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(cnn) matt bevin, the controversial kentuckian who attempted to dethrone sen. mitch mcconnell last year and has vowed to eliminate the state's obamacare programs, orchestrated a remarkable political comeback on tuesday to win the state's governorship. in an upset victory by a surprisingly large margin, bevin bested kentucky attorney general jack conway, a democrat, in the contest. bevin, a republican often at odds with more mainstream elements of his party, solidly beat conway 53%-44% in a race that bevin was not expected to win by any significant margin. the wealthy businessman has pledged to shutdown the state's healthcare exchange and he's also expressed concerns about the expansion of medicaid in kentucky under the affordable care act. in mississippi, incumbent republican gov. phil bryant easily won his re-election against democrat robert gray, a truck driver. the contest was pushed to the background, however, by a clash over a constitutional amendment that would allow voters to sue the state to boost funding for public schools. in virginia, democrats failed to capture control of the state senate, where republicans maintained the same narrow 21-19 majority they held before the election. democratic governor terry mcauliffe had campaigned aggressively in the run up to tuesday's elections, seeking to flip control of the senate in order to advance key parts of his legislative agenda, in particular an expansion of medicaid, and to build support for his longtime ally hillary clinton before 2016. meanwhile, heated debate surrounding an effort to defeat a lgbt rights law in texas could become hot fodder for the presidential candidates, a billionaire is backing a major effort to protect big game, and voters in seattle are weighing a unique answer to the problem of money in politics. here are some of the issues being decided tuesday and that are sure to be dissected in the aftermath as pols, pundits and the press look for clues to what the results all mean in the 2016 contest for the white house: in ohio, which was weighing a series of ballot initiatives that could have paved the way to the legalization of recreational marijuana, voters turned down the measure, cnn projects. issue 3 would have effectively given a few businessmen a monopoly on cultivating the drug, which would have been sold at a limited number of places for sale in the state. nick lachey, the onetime lead singer of 98 degrees, and other investors are behind responsibleohio, the group that was pushing an initiative to legalize marijuana for recreational use in the buckeye state. "the people of ohio have understandably rejected a deeply flawed, monopolistic approach to marijuana reform that failed to garner broad support from advocates or industry leaders," said one of those advocacy groups, the national cannabis industry association. "this debate has shown that there is a strong base of support for legalizing, taxing, and regulating marijuana." also on the pot front, colorado voters are deciding what they want to do with the millions in revenue raised from its sale -- return the funds to taxpayers or use it to pay for school construction and other things. cnn projects houston voters will reject the "houston equal rights ordinance," a measure designed to protect lesbian, gay and transgender people. the ballot issue drew national attention, with conservative opponents claiming the law would allow troubled men to go into women's restrooms and locker rooms. on tuesday afternoon, the clinton campaign joined the fray, responding to a baiting tweet from texas gov. greg abbott, a republican, that urged houston to "vote texas values, not @hillaryclinton values." the law passed by the city last year to protect lesbian, gay and transgender people, but tuesday's vote repealed it. in recent months, the campaign to undo hero has become a focal point for the right, which has spent millions and recruited an assortment of local celebrities to their cause, including former houston astros star outfielder lance berkman. "my wife and i have four daughters," berkman said in an ad paid for by the campaign for houston pac, which is seeking to repeal hero. "proposition one would allow troubled men to enter women's public bathrooms, showers and locker rooms." supporters of the ordinance bristled at the claim, calling it fear-mongering against transgender men and women. how would you like some coupons to spend on your favorite candidate? that's what seattle voters will now receive after the successful passage of the "honest elections" referendum, which was introduced to diminish the influence of money in politics. "initiative 122" will radically transform the financing of local campaigns. under the measure, voters will each be given $100 in "democracy vouchers" -- four each, at $25 per -- to be shelled out to the candidates of their choice. it will also lower donation caps, ban contributions from corporations with significant city business interests, increase transparency and increase fines for electoral wrongdoing. furthermore, officials who leave office will be required to spend three years on the sidelines before becoming eligible to register as lobbyists. this one's for cecil the lion, the big zimbabwean cat killed in july by a dentist on safari from minnesota. washington state's initiative measure 1401, which was resoundingly passed by a greater than 2-to-1 margin tuesday night, criminalizes "selling, purchasing, trading, or distributing certain animal species threatened with extinction," raising the bar beyond where laws already on the books in new york, new jersey and california have previously gone to protect big game. the measure is the brainchild of billionaire paul allen, a microsoft co-founder, who has sunk millions of dollars of his own money into the campaign. opponents, including the "legal ivory rights coalition," had knocked the proposal for going too far. the group's website blared "it's not what they say it is!" warning that grandmas looking to pass along their "antique" ivory will be made into criminals under the measure. not complaining about the initiative's passage: elephants and rhinoceroses -- often hunted for the ivory in their tusks and horns -- along with lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, marine turtles and sharks that are among the threatened species that supporters say would be helped by the referendum. on the other hand, texans with a taste for "hunting, fishing and harvesting" got a constitutional boost on tuesday, as voters there resoundingly passed proposition 6. the amendment makes it more difficult for activist groups to push through new legislation or regulations aimed at expanding protections for animals or delicate ecosystems. the nra lead the way in lobbying for its passage, with groups like the "dallas safari club" also boosting the cause. with the measure's passage, texas became the 19th state to guarantee its residents a constitutional right to hunt and kill almost all manner of wildlife and the freedom to catch and "bag" as many fish as they can haul back home. airbnb, a vanguard of the so-called "sharing economy," won a decisive victory in tuesday's elections when san francisco voters rejected a measure that would have critically limited the company's ability to operate in the city following a furious lobbying effort from proponents of both sides. referred to as "prop. f," the defeated measure proposed a citywide ban on what are known as "short-term rentals." if successful, prop. f would have effectively crippled airbrb, the profitable hub for homeowners and renters who profit from leasing out rooms or houses to travelers for below market rates, in its hometown. the company had locked horns with the left over the measure, which activists supported amid growing tension over the lack of affordable housing in a city wracked by skyrocketing real estate prices. rent and home sale prices in san francisco have shot up in recent years, along with evictions, and critics say the fault lies, at least in part, with wealthy buyers who purchase housing for the express purpose of leasing it out for a quick profit. but for now, at least, airbnb will be able to remain in its home.

election results: bevin wins in kentucky, ohio rejects pot

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after a week of horrible headlines, paul manafort abruptly resigned as chairman of donald trump<u+2019>s presidential campaign this morning. so much for a friday news dump. trump<u+2019>s second campaign chief had already been effectively booted from his top role after trump decided to bring in<u+00a0>breitbart news boss stephen bannon as his new campaign ceo and republican pollster kellyanne conway as campaign manager over the weekend. the trouble for manafort, who replaced first trump campaign manager corey lewandowski earlier this summer, really began in earnest with trump<u+2019>s attacks on a muslim american gold star family. manafort, a longtime republican player who has spent the last couple of decades lobbying on behalf of foreign dictators, was brought on by the campaign to deal with a possible contested convention. but the less than star-studded affair featured the prominent non-endorsement from former rival ted cruz and was bested by a democratic convention that set-off a days long attack on the khan family. hardly a good look for trump, by nearly all accounts. manafort<u+2019>s days reportedly grew numbered as trump became enraged that his campaign was unable to mobilize republican support over his attack on the khans. as reports of manafort<u+2019>s connections to the kremlin through his work with the pro-russian ukrainian government of victor<u+00a0>yanukovych grew more troublesome, trump moved to undercut the veteran political operative. in one week, there were reports that manafort was listed on a secret ledger as having received $12.7 million in under-the-table payments, that he played a key role in fomenting pro-annexation sentiments in crimea ahead of the russian invasion, and that he<u+00a0>illegally funneled foreign<u+00a0>cash towards pro-putin lobbying efforts in the u.s. trump thanked manafort for the contributions he made during his three months leading the campaign in a statement friday. <u+201c>i am very appreciative for his great work in helping to get us where we are today, and in particular his work guiding us through the delegate and convention process. paul is a true professional and i wish him the greatest success,<u+201d> trump said. manafort resigns, per two sources briefed. rick gates remaining so far.

paul manafort resigns as trump campaign chairman after breitbart shake-up

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merrick garland has the opportunity to become not only the newest member of the supreme court but also its most influential, taking a spot at the court<u+2019>s center now reserved for justice anthony m. kennedy. if the 63-year-old garland is confirmed by the senate <u+2014> and there is no bigger if in all of washington politics <u+2014> he would help fulfill president obama<u+2019>s goal of remaking the court and become a part of a five-member liberal majority chosen by obama and president bill clinton. garland<u+2019>s replacement of conservative icon antonin scalia would be the most significant shift on the supreme court since clarence thomas was confirmed in 1991 to replace the liberal civil rights giant thurgood marshall. but more than that, garland could occupy the pivotal role as the court considers the most controversial cases<u+00ad> of the day: affirmative action, abortion, gun rights, campaign finance regulation, the death penalty. for a decade, a version of that role has been played by kennedy, the most powerful of the nine justices and the one who most often casts the deciding vote when the court<u+2019>s conservatives and liberals deadlock. just as kennedy is to the left of the rest of the court<u+2019>s republican-nominated conservatives <u+2014> and thus the justice most often in play <u+2014> most scholars of the court think that garland would probably be just to the right of all of the court<u+2019>s liberals. no one knows for sure. but a review of his record on the u.s. court of appeals for the d.c. circuit and interviews with those who have watched him for years as a prominently mentioned supreme court hopeful see someone whose instinct is for the middle. <u+201c>if confirmed, he<u+2019>ll surely become the swing vote in most of the highly politicized cases, but more because he is a centrist than because he vacillates between more progressive and more conservative ideals,<u+201d> said stephen i. vladeck, a professor at american university<u+2019>s washington college of law who watches closely the work of the d.c. circuit, of which garland is chief judge. like others, vladeck is most struck by the lack of controversy in a judge who has been on the bench nearly 20 years. <u+201c>chief judge garland<u+2019>s jurisprudence is the epitome of centrist, case-by-case adjudication <u+2014> not because he lacks deep methodological commitments, but because he<u+2019>s never been prone to go out of his way to wax philosophical about those commitments,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>he has a remarkable dearth of separate opinions, and even his majority opinions tend to be fairly efficient, technical resolutions of the legal questions before him.<u+201d> moreover, garland is well known to the supreme court. more than 40 of his clerks have gone on to clerk for the justices, about a quarter of them for conservative members of the court. such cross-pollination is increasingly rare. <u+201c>many fine supreme court justices took time to get their bearings,<u+201d> said justin driver, a university of chicago law professor who clerked for garland and justices sandra day o<u+2019>connor and stephen g. breyer. <u+201c>that would not be him,<u+201d> driver said. <u+201c>he would hit the ground running.<u+201d> garland is known as a technical craftsman, with careful opinions that follow rather than push back at precedents either at his own court or the supreme court. he ranked in the top 10<u+00a0>percent of judges appointed in 1997 or after in a measure of both the quantity and quality of their work, according to an analysis by ravel law, a legal research and analytics start-up. despite nearly two decades on what is often called the second-most-important court in the country <u+2014> its judges often are nominated to take the next step to the high court <u+2014> he has relatively few controversial rulings. the court often hears important government and regulatory cases but is rarely called upon to decide dramatic social issues such as affirmative action, abortion, same-sex marriage or the death penalty. those have become staples at the supreme court. conservatives acknowledge they have come up with a limited list of complaints. edward whelan, president of the ethics and public policy center, a conservative think tank that is normally a scourge of liberal jurists, acknowledged in a conference call with reporters that <u+201c>the only criticism i<u+2019>d make of him is that he<u+2019>s a liberal.<u+201d> carrie severino of the conservative judicial crisis network criticized garland as anti-second amendment. in 2007, he voted with the losing side on whether the entire d.c. circuit should review a panel<u+2019>s decision that struck down the district<u+2019>s restrictive gun-ownership laws. she and brian rogers, executive director of the republican group america rising squared, said garland may be the <u+201c>most anti-gun nominee<u+201d> in decades. but a republican judge joined garland in saying that the landmark ruling about the second amendment<u+2019>s protection of individual rights should be reviewed. the whole court did not take up the merits of the panel<u+2019>s decision. the supreme court agreed with the appeals court in a dramatic 5-to-4 decision, with the majority opinion written by scalia. but it would probably be just as accurate to describe garland as the most conservative supreme court nominee by a democratic president in decades. his prosecutor background and some of his rulings on the d.c. circuit indicate that he would not take uniformly liberal positions on criminal justice issues; on the circuit, he is more likely to side with the government than his liberal colleagues. he is also deferential to government agencies, such as the environmental protection agency, and his rulings on labor issues are supported by unions. liberal groups that might have wanted a more outspoken champion nonetheless say privately that they are confident that garland would move the court in their direction. that was whelan<u+2019>s point, too: when it comes to the supreme court, a <u+201c>supposed moderate liberal<u+201d> is as good as any other kind of liberal. garland has always been seen as the <u+201c>safe<u+201d> nomination that obama kept in his back pocket. the president acknowledged that he considered garland twice before and, with a democratic-controlled senate, opted instead for sonia sotomayor and then elena kagan. garland looks more like a left-leaning version of chief justice john g. roberts jr.: a midwesterner with double degrees at harvard who clerked for the same circuit judge, moved on to work for supreme court justices, served on the d.c. circuit and made friends on both sides of the aisle. no one seriously doubts that garland would move the court to the left and that his presence holds the promise for a reversal of the court<u+2019>s trends on issues such as voting rights, environmental issues and, perhaps, campaign finance regulation. that is why the fight over his nomination is likely to be so fierce.

merrick garland<u+2019>s instinct for the middle could put him in the court<u+2019>s most influential spot

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donald trump made his most direct appeal to african americans on friday, asking "what do you have to lose?" while slamming longstanding democratic policies that have destroyed inner cities and sent manufacturing jobs to mexico and other countries. "we cannot fix our problems by relying on the same politicians who created our problems in the first place," trump told a rally in dimondale, mich., a suburb of lansing in the southwestern part of the state. "a new future requires brand-new leadership. "look how much african-american communities have suffered under democratic control," he continued in his appeal to the party's longtime base. "to those i say the following: what do you have to lose by trying something new, like trump? what do you have to lose? "you're living in poverty. your schools are no good. you have no jobs. fifty-eight percent of your youth is unemployed. "what the hell do you have to lose?" trump asked before predicting, "at the end of four years, i guarantee you that i will get over 95 percent of the african-american vote <u+2014> because i will produce. "i will produce for the inner cities and i will produce for the african-americans. "one thing we know for sure is if you keep voting for the same people, you will keep getting the same <u+2014> exactly the same result," trump said. "hillary clinton is a throwback to an ugly past where politicians preyed on our poorer citizens while selling them out for personal gain." the republican presidential nominee's speech comes after a bruising week that saw a major shake-up of his campaign staff, including a new chief executive, breitbart news executive chairman steve bannon, and friday's resignation of campaign chairman paul manafort amid reports of lobbying ties to ukraine. trump has been referencing african americans in speeches <u+2014> mostly in suburban or heavily white communities <u+2014> since last week's racial unrest over a police-involved shooting in milwaukee, but friday's comments marked his most direct appeal to date. he cited the contributions blacks have made to the country throughout history, hammered democrat hillary clinton for backing policies that have "harmed" african-american communities over the years and said that his jobs plan would restore manufacturing to cities like detroit and other midwestern states. "the african-american community has given so much to this country," trump said. "they fought and died in every war since the revolution. they've lifted up the conscience of our nation in the long march toward civil rights. they've sacrificed so much for the national good. "yet, nearly four in 10 african-american children still live in poverty, and 58 percent of young african-americans are not working. they cannot find a job. "we must do better as a country."

trump to african americans: 'what do you have to lose?'

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washington <u+2014> president obama plans to name marine corps commandant gen. joseph dunford the next chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, a senior defense department official said late monday. air force gen. paul selva, currently the leader of u.s. transportation command, will be named vice chairman, said the official who was not authorized to speak publicly. dunford, a widely respected and well-liked officer at the pentagon, has extensive battlefield experience, including as commander of all allied forces in afghanistan. he will replace army gen. martin dempsey who is expected to retire later this summer after his second term expires. selva would replace adm. james winnefeld. a formal announcement from the white house is expected tuesday, the official said. dunford quickly received support from one key member of the senate armed services committee <u+2014> sen. jack reed of rhode island, the panel's top democrat. "i have come to greatly value general dunford's counsel and insight, and i particularly appreciate the concern he has for our men and women in uniform under his command," reed said. michael o'hanlon, a military analyst at the brookings institution, hailed dunford as well suited to the job. "he is a brilliant choice," o'hanlon said. "smart, wise, creative, pragmatic, calm, affable, experienced." dunford has been commandant since last october. prior to that, he had led u.s. and nato forces from february 2013 to august 2014 in afghanistan and oversaw the withdrawal of tens of thousands of american troops from the country. an infantry officer, dunford followed gen. james amos, a pilot, as commandant of the marine corps. he holds a master's degree in government from georgetown university and a master's degree in international relations from the fletcher school of law and diplomacy at tufts university. as chairman, dunford will be the military's most senior officer and adviser to the president. the senate must approve the nomination of dunford for the two-year term. most often, chairmen serve two terms. among the primary challenges he'll inherit: the ongoing war against islamic state militants in iraq and syria; russia's increasing belligerence in eastern europe and the threat of automatic budget cuts known as sequestration. he'll also have to deal with china's increasing ambitions in the pacific and the military's long-standing desire to shift its resources toward that region, o'hanlon said. selva's choice marks the return of airman to one of the top two slots for the first time since gen. richard myers retired as chairman in 2005. transportation command lacks the visibility of some of the military's other top spots, including central command, which oversees the turbulent middle east. but transportation command's function of moving troops, weapons and supplies around the globe is critically important. a cargo plane pilot, selva also has extensive experience inside the pentagon. he served as assistant to the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff from 2008 to 2011.

obama to name marine gen. dunford chairman of joint chiefs of staff

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ukrainian president petro poroshenko called wednesday for an international peacekeeping mission in his nation<u+2019>s war-torn east, a stark admission that his nation can no longer fend off pro-russian rebels after a major battlefield defeat. any international force on the ground would harden the battle lines after 10 months of fighting, forcing ukraine to give up for now its attempts to reunify the nation. but it would also halt russian-backed rebels from pushing onward toward kiev. the suggestion came hours after thousands of ukrainian troops fled the encircled railway hub of debaltseve, where fighting only intensified after a cease-fire ostensibly took effect sunday. nearly a year after russia annexed the crimean peninsula, the fresh loss threatened tough political consequences for ukraine<u+2019>s pro-western president amid questions of how the troops became surrounded in recent weeks. soldiers described a chaotic nighttime retreat over eastern ukraine<u+2019>s frozen steppe, with shells raining down on them from two sides. the prospects for a peacekeeping mission in ukraine were not immediately clear. any u.n. security council mandate would be subject to a possible russian veto. poroshenko said he hoped for a european union police mission, although what such a plan would entail on the ground remained unclear. any e.u.-only plan appeared likely to be rejected by russia, which has said that it views nato<u+2019>s encroachment on its borders as a security threat. <u+201c>i invite you to discuss an invitation to a u.n. peacekeeping mission,<u+201d> poroshenko told a late-night meeting of his top security advisers, according to ukrainian news outlets. the violence may increase pressure on president obama to supply ukraine<u+2019>s military with weapons, a decision he said would be made only after the peace effort. e.u. leaders, meanwhile, said they would consider more economic sanctions against russia. elsewhere in ukraine<u+2019>s war-torn east, violence was abating as rebels announced that they had begun pulling back heavy weaponry in accordance with the cease-fire agreement. but the advance on debaltseve suggested that the russian-backed rebels had the strength to push forward when they wished. poroshenko has staked his office on reuniting ukraine and quelling europe<u+2019>s bloodiest conflict since the balkan wars in the 1990s. earlier in the day he called the retreat a <u+201c>planned and organized withdrawal of certain units from debaltseve.<u+201d> the defeat was sure to stir a political cauldron over the prosecution of the war in kiev, where charges of incompetence and even betrayal were lobbed at ukraine<u+2019>s military brass in the aftermath. the thousands of ukrainian troops who were in and around debaltseve represented a significant portion of the nation<u+2019>s battle-ready soldiers. ukraine<u+2019>s flatlining economy is fueling even more anger toward ukraine<u+2019>s leaders. natural gas prices are set to nearly triple under the terms of a bailout plan from the international monetary fund, sure to be politically radioactive. ukraine<u+2019>s currency fell to record lows on wednesday. one of poroshenko<u+2019>s coalition allies in parliament called for criminal charges to be lodged against top military leaders. <u+201c>there were enough forces and equipment. the problem is coordination and command,<u+201d> semen semenchenko, a lawmaker who is also a volunteer militia commander, wrote on facebook. <u+201c>the head of the general staff should be brought to liability. period.<u+201d> western officials said wednesday that the fighting called into question the viability of the peace deal, reached in minsk, belarus, last week between russian president vladimir putin and european leaders. the situation in debaltseve <u+201c>is a massive violation of the cease-fire,<u+201d> a spokesman for german chancellor angela merkel, steffen seibert, said in berlin. <u+201c>it is a heavy strain on .<u+2009>.<u+2009>. the hope for peace in eastern ukraine in general.<u+201d> he said germany was poised to push for further sanctions against russia if fighting escalates. nato secretary general jens stoltenberg also said he was <u+201c>deeply concerned<u+201d> about the fighting. russian foreign minister sergei lavrov said the fighting was inevitable after poroshenko<u+2019>s insistence at last week<u+2019>s peace negotiations that the troops were not surrounded. but he said it must stop. last week<u+2019>s peace deal left a 60-hour window before the cease-fire was set to go into effect. that stipulation almost certainly led to an increase in fighting, as both sides sought to maximize their positions before the truce. no official explanation was given for the delay, although ukrainian and european officials said at the time they were ready to have an immediate cease-fire. the window for continued fighting has led to speculation that rebels may have been seeking to seize debaltseve before the truce took effect. six ukrainian soldiers were killed in the pullout, according to poroshenko, although the real number seemed likely to be significantly higher, based on ukrainian soldiers<u+2019> accounts of sustaining heavy fire during the late-night retreat. many said they had only 10 minutes<u+2019> notice to grab what they could carry and flee, piling onto tanks, armored personnel carriers and trucks as they sped toward the staging city of artemivsk. it was not immediately clear how many troops escaped and how many remained in and around the town. top military officials said that 85 percent of the troops had escaped as of wednesday evening. others may still be in hiding or were killed or captured, they said. some soldiers said that many corpses were left behind. front-line troops questioned on wednesday why it took so long for the retreat to be ordered, saying that their situation had long ago become hopeless. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s not about debaltseve as a city; it<u+2019>s about putin showing he can do what he wants,<u+201d> said lt. viktor kovalenko, the acting deputy commander of the battalion that had been charged with protecting railroads into debaltseve. he said several people in his convoy were killed during the retreat, which began at 3 a.m. wednesday, and that at least 50 troops were captured as they tried to flee. kovalenko said supplies had run so low that one ukrainian position was captured earlier this week simply because it ran out of ammunition. another soldier described a harrowing early morning escape, speeding over pitch-black fields that had been hardened by frost. <u+201c>we came under shelling, and we prayed to god to let us get out. there are a lot of wounded and killed people,<u+201d> said ihor sevastyan, 47, who drove out of debaltseve wednesday in a green radio truck. the vehicle was riddled with large bullet holes, and one of the tires had been shot out. they kept pushing forward using the truck<u+2019>s rim. other than in debaltseve, both sides said wednesday that they were holding to the agreement. rebels said they had begun to pull back heavy weaponry from the front lines, as stipulated by the cease-fire deal, and relatively little fighting was reported elsewhere in the region. birnbaum reported from moscow. natasha abbakumova in moscow, alexander pustovit in artemivsk, ukraine, stephanie kirchner in berlin, daniela deane in london and brian murphy in washington contributed to this report.

rout has ukraine pleading for peacekeepers

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a research division of the world health organization announced monday that bacon, sausage and other processed meats cause cancer and that red meat probably does, too. the report by the influential group stakes out one of the most aggressive stances against meat taken by a major health organization, and it is expected to face stiff criticism in the united states. the who findings were drafted by a panel of 22 international experts who reviewed decades of research on the link between red meat, processed meats and cancer. the panel reviewed animal experiments, studies of human diet and health, and cell processes that could explain how red meat might cause cancer. but the panel<u+2019>s decision was not unanimous, and by raising lethal concerns about a food that anchors countless american meals, it will be controversial. the $95 billion u.s. beef industry has been preparing for months to mount a response, and some scientists, including some unaffiliated with the meat industry, have questioned whether the evidence is substantial enough to draw the strong conclusions that the who panel did. in reaching its conclusion, the panel sought to quantify the risks, and compared to carcinogens such as cigarettes, the magnitude of the danger appears small, experts said. the who panel cited studies suggesting that an additional 3.5 ounces of red meat everyday raises the risk of colorectal cancer by 17 percent; eating an additional 1.8 ounces of processed meat daily raises the risk by 18 percent, according to the research cited. <u+201c>for an individual, the risk of developing colorectal cancer because of their consumption of processed meat remains small, but this risk increases with the amount of meat consumed,<u+201d> says kurt straif, an official with the world health organization<u+2019>s international agency for research on cancer, which produced the report. <u+201c>in view of the large number of people who consume processed meat, the global impact on cancer incidence is of public health importance.<u+201d> about 34,000 cancer deaths a year worldwide are attributable to diets high in processed meats, according to figures cited by the panel. [who says hot dogs, bacon cause cancer. does this mean we should all become vegetarians?] the research into a possible link between eating red meat and cancer has been the subject of scientific debate for decades, with colorectal cancer being a long-standing area of concern. but by concluding that processed meat causes cancer, and that red meat <u+201c>probably<u+201d> causes cancer, the who findings go well beyond the tentative associations that some other groups have reported. the american cancer society, for example, notes that many studies have found <u+201c>a link<u+201d> between eating red meat and heightened risks of colorectal cancer. but it stops short of telling people that the meats cause cancer. some diets that have lots of vegetables and fruits and lesser amounts of red and processed meats have been associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer, the american cancer society says, but <u+201c>it<u+2019>s not exactly clear<u+201d> which factors of that diet are important. likewise, the dietary guidelines for americans, the u.s. government<u+2019>s advice compendium, encourage the consumption of protein-containing foods such as lean meats as part of a healthy diet. regarding processed meats, though, the dietary guidelines offer a tentative warning: <u+201c>moderate evidence suggests an association between the increased intake of processed meats (e.g., franks, sausage, and bacon) and increased risk of colorectal cancer and cardiovascular disease.<u+201d> the dietary guidelines do not assert that processed meats cause cancer. officials from the department of health and human services, which is updating the dietary guidelines with the usda, have not yet reviewed the who report, a spokesperson said. [95 percent of the world's people may be wrong about salt] for consumers, the who announcement offers scant practical advice even while casting aspersions over a wide array of foods. red meat includes beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton and goat. processed meat includes hot dogs, ham, sausages, corned beef and beef jerky <u+2014> or any other meat that has been cured, smoked, salted or otherwise changed to enhance flavor or improve preservation. how much of those is it safe to eat? the group doesn<u+2019>t offer much guidance: <u+201c>the data available for evaluation did not permit a conclusion about whether a safe level exists.<u+201d> should we be vegetarians? again, the group does not hazard an answer. and how exactly does red meat and processed meat cause cancer? the group names a handful of chemicals involved in cooking and processing meat, most of them nearly unpronounceable, and some believed to be carcinogenic. <u+201c>but despite the knowledge it is not yet fully understood how cancer risk is increased by red meat or processed meat,<u+201d> the group wrote. despite the voids in the science, the who findings might cast a pall over diners and those who serve them. at the pig restaurant on 14th street nw in washington, where the menu includes an array of pork products - kielbasa, prosciutto, pork cheek, etc - a worker sweeping the tables outside encouraged a reporter to look elsewhere for comments about cancer and red meat. around the corner, outside the whole foods grocery, shoppers evinced a weary of fatalism regarding authoritative diet advice. <u+201c>it makes some sense,<u+201d> said nassrin farzaneh, a development consultant, carrying a bag out of the store, said of the who finding on processed meat. <u+201c>but they say one thing and then two or three years later they something that contradicts it. it goes on and on.<u+201d> <u+201c>everything causes cancer,<u+201d> said caroline rourke, an energy policy analyst, also on her way out of the grocery. <u+201c>life causes cancer. who cares what food does? life is terminal, isn<u+2019>t it?" [another food to worry about? honey not as healthy as we think.] in recent years, meat consumption has been the target of multi-faceted social criticism, with debates erupting not just over its role on human health, but the impact of feedlots on the environment and on animal welfare. the public debate over the who<u+2019>s findings will probably play out with political lobbying and in marketing messages for consumers. an industry group, the north american meat institute, called the who report <u+201c>dramatic and alarmist overreach,<u+201d> and it mocked the panel<u+2019>s previous work for approving a substance found in yoga pants and treating coffee, sunlight and wine as potential cancer hazards. the who panel <u+201c>says you can enjoy your yoga class, but don<u+2019>t breathe air (class i carcinogen), sit near a sun-filled window (class i), apply aloe vera (class 2b) if you get a sunburn, drink wine or coffee (class i and class 2b), or eat grilled food (class 2a),<u+201d> said betsy booren, vice president of scientific affairs for the group. <u+201c>we simply don<u+2019>t think the evidence supports any causal link between any red meat and any type of cancer,<u+201d> said shalene mcneill, executive director of human nutrition at the national cattlemen<u+2019>s beef association. but at its core, the issue revolves around science, and in particular the difficulty that arises whenever scientists try to link any food to a chronic disease. experiments to test whether a food causes cancer pose a massive logistical challenge: they require controlling the diets of thousands of test subjects over a course of many years. for example, one group might be assigned to eat lots of meat and another less, or none. but for a variety of reasons involving cost and finding test subjects, such experiments are rarely conducted, and scientists instead often use other less direct methods, known as epidemiological or observational studies, to draw their conclusions. <u+201c>i understand that people may be skeptical about this report on meat because the experimental data is not terribly strong,<u+201d> said paolo boffetta, a professor of tisch cancer institute at the mount sinai school of medicine who has served on similar who panels. <u+201c>but in this case the epidemiological evidence is very strong.<u+201d> [why<u+00a0>the bureau of prisons stripped pork from the menu for federal inmates] some scientists, however, have criticized the epidemiological studies for too often reaching <u+201c>false positives,<u+201d> that is, concluding that something causes cancer when it doesn<u+2019>t. <u+201c>is everything we eat associated with cancer?<u+201d> asked a much noted 2012 paper in the american journal of clinical nutrition. that paper reviewed the academic studies conducted on common cookbook ingredients. of the 50 ingredients considered, 40 had been studied for their relation to cancer. individually, most of those studies found that consumption of the food was correlated with cancer. but when the research on any given ingredient was considered collectively, those effects typically shrank or disappeared. <u+201c>many single studies highlight implausibly large effects, even though evidence is weak,<u+201d> the authors concluded. although epidemiological studies were critical in proving the dangers of cigarettes, the magnitude of the reported meat risk is much smaller, and it is hard for scientists to rule out statistical confounding as the cause of the apparent danger. moreover, some skeptics noted that two experiments that tested diets with reduced meat consumption, the polyp prevention trial and the women<u+2019>s health initiative, found that people who reduced their meat intake did not appear to have a lower cancer risk. it is possible, though, that the reductions in animal flesh were too small to have an effect. <u+201c>it might be a good idea not to be an excessive consumer of meat,<u+201d> said jonathan schoenfeld, the co-author of the american journal of clinical nutrition article and an assistant professor in radiation oncology at harvard medical school. <u+201c>but the effects of eating meat may be minimal, if anything.<u+201d> was it wrong that the government steered people away from whole milk for decades? how coca-cola has tricked everyone into drinking so much of it what americans do with fish is shocking why americans are falling out of love with one of their favorite fruits whole milk, butter and eggs are now okay to eat. what's next?

hot dogs, bacon and other processed meats cause cancer, world health organization declares

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some people believe that kentucky<u+2014>or even all of america<u+2014>should be subject to biblical law rather than constitutional law. they believe public servants like celebrity clerk kim davis owe their highest allegiance to the bible, which means they shouldn<u+2019>t be forced to give out unbiblical marriage licenses<u+2014>like to gay couples.<u+00a0>the issue is contested by a host of liberals, secularists, satanists and moderate christians.<u+00a0>but assuming that bible believers and religious freedom advocates carry the day, public servants will need to know their good book. the following 15-item quiz can be used to screen applicants for county clerk positions or as a guide for those already on the job. if kentucky issues only biblical marriage licenses, to which of the following couples should a county clerk grant a license? 1.<u+00a0>a man with a consenting woman, but without her father<u+2019>s permission.<u+00a0>no.<u+00a0>numbers 30:1-16<u+00a0>teaches that a single woman<u+2019>s father has final authority over legal contracts she may enter. 2.<u+00a0>a man, a nonconsenting woman, and her father.<u+00a0>yes. according to the law of moses a<u+00a0>female<u+00a0>is male property, as are slaves, livestock and children. (see<u+00a0>exodus<u+00a0>20:17,<u+00a0>exodus 21:7.) her father can give her in marriage or sell her to a slave master. female consent in the bible is<u+00a0>not a<u+00a0>prerequisite<u+00a0>for marriage or sex. 3.<u+00a0>a married man and three other women.<u+00a0>yes. the old testament endorses polygamy, and the new testament does not reverse this<u+2014>except for church elders (1 timothy 3:2). (see<u+00a0>biblicalpolygamy.com) 4.<u+00a0>a childless widow and her husband<u+2019>s reluctant brother.<u+00a0>yes.<u+00a0>genesis 38:8-10<u+00a0>makes it clear that a man has a responsibility to seed children for his deceased brother. in the gospel of matthew, jesus doesn<u+2019>t alter the tradition but does say it will no longer apply in heaven. (matthew 22:24-28) 5.<u+00a0>two men.<u+00a0>no. leviticus is clear. two men having sex is an abomination, just like eating shellfish, getting tattoos, shaving your beard, or wearing blend fabrics. (leviticus<u+00a0>18:22,<u+00a0>20:13,<u+00a0>11:9-12,<u+00a0>19:28,<u+00a0>19:27) 6.<u+00a0>two women.<u+00a0>no, not even with their fathers<u+2019> permission. paul<u+2019>s epistle to the romans (1:26) makes it clear that this is degrading and unnatural. 7.<u+00a0>a christian and a hindu.<u+00a0>no. the apostle paul calls this being<u+00a0>unequally yoked<u+00a0>(2 corinthians<u+00a0>6:14). if the applicants balk at your refusal, you might respond gently with paul<u+2019>s own words: <u+201c>what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion has light with darkness?<u+201d> 8.<u+00a0>a soldier and a virgin prisoner of war.<u+00a0>yes, but you should provide written instructions on the purification ritual required before bedding her. the soldier must shave her head and trim her nails and give her a month to mourn her parents before the first sex act. also, remind him that if she fails to <u+201c>delight,<u+201d> he must set her free rather than selling her. (deuteronomy 21:10-14) 9.<u+00a0>a rapist and his victim.<u+00a0>yes, with qualifiers. the woman<u+2019>s consent is not an issue, but her father should be present as he is owed 50 shekels (approximately $580) for the damage to his daughter. also, the contract should have an addendum stating clearly that no divorce will be allowed. the rapist must keep her for life since, obviously, no one else will want the damaged goods. (deuteronomy 22:28-29) 10.<u+00a0>a man and his wife<u+2019>s indentured/undocumented servant.<u+00a0>yes, although you might remind the man that in this case a marriage license is not a prerequisite for sex, since community property laws apply. however, should god bless this union with babies, any offspring will belong to the man and his wife, not the indentured woman. (genesis 30:1-22) 11.<u+00a0>a man and his mother, sister, half-sister, mother-in-law, grandchild, or uncle<u+2019>s wife.<u+00a0>probably not. although god<u+2019>s law is timeless and unchanging, he does seem to shift on this one. in the book of genesis, god rewards marriages between siblings<u+2014>for example, the patriarch abraham and his half-sister sarah. but later texts specifically prohibit a variety of incestuous relationships (e.g. lev. 18:7-8; lev.<u+00a0>18:10; lev.<u+00a0>20:11; deut.<u+00a0>22:30; deut. 27:20; deut. 27:23). 12.<u+00a0>a black woman and a white man, or vice versa.<u+00a0>absolutely not. scripture is full of verses prohibiting interracial marriage (gen. 28:6; exod. 34:15-16; num. 25:6-11; deut. 7:1-3; josh. 23:12-13; judges 3:5-8; 1 kings 11:1-2; ezra 9:1-2, 12; ezra 10:2-3, 10-11; neh.<u+00a0>10:30; neh. 13:25-27). 13.<u+00a0>a gentile and a jew.<u+00a0>no. if the jew should appeal to the anti-defamation league, remind them of how dangerous such a union could be: <u+201c>thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. for they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.<u+201d> (deuteronomy 7:3-4) 14.<u+00a0>a man and a pregnant woman who claims to be a virgin.yes. you may feel personal misgivings about a marriage that is based in deception from the get-go, but judge not that ye be not judged.<u+00a0>one in 200<u+00a0>american women who give birth say they have never had sex. rather than plaguing this young couple with your corrosive doubt, you can encourage them with the<u+00a0>biblical virgin birth story, while taking care to avoid any<u+00a0>sex-negative implications<u+00a0>that might harm their marriage. 15.<u+00a0>a man and a goat.<u+00a0>don<u+2019>t be ridiculous. can a goat sign a marriage license? 16.<u+00a0>a man and a sex-trafficked teen he bought from a gangster.<u+00a0>yes, but not until kentucky legalizes sex trafficking. sexual slavery is quite common in the bible, well regulated (exodus 28:8), and frequently sanctioned or blessed by god. however, the new testament teaches that we should<u+00a0>pay our taxes<u+00a0>and be law-abiding, even under a secular/pagan government. (titus 3:1;<u+00a0>1 peter 2:13-17) 17.<u+00a0>two zombies.<u+00a0>only if they are not christians. jesus states clearly that there will be no marriage for christians in the afterlife (matthew 22:24-28). otherwise, marriage between the undead is not addressed in the bible, and you should default to whatever the supreme court may have ruled on this matter. note: some liberal christian license seekers may complain to you or your supervisor that these guidelines come mostly from the old testament, which has been replaced by a new covenant under jesus. ask them if the old testament is still part of their bible. remind them that the ten commandments are in the old testament<u+2014>all three versions. lastly, quote the words of jesus: do not think that i came to abolish the law or the prophets; i did not come to abolish but to fulfill.<u+00a0>for truly i say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the law until all is accomplished.<u+00a0>whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven (matthew 5: 17-19). stand firm. if the bible is the perfect word of the living god, your detractors are up against the almighty himself. and, as the<u+00a0>spiritual warfare hymn<u+00a0>reminds us, the hordes of (liberal, gay, atheist, feminist) darkness cannot quench your light.

17 biblical rules for marriage the kim davis set chooses to ignore

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rubio, cruz, christie improve their standing in third gop debate the republican presidential race entered a new phase wednesday night as the outsider candidates, who dominated the first two debates, were upstaged by several of their office-holding rivals <u+2014> and by a budding controversy over the conduct of the third debate itself. ben carson, donald trump and carly fiorina were all on hand and all had their moments. but the featured performer of the night was marco rubio, the senator from florida who, at 44, is the youngest contestant in the field. also acquitting themselves well were his senate colleague, ted cruz of texas, and chris christie, the oft-embattled governor of new jersey. christie's much-maligned campaign had barely qualified for inclusion in this debate, but he seemed revivified by the questions and the interchange <u+2014> especially the contretemps with the cnbc moderators. "even in new jersey what you're doing would be called rude," said christie, referring to cnbc moderator john harwood. rubio became the debate's focus largely because of tough questions from the cnbc moderators that he deftly turned into recitations of his talking points. when other rivals tried to probe the same vulnerabilities, rubio was quickly able to flip the polarity and deliver a put down in response. questioned about his missed votes in the senate (the most of any senator this year) and his stated lack of interest in that position, rubio noted how many votes had been missed by senators in both parties pursuing the presidency in the past. when jeb bush, the former florida governor sometimes described as rubio's mentor, renewed the criticism ("what is it in the senate, a french work week, where you only have to show up for three days?") rubio wondered why bush had never spoken out about such things before. "the only reason why you're doing it now," rubio charged, "is because we're running for the same position, and someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you." bush was not able to establish much momentum after that, finishing near the bottom of the list in speaking time. it was his third flat performance in the debate series to date, and the most damaging in its timing. his campaign had highlighted the evening, calling it bush's chance to rebut suggestions he lacks real enthusiasm for this campaign. in recent weeks, he has seemed diffident and off-message at times in public appearances. he has laid off staff, as his standing in the polls has continued to decline. rubio, by stark contrast, was both sharp with a cutting remark and adept at the charming aside. talking about a program for older people, he beamed boyishly as he said, "i'd never vote for anything that would hurt my mom." rubio has been locked in the single digits in national polls and surveys in the early voting states as well. but many who watched the third debate expected that to change. and if the current front-runners should fade, leaving their voters up for grabs, the contest could become between rubio and cruz. the night's peak energy point came when cruz fielded a typically truculent question from one of the cnbc moderators and hit it out of the park. "the questions that have been asked so far in this debate illustrate why the american people don't trust the media," cruz said. the debate audience, clearly a sympathetic crowd, roared its approval, nearly drowning out cruz as he continued. "this is not a cage match," cruz added. "and, you look at the questions <u+2014> 'donald trump, are you a comic-book villain?' 'ben carson, can you do math?' 'john kasich, will you insult two people over here?' 'marco rubio, why don't you resign?' 'jeb bush, why have your numbers fallen?'" cruz contrasted these questions with those at the democratic debate, even though that event was put on by cnn. he said all the democrats were asked was, "which of you is more handsome and why?" several of the other republican candidates tried to get in on the crowd's appetite for media criticism before the evening was over. their staffs were also complaining about the in-your-face tone of the cnbc crew. after the debate, carson's campaign manager talked about renegotiating the terms of the remaining debates. reince priebus, the gop national chairman who took control of the debates this year and made deals with the various news outlets, also expressed dismay after the debate and said changes would be made to future formats. meanwhile, the man who has been proud of leading in polls among republicans since july, donald trump, held his own wednesday night despite a disappointing slide to no. 2 in some of the most recent tests both nationally and in iowa. trump delivered his stock lines about taxes, immigration and badly negotiated deals on trade and foreign relations. but the trump presence was a measure less effervescent than on the stump or in earlier debates. the new leader in some polls, carson, the retired neurosurgeon, reprised his role as the quiet man on stage. he had less speaking time than almost any other candidate, and when he had the spotlight, he did little to hold it. asked for a weakness, he cited his failure to think of himself as presidential material ("until hundreds of thousands of people began to tell me that i needed to do it"). he also seemed unsure of his footing at times when describing his tax rate plan and other economic matters. but carson, too, took the opportunity to push back on the cnbc journalists. when carl quintanilla asked about carson's association with a controversial maker of nutritional supplements, carson flatly denied any involvement and called the assertion "pure propaganda." in fact, carson starred in a promotional video for the company and may face more questions about his statement in the days ahead. but when quintanilla tried to follow up, the crowd booed and carson took the out: "see," he said, "they know." carly fiorina, regarded by many as the standout performer in the sept. 16 debate, managed to get more speaking time this time than any of her rivals <u+2014> in part, by resisting the moderators. but while she came across as self-assured and offered one of her best defenses of leadership at hewlett-packard a decade ago, fiorina did not have a memorable exchange with trump or any of the candidates. the other four candidates who took part may have experienced more frustration than fulfillment. rand paul, a senator from kentucky, was one of the three candidates with fewest minutes of airtime. his efforts to climb into the tax debate were largely unsuccessful. mike huckabee had his usual moments of folksy humor but few scoring opportunities. the man who had the highest hopes for this round may have been john kasich, the governor of ohio who has tried to go after the non-politician front-runners, attacking the unrealistic promises of lower taxes and an end to illegal immigration. kasich kicked off the evening with thinly veiled criticisms of carson and trump as potential occupants of the oval office. "my great concern is that we are on the verge, perhaps, of picking someone who cannot do this job," he charged, adding, "we need somebody who can lead." trump promptly fired back with a withering rebuttal about kasich's ohio success being a windfall from oil produced by fracking, and about kasich's partnership at lehman brothers shortly before that wall street firm collapsed and set off the worst of the 2008 financial panic. kasich had a comeback, but his offensive came up short.

