong in 2012 — let alone on a path to recovery.

Each week brings a new diagnosis of the party’s woes. Karl Rove says it’s candidate quality. Mitt Romney chief strategist Stuart Stevens argues Democrats have won over minority voters through government programs like Obamacare. Some Bush White House vets say it’s the GOP’s trouble understanding how to approach a changing electorate. Techy conservatives blame the party’s inferior social media presence and outdated voter targeting and data-mining.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/GOP-still-playing-blame-game-after-12/-993889719685389307.html

Demon at the wheel: family hit-run already driver did time for murder

2013-03-05T12:56:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Post reports:

The hit-and-run driver who killed a pregnant Williamsburg woman and her husband already had one murder under his belt — and was nabbed for drunken driving just two weeks before Sunday’s horrific crash, authorities said yesterday.

Police last night were hunting for Julio Acevedo, who did time for fatally shooting the original “50 Cent,” Brooklyn thug Kelvin Martin, the inspiration for rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s name.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Demon-at-the-wheel:-family-hit-run-already-driver-did-time-for-murder/212376456251680990.html

NKorea: Cold War history with US justifies nukes

2013-03-05T12:39:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The AP reports:

The Cold War still rages in North Korea, and enemy No. 1 is the United States, which Pyongyang blames for making its much-condemned drive to develop nuclear weapons necessary.

A rich vein of propaganda fueled by decades-old American threats holds that North Korea remains at risk of an unprovoked nuclear attack, though Washington and others say brinksmanship is the North's true motive.

North Korea's latest nuclear test in February - its third - has led even China, its only major ally, to support another round of punishing U.N. Security Council sanctions. Washington and Beijing have approved a draft resolution that is expected to be circulated this week.

North Korea's neighbors and the West condemn the North's efforts to develop nuclear missiles capable of hitting America as a serious threat to Northeast Asia's delicate security and a drain on the precious resources that could go to North Korea's largely destitute people..

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/NKorea:-Cold-War-history-with-US-justifies-nukes/98134974502725989.html

Free wireless for CA poor

2013-03-05T12:38:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

With no phone and no money to pay for one, Romonica Grayson often has to use the early 20th century method of getting ahold of someone: She hikes over to that someone's house and knocks on the door.

Sometimes she'll borrow a phone - no easy trick, considering many people in the Sunnydale public housing project in San Francisco where she lives also have no telephone service.

Those days are about to end, though. And not just for her, but for many other poor people in California.

As of Monday, two companies are now offering free cell phones and service to anyone in the state who can prove that his or her annual income is less than $14,702.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Free-wireless-for-CA-poor/113906125872031123.html

Meet the new "ultra-assertive Obama"

2013-03-04T18:26:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Hill reports:

The first months of President Obama’s second term are being built around a simple premise: No caving.

From the sequester to immigration reform to the broader debate about the role of government in American life, Obama is in an ultra-assertive mood, practically daring Republicans to defy his wishes.

It is a clear change for a president who, during his first term, faced criticism from his left flank for being too conciliatory toward the GOP on healthcare reform and, later, during deficit battles. Liberal voices argued that Obama was mistaken in thinking the Republicans had any real interest in finding common ground.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Meet-the-new--ultra-assertive-Obama/-832381209830697716.html

Sequester is Obama's Fault

2013-03-04T18:11:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The NY Times reports:

Our feckless leaders may be incapable of passing a budget, but, boy, can they pass the buck. The White House spent last week in full campaign hysteria, blitzing online followers with the message that heartless Republicans are prepared to transform America into “Les Misérables” in order to protect “millionaires and billionaires, oil companies, vacation homes, and private jet owners.” Republicans retort that the budget-cutting Doomsday device called sequester was actually invented by the White House.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Sequester-is-Obamas-Fault/-314809885690118536.html

Romney wishes he was President

2013-03-04T18:09:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Post reports:

One hundred seventeen days later, Mitt Romney still isn’t over it.