rubio, cruz, christie improve their standing in third gop debate

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more than 50 individuals and entities have shelled out at least $1<u+00a0>million apiece to big-money groups backing presidential candidates <u+2014> with close to half of the big donors giving to a super pac aligned with former florida governor jeb bush. with 15 months to go before election day, donors have already contributed $272.5<u+00a0>million to independent groups supporting the large republican field, more than four times the $67<u+00a0>million raised through their official campaigns, according to a tally by the washington post. in all, 58 million-dollar donors together were responsible for $120<u+00a0>million donated to gop and democratic super pacs by june 30 <u+2014> more than 40 percent of the total amount raised by those groups. never before has so much money been donated by such a small number of people so early. the massive sums have empowered outside groups that face no contribution limits and are now serving as de facto arms of many campaigns. [how campaigns and their super pac backers work together] <u+201c>clearly the action is with the super pacs and with people who can write seven-digit and bigger checks,<u+201d> said henry barbour, a veteran gop fundraiser based in mississippi who is informally advising former texas governor rick perry in his run. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s amazing, but a handful of people really can have a material impact on the race.<u+201d> topping the list of mega-donors on the right is new york hedge-fund manager robert mercer, who donated $11 million to a super pac aligned with sen. ted cruz (r-tex.). houston private equity investor toby neugebauer gave $10<u+00a0>million to another cruz super pac. kelcy warren, a dallas energy executive and the national finance chairman for perry<u+2019>s campaign, gave $6 million to two pro-perry super pacs. half a dozen donors have made $5<u+00a0>million contributions to republican hopefuls, including florida car magnate norman braman, who is backing sen. marco rubio of florida; dallas tech entrepreneur darwin deason, who is supporting perry; and wisconsin roofing billionaire diane hendricks, who is supporting wisconsin gov. scott walker. while more money is flowing to republican-allied pacs than to the official campaigns, the situation is the reverse on the democratic side: 80 percent of the money raised to support hillary rodham clinton and her rivals went directly to their campaigns. sen. bernie sanders of vermont has said he does not want the support of a super pac. but clinton is flanked by her own wealthy allies who have the means to pump tens of millions into independent groups on her behalf. already, eight have given $1<u+00a0>million to priorities usa action, one of her allied super pacs, which raised $15.6 million in all. the big backers include hedge-fund investor george soros, media executive haim saban and film director steven spielberg. for the first time, nearly every presidential contender is backed by a deep-pocketed ally <u+2014> and, in many cases, several. the groups are run by longtime advisers and former aides to the white house hopefuls, who have edged closer to their aligned super pacs than previous candidates dared. <u+201c>there is now a new norm in how presidential candidates will run for office,<u+201d> said david donnelly, president of every voice, a group that advocates reducing the influence of the wealthy on politics. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s not about how much support they get from voters in iowa and new hampshire as the first benchmark. it<u+2019>s about how much they can direct to these huge super pacs.<u+201d> bush spent most of the year headlining high-dollar fundraisers for his allied super pac, right to rise, helping it collect a record $103<u+00a0>million while maintaining that he had yet not decided whether to run. the group hit its expected $100<u+00a0>million goal on june 30, the last day of the fundraising period, when it cashed 82 contributions totaling $3.5<u+00a0>million. among them was a $1<u+00a0>million donation from shahla ansary, wife of former iranian diplomat hushang ansary. he had given $1<u+00a0>million in february. [racing to reach $100 million, bush super pac fundraising spiked in last three weeks of quarter] in all, 20 individuals and four companies donated at least $1<u+00a0>million to right to rise, with the largest sum coming from coral gables health-care executive miguel fernandez, who gave the super pac more than $3<u+00a0>million. fernandez told the wall street journal that he was not looking for any favors from bush. <u+201c>i am sure there<u+2019>s at least one [donor] that wants a solar power business and another who wants to build submarines,<u+201d> fernandez joked, according to the paper. <u+201c>i have only given to jeb because i think he has the right values.<u+201d> the super pacs supporting bush<u+2019>s rivals for the gop nomination were largely financed by a few wealthy patrons. four groups called keep the promise that are supporting cruz together raised more than $37<u+00a0>million, but 95 percent came from just seven contributors, including $15<u+00a0>million from the wilks family of cisco, tex., which made billions designing hydraulic fracturing trucks. half of the $20<u+00a0>million raised by unintimidated pac, which is supporting walker, came from two women: hendricks and marlene ricketts, wife of td ameritrade founder joe ricketts. rubio<u+2019>s allied super pac, conservative solutions pac, brought in slightly more than $16<u+00a0>million. nearly a third of it came from braman, a longtime patron of the florida senator. another $3<u+00a0>million came from lawrence ellison, the chief technology officer of oracle, while laura perlmutter, wife of marvel entertainment ceo isaac perlmutter, donated $2 million. besilu stables llc, a florida-based horse-racing operation owned by florida businessman benjamin leon, gave $2.5<u+00a0>million. america leads, the super pac supporting chris christie, raised $11<u+00a0>million. hedge-fund billionaire steve cohen and his wife, alexandra, gave the group $2<u+00a0>million, and another $1<u+00a0>million came from the winecup gamble ranch in nevada, owned by former reebok chief executive paul fireman. a super pac supporting former arkansas governor mike huckabee brought in a total of $3.6 million <u+2014> $3 million of which came from little rock agribusiness <u+00ad>executive ronald m. cameron. half of the $3.45<u+00a0>million raised by carly for america, which is backing former hewlett-packard chief executive carly fiorina, was donated by former univision head a. jerrold perenchio. the number of seven- and eight-figure checks flooding into the race alarms veteran party strategists, who worry that the power is moving away from the candidates to independent and unaccountable groups. <u+201c>you do not have a level playing field any longer,<u+201d> said fred malek, a senior republican fundraiser. <u+201c>in my humble opinion, it pollutes the process. but since the law permits it, everyone is going to do it until the law changes.<u+201d> almost everyone, that is. at the moment, the gop field is led by a candidate who has said he doesn<u+2019>t need a super pac: real estate impresario donald trump, who claims to be worth more than $10<u+00a0>billion.

million-dollar donors pump huge sums into 2016 white house race

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kathmandu, nepal <u+2014> nepali citizens frustrated and angered by their government's chaotic and bureaucratic response to aiding earthquake victims are doing it themselves. they've hired their own trucks and stuffed vehicles with plastic sheets for shelter and bags of rice and lentils for food. yet as each day passes since the magnitude-7.8 earthquake hit april 25, this self-help effort is becoming more complicated. youth belonging to various political parties are putting up impromptu checkpoints on the road to the hardest hit areas or just chasing down vehicles with their motorbikes on narrow, isolated mountain roads and demanding the aid be handed over to them for distribution. such political maneuvering is not uncommon, but it is angering many nepalis. "i have nothing left. one daughter is buried under my house. my other daughter was sent to a hospital," said bhampagiri, 72, who lives in the hamlet of pawachok, a two-hour drive from this capital city. "i have no food. nothing. my house has collapsed so i sit here by the road and wait hoping someone will pass and help me," said bhampagiri, who goes by one name. in the past week, the nepali government has delayed customs clearance of international aid at nepal's only international airport in kathmandu and has been levying duty on truckloads of tarps being bused in from india by nepali good samaritans. at the same time, the nepali government has asked international donors to help with an additional 400,000 tents and tarpaulins, as well as blankets. the death toll is above 7,000 and is expected to rise significantly when hard hit but remote areas are reached. this week, the airport in kathmandu received some much needed help from about 150 u.s. marines. commanded by brig. gen. paul kennedy, the marines are helping to ease the piled up backup of aid material. they have brought in a uh-17 helicopter and four mv-22 ospreys capable of short landing and takeoffs with a maximum load of 20,000 pounds of cargo so they can access remote rural areas. the ospreys should help break the logistics bottleneck. they will be used to deliver food and plastic sheets to drop off points in the mountains, where relief teams will distribute them. "nepal is the worse case scenario," said kennedy, who has worked on natural disasters and knows nepal well. "it's landlocked, it's high altitude, it is going to tax even our military assets." access to food and shelter is critical in the coming days for hundreds of thousands of nepalis in the mountains. the epicenter of the earthquake is an area with just a few narrow and unstable dirt roads carved out of sheer mountain sides, making access exceedingly difficult. mud and brick houses are perched on tiny terraced fields with meandering goat trails leading to them. the earthquake not only flattened villages, hamlets and towns but it also cut them off from the rest of the country with massive landslides. many now can only be accessed on foot or by helicopter. before the arrival of the u.s. aircraft, nepal had been using for relief operations 27 helicopters <u+2014> seven belonging to the nepal army, six from private companies and 14 from the indian government. there is also a critical need for more trucks that can carry relief goods as far as the roads go into the mountains. this is just the beginning of what disaster experts call "the sexy phase," the first response period when the world is focused on the disaster and donations pour in. it is very important to get this phase right so that reconstruction can take off, said bill berger the head of usaid's disaster assistance response team . "there is not enough capacity in the world to get everything to all the people of nepal right now," berger said. "it has to move out based on need. we also have to plan the long-term." nearly all the nepalis in the mountains are farmers. every village has lost most of its young men to the middle east and malaysia, where they go for years to work as menial migrant workers, leaving behind parents, wives and sisters who now must fend with the overwhelming recovery challenges ahead. sindhupalchok, nepal's hardest hit district, is a scene of total devastation. some houses are just mounds of bricks, others are missing walls and roofs, and concrete buildings have fallen on their sides. while some aid has reached the devastation in the district's capital, chautara, no one has stopped to help the villages and hamlets along the way.

rural nepal devastated by earthquake still awaits aid

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washington (cnn) the republican party is waking up -- but it might already be too late. donald trump's stroll toward the gop presidential nomination is starting to turn the denial evident for months among key party power brokers to desperation. the mood of some in the party was aptly summed up thursday by republican lobbyist and former congressman vin weber on cnn's "the lead" with jake tapper. "all of a sudden, everybody is saying 'oh my god <u+2014> the house is burning down we should have done something before it got this far,'" said weber, who is supporting john kasich in the presidential race and is calling on the party to unite behind the ohio governor. sen. marco rubio, who pulled out of the presidential race on tuesday after failing to take down trump, had a grim assessment of the republican party's state of play on his first day back at work in the senate on thursday. "hopefully there's time to still prevent a trump nomination, which i think would fracture the party and be damaging to the conservative movement," rubio told reporters. anti-trump forces are getting a sense of the backlash they'd face if they deny him the nomination. trump warned earlier this week on cnn's "new day" that the convention could deteriorate into a "riot" if he is blocked from power. and on friday, a top trump aide threatened to give up his credentials as a convention delegate and leave the republican party in a stark warning to the gop about the "consequences" if trump is blocked from the nomination. "i will tell you this, if the republican party comes into that convention and jimmies with the rules and takes away the will of the people, the will of the republicans and the democrats and independents who voted for mr. trump, i will take off my credentials, i will leave the floor of that convention, and i will leave the republican party forever," sam clovis, a national co-chair for trump's campaign, said friday on "new day." the deepening anxiety in the gop was underscored by a meeting in washington thursday of prominent conservative leaders dedicated to finding a way to prevent trump from securing the 1,237 delegates needed for the nomination. trump's failure to win ohio on an otherwise successful night of primaries tuesday opened a narrow window for opposing forces in the republican party to wrest the nomination from him because it lengthened his odds of winning a majority of delegates. if he does fall short, trump could face an acrimonious contested convention in cleveland in july. conservative activist erick erickson raised the specter of a "unity" ticket to stop trump in a statement he issued after the meeting, noting that the party's revered icon abraham lincoln was not nominated until after the third convention ballot. "we believe that the issue of donald trump is greater than an issue of party," the statement read. "it is an issue of morals and character that all americans, not just those of us in the conservative movement, must confront." one person at the meeting, deborah demoss fonseca, a former aide to late sen. jesse helms, said that there was "definitely a consensus of not wanting donald trump." "i think there's still several scenarios that could play out. and i think this particular group will look for whatever it is that's going to do it," she said. thursday's meeting was especially intriguing because it appeared to be the most concerted effort yet by the conservative movement, many of whose adherents view the new york real estate mogul as a political apostate, to stop trump. but it remained unclear whether the initiative would be any more successful than previous attempts by the republican establishment to thwart trump. after all, a scorching speech by former gop nominee mitt romney did nothing to slow the outspoken businessman. nor did an extraordinary indictment by national review, which devoted most of an issue to debunking trump's conservative bona fides. and trump boasted at his victory party on tuesday night in florida that he had won the sunshine state despite a multi-million dollar negative ad blitz attacking him. and every candidate who tried to destroy trump by hammering him on policy, his past business deals or his sometimes vulgar outbursts <u+2014> including rubio, jeb bush, rick perry and bobby jindal -- only succeeded in sinking their own presidential prospects. the conservative uprising on thursday was not the only eye-opening example of the stop trump movement. former gop candidate lindsey graham, who once said choosing between trump and cruz would be like picking between being shot and poisoned, made his choice. the south carolina senator told cnn's dana bash that he was now lining up behind the texas senator and would help raise money for him. graham admitted that cruz was "not well liked" among his peers on capitol hill, but implied he was the lesser of two evils. "i have doubts about mr. trump," graham said. "i don't think he's a republican, i don't think he's a conservative, i think his campaign's built on xenophobia, race-baiting and religious bigotry. i think he'd be a disaster for our party and as senator cruz would not be my first choice, i think he is a republican conservative who i could support." the most fundamental weakness in any organized effort to stop trump in the remaining contests in the republican nomination is the math after more than half the states have voted. the billionaire only needs to win 55.5% of the remaining delegates to be awarded, according to a cnn estimate. although he has only won 47% of the delegates awarded so far, the field, now consisting of just trump, cruz and kasich, is much narrower than before and some contests are now winner take all affairs and do not hand out delegates proportionally as was the case in many previous contests. republican political strategist phillip stutts said the next six weeks will be crucial in defining whether any attempt to deprive trump of the nomination would even be possible. "if trump is not slowed down, there is not a convention fight to be had," stutts said, pointing to a set of northeastern primaries on april 26 in connecticut, delaware, maryland, pennsylvania and rhode island as critical to foes bent on stopping trump. another complication for the anti-trump forces is that the billionaire could be the strongest force in a string of coming primaries. to slow his march, kasich must show he can harvest more than the single victory he has so far -- on his home ground of ohio. alternatively, cruz, who is trump's closest rival with 418 delegates to the billionaire's 678, according to a cnn estimate, would have to show an appeal outside conservative heartland states that he is yet to demonstrate on a large scale. the strength of trump's position has some of his allies warning that any attempt to snatch victory from his grasp would not just be unfair, it would be futile. hopes that a compromise candidate could emerge at a contested convention also took a blow on thursday when house speaker paul ryan ruled himself out <u+2014> though he admitted that a delegate showdown was becoming more likely in cleveland. as the idea of the first contested convention in decades is gathering steam, the institutional leadership of the republican party finds itself in an unenviable position. any attempt to deprive trump of the nomination would not just cause uproar in a year in which establishment politicians have been toppled. it would effectively mean the disenfranchisement of 7.5 million voters who have backed trump in the primary process so far -- voters who the gop can ill afford to lose at a time when national demographics give democrats an easier route to the white house. that's why officials like republican national committee communications director sean spicer say that the process of selecting a nominee must be inviolate if a candidate reaches the magic number of 1,237 delegates. "our job is to wait until the voters decide who that nominee will be," spicer told wolf blitzer on cnn's "the situation room," calling on republicans to unite to fight for the "bigger prize" -- depriving the democrats of the white house. if the latest attempts to thwart trump fail, and party power brokers decide they cannot stomach the republican nominee, there may be a third option by embracing the final stage of grief <u+2014> acceptance <u+2014> and trying to limit the damage that they believe having trump at the top of their ticket would unleash. that could mean striving to ensure that even if democrats win the white house, they are unable to boost an incoming president by making significant gains in congress. "keeping the majorities in the senate and the house is for us where the donors should be putting their money," said stutts.

is the gop's stop trump campaign too late?

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killing obama administration rules, dismantling obamacare and pushing through tax reform are on the early to-do list.

rubio battles cruz for iowa edge

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killing obama administration rules, dismantling obamacare and pushing through tax reform are on the early to-do list.

insiders: marco rubio crashed and burned

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republican pat mccrory is trailing in a tight race, but his campaign is challenging votes.

poll: alarm, anxiety

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a long-term highway bill, passed by the house thursday, took years to work its way to the surface of a congress that was never designed for the quick fix. house speaker paul ryan (r) of wisconsin smiles during his news conference on capitol hill in washington on thursday. the house has voted to continue transportation programs for six years with no significant increase in spending. in the new house of ryan, where lawmakers have been promised a greater say in legislating, members burned the<u+00a0>midnight<u+00a0>oil this week as they worked through scores of amendments to overwhelmingly pass a six-year, bipartisan highway bill<u+00a0>on thursday. it was the first long-term bill in a decade to repair america<u+2019>s crumbling roads, bridges, and transit systems, and members jumped at the new opportunity to give their input. <u+201c>there<u+2019>s a lot of pent-up, legislative energy around here, and when a real piece of legislation comes along that impacts every district in america dramatically <u+2026> then a lot of people have a lot of ideas,<u+201d> says rep. peter defazio (d) of oregon, the top democrat on the house transportation committee and lead co-sponsor of the bill. the past few days have taught a lesson: patience. but<u+00a0>ask congressman defazio, and he'll say the patience needed to bring this bill to reality has been measured in years, not hours or days. he<u+2019>s been working toward this day since he was named a subcommittee chairman in 2007. his own president resisted his efforts. then the house changed hands. even now, he acknowledges, the bill isn't what he wanted, since it keeps<u+00a0>spending flat and is funded for only three years. but after such a long slog, he's pleased.<u+00a0><u+201c>i<u+2019>ve never really stopped working on it.<u+201d> in life, patience is a virtue, and on capitol hill, doubly so. congress was never designed for the quick fix. the founding fathers deliberately created two very different chambers so that there would be an opportunity for <u+201c>second thoughts,<u+201d> as former senate historian don ritchie puts it. turning ideas into a workable form and winning backing for a bill as big as this requires educating members, hearing them out, negotiating, and working with outside interests. it can take years to get to yes. yet that<u+2019>s easily forgotten or dismissed by some newcomers. this is especially true in the age of twitter, when voters know instantly what their senator or representative did <u+2013> or didn<u+2019>t do <u+2013> and then make their demands for instant results immediately known. consider freshman sen. marco rubio (r) of florida, a man in a hurry to become president. he got fed up with the slow pace of the senate, where in his first year in 2011 he asked in a floor speech, <u+201c>do we just stand around and do nothing?<u+201d> for lawmakers who were once top dogs at home <u+2013> senator rubio was speaker of the house in florida <u+2013> it<u+2019>s frustrating to arrive as a pup in a slow-moving congress that values seniority. in his early years, rubio was left to author symbolic resolutions such as one that congratulated the miami heat for their nba championship. he got his big break when he joined the <u+201c>gang of eight<u+201d> senators who pushed bipartisan immigration reform through the senate in 2013. then he watched it die slowly from neglect in the house. if he<u+2019>s elected president, <u+201c>we can begin to fix some of these issues that i<u+2019>ve been so frustrated we<u+2019>ve been unable to address during my time in the senate,<u+201d><u+00a0> rubio told<u+00a0>nbc<u+2019>s matt lauer recently. has the floridian talked to president obama <u+2013> himself a sprinting former senator <u+2013> about the frustrations of working with congress, even when your party controls both houses? john boehner underscored the need for patience when he gave up the speaker<u+2019>s gavel to paul ryan (r) of wisconsin last week. <u+201c>real change takes time,<u+201d> the outgoing speaker said to a packed chamber, as he reflected on his accomplishments. <u+201c>freedom makes all things possible. but patience is what makes all things real.<u+201d> a subtle dig at the hard-line, rebellious freedom caucus, who drove him out of the speakership? <u+201c>when you get people who are impatient and ideologically driven, they feel like fish out of water<u+201d> in congress, says former house historian raymond smock. <u+201c>the truth of the matter is, they are, because ideology is the opposite of pragmatism.<u+201d> a functioning congress requires its members to want to govern, mr. smock says. many people have many ideas on how to fix things, but the country is a big, wide place and the world is complicated. <u+201c>things are not so simple, and ideology tends to make things simple.<u+201d> he quotes former democratic speaker tip o<u+2019>neill: <u+201c>if you want efficient government, get yourself a dictatorship.<u+201d> frustration with the slowly turning gears of congress is not new. howard shuman, an aide to former sen. paul douglas (d) of illinois during the civil rights fights of the 1950s and <u+2019>60s, told historian ritchie in an<u+00a0> oral history<u+00a0>about his <u+201c>seven-year principle.<u+201d> that<u+2019>s how long he found it took to get<u+00a0>from the inception of a significant legislative idea to its passage. <u+201c>most of the major legislation i worked on, that was new, forward looking, which started out heavily opposed and without a mandate, after seven years of convincing, of publicity, of talking, of arguing, of hearings, finally made it.... it took that much time, and that much effort, and that much struggle to come off. <u+2018>struggle<u+2019> is the word.<u+201d> in truth, the battle over the highway bill isn't even finished yet.<u+00a0>it could get full, six-year funding when house and senate negotiators come together to hammer out the final version. at points, congress has tried to make itself more efficient. after world war ii, for instance, it tried joint committees, so witnesses wouldn<u+2019>t have to testify twice. it didn<u+2019>t work, mainly because the house and senate are such different bodies <u+2013> one controlled by the majority, the other designed to operate more by consensus. crises, such as wars and economic catastrophes, can speed up action. and when things get really stuck, lawmakers try changing the rules <u+2013> such as speaker ryan says he wants to do. ironically, by opening up the process so that his members <u+2013> particularly the freedom caucus <u+2013> have more say and fewer gripes, it will take longer to get things done. on the other hand, it may also give him the buy-in he needs to move bills forward. <u+201c>everyone wants to feel part of the process and have their proposal considered,<u+201d> says rep. john mica (r) of florida, the former chairman of the transportation committee, in an interview. speaker boehner, too, opened up the process when he took over, but power eventually massed back at the top <u+2013> partly for greater efficiency. this goes in cycles, says congressman mica. <u+201c>now that there<u+2019>s been a rebellion, we<u+2019>ll go back to this open process and see how it works.<u+201d> defazio, on the other side of the aisle, thinks it could work well. <u+201c>this is the way it used to be. we got more things done back then, even though it was more time consuming.<u+201d>

paul ryan, a highway bill, and the political virtue of patience (+video)

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<u+201c>we obviously spoke about my passion and his passion, which [is] veterans and veterans issues,<u+201d> he said.

hillary clinton's first test

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the white house has revised existing plans to withdraw the majority of troops from afghanistan by the end of the obama administration. uber in court: is it a digital service, or an unlicensed taxi company? uber in court: is it a digital service, or an unlicensed taxi company? why are authorities slow to call the ohio state attack 'terrorism'? president obama returns a salute prior to boarding air force one before his departure from andrews air force base, md. oct. 9. obama will keep 5,500 us troops in afghanistan when he leaves office in 2017, according to senior administration officials. president obama<u+00a0>will announce thursday plans to slow efforts to bring us troops home from<u+00a0>afghanistan, and instead maintain the current level of 9,800 through much of 2016 before attempting another drawdown effort, senior administration officials said. "our mission won't change," an official told reuters. us troops will keep training and providing oversight to afghan forces, while working to prevent al qaeda from threatening us security, the officials said. the obama administration originally aimed to bring all but a force of about 1,000 troops for american embassy officials' security based in kabul before leaving office in january 2017. officials are now saying troops will be brought down to 5,500 starting sometime in 2017, under a new administration, and based out of the cities of kabul, bagram, jalalabad, and kandahar. maintaining a presence of 5,500 troops in four places will cost about $14.6 billion per year, a marked increase over the original plan to keep a smaller force at the kabul embassy for an estimated $10 billion, the official said. the decision involved months of negotiations between washington, afghan leaders, and commanders in the field about how<u+00a0>to support afghan forces, senior us administration officials said. at the end of 2014, obama announced an end to the combat mission in afghanistan, which spanned 13 years following 9/11. since that proclamation, afghan troops <u+2013> supported by us and nato forces <u+2013> have led national security for the country. but late last month, taliban militants overtook the northern city of kunduz. for 15 days insurgents sent civilians fleeing their homes, destroyed government buildings, freed prisoners, and hunted officials. the city siege was the first since us troops have been engaged in afghanistan, and signaled that afghan security forces are not well equipped to handle the taliban on its own. "certainly we're watching and seeing how the afghan security forces engage quite tenaciously in the fight in kunduz," an official told reuters. nato allies are also considering a continued presence, the official said. more than 6,000 non-us forces are now in<u+00a0>afghanistan<u+00a0>as part of the "resolute support" mission. afghan president ashraf ghani and chief executive abdullah abdullah have advocated for a continued us military presence and last march discussed a slowed-down timeline with<u+00a0>us military and administration officials while on a visit to the white house, according to officials. "the afghan government is very comfortable with this commitment. they've been indicating a desire for this commitment for some time," an official told reuters. this report contains material from reuters and the associated press.

why obama is changing tune on pulling troops from afghanistan

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<u+201c>senator johnny isakson fought president obama<u+2019>s reckless deal with the iranian regime. now iran is already violating the agreement <u+2014> illegally testing ballistic missiles, threatening israel and supporting terrorism in the middle east.<u+201d> this ad begins with isakson, who is running for his third senate term, saying: <u+201c>i voted against the nuclear deal with iran for a ton of reasons.<u+201d> then, a narrator claims that iran is already violating the agreement, which the senator<u+00a0>opposed, by illegally testing ballistic missiles. (we spotted this ad on the website of our partners, political tv ad archive.) is that really the case? we did some digging. the formal name for the deal reached in july between iran and world powers, including the united states, is the joint comprehensive plan of action<u+00a0>(jcpoa), commonly<u+00a0>called the <u+201c>iran deal.<u+201d> isakson, member of the senate committee on foreign relations, opposed the deal.<u+00a0>but senate republicans failed to advance legislation that would have allowed them to reject the agreement. the agreement was aimed at curbing iran<u+2019>s nuclear program in exchange for relief from international<u+00a0>sanctions.<u+00a0>after the deal was reached, the united nations security council <u+2014> which had imposed sanctions on iran to pressure it to negotiate <u+2014> adopted resolution 2231. the resolution<u+00a0>endorsed the deal and outlined conditions under which sanctions are to be lifted. under the resolution, ballistic missile restrictions expire after eight years. this is an important point in<u+00a0>the context of isakson<u+2019>s ad: the iran deal is not the same as u.n. security council resolution 2231. the nuclear agreement was officially implemented this<u+00a0>january, after the international atomic energy agency (iaea) certified that iran had complied with all the nuclear-related measures it agreed to in july. yet iran has continued to test<u+00a0>ballistic missiles and said it will<u+00a0>not stop. the deal does not prohibit the testing or development of ballistic missiles. but the u.n. resolution does contain restrictions relating to ballistic missiles. so how is iran able to continue its testing? experts say the resolution<u+2019>s language allows iran to argue that its ballistic missiles do not fit within the restrictions laid out in resolution 2231. previous<u+00a0>u.n. resolutions had stated<u+00a0>that the council<u+00a0><u+201c>decides that iran shall not undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.<u+201d> the new resolution states<u+00a0><u+201c>iran is called upon not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology.<u+201d> the language change from <u+201c>decides that iran shall not<u+201d> to <u+201c>iran is called upon<u+201d> represents<u+00a0>a softening in tone, signaling a<u+00a0>more non-legally-binding appeal.<u+00a0>this change<u+00a0>was made precisely because the iran deal<u+00a0>does not contain any limits on the country<u+2019>s<u+00a0>missile programs,<u+00a0>said jeffrey lewis, director of the east asia nonproliferation program at the middlebury<u+00a0>institute of international studies in monterey. <u+201c>it is perfectly respectable for opponents of the agreement to object to the iran deal on these grounds <u+2014> the jcpoa removes missile-related sanctions without requiring iran to limit its missile programs,<u+201d> lewis said. <u+201c>this was the hardest part of the agreement for me to accept, even if that sanctions relief only occurs after eight years.<u+201d> further, the new resolution refers to missiles <u+201c>designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons,<u+201d> rather than <u+201c>capable<u+201d> of such delivery. so iran now<u+00a0>argues that its missiles are not <u+201c>designed<u+201d> for such capability. <u+201c>if one finds that the missiles used are designed for nuclear weapon delivery, it appears to me that there will evidently be also a problem with the compliance with the jcpoa, which bans weaponization activities,<u+201d> said olli heinonen, who led<u+00a0>the iaea<u+2019>s safeguards section during the 2003-2005 talks between iran and three european powers (britain, france and germany). that argument is possible but will be difficult to prove, experts say. a legal determination hasn<u+2019>t been made one way or the other, meaning that the testing is not yet a violation of the iran deal. the isakson ad claims that iran is <u+201c>already violating the agreement<u+201d> through these missile tests. the citation in the ad is an op-ed in u.s. news and world report that iran<u+2019>s missile tests highlight weaknesses in the nuclear<u+00a0>deal. the senator<u+2019>s<u+00a0>staff pointed to news articles describing the tests as a violation of the u.n. resolution.<u+00a0>they noted that president obama had accused iran<u+00a0>of<u+00a0>going against the <u+201c>spirit<u+201d> of the nuclear agreement, as he did at an april news conference: but the ad itself does not say that iran<u+2019>s actions violate the <u+201c>spirit<u+201d> of the deal or that it violates the u.n. resolution. it says iran is violating the agreement that isakson opposed. that agreement would be the iran deal, not the u.n. resolution. <u+201c>there<u+2019>s frustration [over the testing], and we have to look for effective policy tools to impede iran<u+2019>s missile program. but none of those tools, unfortunately, is the ability to say this is a violation of the iran nuclear deal,<u+201d> said robert einhorn, senior fellow at brookings institution and former special adviser on arms control and nonproliferation at the state department. einhorn added that it<u+2019>s difficult to use the security council resolution as a policy tool, because russia<u+00a0>and china are reluctant to view<u+00a0>missile tests<u+00a0>as a violation of, or inconsistent with, the resolution. isakson<u+2019>s ad is about the iran deal and his opposition to it. it claims that iran is <u+201c>already violating<u+201d> the nuclear agreement by illegally testing ballistic missiles. yet the actual deal did not have restrictions on ballistic missiles testing. instead, the u.n. resolution that implements the deal contains the language. a range of experts we consulted said that the testing could be argued as violating the iran deal but that it will be difficult. it<u+2019>s an important technical distinction that is not reflected in the ad, ultimately misleading viewers. moreover, it<u+2019>s a matter of interpretation as to whether the testing is <u+201c>illegal<u+201d> under the resolution. we understand<u+00a0>that it<u+2019>s probably not as catchy for a narrator in a campaign ad to say, <u+201c>western leaders view iran<u+2019>s missile tests as a violation of the u.n. resolution passed in tandem<u+201d> or that the testing is <u+201c>inconsistent with the spirit of the iran deal.<u+201d> but both of those phrases are accurate, and are certainly preferable to<u+00a0>the sweeping, inaccurate claim in the ad. send us facts to check by filling out this form sign up for the fact checker weekly newsletter

is iran <u+2018>already violating<u+2019> the nuclear deal by <u+2018>illegally testing ballistic missiles?<u+2019>

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as democrats grow nervous, clinton tries to appeal to party leaders hillary clinton has spent much of the summer fending off questions about her private email account during her time as secretary of state. bernie sanders is gaining on her in the polls. and there's a looming possible challenge from sitting vice president joe biden. that's a far cry from the beginning of this campaign when she was seen as an almost inevitable democratic nominee. now, she's trying to regroup and make the case before the very people who will choose that nominee <u+2014> not voters, but her base: the party establishment. "i have been fighting for families and underdogs my entire life, and i'm not going to stop now," clinton said at the summer meeting of the democratic national committee in minneapolis friday. "in fact, i'm just getting warmed up." she vowed that she is "not taking a single primary voter or caucusgoer for granted." but party leaders are growing concerned that clinton has not wrested control of the storyline of those emails. it's made many bite their nails, and it's given the other four candidates currently in the race some hope that there's an opening for someone else. sanders, an independent from vermont who caucuses with democrats in the senate, got a boost saturday night from an iowa poll showing him gaining on clinton, just 7 points behind the front-runner. he underlined <u+2014> in a not-so-veiled shot at clinton <u+2014> that "politics as usual" and "same old, same old" is not going to work in firing up democratic voters to get out to the polls. making a parallel argument to the one conservatives make on the republican side, sanders blamed the party, in part, for major losses in the 2014 midterm elections, because liberal base voters didn't have something to vote for. "we lost because voter turnout was abysmally, embarrassingly low, and millions of working people, young people, and people of color gave up on politics as usual and they stayed home," sanders said. he added, "with all due respect <u+2014> and i do not mean to insult anyone here <u+2014> that turnout, that enthusiasm will not happen with politics as usual. the same old, same old will not work." former maryland gov. martin o'malley also took aim at the party's establishment, repeating his criticism of the democratic debate schedule, which begins in october. he described it as a "rigged process" and "a cynical move to delay and limit our own party debates." o'malley, who trails in the polls, wants more debates. "four debates, and four debates only, we are told <u+2014> not asked <u+2014> before voters in our earliest states make their decision," o'malley said, making for a rather awkward moment with dnc chairwoman debbie wasserman schultz as he left the stage. biden did not attend the meeting in minneapolis. but in a conference call last week, the vice president told dnc members that he has been talking with his family about whether or not to enter the race. he said if he runs, he wants to give the campaign his whole heart and soul. "and right now, both are pretty well banged up," biden said. his son beau, a rising star in the democratic party, died of brain cancer in may. ahead of her speech, clinton released a series of memos highlighting her organizational strength in the four early voting states. she campaigned in iowa last week with tom vilsack, the agriculture secretary and former iowa governor. vilsack was asked if his endorsement of clinton, while biden is considering a run, will make for awkward cabinet meetings. "i love joe biden <u+2014> just like we all do. he's a wonderful man," vilsack said. but he said campaigns require difficult choices, and he and his wife are supporting clinton. it may already be too late for biden in the minds of many dnc members, who have backed clinton by now. take, for example, florida committeeman jon m. ausman, who said this to politico in minneapolis: by rolling out early endorsements, clinton is wise to try to make a show of strength now to ward off a biden run, says mo elleithee, executive director of georgetown university's institute of politics and public service. elleithee is also the immediate past dnc communications director and worked for clinton's 2008 campaign. "[biden] will not have oxygen in the room if she has locked people down," elleithee said. "i think he is probably looking at the field and saying, 'ok, at this late date in the process, can i build the organization? can i raise the money? and can my message break through?' " asked about biden, clinton said she believes the vice president is facing a tough decision, and she wants to give him the space and time to make it. she told reporters in minneapolis that she's also learned some lessons from her primary loss to president obama in 2008. "i got a lot of votes," she said, "but i didn't <u+2014> i didn't get enough delegates. and, so, i think it's understandable that my focus is going to be on delegates as well as votes this time."

as democrats grow nervous, clinton tries to appeal to party leaders

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he has been roundly condemned for these statement by key gop figureheads like senator lindsey graham, who called him a <u+201c>xenophobic, race-baiting, religious bigot.<u+201d> but the gop should understand trump<u+2019>s popularity as a case of their chickens coming home to roost. the modern republican party has secured its base by pandering to the worst impulses of white male, working class, and white christian fundamentalist rage. only trump doesn<u+2019>t use a dogwhistle. he barks. and every time he does the gop base responds by replenishing his poll numbers. although this doesn<u+2019>t seem like a viable longterm strategy, the short-term effects are important to watch. the responsiveness of the american public to his rhetoric of keeping white people safe reminds us again of the extent to which narratives about white safety drive u.s. social policy particularly on the right. for the cause of white safety much of the american public finds it reasonable to restrict the movement of muslims both inside and outside of the u.s. but we don<u+2019>t restrict conservative white men on the grounds that they disproportionately commit mass shootings at public places <u+2013> churches, schools and colleges, movie theaters, and health care facilities. another major effect of trump<u+2019>s rhetoric is the increased threat of violence that muslim americans face, because a front-running candidate for the presidency is using reckless discourse to substantiate the legitimacy of islamophobic views. since the paris attacks last month there has been a sharp uptick in vandalism and violent rhetoric against mosques in the u.s. and abroad. my muslim colleagues and friends have described feelings of heightened anxiety and fear as they move through public space and send their children to school. in new york, a young school<u+00a0>girl was attacked by classmates who called her <u+201c>isis<u+201d> and tried to rip off her hijab. the gop base is not merely racially ignorant; they are also prone to violence. by trump<u+2019>s logic, we should be placing tracking devices on all socially conservative white men who own guns. we should be interrogating the source of these white men<u+2019>s radical views. we should understand the church, particularly the conservative evangelical church as a breeding ground for white terrorism. white evangelicalism is the fundamentalist ideological arm of white social conservatism and of white american male terrorism. the story of 21st<u+00a0>century u.s. state violence is not only a story of anti-blackness. it is also a story of state-sanctioned islamophobia that uses the tragic terroristic acts of 9/11 as a framework to mistreat muslim americans, and other americans who appear to be of arab or middle eastern descent. (there is no acknowledgement that not all arabs are muslims.) using the extreme acts of a few to condemn the peaceful lives of the many is a hallmark of the american script of racism. white americans do this to black people when they suggest that black intraracial violence justifies the overpolicing of all black people. americans do this to muslims when we demand that key islamic religious leaders step forward to quickly condemn the violence, so that we will not mistake lack of censure for allegiance. yet, we did not require or expect conservative white male politicians and religious leaders to issue statements after the planned parenthood shooting affirming that christian social values are anti-violent and condemning the actions of the shooter as an egregious mischaracterization of christian values and principles. we did not ask all white men to feel shame over the actions of the shooter. the myth of white individualism absolves white people of a collective reckoning with the ways that white fundamentalism breeds violence against people of all colors and social backgrounds. this is why we must begin to understand whiteness as a kind of violent fundamentalism, one at the heart of the american project. fundamentalism is always a struggle over values and an attempt by those who feel marginalized to order the universe through a set of moral absolutes that not-so-coincidentally also concede power to their particular worldview. donald trump is not particularly religious, despite his meeting with black pastors. but he deploys whiteness as ideology with the fundamentalist zeal of the worst kinds of religious zealots and proselytizers. his rhetoric about protecting the u.s.-mexico border<u+2014>rhetoric that has been unfortunately taken up by two misguided black female trump enthusiasts<u+2014>is just one more example of the kind of power laden demands for purity that adhere to fundamentalist ideologies. whiteness as a fundamentalist ideology frames all others as enemies of the project of white supremacy. it authorizes violence against all who divest from the project of whiteness. it uses a narrative of marginalization and the need to regain power (to take america back) to justify aggressive and violent acts towards non-white groups. and it values and seeks to perpetuate whiteness as a way of life. until we dismantle white fundamentalism, no people of color will be safe. all fundamentalist belief systems view other belief systems in zero-sum terms. evangelical christianity believes that the truer it is, the less true every other belief system is. white/american fundamentalism and islamic fundamentalism also engage each other in zero-sum geopolitical terms. they will be locked into an endlessly violent battle of wills. to make it more plain, on the homefront, white americans respond so strongly to acts of islamic terror and with such fear, because they recognize this same capacity for fundamentalist rage in themselves. in a zero-sum battle of fundamentalism, either we are invading their shores or they are invading ours. game recognize game. but terror and violence are not a game. people of color frequently become casualities of war in these internecine battles of competing fundamentalisms. reinscribing whiteness and pedaling white fundamentalism as an ideology befitting of the 21st century will cause innumerable harm to all people of color. as a case in point, trump used the japanese internment to justify his current ideas about muslims. and this is perhaps one of the most fundamental lessons that this black lives matter moment can teach us: a nation that is wholly adversarial to black life is not a nation fit for any non-white lives to inhabit. in america, islamic fundamentalism is not our biggest threat. white fundamentalism is. and it is long past time for us to do something about it.

the all-american terror of donald trump: inside the nightmare ideology that<u+2019>s made him a hero to white fundamentalists

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a un meeting aims to coordinate financial efforts against the islamic state. it can't deliver a knockout blow, but it can make an impact. how snl's 'the bubble' sketch about polarization is all too true smoke rises as iraqi security forces and allied popular mobilization forces shell islamic state group positions at an oil field outside beiji, iraq, 155 miles north of baghdad last month. the united states and russia are going after the islamic state group<u+2019>s oil industry, destroying refineries and hundreds of tanker trucks transporting oil from eastern syria in a heavy bombardment in recent days aiming to break the extremists<u+2019> biggest source of income. the finance ministers set to meet at the united nations can<u+2019>t put the islamic state in a financial vise. but they can deliver some critical blows to an organization already showing signs of financial strain. and for a un security council often at odds, the meeting of its finance ministers next week comes at an opportune moment, when terrorists attacks worldwide have created a sense of shared purpose <u+2013> even, it seems, between the united states and russia. the core of the islamic state<u+2019>s wealth is, in many respects, beyond the reach of next week<u+2019>s meetings, hosted by the us. only turkey can shut its borders to the smugglers who carry islamic state oil and other contraband, and only military force can deprive the group of the territory it uses for extortion and taxation. but a more coordinated effort at targeting the islamic state<u+2019>s finances can pay dividends. the us and others, for example, have used bank reports of suspicious financial transactions to more effectively target locations where the islamic state is producing and loading oil products. ramping up this coordination is akin to <u+201c>squeezing the balloon<u+201d> of islamic state finances <u+2013> though<u+00a0><u+201c>not yet hard enough to pop it,<u+201d><u+00a0>says matthew levitt, director of the counterterrorism and intelligence program at the washington institute for near east policy. and it is vital to defeating the islamic state, he says. <u+201c>any opportunity to get this level of attention and cooperation on an issue that will be central to destroying isis should be seized and built upon.<u+201d> terrorist attacks linked to the islamic state in beirut, paris, and san bernadino, calif., appear to have galvanized the international community. <u+201c>what is reassuring is how much the nations of the world are taking this threat more and more seriously and working together with greater unity,<u+201d> said farhan haq, a spokesman for un secretary general ban ki-moon, to journalists earlier this week. particularly promising are indications the us and russia <u+201c>agree that the effort to dry up isis funding can and must be toughened up,<u+201d> says mr. levitt, using another acronym for the islamic state. both the us and russia are pushing for a new council resolution on terror financing and could agree on one text by the dec. 17 summit. already, there are indications that the islamic state is feeling a financial pinch. holding the finance ministers summit at the security council underscores the importance world leaders are placing on both terror financing and the coordination of financial, intelligence, and military efforts. the summit will mark the first time that a council session will be chaired by a financial official <u+2013> us treasury secretary jack lew. the finance ministers can work to apply greater scrutiny across the board <u+2013> from financial transactions that offer crucial clues about the islamic state economy to money brought into the islamic state by foreign fighters and donors around the region. but the summit can only do so much. half or more of the islamic state<u+2019>s financial resources are generated from taxation or extortion within the territories the group controls in syria and iraq. that means that successfully cutting islamic state funding is directly linked to the international military campaigns aimed at shrinking its territory. <u+201c>there are a number of actions that can be taken to reduce the financial streams, but one thing is clear: if you want to deprive isis of cash, you deprive it of territory,<u+201d> says jonathan schanzer, vice president for research at the foundation for the defense of democracies in washington. moreover, the islamic state trafficks much of its oil and antiquities across turkey<u+2019>s border with syria, experts say. the us has been pressing turkey for months <u+2013> mostly behind closed doors <u+2013> to do more, while russia has been much more public with its accusations. next week<u+2019>s meetings are an opportunity for the international community to get on the same page to tackle some of these bigger funding streams. <u+201c>we<u+2019>re not going to get anywhere on a critical issue like terror financing if it all sinks into a lot of finger-pointing and recriminations,<u+201d> says levitt. <u+201c>if you can get beyond the bickering, then a lot more good can be done if you focus on helping turkey shut down that border.<u+201d>

aiming to break isis, dollar by dollar

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<u+201c>i<u+2019>ve got my six-month, regular cancer checkup in june, and so i<u+2019>m saying i hope they don<u+2019>t come out with any kind of decision, just in case it<u+2019>s bad news, until after,<u+201d> hines said. <u+201c>you always get nervous, usually a day before or day of, going for a checkup. but i think i started a little more on the worrying ahead of time.<u+201d> hines, 59, has been relying on health insurance purchased through the affordable care act marketplaces to help cover the costs of those checkups. but she has the misfortune of residing in a state, virginia, where the federal government is operating that marketplace. because of that, she could end up losing her tax subsidy to help purchase coverage right at the time her health takes a dive for the worse. the supreme court will issue a ruling this month on a lawsuit engineered by conservative activists alleging that a brief phrase in the law -- <u+201c>exchange established by the state<u+201d> -- means subsidies can only be provided to individuals residing in states that set up their own health insurance exchanges. should the justices side with obamacare's critics, hines would be one of an estimated 6.4 million people in 34 states whose subsidies will disappear. many will be forced to drop their health insurance because of heightened cost. for someone like hines, who has had breast cancer three times, most recently in 2009, this presents a hobson's choice. she considers health care coverage essential and must get screenings twice a year to ensure her cancer doesn't come back. but she has little money to afford insurance on her own. a former public relations professional, she<u+2019>s devoted her life to caring for her ailing, octogenarian mother, and currently works part-time as an educator at the aquarium near her home in virginia beach. her low income qualifies hines for a subsidy that cuts the price she pays by about half, to $200 a month. <u+201c>i could probably manage another year,<u+201d> hines said when asked if she could afford the coverage without the subsidy. she would have to draw down more of her retirement savings to pay for health care. but doesn<u+2019>t have enough money to hold on to health insurance until she turns 65 and becomes eligible for medicare, she said. hines was one of six people the huffington post featured in a report this march on the case surrounding obamacare's subsidies. at the time, the supreme court was hearing oral arguments on the case and the prospect of those subsidies potentially disappearing was becoming less abstract for those in states with federally run exchanges. the clock is ticking even louder now. and so, we decided to catch up with those we interviewed to see how their circumstances, health and mental well-being has changed. lucas had an aortic aneurysm in 2010, so he has to keep monitoring his heart condition. even though his most recent tests came up clean in may, lucas knows the computed tomography (ct) scan he needs as part of his checkup every two years would cost him $11,000 without insurance, instead of $50 now. he also knows his prescriptions would run to $2,600 every three months rather than $65 with insurance. lucas, who is self-employed, earns $25,000 to $30,000 a year, he said. lucas might be shielded from the ramifications of a ruling against the subsidy if pennsylvania gov. tom wolf (d) persuades the gop-majority state legislature to go along with his proposal to set up a state-run exchange. but as lucas takes stock of the court decision to come, he's struck by what he sees as dramatically misplaced priorities among lawmakers in washington. <u+201c>billions of dollars in corporate welfare to oil companies and whatnot, you know, and that<u+2019>s not a problem for them, but i<u+2019>m a person who gets $2,400 a year in subsidies to help pay for my insurance -- and i pay almost three times that much in taxes, so it<u+2019>s not like i<u+2019>m taking them on the negative side,<u+201d> lucas said. blitz turns 33 on monday. since birth, he has dealt with aortic valve stenosis, meaning he has a heart valve that is too narrow. he recently received good news from his cardiologist that he can delay an expensive major operation he thought he<u+2019>d need this year. but he will have to undergo a less serious procedure at a later date. all this would be difficult to handle on its own. but it's compounded by the problems blitz has had in navigating the health care law. he ended up with a plan he doesn't recall picking. he lost his subsidy of $30 a month even though his income level should qualify him for some tax credit. and he assumed that his home state would get rid of all obamacare exchanges entirely if the court ruled against the subsidies (in fact, state republicans have passed a bill saying that arizona won't set up a state exchange. the federal one will remain regardless). were he to ultimately lose the subsidy, blitz would figure out a way to pay for his insurance. he calls himself "fortunate" in that regard, compared to those who don't have savings to dip into or expenses to cut or friends to rely on. but blitz's fortune -- if you want to call it that -- comes at a cost, and it underscores how the damage from a supreme court ruling for the plaintiffs extends beyond those who currently receive tax credits. without the subsidies, most of the low- and moderate-income people using the health insurance exchanges will exit the exchanges, leaving those with the greatest health care needs -- people like blitz with medical conditions -- as an increasing share of the market. because people with greater medical needs generate more medical bills, that would increase expenses for insurance companies, forcing them to increase premiums. those higher premiums, in turn, would lead more people to drop coverage. in the industry, they call this a <u+201c>death spiral.<u+201d>

obamacare enrollees anxiously await supreme court decision that threatens their coverage

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killing obama administration rules, dismantling obamacare and pushing through tax reform are on the early to-do list.

clinton<u+2019>s iowa dilemma

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in a landmark move, the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints announced tuesday that it is changing its posture toward gays. the church has decided to support anti-discrimination legislation for gays and lesbians in the realm of housing and employment. the church also announced that it it comes with the condition that no one can be forced to perform actions if he or she has religious objections. one example, a doctor who refuses to artificially inseminate a lesbian couple. utah is facing two bills that protections for each group. political watchers in the state have noted that both measures would be likely to pass if the lds church got behind it. <u+201c>when religious people are publicly intimidated, retaliated against, forced from employment or made to suffer personal loss because they have raised their voice in the public square, donated to a cause, or participated in an election, our democracy is the loser,<u+201d> said elder dallin oaks, a member of the church<u+2019>s quorum of twelve apostles. <u+201c>such tactics are every bit as wrong as denying access to employment, housing, or public services because of race or gender.<u+201d> however, this month, the church was in hot water for planning to excommunicate a prominent critic of its same-sex marriage stance for the apostasy.

mormon church backs lgbt protection

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islamic state suicide bombers brought terror, chaos and bloodshed to the city at the heart of european unity on <u+00ad>tuesday, detonating their nail-spewing bombs at an airport <u+00ad>departures hall and on a subway train in attacks that left at least 31 people dead and prompted authorities to launch an intensive manhunt for at least one suspected accomplice. the wanted man accompanied two of the bombers to the airport, along with luggage heaving with explosives. authorities were also hunting for a suspected belgian bombmaker who trained in syria with the islamic state and later sneaked back into europe. on wednesday, belgian state broadcaster rtbf identified two of the attackers who targeted brussels as brothers khalid and brahim bakraoui. tuesday<u+2019>s mass killings add this city to an ignominious but growing list of european capitals that have been struck in the past year by deadly attacks either perpetrated or inspired by the islamic state, including paris and copenhagen. authorities had been bracing for an attack in belgium for months as the country has struggled to stem a tide of homegrown extremism and as the islamic state has repeatedly threatened to hit europe in its core. but when the attacks finally came, the magnitude was stunning. the day<u+2019>s violence represented the worst on belgian soil since world war ii. <u+201c>what we had feared has happened,<u+201d> said belgian prime minister charles michel. <u+201c>this is a black moment for our country.<u+201d> [<u+2018>people who died weren<u+2019>t whole anymore. they were in pieces.<u+2019>] the apparently coordinated explosions created a renewed sense of threat that spilled far beyond brussels, as authorities boosted police patrols in cities such as paris, london and washington. the targets appeared to have been chosen for their symbolic value and for their ease of access. the attackers first struck with twin bombings at the international airport, where early- morning travelers were preparing to board flights linking brussels to cities across the continent and around the world. an hour later, a subway car transiting beneath the modernist glass-and-steel high-rises that house the european union burst with smoke and flame. in addition to the dead, about 250 people were injured, belgian officials said. many of the injured lost limbs as shrapnel from the blasts radiated through packed crowds. cellphone video recorded in the minutes after the airport blasts showed children cowering on a bloody floor amid the maimed and the dead. footage from a subway station revealed desperate scenes as people dressed for a day<u+2019>s work stumbled from the mangled wreckage into a smoke-drenched tunnel. authorities acknowledged that they had been readying for an attack. but nothing like this, they said. <u+201c>we never could have imagined something of this scale,<u+201d> interior minister jan jambon told belgian television station rtl. and even as the country tried to recover from the trauma of tuesday<u+2019>s strikes, there was evidence that more could be on the way. [how the brussels attacks could force obama to betray his policy instincts] the man being sought by police accompanied two of the bombers to the airport, according to a senior belgian official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details of the case. the taxi driver who transported them said they were hauling particularly heavy luggage that investigators believe was packed with explosives. at an apartment in the schaerbeek area of brussels, investigators later found explosive devices loaded with nails and chemicals, along with an islamic state flag, the belgian federal prosecutor<u+2019>s office said in a statement. <u+201c>it was exactly the same type of bomb as at the airport,<u+201d> the senior official said. belgian police released surveillance images of three men pushing luggage carts at brussels airport. the prosecutor<u+2019>s office said two of them <u+2014> dressed in black with black gloves on their left hands, probably to conceal detonators <u+2014> had blown themselves up. but the third, dressed in white, was on the loose. his identity was unknown, and despite a nationwide hunt <u+2014> with heavily armed officers combing the streets and checkpoints at belgian borders snarling traffic for miles <u+2014> the suspect remained at large tuesday night. across the continent, authorities were also hunting 24-year-old najim laachraoui, a suspected islamic state bombmaker, according to two european security officials. laachraoui, a belgian who was born in morocco and raised in the schaerbeek neighborhood, is believed to have trained in syria and then returned to europe. his dna was found on one of the explosives belts from november<u+2019>s paris attacks, and he is thought to have traveled at one point with salah abdeslam, the only surviving suspect believed to have played a direct role in the paris massacre. tuesday<u+2019>s attacks came only four days after belgian counterterrorism authorities cheered the arrest of abdeslam, 26, who was the most wanted man in europe for the past four months. abdeslam was discovered hiding in a brussels apartment building in the molenbeek neighborhood, near the center of the city. after the raid, officials said they had uncovered a web of suspects much broader than they previously imagined. within hours of tuesday<u+2019>s assault, the islamic state asserted responsibility for the attacks, according to a statement posted on the amaq agency, a website believed to be close to the extremist group. the message said belgium was targeted because of its participation in an international coalition battling the group in syria and iraq. u.s. and european security officials said they believed the claim to be credible. the latest bloodshed made clear that european capitals remain perilously vulnerable despite attempts to dismantle the militant network that perpetrated the worst terrorist attack in paris in generations last november. in washington, state department spokesman john kirby said u.s. citizens were among the injured, but he would not say how many. no americans are known to have died in the attacks, although that information may change, he said. the state department also issued an alert on traveling in europe, urging americans to avoid crowded places and to exercise caution during religious holidays and at large festivals or events. europe has struggled mightily with spillover from the churning conflict in syria. thousands of european citizens have traveled there to fight in a war that has become a focal point for jihadists around the world. many have returned to europe radicalized. europe has vowed to confront them. [why is brussels under attack?] <u+201c>we are at war,<u+201d> said french prime minister manuel valls. <u+201c>we have been subjected for the last few months in europe to acts of war.<u+201d> in havana, at the end of a landmark trip, president obama urged <u+201c>the world to unite<u+201d> to fight terrorism, and he pledged to <u+201c>do whatever is necessary<u+201d> to aid the investigation in belgium. the assaults brought brussels to a virtual standstill. the subway and the airport were closed <u+2014> the latter will remain so on wednesday <u+2014> and belgian leaders warned residents to stay indoors. foreign governments, including britain, issued advisories warning against travel to the belgian capital. in france <u+2014> where 130 people died nov. 13 in attacks on a stadium, a music club and restaurants <u+2014> interior minister bernard cazeneuve said that an additional 1,600 police officers were deployed and that security was boosted at border posts and major transportation hubs. on social media, an image soon appeared: a figure draped in the colors of the french flag embracing another tearful figure in the black, yellow and red of belgium<u+2019>s banner. at a news conference in jordan, the e.u.<u+2019>s foreign policy chief, federica mogherini, choked back tears after learning of the brussels attacks. belgium, a nation riven by ethnic rivalries among french, dutch and german speakers, has struggled to address radicalization in its cities. a complex patchwork of security and police agencies is responsible for keeping an eye on potential threats. many of them view one another as rivals rather than as colleagues. still, security analysts said attacks on unsecured, high-traffic targets such as subway stations are extremely hard to defend against <u+2014> even when authorities are focused on foiling such plots. <u+201c>this is a kind of scenario every capital in europe feared since the november attacks last year. a mixture of foreign fighters coming back with experience, local sympathizers on the other hand,<u+201d> said rik coolsaet, a terrorism expert at ghent university who has advised the belgian government on how to fight radicalization. <u+201c>you have such a large number of soft targets, and you cannot secure all of them.<u+201d> birnbaum reported from moscow. james mcauley and anthony faiola in brussels, daniela deane and karla adam in london, and brian murphy, carol morello and matt zapotosky in washington contributed to this report. live updates on the death toll, attack scenes and reactions around the world why is brussels under attack? at nato headquarters, alert status raised just miles from attacks today<u+2019>s coverage from post correspondents around the world

islamic state claims responsibility for the brussels attacks

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ted cruz is daring donald trump to sue him over an ad running in south carolina that questions his record on abortion, rejecting the billionaire businessman<u+2019>s complaints and vowing instead to run the ad <u+201c>more frequently<u+201d> because voters <u+201c>deserve to know the truth." "you have been threatening frivolous lawsuits for your entire adult life," cruz said wednesday. "even in the annals of frivolous lawsuits, this takes the cake." the cruz campaign adamantly defended the ad after the trump campaign sent a cease-and-desist letter demanding the campaign stop running it. trump earlier this week also threatened to sue the canada-born cruz over his eligibility to run if he does not <u+201c>take down his false ads and retract his lies.<u+201d> their feud has only escalated since then, with trump regularly calling cruz a liar <u+2013> and the texas senator now ridiculing trump over his lawsuit threat. at a press conference in south carolina on wednesday, cruz read from the cease-and-desist letter, calling it <u+201c>one of the most remarkable letters i have ever read,<u+201d> and challenged trump to go through with his threatened suit. cruz,<u+00a0>who graduated from harvard law school and previously worked as texas's top lawyer, said he would like to take trump's deposition himself and that a lawsuit against the ad has no chance. the ad in question features footage of trump in a 1999 interview saying he<u+2019>s <u+201c>very pro-choice.<u+201d> the ad makes reference to the current debate over the vacancy at the supreme court and says, <u+201c>we cannot trust donald trump with these serious decisions.<u+201d> trump's attorney sent cruz a letter on tuesday saying the ad was "replete with outright lies, false, defamatory and destructive statements" and cruz could be held liable for damages if it's not taken down. in its own letter, the cruz campaign called the threats <u+201c>laughable<u+201d> and said: <u+201c>are you seriously suggesting that the voter should not be allowed to hear what mr. trump has said or know what mr. trump has done?<u+201d> trump, though, stood his ground and reiterated that he is now pro-life. <u+201c>i have been clear about my position on this issue for years. <u+2026> if i want to bring a lawsuit it would be legitimate. likewise, if i want to bring the lawsuit regarding senator cruz being a natural born canadian i will do so. time will tell, teddy,<u+201d> he said in a statement wednesday. cruz is also feuding with florida sen. marco rubio over alleged dirty tricks leading up to saturday<u+2019>s south carolina gop primary. cruz on wednesday denied being involved with anything untoward and called for anyone with evidence to come forward. rubio was asked wednesday to come up with evidence that cruz's team was behind a fake facebook page wrongly claiming that u.s. rep. trey gowdy had switched his endorsement from the florida senator to cruz. "it's just a pattern of people around his campaign that have continuously done things like that," rubio said. the associated press contributed to this report.

cruz dares trump to sue him over abortion ad, vows to run it 'more frequently'

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"we ask that everything be done with dignity. there will be no backpacks, fanny packs or cameras. this is for security purposes," a man doing crowd control at the church told the swarm of people assembled near the door. church members were given priority among a crowd that included mostly visitors and press. women were allowed in first in a show of chivalry but also for security. "we will be checking pocketbooks," announced one usher. before long, the organist began playing "amazing grace" followed by "what a friend we have in jesus". the choir, dressed in all white began the service, by singing "total praise", a gospel song that brought the crowd to its feet. "we are reminded this morning of the freshness of death. it comes like a thief in the night," said norvel goff, reverend and presiding elder of the african methodist episcopal district that includes emanuel. goff called congregants to the altar to pray. "many of our hearts are still broken. many of us are still shedding tears. but we must take our burdens to the lord and leave them there." goff continued, "as we try to make sense of nonsense, pray for our children. we pray that god will give us the clarity of thought to share with them what god has shared with us." one man erupted in tears on the way back to his seat repeating over and over, "this is just an unthinkable tragedy. help us, god." calvary preaches many things, including the inevitable rapture, the second coming of jesus, and the <u+201c>monogamous marriage between male and female as the foundation of the family.<u+201d> the majority of the few dozen in attendance on sunday were white. <u+201c>this is what anger and hate against the church looks like,<u+201d> pastor richard perea said of the killings. <u+201c>the liberal media must now care about church in a way they have not before.<u+201d> sunday<u+2019>s sermon focused mostly on bible study, going line-by-line through biblical verses much in the same way "the beautiful 9" at emanuel did before alleged mass murderer dylann roof turned a gun on them. <u+201c>i don<u+2019>t think it has anything to do with religion, not at all,<u+201d> ashworth said, adding that in this time of tragedy, more people need to pray. <u+201c>it was obviously a race issue in his heart,<u+201d> perea told huffpost. <u+201c>but why he went into a church versus down in the street, in my opinion, is something that was demonically influenced.<u+201d> <u+201c>after everything that<u+2019>s happened in the past week, coming to church means that god is still sovereign,<u+201d> brooks said. <u+201c>he still gives us this freedom to come and not be afraid even when people are prejudiced with hate in their heart.<u+201d> when service was over at emanuel a.m.e., parishioners were greeted by a sea of support from members of the community. some people handed out bottles of water and cookies to churchgoers as they left the building. others just shared kind words and hugs. jack logan, 52, the founder of a put down the guns now, a nonprofit based in south carolina that is dedicated to reducing gun violence among young people, said he attended the service at emanuel a.m.e. for that feeling of connection. <u+201c>this was a tragedy for south carolina, and america,<u+201d> logan said. <u+201c>i wanted to come down here, show love and take part in this great church service today.<u+201d> another visitor, 28-year-old ryan shepard, a court clerk, drove to charleston from atlanta just to be at emanuel<u+2019>s first church service since wednesday<u+2019>s tragedy. <u+201c>i think we<u+2019>re in an important point in american history as it relates to race relations and facing some of the darker chapters of our nation<u+2019>s past that we haven<u+2019>t reconciled,<u+201d> shepard said. <u+201c>i wanted to be present and a part of this mourning process, to witness and support the community here.<u+201d>

charleston church holds first service since shootings

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many sexual assault activists worry that fallout from the rolling stone story will put a chill on the coverage of sex crimes. but transparency and thoroughness in reporting can lead to better outcomes, media experts and others say. rolling stone is pledging to review its editorial practices after a leading journalism school issued a blistering critique of how it reported and edited a discredited article about an alleged gang rape at the university of virginia. the report from the columbia journalism school on the discredited rolling stone article about an alleged campus rape at the university of virginia reads like a treatise on how not to conduct journalism. "the [journalistic] failure encompassed reporting, editing, editorial supervision and fact-checking," says the columbia report, which was commissioned by rolling stone. as fallout from the story continues (on monday, the fraternity at the heart of the discredited rape allegations announced plans to pursue legal action against rolling stone), many sexual-assault activists worry that it will put a chill on the coverage of sex crimes <u+2013> journalism that activists say is crucial to bringing rape out of the shadows and addressing it. "i think the worst-case scenario would be that journalists don<u+2019>t want to cover this topic," says tracy cox, communications director for the national sexual violence resource center (nsvrc). but the authors of the columbia report itself say they hope their critique of the rolling stone story is taken as a lesson to reporters and editors about how to do better, rather than as a discouragement to journalists against wading into such a fraught topic. ms. cox and media experts urge reporters to take the time needed to gather an array of facts and talk to a range of individuals. and they emphasize the importance of transparency <u+2013> which includes disclosures about what reporters don't know and why. also, no matter how sensitive journalists may be to a source, they can't suspend all skepticism, media observers say. "it would be a really unfortunate outcome if journalists backed away from doing this kind of reporting as a result of this highly visible failure, because this is important work. and it<u+2019>s hard work," said steve coll, dean of the columbia journalism school and one of the authors of the report, in a press conference monday. "this kind of reporting environment, this kind of subject <u+2013> it<u+2019>s a new frontier for serious accountability journalism.... this is an area where we have got to have a conversation amongst ourselves about how to get better." the columbia report cites numerous instances where appropriate journalistic procedures should have raised red flags with the rolling stone story. a prime example: editors should have insisted that reporter sabrina rubin erdely contact the three friends whom "jackie" said she met with after the alleged rape. "we want [journalists] to see that despite the complexities and difficulties [in reporting about sexual assault, it] can be done well, can be done accurately, and can have widespread positive impacts," cox says. "through their reporting, they<u+2019>re telling victims' stories. they can help to contribute to widespread societal change." cox and media experts agree that there are many ways reporters can step into the murky territory of sexual-assault reporting <u+2013> where reporters may be relying on non-adjudicated testimony and trying to find a delicate balance between being sympathetic to someone dealing with trauma while still exercising due diligence <u+2013> and still avoid the mistakes that rolling stone made. the nsvrc has worked with the poynter institute in st. petersburg, fla., which teaches writing and media ethics, to develop a free online course for journalists who write about sexual assault. "if a story isn<u+2019>t quite where it needs to be, it<u+2019>s ok to hold it and flush out those facts and do more interviews," says cox. "it<u+2019>s better to have the right story than go with something that<u+2019>s wrong and in the end causes more harm than good." one major problem with ms. erdely's story, note the authors of the columbia report, may simply have been the way she approached it initially <u+2013> her determination to find an illustrative example that corroborated the story she wanted to tell, and her decision to go with the one that seemed the most lurid and shocking, even though other, more verifiable accounts existed. "when journalists write stories, they usually start looking for one or two things when looking for examples or anecdotes. one of the things we look for is the thing that represents a larger reality. you can<u+2019>t just pick out the easiest one to report," says roy peter clark, vice president and senior scholar at poynter. reporting about something like campus rape, or how institutions respond, may indeed call for occasional anecdotes to illustrate the story, he adds, but "i think it also calls for tools now available to us like data analysis." the columbia report also talks about the problem with the reliance on pseudonyms <u+2013> something rolling stone did for "jackie" as well as the three friends and the date who she claimed instigated the gang rape. "pseudonyms are inherently undesirable in journalism. they introduce fiction and ask readers to trust that this is the only instance in which a publication is inventing details at its discretion," says the report, which goes on to suggest that rolling stone consider banning them or allowing them only in very rare instances. "there<u+2019>s this tremendous tension now between anonymity and verifiability. and this particular example of journalism malpractice has made it a lot harder," mr. clark says. clark isn't convinced that granting automatic anonymity to sexual assault victims <u+2013> which many media outlets routinely do <u+2013> is a best practice, either for journalism or for addressing sexual assault. "are you going to try to humanize [the victim] by giving her or him a false name? are you doing that to protect their privacy? if you do that, will you be tempted to change other details to create a disguise that protects the person?" he asks. "all these moves we make to protect the vulnerable are a kind of form of the journalistic equivalent of witness protection, but they<u+2019>re also a gateway drug for fabrication or exaggeration." cox at the nsvrc disagrees, noting that privacy is a huge issue for many victims and a reason they may not come forward, and that some fear for their safety. "i don<u+2019>t think abolishing all pseudonyms is the answer. i think you have to do it on a case-by-case basis," she says. ultimately, media observers say, a lot of the rolling stone problems can be avoided with proper transparency. in certain cases, it may be impossible for some details to be corroborated <u+2013> but when that's the case, the lack of corroboration should be made clear, the columbia report says. "transparency is a more important virtue than ever in journalism," says clark. "i think there was so little transparency in the rolling stone story that it should be a harsh reminder of what happens when we<u+2019>re unwilling to tell our readers what we know, how we know it, and even more importantly, what we don<u+2019>t know. and why we don<u+2019>t know it."

rolling stone debacle shows how hard, and needed, sex assault reporting is (+video)

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washington <u+2014> defense secretary ash carter announced tuesday that gay and lesbian troops for the first time will be protected from discrimination by the same equal opportunity policy that protects other servicemembers. carter announced the change at the pentagon's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender pride event. the change ensures that gay and lesbian troops' complaints about discrimination based on sexual orientation will be investigated by the military equal opportunity program, the same office that handles complaints based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. "discrimination of any kind has no place in america's armed forces," carter said. the military needs "to be a meritocracy." the pentagon rescinded its "don't ask, don't tell" policy in 2011. under it, gay and lesbian troops could be kicked out of service if their sexual orientation became known. "with this policy revision, we are now ensuring that servicemembers are afforded protection against discrimination in the department's military equal opportunity program, provided to all military members," said lt. cmdr. nathan christensen, a pentagon spokesman. previously, gay and lesbian troops were required to register discrimination complaints with inspector general offices. carter called diversity critical to developing the troops the pentagon will need for future battles. excluding qualified troops, he said, is "bad defense policy." carter spoke before a standing-room-only crowd of troops from each service, from enlisted personnel to general officers and top civilian officials. amanda simpson, the highest-ranking transgender official at the pentagon, told the audience she has her army post not because of her gender but "because i happen to be the best person to do the job." the military still can kick out transgender troops for what it terms health reasons. however, the army and the air force have made that process more difficult by requiring senior civilian officials to approve the discharges. the williams institute, a think-tank at the ucla law school that concentrates on issues regarding sexual orientation, estimates there are 15,000 transgender troops serving in the military. a review of military health policies, including the transgender ban, is underway, christensen said. "the current periodic review is expected to take between 12-18 months; it is not a specific review of the department's transgender policy," christensen said. before dumping the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly, the pentagon conducted a nine-month study on the effect of rescinding it. that effort, led by army gen. carter ham in 2010, determined that the risks of repeal were low and manageable. army brig. gen. randy taylor, who emceed tuesday's ceremony, said he had to conceal his sexual orientation for most of his career, which included deployments to somalia, haiti, afghanistan and iraq. taylor singled out his husband for his sacrifice, and carter shook his hand to loud applause.

gay and lesbian troops will be protected by new pentagon policy

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language can obscure as much as it reveals. it<u+2019>s important, now more than ever, to be clear, to call things by their proper name; to do otherwise is to risk confusion where none exists. what happened in charleston was terrorism. period. and terrorism, whatever else it is, is not senseless; it<u+2019>s precisely the opposite. terror is a tactic, not a cause. this is a crucially important distinction. terrorists are calculating: they do what they do in order to inspire fear. if dylann roof had decided, on a whim, to gun down the first people he encountered <u+2013> that would be senseless. but dylann roof was no nihilist. he believed in something. he was a racist. and he was propelled by specific ideas <u+2013> about history, about black people, about white supremacy, and about various other cultural mythologies. <u+201c>you rape our women, and you<u+2019>re taking over our country, and you have to go,<u+201d> he remarked just before filling that church and those bodies with holes. these are not the words of a mentally ill person committing a senseless act; they are the cold, clear thoughts of a man on a mission, a man who knows exactly what he<u+2019>s doing and why he<u+2019>s doing it. and this is why dylann roof is a terrorist. it<u+2019>s been troubling to watch the media vacillate in their coverage of this story. was it a hate crime? was it terrorism? if there<u+2019>s clarity about anything at all here, it<u+2019>s about the motivations of the killer. he<u+2019>s a terrorist, and he told us so. he wanted to send a message. was he motivated by hate? sure. but the act itself was terroristic by any measure. as many have pointed out, the media is unsure about what constitutes terrorism only when white people are the perpetrators. white men with guns are <u+201c>lone wolves<u+201d> or <u+201c>mentally ill<u+201d> or depraved criminals. brown men with bombs are very obviously <u+201c>terrorists.<u+201d> this is a double standard with consequences. <u+201c>terrorism<u+201d> is a word that resonates; it inspires urgency and collective action, both of which are needed if we<u+2019>re to deal with the underlying problems. if white people can<u+2019>t, by definition, be terrorists, then the term has no practical meaning; it<u+2019>s about the actor, not the act. if terrorism is something only brown people do, then we should be honest and admit that. we should say that terrorism is about the color of the criminal, not the intent of the crime. equivocating about the nature of the crime has an additional consequence: it diminishes the role of ideas. we can think of the human brain as a piece of hardware, and of ideas as software motivating behavior. rather than focusing on the mental state of the murderer, we should be talking about the ideas that inspired the murders. dylann roof believed his country was under assault by black people. he walked into that church and killed those people under the delusion that he was a soldier in a war. the question is why did he think this? where did he get this idea? we can<u+2019>t know for sure, but here<u+2019>s what we do know: everyone saw this coming. in 2013, the<u+00a0>dhs released a report<u+00a0>warning of a growing danger from right-wing extremists. indeed,<u+00a0>officials believed domestic terrorism<u+00a0>to be a greater threat than islamic militants. echoing this theme, the<u+00a0>southern poverty law center<u+00a0>found that domestic hate groups, often under the guise of <u+201c>patriot groups,<u+201d> have increased significantly since 2008, the year obama was elected. i don<u+2019>t know whether dylann roof was an active member of any of these groups, but it<u+2019>s clear that he believed in and espoused their ideology. these findings ought to have inspired concern from the political and media establishment. however, because of the confusion about what terrorism is and who terrorists are, there was nothing but outrage on the right. house republican leader,<u+00a0>john boehner, dismissed the report as <u+201c>offensive and unacceptable.<u+201d> republican rep.<u+00a0>gus bilirakis<u+00a0>called it <u+201c>political and ideological profiling.<u+201d> conservative commentator<u+00a0>michelle malkin<u+00a0>wrote that it <u+201c>was one of the most embarrassingly shoddy pieces of propaganda i<u+2019>d ever read.<u+201d> these people failed us. they failed, in part, because they were too consumed with foreign enemies to notice the presence of internal ones. they failed because they refused to see what was right in front of their faces. and they failed because they remained blind to the power of ideas, of rhetoric. for years, right-wing demagogues have propagated this myth that the country was under siege by black people and immigrants and communists and radical liberals and so on. much of the tea party movement was motivated by this ideology. conservative leaders decided, for political reasons, to indulge this, to capitalize on it. perhaps that was wise as a political strategy, but there are consequences: you whip people into a frenzy for long enough, someone, eventually, is going to cross that line. dylann roof crossed that line. he was a homegrown terrorist. and he was the product of a nativist ideology of white supremacy, the flag of which flies still over the state capitol of south carolina. perhaps now we can reckon with the roots of this truth. that starts with calling it what it is: racially-motivated terrorism.

we must call him a terrorist: dylann roof, fox news and the truth about why language matters

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paris, france (cnn) french authorities took the offensive wednesday, raiding a purported hideout of the suspected ringleader in last week's deadly paris attacks in an operation that ended with eight detained, two dead and potentially more bloodshed thwarted. but what about that suspected ringleader, abdelhamid abaaoud at one point, authorities believe he was holed up on the third floor of an apartment building in the northern paris suburb of saint-denis, paris prosecutor francois molins said wednesday. whether he was there when scores of heavily armed french police launched their assault at 4:20 a.m. wednesday (10:20 p.m. et tuesday) is unknown. some residents in the area told cnn they saw abaaoud recently in the neighborhood and at a local mosque. investigators zeroed in on the building after picking up phone conversations indicating that a relative of abaaoud might be there. they met fierce resistance from the start, including an armored door, a woman who blew herself up and bullets flying back and forth for about an hour. the french officers even used powerful munitions, which led to one floor of the building collapsing. that violence produced rubble that included body parts, on which investigators are conducting dna tests. french president francois hollande held up the vicious back-and-forth as further proof that "we are at war" with isis. "what the terrorists were targeting was what france represents. this is what was attacked on the night of november 13," he said. "these barbarians targeted france's diversity. it was the youth of france who were targeted simply because they represent life." france had already been part of the u.s.-led coalition fighting isis with airstrikes. but the country has stepped up its efforts since the series of shootings and explosions in paris last week, which killed 129 people. now, hollande has proposed extending france's state of emergency for three more months -- a measure that, among other things, gives authorities greater powers in conducting searches, holding people and dissolving certain groups. to go after the islamist extremist group, the french president also said he would appeal to world leaders -- including meeting next week with u.s. president barack obama and russian president vladimir putin, who have been at odds on what to do in syria. "there is no more ... divide. there are only men and women of duty," he said. "we must destroy this army that menaces the entire world, not just some countries." 'we could see the bullets' whoever was inside the saint-denis apartment on wednesday appeared to be "prepared to act" in possibly another attack, molins said, noting their weaponry, structured organization and determination. some 110 police swarmed on the diverse, working-class area that is home to the stade de france sports stadium, where three suicide bombings took place days earlier. they first went into one apartment that had been under surveillance since tuesday, a paris police source said. telephone communications on a wiretap by french and belgian security agencies indicated a woman at the residence was abaaoud's cousin, a belgian counterterrorism official told cnn. that raid led them to another apartment on the same street. molins described it as a complex operation. for almost an hour, he said, there was uninterrupted gunfire as police tried to get into the apartment. the violent standoff left residents in the area, already shaken by last week's attacks, startled and scared. "we could see the bullets," a woman, who identified herself only as sabrine, told cnn affiliate france 2. "we could feel the building shaking." three people in the saint-denis building itself, including one with a bullet wound in the arm, are among the eight detained, according to molins. the others include the person who loaned the apartment to the suspected terrorists and his friend. two of the eight held were hospitalized, interior ministry spokesman pierre-henry brandet told france info radio. saadana aymen, a 29-year-old who lives one street down, couldn't believe what was happening in his neighborhood. "when you think of saint-denis, you don't think of terrorists," he told cnn. "i'm shocked! why would the terrorists pick this neighborhood?" that wasn't the only place where french authorities fanned out tuesday night into wednesday as they worked to find suspects tied to the attacks and cracked down on security. the interior ministry announced 118 searches led to the detention of at least 25 people, the confiscation of 34 weapons and the discovery of illicit drugs in 16 instances. in recent days, hundreds of similar operations have been conducted, the ministry said, resulting in 64 people being held and 118 put under house arrest. authorities have not provided details about the arrests or said what connection they could have to friday's attacks. molins said investigators are working to piece together where terrorists were in the days and hours leading up to the attacks -- and with whom they had contact. they've encountered at least one piece of evidence that could help them in their search: one of the attacker's cell phones was found in a trash bin outside the bataclan theater, where most of friday's victims were gunned down. a message on the phone, according to molins, said, "here we go, it's starting." authorities are trying to determine who the message was sent to, he said. and they're still trying to determine whether the suspected ringleader in the attack is still on the run, or whether his remains were found in the rubble.

2 killed, 8 terror suspects held in france terror raid

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former rhode island gov. lincoln chafee ended his long-shot presidential bid on friday. "as you know, i have been campaigning on a platform of prosperity through peace. but after much thought i have decided to end my campaign for president today," chafee announced at the democratic national committee women's leadership forum. the onetime republican turned independent turned democrat is the second candidate to withdraw this week, following former virginia sen. jim webb's announcement on tuesday that he was ending his democratic bid. webb, however, left open the possibility of running as an independent. both chafee and webb had barely campaigned, making only a handful of visits to early states. but more so than webb, chafee had struggled to make any dent at all in the race. chafee had little financial backing for his campaign, raising just $8,300 from 10 major donors during the last quarter. but his few supporters told npr this week they liked the positive attitude he brought to the race and hoped he would remain in the mix. the former senator, who hailed from a prominent political family in the ocean state, had an unremarkable performance in last week's presidential debate. he spoke for just nine minutes during the two-hour faceoff. chafee underscored that he had been against the iraq war from the beginning, a contrast to front-runner hillary clinton's controversial 2002 vote. he echoed his anti-war sentiment in his withdrawal announcement on friday, too. "the united states of america is so strong militarily, economically and culturally that we can take chances for peace. in fact, as a strong mature world leader, we must take chances for peace. if we have courage, if we take risks, we can have prosperity through peace, not just in the united states, but all over the world," chafee said. at the debate, he also tried to needle clinton on her and her husband's past scandals, proudly noting that he had never had a whiff of any misdeeds during his decades in office. but when he tried to engage clinton over her email server and land a blow, she declined to engage. chafee's most damaging answer was when he was asked why he voted to repeal banking regulations known as the glass-steagall act. his answer was that he had just gotten to the senate after his father died (he was appointed to succeed him) and that he was not familiar with the bill, making chafee come across as even more unprepared. even his sparsely attended announcement in june that he was running for the white house was widely panned, having spent much of his time advocating for the u.s. to switch to the metric system. chafee, who like his late father, john, served as both senator and governor of rhode island, had an interesting life before entering politics, though. after attending an exclusive northeastern prep school, where he was a classmate of former florida gov. jeb bush, chafee graduated from brown university and then headed to montana state university to learn to be a farrier, someone who shoes horses. for years he traveled around the u.s. working at racetracks.

lincoln chafee ends his presidential campaign

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the democratic party moved a lot closer to choosing its nominee on tuesday night. the republican party moved a little closer to chaos. former secretary of state hillary clinton has won at least four of the five states where democrats voted on tuesday, with victories in florida, illinois, ohio and north carolina. the race in missouri against sen. bernie sanders (vt.) remains too close to call. clinton<u+2019>s staff said they expected to increase their lead in the race for democratic convention delegates by about 300 <u+2014> requiring sanders to stage a near-miraculous comeback in the coming states. <u+201c>we are moving closer to securing the democratic party nomination and winning this election in november,<u+201d> clinton told supporters in west palm beach, fla. sounding hoarse, she seemed to be offering an olive branch to sanders <u+2014> who, so far, has shown little inclination to get out of a race that has given him an unprecedented national following. <u+201c>i want to congratulate senator sanders for the vigorous campaign he<u+2019>s waging,<u+201d> clinton said, giving it a try anyway. she has now won 15 states, as compared with nine wins for sanders. on the republican side, gop front-runner donald trump won a key contest in florida <u+2014> a lopsided victory on the home turf of rival sen. marco rubio, which caused rubio to declare he was suspending his campaign. that brought trump all of florida<u+2019>s 99 republican delegates, the biggest prize awarded in any state so far. trump has also been projected as the winner in illinois and north carolina, two states with 141 delegates between them. but, because those are not <u+201c>winner-take-all<u+201d> states, trump will likely have to split some of those 141 with other candidates. the gop race in missouri remains too close to call. but trump was denied a victory in another key winner-take-all state, ohio, which was won by its own sitting governor, john kasich. that victory doesn<u+2019>t make kasich a likely nominee: he has now won a grand total of one state. but, without ohio<u+2019>s 66 delegates, trump now faces a difficult path to reach the majority of delegates he needs to avoid a <u+201c>contested<u+201d> gop convention, in which no candidate enters with a majority of delegates locked up. in that chaotic situation <u+2014> not seen in the gop since 1976 <u+2014> delegates could choose one of the candidates who ran, or someone else entirely. if their choice is not trump, the party may have to face strong anger from his supporters, or even a third-party candidacy from trump himself. trump spoke to supporters at his mar-a-lago club in palm beach, fla., where he savored his victory over rubio in florida, despite a barrage of anti-trump advertising. <u+201c>nobody has ever <u+2014> ever, in the history of politics <u+2014> received the kind of negative advertising that i have<u+2026>vicious, horrible,<u+201d> trump said. but then, he said: <u+201c>you explain it to me, because i can<u+2019>t: my numbers went up.<u+201d> he told supporters that he<u+2019>d seen anti-trump commercials during a broadcast of a golf tournament from trump<u+2019>s own club, and tried to distract attendees at the tournament from watching. trump repeated his promise to bring the republican party together: <u+201c>we have to bring our party together. we have to bring it together. we have something happening that actually makes the republican party probably the biggest political story anywhere in the world.<u+201d> but he also, more than before, seemed to show signs of fatigue at the long grind of a campaign. trump spoke of missing his youngest son, baron, while he<u+2019>s been out on the trail: <u+201c>baron. i never see my baron,<u+201d> trump said. <u+201c>he said, <u+2018>when are you going to come home, daddy? when are you coming home?<u+2019><u+201d> trump<u+2019>s top rival, in terms of delegates, is sen. ted cruz (tex.) <u+2014> who has won no states so far, though he is running neck-and-neck with trump in returns from missouri. before the outcome in missouri was known, cruz spoke to supporters in houston, and essentially declared that kasich <u+2014> even on his best night of the campaign <u+2014> would be a non-factor from here on out. <u+201c>only two campaigns have a plausible path to the nomination, ours and donald trump<u+2019>s,<u+201d> cruz said. <u+201c>nobody else has any mathematical possibility whatsoever.<u+201d> he praised rubio at length, trying to win over rubio<u+2019>s supporters <u+2014> and the <u+201c>#nevertrump<u+201d> crowd that had coalesced around rubio. <u+201c>we welcome you to our teams, we welcome you with open and welcoming arms,<u+201d> cruz said. that, in itself, was an amazing moment and a sign of how trump has reshaped the republican landscape this year. a year ago, the idea that cruz <u+2014> the despised figure who led republicans into an ill-fated effort to stop <u+201c>obamacare<u+201d> and triggered a government shutdown instead <u+2014> might be the best choice for the gop establishment would have been too strange to be funny. [kasich wins ohio with an eye toward a contested convention] kasich<u+2019>s win in ohio was celebrated by gop operatives who launched a last-ditch campaign to thwart trump<u+2019>s march to the nomination. <u+201c>you<u+2019>re not the nominee until you get 1,237 delegates, and i don<u+2019>t see how trump gets there,<u+201d> said katie packer, the strategist helping lead our principles pac, which has spent nearly $13 million on a barrage of hard-hitting ads attacking the billionaire real estate developer. <u+201c>our goal was always to deprive him of ohio and florida, and the fact that we got halfway, we consider a win for the american people and the republican party and certainly us.<u+201d> kasich has largely abstained from attacking trump so far, but on tuesday night <u+2013> with the race narrowing, and his position improving <u+2013> kasich took a brief swipe at the front-runner. <u+201c>i will not take the low road to the highest office in the land,<u+201d> kasich said. he took a remarkably different tone than the bombastic front-runner, who focuses on international trade and business deals. kasich told his audience to make the world better in smaller ways, working harder at their jobs, and being kind to neighbors. at times, he did not seem to be speaking about a political campaign at all. <u+201c>we<u+2019>re all part of a giant mosaic. a snapshot in time. all of us here,<u+201d> kasich said, saying that every person in the audience had a purpose from god. <u+201c>our job<u+2026>is to dig down and understand that purpose, and never underestimate our ability to change the world in which we live.<u+201d> [rubio<u+2019>s demise marks the last gasp of the republican reboot] rubio, a first-term senator, had launched his campaign with a message of youth and optimism <u+2014> but was unable to escape his support for a 2013 effort at immigration reform, which many conservatives believed was too lenient on undocumented immigrants. and he was unable to escape trump, who hectored him as <u+201c>little marco,<u+201d> a tool of big donors. <u+201c>after tonight, it is clear that <u+2014> while we are on the right side <u+2014> this year we will not be on the winning side,<u+201d> rubio said on tuesday. rubio eventually fired back, trying to fight on trump<u+2019>s level with insults about the front-runner<u+2019>s tan and his fingers. he also called trump a <u+201c>con artist<u+201d> for his involvement in a <u+201c>university<u+201d> that many students said defrauded them. but rubio undercut his own message by saying that he would still vote for trump, were he the nominee. that odd, mismatched strategy seemed to turn off voters: his poll numbers declined sharply. he won just one state, minnesota, along with puerto rico and the district of columbia. rubio, oddly, mocked the district of columbia by name in his speech. <u+201c>there<u+2019>s nothing more you could have done,<u+201d> rubio said, speaking in the concourse of a florida arena <u+2013> he had rented the whole thing, but the crowd was so small that he only needed a hallway. <u+201c>america<u+2019>s in the middle of a real political storm. a real tsunami. and we should have seen this coming.<u+201d> even in defeat, however, rubio could not escape trump. a heckler shouted out <u+201c>trump for president!<u+201d> the crowd booed, but rubio shushed them. <u+201c>don<u+2019>t worry, he won<u+2019>t get beat up at our event,<u+201d> he said, referring to alleged assaults of protesters at trump events. [rubio was lifted by 2010 wave. but he was swamped by the <u+2018>tsunami<u+2019> of 2016.] in early exit polls reported by abc news, democratic primary voters had a split view of the two candidates: they tended to see clinton as far more electable <u+2014> but see sanders as more honest. by a roughly 2 to 1 margin, democratic voters said clinton had a better chance than sanders of beating trump in a general election matchup across ohio, north carolina, florida, illinois and missouri. but roughly 8 in 10 said sanders was honest and trustworthy, compared with about 6 in 10 for clinton. sanders has dominated among honesty-focused voters all year while clinton has won those focused on electability by a wide margin. according to those same early exit polls reported, large majorities of democrats in tuesday<u+2019>s primaries would be satisfied with either clinton or sanders winning the democratic nomination. at least 7 in 10 voters across primary voting states would be satisfied with each candidate becoming the party<u+2019>s nominee, with slightly more satisfied with clinton than sanders. among republican primary voters, by contrast, preliminary exit polls showed unusual hesitancy about the prospect of trump as the nominee. across all of tuesday<u+2019>s states, a little more than half of gop voters said they would be satisfied with trump as the republican nominee against clinton, according to early exit polls from abc news. just under 4 in 10 republican voters across tuesday<u+2019>s contests said they would consider a third-party candidate if trump and clinton were the nominees. looking specifically at non-trump supporters, abc reported 6 in 10 would consider backing a third-party candidate if trump became the party<u+2019>s nominee. separately, it was clear from exit polls that the majority of tuesday<u+2019>s gop voters supported trump<u+2019>s proposal temporarily to ban foreign muslims from entering the united states. in all, 66 percent agreed with that idea, according to exit polls reported by abc news. trump scored an early win tuesday morning, swamping the tiny vote in a republican caucus held in the northern mariana islands, according to a tweet from the executive director of the gop in the u.s. territory. the win earned trump nine delegates, only a tiny sliver of the 367 delegates at stake tuesday. but should the chaotic republican race lead to a contested national convention in july, the win could prove important because of arcane party rules that require candidates to have won a majority of delegates in at least eight states or territories. the win was trump<u+2019>s eighth of the nominating season. voting ran relatively smoothly across the country, although a frightening incident interrupted one cleveland voting location, where police said a poll worker was arrested after pulling a gun during a verbal dispute with fellow workers. a spokeswoman for the cleveland police department said alan bethea, 45, faced multiple charges. police say he pulled a .380 handgun from his backpack during the argument. no one was injured. ahead of tuesday<u+2019>s vote, missouri officials had estimated 34.1 percent of voters would take part in the primary, nearing 2008<u+2019>s record turnout of 36 percent. news reports in other parts of the country also reported lines in hotly contested races. in north carolina, where a controversial new voter identification law was in use for the first time, voting rights advocates were on alert for problems. a spokeswoman for the north carolina state board of elections said late in the day that primaries were running smoothly. in ohio, some voters appreciated the job kasich has done as governor. <u+201c>he<u+2019>s done a great job for ohio,<u+201d> said lauri gillet, 42, a civil engineer who voted for kasich in westerville, the governor<u+2019>s home town. <u+201c>he<u+2019>s the best of both worlds, from a business standpoint and a politics standpoint. and ohio<u+2019>s doing great. there<u+2019>s been a ton of growth in the oil and gas industry.<u+201d> hundreds of thousands of ballots were already cast in early voting in florida. turnout was light in the early morning at a polling place near the airport in miami. but the voters who showed up sounded passionate about their choices. luis joaquin alonso, 79, said he voted for trump, citing concerns about the deficit and the desire for someone to take on the political establishment. <u+201c>i love this country,<u+201d> he said, adding that trump does, too, and that<u+2019>s why he is running. <u+201c>this guy has got plenty of money. he doesn<u+2019>t need [more] money,<u+201d> alonso said. [early voting: nearly 2 million people have already voted in florida] florida<u+2019>s primary is closed, meaning that independents, who have sided with sanders in large numbers in other states, could not participate. the state is also home to large numbers of seniors, who have gravitated far more heavily toward clinton elsewhere. in miami, luis caldera, 61, said he voted for clinton. he called her <u+201c>the best option<u+201d> and said her experience and his familiarity with her career set her apart. in youngstown, ohio, dave williams, 52, cast a ballot for sanders, deeming the vermont senator better for working people. <u+201c>i lost my house when the stock market crashed. that was before the government was doing anything to keep people in their homes. and i<u+2019>ve gone from a house since then to an apartment,<u+201d> said williams, a member of cement finishers local 179. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m an angry voter, how <u+2019>bout that? i<u+2019>m angry about the way the country is working for the blue-collar worker. hillary gets a big, fat zero on that.<u+201d> [how bernie sanders is hijacking the democratic party to be elected as an independent] while out for breakfast tuesday morning in downtown chicago, sanders predicted he could have a good night if larger numbers of voters take part in the contests <u+2014> setting up a long nomination battle in states that are even friendlier to his campaign. <u+201c>i think that if there is a large voter turnout, we are going to do just great here in illinois, in missouri, ohio, and hopefully north carolina and florida,<u+201d> sanders said during a stop at lou mitchell<u+2019>s, a chicago institution. <u+201c>in the states that are coming down the pike, we have great opportunities to win many of them, so we are feeling really good.<u+201d> sanders was accompanied by cook county commissioner jesus <u+201c>chuy<u+201d> garcia, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor against rahm emanuel last year. part of sanders<u+2019>s strategy in illinois has been mobilizing those disappointed with the tenure of emanuel, a clinton ally whose approval ratings have dropped to all-time lows. in north carolina, clinton campaigned at a polling place in southeast raleigh magnet high school around midday on tuesday, greeting supporters with hugs and selfies. she warned that her supporters might see public polling that shows her with leads in many of the states voting tuesday and conclude that they don<u+2019>t need to vote, which her campaign believes might have contributed to her unexpected loss to sanders in michigan last week. <u+201c>sometimes the reporting of polls, some might say: well, my candidate is doing so well, i don<u+2019>t need to come out,<u+201d> clinton said. <u+201c>but everybody should come out. there<u+2019>s so much at stake in this election.<u+201d> clinton has been eager to pivot her campaign to confront trump more directly. but asked tuesday if she was concerned that a protracted primary fight with sanders would impede democrats<u+2019> ability to wage a general-election fight against the gop nominee, she declined to encourage sanders to leave the race. <u+201c>he has a right to run his campaign in any way that he chooses, and i<u+2019>m proud of the campaign we<u+2019>ve run,<u+201d> clinton said. trump<u+2019>s rhetoric drove some voters clinton<u+2019>s way in the democratic contest. tonya massenburg, 53, voted for clinton in raleigh because she is primarily concerned about <u+201c>violence<u+201d> and <u+201c>racism<u+201d> in the country right now <u+2014> and less concerned about sanders, about whom she said she knows very little. <u+201c>i just hope that north carolina pulled through for hillary clinton,<u+201d> she said. <u+201c>because of the way this country is headed, it<u+2019>s not very good.<u+201d> also tuesday, clinton announced that she has been endorsed by the mother of michael brown, the teenager whose 2014 shooting by police in ferguson, mo., brought more attention to officer-involved slayings of unarmed black men. the endorsement came as clinton has appeared to lose ground to sanders in missouri, with the most recent poll showing an effective tie. <u+201c>when i lost my son, i lost my world. <u+2018>big mike<u+2019> was a big boy, but he was my baby boy, my only child, and his life was brutally taken from me,<u+201d> lezley mcspadden wrote in her endorsement statement. <u+201c>this election season, we are at battle for the soul of our nation,<u+201d> mcspadden said. <u+201c>if we want to continue to build on the progress made by our country, we need a president who is ready to lead <u+2014> and i trust hillary clinton.<u+201d> mcspadden was among a group of african-american mothers who met privately with clinton last year, and clinton has made the mothers<u+2019> stories a regular part of her political speeches, as she talks about the need for criminal justice reform and better gun control. helderman and fahrenthold reported from washington. sean sullivan and ed o<u+2019>keefe in miami, david weigel in youngstown, john wagner in chicago, abby phillip in raleigh, and scott clement, anne gearan and matea gold in washington also contributed.