Making his first public comments since losing last November’s presidential election, Romney appeared mystified still that the country didn’t see things his way. He went on the attack against President Obama during a wide-ranging interview on “Fox News Sunday,” as if the Republican hadn’t lost a beat since giving his last stump speech.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Romney-wishes-he-was-President/7137914072947466.html

Obama changing the face of the court

2013-03-04T18:07:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Washington Post reports:

In Florida, President Obama has nominated the first openly gay black man to sit on a federal district court. In New York, he has nominated the first Asian American lesbian. And his pick for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit? The first South Asian.

Reelected with strong support from women, ethnic minorities and gays, Obama is moving quickly to change the face of the federal judiciary by the end of his second term, setting the stage for another series of drawn-out confrontations with Republicans in Congress.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Obama-changing-the-face-of-the-court/617598207333403310.html

Sequester: What won't be cut

2013-03-04T18:06:00Z

Posted By: Staff

Politico reports:

Sequestration will hit the federal government hard, but for some folks, it’s nothing to lose sleep over.

Members of Congress, for instance, won’t see their salaries cut. The 1.4 million active-duty members of the armed forces won’t get furlough notices or pay cuts. Programs at the Department of Veterans Affairs and several public aid funds designed to help the neediest will survive untouched.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Sequester:-What-wont-be-cut/-95123196476770854.html

Kim-Jong-Un wants Obama to call

2013-03-04T18:05:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Telegraph reports:

Speaking on his return from North Korea, the unlikely diplomat said: "He loves basketball. ... I said Obama loves basketball. Let's start there" as a way to warm up relations between the US and North Korea.

"He asked me to give Obama something to say and do one thing. He wants Obama to do one thing, call him," Rodman told ABC's This Week.

The State Department criticised North Korea last week for "wining and dining" Rodman while its own people go hungry.

Rodman also said Mr Kim told him, "I don't want to do war. I don't want to do war."

Yet in January, after the UN Security Council voted to condemn the North's successful rocket launch in December and expand penalties against Kim's government, his National Defence Commission said in a statement that "settling accounts with the US needs to be done with force, not with words." The statement also promised "a new phase of the anti-US struggle that has lasted century after century."

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Kim-Jong-Un-wants-Obama-to-call/370027166830399369.html

DOJ: Children do not need-and have no right to--mothers

2013-03-04T12:40:00Z

Posted By: Staff

CNS News reports:

The Obama Justice Department is arguing in the United States Supreme Court that children do not need mothers.

The Justice Department’s argument on the superfluity of motherhood is presented in a brief the Obama administration filed in the case of Hollingsworth v. Perry, which challenges the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the California ballot initiative that amended California’s Constitution to say that marriage involves only one man and one woman. - See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/doj-children-do-not-need-and-have-no-right-mothers#sthash.Bt9k4nnT.dpuf

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/DOJ:-Children-do-not-need-and-have-no-right-to--mothers/-886269812371632069.html

Now the poor are leaving California

2013-03-04T12:38:00Z

Posted By: Staff

The Wall Street Journal reports:

During the Great Depression, some 1.3 million Americans—epitomized by the Joad family in John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath"—flocked to California from the heartland. To keep out the so-called Okies, the state enacted a law barring indigent migrants (the law was later declared unconstitutional). Los Angeles even set up a border patrol on the city limits. Soon the state may need to build a fence to keep latter-day Joads from leaving.

Over the past two decades, a net 3.4 million people have moved out of California for other states. But contrary to conservative lore, there has been no millionaires' march to Texas or other states with no income tax. In fact, since 2005 California has experienced a net in-migration of households earning more than $200,000, according to the U.S. Census's American Community Survey.

As it happens, most of California's outward-bound migrants are low- to middle-income, with relatively little education: those typically employed in agriculture, construction, manufacturing, hospitality and to some extent natural-resource extraction. Their median household income is about $40,000—two-thirds of the statewide median—and about 95% earn less than $80,000. Only one in 10 has a college degree, compared with 30% of California's population. Roughly 40% of the people leaving are Hispanic.

Even while California's Hispanic population has grown by more than 1.5 million since 2005, thanks to high birth rates and foreign immigration, two Hispanics have moved out for every one that has moved in from another state. By contrast, four Hispanics from other states have settled in Texas and Arizona for every three that have left.

http://www.LauraIngraham.com/b/Now-the-poor-are-leaving-California/-201437490062942187.html