super tuesday ii: clinton sweeps florida, illinois, ohio and north carolina; rubio quits after trump wins florida

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washington -- there are no shortage of culprits in the national debate over rising income inequality, but president barack obama's labor department would like to add one more to the list: on-the-job injuries. in a new report issued wednesday, labor department officials argue that workplace injuries and illnesses, coupled with an inadequate worker compensation system, are contributing to the gap between rich and poor in the u.s. according to the labor department, roughly 4 million serious injuries and illnesses are reported by employers each year, though the true tally is likely much higher. workers who suffer a serious injury earn an estimated 15 percent less, or $31,000 on average, over the ensuing decade. "these injuries force thousands of working families out of the middle class and block many low-wage workers from getting ahead," david michaels, head of the occupational safety and health administration, told the huffington post. "the studies all show that the majority of workers who get hurt never get any workers compensation, and they have to pick up the cost themselves. the workers who do [get workers comp] are never fully compensated." according to the report, "adding inequality to injury: the costs of failing to protect workers on the job," state laws and court rulings have made it harder for injured workers to recoup money, with workers compensation now covering only an estimated 21 percent of lost wages and medical bills due to injury or illness. the rest of the tab falls onto workers, their health insurers and taxpayers in general. while "inadequate for the average worker," the system tends to be even less generous toward low-wage workers, according to the report. immigrant workers, in particular, may be unaware of their rights, have a limited grasp of english or simply be afraid to report their injuries for fear of losing their jobs. as a result, many don't even file claims. according to the labor department, less than 40 percent of workers who are eligible to apply for workers compensation following an injury actually apply for it. structural changes in the labor force have made workers more likely to get hurt on the job, michaels said. he pointed to the prevalence of temp workers in warehousing and manufacturing, as well as "independent contractors" in the construction industry. temp workers have typically been on the job a shorter period of time and undergone less training, making them more vulnerable to injury than permanent workers. and when workers are misclassified as self-employed independent contractors, companies dodge the liabilities that would typically come with an injury, giving them less motivation to ensure a safe workplace. "when the worker is misclassified, they'll never see workers compensation and they won't get unemployment insurance. they really pay a very significant cost," michaels said. "and if an employer isn't concerned [with liabilities], they have very little incentive to prevent those injuries."

how workplace injuries are adding to income inequality

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in a decision with profound implications, the supreme court asserted that under the us constitution legal marriage may not be denied to same-sex couples, extending this right to all 50 states. as yet another general joins trump's team, what does the pick reveal? from left, annie katz of the university of michigan, zaria cummings of michigan state university, spencer perry of berkeley, calif., and justin maffett of dartmouth university, celebrate outside of the supreme court in washington, friday after the court declared that same-sex couples have a right to marry anywhere in the us. in a landmark decision, the us supreme court on friday ruled that gay men and lesbians enjoy a fundamental right to marry and that none of the 50 states has the power to defy that constitutional guarantee of freedom and equal protection. in a 5-to-4 decision, the high court issued the constitutional equivalent of a grand-slam homerun for same-sex couples across the united states. <u+201c>the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person, and under the due process and equal protection clauses of the fourteenth amendment couples of the same-sex may not be deprived of that right and that liberty,<u+201d> justice anthony kennedy wrote in the majority opinion. <u+201c>the court now holds that same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry,<u+201d> he declared. <u+201c>no longer may this liberty be denied to them.<u+201d> the high court also ruled that in addition to issuing licenses to same-sex couples, all 50 states must recognize the legitimacy of same-sex marriages performed in any other state. currently, 37 states recognize same-sex marriages, while 13 states had maintained the traditional definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman. the high court decision represents a major advance for civil and equal rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (lgbt) community. it marks the continued emergence of that community from its closeted, second-class existence for much of human history. and it establishes a firm legal foundation upon which gay rights advocates will push for broader freedoms, equality, and protections. at the same time, justice kennedy<u+2019>s majority opinion marks a significant setback for conservatives seeking to maintain the federalist structure of government. rather than allowing the contentious social issue of marriage to be decided by the people and their elected representatives on a state-by-state basis, the high court decided instead to constitutionalize the issue of same-sex marriage and answer the question itself. the dissenting justices predict that that court<u+2019>s actions in cutting off democratic debate over the issue will inflame opposition, rather than lead to national healing and greater tolerance. in addition, the decision sets the stage for more contentious battles ahead between gay rights activists and religious and social conservatives, they warn. <u+201c>when decisions are reached through democratic means, some people will inevitably be disappointed with the results. but those whose views do not prevail at least know that they have had their say, and accordingly are <u+2013> in the tradition of our political culture <u+2013> reconciled to the result of a fair and honest debate,<u+201d> chief justice john roberts wrote in a dissenting opinion. that democratic dynamic was cut short by the majority decision, the chief justice said. <u+201c>by deciding this question under the constitution, the court removes it from the realm of democratic decision,<u+201d> roberts said. <u+201c>there will be consequences to shutting down the political process on an issue of such profound significance. closing debate tends to close minds.<u+201d> kennedy dismissed such concerns. <u+201c>of course, the constitution contemplates that democracy is the appropriate process for change,<u+201d> he said, <u+201c>so long as that process does not abridge fundamental rights.<u+201d> when fundamental rights are at stake, he said, the court has a duty to address the issue. kennedy said that marriage was a keystone of the social order in america and that it was intolerable to exclude gay men and lesbians from full participation in that order. <u+201c>it demeans gays and lesbians for the state to lock them out of a central institution of the nation<u+2019>s society,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>the limitation of marriage to opposite-sex couples may long have seemed natural and just, but its inconsistency with the central meaning of the fundamental right to marry is not manifest,<u+201d> kennedy said.<u+00a0> <u+201c>with that knowledge must come the recognition that laws excluding same-sex couples from the marriage right impose stigma and injury of the kind prohibited by our basic charter.<u+201d> in his dissent, chief justice roberts called the majority decision <u+201c>an act of will, not legal judgment.<u+201d> <u+201c>the right it announces has no basis in the constitution or this court<u+2019>s precedent,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>if you are among the many americans <u+2013> of whatever sexual orientation <u+2013> who favor expanding same-sex marriage, by all means celebrate today<u+2019>s decision,<u+201d> the chief justice said. <u+201c>celebrate the achievement of a desired goal. celebrate the opportunity for a new expression of commitment to a partner. celebrate the availability of new benefits,<u+201d> roberts said. <u+201c>but do not celebrate the constitution,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>it had nothing to with it.<u+201d> the chief justice said the constitution leaves to the people and their elected representatives the authority to define marriage. <u+201c>the fundamental right to marry does not include a right to make a state change its definition of marriage. and a state<u+2019>s decision to maintain the meaning of marriage that has persisted in every culture throughout human history can hardly be called irrational,<u+201d> roberts said. <u+201c>in short, our constitution does not enact any one theory of marriage. the people of a state are free to expand marriage to include same-sex couples, or to retain the historic definition,<u+201d> he said. friday<u+2019>s decision stems from lawsuits filed by same-sex couples in four states <u+2013> ohio, michigan, kentucky, and tennessee <u+2013> challenging their exclusion from traditional marriage laws. some couples sued to be allowed to marry. others sued to have same-sex marriages performed in other states recognized in their new state of residence. lawyers for the states had argued that marriage is aimed at heading-off the societal problem of unwed mothers and fatherless children. they argued that it has existed through much of human history to encourage a man and woman to remain together as a family to raise their biological offspring. lawyers for same-sex couples dismissed that explanation, arguing that allowing same-sex couples to marry would in no way undercut the ability of opposite-sex couples to marry and raise their own children. kennedy<u+2019>s majority decision comes less than two months after he commented during oral argument about the difficulty of a judge ordering the nation to change a definition of marriage that had existed throughout most of human history. <u+201c>this definition has been with us for millennia,<u+201d> kennedy said during oral argument in late april. <u+201c>and it<u+2019>s very difficult for the court to say, oh, well, we know better.<u+201d> but that is, essentially, what justice kennedy did on friday. in a dissent, justice antonin scalia said the majority opinion represents a threat to american democracy by a majority of nine lawyers on the supreme court who claim the power to create liberties to be protected under the constitution. scalia said when the high court wields power to revise the constitution it robs the american people of the freedom to govern themselves. <u+201c>until the courts put a stop to it, public debate over same-sex marriage displayed american democracy at its best,<u+201d> scalia said. he said the court<u+2019>s decision to end the debate and resolve the issue itself was a <u+201c>naked judicial claim to legislative <u+2013> indeed super-legislative <u+2013> power.<u+201d> <u+201c>a system of government that makes the people subordinate to a committee of nine unelected lawyers does not deserve to be called a democracy,<u+201d> scalia said. in his majority opinion, kennedy said that if rights were defined only by those who exercised them, new groups would never be able to invoke those rights once they were denied. he said the right to same-sex marriage was part of the liberty promised in the fourteenth amendment. <u+201c>the right to marry is fundamental as a matter of history and tradition, but rights come not from ancient sources alone. they rise, too, from a better informed understanding of how constitutional imperatives define a liberty that remains urgent in our own era,<u+201d> kennedy said. <u+201c>many who deem same-sex marriage to be wrong reach that conclusion based on decent and honorable religious or philosophic premises, and neither they nor their beliefs are disparaged here.<u+201d> <u+201c>but when that sincere, personal opposition becomes enacted law and public policy, the necessary consequence is to put the imprimatur of the state itself on an exclusion that soon demeans or stigmatizes those whose own liberty is then denied,<u+201d> kennedy said. <u+201c>under the constitution, same-sex couples seek in marriage the same legal treatment as opposite-sex couples, and it would disparage their choices and diminish their personhood to deny them this right,<u+201d> he said. joining kennedy in the majority were justices ruth bader ginsburg, stephen breyer, sonia sotomayor, and elena kagan. dissenting opinions were filed by chief justice roberts, and justices scalia, clarence thomas, and samuel alito.

supreme court declares same-sex couples' 'fundamental right' to marry

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on sunday, at the great paris rally, the whole world was charlie. by tuesday, the veneer of solidarity was exposed as tissue thin. it began dissolving as soon as the real, remaining charlie hebdo put out its post-massacre issue featuring a muhammad cover that, as the new york times put it, <u+201c>reignited the debate pitting free speech against religious sensitivities.<u+201d> again? already? had not 4 million marchers and 44 foreign leaders just turned out on the streets of france to declare <u+201c>no<u+201d> to intimidation, and pledging solidarity, indeed identification (<u+201c>je suis charlie<u+201d>) with a satirical weekly specializing in the most outrageous and often tasteless portrayals of muhammad? and yet, within 48 hours, the new charlie hebdo issue featuring the image of muhammad <u+2014> albeit a sorrowful, indeed sympathetic muhammad <u+2014> sparked new protests, denunciations and threats of violence, which in turn evinced another round of doubt and self-flagellation in the west about the propriety and limits of free expression. hopeless. as for president obama, he never was charlie, not even for those 48 hours. from the day of the massacre, he has been practically invisible. at the interstices of various political rallies, he issued bits of muted, mealy-mouthed boilerplate. followed by the now-famous absence of any high-ranking u.s. official at the paris rally, an abdication of moral and political leadership for which the white house has already admitted error. but this was no mere error of judgment or optics or, most absurdly, of communications in which we are supposed to believe that the president was not informed by staff about the magnitude, both actual and symbolic, of the demonstration he ignored. (he needed to be told?) on the contrary, the no-show, following the near silence, precisely reflected the president<u+2019>s profound ambivalence about the very idea of the war on terror. obama began his administration by purging the phrase from the lexicon of official washington. he has ever since shuttled between saying that (a) the war must end because of the damage <u+201c>keeping america on a perpetual wartime footing<u+201d> was doing to us, and (b) the war has already ended, as he suggested repeatedly during the 2012 campaign, with bin laden dead and al-qaeda <u+201c>on the run.<u+201d> hence his call in a major address at the national defense university to <u+201c>refine and ultimately repeal<u+201d> congress<u+2019> 2001 authorization for use of military force, the very legal basis for the war on terror. hence his accelerating release of gitmo inmates <u+2014> five more announced wednesday <u+2014> fully knowing that up to 30 percent have returned to the battlefield (17 percent confirmed, up to 12 percent suspected but not verified). which is why, since about the neolithic era, pows tend to be released after a war is over. paris shows that this war is not. on the contrary. as it rages, it is entering an ominous third phase. the first, circa 9/11, involved sending middle eastern terrorists abroad to attack the infidel west. then came the lone wolf <u+2014> local individuals inspired by foreign jihadists launching one-off attacks, as seen most recently in quebec, ottawa and sydney. paris marks phase 3: coordinated commando strikes by homegrown native-speaking islamists activated and instructed from abroad. (al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula has claimed responsibility for the charlie hebdo killings, while the kosher-grocery shooter proclaimed allegiance to the islamic state.) they develop and flourish in europe<u+2019>s no-go zones where sharia reigns and legitimate state authorities dare not tread. to call them lone wolves, as did our hapless attorney general, is to define jihadism down. it makes them the equivalent of the pitiable, mentally unstable sydney hostage taker. the paris killers were well-trained, thoroughly radicalized, clear-eyed jihadist warriors. they cannot be dismissed as lone loons. worse, they represent a growing generation of alienated european muslims whose sheer number is approaching critical mass. the war on terror 2015 is at a new phase with a new geography. at the core are parallel would-be caliphates: in syria and iraq, the islamic state; in sub-saharan africa, now spilling out of nigeria into cameroon, a near-sovereign boko haram; in the badlands of yemen, aqap, the most dangerous of all al-qaeda affiliates. and beyond lie not just a cast of mini-caliphates embedded in the most ungovernable parts of the third world from libya to somalia to the borderlands of pakistan, but an archipelago of no-go islamist islands embedded in the heart of europe. this is serious. in both size and reach it is growing. our president will not say it. fine. but does he even see it? read more from charles krauthammer<u+2019>s archive, follow him on twitter or subscribe to his updates on facebook.

charles krauthammer: obama: charlie who?

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"we have a little bit of money devoted to a comprehensive, worldwide effort to deal with the threat of global warming," the president<u+00a0>said. "it is simply a matter of science and evidence. it is <u+2026> necessary to reverse it to stand up for america's values and america's interests." given that we've employed the standard trick of not naming the president, you may have guessed that the quote above doesn't come from president obama's remarks at wednesday's coast guard academy commencement. in that speech, obama linked the security of the country with the threat of climate change in the same way. but the comments above instead come from a speech about two decades ago --<u+00a0>by president bill clinton. the most remarkable thing about obama's coast guard comments, in which he argued that we must address the threat of climate change if only to decrease global instability and risks to u.s. facilities, is that it's the refrain to a long-running tune. the link between our security and our carbon emissions has been drawn time and again. within obama's two terms, the drumbeat has been consistent. in 2009, the navy looked at maritime security risks posed by climate change. in 2011, rear adn.<u+00a0>david titley gave a talk at tedxpentagon (!) that considered the issue. (that speech is below.) in 2012, a major general from the u.s. northern command warned that melting arctic ice would create a new, northern coast that would enter into geopolitical considerations. and last year, the pentagon released a report stating that "[o]ur armed forces must prepare for a future with a wide spectrum of possible threats, weighing risks and probabilities to ensure that we will continue to keep our country secure." in 2003, the pentagon drafted a speculative plan that addressed the national security threat from an abrupt change to the world's climate -- a shift of several degrees of temperature in a matter of a decade or so. it garnered a substantial amount of attention at the time, but was mostly regarded as a thought experiment. consensus remains that such a temperature change will happen much more slowly. but military experts under president george w. bush were addressing the more realistic, slower effects of climate change, too. we reported in 2007 that the u.s. army war college funded a conference to address the security implications of climate change. that was soon followed by a report from a panel of retired military leaders that was blunt: "global climate change presents a serious national security threat which could impact americans at home, impact united states military operations and heighten global tensions." darpa started looking into military use of biofuels before bush left office. under clinton, the administration was open in its advocacy on the issue, even if the military was more reserved. vice president al gore had already called climate change "the most serious threat we have ever faced" in his book "earth in the balance" by the time clinton was moving into 1600 pennsylvania avenue. after clinton signed the kyoto protocol aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions, house republicans and retired military officials at that point worried that the protocol itself posed a national security risk, given that it required the reduction of energy use -- and the military used more energy than any other part of the government. in response, clinton exempted the military from being affected. a link between national security and the climate even predates clinton. in june 1988, a senate committee addressed the problem of climate change for the first time, hearing testimony from several scientists, including james hansen, then of nasa goddard space flight center and who since has been an outspoken activist on the subject. after that hearing, michael oppenheimer of the environmental defense fund was asked to clarify some of his comments. in a responding letter, he wrote, "for the u.s., continuous emissions at current levels or higher means continuous change, loss of ecosystems, and probably loss of farm productivity, wetlands, beaches and coastal infrastructure. the security of the nation depends on stabilization of the atmosphere." at the coast guard academy on wednesday, president obama played the same tune.

the long history of linking climate change to american security

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as volatile and nerve-wracking as the great clinton-trump slugfest of 2016 has appeared from the outside, polling data have, for months, suggested a far more stable race. polling aggregators and election prediction markets have consistently shown hillary clinton with an enduring lead over donald trump. then, with less than two weeks remaining until election day, f.b.i. director james comey decided to get involved, firing off a maddeningly vague letter to congress, alerting them to the renewal of an investigation into new e-mails that may or may not pertain to clinton<u+2019>s use of a private server as secretary of state, and throwing the race into chaos. the mexican peso plunged as wall street started pricing in the rising possibility of a trump win, and the media went into overdrive, hyperventilating over a spate of new polls that showed the race tightening. now, as we head into the final weekend before america<u+2019>s much-anticipated day of reckoning, the hive offers a perspicacious overview of all the multifarious reasons to panic, no matter who you<u+2019>re voting for on tuesday. yes, the polls could be misleading the chicago cubs had a smaller chance of winning than trump currently does, as kellyanne conway is quick to remind us. that isn<u+2019>t to say that the statistics showing a likely cubs win didn<u+2019>t accurately take into account everything that sports bettors and analysts knew about both teams at the time. it<u+2019>s merely to say that predictions are just that<u+2014>our best guess for what will happen. all polls include a margin of error, and right now, donald trump is pretty close to striking distance. according to fivethirtyeight, trump lags clinton by just 3.3 points in a polls-only forecast; in 2012, average polling turned out to be off by 2.7 points. even if the electoral college seems to place clinton ahead by wider margins in certain states, <u+201c>this presumes that the states behave independently from national trends, when in fact they tend to move in tandem,<u+201d> writes nate silver . if national polls are off by 2.7 points, for example, that would be more than enough to flip wisconsin and minnesota into trump<u+2019>s column, silver notes. <u+201c>she has quite a gauntlet to run through to hold her firewall, and she doesn<u+2019>t have a lot of good backup options.<u+201d> there<u+2019>s a worrying degree of variation among polling aggregators, data scientists, and political analysts. while huffpost pollster, which excludes outlier polls, currently gives clinton a 97.9 percent of victory, silver<u+2019>s model is far more conservative, giving clinton a 68.1 percent chance to account for increased volatility. <u+201c>[e]verything depends on one<u+2019>s assumptions, but i think that our assumptions<u+2014>a clinton lead, sure, but high uncertainty<u+2014>has repeatedly been validated by the evidence we've seen over the course of the past several months,<u+201d> silver recently told politico. others are far more optimistic. neuroscientist sam wang, who out-predicted silver in 2012, has observed that while some individual polls may place clinton narrowly ahead, trump<u+2019>s rise shouldn<u+2019>t be confused for momentum: <u+201c>one thing that<u+2019>s been apparent is that a major feature of voter opinion for last five elections<u+2014>this is the sixth<u+2014>is that voters have become entrenched,<u+201d> says wang. <u+201c>the movement of voter opinion has been within a narrow range. in finance and other types of statistical analysis, we call this kind of movement a <u+2018>regression to the mean.<u+2019> it happened in 2008, in 2012 and it<u+2019>s happening this year. when things go too far in one direction, they<u+2019>ll start to head back to a midpoint. clinton is now at the low end of where she<u+2019>s been this season. but if the regression to the mean holds, we should see a little movement back to clinton. but we<u+2019>ll see.<u+201d> wang<u+2019>s princeton election consortium pegs clinton<u+2019>s chances of winning at over 99 percent. the myth of the <u+201c>secret<u+201d> trump voter <u+201c>the silent majority is back,<u+201d> trump declared less than a week after clinton<u+2019>s f.b.i. drama broke out into the open. he was referring to a longstanding belief, possibly backed by political science, that there exist a vast swath of trump supporters too embarrassed to tell pollsters they plan to vote for him. <u+201c>when i poll, i do fine. but when i run, i do much better,<u+201d> he bragged. experts have thrown cold water on that idea. a politico/morning consult study this week suggests that the myth of the shy trump voter may be only half-right: according to the survey, hillary clinton led trump by five points, 52 to 47, whereas if asked in an online poll or an automated call<u+2014>two situations in which there was no possibility of social judgment<u+2014>that gap narrowed to three points, with clinton leading 51 to 48. still, the effect was marginal, and clinton won in both scenarios. nate cohn at the upshot has argued that the mysterious newly registered voter is actually more liberal than most pundits have assumed. while trump may have more enthusiastic white supporters, data shows no new registration <u+201c>surge<u+201d> in this category, whereas more younger white voters, minorities, and women registered for the first time. pollsters and analysts, cohn mused, were ignoring these <u+201c>missing nonwhite voters,<u+201d> and that <u+201c>it<u+2019>s mrs. clinton<u+2014>not mr. trump<u+2014>who stands to gain from a surge of new voters.<u+201d> other data also support the idea that polling is underestimating clinton<u+2019>s support. while black turnout has been soft compared to four years ago latinos<u+2014>who are usually under-polled<u+2014>appear to be registering and voting at higher levels than before. talking points memo reports that latino early voting is up 100 percent in florida, 60 percent in north carolina, and 25 percent in colorado and nevada. latino decisions, a latino advocacy group, told tpm that they are projecting as many as 3.5 million more latinos will vote in 2016 than in 2012, which could help her win all four aforementioned swing states. so where does that leave us? the latest clinton e-mail drama may not have caused any significant shifts nationally, outside of a brief hiccup, but it may have rearranged clinton<u+2019>s pathway to victory. a week after comey sent his letter, silver caught up with the recent polling and found that clinton<u+2019>s so-called <u+201c>blue firewall<u+201d> has started to weaken, with states such as new hampshire and michigan suddenly in greater danger of tilting trump. <u+201d>it<u+2019>s not clear that things are getting any worse for clinton, but it<u+2019>s also not clear that they<u+2019>re getting better,<u+201d> he concluded. in fact, nothing is getting much clearer than it has ever been<u+2014>which, perhaps, is liberating in its own way.

two reasons trump could actually win (and three reasons why he won<u+2019>t)

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u.s. military officials said friday they were <u+201c>reasonably certain<u+201d> an airstrike in syria targeting "jihadi john" killed the masked british national seen in videos depicting the beheading of hostages held by isis. earlier, a u.s. military official, discussing the airstrike in raqqa targeting the notorious jihadist, told fox news, "we are 99 percent sure we got him." col. steve warren said the u.s. military is <u+201c>reasonably certain<u+201d> that mohammad emwarzi, better known as <u+201c>jihadi john,<u+201d> was killed in the u.s. drone strike thursday night. in a pentagon briefing friday from baghdad, warren, a spokesman for the u.s.-led coalition, sought to downplay the airstrike calling it more a <u+201c>blow to the prestige" of isis than a military victory.<u+00a0>warren called the strike <u+201c>routine<u+201d> and said similar strikes against mid-to high value isis leaders has occurred every two days since may. but warren later said that jihadi john<u+2019>s death<u+00a0>is<u+00a0><u+201c>significant<u+201d> blow to isis. "this guy was a human animal and killing him is probably making the world a better place," he added. warren said the driver of the vehicle carrying jihadi john was also killed after being struck by a hellfire missile fired from the u.s. drone. the killing of jihadi john comes as the u.s. military is stepping up airstrikes throughout iraq and syria. warren said operation tidal wave ii, a u.s.-led bombing campaign targeting isis<u+2019>s oil infrastructure in eastern syria near the city of dayr as zawr has been underway in recent days to destroy oil infrastructure controlled by isis.<u+00a0> isis receives two-thirds of its revenue from oil, according to warren. despite earlier attempts to destroy the refineries in eastern syria, warren said the damage inflicted earlier was repaired in a 24-hour period on average. the first <u+201c>tidal wave<u+201d> operation dates back to world war ii when the u.s. targeted nazi germany<u+2019>s oil infrastructure, according to warren. warren said the strikes going on today in eastern syria against the oil refineries require <u+201c>replacement parts that isis doesn<u+2019>t have<u+201d> and parts that, if ordered, could be tracked by the coalition. <u+201c>we wanted them broken longer,<u+201d> said warren when asked why the strikes did not occur earlier.<u+00a0> warren said strikes in the past year produced damage to infrastructure that was <u+201c>easy to replace.<u+201d> a senior military source told fox news emwazi was being tracked by the drone for most of the day thursday while he met with other people. the source said the strike took place shortly after emwazi came out of a building in raqqa, when he was "id'd and engaged." sky news, citing sources inside raqqa, reported that emwazi was badly hurt in the air strike but still alive when he was brought to the hospital there. later, however, the same sources said the hospital was sealed off to the public. locals say the hospital is usually closed when an isis figure is killed, which allows the group to go on social media and claim he is still alive. a representative of the syrian observatory for human rights told the daily telegraph, "a car carrying four foreign islamic state leaders, including one british jihadi, was hit by u.s. air strikes [near] the governorate building in raqqa city. "all the sources there are saying that the body of an important british jihadi is lying in the hospital of raqqa," the activist added. "all the sources are saying it is of jihadi john but i cannot confirm it personally." emwazi, believed to be in his mid-20s, has been described by a former hostage as a bloodthirsty psychopath who enjoyed threatening western hostages. spanish journalist javier espinosa, who had been held in syria for more than six months after his abduction in september 2013, said emwazi would explain precisely how the militants would carry out a beheading. those being held by three british-sounding captors nicknamed them "the beatles" with "jihadi john" a reference to beatles member john lennon, espinosa said in recalling his months as one of more than 20 hostages. emwazi is seen in videos showing the beheading of journalists steve sotloff and james foley, american aid worker abdul-rahman kassig, british aid workers david haines and alan henning, japanese journalist kenji goto, and a number of other hostages. in the videos, a tall masked figure clad in black and speaking in a british accent typically began one of the gruesome videos with a political rant and a kneeling hostage before him, then ended it holding an oversize knife in his hand with the headless victim lying before him in the sand. a counterterror analyst told fox news that emwazi became so sought-after following his appearances in the beheading videos that he was shunned by isis leadership. the analyst said emwazi had become the "typhoid mary" of the terror group, noting that his presence had prompted airstrikes on meetings, buildings, and other commanders. british prime minister david cameron said friday the drone action was "a strike at the heart" of isis, as well as "an act of self-defense" and the right thing to do. cameron said britain has been "working, with the united states, literally around the clock to track him down." "this was a combined effort," he said. "and the contribution of both our countries was essential." secretary of state john kerry told reporters in tunisia friday that extremists <u+201c>need to know this: your days are numbered, and you will be defeated.<u+201d> sotloff<u+2019>s parents, art and shirley sotloff, responding to the reports that emwazi was killed issued a statement that said, <u+201c>this development doesn<u+2019>t change anything for us; it<u+2019>s too little too late. our son is never coming back.<u+201d> <u+201c>his death does not bring jim back,<u+201d> they said. <u+201c>if only so much effort had been given to finding and rescuing jim and the other hostages who were subsequently murdered by isis , they might be alive today.<u+201d> haines<u+2019> daughter, bethany haines, told sky news friday that she felt an 'instant sense of" relief" when she heard emwazi may have been killed. she said her feeling was because of "'knowing he wouldn't appear in any more horrific videos." emwazi was identified as "jihadi john" last february, although a lawyer who once represented emwazi's father told reporters that there was no evidence supporting the accusation. experts and others later confirmed the identification. emwazi was born in kuwait and spent part of his childhood in the poor taima area of jahra before moving to britain while still a boy, according to news reports quoting syrian activists who knew the family. he attended state schools in london, then studied computer science at the university of westminster before leaving for syria in 2013. the woman who had been the principal at london's quintin kynaston academy told the bbc earlier this year that emwazi had been quiet and "reasonably hard-working." officials said britain's intelligence community had emwazi on its list of potential terror suspects for years but was unable to prevent him from traveling to syria. he had been known to the nation's intelligence services since at least 2009, when he was connected with investigations into terrorism in somalia. the beheading of foley, 40, of rochester, new hampshire, was deemed by is to be its response to u.s. airstrikes. the release of the video, on aug. 19, 2014, horrified and outraged the civilized world but was followed the next month by videos showing the beheadings of sotloff and haines and, in october, of henning. fox news<u+2019> lucas tomlinson, jennifer griffin, catherine herridge, greg palkot and the associated press contributed this report. click for more from sky news.

us military: 'reasonably certain' airstrike killed notorious isis militant 'jihadi john'

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jesse matthew jr. has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of university of virginia second-year student hannah graham, according to reports from local media in charlottesville. the charges are expected to be announced at a press conference tuesday. graham was last seen publicly at a bar with matthew on sept. 13, 2014. her remains were found on an abandoned property in albemarle county, virginia, on oct. 18. matthew has already been charged in graham<u+2019>s disappearance<u+2014>with abduction with intent to defile. officials say matthew has been forensically linked to the body of morgan harrington, a virginia tech student who was found dead in january 2010. he has been jailed for attempted murder, rape, and sexual-assault charges in regard to the rape and sexual assault of a fairfax woman in 2005.

uva suspect faces 1st degree murder

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as they went on their rampage, the men who killed 12 people in paris this week yelled that they had <u+201c>avenged the prophet.<u+201d> they followed in the path of other terrorists who have bombed newspaper offices, stabbed a filmmaker and killed writers and translators, all to mete out what they believe is the proper koranic punishment for blasphemy. but in fact, the koran prescribes no punishment for blasphemy. like so many of the most fanatical and violent aspects of islamic terrorism today, the idea that islam requires that insults against the prophet muhammad be met with violence is a creation of politicians and clerics to serve a political agenda. one holy book is deeply concerned with blasphemy: the bible. in the old testament, blasphemy and blasphemers are condemned and prescribed harsh punishment. the best-known passage on this is leviticus 24:16 : <u+201c>anyone who blasphemes the name of the lord is to be put to death. the entire assembly must stone them. whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the name they are to be put to death.<u+201d> by contrast, the word blasphemy appears nowhere in the koran. (nor, incidentally, does the koran anywhere forbid creating images of muhammad, though there are commentaries and traditions <u+2014> <u+201c>hadith<u+201d> <u+2014> that do, to guard against idol worship.) islamic scholar maulana wahiduddin khan has pointed out that <u+201c>there are more than 200 verses in the koran, which reveal that the contemporaries of the prophets repeatedly perpetrated the same act, which is now called <u+2018>blasphemy or abuse of the prophet<u+2019> .<u+2009>.<u+2009>. but nowhere does the koran prescribe the punishment of lashes, or death, or any other physical punishment.<u+201d> on several occasions, muhammad treated people who ridiculed him and his teachings with understanding and kindness. <u+201c>in islam,<u+201d> khan says, <u+201c>blasphemy is a subject of intellectual discussion rather than a subject of physical punishment.<u+201d> somebody forgot to tell the terrorists. but the gruesome and bloody belief the jihadis have adopted is all too common in the muslim world, even among so-called moderate muslims <u+2014> that blasphemy and apostasy are grievous crimes against islam and should be punished fiercely. many muslim-majority countries have laws against blasphemy and apostasy <u+2014> and in some places, they are enforced. pakistan is now the poster child for the anti-blasphemy campaign gone wild. in march, at least 14 people were on death row in that country, and 19 were serving life sentences, according to the u.s. commission on international religious freedom. the owner of the country<u+2019>s largest media group has been sentenced to 26 years in prison because one of his channels broadcast a devotional song about muhammad<u+2019>s daughter while reenacting a wedding. (really.) and pakistan is not alone. bangladesh, malaysia, egypt, turkey and sudan have all used blasphemy laws to jail and harass people. in moderate indonesia, 120 people have been detained for this reason since 2003. saudi arabia forbids the practice of any religion other than its own wahhabi version of islam. the pakistani case is instructive, because its extreme version of anti-blasphemy law is relatively recent and a product of politics. mohammed zia ul-haq, pakistan<u+2019>s president during the late 1970s and 1980s, wanted to marginalize the democratic and liberal opposition, and he embraced islamic fundamentalists, no matter how extreme. he passed a series of laws islamizing pakistan, including a law that recommended the death penalty or life imprisonment for insulting muhammad in any way. when governments try to curry favor with fanatics, eventually the fanatics take the law into their own hands. in pakistan, jihadis have killed dozens of people whom they accuse of blasphemy, including a brave politician, salmaan taseer, who dared to call the blasphemy law a <u+201c>black law.<u+201d> we should fight terrorism. but we should also fight the source of the problem. it<u+2019>s not enough for muslim leaders to condemn people who kill those they consider as blasphemers if their own governments endorse the idea of punishing blasphemy at the very same time. the u.s. religious freedom commission and the u.n. human rights committee have both declared that blasphemy laws violate universal human rights because they violate freedom of speech and expression. they are correct. in muslim-majority countries, no one dares to dial back these laws. in western countries, no one confronts allies on these issues. but blasphemy is not a purely domestic matter, of concern only to those who worry about countries<u+2019> internal affairs. it now sits on the bloody crossroad between radical islamists and western societies. it cannot be avoided anymore. western politicians, muslim leaders and intellectuals everywhere should point out that blasphemy is something that does not exist in the koran and should not exist in the modern world. read more from fareed zakaria<u+2019>s archive, follow him on twitter or subscribe to his updates on facebook.

blasphemy and the law of fanatics

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hillary rodham clinton has locked up public support from half of the democratic insiders who cast ballots at the party's national convention, giving her a commanding advantage over her rivals for the party's presidential nomination. clinton's margin over vermont sen. bernie sanders and former maryland gov. martin o'malley is striking. not only is it big, but it comes more than two months before primary voters head to the polls -- an early point in the race for so many of the people known as superdelegates to publicly back a candidate. "she has the experience necessary not only to lead this country, she has experience politically that i think will help her through a tough campaign," said unzell kelley, a county commissioner from alabama. "i think she's learned from her previous campaign," he said. "she's learned what to do, what to say, what not to say -- which just adds to her electability." the associated press contacted all 712 superdelegates in the past two weeks, and heard back from more than 80 percent. they were asked which candidate they plan to support at the convention next summer. the 712 superdelegates make up about 30 percent of the 2,382 delegates needed to clinch the democratic nomination. that means that more than two months before voting starts, clinton already has 15 percent of the delegates she needs. that sizable lead reflects clinton's advantage among the democratic party establishment, an edge that has helped the 2016 front-runner build a massive campaign organization, hire top staff and win coveted local endorsements. superdelegates are convention delegates who can support the candidate of their choice, regardless of who voters choose in the primaries and caucuses. they are members of congress and other elected officials, party leaders and members of the democratic national committee. clinton is leading most preference polls in the race for the democratic nomination, most by a wide margin. sanders has made some inroads in new hampshire, which holds the first presidential primary, and continues to attract huge crowds with his populist message about income inequality. but sanders has only recently started saying he's a democrat after a decades-long career in politics as an independent. while he's met with and usually voted with democrats in the senate, he calls himself a democratic socialist. "we recognize secretary clinton has enormous support based on many years working with and on behalf of many party leaders in the democratic party," said tad devine, a senior adviser to the sanders campaign. "but sen. sanders will prove to be the strongest candidate, with his ability to coalesce and bring young people to the polls the way that barack obama did." "the best way to win support from superdelegates is to win support from voters," added devine, a longtime expert on the democrats' nominating process. the clinton campaign has been working for months to secure endorsements from superdelegates, part of a strategy to avoid repeating the mistakes that cost her the democratic nomination eight years ago. in 2008, clinton hinged her campaign on an early knockout blow on super tuesday, while obama's staff had devised a strategy to accumulate delegates well into the spring. this time around, clinton has hired obama's top delegate strategist from 2008, a lawyer named jeff berman, an expert on the party's arcane rules for nominating a candidate for president. clinton's increased focus on winning delegates has paid off, putting her way ahead of where she was at this time eight years ago. in december 2007, clinton had public endorsements from 169 superdelegates, according to an ap survey. at the time, obama had 63 and a handful of other candidates had commitments as well from the smaller fraction of superdelegates willing to commit to a candidate. "our campaign is working hard to earn the support of every caucus goer, primary voter and grassroots and grasstop leaders," said clinton campaign spokesman jesse ferguson. "since day one we have not taken this nomination for granted and that will not change." some superdelegates supporting clinton said they don't think sanders is electable, especially because of his embrace of socialism. but few openly criticized sanders and a handful endorsed him. "i've heard him talk about many subjects and i can't say there is anything i disagree with," said chad nodland, a dnc member from north dakota who is backing sanders. however, nodland added, if clinton is the party's nominee, "i will knock on doors for her. there are just more issues i agree with bernie." some superdelegates said they were unwilling to publicly commit to candidates before voters have a say, out of concern that they will be seen as undemocratic. a few said they have concerns about clinton, who has been dogged about her use of a private email account and server while serving as secretary of state. "if it boils down to anything i'm not sure about the trust factor," said danica oparnica, a dnc member from arizona. "she has been known to tell some outright lies and i can't tolerate that." still others said they were won over by clinton's 11 hours of testimony before a gop-led committee investigating the attack on a u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya. clinton's testimony won widespread praise as house republicans struggled to trip her up. "i don't think that there's any candidate right now, democrat or republican, that could actually face up to that and come out with people shaking their heads and saying, `that is one bright, intelligent person,"' said california democratic rep. tony cardenas.

party insiders give clinton early, commanding delegate edge

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goffstown <u+2013> chris christie kicked off a two day swing to new hampshire with a sober prescription for tackling escalating entitlement spending. the new jersey governor and potential republican presidential candidate proposed raising the retirement age for social security to 69, means testing for social security, and gradually raising the eligibility age for medicare. christie outlined his proposals on entitlement reform at a speech tuesday morning at the new hampshire institute of politics at saint anselm college. <u+201c>in the short term, it is growing the deficit and slowly but surely taking over all of government. in the long term, it will steal our children<u+2019>s future and bankrupt our nation. meanwhile, our leaders in washington are not telling people the truth. washington is still not dealing with the problem,<u+201d> christie said. <u+201c>washington is afraid to have an honest conversation about social security, medicare and medicaid with the people of our country. i am not,<u+201d> the governor added. christie said that social security should be retirement insurance, and he proposed what he described as <u+201c>modest<u+201d> means testing. <u+201c>let<u+2019>s ask ourselves an honest question: do we really believe that the wealthiest americans need to take from younger, hardworking americans to receive what, for most of them, is a modest monthly social security check? i propose a modest means test that only affects those with non-social security income of over $80,000 per year, and phases out social security payments entirely for those that have $200,000 a year of other income,<u+201d> christie said. he added that his proposal would only affect 2 percent of all social security recipients. when it comes to medicare, christie would increase the current sliding scare of means testing. <u+201c>we should expand the sliding scale under my proposal. seniors with an $85,000 a year income will pay 40% of premium costs and increasing it to 90% above $196,000 a year in retirement income, christie said. christie also proposed raising the retirement age for social security. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m proposing we raise the age to 69, gradually implementing this change starting in 2022 and increasing the retirement age by two months each year until it reaches 69. i also believe we need to raise the early retirement age <u+2013> people who take their retirement early -- at a similar pace, raising it by two months per year until it reaches 64 from the current level of 62,<u+201d> christie and he also called for raising the eligibility age for medicare at what he described as <u+201c>a manageable pace of one month per year, so that by 2040, you<u+2019>d be eligible for medicare at 67 years old, and by 2064 would be 69 years old. raising the eligibility age, slowly so that people can plan for it, has another advantage. it encourages seniors to remain in the workforce.<u+201d> christie also trained some of his fire on president barack obama, saying the president <u+201c>has left us a debtor nation. in his short time in office, he has almost doubled the national debt <u+2013> increasing it by over $8 trillion.<u+201d> <u+201c>it won<u+2019>t be easy to turn around the fiscal mess that barack obama has left us either. he has avoided the tough decisions. imagine that the straightforward discussion i<u+2019>ve just had with you today, president obama has been afraid to have with you for the last eight years -- from the day he declared for president in february of 2007 to this very day,<u+201d> christie added. [how chris christie is plotting a comeback with town hall meetings] christie ended his speech by touting that he<u+2019>s not afraid to tackle the difficult issues, like entitlement reform. <u+201c>here<u+2019>s what you<u+2019>ll learn about me. i have been talking about the growth of entitlements as a big problem, at both the state and federal levels, for a number of years. not because it is politically popular, but because it is true. and because it will affect everything we can do as a country to make this century the second american century. i will not pander. i will not flip flop. i<u+2019>m not afraid to tell you the truth as i see it, whether you like it or not,<u+201d> christie concluded. prior to his address, christie met with students at saint anselm college. after a conference call with conservative reporters who were unable to watch the speech, christie was headed to a retail stop at caesario<u+2019>s pizza on elm street in manchester. later in the day he was scheduled to hold a meet and greet at the stone church tavern in newmarket, followed by a closed door seacoast roundtable hosted by renee plummer, one of the most influential gop activists along the coast. wednesday christie meets and greets voters at chez vachon, a breakfast spot in manchester, before holding a town hall in londonderry. he returns to new hampshire on friday to speak at the nhgop<u+2019>s first-in-the-nation leadership summit. the two-day confab in nashua<u+2019>s attracting just about every declared candidate and probable republican white house contender.

chris christie kicks off his comeback tour in n.h., going all-in on entitlement reform

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watch the first democratic presidential debate tuesday at 8:30 p.m. et live on cnn and cnngo ; join the conversation at #demdebate washington (cnn) the shadow boxing that hillary clinton and bernie sanders have played at for months -- they've barely mentioned each other on the campaign trail -- will give way to more direct jabs tuesday night. that's when the two rivals line up on stage at the first democratic debate of the 2016 campaign, sponsored by cnn and facebook. the encounter will provide a crucial opportunity for clinton and sanders -- the leading democratic contenders -- to contrast their personalities, experience and approach to the key issues in the campaign. though clinton and sanders have rarely mentioned each other's names, they are clearly reacting to each other and their rival's potential weaknesses. sanders took aim at clinton's wall street record and iraq vote over the weekend; she put him on the defensive on guns and his poor standing with minority voters. until now, they have each had good reason for avoiding full contact with the other. clinton hasn't wanted to elevate sanders and his surprisingly strong poll numbers, while sanders has wanted to maintain his untraditional, above-the-fray image. on tuesday, that calculus will change. and the distinctions they've subtly staked out on a range of issues are only likely to grow sharper. in the weeks leading up to the debate in las vegas, the two democrats have been carefully finessing their political positions in relation to each other and their party's wide coalition, offering clues about how they will spar tuesday night. sanders has been signaling he will try to strike a contrast with clinton on reining in wall street and on her record of support for military interventions overseas. the former secretary of state, meanwhile, is under pressure to prove to progressives who have flocked to sanders that she genuinely cares about the middle class. she's expected to highlight her differences with her rival on gun control and to demonstrate the broad support she has among minority voters -- a key sector of the democratic coalition where sanders is struggling. as he limbered up for their clash, sanders threw down the gauntlet on the iraq war -- a thrust that clinton has struggled to counter in the past -- hinting that she has hawkish views that are out of step with the majority of democratic voters. his campaign issued a statement reminding voters that he, then a member of the house of representatives, voted against authorizing the iraq war in late 2002. at the time he argued that the conflict would destabilize the middle east, kill large numbers of americans and iraqi civilians and hamper the war on terror against al qaeda. the statement did not once mention clinton -- but it did not have to. the then-new york senator did vote to authorize the iraq war, and that vote was one of her greatest vulnerabilities in the 2008 democratic campaign against obama, who also opposed the war. the sanders statement raised the possibility that clinton's vote could haunt her for a second presidential campaign. "democrats are no more fond of the iraq war now than they were back then. that could be a problem," peter beinart, a foreign policy expert and cnn contributor, said monday. he added that another democratic candidate, former virginia senator and vietnam war veteran jim webb, who was also against the war, could double-team with sanders to cause trouble for clinton on the issue. sanders has also been staking out territory to clinton's left on syria. the former secretary of state recently distanced herself from obama's much-criticized policy on the vicious civil war by calling for a no-fly zone to be set up to shield refugees. sanders issued a statement earlier this month pointing out that he opposes such an idea, warning that it could "get us more deeply involved in that horrible civil war and lead to a never ending entanglement in that region." the statement appeared to be a clear appeal to democrats who share obama's antipathy toward getting the united states entangled in another middle eastern conflict and who are wary of clinton's more activist instincts on foreign policy. sanders is not alone in seeing clinton's foreign policy record as a vulnerability. another democratic candidate, former maryland gov. martin o'malley, also picked up on her syria position sunday -- saying on cnn's "state of the union" that a no-fly zone was not advisable and warning that the former secretary of state was "always quick for the military intervention," apparently referring to her previous support for military action in nations such as iraq and libya. another area where sanders seems more in tune with the progressive democratic base is on wall street, especially since he has raised most of his money from small donors -- unlike the former secretary of state, who has been relying on big budget fund-raising events with rich contributors. even with his small-donor focus, sanders is nearly neck-and-neck in the fund-raising race with clinton. clinton has made strenuous attempts to connect with what her campaign has called "regular" americans, stressing the need to raise up the middle class to feel the benefits of the economic recovery. but sanders has said that she hasn't done enough, an argument he may expand upon on the debate stage. "people will have to contrast my consistency and my willingness to stand up to wall street and corporations with the secretary," sanders said on nbc's "meet the press" on sunday. the vermont senator also will likely draw an implied contrast with clinton on two other issues -- the trans-pacific partnership trade pact the united states and 11 other nations reached this month and the keystone xl pipeline designed to carry oil from canada's tar sands across the united states. clinton now says she is a 'no' on both issues, but she took months to get there -- despite fervent opposition to both projects from the left flank of the democratic party. "i am glad that she has reached that conclusion," said sanders in washington last week when asked about clinton's opposition to a trade agreement she championed repeatedly as secretary of state. "this is a conclusion that i reached from day one." yet sanders is not alone in curating the battlefield for the democratic debate. clinton, while getting in line with progressive democratic positions on big issues, has also been preparing to strike key contrasts with sanders. guns are one policy issue where sanders is not completely in sync with the democratic base, so clinton is likely to exploit it on tuesday night. she has been promising a forthright effort to enact new gun control laws after a string of recent mass shootings. it partly seems to be an attempt to focus attention her rival's record on guns, which recently saw him express his openness to reforms that would hold gun manufacturers liable for crimes committed with their weapons. clinton has also spent the runup to the debate cementing her links to key voting blocs of the democratic coalition -- especially in sectors of the party where sanders is weak. she can point to broad appeal in the party, which could be key to eventually blunting the challenge from sanders after early-voting contests in the less diverse states of iowa and new hampshire where he is strong. in recent weeks, clinton has met representatives of the black lives matter movement and has even criticized obama for not going far enough in changing immigration laws. "hillary has done a lot of work leading up to this debate that has pretty much gone unnoticed," patti solis doyle, clinton's 2008 campaign manager, said on cnn on monday. "she's rolled out latinos for hillary, she has rolled out women for hillary, she has met with the leadership of black lives matter, she has checked a lot of boxes walking into this debate," she noted. "i think she is going to display tomorrow night (tuesday) her vast support among this coalition." the challenge that sanders faces reaching out to minority voters, who are a vital part of the democratic party voting bloc, was underscored by a new cnn poll monday finding that only 1% of nonwhite voters in the important early voting state of south carolina favor him. that is a showing that sanders must improve on if he is to come from behind and beat clinton for the nomination.

democratic debate 2015: hillary clinton and bernie sanders finally face off

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gop presidential contenders stay classy with major shift in debate tone and pitch after one more debate among the republican contenders for president, the postgame conversation was once again dominated by donald trump's behavior. but for once, it was about his good behavior. he did not shout or fulminate, nor did he pout or belittle his opponents or joust with the moderators. in fact, after an even dozen of these events, all four remaining candidates kept a remarkably even keel at the university of miami. their previous two meetings had been rife with personal attacks that, at times, became almost juvenile, but on this night all four seemed intent on elevating the tone and tending to business. the themes of the night were almost entirely policy oriented, with a few forays into political process and tiffs over who was doing better or more likely to win in november if nominated. the two-hour debate was shown on cnn and co-sponsored by the salem media group and the washington times. and although there is at least one more debate scheduled in salt lake city on march 21, the miami event had the feeling of a finale. the moderators began with a long discussion of job creation, which segued into trade, visas for high-tech workers, social security, the national debt, obamacare, education policy, common core and, of course, immigration. much of the attention was on donald trump and ted cruz, who have together amassed more than 800 delegates to date. but both marco rubio and john kasich, who face do-or-die primaries in their home states on tuesday, had ample opportunity to defend their place in the race. trump, as has been typical, got most of the air time, with more than 27 minutes. cruz and rubio followed with a little under 22 minutes each, kasich with less than 19. rubio and kasich delivered solid reprises of their strongest debate moments to date, as if to say that if this was going to be their last outing, they would at least be at their best. rubio, most notably, was once again the smooth and earnest spokesman for a new american dream, sharp on the issue details and long on the idealistic overtures. it was easier to understand why his expectations had been so high than to understand his third- and fourth-place finishes. "for over two centuries, america has been an exceptional nation," rubio said. "and now the time has come for this generation to do what it must do to keep it that way. if we make the right choice in this election, our children are going to be the freest and most prosperous americans that have ever lived." kasich had this to say near the end of the debate: in essence, though, both rubio and kasich trail so far behind in the delegate count that they are at this point running for influence at the convention and a prospective vice presidential bid. either might make a classic running mate with high name recognition and campaign experience. florida is the largest swing state in the electoral college, and no republican has ever won the white house without winning ohio. cruz, who has been trump's closest competitor thus far, returned several times to the difference between talking about problems and knowing how to solve them. "donald is right," cruz said, gesturing toward trump. "for example, he was just talking about international trade. he's right about the problems. but his solutions don't work. so, for example, his solution on international trade, he proposed earlier a 45 percent tariff on foreign goods. now, he backed away from that immediately, and he may come back with a different number tonight." at another point, cruz referred to his rival as "a candidate who has been funding liberal democrats and funding the washington establishment," adding that "it's very hard to imagine how suddenly this candidate is going to take on washington." trump was once again the man in the middle. but he was markedly different in playing the central role. he found a deft way, when discussing education, to mention that former rival candidate ben carson would be endorsing him the next day (an important coup given carson's image, aura and remaining bloc of voters). as ever, trump pushed back when others pushed him, but without the ferocity seen in earlier debates. questioned about how he could get tough on trade and immigration when his businesses brought in foreign workers and made products overseas, trump responded calmly and firmly: challenged over a protester who was beaten at one of trump's rallies this week, trump said he did not condone such behavior. but he also said some of the disturbances at his events were caused by "bad dudes" who had been violent and disruptive, and added a salute to the local police, who he said had handled these situations well and deserved more support and respect. the elevated tone of the miami debate may have reflected the seriousness of the contest at this juncture. tuesday brings the second biggest prize of the season: 99 delegates in the winner-take-all state of florida. it is widely believed that rubio must win his home state or fold his tent. also winner-take-all is ohio, where the same imperative hangs over incumbent gov. kasich. but the other three states voting, illinois, north carolina and missouri, rank fifth, 10th and 18th by population and size of convention delegations. taken together, the five states on march 15 offer nearly as many delegates as were available on super tuesday, march 1. at one point in the debate, the candidates were asked what they would do if none of them had the 1,237 delegates needed for a first ballot nomination. trump said he expected to have enough on the first ballot, adding that if he did not he would expect to support whichever candidate had the most. he called on the others to promise as much:

gop presidential contenders stay classy with major shift in debate tone and pitch

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the hillary clinton campaign, in an unusual late-afternoon conference call, touted an exclusive fox news report on the origin of the fbi probe into the candidate<u+2019>s server in a bid to argue it proves she did nothing wrong -- though a top government watchdog pushed back on the campaign's claims. the report by fox news<u+2019> catherine herridge, for the first time, identified emails that helped kick-start the current investigation. the emails were from top clinton advisers and had earlier been released to the benghazi select committee. on the conference call wednesday reacting to the report, top clinton campaign aides said those emails were not marked classified at the time they were sent. however, despite the clinton campaign<u+2019>s claims, a spokeswoman for the intelligence community inspector general reiterated to fox news that the information in the emails was in fact considered classified at the time it was sent. an aide to sen. charles grassley, r-iowa, also issued a statement defending the intelligence community's concern. "just because the state department may not think information is or should be classified, it does not have the authority [to] make that decision if it received the information from another agency," a grassley spokesperson said. campaign press secretary brian fallon acknowledged wednesday they have a disagreement on that point with the intelligence community inspector general. clinton campaign officials said on the call that, at worst, this is a dispute between two agencies, as the state department also maintains the emails were not classified. fallon said the campaign previously did not know which emails originally had been flagged, and called the fox news report a <u+201c>watershed<u+201d> moment in understanding what led to the review. calling the report <u+201c>fortuitous<u+201d> and saying they have no reason to doubt its veracity, the aides also emphasized the emails were not written by clinton herself. <u+201c>we again would like to see the government agencies involved in this process to proceed as quickly as possible in conducting a review of the emails,<u+201d> fallon said. <u+201c>we think it will vindicate all the points we made today on this whole matter.<u+201d> the emails identified by fox news as helping spur the referral both pertained to benghazi. the first was forwarded by clinton adviser huma abedin. the 2011 email forwards a warning about how then-deputy chief of mission chris stevens was "considering departure from benghazi" amid deteriorating conditions in a nearby city. the email was mistakenly released by the state department in full, and is now considered declassified. the second was sent by clinton aide jake sullivan. the partly redacted november 2012 email detailed how libyan police had arrested "several people" with potential connections to the terror attack. abedin and sullivan now work for the clinton presidential campaign fox news understands those two emails were separate from four other emails that the inspector general flagged in july as containing classified information. a statement from the ig<u+2019>s office last month, though, referenced one of the two emails, pointing to an <u+201c>inadvertent release of classified national security information<u+201d> by the state department through its foia process. that statement also acknowledged the disagreement between the two agencies, saying the department denies the <u+201c>classified character<u+201d> of the information <u+201c>despite a definitive determination from the ic interagency foia process.<u+201d> aside from that disagreement, the two emails also represent just a fraction of the hundreds of emails<u+200e> that the ig and state department have since flagged for containing potentially classified material. the clinton campaign argued wednesday that this whole experience speaks to the government<u+2019>s tendency toward classification. <u+201c>we think that this says more about the bent towards secrecy within some corners of the government. it says more about that than it does about hillary clinton<u+2019>s email practices,<u+201d> fallon said.

clinton campaign tries to use report to exonerate candidate in email scandal

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the muslim couple who stormed an office holiday party wednesday in southern california, mowing down 14 people before dying hours later in a shootout with police, possessed a massive arsenal of ammo, bombs and high-powered weapons -- and investigators were hoping that computer drives and cell phones seized from their home could tell them whether they were radicalized terrorists with more targets in their sights. local and federal authorities - as well as president obama - continued thursday to resist calling the carnage at a san bernardino social services facility terrorism, even as evidence mounted that the pair, who wore tactical gear and moved with grim precision, may have been jihadists armed to the teeth and hellbent on slaughtering innocent americans. more than 5,000 rounds of ammunition were later found in their home, which sources described as "an ied factory" packed with explosives and bomb-making equipment. "at this stage, we do not yet know why this terrible event occurred," obama said in an address from the white house. "we'll get to the bottom of this and be vigilant getting the facts before we issue decisive judgments on how this occurred." syed rizwan farook, a u.s.-born citizen of pakistani descent who had traveled to saudi arabia for nine days in the summer of 2014 and had recently begun wearing a full beard, and tashfeen malik, 29, burst into the facility wednesday morning and sprayed up to 75 rounds at farook's own terrified colleagues in a conference room where his employer, the county health department, was hosting a holiday party farook had angrily bolted only minutes earlier. the pair escaped in a black suv after the attack, which authorities said was over within as few as 10 minutes, only to resurface three hours later and less than 2 miles away in a fierce gun battle on the city's main drag. "they came prepared to do what they did, as if they were on a mission," said san bernardino police chief jarrod burguan, who refuted an earlier report by fox news that the suspects wore gopro cameras during their initial rampage. farook, 28, who authorities said was born in illinois, and raised in california and had worked as a $51,000-per-year restaurant inspector at the san bernardino county department of public health for five years, was described by co-workers as a "devout" muslim, who lived with his wife, child and grandmother in a home in nearby redlands, which sources described as "an ied factory." bomb squads working with robots swept the home late into the night wednesday, and witnesses reported hearing several explosions. malik, who had a 6-month-old baby with farook, came to the u.s. on a k-1 (fiance of citizen) visa and had a pakistani passport, according to authorities. it was not clear how long the couple had been together. burguan said thursday he was "not aware of any notes" that might shed light on a possible motive. a source briefed on the investigation told fox news farook had been in contact with individuals who had been the subject of previous terrorism fbi investigations, but those investigations had been closed. meanwhile, jihadists and extremists took to social media to express<u+00a0>joy over the american casualties, according to the middle east media research institute (memri). one user, muhammad abu ubaida, tweeted: "allah akbar, and thanks for allah, the killing of at least 30 people in a shooting incident in san bernardino in california," under the hashtag, <u+201c>america burning.<u+201d> muslimah, a prominent pro-isis account, shared a photo believed to be of syed farook, and wrote: "may allah accept our brother & sister who were martyred after carrying out an operation against crusaders in usa," memri said. at an afternon news conference, attorney general loretta lynch said the fbi had taken the reins of the investigation, and a bureau spokesman said a focus of the probe is digital evidence collected from their homes, including hard drives, thumb drives and cell phones. while those could be part of a terror investigation, and fbi spokesman said it was too soon to ascribe religion as a motive. "it is a possibility, but we don't know that," said assistant regional fbi director david bowdich. "it's possible it goes down that road. it's possible it does not." a law enforcement source told fox news that the couple were each carrying an ar-15 rifle and a pistol when they were shot and killed by police after a brief chase in their rented black ford expedition with utah plates about 2 miles from the initial shooting site. the source said the vehicle also contained so-called "rollout bags" with multiple pipe bombs, as well as additional ammunition. "that's a military tactic for a sustained fight," the source told fox news of the rollout bags. the guns found on the suspects, two rifles and two handguns, were purchased legally, according to meredith davis, a spokeswoman for the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives. burguan said thursday farook had purchased the handguns, but he did not say who had bought the rifles. it was unclear where the suspects may have been during the hours following the lightning-quick attack, but they did not get far. a police spokeswoman said police came across the suv while "doing follow-up work," and several reports said the car was at a nearby home police were staking out when the suspects got in and tried to flee. it was not immediately clear if that home was the one searched later in redlands. about three hours after the shooting, with police looking for a dark suv, officers staking out the redlands home after being tipped off by a colleague disturbed by farook's exit from the party saw a vehicle matching that description. word that police were hot on their trail came even as emergency responders were treating the wounded on the scene, and sparked a flurry of law enforcement racing to the scene just blocks away. the gunfight, caught on cellphone video by a bystander, was a furious exchange in which 23 officers fired a total of 380 rounds at the suspects, according to burguan. two officers suffered non-life threatening injuries. in addition to the explosives found in the suv, authorities discovered and detonated three pipe bombs late wednesday at the inland regional center, the complex where the initial shooting took place about 60 miles east of los angeles. another source said investigators discovered a dozen pipe bombs in the house, as well as small explosives strapped to remote-controlled cars - a signature of terrorist groups including al qaeda, according to counter-terrorism experts. police also found thousands of .223-caliber and 9mm rounds at the home. ""clearly they were equipped and could have done an other attack," barguan said. "luckily we stopped them before that." the initial shooting happened shortly before 11 a.m. local time at the state-run center, which includes three buildings where developmentally disabled people of all ages are treated. the conference area had been rented out by farook's colleagues for a holiday banquet, according to authorities. burguan said that farook had angrily left the party before returning with malik, however, other investigators doubted the shooting could be chalked up to a workplace dispute, due to the apparent planning behind the attack as well as the heavy weaponry used. on thursday, officials raised to 21 the number of people injured in the attack. patrick baccari, a co-worker of farook who suffered minor wounds from shrapnel slicing through the building's bathroom walls, told the associated press he had been sitting at the same table as farook at the banquet before his colleague suddenly disappeared, leaving his coat on his chair. baccari also said that farook had traveled to saudi arabia for about a month this past spring. when farook came back, word spread that he had gotten married and the woman he described as a pharmacist joined him shortly afterward. baccari added that the reserved farook showed no signs of unusual behavior, although he grew out his beard several months ago. a five-year-old profile for farook on a dating site said he was "religious" and enjoyed hanging out in the "back yard doing target practice with younger sister and friends." center employees, who undergo monthly training drills to prepare for active shooter situations, initially thought the incident was a drill, according to the los angeles times. but when real bullets flew, several hid in closets, barricaded themselves in rooms or fled for their lives. the inland regional center is one of 21 facilities serving people with developmental disabilities run by the state, said nancy lungren, spokeswoman for the california department of developmental services. the social services agency administers, authorizes and pays for assistance to people with disabilities such as autism and mental retardation. on an average day, doctors at the regional centers would be evaluating toddlers whose parents have concerns and case workers meeting with developmentally disabled adults. fox news' adam housley and catherine herridge contributed to this report.

terror trail? feds probe digital profile of socal massacre suspects

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to become the 45th president of the united states, hillary clinton or donald trump has to win 270 electoral college votes. the candidates have spent what feels like 100 years locked in mortal combat, but in the next few hours there will finally be a victor. (well, probably. if there<u+2019>s a 269-vote tie, or a mandatory recount, prepare for constitutional chaos.) each state is assigned a certain number of electoral votes, ultimately based on its population. california has the most, with 55. seven states <u+2013> alaska, delaware, montana, north dakota, south dakota, vermont and wyoming <u+2013> have just three electoral votes. washington dc gets three too. while there are 50 states in the us, most of these are <u+201c>safely<u+201d> republican or democrat. they vote the same way every time going back at least six elections. so the presidential election boils down to just a handful of <u+201c>swing states<u+201d> <u+2013> the 10 or 11 states that have a recent history of selecting both republicans and democrats. this is why voters in places such as ohio, florida, iowa, north carolina, virginia, nevada, colorado and new hampshire are subjected to a barrage of television advertising and campaign stops. it<u+2019>s also why you have not seen clinton and trump holding rallies in louisiana (safely republican) or washington (safely democratic). trump faces a much more difficult path to victory. he needs to win almost all of these swing states to become the next president, whereas if clinton wins two or three, she wins the race. this is because democrats start from a stronger position. there are 18 states plus dc that have voted for a democrat for president in every election since 1992. that batch amounts to 242 electoral votes. there are only 13 states that have voted for a republican in every election since 1992. those states carry just 102 electoral votes. if clinton simply wins all the states that have voted for her predecessors in the recent past, then adds florida (which has 29 electoral votes), she is the next president. if she loses florida but wins, say, virginia and north carolina, she will be the next president. trump needs to hold on to all the historically republican states, win states such as georgia and arizona <u+2013> which are usually republican but where he has struggled in the polls <u+2013> and then win enough swing states to tip him over 270. buckle in because now the real fun begins: polls close in eastern kentucky and most of indiana. (parts of each state are on central time, so the polls there close at 7pm et.) mike pence, trump<u+2019>s running mate, is the governor of indiana. in the past 50 years the state has voted democrat only once <u+2013> for barack obama in 2008. in some states we will know the winner almost immediately after the polls close. most news outlets, including the guardian, rely on the associated press to <u+201c>call<u+201d> races. ap is able to announce the winners so quickly because it deploys thousands of people on election night to collect results from states, counties and locales as they are announced. it also uses exit polls and voting history. solidly democratic or republican states are likely to be called quickly. swing states are likely to take longer. election drinking: donald trump doesn<u+2019>t drink. but donald trump doesn<u+2019>t have to worry about the prospect of a donald trump presidency. a nice way to toast <u+2013> and mock, if you were minded to do so <u+2013> the 70-year-old builder might be to mix up a <u+201c>the donald<u+201d> cocktail as you settle in for the night. it<u+2019>s got vodka, goldschl<u+00e4>ger gold-leaf cinnamon schnapps and orange juice. but the most fun bit is the cotton candy on top. doesn<u+2019>t it look just like his hair? election fuel: it could be a long night, or a short one. but at this stage we likely do not yet know, so our advice is to fuel yourself for a marathon, not a sprint. and you can feed yourself and honour ohio<u+2019>s prominent role in us elections by preparing a cincinnati chili. it<u+2019>s a more mediterranean take on your traditional chili, brought to cincinnati by macedonians in the 1920s. if you<u+2019>re drinking more than one of <u+201c>the donald<u+201d> cocktails, you will want to line your stomach! election soundtrack: rolling stones, you can<u+2019>t always get what you want. a perfect kick-off to election night, given that both candidates are incredibly unpopular with the american public. trump likes the rolling stones and played this song at his rallies. the rolling stones do not like donald trump, and asked him to stop. he didn<u+2019>t. voting ends in three key swing states: virginia, florida and new hampshire (where a minimal number of polling stations may stay open until 8pm et). florida<u+2019>s 29 electoral college votes have proved crucial in the recent past. al gore can tell you that. he narrowly lost the state <u+2013> some still believe he actually won <u+2013> and the election to george w bush, despite winning the national popular vote. away from the top of the ticket, florida senator and one-time republican presidential candidate marco rubio is up for re-election. he has been running a bit ahead of democrat patrick murphy in the polls. debbie wasserman-schultz, who resigned as chair of the democratic national committee in july after leaked emails showed the party favoring clinton<u+2019>s campaign, is expected to comfortably win re-election to congress. virginia was a reliably republican state until obama won there in 2008 and again in 2012. the state<u+2019>s mix of less-educated, rural voters; wealthy suburbanites; federal government employees and military families; academics; jet-setters and so on make it difficult to read, but clinton has been decisively ahead this year. new hampshire has been won by a democrat in five of the past six presidential elections. but the granite state gave trump his first big primary win, and recent polling here has shown a tight race. other states closing at 7pm et include south carolina and vermont <u+2013> bernie sanders<u+2019> home state. sanders won the democratic primary in vermont by an amazing 73 points. but now he<u+2019>s with her. election drinking: supercall.com has a cocktail called <u+201c>hillary<u+2019>s dirty little secret<u+201d>. it<u+2019>s a vodka martini with hot sauce in it, a reference to an interview in april where clinton said she always carried a bottle of hot sauce. you could quip to your friends that it<u+2019>s a perfect choice, as the race is <u+201c>beginning to heat up!<u+201d> polls close in west virginia, north carolina and ohio. expect the result from west virginia very quickly <u+2013> trump should win easily. north carolina and ohio are swing states and will take longer. ohio has been seen as a reliable bellwether state, voting for the presidential winner in every election since 1964. that run might be coming to an end, however, either because of the state<u+2019>s changing demographics or because of the strangeness of the current contest, in terms of the unfavorability of both candidates. while its demographics are complicated <u+2013> a mix of rust belt, big cities, appalachia, farmland and more <u+2013> the ohio electorate has grown more white and less educated than the national mean. that trend appears to account in part for trump<u+2019>s strength in the buckeye state this year. election soundtrack: the pretenders, message of love. because chrissie hynde is was born in akron, ohio. you could also make a point about spreading a message of love. or of someone pretending to spread a message of love. not that we<u+2019>re questioning, in any way at all, how much politicians love the voters. in 2012, the associated press called the indiana result just before 8pm. vigo county, which borders illinois in west indiana, is seen as the ultimate bellwether. it has voted for the winner of every presidential election in 30 of the past 32 elections <u+2013> dating back to 1888. keep an eye out for its result. republicans have long dreamed of winning pennsylvania<u+2019>s 20 electoral college votes, based on growing support among once flourishing manufacturing and mining sectors in the south-western and north-eastern corners of the state. but clinton has been creaming trump in polls in philadelphia and its suburbs, which is where most of the people live, and she has been comfortably ahead in statewide polls for months. pennsylvania will also be under scrutiny on election day because of trump<u+2019>s controversial claims that there has been voter fraud in philadelphia in the past and his calls for <u+201c>volunteer election monitors<u+201d>. the results in non-swing states will start to come in thick and fast. connecticut, delaware, illinois, maryland, massachusetts, mississippi, missouri, new jersey and rhode island all close at 8pm et, and we can expect ap to call all these states pretty much immediately. maine<u+2019>s polls also close at 8pm. it is one of only two states <u+2013> the other is nebraska, where voting finishes at 9pm <u+2013> that splits its electoral votes according to congressional district. the state as a whole is likely to vote democrat, but trump may steal an electoral vote in maine<u+2019>s second district, which is made up of more rural voters. election fuel: there<u+2019>s a whole <u+201c>chefs for hillary<u+201d> page on pinterest, a tribute to clinton<u+2019>s attempts to win the foodie vote. one of the recipes is provided by john podesta, the chairman of clinton<u+2019>s campaign. it<u+2019>s called salsa di noci and is basically nuts and pasta, but arranged into a large <u+201c>h<u+201d> shape. the polls in georgia close at 7pm or 8pm, depending on location. in the 2012 election, mitt romney was declared the winner just before 8.30pm. a democratic candidate hasn<u+2019>t won in georgia since proper southern boy bill clinton in 1992, but strong support for hillary clinton in georgia counties with a high african american population, and in atlanta, have made her a threat to trump. if clinton wins georgia, trump might as well concede. (don<u+2019>t hold your breath.) election tunes: marvin gaye, inner city blues (make me wanna holler). the african american vote is in, and trump gets a big 1%. polls close in two traditional swing states: wisconsin and colorado, and in arizona, which is usually firmly republican but is swingy this year. an increasingly influential hispanic bloc and mormons who can<u+2019>t stand trump <u+2013> not to mention a superior democratic ground game <u+2013> mean that clinton has a decent chance of becoming the first democrat to win arizona since her husband in 1996. when the polls close in new york, at 9pm et, they will have been open for 15 hours <u+2013> the longest polling window of any state. barring an almighty upset, clinton will quickly be declared the winner. wyoming, louisiana, north and south dakota, kansas and texas all close at 9pm too. the networks should swiftly call these for trump <u+2026> unless loose talk of clinton taking texas, which last went democratic in the watergate era, comes true? if it<u+2019>s that kind of night, water the horses and go to town. nebraska, which like maine splits its electoral votes by congressional district, shuts its polls at 9pm et. barack obama won nebraska<u+2019>s second district <u+2013> omaha <u+2013> in 2008. clinton could do the same this year, thanks to a well-financed get-out-the-vote effort spearheaded by susan buffett, daughter of warren. election fuel: new york cheesecake. hillary clinton was born in chicago but was a senator from new york for eight years. donald trump was born in queens, new york, before inheriting his father<u+2019>s successful real estate business. in january, trump claimed his popularity was such that he could <u+201c>stand in the middle of fifth avenue [in new york city] and shoot somebody<u+201d> without losing voters. trump has been trailing clinton by 20% in new york. election soundtrack: fleetwood mac, silver springs. <u+201c>i know i could<u+2019>ve loved you, but you would not let me,<u+201d> laments arizona<u+2019>s stevie nicks. might trump be thinking the same thing when the grand canyon state<u+2019>s results come in? given clinton<u+2019>s apparent strength in pennsylvania, we may see the state called for her by 10pm (or, in a deeply troubling upset for her, trump may win). the new hampshire result should also come in around this time. they will offer one of the first concrete indications of how the night is going. nevada and iowa are the final swing states to close their polls. in the past two elections, iowa was called quickly for obama. montana and utah also close at 10pm; both are traditionally safe republican states, but trump<u+2019>s unpopularity means independent evan mcmullin, who<u+2019>s from utah, has a strong chance of becoming the first non-republican or democrat to win electoral college votes since 1968. utah has been called soon after the polls close in the recent past. if mcmullin is declared the winner, it<u+2019>s a good sign that the night is truly in uncharted territory, terra incognita, in the most exciting way. former congressional staffer evan mcmullin: buckle up, america. more election drinking: yuengling brewery <u+2013> the oldest brewery in the us <u+2013> is based in pennsylvania. its owner came out in support of trump in october, a move which has seen some drinkers boycotting the beer. you could however source some craft ale from the victory brewing company, also based in pennsylvania. we might be getting an idea of who will be victorious around this time. election soundtrack: neon trees, your surrender. it<u+2019>s almost definitely not about conceding a presidential election, but if trump fails to win utah, neon trees<u+2019> home state, then he might want to think about surrendering to clinton. polls in california, hawaii, oregon and washington close at 11pm et. these are all safe democrat states that are unlikely to unexpectedly impact the outcome. back in 2012, the associated press called the swing states of colorado, iowa, north carolina and ohio <u+2013> worth a combined 48 electoral votes <u+2013> in the space of 30 minutes at around 11pm, then declared obama<u+2019>s re-election at 11.38pm. in 2008, networks announced obama had won just after 11pm. we might know the outcome sooner this time. or we might not know for a while. if clinton<u+2019>s lead in opinion polls translates to the actual polls, then we may see states called for her earlier, on the back of strong early voting results. if enough swing states are called quickly, we could find out the result before 11pm et. or, if trump proves the polls wrong, the race could as quickly run to him. separately, there are some individual states to look out for. ohio is one. some polling experts believe that if trump doesn<u+2019>t win there, it is effectively game over. fivethirtyeight.com gave him less than a 1% chance of winning the presidency if he fails to take the buckeye state. likewise, if trump loses north carolina or pennsylvania or florida, it also becomes very difficult for him to win. and beyond that, if clinton can win georgia <u+2013> remember, these are usually solidly republican <u+2013> it would suggest she is in for a blowout victory that could see the election called for her very early. in 2012, virginia was only called for obama after midnight and florida was not called for four days. clinton is polling well ahead of trump in virginia, and strong early voting results might see her announced the winner early. election soundtrack: queen latifah, u-n-i-t-y. we may see the first female president, following a campaign marked by sexism and inappropriate behaviour towards women. queen latifah called out the disrespectful treatment of women in this 1994 hit. election fuel: cuban sandwich. florida<u+2019>s signature dish is said to have originated in cuba or in key west, part of the florida keys archipelago. it<u+2019>s got ham, swiss cheese, mustard and pickles in it, and might be a good way to soak up the booze. in the early hours, we would expect a victory speech and a concession speech <u+2013>though trump has spoken of a threat that the election could be rigged and refused to say that if he loses he will accept the result. if elected, clinton would be the first woman to be elected us president. she has repeatedly spoken about breaking the <u+201c>glass ceiling<u+201d> in politics, and has chosen to hold her election night party at new york city<u+2019>s javits center, which actually has a glass ceiling. if trump is elected, he will be the first person with his own vodka line to be elected president, and only the fifth president to have never held elected office. the winner will have 73 days to set up a new government before they are sworn into office on 20 january 2017. but if you<u+2019>re concerned about post-election withdrawal symptoms, don<u+2019>t worry: the midterm elections, sometimes seen as a referendum on the president, will take place in november 2018. all 435 members of the house of representatives will be up for re-election, along with a third of the senate and more than half the governors. and then, in summer 2019, a whole new cast of hopefuls will announce their presidential campaigns, and the whole thing starts over again. great! on theguardian.com, obviously. we<u+2019>ve got reporters and videographers stationed around the country. we<u+2019>re liveblogging all day and night. nbc<u+2019>s coverage of the 2012 election night was the the most watched of all channels, with an average of 12.1m viewers. lester holt, savannah guthrie and chuck todd will be co-hosting on tuesday, and veteran tom brokaw will be involved as an analyst. nbc will be superimposing a map of the united states onto the rockefeller center ice rink. fox news has megyn kelly and bret baier lined up to anchor its coverage of the night. they<u+2019>ll have karl rove and charles krauthammer on hand to dissect the results. rove didn<u+2019>t have such a good time of it in 2012, when he refused to accept that ohio had voted for barack obama over mitt romney. let<u+2019>s see how he gets on this time. abc will have george stephanopoulos anchoring from new york city. robin roberts will be tracking clinton, amy robach will be with trump. michael strahan will be out in times square interviewing the men and women on the street and getting reaction as the votes come in. npr will be manned by robert siegel, audie cornish, rachel martin, and ari shapiro until 2am et. as well as clinton v trump, they<u+2019>ll be following congressional and senate races around the country. npr has also commissioned an artist to live-paint a mural of the electoral college map, filling in states as they are called. you<u+2019>ll be able to watch that on facebook. the bbc will have andrew neil and world news america host katty kay stationed in times square. north america editor jon sopel will be with clinton and world news america laura trevelyan will be following trump, and jeremy vine will be explaining the results as they come in. sky news will also be based in times square. jeremy thompson will anchor sky<u+2019>s america decides special on election night, adam boulton will be in washington dc, and kay burley will be out and about talking to voters and campaigners. the news channel says it is sending <u+201c>more people than ever<u+201d> to cover the election. katy perry, roar. played at almost every clinton rally over the past year. perry is a big clinton supporter. lady gaga, hair. there aren<u+2019>t very many songs devoted to hair. this is one that is. gaga has endorsed clinton. omd, if you leave. a lament to us losing barack obama as president. <u+201c>seven years went under the bridge, like time was standing still.<u+201d> he<u+2019>s served eight years, but you get the idea. yoko ono, sisters o sisters. a cry for gender equality and female empowerment. what better way to ring in the country<u+2019>s first female president? if that happens. ice t feat jello biafra, shut up, be happy. for the dread moment when trump looks like he might win. america is now under martial law. all constitutional rights have been suspended. do not attempt to contact loved ones, insurance agents or attorneys. do not attempt to think or depression may occur. curfew is at 7pm sharp after work.<u+201d> simon & garfunkel, america. for that shining-eyed moment when clinton is heading for victory, but how you wish it was bernie. rem, i believe. for that moment when the state of georgia turns democratic blue. the delfonics, didn<u+2019>t i (blow your mind this time). pennsylvania turns away from clinton? how about a classic philly soul walk-out tearjerker. roy ayers, we live in brooklyn baby. clinton campaign hq needs a home-borough anthem. <u+201c>our time is now, we gonna make it baby...<u+201d> the donald: it comes with a thing of cotton candy on the top that looks like trump<u+2019>s hair. what more do you want? from liquor.com: pour the vodka and goldschl<u+00e4>ger into an ice-filled collins glass, and top with the orange juice. garnish with an orange wheel and big puff of cotton candy. hillary<u+2019>s dirty little secret: cocktail website supercall.com came up with this. it uses hot sauce, referencing an interview in april where clinton said she carried hot sauce around with her. put the ingredients in a shaker tin with ice. shake it up for 12 seconds. strain it into a coupe cocktail glass and garnish with a cornichon pickle. potus punch: thank you to omni hotels for this one. it<u+2019>s pretty easy to make: <u+201c>muddle berries<u+201d>, the recipe says, then add ice, add the remaining ingredients, stir it up and pour it over ice. there<u+2019>s a whole <u+201c>chefs for hillary page<u+201d> on pinterest. one of the dishes is by john podesta, the chairman of clinton<u+2019>s campaign. salsa di noci: use a blender to grind up 2.5 cups of walnuts to a paste. coat a saut<u+00e9> pan with olive oil and toast the nuts. when they<u+2019>re golden brown, add half a stick of butter and 1 cup of chopped canned tomatoes. add 1tsp of salt and .5tsp of pepper. stir it up then add 1.5 cups of chicken stock. simmer, then add 3tbsp of chopped fresh basil. toss 1lb pasta with the sauce, and add .5 cup of parmesan cheese. to finish, arrange the pasta into a <u+201c>h<u+201d>. for hillary. you can also find six of trump<u+2019>s favorite recipes here. what<u+2019>s the mood where you are? share your pictures and views with us.

your election night survival guide: what to expect as polls close

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orlando <u+2014><u+00a0>president obama said the gunman who opened fire in a nightclub here sunday appeared to be motivated by extremist propaganda online, while saying<u+00a0>that investigators<u+00a0>delving into the attacker<u+2019>s background<u+00a0>have not found anything linking him<u+00a0>with radical groups. even as new details emerged from law enforcement officials about the deadliest shooting rampage in u.s.<u+00a0>history <u+2014> a massacre that left 49 people dead and dozens of others wounded <u+2014> authorities said the widening investigation was still working to determine more about what motivated the attack. the rampage also reverberated on the presidential campaign trail, as the leading presidential candidates offered dueling speeches monday that pivoted off the attack. donald trump, the presumptive gop nominee, called for a ban on immigrants from any area of the world with a history of terrorist attacks against the united states, going beyond his previous calls to bar<u+00a0>muslims from traveling to the country.<u+00a0>in her own remarks, hillary clinton, the expected democratic nominee, said stronger gun control laws were needed to prevent suspected terrorists from having access to weapons. while law enforcement officials were still working to determine what motivated the gunman <u+2014> 29-year-old omar mateen <u+2014><u+00a0>the fbi said monday that he had been<u+00a0>placed on a terrorism watch list during a 10-month period in 2013 and 2014 after he was investigated for inflammatory comments he made to co-workers. during a three-hour hostage standoff with police after the shooting spree sunday, mateen referenced the islamic state, and the militant group <u+2014> also known as isis or isil <u+2014><u+00a0>claimed monday that mateen was a <u+201c>soldier<u+201d> for its self-proclaimed caliphage. however, officials say that so far, no signs have emerged that he was guided by groups outside the country. <u+201c>we see no clear evidence that he was directed externally,<u+201d> obama said during remarks in the oval office. <u+201c>it does appear that at the last minute, he announced allegiance to isil. but there is no evidence so far that he was in fact directed by isil, and at this stage there<u+2019>s no direct evidence that he was part of a larger plot.<u+201d> obama said the shooting appeared so far to be a case of <u+201c>homegrown extremism.<u+201d> the comments by obama and other law enforcement officials monday offered the sharpest<u+00a0>look yet at what authorities believe may have motivated the gunman who attacked pulse, a popular gay club in orlando. <u+201c>we<u+2019>re working hard to understand the killer, and his motives, and his sources of inspiration,<u+201d> fbi director james b. comey said monday. <u+201c>we<u+2019>re highly confident that this killer was radicalized, and at least in some part through the internet.<u+201d> even as this information emerged, police were still revealing details<u+00a0>about the shooting and the hostage situation that followed, while relatives of victims were still awaiting word about whether<u+00a0>their loved ones were among the wounded<u+00a0>or dead. [classmates say orlando gunman was <u+2018>cheering<u+2019> on 9/11] comey said that during the three-hour standoff the gunman had with orlando police officers, there<u+00a0>were three different 911-related calls. the gunman called 911 about half an hour after opening fire and then hung up the phone, comey said. mateen then<u+00a0>called a second time and spoke briefly to a dispatcher before hanging up again, and then the dispatcher called him back and they<u+00a0>spoke briefly. <u+201c>during the calls, he said he was doing this for the leader of isil, who he named and pledged<u+00a0>loyalty to,<u+201d> comey said. however,<u+00a0>comey said there were no signs that mateen was tied to any kind of network, and he added that it remained unclear exactly what extremist group this attacker supported. in addition to referencing the islamic state, mateen<u+00a0>also mentioned the boston marathon bombers as well as a florida man who had joined an al-qaeda affiliate and carried out a<u+00a0>suicide attack in syria, leaving his specific sympathies unknown, comey said. law enforcement officials in florida, meanwhile, offered a new accounting of the shootout.<u+00a0>orlando police chief john mina said that police first encountered mateen shortly<u+00a0>after the initial gunfire at about 2 a.m., when an off-duty officer working at the club <u+2014> adam gruler, a 15-year veteran of the force <u+2014> exchanged shots with mateen. additional officers called to the scene soon joined in another gun battle, at which point mateen retreated further into the building and, eventually, into a bathroom. the police then held back because there were no more gunshots, mina said, and they tried to negotiate with mateen to avoid any more bloodshed. mateen was in a bathroom with four or five people, while another 15 or 20 were in another bathroom, mina said. during these negotiations, mateen was <u+201c>cool and calm<u+201d> and did not make many demands, mina said. after about three hours,<u+00a0>police said they decided to storm pulse after the shooter referenced bomb belts or explosives. mina said the police used explosives and then an armored bearcat to break a hole in the club<u+2019>s wall. hostages poured out, and mateen <u+2014> armed with a pair of guns <u+2014> came out as well. during the gun battle, mateen was killed and one orlando police officer <u+2014> michael napolitano, a 14-year veteran of the force <u+2014> was injured when a bullet struck his kevlar helmet. in a statement monday, police identified napolitano and the other officers who fired shots at the nightclub. following state protocol, all 11 of these<u+00a0>officers<u+00a0>have been relieved of duty while the state investigates their shootings. however, much still remains unclear, including whether any hostages might have been injured or killed by crossfire. in a news conference monday, mina said<u+00a0>storming the building <u+201c>was<u+00a0>the right decision to make<u+201d> because police thought other lives might be in danger. authorities<u+00a0>say they are<u+00a0>continuing to explore<u+00a0>whether other people may be connected to the case. the investigation into mateen has<u+00a0>expanded to look at other people, and it stretches from florida to kabul. investigators also said monday that they had found a third gun in mateen<u+2019>s car and were working to trace its origins after learning that the two weapons he had during the shooting <u+2014><u+00a0>a handgun and an assault-rifle-type weapon <u+2014><u+00a0>were purchased legally. there is now <u+201c>an investigation of other persons,<u+201d> a. lee bentley iii, the u.s. attorney for much of central florida, said at a news conference monday. bentley said prosecutors have <u+201c>no reason to believe that anyone connected to this crime is placing the public in imminent danger,<u+201d> but he offered no other details. <u+201c>we<u+2019>ve been collecting a great amount of electronic and physical evidence,<u+201d> bentley said monday. the fbi also said monday that investigators have processed more than 100 leads so far. authorities said monday afternoon that they had identified relatives or next-of-kin for nearly all of the victims, making notifications for 48 of the 49 people killed. (on sunday, police had included mateen when saying 50 people were killed.) for many, the hours<u+00a0>stretching from<u+00a0>sunday into monday were filled with dread as they awaited<u+00a0>word about<u+00a0>whether their loved ones were among the wounded<u+00a0>or dead. all the bodies were removed from the club by 11 p.m. sunday, authorities said. [floor plans show interior of club where 49 were killed] orlando regional medical center, where many shooting victims were taken, said monday that the hospital was still treating 29 people, including five who were <u+201c>in grave condition.<u+201d> a number of victims were in critical condition or in shock, the hospital said. hospital officials also said local blood banks had more than 600 units on hand due to the surge in people who donated blood<u+00a0>after<u+00a0>the shootings. as the investigation into mateen moved into its second day, many questions remained unanswered <u+2014><u+00a0>including what, specifically, might have motivated him. bentley said investigators were serving search warrants, and the fbi asked anyone with information about the 29-year-old<u+2019>s life to call 1-800-callfbi. in orlando and beyond, the investigation was still trying to determine the steps that led up to the attack sunday. comey said the fbi was working to determine the role anti-gay bigotry may have played in mateen<u+2019>s choice of a target.<u+00a0>the islamic state has carried out a relentless campaign against gay people, releasing videos showing its members gruesomely executing people they said were<u+00a0>homosexual. mateen had been on the fbi<u+2019>s radar twice in recent years. in 2013, agents opened an investigation that lasted 10 months after mateen made comments to co-workers about terrorist groups and expressed a desire to martyr himself. investigators interviewed him twice, but mateen said he made the remarks in anger because he felt co-workers were teasing him for being muslim, and the preliminary inquiry was closed in 2014,<u+00a0>comey said. two months later, mateen again came to the attention of federal agents looking into the florida man who blew himself up in syria, comey said. mateen and this man attended the same mosque, according to comey. again, the fbi interviewed<u+00a0>mateen, looked into his possible ties to the suicide bomber, determined that there were no strong ties and moved on. even given<u+00a0>mateen<u+2019>s mentions of the islamic state, the level of possible connections between the gunman and the militant group were unclear. the islamic state<u+2019>s al-bayan radio described him monday as <u+201c>one of the soldiers<u+201d> of its self-described caliphate, but it offered no further details on possible contact before the attack, said the site intelligence group, which monitors statements by extremist factions. if it does appear that the orlando gunman was radicalized from material available online, it would follow a pattern seen in earlier shooting rampages in san bernardino, calif., and chattanooga, tenn., last year. a u.s. official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence assessments, said that attacks inspired by the islamic state, even when conducted without support from the group<u+2019>s core operation, helped illustrate to followers that they remained a significant military force despite loss of territory in iraq and syria over the last year. <u+201c>in a sense, inspired attacks and attacks conducted in their name globally<u+201d> allows them to perpetuate a key perception: continued expansion, the official said. such attacks show would-be supporters that <u+201c>they<u+2019>re very much still alive and potent.<u+201d> secretary of defense ashton b. carter, speaking en route to brussels, told reporters that<u+00a0>the shooting should <u+201c>further steel everyone<u+2019>s resolve to defeat isil and its parent tumors in iraq and syria.<u+201d> [there was another terrible case of gun violence over the weekend] as terrorism again surged to the forefront of the country<u+2019>s political debate,<u+00a0>trump and clinton shifted plans for events monday to focus their remarks on national security. clinton, speaking in cleveland,<u+00a0>warned that the threat posed by the islamic state is <u+201c>metastasizing<u+201d> and vowed to make <u+201c>targeting lone wolves a top priority<u+201d> if elected. she also said that someone who has been watched by the fbi <u+201c>shouldn<u+2019>t be able to just go buy a gun with no questions asked.<u+201d> clinton, echoing remarks obama has made, also said the shooting was a reminder of the need for stronger gun control laws. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s essential that we stop terrorists from getting the tools they need to carry out attacks,<u+201d> she said. <u+201c>i believe weapons of war have no place on our streets.<u+201d> before his speech in new hampshire,<u+00a0>trump made television appearances<u+00a0>to reject<u+00a0>calls for more gun control and<u+00a0>repeatedly accuse obama<u+00a0>of being somehow<u+00a0>sympathetic with<u+00a0>radicalized muslims. <u+201c>we<u+2019>re led by a man that either is not tough, not smart, or he<u+2019>s got something else in mind,<u+201d> trump said. orlando now joins the mournful list of terrorism-linked bloodshed <u+2014> brussels in march, paris and san bernardino last year, the boston marathon in 2013, london in 2005 and other sites <u+2014> and is certain to strike deep into american debates over gun rights and how far authorities can go to track potential terrorism threats. and the<u+00a0>shooting struck a popular gay club on its latin night. from around the world, condolences and pledges of support poured in. vigils and memorials were held from new zealand to europe. the eiffel tower will be lit in rainbow colors monday evening. in afghanistan, the country<u+2019>s chief executive, abdullah abdullah, said the orlando attack <u+201c>tells us that terrorism knows no religion, boundary and geography. terrorism must be eliminated.<u+201d> officials in afghanistan <u+2014> mateen was born in the united states, while his parents were born there <u+2014> also opened investigations into any possible connections between the gunman<u+00a0>and militant groups.<u+00a0>yet mateen<u+2019>s father insisted his son had no islamist terrorism ties and showed no warning signs the day before the shooting. mateen had legally purchased the two guns <u+2014> which the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives said were an <u+00ad>ar-15-type weapon and a 9mm semiautomatic pistol <u+2014> within <u+201c>the last few days,<u+201d> according to trevor velinor of the atf. a u.s. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation, said the fbi had found nothing in mateen<u+2019>s past that would have legally blocked him from purchasing a gun.<u+00a0>the bureau<u+2019>s previous inquiries, the official said, would have been insufficient to achieve that. mateen<u+00a0>purchased two guns from the st. lucie shooting center, shop owner ed henson said at a news conference monday. <u+201c>an evil person came in here and legally purchased two firearms from us,<u+201d> henson said, adding that mateen had multiple security licenses and passed a full background check before he was allowed to buy the guns. henson said if mateen hadn<u+2019>t bought the guns at his shop, he would have been able to buy them somewhere else. <u+201c>we happened to be the gun store he picked. it<u+2019>s horrible,<u+201d> said henson, who spent two decades with the new york police department before retiring in 2002. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m sorry he picked my place. i wish he<u+2019>d picked nowhere.<u+201d> mateen<u+2019>s ex-wife,<u+00a0>sitora yusifiy, said he beat her repeatedly during their brief marriage, and she called him unstable. mateen<u+2019>s father, however, called his son <u+201c>very dignified.<u+201d> in a video posted to facebook shortly after midnight, seddique mateen, who lives in florida, called the shooting <u+201c>tragic<u+201d> but said his son was <u+201c>a good son and an educated son.<u+201d> he said his son shouldn<u+2019>t have carried out the massacre because <u+201c>god himself will punish those involved in homosexuality.<u+201d> <u+201c>i don<u+2019>t know what caused him to shoot last night,<u+201d> said the father, who has hosted a u.s. -based television show on afghan affairs and describes himself as an important figure in his homeland. <u+201c>no radicalism, no,<u+201d> the father told the washington post late sunday from his home in port st. lucie, fla. <u+201c>he doesn<u+2019>t have a beard even. .<u+2009>.<u+2009>. i don<u+2019>t think religion or islam had anything to do with this.<u+201d> berman reported from washington. emma brown, brian murphy, jenna johnson, missy ryan, adam goldman and jerry markon in washington; katie zezima, hayley tsukayama and amanda elder in orlando; abby phillip in cleveland; and thomas gibbons-neff in brussels contributed to this report. also contributing: greg miller, joby warrick, tim craig, sarah larimer and julie tate. the history of the ar-15, the weapon that had a hand in the united states<u+2019> worst mass shooting islamic state shows it can still inspire violence as it emphasizes attacks abroad this story will be updated throughout the day.

orlando gunman who pledged loyalty to isis was <u+2018>homegrown<u+2019> extremist radicalized online, obama says

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congressional leaders and the obama administration are getting closer to a potential deal on a plan to address looming debt limit and budget deadlines, fox news has learned -- as house speaker john boehner tries to avert one last fiscal crisis before handing the reins over to his successor. rep. paul ryan, the front-runner for boehner's job in elections set for later this week, would be poised to inherit a plate of problems on the budget front unless the current leadership can resolve it. the u.s. government faces a nov. 3 deadline to raise the federal borrowing limit, and a dec. 11 deadline to pass a new budget. fox news has learned that leaders, though, are nearing a two-year budget agreement that would also raise the debt ceiling. tentatively, the plan would hike the debt ceiling through as far as the spring of 2017, after the presidential election. plus, it would fund the government through at least next october. the matter is being negotiated at the highest levels among a cadre of only about 10 officials, fox news is told. but multiple sources made clear this is not resolved yet -- and will need to be addressed at a series of congressional meetings set for tuesday. if an agreement is reached, it's unclear whether boehner would try to push it through under his leadership or push it to the next speaker. without a vote to raise the debt ceiling, the u.s. government could be unable to pay all its bills, threatening benefit payments and agency operations and raising prospect of an unprecedented government default. at the same time, the routine raising of the debt ceiling -- this time, past an $18.1 trillion mark -- has outraged fiscal hawks worried that the government borrowing is unsustainable. since president obama took office, the national debt has increased nearly $8 trillion. while the debt ceiling has presented a recurring crisis on capitol hill, this time there was not even a roadmap for raising it, until now. republicans have been demanding budget cuts as part of any deal, but house democratic leader nancy pelosi and the white house insist on a "clean" measure without strings attached. conservative groups have been putting pressure on allies in congress not to give in. "if congress doesn't use the power of the purse, we don't need a congress and we just have an executive with no check," michael needham, ceo of heritage action for america, told "fox news sunday." needham said he thinks ryan "wants to use that leverage" that comes with the debt ceiling deadline. fox news is told ryan is not part of the current negotiations. secret-ballot gop elections are set for wednesday in the vote for speaker, followed by a full house vote thursday. rep. ryan, r-wis., appears to have the lion's share of support from all wings of the republican conference. but if the budget and debt problems are not resolved, ryan, the gop's 2012 vice presidential nominee, could face immediate -- and perhaps competing -- tasks: passing must-do debt and spending bills likely to be opposed by a majority of republicans, even while he attempts to unite a badly fractured house gop. conservative republicans suggest ryan could get leeway for how he navigates the immediate crises he inherits, including the debt ceiling, if it's not dealt with before he assumes the speakership. "if we get six months down the road and nothing's really changed, if we get eight months down the road and nothing's really changed, then i think it's, `everybody needs to get a helmet' time,' " said gop rep. mark amodei of nevada. "there's a reason john boehner decided to resign." after announcing his surprise plans last month to leave congress on oct. 30, boehner expressed a desire to "clean the barn" of messy must-pass legislation, rather than leave it for his successor. the debt limit was at the top of the list, given the impending deadline and the reluctance of most republicans to pass an increase without accompanying spending cuts the white house is ruling out. fox news' chad pergram and the associated press contributed to this report.

congressional leaders pushing debt limit plan, ahead of speaker vote

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as of this month, the unemployment rate is now lower than it was at any point during ronald reagan's administration: that said, the labor force participation rate has fallen since reagan's day. that's mostly about population aging <u+2014> there are a lot more retired people now than there used to be <u+2014> and a little bit about more people being in college, but that doesn't fully explain it. the labor force participation rate of "prime-aged" men between the ages of 25 and 55 has been steadily declining for decades, and in the past 10 years the participation rate for prime-aged women has fallen slightly as well.

the unemployment rate is now lower than it was at any time during reagan's presidency

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senator elizabeth warren has declared herself ready to be hillary clinton<u+2019>s running mate in the us presidential election. the massachusetts senator <u+2013> popular among the progressive wing of the democratic party <u+2013> made the declaration shortly after endorsing clinton, calling her <u+201c>a fighter with guts<u+201d> who would keep donald trump out the white house. in an interview on msnbc, warren was asked by rachel maddow: <u+201c>if you were asked to be secretary clinton<u+2019>s running mate, do you believe you could do it?<u+201d> in another interview with the boston globe on thursday, warren endorsed clinton as the party<u+2019>s presidential nominee, saying: <u+201c>i<u+2019>m ready to jump in this fight and make sure that hillary clinton is the next president of the united states and be sure that donald trump gets nowhere near the white house.<u+201d> according to the globe she also praised clinton<u+2019>s primary opponent, bernie sanders, saying that he had run an <u+201c>incredible campaign<u+201d>. speaking to msnbc<u+2019>s rachel maddow on thursday evening, warren said the sanders campaign had been <u+201c>powerfully important<u+201d>. <u+201c>he ran a campaign from the heart, and he ran a campaign where he took these issues and really thrust them into the spotlight <u+2013> issues that are near and dear to my heart <u+2013> and he brought millions of people into the democratic process,<u+201d> she said. but, warren said, <u+201c>hillary clinton won. and she won because she<u+2019>s a fighter, she<u+2019>s out there, she<u+2019>s tough. and i think this is what we need.<u+201d> warren<u+2019>s endorsement came within hours of president barack obama formally giving his endorsement to clinton<u+2019>s candidacy. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m with her,<u+201d> obama said, in a video recorded on tuesday. <u+201c>i don<u+2019>t think there has ever been someone so qualified to hold this office.<u+201d> vice-president joe biden also appeared to give his endorsement on thursday, referring in a speech to <u+201c><u+2026> whoever the next president is <u+2013> and god willing it will be hillary clinton<u+201d>. warren, a favourite of the progressive left who taught constitutional law at harvard, is seen as a possible running mate who could help entice back a disaffected left that has been excited by sanders but ambivalent about clinton. warren has been especially fierce recently in her criticism of donald trump, attacking the presumptive republican nominee in a searing string of speeches, setting herself up for a prominent and pugilistic role in the presidential election whether she is on the ticket or not. earlier on thursday, at a speech to the american constitution society in washington dc, warren hit out at trump as <u+201c>just a businessman who inherited a fortune and kept it rolling along by cheating people<u+201d>. she described him as <u+201c>a loud, nasty, thin-skinned fraud who <u+2026> serves no one but himself<u+201d>, and said his attacks on gonzalo curiel, the federal judge presiding over the trump university suit, was <u+201c>exactly what you would expect from somebody who is a thin-skinned racist bully<u+201d>.

elizabeth warren declares herself ready to be hillary clinton's running mate

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editor's note: we also<u+00a0>annotated<u+00a0>the<u+00a0>state of the union<u+00a0>on medium.<u+00a0>follow us<u+00a0>on medium to see our commetary. president barack obama went after his doubters in his final state of the union address, dismissing their warnings about the country<u+2019>s economy and military preparedness under his watch as "political hot air." "let me tell you something: the united states of america is the most powerful nation on earth. period. it's not even close. it's not even close," yet even as he defended his seven years as commander in chief, obama acknowledged he didn<u+2019>t deliver on his to bring a more civil tone to a sharply divided capitol hill. "it<u+2019>s one of the few regrets of my presidency <u+200a><u+2014> <u+200a>that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better," obama said. "there<u+2019>s no doubt a president with the gifts of lincoln or roosevelt might have better bridged the divide, and i guarantee i<u+2019>ll keep trying to be better so long as i hold this office." politifact is fact-checking several statements from obama<u+2019>s speech, as well as the republican response from south carolina gov. nikki haley. a year ago, obama used the same setting to claim the united states has seen "our deficits cut by two-thirds" during his tenure. we rated that claim . during his 2016 state of the union address, obama raised the bar, saying, "we<u+2019>ve done all this while cutting our deficits by almost three-quarters." when we checked obama<u+2019>s assertion a year ago, he compared his first budget year in office, 2009, with 2014, using the deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product, or gdp. economists consider this a valid way to measure the size of the deficit. in fact, for most purposes, it<u+2019>s the best way, since it factors in the economy<u+2019>s change over time. according to this data, the deficit as a percentage of gdp has fallen by 76 percent -- almost exactly what obama said. if you use dollars rather than percentage of gdp, the decline is a bit smaller but still pretty close -- 70 percent. that said, experts have told us that while obama's math may be correct, it's missing some important caveats. it's important to note that the deficit swelled in 2009 partly because of the massive stimulus program to jumpstart the cratering economy. also, experts have said the more important question is whether obama has put the government on a path that will keep deficits stable. "and the answer is no," said princeton university economics professor harvey rosen, because entitlement programs, such as medicare, medicaid and social security, have not had substantial reform. there<u+2019>s no way obama<u+2019>s final state of the union wouldn<u+2019>t mention his most significant legislation. in spite of its controversy, obama said the affordable care act has led to nearly 18 million more people gaining health insurance and has helped to slow health care cost inflation. he added that the law didn<u+2019>t destroy the job market, despite pessimistic predictions from critics. "our businesses have created jobs every single month since it became law," he said. because obama referred specifically to "our businesses," we looked at private-sector employment data from the bureau of labor statistics starting in march 2010, when obama signed the affordable care act. of the 70 months since, obama is correct that every single one has seen positive job growth. there<u+2019>s room for argument over what the growth would have looked like absent the health care law, but obama<u+2019>s statistic is on target. obama cited education as an area of bipartisan agreement, but he brought up a shaky statistic in the process. "we agree that real opportunity requires every american to get the education and training they need to land a good-paying job," he said. "the bipartisan reform of no child left behind was an important start, and together, we<u+2019>ve increased early childhood education, lifted high school graduation rates to new highs, (and) boosted graduates in fields like engineering." at first glance, he appears to be correct about high school graduation rates. but there's an important caveat. so we rate the claim . in december, the that the rate had reached 82.3 percent, and the department billed it as a "new record high." however, the department acknowledged it was the "highest level since states adopted a new uniform way of calculating graduation rates five years ago." it's a key distinction because high school graduation rates can be a slippery topic and difficult to track. different states and different school districts have used different measures over the years. for example, some states included private school students who received public funding. the last time the rates were close to being this high was for the class that graduated in 1970, when the education department pegged the rate at 78.7 percent. yet because the current method for calculating rates is only five years old, it's not clear that the 1970 rate, or even the subsequent ones, are comparable to current rates. obama defended american might in the face of attacks from critics who say the united states has become a weak player on the national stage. "we spend more on our military than the next eight nations combined," obama said. we found obama<u+2019>s claim is in the ballpark. so it rates mostly true. one set of international military spending figures comes from the<u+00a0> <u+00a0>(sipri), which maintains an online database of military expenditures since 1988 for more than 170 countries. by their calculation, the united states spends more than the next<u+00a0>seven<u+00a0>countries combined. in 2014, the most recent year available, the united states led the world in military spending at $610 billion, marking 34 percent of the world total,<u+00a0> . u.s. expenditures were nearly three times higher than china, the second-highest nation with an estimated $216 billion in military spending. russia was in third place at $84.5 billion. but counting together military spending from the eight countries after the united states comes out to $646.4 billion, surpassing the united states<u+2019> $610. omitting no. 9 on the list, japan, the calculation comes out to about $601 billion. , put together by the fiscal policy-focused peter g. peterson foundation, shows the united states<u+2019> spending in stark contrast to the next seven highest spenders: another data set matches obama<u+2019>s claim exactly. the united states does spend more than eight countries combined according to the<u+00a0> <u+00a0>(iiss), a london-based think tank that also tracks military spending. the united states spent $581 billion on the military in 2014, according to iiss, while the eight next-highest spenders combined spent about $531.9 billion. calculating military expenditures for worldwide comparisons is inherently challenging, in part because there is no common definition of what constitutes military spending. further, a country<u+2019>s expenditures does not necessarily correlate perfectly with its military capabilities. in the republican response proceeding obama<u+2019>s speech, south carolina gov. nikki haley praised obama<u+2019>s speech-giving but criticized his ability to deliver on the goods. "the president's record has often fallen far short of his soaring words," haley said. "as he enters his final year in office, many americans are still feeling the squeeze of an economy too weak to raise income levels." six years into the economic recovery, are income levels really still in the doldrums? for the most part, yes. haley<u+2019>s statement rates haley is basically correct if you look at census bureau data for median household income, adjusted for inflation. inflation-adjusted, median household income has fallen from $57,357 in 2009 to $53,657 in 2014, the most recent full year available. that<u+2019>s a decline of 6.4 percent over a five-year period once inflation is taken into account. obama himself seemed to acknowledge this trend when he spoke about "more and more wealth and income" concentrated at the top and "squeezed workers." median income is lower now compared to 2009. it is, however, slightly up from its low point in 2012. haley<u+2019>s claim is generally accurate but somewhat depends on your time frame and what you would consider a rise in income levels. obama repeated his longstanding request to congress that they work with him to close the detention center for suspected terrorists at guantanamo bay, cuba. obama campaigned on this pledge, and we<u+2019>ve been on our obameter. during the state of the union, obama spoke of american leadership as encompassing "a wise application of military power and rallying the world behind causes that are right." "that is why i will keep working to shut down the prison at guantanamo: it<u+2019>s expensive, it<u+2019>s unnecessary, and it only serves as a recruitment brochure for our enemies," he said. because obama is still asking for this at the end of his presidency, we<u+2019>ve rated his campaign pledge as . as for obama's statement that guantanamo "only serves as a recruitment brochure" for terrorists, this doesn't square with reporting by punditfact, which found that the facility has never really been<u+00a0>a key component of isis or al-qaida<u+00a0>propoganda. more often, they focus on airstrikes and the american military occupation of iraq and afghanistan. obama also seemed to be responding to republican attacks that he didn<u+2019>t take seriously enough the fight against islamic state, also called isis or isil: "as we focus on destroying isil, over-the-top claims that this is world war iii just play into their hands. masses of fighters on the back of pickup trucks and twisted souls plotting in apartments or garages pose an enormous danger to civilians and must be stopped. but they do not threaten our national existence. that<u+2019>s the story isil wants to tell; that<u+2019>s the kind of propaganda they use to recruit." we explored this claim in a story without rating it on our truth-o-meter. we found general agreement among experts that isis aspires to become an existential threat to the united states. but that<u+2019>s not the same thing as actually being one. obama presented a range of statistics designed to show his economic record in a positive light during his 2016 state of the union address. he kicked it off with this assertion: "the united states of america, right now, has the strongest, most durable economy in the world." we should note up front that many of the experts we checked with considered obama<u+2019>s claim to be vague and difficult to prove.<u+00a0>"this is the type of braggadocio statement that is hard to interpret in a rigorous way," said barry bosworth, an economist at the brookings institution. however, many of the same experts agreed that if you had to choose one country for the title of "strongest, most durable economy in the world," it would be the united states. we turned to projections for gdp growth over the next two years released by the organization for economic cooperation and development, a group of economically advanced countries. the group looked at 43 countries, ranging from large, advanced economies to smaller, advanced economies to large, emerging economies. the united states ranked almost exactly in the middle of the oecd<u+2019>s list -- no. 21. experts told us, however, that a middling ranking on this list doesn<u+2019>t necessarily mean the united states<u+2019> economic outlook is weak. (the full chart is at the end of this article, ranked in descending order by projected gdp growth in 2016). for starters, many of the countries with higher projected growth rates have significantly smaller economies, making a comparison with the united states apples-to-oranges. these countries include ireland, iceland, the slovak republic, poland, israel, latvia, luxembourg, lithuania and estonia. in addition, a few countries have much higher projected growth rates, but they are generally considered emerging economies, making for a different but equally questionable type of apples-to-oranges comparison. these include the top three countries on the projected-growth list: india, china and indonesia. the most direct comparisons to the united states are probably the other six members of the elite group of 7 economies <u+2014> the united kingdom, france, germany, italy, canada and japan. and all of them rank below the united states when measured by projected growth for 2016 and 2017. as for employment, the united states scores well among its closest competitors. hoddenbagh pointed to data showing only one of the group of 7 with a lower unemployment rate than the united states<u+2019> current 5 percent. japan<u+2019>s unemployment rate is 3.3 percent. we rated the claim mostly true. this story is updated as new fact-checks are published.

fact-checking barack obama's 2016 state of the union address

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after new york wins, trump and clinton look forward to knockout round a powerful wind swept across the 2016 presidential race tuesday night as the political pendulum came swinging back with a vengeance. routed in wisconsin just two weeks ago, donald trump and hillary clinton stormed back to take the high-stakes primary in their home state of new york in convincing fashion. each won about three-fifths of the vote and widened their already imposing leads among pledged delegates. in so doing, both trump and clinton opened a pathway to winning their nominations outright before the conventions begin in july. in recent weeks, doubts had arisen as both front-runners seemed to lose altitude and as rivals promoted the prospect of open conventions in both cleveland and philadelphia. but after new york, the pressure is back on the challengers, who will find fewer opportunities to narrow the gap in delegates with every passing week. the last best chance to stop either trump or clinton may well be next week, when pennsylvania, maryland, connecticut, rhode island and delaware hold the next-to-last round of multistate primaries. a total of 144 delegates will be available for republicans and 392 for democrats. there will not be a comparable package until the season's final day on june 7. a sweep for either front-runner next week would make stopping trump or clinton not only daunting but mathematically infeasible. even the chances of a second ballot at either convention would go from forbidding to remote. so when the history of 2016 is finally written, the smashing results from new york may well be cast as the key inflection point. trump was declared the winner shortly after polls closed, tallying 60 percent of the statewide vote. when counting ended, trump was poised to claim all 14 at-large delegates and about 75 of the 81 delegates awarded by congressional district. for her part, clinton did almost as well as trump in percentage terms with 58 percent, while she outpolled trump in the raw vote by nearly half a million. she did not dominate the delegate count quite as much as trump, but only because the democrats divide their delegates proportionally <u+2014> both statewide and district by district. she took home an estimated 135 new delegates to sanders' 104. she already had 39 of the state's 44 superdelegates (who are free to change their minds). still, the outcomes may have been equally discouraging for challengers in both parties. ted cruz and bernie sanders, winners in wisconsin and in a handful of caucus states that lent them momentum in the weeks since mid-march, stumbled badly in the empire state. both had hoped to at least limit the damage they would suffer on trump's and clinton's turf, while looking to friendlier venues ahead. but instead, the front-runners ran roughshod across the landscape. cruz finished a weak third with scarcely 1 vote in 7, earning zero delegates. new york republicans preferred ohio governor john kasich, who got 1 vote in 4 statewide and gained perhaps three or more delegates (his first since he won his home state a month earlier). bruising as the loss was for cruz, it may have been just as bitter for sanders on the democratic side. clinton only increased her delegate lead by about 30 in the crucial category of pledged delegates. but the real pain for her rival was the opportunity cost. sanders' team had given it their all in new york, outspending clinton on tv and hoping visibly for an upset <u+2014> or at least a narrow loss that could be spun as a moral victory. trump, with his delegate lead growing again, can look to another stretch of promising ground next week. polls give him an edge in all five contests, with 144 delegates at stake. a sweep would greatly enhance his chances of reaching the majority of delegates needed for a first-ballot nomination (1,237). there is an active "stop trump" movement, both in social media and in the higher circles of the gop establishment. senators seeking re-election in swing states have been advised to stay away from trump and even to skip the convention. cruz has been successful in certain states in placing sympathizers in delegate slots that are committed to trump on the first ballot. the individuals who occupy those slots would be expected to defect from trump on later ballots. but all that will be moot if trump can get close enough to the magic number that a few pre-convention deals might well put him over the top. after a win like he scored in new york, such a "last mile" strategy looks increasingly plausible. at his victory rally at trump tower, trump left the stage to the strains of frank sinatra singing: "if i can make it there, i'll make it anywhere, it's up to you new york, new york." for her part, clinton was sounding equally sanguine just blocks away, telling a throng of her supporters that the race was "in the homestretch and victory is in sight." she did not say it, but sanders now needs to win 60 percent of the delegates in every contest remaining <u+2014> just to overtake clinton in pledged delegates. he has no discernible path to turning around her advantage in superdelegates. neither candidate's race is over, yet. weeks and months of pre-convention politicking remain. but after next week, it is possible that <u+2014> for one or both of the front-runners <u+2014> it will no longer be far from over.

after new york wins, trump and clinton look forward to knockout round

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a white police officer in north charleston, s.c., was charged with murder tuesday after shooting and killing a black man following a routine traffic stop over the weekend. the decision to charge the officer, michael thomas slager, came after graphic video footage emerged depicting slager firing a volley of bullets into the back of walter scott, who was running away. officers rarely face criminal charges after shooting people, a fact that has played into nationwide protests over the past year over how the police use deadly force. yet this case took a swift, unusual turn after a video shot by a bystander provided authorities with a decisive narrative that differed from slager<u+2019>s account. <u+201c>it wasn<u+2019>t just based on the officers<u+2019> word anymore,<u+201d> said chris stewart, an attorney for scott<u+2019>s family. <u+201c>people were believing this story.<u+201d> authorities on tuesday also pointed to the video as a turning point in this case and apologized to the family for the shooting. <u+201c>when you<u+2019>re wrong, you<u+2019>re wrong,<u+201d> north charleston mayor r. keith summey said at a news conference. <u+201c>if you make a bad decision, don<u+2019>t care if you<u+2019>re behind the shield <u+2026> you have to live with that decision.<u+201d> the justice department said tuesday that the fbi would investigate the shooting along with the department<u+2019>s civil rights division and the south carolina u.s. attorney<u+2019>s office. <u+201c>the department of justice will take appropriate action in light of the evidence and developments in the state case,<u+201d> the department said in a statement. summey and the city<u+2019>s chief of police announced at a news conference that slager, 33, would be charged and arrested. slager, who has been fired, was arrested by the south carolina law enforcement division, the agency investigating the shooting, and booked into the charleston county jail shortly before 6 p.m. on tuesday. he faces a possible death sentence or life in prison. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s been a tragic day for many,<u+201d> eddie driggers, the police chief, said at the news conference. <u+201c>a tragic day for many.<u+201d> [how the shooting reignites the debate over body cameras] the<u+00a0>shooting began with a routine traffic stop after 9:30 a.m. on saturday morning. after slager stopped a vehicle, he began chasing walter scott, 50, and fired his taser, according to the incident report and city officials. footage of the shooting, first obtained by the new york times and the post and courier newspaper, showed scott fleeing from slager across a tree-lined patch of grass. slager fires a series of shots at scott, who appears to be unarmed, striking scott <u+201c>multiple times in the back,<u+201d> according to an<u+00a0>affidavit filed tuesday evening. slager told the<u+00a0>dispatcher, <u+201c>shots fired and the subject is down, he took my taser,<u+201d> according to the portion of the report filled out by another officer who relayed what he heard. the video<u+00a0>shows slager picking up<u+00a0>an item and placing it near scott, though it is unclear if this is the taser or something else.<u+00a0>police later said that scott was hit with the taser at least once, because part of it was still attached to him when other officers arrived on the scene. but city officials said that scott was clearly<u+00a0>too far away to use a taser if he did have it. <u+201c>i can tell you that as a result of that video and the bad decision made by our officer, he will be charged with murder,<u+201d> summey said at the news conference. after slager shot scott, the officer handcuffed the man<u+2019>s hands behind his back and he remained there. the police report says that <u+201c>several officers<u+201d> gave scott<u+00a0>first aid, but it does not state how long it took them to administer that aid. this shooting comes after incidents in ferguson, mo., and new york, among other places, have drawn heavy scrutiny over confrontations that ended with black men dead. the unrest has continued into this year, as a shooting in madison, wis., was followed by lengthy protests. [how many police shootings a year? no one knows.] north charleston, the third-largest city in the state, has a different demographic breakdown than the rest of south carolina.<u+00a0>two-thirds of south carolina residents are white, while<u+00a0>north charleston has more black residents (47 percent) than white residents (41 percent), according to the u.s. census. but the city<u+2019>s police force does not reflect that breakdown, as four out of five north charleston officers last year were white, according to the post and courier.<u+00a0>the city<u+2019>s police department announced in february that it would obtain 115 body cameras for its officers after obtaining $275,000 in state funding. authorities stressed that the episode in south carolina was not indicative of the city<u+2019>s entire police force of 342 remaining<u+00a0>officers, instead calling this a singular <u+201c>bad decision<u+201d> made by one officer. <u+201c>i think all of these police officers, men and women, are like my children,<u+201d> driggers said. <u+201c>so you tell me how a father would react <u+2026> i<u+2019>ll let you answer that.<u+201d> [current law gives police wide latitude to use deadly force] scott<u+2019>s family praised the decision to charge slager with the shooting and was <u+201c>grateful<u+201d> someone came forward with the video footage, an attorney said. <u+201c>they were sad,<u+201d> stewart, the family attorney, said in a telephone interview tuesday evening from scott<u+2019>s mother<u+2019>s home. <u+201c>there is nothing that can bring their son and brother back, but they are relieved that charges were filed.<u+201d> scott<u+2019>s family members had gathered at the home on tuesday evening, including scott<u+2019>s four children and three brothers. his family and attorneys held a brief news conference<u+00a0>tuesday night, saying that they planned to file a lawsuit against the city and police department. <u+201c>all we wanted was the truth, and through the process we<u+2019>ve received the truth,<u+201d> said anthony scott, walter<u+2019>s brother. <u+201c>i don<u+2019>t think that all police officers are bad cops, but there are some bad ones out there.<u+201d> slager was initially represented by david aylor, a local attorney, who in a statement provided to local media soon after the shooting said: <u+201c>i believe once the community hears all the facts of this shooting, they<u+2019>ll have a better understanding of the circumstances surrounding this investigation.<u+201d> but on<u+00a0>tuesday, shortly before slager<u+2019>s arrest was announced, aylor told the post that he is no longer representing the officer. <u+201c>i don<u+2019>t have any involvement in that case moving forward,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>no involvement.<u+201d> [why south carolina indicted three other white officers<u+00a0>in four months.] this was the 11th time an officer has shot someone in south carolina so far this year, according to thom berry, a spokesman for the state law enforcement division. berry said that the investigation into this shooting is <u+201c>still very much in progress,<u+201d> so he declined to comment on details of how the agency obtained the video footage. although officers fatally shoot and kill hundreds of people each year, only a handful of cases result in the officer facing criminal charges. video recordings of the fatal encounters are becoming pivotal factors in whether prosecutors and grand jurors bring charges, experts said. <u+201c>video has changed everything because it provides documentation that was never available before,<u+201d> said philip m. stinson, a criminologist at bowling green state university. <u+201c>now, everyday citizens, when they recognize there is a dispute, they start recording video with their smart phones.<u+201d> however, these recordings do not always result in officers being charged. footage of a new york city police officer placing eric garner in a chokehold last summer provoked widespread outrage, but the grand jury decided not to indict the officer. that decision, like that of the missouri grand jury that did not indict the white police officer who shot an unarmed black teenager in ferguson, sparked a national wave of protests aimed at the way african american men are treated by police. officials and activists in south carolina said they were asking the community to keep calm in the wake of the video<u+2019>s release and the decision to seek murder charges against him. <u+201c>we want to ask the community to remain calm,<u+201d><u+00a0>elder johnson of national action network said tuesday.

south carolina police officer charged with murder after shooting man during traffic stop

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obama authorizes deploying up to 450 more troops to iraq update at 12:20 p.m. et. up to 450 more troops: president obama has authorized the pentagon to send up to 450 additional troops to iraq in an effort to beef up the training of local security forces in their fight against the self-proclaimed islamic state. in a statement, press secretary josh earnest said the military personnel will "train, advise, and assist iraqi security forces at taqaddum military base in eastern anbar province." he added: "the president made this decision after a request from prime minister haider al-abadi and upon the recommendation of secretary carter and chairman dempsey, and with the unanimous support of his national security team." the u.s. already has 3,100 troops in the country. they're deployed at four established training sites. the additional troops will be deployed to anbar province, an area just west of baghdad that is reportedly now under islamic state control. the obama administration is considering sending hundreds more troops into iraq to help train local forces to fight against the self-proclaimed islamic state. npr's tom bowman reports the move comes after islamic state militants reportedly took over the provincial capital city of ramadi in the sunni heartland. he filed this report for our newscast unit: "u.s. trainers now in iraq have focused mostly on the shiite-dominated army. pentagon spokesman col. steve warren told reporters that the u.s. would like to see more sunnis come into the pipeline for training. "officials say hundreds more american trainers could be sent to anbar province, the sunni enclave just west of baghdad that is now largely under the control of islamic state fighters. "sunni tribal leaders have long complained of mistreatment by the shiite-dominated government. "the pentagon is now working up added training options for the white house. there are already some 3,000 american troops in iraq, either training and advising iraqi troops or providing security." president obama addressed this issue during a press conference earlier this week. obama said he was still waiting on a finalized plan from the pentagon. "we don't yet have a complete strategy because it requires commitments on the part of the iraqis as well about how recruitment takes place, how that training takes place," obama said. "and so the details of that are not yet worked out." fox news reports that the pentagon also plans to open another training base in anbar province. the network quotes gen. martin dempsey, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, saying it's still unclear whether more troops will be needed for that base.

obama authorizes deploying up to 450 more troops to iraq

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to understand how dangerously extreme the republican party has become on climate change, compare its stance to that of exxonmobil. no one would confuse the oil and gas giant with the sierra club. but if you visit exxon<u+2019>s website, you will find that the company believes climate change is real, that governments should take action to combat it and that the most sensible action would be a revenue-neutral tax on carbon <u+2014> in other words, a tax on oil, gas and coal, with the proceeds returned to taxpayers for them to spend as they choose. with no government action, exxon experts told us during a visit to the post last week, average temperatures are likely to rise by a catastrophic (my word, not theirs) 5<u+00a0>degrees celsius, with rises of 6, 7 or even more quite possible. <u+201c>a properly designed carbon tax can be predictable, transparent, and comparatively simple to understand and implement,<u+201d>exxon says in a position paper titled <u+201c>engaging on climate change.<u+201d> none of this is radical. officials negotiating a climate agreement right now in paris would take it as self-evident. republican leaders in the 1980s and 1990s would have raised no objection. but to today<u+2019>s republicans, exxonmobil<u+2019>s moderate, self-evident views are akin to heresy. donald trump, the leading gop presidential candidate, says, <u+201c>i don<u+2019>t believe in climate change.<u+201d>sen.<u+00a0>ted cruz (tex.)says, <u+201c>climate change is not science, it<u+2019>s religion.<u+201d>sen.<u+00a0>marco rubio (fla.) at the moment seems to acknowledge that climate change might be real but opposes any action to deal with it. well, you may say, trump revels in his stupidities, and most of the presidential candidates are appealing to the rightmost wing of their primary electorate at the moment. what about the grownups in the party, such as senate majority leader mitch mcconnell (ky.)? in an op-ed for the post published as president obama traveled to paris for the opening of the climate talks, mcconnell slammed obama<u+2019>s policy for harming the middle class without measurably affecting climate change. does that mean, i asked the majority leader<u+2019>s press secretary, that he believes climate change is real, and are there policies he would favor to mitigate the risk? the spokesman answered: <u+201c>while the leader has spoken often on energy and the president<u+2019>s policies, i don<u+2019>t believe he<u+2019>ll have anything new today. and as to the president<u+2019>s policies, the president says he<u+2019>s for <u+2018>all of the above.<u+2019> he got that line from us. but as to his climate proposal and the paris proposals, i think he<u+2019>s spoken clearly on that in his op-ed. i hope that helps.<u+201d> i tried once more: <u+201c>so as to whether he believes climate change is real, or would favor any policies to mitigate it, i should just say, declined to answer?<u+201d> a genuine conservative, as ronald reagan<u+2019>s secretary of state george p. shultz has written, would acknowledge uncertainties in climate science but look for rational, market-based policies to lessen the risk without slowing economic growth. a revenue-neutral carbon tax, as in a bill rep.<u+00a0>chris van hollen (d-md.) has introduced, fits the description precisely. what then explains the know-nothingism of today<u+2019>s republicans? some of them see scientists as part of a left-wing cabal; many of them doubt government<u+2019>s ability to do anything, let alone something as big as redirecting the economy<u+2019>s energy use. almost all of them, along with quite a few democrats, would rather not tell voters that energy prices need to rise for the sake of the environment. their donors in the oil and gas industry encourage their prejudices. three years ago, grover norquist, the republicans<u+2019> anti-tax enforcer, said that a carbon tax wouldn<u+2019>t violate his no-tax-increase pledge if the proceeds were returned by lowering the income tax, though he made clear he didn<u+2019>t like the idea. the next morning, the lobbying arm of the oil and gas industry swung into action. <u+201c>grover, just butch it up and oppose this lousy idea directly,<u+201d>the american energy alliance said. <u+201c>this word-smithing is giving us all headaches.<u+201d> for most of us, the reaction to this would have been: butch it up? but norquist got the message and within hours issued a clarification: only a constitutional amendment banning the income tax could justify a carbon tax. so the industry deserves its share of blame, and that includes exxonmobil, which hardly trumpets its views on the advantages of a carbon tax. (its most alarming slide, on the 5-degree temperature rise, can<u+2019>t be found on its public site.) but blaming it all on big oil lets the politicians off too easily. yes, mcconnell represents a coal state, and, yes, he wants to preserve his senate majority. if those considerations are more important to him than saving the planet, let him say so to our children and grandchildren. let<u+2019>s not blame the oil companies for the pusillanimity of people who are supposed to lead. read more from fred hiatt<u+2019>s archive, follow him on twitter or subscribe to his updates on facebook.

even exxonmobil says climate change is real. so why won<u+2019>t the gop?

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u.s. district judge joseph bataillon issued the ruling monday, saying county clerks will be permitted to begin issuing gay marriage licenses on march 9. "[a]ll relevant state officials are ordered to treat same-sex couples the same as different sex couples in the context of processing a marriage license or determining the rights, protections, obligations or benefits of marriage," he wrote in the order. the nebraska attorney general's office has already said it will appeal the judge's order. attorney general doug peterson is confident the eighth circuit court of appeals will grant the appeal. bataillon has struck down the state's ban on gay marriage before; in 2005, the judge ruled the ban unconstitutional, but the eight circuit reversed his decision in july 2006. the news comes just after the state lifted a 20-year-old ban on gay people becoming licensed foster parents. the policy barred unmarried, unrelated adults who live together from fostering children. included in the restriction were same-sex couples and people who identify as gay -- even those living without a partner.

federal judge overturns nebraska gay marriage ban

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democrat bernie sanders and republican donald trump gave victory speeches tuesday night in new hampshire after winning their parties vote in the state's primary. each took the top spot after second-place finishes in the iowa caucuses. it's a boost for their standing in a highly competive election season. <u+00a0> trump's first victory of the 2016 white house race means he's no longer a political rookie but the front-runner for his party's presidential nomination. cbn news' david brody will share his<u+00a0>insights on the outcome of the new hampshire primary<u+00a0>on wednesday's the 700 club. trump started out his speech by thanking his wife, family and other supporters. "we are going to make america great again, but we're going to do it the old-fashioned way," trump said. "the world is going to respect us again, believe me." "we're going to make the deals for the american people," he said. trump went on to talk about repealing obamacare, making trade deals, rebuilding military, creating jobs and protecting the borders. dr. paul bonicelli, professor of government at regent university, breaks down the numbers from last night<u+2019>s new hampshire primary. watch below: "we are going to make our country strong again. we are going to start winning again. we are going to make america so great again. maybe greater than ever before." john kasich grabbed the second spot, with 16 percent of the vote. "there's something that's going on, that i'm not sure that anyone can quite understand. there's magic in the air with this campaign," kasich told supporters. "we see it as an opportunity for all of us, and i mean all of us, to be involved with something that is bigger than our lives." cruz, bush and rubio had a tight outcome, with cruz narrowly winning third place. the overcrowded gop party shrank after the iowa caucus, and more candidates could end their campaign following the evening's results. ben carson, bringing in only 2 percent of the votes, is already on his way to south carolina to prepare for the next round, his campaign team reiterating that he has not dropped out of the race. chris christie won't reveal whether his campaign will continue. when asked what place he needs to come in at a minimum to continue he responded, "i don't get into that stuff. next!" he said, calling on the next reporter. <u+00a0> and the win for sanders completes his rise from presidential long shot to legitimate challenger for the democratic nomination against hillary clinton. "when we stand together, we win. thank you, new hampshire!" sanders celebrated on twitter. "nine months ago we began our campaign here in new hampshire," he said. "and tonight, what appears to be a record-breaking turnout, because of a huge voter turnout - we won!" sanders encouraged his supporters to maintain their excitement and commitment for the november election. hillary clinton used her concession speech to rally her supporters. she referenced equal pay for women, racism, lgbtq rights, and poverty. "when people anywhere in america are held back by injustice that demands action," she said, admitting she has work to do to win the millennial vote. "even if they are not supporting me, i support them." it was a higher turnout than in 2008, and one thing voters on both sides agreed on in exit polls was they feel betrayed by the government and their parties.

trump, sanders crush the competition in new hampshire primaries

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monica is having a media moment<u+2014>courtesy of the same press pack that once pilloried her. when it comes to lewinsky, apparently, there is some journalistic guilt coming to the fore. david letterman has expressed remorse for mocking monica, saying it was a <u+201c>sad human situation.<u+201d> bill maher says, <u+201c>i gotta tell you, i literally feel guilty.<u+201d> new republic writer rebecca traister says: <u+201c>whether it<u+2019>s guilt, or sophistication, or thinking a little harder about sexual power dynamics, i think people have started to think: <u+2018>oh right, she probably does have a right to tell her story. and that<u+2019>s a good thing.<u+2019> <u+201d> these observations come from a new york times piece in which lewinsky shrewdly allowed reporter jessica bennett to follow her around, producing a largely sympathetic profile timed to her ted talk. at 41, says the piece, <u+201c>she is likable, funny and self-deprecating. she is also acutely intelligent, something for which she doesn<u+2019>t get much credit. but she is also stuck in a kind of time warp over which she has little control<u+2026> <u+201c>she is also very, very nervous. she is worried about being taken advantage of, worried her words will be misconstrued, worried reporters will rehash the past.<u+201d> but, of course, monica herself has to rehash the past in order to get people to pay attention to her future. that<u+2019>s what she has to merchandise. i<u+2019>ve long felt that the media crucified monica for her mistakes as a young white house intern, while being more than happy to resuscitate the boss who took advantage of her, bill clinton, as a global statesman. after dropping out of sight for a long time in the wake of clinton<u+2019>s impeachment, she keeps reintroducing herself to the public, with a vanity fair essay and other media forays. lewinsky is smartly trying to become a crusader against cyberbullying, even though her humiliation took place in the pre-facebook, pre-twitter era. in the ted talk, she said: <u+201c>now i admit i made mistakes <u+2014> especially wearing that beret <u+2014> but the attention and judgment that i received <u+2014> not the story, but that i<u+00a0>personally<u+00a0>received <u+2014> was unprecedented. i was branded as a tramp, tart, slut, whore, bimbo and, of course, <u+2018>that woman.<u+2019> i was known by many, but actually known by few. i get it. it was easy to forget <u+2018>that woman<u+2019> was dimensional and had a soul<u+2026> <u+201c>in 1998, i lost my reputation and my dignity. <u+2026> i lost my sense of self,<u+201d> lewinsky continues. <u+201c>when this happened to me, 17 years ago, there was no name for it. now<u+00a0>we call it cyber-bullying.<u+201d> it does seem like getting trashed and humiliated is a daily occurrence now, at least for people in the public eye. jonathan capehart, the black washington post columnist, writes a brave piece concluding he was wrong about ferguson and that the hands up/don<u+2019>t shoot narrative was a lie. he gets slimed from the left on twitter, with people calling him a <u+201c>house negro<u+201d> and accusing him of trying to get white folks to like him. for those who disagree, he had to be attacked as a racial traitor. ashley judd was trash-talking about sports when she was flooded with online rape threats and misogynistic messages. judd, describing herself as a survivor of rape and sexual assault, is fighting back. "i read in vivid language the various ways, humiliating and violent, in which my genitals, vaginal and anal, should be violated, shamed, exploited and dominated," she writes. judd is threatening to sue her online harassers. so this is very fertile territory for monica lewinsky. she is a flawed messenger, to be sure. she is using the issue for personal rebranding, to be sure. but it<u+2019>s a worthy cause, better than peddling handbags. and perhaps monica finally has the guilty media on her side. click for more from media buzz howard kurtz is a fox news analyst and the host of "mediabuzz" (sundays 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. et). he is the author of five books and is based in washington. follow him at @howardkurtz. click here for more information on howard kurtz.

monica lewinsky<u+2019>s latest comeback, fueled by media remorse

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pundits and politicians have been shocked by the trump phenomenon, startled that so many americans could be so enthusiastic about his anti-democratic style proposals. but trump is not that original. his actual proposals are in keeping with longstanding trends in u.s. history and society, with the rejection and nativism that have erupted after each immigration wave. his style is reminiscent of populist and fascist leaders who<u+2019>ve succeeded both in europe and latin america during periods of economic stress, including such recent champions as hugo ch<u+00e1>vez and silvio berlusconi, authoritarians who elevated themselves and their supporters rather than building party structures or democratic institutions. some observers believe <u+2013> or, perhaps, hope <u+2014> that trump<u+2019>s followers misunderstand or don<u+2019>t believe in what he represents. they<u+2019>re wrong. we will explain. the trump movement cannot be dismissed as one of frustrated moderates some observers, including president obama, suggest that his voters are misguided. here in the monkey cage, doug ahler<u+00a0>and<u+00a0>david broockman argued that trump is a textbook example of an ideological moderate. still others portray trump followers as working-class outcasts of the changing economy that see his candidacy as a way to channel their frustrations. and many u.s. pundits<u+2014>such as george packer in the new yorker<u+2014>explain all this by saying that voters on left and right are <u+201c>angry<u+201d> with washington, and that both trump and sanders represent a new wave of populism. but trump and sanders must not be conflated. sanders wants to politicize inequality. trump, rather, is advocating for anti-politics, by which we mean that trump<u+2019>s language, and his followers<u+2019> celebration of his speeches, primarily express a rejection of politics in a democratic key. trump<u+2019>s stance represents the antithesis of sanders<u+2019>s call for political change. trump<u+2019>s narrative insists that he is above the fray of politics. this is, of course, an ideological and political claim. returning america to national and international anti-democratic traditions it is just a different kind of politics. and trump<u+2019>s followers explicitly agree with what he says. in december, seven out of 10 republicans believed that trump <u+201c>tells it like it is.<u+201d> as sarah palin suggested when she endorsed trump in iowa, trump stands against politics as usual as represented by <u+201c>establishment candidates<u+201d> who are <u+201c>wearing political correctness like a suicide vest. and enough is enough.<u+201d> while the establishment hears random insults, his followers hear a list of the enemies of a homogeneous america. many studies have revealed the link between resentment toward blacks and immigrants, on the one hand, and support for trump on the other. in other, words, his supporters like trump not despite his anti-democratic qualities, but precisely because of them. his campaign rallies often include incidents of physical violence against perceived outsiders. at a rally in las vegas, according to nbc news, one man shouted <u+201c>sieg heil.<u+201d> we believe racism and charismatic leadership bring trump close to the fascist equation but he might be better described as post-fascist, which is to say populist. from our research, let<u+2019>s take a definition of populist post-fascism. this is a political style which has an extremely sacralizing understanding of politics. the leader understands politics as a theology in which he or she is the only who knows what is best for the nation. populists consider people as formed by those who follow a unique vertical leadership; political antagonists are conceived as enemies who are potential or actual <u+00a0>traitors to the nation. populists want leaders to be charismatic embodiments of the voice and desires of the nation as a whole. they argue for a strong executive and the discursive, and often practical, dismissal of the legislative and judicial branches of government. toward that end, they engage in radical nationalism and emphasize popular culture, as opposed to other forms of culture that do not represent <u+201c>national thought.<u+201d> finally, populism is an authoritarian form of electoral democracy that nonetheless rejects dictatorial forms of government. modern populism arose from the defeat of fascism, as a novel post-fascist attempt to bring back the fascist experience to the democratic path, creating in turn an authoritarian form of democracy that would stress strong leaders and caudillos such as general juan per<u+00f3>n in argentina and hugo chavez in venezuela. in populism, political democracy is strained but never eradicated, as it had been with fascism. modern post-fascism pushes democracy to its limits but, generally, without breaking it. trump<u+2019>s vision of america is the latest example of this attempt to redefine democratic theory and practice. unlike hitler and mussolini, trump does not have a real party. he wants to be the republican candidate, but party officials and ideologues reject him. in contrast, fascist leaders were often founding members of movements and then emerged as their leaders. as we mentioned earlier, trump<u+2019>s leadership is more akin to that of hugo ch<u+00e1>vez and silvio berlusconi. while ch<u+00e1>vez <u+2013> who started his own government reality show <u+2014> invoked a vague ideological platform to gain power, in practice he centralized decision-making, attacked freedom of speech and dismantled the division of powers, always by invoking an external threat.berlusconi denigrated institutions; used his billionaire status to prove he was a political outsider; and channeled the new european populism<u+2019>s anti-migrant sentiment to hold power. trump uses anti-immigrant sentiment more often than berlusconi and other leaders like ch<u+00e1>vez<u+2019> successor nicolas maduro,<u+00a0>bringing his rhetoric closer to that of other post-fascist politicians like marine le pen in france. the republican leadership rejects trump. indeed, many conservatives call him a fascist. but trump embodies many of the party<u+2019>s views on immigration, islam, climate change, women<u+2019>s roles, minority voting, and so on. trump and his followers differ not in kind but in the clarity and radical way in with which they express some of the extreme consequences of the tea party agenda. if we consider a longer historical process in which the republican party in particular has been traveling steadily farther toward populism, trump and his followers might very well be showing us the future of u.s. right-wing politics. federico finchelstein<u+00a0>is professor of history and department chair at the new school in new york and author, among other books, of the ideological origins of the dirty war. fascism, populism, and dictatorship in twentieth-century argentina<u+00a0>and transatlantic fascism: ideology, violence and the sacred in argentina and italy, 1919-1945<u+00a0>. pablo piccato<u+00a0>is professor of history at columbia university and author of the tyranny of opinion: honor in the construction of the mexican public sphere and city of suspects: crime in mexico city, 1900-1931.

donald trump may be showing us the future of right-wing politics

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legislators in the 24 states where republicans now hold total control plan to push a series of aggressive policy initiatives in the coming year aimed at limiting the power of the federal government and rekindling the culture wars. the unprecedented breadth of the republican majority <u+2014> the party now controls 31 governorships and 68 of 98 partisan legislative chambers <u+2014> all but guarantees a new tide of conservative laws. republicans plan to launch a fresh assault on the common core education standards, press abortion regulations, cut personal and corporate income taxes and take up dozens of measures challenging the power of labor unions and the environmental protection agency. before election day, the gop controlled 59 partisan legislative chambers across the country. the increase to 68 gives republicans six more chambers than their previous record in the modern era, set after special elections in 2011 and 2012. republicans also reduced the number of states where democrats control both the governor<u+2019>s office and the legislatures from 13 to seven. republicans in at least nine states are planning to use their power to pass <u+201c>right to work<u+201d> legislation, which would allow employees to opt out of joining a labor union. twenty-four states already have such laws on the books, and new measures have been or will be proposed in wisconsin, new mexico, new hampshire, ohio, colorado, kentucky, montana, pennsylvania and missouri. democrats and union officials warn republicans against going too far, just a few years after bills targeting public-sector employee unions sparked protests in wisconsin and ohio. <u+201c>these bills have proven time and time again to decrease wages and safety standards in all workplaces,<u+201d> said stephanie bloomingdale, secretary-treasurer of the wisconsin afl-cio. a new round of the culture wars is also inevitable in 2015. mallory quigley, a spokeswoman for the antiabortion susan b. anthony list, said she expects that measures to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy will advance in wisconsin, south carolina and west virginia. missouri, too, is likely to take up some abortion-related bills. in tennessee, voters gave the legislature new powers to regulate abortion, and state house speaker beth harwell (r) has said her chamber will take up three measures requiring mandatory counseling, a waiting period and stricter inspections of clinics. conservative activists also are targeting common core, the national education standards adopted by 46 states and the district of columbia over the past few years. opposition from parent and community groups has become a hot political issue on the right over the past year, leading three states <u+2014> indiana, oklahoma and south carolina <u+2014> to drop out of the program. some states will attempt to join those three in leaving the program altogether. others will try to change testing requirements or prevent the sharing of education data with federal officials. in recent interviews, several republican governors who support common core say they expect debate in their forthcoming legislative sessions. <u+201c>the biggest concern and opposition you hear from conservative legislators is, <u+2018>we don<u+2019>t want washington dictating curricula,<u+2019><u+2009><u+201d> said utah state sen. curtis bramble, a republican. republicans also are likely to take up measures diluting the power of the epa, which has proposed state-by-state targets for reducing carbon emissions. a dozen states have challenged proposed epa regulations on power plants in federal court. new republican governors in states such as arkansas and arizona and legislators in north carolina, north dakota and elsewhere will prioritize cutting personal or corporate income tax rates. states that have experienced a revenue boom from energy taxes will have to contend with falling receipts as the price of oil declines. tax revenue in other states is coming in slower than expected, presenting a challenge in many of the 49 states that require balanced annual budgets. <u+201c>with the increasing costs of medicaid and education, balancing the budget is going to be a challenge,<u+201d> said south dakota state sen. deb peters (r), who chairs the appropriations committee. but republicans also caution that they have to use their newfound political power to govern effectively and avoid overreach. <u+201c>if [republicans] go too far, they<u+2019>re not going to be the speaker and the majority leader two years from now,<u+201d> said nevada gov. brian sandoval (r), whose party took total control of the state legislature in november. <u+201c>there<u+2019>s a very narrow window to demonstrate that they can lead, that we can lead.<u+201d> michael sargeant, executive director of the democratic legislative campaign committee, said, <u+201c>democrats are going to articulate an agenda that<u+2019>s forward-thinking.<u+201d> republicans, especially those considering possible presidential bids, such as ohio gov. john kasich and wisconsin gov. scott walker, <u+201c>are worried about taking on some of these fights, because [democratic constituencies] are going to fight back,<u+201d> he said. so there will be exceptions to the coming conservative juggernaut. despite conservative opposition to obamacare, some republicans are debating whether and how to accept federal medicaid expansion. republican governors of wyoming, utah, idaho, north carolina and tennessee have said they will try to persuade their legislators to accept federal funding, while democratic governors in montana and pennsylvania will work with republican-controlled legislatures in a similar vein. <u+201c>we were one of the states that sued on [the affordable care act]. i thought it was both bad policy and i thought it was unconstitutional. the courts said i was wrong,<u+201d> said wyoming gov. matt mead (r), who is advocating a modified expansion plan. <u+201c>even though i have serious disagreements with the law, this is the current law. how do we as a state make the best of it?<u+201d> legislators said they are closely watching the supreme court, which will decide this year whether health-care subsidies under the aca are constitutional in states that did not create their own health exchanges. <u+201c>if the supreme court decides the obamacare subsidies and employer penalties do not apply in states with federal health-care exchanges, then that will generate a huge new discussion in state legislatures,<u+201d> said tennessee state sen. brian kelsey (r), who chairs the judiciary committee. legislators also will debate myriad less-partisan issues that have arisen as technology advances, including cybersecurity policies, regulations on electronic cigarettes and ride-sharing services. and the daunting specter of growing pension liabilities is likely to lead to contentious confrontations amid stretched budgets. lawmakers in a handful of states are considering how to regulate and tax the electronic cigarette industry; so far, three states have banned e-cigarettes from smoke-free workplaces, and minnesota and north carolina levy taxes on them. the e-cigarette industry, eager to avoid lawsuits and public relations disasters, has encouraged at least some regulations. several states are grappling with the rise of ride-sharing services, such as uber, lyft and sidecar. outgoing illinois gov. pat quinn (d) is likely to sign a measure regulating the emerging industry, and uber is negotiating a similar agreement with nevada regulators. some legislatures will debate <u+201c>right to try<u+201d> legislation, which would allow people with terminal illnesses access to experimental drugs before those drugs win final approval from the food and drug administration. arizona, colorado, louisiana and missouri already have versions of such laws on the books. and as marijuana legalization takes effect in two more states, in addition to the two where the drug was already legal, legislators in most states are expected to debate a rash of drug law revisions. pure legalization bills will be introduced in 18 states, while decriminalization bills will be introduced in 15, according to a tally maintained by the pro-legalization marijuana policy project. states will lobby the new <u+00ad>republican-led congress on a handful of issues that impact budgets. a bipartisan group of legislators has urged congress to pass the marketplace fairness act, which would allow taxation of online sales, though gop control in washington makes passage unlikely. thirty-nine governors <u+2014> democrats and republicans alike <u+2014> have encouraged congress to extend funding for the children<u+2019>s health insurance program, which provides states about $13<u+00a0>billion for medical coverage for about 8<u+00a0>million children from low-income families. and states want congress to pass a long-term extension of the highway trust fund, which top republicans in washington have said is a priority. <u+201c>state legislatures need a long-term funding solution for their transportation infrastructure. if congress does not act, states will have to look at other funding solutions,<u+201d> said mick bullock, a spokesman for the bipartisan national conference of state legislatures. mounting budgetary challenges from earlier years will dominate legislative attention in a handful of states. about half of all states are operating at or above their maximum prison capacity, according to corrections experts, putting pressure on legislatures to alleviate crowding. some states will have to deal with increasingly underfunded pension plans, which could threaten to swamp state budgets over the long term. in illinois, where the state pension is funded at less than 40 percent, gov.-elect bruce rauner (r) made pension reform a cornerstone of his campaign this year. the american legislative exchange council, a conservative organization that helps republican legislators coordinate measures among states, supports moving public pensions from a defined benefit system to a defined contribution system. alec considers oklahoma, which passed a pension reform bill in 2014, to be the model.

republicans in state governments plan juggernaut of conservative legislation

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with the democratic presidential primary in its twilight, frustration within the ranks over the party's handling of the primary process spilled out this week as bernie sanders supporters lashed out at party leaders, arguing that their candidate has been treated unfairly. the public outpouring of anger began last weekend at the nevada democratic party convention, where sanders supporters who said hillary clinton's backers had subverted party rules shouted down pro-clinton speakers and sent threatening messages to state party chairwoman roberta lange after posting her phone number and address on social media. that led democratic national committee chairwoman debbie wasserman schultz, senate minority leader harry reid and other top party leaders to demand an apology and publicly ruminate on the possibility of violence at the democratic national convention in july as they prepare for a general election battle with donald trump. obama administration officials on wednesday played down concerns about escalating tensions, likening the race to the 2008 primary fight between clinton and then-sen. barack obama. but sanders isn't backing down. a campaign spokesman said wednesday that the campaign was "looking into" whether to ask for a recount in kentucky, where sanders narrowly lost on tuesday night, and he fired up his crowd in southern california tuesday night by calling out the democratic establishment. the sanders campaign on tuesday did condemn unruly behavior from supporters and those who made threats to party leaders, but made clear it is sticking with its stance that the party is subverting the process in a way that benefits clinton. "these claims that our campaign is sort of fomenting violence in some way are absolute nonsense," sanders campaign manager jeff weaver told cnn's wolf blitzer tuesday night, adding that the campaign "absolutely, categorically" condemns any threatening behavior. the breakdown in civility comes after what has otherwise been a comparatively polite campaign season for democrats, but the frustration exposes a rift in the party and undercuts the notion that clinton will be able to march into the democratic convention this summer with a party unified behind her. "the problem is that there are long-simmering concerns about unfair treatment out in the nevada democratic party," weaver added. "we are not going to allow the millions of people who supported bernie sanders to be sort of rolled over in places like nevada by the way they handled that convention." earlier on tuesday, sanders released a statement suggesting that his supporters were justified in feeling like the party has given them a raw deal. "if the democratic party is to be successful in november, it is imperative that all state parties treat our campaign supporters with fairness and the respect that they have earned," sanders' statement read. "unfortunately, that was not the case at the nevada convention. at that convention the democratic leadership used its power to prevent a fair and transparent process from taking place." in an interview with cnn, wasserman schultz said that statement wasn't enough. "i was deeply disturbed," she said. "the senator's response was anything but acceptable. it certainly did not condemn his supporters for acting violently or engaging in intimidation tactics and instead added more fuel the fire." the dnc chairwoman, however, said she has not spoken directly with sanders, but that her staff has been in touch with the vermont senator's campaign. she also pushed back against sanders' accusation that the party had rigged the system against him. "we've had the same rules in place that elected barack obama. these rules were adopted for state parties all across the country in 2014," she said. "they were followed and even if the sanders supporters were frustrated, there is never, under any circumstances, a place for violence and intimidation to be resorted to in response." on cnn's "new day" wednesday morning, weaver accused the dnc chairwoman of "throwing shade." "we can have a long conversation about debbie wasserman schultz and how she's been throwing shade on the sanders campaign," weaver said. "i gotta say it's not the dnc," he added. "by and large the dnc has been very good to us, but not debbie wasserman schultz." wasserman schultz brushed off weaver's comments later in the day. "my response to that is hashtag smh (shake my head)," wasserman schultz told blitzer on "wolf." "we need to focus on one thing: get through this primary and work to prepare for the general election and make sure that we can continue to draw the contrasts between either one of our really fine candidates who are focused on helping people reach the middle class and make sure that we get equal pay for equal work and create jobs and not let the republicans take health care away from 20 million americans." 'he should get things under control' speaking to reporters in columbus, ohio, on wednesday afternoon, vice president joe biden said if such disruption happens again, "he's going to have to be more aggressive in speaking out about it." "but here we are in may, as was pointed out," biden continued. "hillary was still in this in may, in june. i'm confident that bernie will be supportive if hillary wins, which the numbers indicate will happen. so i'm not worried. there's no fundamental split in the democratic party." leading congressional democrats also pushed sanders to rein in his supporters. reid called sanders' response "a test of leadership" for sanders, and a source in his office told cnn that the nevada senator is waiting to hear from the senator himself on the matter. "the convention was saturday. it's now wednesday afternoon. and he hasn't spoken about it," the source said. california democratic sen. barbara boxer, who spoke on behalf of clinton at the nevada convention, condemned the behavior. "he should get things under control," boxer said. "we're in a race that is very critical. we have to be united." "this is a character moment for bernie sanders. he's got to figure out how he's true to his values and his ideals fully," said cnn political commentator van jones. "i think hillary and bernie both misunderstand this movement. i think hillary just sees it as just a bunch of rowdy kids that at some point will just calm down and fall into line," he said, later adding, "i think bernie actually only sees the good in his followers. i think bernie really misunderstands there is a nasty edge to his following that he's not taking seriously enough." sen. tim kaine criticized sanders' responses in the wake of reports that democrats felt threatened at and following the convention. "what he did yesterday was sort of say it's the party's fault," kaine told cnn. "that deflection of responsibility is not leadership." kaine added that the angry protests could be "dirty tricksters in the crowd" and not just sanders' supporters. "i don't think we should assume that all of the people raising hell are bernie people," kaine said. sanders goes after the establishment in fiery speech speaking in southern california tuesday night, sanders fired up the crowd by calling out the democratic leadership. "the democratic party is going to have to make a very, very, profound and important decision. it can do the right thing and open its doors and welcome into the party people who are prepared to fight for real economic and social change. that is the democratic party i want to see." sanders said. "i say to the leadership of the democratic party: open the doors, let the people in! or the other option for the democratic party, which i see as a very sad and tragic option is to choose and maintain its status quo structure, remain dependent on big money campaign contributions and be a party with limited participation and limited energy," he said. the crowd responded by chanting, "bernie or bust!" the equivalent of the republican #nevertrump slogan for the democratic race. his speech barreled through his list of clinton contrasts, comparing his stances with her (and criticizing those stances) on minimum wage, fracking, breaking up the big banks, and her use of super pacs. in response to the chaos in nevada, clinton campaign manager robby mook simultaneously praised the passion and participation of sanders' supporters while adding that clinton believes that "no one should be intimidated, harassed or threatened in this process." he called on them to focus that energy on unifying the party, a task that could be difficult given the raw feelings many sanders supporters have for clinton after the primary. "supporters of both clinton and sanders deserve respect for the work they have put into their campaigns," mook said. ultimately, we are confident that the passion and energy from the primary will be united in a common purpose -- to move forward the ideals of our party and keep the white house out of donald trump's hands." white house press secretary josh earnest on wednesday downplayed any tensions between the two campaigns. he recalled a similar "tenor" to the 2008 contest between clinton and obama, saying those tensions were "no less intense" and didn't lead to a negative result in the general election. "i think one of the lessons of 2008 is not to confuse passion in primary for disinterest in the general election," he said, adding that "highly motivated" supporters were good for democracy. while the spotlight this year was on the republican primary and prospect for a contested convention and protests at the national convention in cleveland, some democrats now worry about that happening at their convention in philadelphia. wasserman schultz said the incidents in nevada would result in the dnc reviewing its procedures for philadelphia. "as a result of this happening this weekend, we will have conversations both at the staff level as well as my having conversations with the candidates so that we can make sure that both campaigns are focused on making sure that we can allow this process for the duration of the primary to play out in a civil and orderly way," she said. but the dnc chairwoman said she wasn't worried about violence happening at the convention. "this was absolutely a serious concern, which is why i said what needed to be said yesterday and others have said that there was real concern," wasserman schultz told blitzer wednesday afternoon. "but it is important and i am confident that the candidates take the messages to heart about making sure that we respond and conduct ourselves in a civil and orderly way." california democratic sen. dianne feinstein, however, warned that sanders' intention to take his candidacy to the democratic convention could spark unrest similar to the chaotic 1968 convention in chicago and the riots surrounding it. "it worries me a great deal," feinstein told cnn's manu raju. "you know, i don't want to go back to the '68 convention, because i worry about what it does to the electorate as a whole -- and he should, too." and senate minority whip dick durbin of illinois also said he's concerned about violence in philadelphia. "we saw what happened at the trump rallies, which broke into violence, people punching one another. i don't want to see that happen at the democratic party," durbin told cnn. "i call on bernie to say to his supporters: be fervent, be committed but be sensible. don't engage in any violence." weaver pledged tuesday night that the convention will be peaceful. "there's not going to be any violence in philadelphia, wolf, i guarantee you that," he said on cnn. "we hope for a fair and orderly convention."

sanders, dem establishment battle boils over

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president barack obama said the u.s. and its allies must strip away any legitimacy that islamic state and al-qaeda claim by portraying themselves as religious movements. obama, who has come under criticism from republicans who say he avoids acknowledging the muslim roots of extremist groups, said terrorists use religion as a recruiting tool by portraying the u.s. and european nations as being at war with islam. <u+201c>we must never accept the premise they put forward, because it is a lie,<u+201d> obama said wednesday in washington on the second day of a white house summit on combating extremism. <u+201c>they are not religious leaders. they<u+2019>re terrorists. and we are not at war with islam. we are at war with people who have perverted islam.<u+201d> deadly attacks in paris, sydney and copenhagen by individuals of muslim background and possibly inspired by the brutal tactics of islamic state, along with the group<u+2019>s spread in syria, iraq and now libya, have raised alarms in europe and the u.s. about the danger of lone-wolf terrorists, driven by extremist ideology and difficult to detect before they act. at the summit, the obama administration is convening representatives of muslim organizations, law enforcement officials and local political leaders to swap ideas about how to stem root causes of extremism. it also has invited leaders from overseas to take part. obama said civic leaders must recognize that islamic state and al-qaeda <u+201c>deliberately target their propaganda in the hopes of reaching and brainwashing young muslims<u+201d> through videos, social media and other online outlets. he said the one way to counter that is to alleviate the alienation and poverty that are the extremists<u+2019> best recruiting tool. in the u.s., he said, local and federal authorities must make sure that muslims aren<u+2019>t isolated and that they are welcomed and integrated into society. <u+201c>muslim americans feel they have been unfairly targeted,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>we have to be sure that abuses stop, are not repeated, that we do not stigmatize entire communities.<u+201d> former virginia governor jim gilmore, who is chairman of a political action committee aimed at electing republicans, called the conference a <u+201c>farce<u+201d> in a statement and said the administration should be targeting terrorists rather than offering <u+201c>pie-in-the-sky social welfare programs<u+201d> to muslims here and overseas. the administration<u+2019>s strategy is also aimed at drawing in the domestic muslim leaders who obama is leaning on to identify and isolate potentially violent extremists. yet some groups say they remain suspicious about the administration<u+2019>s motivation. the muslim advocates, an oakland calif.-based group that that was invited to a white house meeting earlier this month, expressed concern that obama<u+2019>s requests for <u+201c>partnerships<u+201d> with muslim community and religious leaders is code for requiring leaders to play a law enforcement role. they also blasted obama for focusing too narrowly on muslims, a decision that the group says reinforces a negative stereotype that islam and terror are linked. <u+201c>this whole day is focused on american muslims, frankly,<u+201d> farhana khera, the group<u+2019>s executive director, said in a telephone interview. <u+201c>it strikes at the core of what we are as americans.<u+201d> obama is speaking on the topic again tomorrow at the state department during a session that includes representatives from overseas, including france, belgium, mexico and japan.

obama says terrorists seek legitimacy by using religious tie

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dragging on for an excruciating eternity, this election season has demeaned democracy, elevated mediocrity and insulted and embarrassed us all on just about every level imaginable: intellectually, with regard to the lack of focus on policy and substance; ethically, with a complete disregard for integrity and character; and morally, driven by a disgraceful descent into racist and xenophobic vitriol. given that our country has consistently climbed down the educational attainment ladder, and that inane and banal reality tv shows draw more eyeballs than books and opera , it should not surprise us that a growing swath of the electorate is more enthused by a coarse, bullying celebrity than by an awkward policy wonk. but what's doubly disappointing -- as we head into the crucial presidential debates -- is that this lack of intellectual depth is enabled not only by the candidates, but also by the topics they gravitate to, which the media frenzy then exacerbates. these are topics that don't matter when it comes to making a difference in the future of our country: the size of a candidate's hands (and therefore other body parts), the now-moot birther issue, the monica lewinsky and marla maples scandals, the name-calling and finger pointing about who is more racist than whom, who is healthier than whom.

the worst election ever

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six men in green ties took the stage in the house television studio tuesday, and house budget committee chairman tom price, a slight leprechaun of a man with silver hair and dark eyebrows, approached the microphone. <u+201c>good mor <u+2014> top o<u+2019> the mornin<u+2019> to ya!<u+201d> price announced. <u+201c>happy st. patrick<u+2019>s day to all.<u+201d> it was altogether fitting that republicans rolled out their budget during a festival of inebriation in honor of the man who magically (and apocryphally) banished snakes from ireland. what republicans have done with their budget is no less fantastic: they have employed lucky charms and mystical pots of gold to make them appear more sober about balancing the budget than they actually are. <u+201c>we do not rely on gimmicks or creative accounting tricks to balance our budget,<u+201d> the house republicans say in the introduction to their fiscal 2016 budget. true, the budget does not rely on gimmicks. the budget is a gimmick. it pretends to keep strict limits on defense spending <u+2014> so-called <u+201c>sequestration<u+201d> <u+2014> but then pumps tens of billions of extra dollars into a slush fund called <u+201c>overseas contingency operations.<u+201d> that means the funds count as emergency spending and not as part of the pentagon budget. it assumes that current tax cuts will be allowed to expire as scheduled <u+2014> which would amount to a $900<u+00a0>billion tax increase that nobody believes would be allowed to go into effect. it proposes to repeal obamacare but then counts revenues and savings from obamacare as if the law remained in effect. it claims to save $5.5<u+00a0>trillion over 10 years, but in the fine print <u+2014> the budget plan<u+2019>s instructions to committees <u+2014> it only asks them to identify about $5<u+00a0>billion in savings over that time. it assumes more than $1<u+00a0>trillion in cuts to a category known as <u+201c>other mandatory<u+201d> programs <u+2014> but doesn<u+2019>t specify what those cuts would be. it relies on $147<u+00a0>billion in additional revenue from <u+201c>dynamic scoring,<u+201d> a more generous accounting method. it doesn<u+2019>t account for the $200<u+00a0>billion plan now being negotiated to increase doctor payments under medicare and to extend a children<u+2019>s health-care program. the difficulty concealing all these sleights of hand might explain why price was in such a hurry to leave his news conference tuesday. his predecessor, rep.<u+00a0>paul ryan (r-wis.), liked to give lengthy seminars on his conservative budgeting theories, but price took questions for just six minutes before an aide hollered <u+201c>last question.<u+201d> the chairman was gone a minute later, and reporters gave chase to the leprechaun. <u+201c>can your budget pass?<u+201d> one of them asked. <u+201c>i think so,<u+201d> price said, before locating his confidence. <u+201c>sure. absolutely.<u+201d> it was the latest instance of the republicans discovering how difficult it is to govern now that they have unified control of congress. in the past four years, budget debuts were academic exercises because there would never be agreement between the republican house and democratic senate. but now the budget might actually mean something, and the firebrands elected in the past three elections need to show how they would handle the country<u+2019>s finances. it turns out they govern much like those who came before them <u+2014> with legislative smoke and mirrors. rep. rob woodall (r-ga.), one of those on the stage, observed that <u+201c>folks are playing with the opportunity for the first time in my short congressional career to actually bring a budget to the united states.<u+201d> <u+201c>playing<u+201d> is a good verb for the occasion. price, a georgia republican who ran the conservative republican study committee, delivered a long statement, imparting his assurance that <u+201c>we believe in america.<u+201d> at least three times he held up the 43-page budget for the cameras. but after the 10-minute preamble, the questioning quickly got tricky for price. why didn<u+2019>t he ask committees to come up with more than $5<u+00a0>billion in savings? <u+201c>that<u+2019>s a floor, not a ceiling,<u+201d> price said, adding something about <u+201c>an opportunity to provide a positive solution that the american people desire.<u+201d> andy taylor of the associated press asked him about the $900<u+00a0>billion tax increase and the obamacare revenues assumed in the budget. <u+201c>because we believe in the american people, and we believe in growth,<u+201d> replied price, predicting higher-than-expected economic growth would boost tax revenues. jonathan weisman of the new york times asked price if he would detail the $1<u+00a0>trillion in mandatory cuts that the budget doesn<u+2019>t identify. <u+201c>take a peek at <u+2018>a balanced budget for a stronger america,<u+2019><u+00a0><u+201d> price replied, holding up the budget again for the cameras. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m looking at it,<u+201d> weisman said. <u+201c>it doesn<u+2019>t specify.<u+201d> it didn<u+2019>t <u+2014> and that<u+2019>s the sort of trick republicans can no longer get away with now that they<u+2019>re in charge. read more from dana milbank<u+2019>s archive, follow him on twitter or subscribe to his updates on facebook.

the house gop budget is a gimmick

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darwin also didn<u+2019>t have anything to say about how life got started in the first place <u+2014> which still leaves a mighty big role for god to play, for those who are so inclined. but that could be about to change, and<u+00a0>things could get a whole lot worse for creationists because of jeremy england, a young mit professor who<u+2019>s proposed a theory, based in thermodynamics, showing that the emergence of life was not accidental, but necessary. <u+201c>[u]nder certain conditions, matter inexorably acquires the key physical attribute associated with life,<u+201d> he was quoted as saying in an article in quanta magazine early in 2014, that<u+2019>s since been republished by scientific american and, more recently, by business insider. in essence, he<u+2019>s saying, life itself evolved out of simpler non-living systems. the notion of an evolutionary process broader than life itself is not entirely new. indeed, there<u+2019>s evidence, recounted by eric havelock in <u+201c>the liberal temper in greek politics,<u+201d> that it was held by the pre-socratic natural philosophers, who also first gave us the concept of the atom, among many other things. but unlike them or other earlier precursors, england has a specific, unifying, testable evolutionary mechanism in mind. quanta fleshed things out a bit more like this: from the standpoint of physics, there is one essential difference between living things and inanimate clumps of carbon atoms: the former tend to be much better at capturing energy from their environment and dissipating that energy as heat.<u+00a0>jeremy england, a 31-year-old assistant professor at the massachusetts institute of technology, has derived a mathematical formula that he believes explains this capacity. the formula, based on established physics, indicates that when a group of atoms is driven by an external source of energy (like the sun or chemical fuel) and surrounded by a heat bath (like the ocean or atmosphere), it will often gradually restructure itself in order to dissipate increasingly more energy. this could mean that under certain conditions, matter inexorably acquires the key physical attribute associated with life. it doesn<u+2019>t mean we should expect life everywhere in the universe <u+2014> lack of a decent atmosphere or being too far from the sun still makes most of our solar system inhospitable for life with or without england<u+2019>s perspective. but it does mean that <u+201c>under certain conditions<u+201d> where life is possible<u+00a0><u+2014> as it is here on earth, obviously <u+2014> it is also quite probable, if not, ultimately, inevitable. indeed, life on earth could well have developed multiple times independently of each other, or all at once, or both. the first truly living organism could have had hundreds, perhaps thousands of siblings, all born not from a single physical parent, but from a physical system, literally pregnant with the possibility of producing life. and similar multiple births of life could have happened repeatedly at different points in time. that also means that earth-like planets circling other suns would have a much higher likelihood of carrying life as well. we<u+2019>re fortunate to have substantial oceans as well as an atmosphere <u+2014> the heat baths referred to above <u+2014> but england<u+2019>s theory suggests we could get life with just one of them <u+2014> and even with much smaller versions, given enough time. giordano bruno, who was burnt at the stake for heresy in 1600, was perhaps the first to take copernicanism to its logical extension, speculating that stars were other suns, circled by other worlds, populated by beings like ourselves. his extreme minority view in his own time now looks better than ever, thanks to england. if england<u+2019>s theory works out, it will obviously be an epochal scientific advance. but on a lighter note, it will also be a fitting rebuke to pseudo-scientific creationists, who have long mistakenly claimed that thermodynamics disproves evolution (here, for example), the exact opposite of what england<u+2019>s work is designed to show <u+2014> that thermodynamics drives evolution, starting even before life itself first appears, with a physics-based logic that applies equally to living and non-living matter. most important in this regard is the second law of thermodynamics, which states that in any closed process, there is an increase in the total entropy (roughly speaking, a measure of disorder). the increase in disorder is the opposite of increasing order due to evolution, the creationists reason, ergo <u+2014><u+00a0>a contradiction!<u+00a0>overlooking the crucial word <u+201c>closed,<u+201d> of course. there are various equivalent ways of stating the law, one of which is that energy cannot pass from a cooler to a warmer body without extra work being done. ginsberg<u+2019>s theorem (as in poet allen ginsberg) puts it like this: <u+201c>you can<u+2019>t win. you can<u+2019>t break even. you can<u+2019>t even get out of the game.<u+201d> although creationists have long mistakenly believed that evolution is a violation of the second law, actual scientists have not. for example, physicist stephen g. brush, writing for the american physical society in 2000, in <u+201c>creationism versus physical science,<u+201d> noted: <u+201c>as ludwig boltzmann noted more than a century ago, thermodynamics correctly interpreted does not just allow darwinian evolution, it favors it.<u+201d> a simple explanation of this comes from a document in the thermodynamics faq subsection of talkorigins archive (the<u+00a0> first and foremost online repository of reliable information on the creation/evolution controversy), which in part explains: creationists thus misinterpret the 2nd law to say that things invariably progress from order to disorder. however, they neglect the fact that life is not a closed system. the sun provides more than enough energy to drive things. if a mature tomato plant can have more usable energy than the seed it grew from, why should anyone expect that the next generation of tomatoes can<u+2019>t have more usable energy still? that passage goes right to the heart of the matter. evolution is no more a violation of the second law than life itself is. a more extensive, lighthearted, non-technical treatment of the creationist<u+2019>s misunderstanding and what<u+2019>s really going on can be found here. the driving flow of energy <u+2014> whether from the sun or some other source <u+2014> can give rise to what are known as dissipative structures, which are self-organized by the process of dissipating the energy that flows through them. russian-born belgian physical chemist ilya prigogine won the 1977 nobel prize in chemistry for his work developing the concept. all living things are dissipative structures, as are many non-living things as well <u+2014> cyclones, hurricanes and tornados, for example. without explicitly using the term <u+201c>dissipative structures,<u+201d> the passage above went on to invoke them thus: snowflakes, sand dunes, tornadoes, stalactites, graded river beds, and lightning are just a few examples of order coming from disorder in nature; none require an intelligent program to achieve that order. in any nontrivial system with lots of energy flowing through it, you are almost certain to find order arising somewhere in the system. if order from disorder is supposed to violate the 2nd law of thermodynamics, why is it ubiquitous in nature? in a very real sense, prigogine<u+2019>s work laid the foundations for what england is doing today, which is why it might be overstated to credit england with originating this theory, as several commentators at quanta pointed out, noting other progenitors as well (here, here and here, among others). but already england appears to have assembled a collection of analytical tools, along with a sophisticated multidisciplinary theoretical approach, which promises to do much more than simply propound a theory, but to generate a whole new research agenda giving detailed meaning to that theoretical conjecture. and that research agenda is already starting to produce results. (see his research group home page for more.) it<u+2019>s the development of this sort of detailed body of specific mutually interrelated results that will distinguish england<u+2019>s articulation of his theory from other earlier formulations that have not yet been translated into successful theory-testing research agendas. above all, as described on the home page mentioned above, england is involved in knitting together the understanding of life and various stages of life-like processes combining the perspectives of biology and physics: living things are good at collecting information about their surroundings, and at putting that information to use through the ways they interact with their environment so as to survive and replicate themselves. thus, talking about biology inevitably leads to talking about decision, purpose, and function. at the same time, living things are also made of atoms that, in and of themselves, have no particular function. rather, molecules and the atoms from which they are built exhibit well-defined physical properties having to do with how they bounce off of, stick to, and combine with each other across space and over time. making sense of life at the molecular level is all about building a bridge between these two different ways of looking at the world. if that sounds intriguing, you might enjoy this hour-long presentation of his work (with splashes of local swedish color) <u+2014> especially (but not only) if you<u+2019>re a science nerd. whether or not england<u+2019>s theory proves out in the end, he<u+2019>s already doing quite a lot to build that bridge between worldviews and inspire others to make similar efforts. science is not just about making new discoveries, but about seeing the world in new ways <u+2014> which then makes new discoveries almost inevitable. and england has already succeeded in that. <u+00a0>as the quanta article explained: england<u+2019>s theoretical results are generally considered valid. it is his interpretation <u+2014> that his formula represents the driving force behind a class of phenomena in nature that includes life <u+2014> that remains unproven. but already, there are ideas about how to test that interpretation in the lab. <u+201c>he<u+2019>s trying something radically different,<u+201d> said mara prentiss, a professor of physics at harvard who is contemplating such an experiment after learning about england<u+2019>s work. <u+201c>as an organizing lens, i think he has a fabulous idea. right or wrong, it<u+2019>s going to be very much worth the investigation.<u+201d> creationists often cast themselves as humble servants of god, and paint scientists as arrogant, know-it-all rebels against him. but, unsurprisingly, they<u+2019>ve got it all backwards, once again. england<u+2019>s work reminds us that it<u+2019>s scientists<u+2019> willingness to admit our own ignorance and confront it head on <u+2014> rather than papering over it <u+2014> that unlocks the great storehouse of wonders we live in and gives us our most challenging, satisfying quests.

god is on the ropes: the brilliant new science that has creationists and the christian right terrified

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cnn columnist john d. sutter is reporting on a tiny number -- 2 degrees -- that may have a huge effect on the future. he'd like your help. subscribe to the "2 degrees" newsletter or follow him on facebook , twitter and instagram . he's jdsutter on snapchat. (cnn) update: this poll is now closed and the results are in: readers selected food and meat's impact on climate change as the next topic for cnn's two<u+00b0> series. thanks to everyone who voted! sign up for the two<u+00b0> newsletter to get updates about that story and this series. every story needs a villain -- and climate change is no exception. knowing which countries and industries contribute to climate change, and in what proportions, is key to understanding how we can fix this problem and avoid 2 degrees celsius of warming , which is what policymakers regard as the threshold for "dangerous" climate change. plus, this story is complicated by the fact that nearly all of us -- certainly those reading this column on a mobile phone or computer -- contribute to climate change in some way. we're all partly to blame. i'm going to be exploring this idea of "climate villains" for the next month or so, as part of cnn's two<u+00b0> series , which looks at that threshold for dangerous warming. that's the point at which some island nations are expected to be submerged , drought risks go up considerably and water availability goes down. i'd like your help in deciding which bad guys to target. below, you'll find a facebook poll that lists four of my favorite climate villains, all of which came from your suggestions. pick the one you find most interesting and i'll go out into the world to report on the winner. the poll closes at 5 p.m. et on sunday, august 16. i've met people -- smart people, reasonable people -- who think that climate change is caused by aerosols from hairspray (it isn't) or that it's just part of a natural warming cycle (it's not). burning fossil fuels for electricity and heat, as well as chopping down rainforests, contributes to climate change. here's a breakdown of global greenhouse gas emissions by sector, according to 2012 data synthesized by the world resources institute. this is kind of a "blame" chart. on wednesday, i asked people on facebook to identify their preferred climate villains . among the most interesting (and sometimes humorous) responses you submitted: dinosaurs ("they turned into the oil that we want to get at, right?"); millennials ("it is always millennials' fault for everything ..."); parents ("the process of procreation ... results in increases in demand of the earth's resources and is the driving force for most of our planet's woes"). i was mentioned by name ("john sutter. i bet he's double secret super villain. no doubt."), as was willis carrier , the guy who commercialized the modern air conditioner, and james watt, who invented an efficient steam engine you also identified more nebulous bad guys, like apathy, greed, ignorance and consumerism. geography found its way into the mix, too. china, america and the "3rd world" all made your list. some countries are more to blame than others, sure. but it turns out that the most industrialized countries -- the united states, european countries and, increasingly, china and india -- are among the biggest contributors to climate change, because they burn the most fossil fuels. those are the countries most responsible for the warming we're already seeing, as well as for much of the warming that we will seen in coming years. according to the world bank, the atmosphere already has warmed 0.8 degrees celsius above preindustrial times , and about 1.5 degrees of warming is already "locked in" to the atmospheric system because of how much carbon we've burned. all of this data is a rough guide to help you vote. each of the four topics you suggested for this poll is a worthy candidate. our diets, our reliance on fossil fuel reserves, our willingness to turn precious forests into farms and our addiction to gas-burning cars and other dirty modes of transit -- all of these contribute to climate change. and each is worth exploring in depth. i don't want to play the blame game forever. i agree with those of you who said we need to move past finger-pointing and toward solutions. i do think, however, that by exploring who and what's causing climate change, we'll have a better sense of how to solve this urgent problem. so, please vote. tell your friends. and thank you for helping decide where i'll focus my energy.

two<u+00b0>: readers pick story on meat and climate change

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when a u.s. special operations team suddenly surrounded the car carrying the islamic state's second in command, he was given the split-second option of surrendering. instead, he began firing. abd al-rahman mustafa al-qaduli, also known as abu ala al-afri and haji imam, died in a hail of bullets early thursday morning on an isolated road in eastern syria, a location described by u.s. military officials as being "in the middle of nowhere." defense secretary ash carter told a press conference friday he was isis' finance minister. but the terror leader also was considered the man most likely to take over for isis leader abu bakr al-baghdadi, if he were captured or killed. details of the takedown emerged friday, including descriptions of the elite u.s. assault force arriving in helicopters as drones flew overhead, tracking him. when al-afri refused to surrender, he and all those with him were killed. if he had been captured, he would have been interrogated and then handed over to iraqi authorities. the u.s. team had been practicing the mission for weeks. "it was a really good mission," one source familiar with the developments told fox news. "it was precision and went as planned." "we are systematically eliminating isil's cabinet," carter said at the news conference. <u+201c>the removal of this isil leader will hamper the organization<u+2019>s ability to conduct operations both inside and outside of iraq and syria." carter described the target as responsible for funding isis operations and involved in some external affairs and plots. he said this was the second senior leader successfully targeted this month, in addition to the group<u+2019>s <u+201c>minister of war<u+201d> omar al-shishani, or <u+201c>omar the chechen,<u+201d> killed<u+00a0>in a recent u.s. airstrike. a u.s. official told fox news that the brussels terror attack earlier this week prompted the raid in syria. al-afri is a former physics professor from iraq who originally joined al qaeda in 2004. after spending time in an iraqi prison, he was released in 2012 and traveled to syria to join up with what is now isis. on may 14, 2014, the u.s. department of the treasury designated him as a <u+201c>specially designated global terrorist<u+201d> for his role with isis. the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, gen. joe dunford, also said at the press conference that more u.s. troops might be headed to iraq soon. "the secretary and i both believe that there will be an increase to the u.s. forces in iraq in the coming weeks,<u+201d> dunford said. <u+201c>but that decision hasn't been made." he added that despite a number of high profile strikes against the terrorists, <u+201c>by no means would i say that we're about to break the back of isil or that the fight is over." fox news<u+2019> lucas tomlinson and jennifer griffin contributed to this report.

backstory: behind the terror takedown

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defense secretary ash carter on wednesday endorsed the three-year expiration date in president obama's request to congress to authorize military force against the islamic state -- backing off his position from just last week. the newly sworn-in pentagon chief testified before the senate foreign relations committee, in support of the president's new proposal for war powers to target isis militants. he said it gives the military the necessary authority and flexibility to wage this campaign, and specifically addressed the three-year sunset. "the president's proposed authorization affords the american people the chance to assess our progress in three years' time, and provides the next president and the next congress the opportunity to reauthorize it, if they find it necessary," he testified. "to me, this is a sensible and principled provision." but just last week at a similar house hearing, carter said such a timeline would be "political." he said the three-year sunset "is not something that i would have deduced from the department of defense's necessities, the campaign's necessities, or our obligation to the troops." however, he said at the time that he understands why it was included. carter said last week -- and reiterated on wednesday -- that he still "cannot assure" that the fight against isis will be over in three years. congressional republicans and other critics of the president's plan argue that an expiration date on such a military effort tells the enemy the u.s. military's plans. republicans also have expressed unhappiness that obama chose to exclude any long-term commitment of ground forces, while some democrats voiced dismay that he had opened the door to any deployment whatsoever. carter and other top administration officials adamantly defended the terms of the request at wednesday's hearing. carter said the request does not include a long-term commitment of ground forces because "our strategy does not call for them." he spoke alongside secretary of state john kerry and gen. martin dempsey, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. committee chairman sen. bob corker, r-tenn., said he hopes the hearing would help start a process where both parties can reach agreement on a new authorization to fight isis militants, who have seized territory across iraq and syria. obama sent his draft to capitol hill last month. "as we have received that authorization for the use of military force, what we have come to understand is that -- and this is not a pejorative statement, it's an observation -- we don't know of a single democrat in congress, in the united states senate, anyway, that supports that authorization for the use of military force," corker said. obama's proposal would allow the use of military force against isis for three years, unbounded by national borders. the fight could be extended to any "closely related successor entity" to isis, which has overrun parts of iraq and syria. the 2002 congressional authorization that preceded the american-led invasion of iraq would be repealed under the white house proposal, a step some republicans were unhappy to see. but a separate authorization approved by congress after the sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks would remain in force, to the consternation of some democrats. the struggle to define any role for american ground forces is likely to determine the outcome of the administration's request for legislation. the white house has said that the proposal was intentionally ambiguous on that point to give the president flexibility, although the approach also was an attempt to bridge a deep divide in congress. the associated press contributed to this report.

defense secretary carter endorses 3-year timeline in obama anti-isis plan, backs off criticism

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anderson cooper was, mostly, the model of a good debate moderator: focused on issues, well-prepared, quick to follow up, only occasionally lapsing into stupidity<u+2014>as when he asked bernie sanders about his past as a conscientious objector, a topic relevant to exactly nobody<u+2014>and generally keeping things moving. granted, cooper had a vastly different situation to contend with than his predecessors who dealt with the republicans. there were only five candidates onstage, and none of them were eager to go to war with each other. all that was left to do was talk about actual policy. in fact, the moment that drew the biggest round of applause from the las vegas audience was when sanders growled that he was bored with all the mishegoss around hillary clinton<u+2019>s emails. refusing to attack hillary? the crowd ate it up. and what about hillary? all eyes had been trained on her<u+2014>would she crumble under the weight of the email scandal? would she tremble as bernie barked his applause lines? of course not. the debate provided her with perhaps the most sustained platform she has had so far to show off her policy chops, remind everyone that she is a fearsomely polished debater and bask in the warmth of a crowd that was truly on her side. there was nothing especially new about anything she said<u+2014>time and again, she took a more cautious, more hawkish approach to the issues thrown at her<u+2014>but she made no major errors and even landed a few surprising and effective blows, as when she took sanders to task for his record on gun control. her biggest potential pitfalls<u+2014>like her disastrous foreign policy record, her close ties to wall street and those nagging emails<u+2014>were mopped up far more easily than they might<u+00a0>have been. in one of her smarter lines, she defended her vote to invade iraq by noting that president obama had asked her to serve in his cabinet<u+2014>an answer that managed to both shamelessly evade the question about her judgment and win over the debate audience all at the same time. sanders has been one of clinton<u+2019>s top headaches, but his resolute unwillingness to go after her too much meant that he didn<u+2019>t pose a real challenge for her during the debate. instead, he stuck to his core themes, belting his messages about inequality and bankers out like ethel merman trying to hit the back of the balcony. bernie sanders knows how to work a crowd of liberals, so this strategy worked. it<u+2019>s tough to see how that will change the dynamic of the race, though. if sanders is serious about winning the nomination, there<u+2019>s only one way to do that, and that<u+2019>s through hillary clinton. as she showed, she won<u+2019>t be shy about taking him down if she has to. as for the other three people in the race<u+2026> well, they were also present. martin o<u+2019>malley made an intermittently energetic appeal to be the alternative bernie sanders. it was an appeal that mostly fell flat. jim webb spent the majority of his time either whining about how he wasn<u+2019>t being allowed to speak more or giving what sure sounded like sentences but didn<u+2019>t quite seem to end up as sentences. and lincoln chafee gave what is likely to go down in history as one of the worst debate answers of all time when he explained his vote for the repeal of the glass-steagall act by saying that he had just gotten to the senate, didn<u+2019>t know what was going on, and, oh, his father had just died. nice knowing ya, linc! one last thing: cnn desperately needs to rethink how it uses its journalists in these debates. dana bash, don lemon and juan carlos lopez were quite literally tokenized, pressed into service only when a topic relevant to their particular demographic came up. under the circumstances, it would have been better not to have them there at all. or maybe<u+2014>gasp!<u+2014>cnn could have someone who is not a white man lead a debate for once?

bernie sanders can<u+2019>t win this way: why his admirable debate performance still can<u+2019>t unseat hillary clinton

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puerto rico defaults on a $422-million debt payment sunday, but congress can't agree on a rescue plan with both democratic and republican lawmakers wary of any bailout bill. a member of a labor union shouts slogans while holding a puerto rico flag during a protest in san juan september 11, 2015. thousands of public sector workers demonstrated on friday against an austerity plan to help pull puerto rico out of a massive debt crisis, saying the private sector should take more of the pain. the island's government is calling for shared sacrifice, and concessions from citizens and investors alike, as it tries to lift itself out of a $72 billion debt hole. puerto rico<u+2019>s may 1 deadline on a $422-million debt payment has arrived, and us lawmakers are no closer to finding a solution for the island<u+2019>s financial woes. most of sunday<u+2019>s payment is principal and interest due from the government development bank, puerto rico<u+2019>s main bond issuer and fiscal agent. <u+201c>that deadline is imminent, but republicans in the house and democrats in the administration are still haggling over the terms of a bill to rescue puerto rico,<u+201d> writes the new york times. <u+201c>missing the payment risks further destabilizing its shrunken economy. and there are concerns that the passage of any legislation could be delayed until the island nears the tipping point of its debt woes: a $2-billion debt payment due on july 1.<u+201d> before congress left washington friday for a weeklong recess, legislators were deadlocked over any plan that could be seen as similar to bailout bills of the 2008 financial crisis. rep. rob bishop (r-utah) is leading a draft of a tentative rescue plan in the house, but it has faced opposition from legislators in both parties who see the bill as nothing more than a bailout. <u+201c>for me, i think to any human being, <u+2018>bailout<u+2019> means you<u+2019>re going to get money to solve your problem,<u+201d> said representative bishop. but the bill would <u+201c>give puerto rico access to a court-enforced debt restructuring in exchange for the imposition of a federal fiscal oversight board,<u+201d> so the island would get no direct money out of the deal. <u+201c>so to say it<u+2019>s a bailout, it<u+2019>s obviously not just a stretch of the meaning of the word, there has to [be] an ulterior motive.<u+201d> puerto rico<u+2019>s governor alejandro garcia padilla is frustrated with washington<u+2019>s inaction because he has warned about a default on sunday<u+2019>s deadline for months. and while washington may be at a standstill, the financial crisis has everyday implications for the 3.47 million people who call puerto rico home. the island<u+2019>s unemployment rate was 11.8 percent in march, more than twice<u+00a0> the overall us rate of five percent. tens of thousands of government workers have been laid off since 2009 to cut costs and 10 percent of the island<u+2019>s schools have been closed since 2014. these personal hardships along with others have led to puerto rico<u+2019>s largest mass exodus in the last 50 years. the island county has witnessed a 9 percent population decline in the 21st<u+00a0>century, with almost seven percent occurring between 2010 and 2015. <u+201c>population growth was once the norm in puerto rico,<u+201d> explains pew research in a march study of population data from the us census bureau. <u+201c>the island<u+2019>s population grew by 10% from 1980 to 1990, and by 8% from 1990 to 2000. but as the effects of a decade-long economic recession have mounted, puerto ricans <u+2013> who are us citizens at birth <u+2013> have increasingly moved to the us mainland, with many settling in florida.<u+201d> according to the census bureau data, economic opportunity is a primary driver for the mass outmigration: 40 percent of the island-born puerto ricans moving to the continental us say their main reason for moving was job-related, and another 39 percent cite "family and household" reasons. but the continental us is not immune to puerto rico<u+2019>s financial ills. <u+201c>a massive default from puerto rican bonds can create a financial contagion in the us municipal bond market,<u+201d> jose caraballo-cueto, director of the census information center at the university of puerto rico, writes for nbc news. and the new influx of puerto ricans to the continental us will further strain our country<u+2019>s public services, adds dr. caraballo-cueto, as the majority of islanders moving to the mainland are very poor. <u+201c>moreover, u.s. exports <u+2013> especially agricultural products <u+2013> to puerto rico will be reduced even further if the great depression of puerto rico deepens.<u+201d> and regardless of future side effects of the island<u+2019>s bankruptcy on the overall us economy, the us government has <u+201c>a shared responsibility<u+201d> on puerto rico<u+2019>s crisis, notes caraballo-cueto. not only has the us banned puerto rico<u+2019>s access to federal and local bankruptcy laws that could have restructured 70 percent of the country<u+2019>s debt, but it has also upheld a marine law from 1920, the jones act, that cripples the country<u+2019>s international trading by essentially only permitting us ships to enter or leave puerto rican ports as all other foreign vessels are subject to absurdly high customs and import fees. <u+201c>most people think july 1 is atomic bomb day,<u+201d> sergio marxuach, public policy director of the center for a new economy in puerto rico, tells the washington post. <u+201c> may 1 is still significant.<u+201d>

as deadlines come and go, puerto rico's debt crisis grows (+video)

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donald trump said in an interview that rival ted cruz<u+2019>s canadian birthplace was a <u+201c>very precarious<u+201d> issue that could make the senator from texas vulnerable if he became the republican presidential nominee. <u+201c>republicans are going to have to ask themselves the question: <u+2018>do we want a candidate who could be tied up in court for two years?<u+2019> that<u+2019>d be a big problem,<u+201d> trump said when asked about the topic. <u+201c>it<u+2019>d be a very precarious one for republicans because he<u+2019>d be running and the courts may take a long time to make a decision. you don<u+2019>t want to be running and have that kind of thing over your head.<u+201d> trump added: <u+201c>i<u+2019>d hate to see something like that get in his way. but a lot of people are talking about it and i know that even some states are looking at it very strongly, the fact that he was born in canada and he has had a double passport.<u+201d> cruz responded to trump<u+2019>s comments on twitter later tuesday evening by referring to an iconic episode of the sitcom <u+201c>happy days,<u+201d> in which the character fonzie jumps over a shark on water skis. the image has become a symbol of something shopworn and overdone. trump<u+2019>s remarks <u+2014> part of a backstage interview before a rally here monday night <u+2014> come as cruz is rising as a serious threat in the presidential campaign, especially in iowa, where some polls have shown cruz eclipsing the billionaire mogul. the two have had a cordial and at times even friendly relationship over the past year, but they are competing intensely for the support of conservatives as the feb. 1 iowa caucuses draw near. there have been recent signs of tension. at a rally last month in iowa, trump told voters of cruz: <u+201c>just remember this <u+2014> you<u+2019>ve got to remember, in all fairness, to the best of my knowledge, not too many evangelicals come out of cuba, okay? just remember that .<u+2009>.<u+2009>. just remember.<u+201d> in the interview with the washington post, trump said he was providing a candid assessment of his leading opponent rather than initiating a personal attack and reviving the <u+201c>birther<u+201d> debate that he once led against president obama. he repeatedly said he is hearing chatter on the topic among voices on the right. <u+201c>people are bringing it up,<u+201d> he said. trump has veered from shrugging off the issue to raising more questions himself. in an interview with abc news in september, trump said he did not think cruz<u+2019>s birthplace was an issue. <u+201c>i hear it was checked out by every attorney and every which way and i understand ted is in fine shape,<u+201d> he said. but months earlier in iowa, trump told reporters that it could be a <u+201c>difficult problem.<u+201d> <u+201c>he<u+2019>s a friend of mine. i have great respect for him. .<u+2009>.<u+2009>. certainly it<u+2019>s a stumbling block, and he<u+2019>s going to have to have it solved before he goes too far,<u+201d> trump said, according to the dallas morning news. speaking late tuesday in sioux center, iowa, cruz laughed off questions about trump<u+2019>s comment, saying he would let his campaign<u+2019>s <u+201c>happy days<u+201d> tweet speak for itself. when pressed, cruz turned it back to the media, saying the focus should be on substantive issues. <u+201c>and one of the things that the media loves to do is gaze at their navels for hours on end by a tweet from donald trump or from me or from anybody else. who cares?<u+201d> he said. when asked why he would tweet a video clip, he said: <u+201c>why do it? because the best way to respond to this kind of attack is to laugh it off and move on to the issues that matter.<u+201d> despite this, cruz maintains he still likes trump and doesn<u+2019>t intend to throw insults. the constitution requires a president to be a <u+201c>natural-born citizen.<u+201d> anyone born to a u.s. citizen is granted citizenship under u.s. law, regardless of where the birth takes place, as long as the citizen parent has resided in the united states or its territories for a certain period of time. at the time of cruz<u+2019>s birth, the required period was at least 10 years, including five years after the age of 14. cruz<u+2019>s mother was a u.s. citizen when he was born in calgary in 1970; his father was born in cuba. cruz has long said that because his mother is a citizen by birth, he is one as well and fits under the definition of a natural-born citizen. since his election to the senate, cruz has released his birth certificate and renounced his canadian citizenship. legal scholars agree that cruz meets the constitution<u+2019>s natural-born citizenship requirement, though it is untested in the courts. several previous presidential candidates have run for office with similar backgrounds, such as sen. john mccain (ariz.), the 2008 republican nominee, who was born in the panama canal zone to u.s. citizens. in the interview, trump alluded to an ongoing lawsuit in vermont, where a man is trying to keep three republican presidential candidates, including cruz, off the ballot. according to the rutland herald, the lawsuit names state officials as defendants. trump has long flirted with <u+201c>birtherism,<u+201d> questioning obama<u+2019>s love of country and legal claim to the presidency. he supported efforts to investigate obama<u+2019>s birth in hawaii and often suggested that the president was born outside the country. trump<u+2019>s crusade reached its zenith in 2011, when obama felt obliged to publicly release his long-form birth certificate. the president then mocked trump over the issue at the white house correspondents<u+2019> association dinner that year. since then, trump has quieted his speculation about obama<u+2019>s birth, while still declining to accept obama<u+2019>s legitimacy as president. katie zezima in sioux center, iowa, contributed to this report.

trump says cruz<u+2019>s canadian birth could be <u+2018>very precarious<u+2019> for gop

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syrian president bashar assad says that his government has received information about airstrikes carried out by a u.s.-led coalition against the islamic state terror group, but has denied any direct coordination between the parties. assad made the claims in an interview with the bbc that was broadcast tuesday. he said that messages about the airstrikes were conveyed to damascus by third parties, including the iraqi government. "sometimes they convey [a] message, [a] general message, but there's nothing tactical," assad said. "there is no dialogue. there's, let's say, information, but not dialogue." many members of the coalition, which includes four arab countries, have urged assad to relinquish his position since the beginning of syria's bloody civil war in 2011. however, syria's ruler has clung grimly to power despite heavy fighting that has caused the deaths of an estimated 200,000 people. now, coalition jets share the skies with assad's own air force, which also targets the terror group, commonly known as isis. however, assad told the bbc that he would not formally join the coalition, which includes jordan, saudi arabia, bahrain, qatar, and the united arab emirates. "no, definitely we cannot and we don't have the will and we don't want, for one simple reason -- because we cannot be in an alliance with countries which support terrorism," assad said, in an apparent reference to the moderate syrian rebels, which are supported by the united states. assad also said that he would refuse to discuss action against isis with u.s. officials because, he said, "they don't talk to anyone, unless he's a puppet. "and they easily trample over international law, which is about our sovereignty now, so they don't talk to us, we don't talk to them." assad also dismissed efforts to arm and train a force of moderate rebels to fight isis on the ground in syria as a "pipe dream." the wall street journal reported last month that the program to arm and train syrian rebels, run by the cia, had been beset by issues, including weapons shipments that were between 5 and 20 percent of what was requested by rebel commanders. meanwhile, the united arab emirates launched airstrikes tuesday against isis from an air base in jordan, marking its return to combat operations against the militants after halting the strikes late last year. the gulf federation's official wam news agency quoted the general command of the uae armed forces as saying that emirati f-16s carried out a series of strikes tuesday morning. the fighters returned safely back to base after striking their targets, the statement said. it did not elaborate, nor did it say whether the strikes happened in syria or iraq. the militants hold roughly a third of each country in a self-declared caliphate. american officials say the emirates halted airstrikes in december after a jordanian pilot, lt. muath al-kaseasbeh, was captured when his plane crashed behind enemy lines. al-kaseasbeh was later burned alive by the militants. the emirates had not commented on the suspension, and tuesday's statement was the first confirmation it had restarted combat operations. there was also some good news from the region monday, as coalition officials said that kurdish peshmerga fighters had seized three bridgeheads on the west bank of the tigris river from isis fighters north of mosul. the attack was supported by four coalition airstrikes that had provided close air support. "this most recent peshmerga operation is yet another example of how daesh [the arabic acronym for isis] can be defeated militarily using a combination of well-led and capable ground forces,<u+201d> said lt. gen. james terry, commander of the combined joint task force operation inherent resolve. however, a senior u.s. official told fox news that any campaign to retake mosul, iraq's second-largest city, from isis was not "weeks away", contradicting statements made over the weekend by gen. john allen, president obama's special envoy to the anti-isis coalition. "we don<u+2019>t want this to be a fair fight, we need to build up the iraq military first," the official said. elsewhere, reuters reported, citing syrian activist groups, that isis had withdrawn some of its fighters and equipment from areas around the northwestern syrian city of aleppo, a hotbed of anti-assad feeling. the u.k.-syrian observatory for human rights said that isis had redeployed some of its forces to do battle against kurdish fighters and mainstream rebels further east, but had not completely withdrawn from the area. the observatory estimates that approximately 70 isis fighters have been killed in an escalation of coalition airstrikes since the group released video last week of a jordanian pilot being burned alive.

syria's assad says he receives info about us-led coalition's anti-isis strikes

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frida ghitis is a world affairs columnist for the miami herald and world politics review, and a former cnn producer and correspondent. follow her @fridaghitis . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. (cnn) hillary clinton roared to a clear victory in the iowa town hall monday night , coming across as energetic, articulate, knowledgeable and experienced. i never thought i'd find myself commenting on the clothing choices of female political candidates (men have almost no choices to make) but in this case, clinton's red top underscored her fiery presentation. for once, the men may have wished they had worn red jackets! there was, however, a downside for clinton in her triumph -- the once seemingly inevitable democratic nominee opted to tie herself ever more closely to president barack obama's foreign policy. indeed, come the general election, clinton's full-throated defense of the controversial iran deal and other foreign policy choices will make it that much harder to distance herself from the broader historic catastrophe of the unraveling of the middle east that has unfolded during obama's watch. still, with a surging challenge from the left in the form of sen. bernie sanders, clinton may have felt she had no choice but to embrace obama's legacy more closely in an effort to earn the vote of party activists and other committed democrats. the polls show democrats, by massive majorities , have backed obama's performance throughout his presidency. to secure the nomination, then, clinton may need to become obama's candidate, even if in the fall campaign she faces a general public among which less than half the voters are satisfied with the current administration. fortunately for clinton, the task of drumming up democratic support by aligning herself with the president was made easier just hours before the town hall began when obama gave an interview that sounded close to an endorsement, "[the] one thing everybody understands is that this job right here, you don't have the luxury of just focusing on one thing," the president said, in what sounded like a dig at sanders, who has made the fight against income inequality the focus of his campaign. sanders, of course, showed why he has excited so many voters. the event format was not designed to produce blockbuster ratings by creating clashes between the candidates. instead, it looked like a series of job interviews for the presidency; a fitting format for iowa's voters, who take their democratic responsibilities very seriously. in sanders they, and viewers at home, saw a man who displays a singular level of unrehearsed honesty and a clear commitment to fighting against a wrong that troubles him (as it undoubtedly does many americans). as sanders reminded everyone, in the aftermath of the multibillion dollar bank bailouts that followed the subprime lending and the widespread pain of the great recession, it is nothing short of infuriating that the people who created the mess received millions of dollars in bonuses. this even as life became harder for many americans and as inequalities continued to grow. sanders declared "we need a political revolution." and, when asked to explain what it means to be a democratic socialist -- a label not normally embraced by voters in the world's most successful capitalist economy -- sanders did a convincing job of explaining that democratic socialism means "economic rights, the right to economic security, should exist in the united states of america," adding that "it is immoral and wrong that the top one-tenth of 1% in this country own almost 90% -- almost-- own almost as much wealth as the bottom 90%." when questioned about his lack of foreign policy experienced compared with clinton, sanders pointed to his vote against the war in iraq. on the question of how the next president could get anything done in the current climate of partisanship, sanders said his track record in government proves he can get legislation approved. but it was difficult not to notice that clinton offered a more extensive explanation about why her foreign policy expertise mattered, explaining how results comes down to relationships, and adding that she knows how to find common ground and build ties. the time in the spotlight for the third democrat in the race, former maryland gov. martin o'malley, amounted to little more than a break between the two halves of the main event. o'malley may be hoping that the complicated rules of the iowa caucuses will produce a miracle for his campaign, but it was difficult to see what he offers that is more compelling than the two alternatives. he certainly tried to look the part, even taking off his jacket and rolling up his sleeves in a moment that seemed right out of an old "west wing" episode -- clearly rehearsed and by now something of clich<u+00e9>. unfortunately for the governor, the more "mature" candidates offered plenty of dynamism of their own, even if it came packaged under more wrinkles.

democratic town hall: will clinton pitch backfire? (opinion)

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when friday began, there were 14 states where same-sex couples still could not legally marry. by the afternoon <u+2014> after a confusing day of orders and counter-orders by governors, attorneys general and county clerks <u+2014> couples had married in all of them but one. the holdout was louisiana. there, attorney general james d. <u+201c>buddy<u+201d> caldwell (r) condemned the supreme court<u+2019>s ruling, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, as <u+201c>federal government intrusion into what should be a state issue.<u+201d> what<u+2019>s more, caldwell said, he had read the text of the decision. and he<u+2019>d found no specific line saying that louisiana had to obey it. <u+201c>therefore, there is not yet a legal requirement for officials to issue marriage licenses or perform marriages for same-sex couples in louisiana,<u+201d> he said in a statement. louisiana gov. bobby jindal (r), who announced wednesday that he is running for president, criticized the justices<u+2019> decision but said his state will comply with it once an appeals court officially gives the order. across the country, some conservatives called for <u+201c>resistance<u+201d> to the high court<u+2019>s ruling, which they said tramples on the bible and the constitution<u+2019>s protections of states<u+2019> rights. [the gop candidates are split into two fields over gay marriage] in most places, that didn<u+2019>t happen friday. but in several states, conservative officials did try to delay or block the implementation of the decision. in addition to louisiana, there was mississippi, which blocked almost all same-sex marriages, saying it needed a lower court<u+2019>s permission to proceed. a few same-sex couples in mississippi did get married in the window between the supreme court<u+2019>s ruling and the state<u+2019>s order to stop. in alabama, two officials announced another method of resistance: if they couldn<u+2019>t stop same-sex marriage, they would stop marriage itself. they said they would no longer issue marriage licenses to anyone, gay or straight, ever again. <u+201c>i will not be doing any more ceremonies,<u+201d> said fred hamic (r), the elected probate judge in rural geneva county. the other was wes allen (r), the probate judge in pike county. both said that state law doesn<u+2019>t require their counties to issue marriage licenses at all. if people want to wed, they can go to another county. <u+201c>if you read your bible, sir, then you know the logic. the bible says a man laying with a man or a woman laying with a woman is an abomination to god,<u+201d> hamic said. <u+201c>i am not mixing religion with government, but that<u+2019>s my feelings on it.<u+201d> and then there was texas, where confusion reigned. before the supreme court<u+2019>s ruling, state attorney general ken paxton (r) had warned county clerks not to issue same-sex marriage licenses until he could give them orders. then the decision came. he denounced the ruling in general terms but never told clerks how, or whether, to implement it. that left county officials on their own. at the williamson county clerk<u+2019>s office in georgetown, just north of austin, officials said they were not issuing same-sex marriage licenses friday, pending a review of the justices<u+2019> decision by county officials. <u+201c>we<u+2019>re good lawyers, we have to read the whole thing and then issue guidelines,<u+201d> said brandon dakroub, first assistant county attorney. the forms would have to be updated, for one thing: the old ones are meant for one man and one woman. in the meantime, officials had posted a sign in the hallways, telling same-sex couples what to do if they couldn<u+2019>t wait. <u+201c>bexar, travis and dallas [counties] are issuing if you cannot wait for our software changes,<u+201d> the sign said. that was true: clerks in more liberal, urban texas counties had begun issuing licenses anyway, without waiting for guidance from the state capital. but that wasn<u+2019>t always easy. in harris county, which includes houston, the county attorney actually ordered the county clerk to begin issuing them. but the clerk refused. <u+201c>we were told if we use the wrong form it will be null and void,<u+201d> a deputy clerk told the houston chronicle. later in the afternoon, harris county began issuing same-sex marriage licenses after all. adding to the confusion in texas, gov. greg abbott (r) issued a memo that required state agencies to respect the <u+201c>sincere religious beliefs<u+201d> of people who don<u+2019>t agree with same-sex marriage. but his memo didn<u+2019>t say anything about when or how same-sex couples could get married. texas state rep. cecil bell jr. (r) <u+2014> a leading voice of resistance to same-sex marriage <u+2014> said he hoped the state<u+2019>s leaders would try to stop the implementation of the ruling. somebody would sue, he said. but a lawsuit would take time. and, bell said, time is their best hope now. <u+201c>hopefully it takes long enough to where we have .<u+2009>.<u+2009>. a situation where the [supreme] court changes,<u+201d> because a republican president appoints new justices who see same-sex marriage differently, he said. in the remaining states that had not permitted same-sex marriage <u+2014> arkansas, georgia, kentucky, michigan, missouri, nebraska, north dakota, ohio, south dakota and tennessee <u+2014> state officials said they will carry out the court<u+2019>s ruling. <u+201c>recognizing that there are strong feelings on both sides, it is important for everyone to respect the judicial process and the decision today from the u.s. supreme court,<u+201d> michigan gov. rick snyder (r) said in a statement. the possibility of a backlash to friday<u+2019>s ruling was anticipated by chief justice john g. roberts jr. in a dissent, he said that same-sex marriage already had a lot of political momentum <u+2014> but that the court<u+2019>s decision could short-circuit that. <u+201c>stealing this issue from the people will for many cast a cloud over same-sex marriage,<u+201d> he wrote. [the fix: the supreme court did republicans a favor] some conservatives <u+2014> mainly without political power themselves <u+2014> said that the only correct response was to resist the decision. <u+201c>i will not acquiesce to an imperial court any more than our founders acquiesced to an imperial british monarch,<u+201d> said former arkansas governor mike huckabee (r), who is running for president. <u+201c>we must resist and reject judicial tyranny, not retreat.<u+201d> huckabee did not say what, exactly, he meant by <u+201c>resist.<u+201d> in arkansas, at least one county began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on friday. in other cases, the call was for a kind of second-order resistance. private citizens couldn<u+2019>t stop the marriages, perhaps, but they could refuse to bake wedding cakes or provide services for receptions. or leaders of larger institutions could risk their bottom lines by refusing to treat same-sex unions like other marriages. rick scarborough, the leader of a texas-based group that gathered 55,000 signatures to <u+201c>defend<u+201d> marriage, said that, for instance, a christian school could fire an employee for being married to another man. <u+201c>that<u+2019>s what we mean by civilly disobeying. we<u+2019>re not going to change our practice or our pattern to fit the whims of the supreme court,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>if you sue us, we<u+2019>ll face the lawsuits, and we<u+2019>ll continue until bankruptcy .<u+2009>.<u+2009>. or jail time, if required.<u+201d> scarborough is a minister, but he doesn<u+2019>t have a church of his own to put on the line. still, he<u+2019>s encouraging others to do so, reminding them of a song about shadrach, meshach and abednego <u+2014> old testament figures who were cast into a furnace because they would not renounce god. <u+201c>the song we teach our kids is, <u+2018>they wouldn<u+2019>t bend, they wouldn<u+2019>t bow, they wouldn<u+2019>t burn,<u+2019><u+00a0><u+201d> he said. in this fight, scarborough said, christians may not be that fortunate: <u+201c>we are not going to bend, we are not going to bow. if necessary, we are going to burn.<u+201d> but russell moore, the president of the ethics and religious liberty commission of the southern baptist convention, said the church should not seek legal confrontations <u+2014> but rather should focus on a spiritual message, describing the value of heterosexual marriage. <u+201c>if the government were to force christian churches .<u+2009>.<u+2009>. to perform same-sex marriages, then yes, we couldn<u+2019>t do that,<u+201d> moore said in a conference call with reporters. <u+201c>that does not mean, though, that .<u+2009>.<u+2009>. we can<u+2019>t obey laws, including bad laws, that we don<u+2019>t agree with.<u+201d> bishop joe s. vasquez of the roman catholic diocese of austin, the largest diocese in texas, counseled a similar message. <u+201c>this causes confusion among those who are faithful to the gospel and erodes rights of persons in each state,<u+201d> he said, adding that <u+201c>jesus taught that, from the beginning, marriage is the lifelong union of one man and one woman.<u+201d> <u+201c>regardless of the court<u+2019>s decision,<u+201d> he said, <u+201c>the nature of the human person and marriage remains unchanged and unchangeable.<u+201d>

opponents divided on how <u+2014> or whether <u+2014> to resist justices<u+2019> ruling

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some of the rhetoric on the left about the awful shootings at the planned parenthood clinic in colorado is troubling. some of the rhetoric on the right after such cases has also been troubling. i say this to pundits and politicians after each tragedy: don<u+2019>t demonize the other side because some crazy guy goes on a shooting spree. but it<u+2019>s a temptation that many are unable to resist. words matter, of course, and rhetoric can be incendiary. but it<u+2019>s still unfair to draw a link between media and political debate and some violent sociopath who doesn<u+2019>t value human life. inevitably, we<u+2019>re left with a wave of finger-pointing over which party is <u+201c>politicizing<u+201d> the situation, which unfortunately diverts attention from the victims. it didn<u+2019>t take long after friday<u+2019>s shooting in colorado springs, which killed three people, including a police officer, and wounded nine others. democrats rushed to put out statements, and republican presidential candidates were mostly silent. hillary clinton, after a supportive <u+201c>we #standwithpp<u+201d> tweet, said: <u+201c>we should be supporting planned parenthood, not attacking it<u+2026>and it is way past time to protect women<u+2019>s health and respect women<u+2019>s rights, not use them as political footballs.<u+201d> president obama, as he has after other mass shootings, turned to gun control, saying that if we truly care about this, <u+201c>we have to do something about the easy accessibility of weapons of war on our streets to people who have no business wielding them. period. enough is enough.<u+201d> both statements could be called <u+201c>political,<u+201d> but were relatively restrained in tone. i get that the gop candidates are staunchly opposed to abortion and have been sharply critical of planned parenthood, especially after the deeply disturbing videos in which staffers spoke cavalierly about the harvesting of fetal organs (which prompted an apology from the group<u+2019>s president and a change in its practice). but three people--including an iraq war veteran, a mother of two--are dead because they were at a clinic that provides a legal service. ted cruz, jeb bush and john kasich put out statements of sympathy for the victims in the 36 hours after the attack. would the others have acted differently if the police officer had been murdered at a starbucks instead? still, planned parenthood<u+2019>s executive vice president, dawn laguens, ratcheted things up significantly by declaring <u+201c>it is offensive and outrageous that some politicians are now claiming this tragedy has nothing to do with the toxic environment they helped create. even when the gunman was still inside of our health center, politicians who have long opposed safe and legal abortion were on television pushing their campaign to defund planned parenthood.<u+201d> vicki saporta, president of the national abortion federation, said those opposed to abortion "have ignited a firestorm of hate" and "knew there could be these types of consequences." so the murders are "not a huge surprise," she told the washington post. sorry, but linking the actions of a mentally disturbed gunman to the <u+201c>toxic environment<u+201d> that republicans <u+201c>helped create<u+201d> is the old blood-on-the-hands argument. so is "firestorm of hate" language. opponents of abortion and critics of planned parenthood are in no way responsible for this terrible crime. on <u+201c>fox news sunday,<u+201d> carly fiorina reiterated her opposition to planned parenthood and said while the attack was "obviously a tragedy," <u+201c>anyone who tries to link this terrible tragedy to anyone that oppose abortion or opposes the sale of body parts<u+201d> is engaging in <u+201c>typical left-wing tactics.<u+201d> mike huckabee, on cnn, called the attack <u+201c>domestic terrorism<u+201d> that is <u+201c>absolutely abominable, especially to those of us in the pro-life movement because there<u+2019>s nothing about any of us that would condone or any way look the other way at something like this.<u+201d> he then likened the murders to what goes on inside planned parenthood clinics, <u+201c>where many millions of babies die.<u+201d> cruz denounced "some vicious rhetoric on the left blaming those who are pro-life<u+2026>the media promptly wants to blame him on the pro-life movement when at this point there<u+2019>s very little evidence to indicate that." but sometimes the guilt-by-association allegations fly the other way. when two ferguson police officers were shot in march, front page magazine ran this headline: <u+201c>obama and the media have the blood of cops on their hands.<u+201d> when a sheriff<u+2019>s deputy was killed in houston in august, cruz said: <u+201c>cops across this country are feeling the assault. they're feeling the assault from the president, from the top on down, as we see <u+2014> whether it<u+2019>s in ferguson or baltimore, the response from senior officials, the president or the attorney general, is to vilify law enforcement.<u+201d> i understand that passions run high in these life and death cases. but partisan blame-shifting doesn<u+2019>t help the situation and simply becomes one more political brawl in the wake of senseless violence. howard kurtz is a fox news analyst and the host of "mediabuzz" (sundays 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. et). he is the author of five books and is based in washington. follow him at @howardkurtz. click here for more information on howard kurtz.

planned parenthood fallout: why it's unfair to blame abortion opponents

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we are just one week away from the iowa caucuses. the presumed front runner last year at this time? jeb bush. or rather <u+201c>jeb!<u+201d> as his campaign has dubbed him, hoping to add a little excitement to the mix (and possibly to underplay his famous last name.) but after one year of failing to rev up voter enthusiasm, is it time for jeb to pack up his attack ads and go home? not only are his poll numbers far from where his supporters thought they would be by now, jeb is also acting as spoiler, destroying the candidate most likely to beat hillary clinton. in doing so, it appears his nasty campaign against marco rubio has wrecked his own chances. in clobbering his popular rival and one-time mentee, bush has shown himself either incapable of bucking the operatives running his super pac, or full of baloney. after eight years of barack obama, the last thing this country needs is another weak-kneed leader. or a hypocrite. for months, jeb bush publicly agonized over whether he should run for president. <u+00a0>bush worried that he would be forced into the political gutter, claiming that he would only run if his campaign could focus <u+201c>on the issues.<u+201d> he was eager to lay out his prescriptions for solving the country<u+2019>s ills, to push education and tax reform, for instance, but not keen to engage in a cage match with the other contestants. <u+00a0>he wanted to run <u+201c>joyfully<u+201d> because he thought the country needed a candidate who would <u+201c>lift the country<u+2019>s spirits.<u+201d> the head of bush<u+2019>s super pac apparently sees the campaign differently. since right to rise (r2r) has raised ten times the money brought in by the campaign, it<u+2019>s easy to imagine who<u+2019>s calling the shots. mike murphy, according to some, is on a personal vendetta against marco rubio, whom bush loyalists consider disloyal for having entered the race. as a result, r2r has spent an astonishing $20 million on ads attacking the florida senator <u+2013> about one third of the super pac<u+2019>s ad spending to date, and more than the group has spent undermining any other candidate. some of the ads target rubio<u+2019>s attendance record in the senate, and his numerous missed votes. some paint him a flip-flopper, changing positions with the shifting political winds. and then there was a cheesy ad mocking rubio<u+2019>s boots, of all things, which surely was another rung down into the gutter. (in fairness, the new york times ran no less than four pieces on rubio<u+2019>s boots.) that poke was, as rob garver described it in the fiscal times, supposed to be funny but instead came across as <u+201c>awkward and uncomfortable, like a dad joke told in a car full of teenagers.<u+201d> has the assault on rubio helped bush? certainly not in iowa, where r2r has spent $8.5 million blasting rubio. in that state, bush is languishing in fifth place with only 3 percent of the vote, compared to 14 percent going to rubio and 37 percent to trump. in more moderate new hampshire, a state where the bush-rubio rivalry is critical to both campaigns, the bush super pac has spent $7.5 million attacking rubio. the gap between bush and rubio has narrowed, but most polls show marco leading by a few points. the ads appear to have hurt rubio, who was comfortably in second place in early january, with 14 percent of the vote. but, they haven<u+2019>t helped bush, who has been stuck since the beginning of the year at 8 percent. perhaps more important, the attack ads haven<u+2019>t helped bush nationally. back in september the former florida governor claimed an almost 10 percent support amongst gop primary voters; now he<u+2019>s under 5 percent. in terms of how voters see bush, the news is not good. some 54 percent have an unfavorable view of jeb compared to 32 percent who see him more kindly. the gap has widened in recent months. ditto for marco rubio, who during most of the past year had a net favorable rating; he is now upside down, with the unfavorable/favorable ratio at 41/36. jeb bush has disappointed followers who expected him to run as he had promised, on solving the nation<u+2019>s issues. as a successful governor of a successful state, bush brings gravitas and stature to the race. he has also disappointed those who expected bush<u+2019>s ability to raise huge early money to put him and keep him out front; donald trump upended those expectations, and every other aspect of the race. jeb has also disappointed those who expected him to be a better campaigner. after all, he has run for office successfully in the past; people wonder now, how did he win? the most likely answer is that he won by being himself, not the puppet of his super pac. though there is supposed to be clear distance between the campaign and r2r, murphy<u+2019>s influence is undoubted. murphy and bush have worked together on campaigns since 1997; murphy claimed in a bloomberg interview, <u+201c>i understand what jeb wants, i understand what kind of campaign he wants<u+2026><u+201d> <u+00a0>so, was bush<u+2019>s promise of a <u+201c>joyous<u+201d> campaign utter bunk, or has he been hijacked by his operatives? the most cringe-worthy moment of jeb<u+2019>s campaign came during the cnbc debate, when he challenged rubio over missed votes. the moderator had already raised the issue and rubio had successfully parried it, making bush<u+2019>s attack superfluous and awkward. jeb had clearly been instructed to go after rubio, and he did as he was told. that was not bush<u+2019>s only awkward campaign moment. like hillary clinton chastising the banks that pay her so well, the more inauthentic jeb becomes, the more likely he is to flop.<u+00a0> perhaps that<u+2019>s why he can barely deliver a sentence that doesn<u+2019>t include a verbal hitch. in his head, he is thinking one thing, but his directors have him saying another. jeb could come back, but to do so he has to campaign as himself <u+2013> showing voters the serious but also personable candidate they see in small gatherings. take back control of the campaign, ditch the nastiness, and he might have a shot. the sooner the better. liz peek is a writer who contributes frequently to foxnews.com. she is a financial columnist who also writes for the fiscal times. for more visit lizpeek.com. follow her on twitter@lizpeek.

gop 2016: is it time for jeb bush to pack up his attack ads and go home?

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washington the democratic candidates for president gathered in des moines, iowa, for their second debate saturday, and cnn's reality check team spent the night putting their statements and assertions to the test. the team of reporters, researchers and editors across cnn selected key statements and rated them: true; mostly true; true, but misleading; false; or it's complicated. previous cnn reality check coverage of the democratic and republican candidates can be found here . this story will be updated throughout the night. former secretary of state hillary clinton threw her support behind a $12 hourly minimum wage at saturday's debate. that's lower than the $15 an hour minimum backed by vermont senator bernie sanders and former maryland governor martin o'malley, as well many progressive activists nationwide. clinton defended her stance, saying: "if you go to $12, it would be the highest historical average we've ever had." that's the "smartest" way to move forward, she added. vermont sen. bernie sanders said, "when you talk about the long-term consequences of war, let's talk about the men and women who came home from war, the 500,000 who came home with ptsd and traumatic brain injury." vermont sen. bernie sanders said, "the muslim nations in the region -- saudi arabia, iran, turkey, jordan -- all of these nations, they're going to have to get their hands dirty, their boots on the ground. they are going to have to take on isis. ... those muslim countries are going to have to lead the effort. they are not doing it now." launched in september 2014, the u.s.-led coalition fighting isis consists of more than 60 coalition partners, including more than a dozen muslim-majority countries. all of the countries sanders mentioned are part of that coalition -- with the exception of iran, which has been countering isis in separate initiatives that include training, advising, and supporting iraqi and syrian forces fighting isis. the actual contributions of each member of the u.s.-led coalition vary widely. as of october 2014, saudi arabia's contribution consisted of warplanes and training for syrian rebels fighting isis. they also donated $500 million to un humanitarian efforts in iraq. turkey has allowed foreign troops to launch attacks against isis from within its borders, and in july, began launching its own airstrikes against isis in syria. jordan launched airstrikes against isis early in the campaign, but later suspended its participation when one of its aircraft went down in syria and one of its pilots was taken hostage. jordanian strikes resumed after isis announced it had killed the jordanian pilot. few of the coalition's members have contributed active ground troops. in 2014, egypt sent forces to libya to bomb isis positions there. in late october, the united states authorized the deployment of about 50 special operations forces to northern syria to fight isis. the obama administration is also considering a special forces task force to fight isis in iraq. in june of 2014, iraqi officials said that iran had sent about 500 revolutionary guard troops to fight alongside iraqi troops against isis. the iranian foreign ministry denied this, but iran's president said iran was prepared to help advise iraq if asked. sanders is correct that, at present, the primary coalition fighting isis is led by the united states. but several of the muslim countries in the coalition have lost soldiers and civilians in the battle against isis. former gov. martin o'malley said, "the truth of the matter is net immigration from mexico last year was zero." he then challenged viewers to fact-check him, and we couldn't resist. additionally, the actual number of mexicans living in the united states consistently declined throughout 2014. the u.s. border patrol also reported that in the 2014 fiscal year, the number of mexicans apprehended along the border decreased 14% when compared to the 2013 fiscal year. the information we have suggests that the net immigration rate is negative -- which is actually not zero -- but it is close, and probably still supports o'malley's point. former maryland gov. martin o'malley often goes back to his record as governor to explain how he would best shepherd the nation's economy in the white house. but he went a step further than he typically does during saturday night's debate and took credit for maryland's high median incomes. o'malley was answering a question of how precisely he would freeze college tuition around the nation and whether his blueprint from maryland would work across the u.s. "the blueprint in maryland that we followed is we raised the sales tax by a penny and made our public schools the best public schools in america for five years in a row with that investment. and yes, we did ask everyone -- the top 14% of earners in our state -- to pay more in their income tax and we were the only state to go four years in a row without a penny's increase to college tuitions," o'malley said. the answer, nationwide, is paying for priorities by taxing capital gains income like normal income, he said. "i believe capital gains, for the most part, should be taxed the same way we tax income from hard work, sweat and toil," o'malley said. "and if we do those things, we can be a country that actually can afford debt-free college again." but in the exchange he also took credit for the state's median income level -- long the highest in the nation. "so while other candidates will talk about the things they would like to do, i actually got these things they would like to do. i actually got these things done in a state that defended not only a aaa bond rating, but the highest median income in america," o'malley said. there's no question that marylanders have done, on average, much better than those in other states since the recession. it's actually had the highest median income every year since 2006, when the median income was $65,144, to last year, when it was $73,971. in his answer, o'malley did not explain how his economic plan kept high-wage jobs in maryland. but president barack obama and former president george w. bush may be better able to make that claim because of the large share of federal employees in maryland. a "governing" magazine analysis of federal employment statistics from 2013 determined that maryland had the largest share of federal workers for the total workforce of any state, something that the governor has nothing to do with. maryland had 145,300 people working for the government, equal to 5.5% of the state's total non-farm employment. virginia had more federal employees -- 172,500 -- but they only accounted for 4.6% of the total state employment. and a washington post review of federal salaries found that federal workers do quite well compared to many other industries -- earning an average salary of $78,500 as of 2012.

democratic debate: 's reality check team inspects the claims

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washington<u+00a0><u+2014> the obama administration is canceling its plans to sell oil drilling rights in the arctic sea through 2017, a remarkable turnaround since expanding drilling by approving new drilling permits for shell oil earlier this year. but royal dutch<u+00a0>shell's<u+00a0>decision last month to suspend its<u+00a0>oil exploration in offshore alaskan waters<u+00a0><u+2014> citing disappointing<u+00a0>results from a<u+00a0>well in the<u+00a0>chukchi sea<u+00a0><u+2014> prompted the interior department to cancel further oil leases. <u+201c>in light of shell<u+2019>s announcement, the amount of acreage already under lease and current market conditions, it does not make sense to prepare for lease sales in the arctic in the next year and a half,<u+201d> said secretary of the interior sally jewell. the obama administration came under fire from environmental groups after approving permits for shell to drill even as president obama was embarking on a three-day trip to alaska to highlight the effects of climate change in the arctic. those same groups applauded friday's move, with<u+00a0>the natural resources defense council calling it "an essential reprieve" for arctic waters. "the next step should be to take arctic and atlantic waters off the table to oil and gas drilling for good," said nrdc's<u+00a0>franz matzner. also friday, the department also denied requests by shell and the norwegian company<u+00a0>statoil to extend existing years beyond 10 years. both companies had asked for five-year extensions, arguing that they should have more time because<u+00a0>regulations had prevented them from exploring for oil. without those extensions, the leases will expire by 2020. sen. lisa murkowski, r-alaska, said the decision was "absurd." the interior department is throwing up regulatory<u+00a0>roadblocks to prevent drilling, she said<u+00a0><u+2014> and then using the lack of drilling<u+00a0>to justify canceling the lease sales. <u+201c>this is a stunning, short-sighted move that betrays the interior department<u+2019>s commitments to alaska and the best interests of our nation<u+2019>s long-term energy security," said murkowski, who chairs the senate energy committee. "today<u+2019>s decision is the latest in a destructive pattern of hostility toward energy production in our state that began the first day this administration took office, and continued ever since."

interior: no more new arctic oil leases for remainder of obama's presidency

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port st. lucie, fla. <u+2014><u+00a0>investigators were reviewing a range of possible terror and hate-crime<u+00a0>links to a gunman<u+00a0>who professed his allegiance to the islamic state from the scene of a horrific mass shooting at a<u+00a0>crowded orlando nightclub early sunday that left at least 50 dead and 53 others wounded, the fbi said. omar mateen, 29, of fort pierce, fla.,<u+00a0>acknowledged his support for the terror group<u+00a0>during a 911 call to local law enforcement from the nightclub, orlando fbi chief ron hopper said. during the call, placed in the pre-dawn hours<u+00a0>after the first round of shots were fired,<u+00a0>mateen also made reference to the deadly 2013 boston marathon bombings, said a separate federal law enforcement official<u+00a0>who was not authorized to comment publicly. the disclosure closely tracked an account provided earlier sunday by california rep. adam schiff, the ranking democrat on the house intelligence committee. schiff<u+00a0>said that a<u+00a0>department of homeland security briefing indicated that<u+00a0>mateen had made the radical proclamation before he died in a shootout with authorities. <u+201c>whether this attack also was isis-directed remains to be determined,<u+2019><u+2019> schiff said in a statement. hopper also confirmed sunday that mateen had been interviewed by federal authorities three times in connection with two investigations during the past three years. in the most recent case, the fbi reviewed mateen's alleged contacts in 2014 with moner mohammad abu-salha, an american suicide bomber from florida who died in syria the same year. hopper said the case was closed when investigators determined that mateen's contacts were "minimal.'' a federal law enforcement official later said a review of the abu-salha case found no direct contact between mateen and the bomber. the two attended the same mosque, the official said. in a 2013 investigation, investigators interviewed mateen twice about "inflammatory comments'' the gunman made to a co-worker about possible ties to international terrorism. that case also was closed when authorities were unable to "verify'' the comments. in both cases, the federal law enforcement source said, mateen agreed to be interviewed and cooperated with investigators. mateen was not under investigation at the time of the shooting, a status that allowed for his purchase of a handgun and an ar-15 rifle which were used in the assault. a bureau of alcohol tobacco firearms and explosives trace found that the firearms were purchased "legally'' in florida within the "last few days.'' investigators, meanwhile, were interviewing members of mateen<u+2019>s family sunday in an attempt to learn what may have prompted the assault, two federal law enforcement officials said. nbc news reported that the attacker<u+2019>s father indicated that mateen recently expressed anti-gay sentiments, but one of the officials said investigators were still reviewing a wide range of possible motivations. the official also said investigators were reviewing mateen<u+2019>s recent travels and contacts to learn more about possible preparations for the attack, now the largest mass shooting in u.s. history. according to florida court records, mateen was<u+00a0>married in 2009 and divorced two years later. mateen married sitora yusufiy on april 16, 2009. the marriage license was issued in st. lucie county, fla., records show.<u+00a0>a dissolution of marriage was filed in july 2011. yusufiy could not be immediately reached. but in an interview with the washington post, the ex-wife claimed she was beaten repeatedly. a former fort pierce police officer who once worked with mateen as a security guard at pga village in port st. lucie, fla., said mateen was "unhinged and unstable." daniel gilroy said he worked the 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift with g4s security at the south gate of the community<u+00a0>for several months in 2014 and 2015. mateen took over from him for a later<u+00a0>shift. gilroy said mateen frequently made homophobic and racial comments. gilroy said he complained to his employer<u+00a0>several times<u+00a0>and<u+00a0>quit after he said mateen began stalking him with up to 20 or 30 texts per day.<u+00a0>he also left gilroy 13 to 15 phone messages a day, the former officer said. "i quit because everything he said was toxic," gilroy said sunday, "and the company wouldn't do anything. this guy was unhinged and unstable. he talked of killing people." john kenning, a regional g4s chief executive, confirmed that mateen had been employed there since september 2007. "we are shocked and saddened by the tragic event that occurred at the orlando nightclub,'' kenning said in a written statement. "we are cooperating fully with all law enforcement authorities, including the fbi, as they conduct their investigation. our thoughts and prayers are with all of the friends, families and people affected by this unspeakable tragedy.'' two of mateen's prior acquaintances<u+00a0>described the gunman's actions as completely out of character for the person they knew. "he would never shoot anybody or kill anybody,'' lamont owens said, adding that he had not seen mateen for a "few'' years. another associate, ryan jones, described mateen as "normal,'' though he also acknowledged not having contact with mateen for several years. "he was a cool, calm and collected person,'' jones said. born in new york, mateen lived in a fort pierce apartment complex that was teeming with law enforcement officials sunday. he also used a mailing address at his parents' nearby port st. lucie, fla., address. mateen received an associates of science degree in criminal justice technology in 2006 from indian river state college, according to college spokeswoman michelle abaldo. contributing: anthony westbury and nicole rodriguez in port st. lucie;<u+00a0>johnson reported from washington.

fbi: orlando suspect u.s. citizen, vowed allegiance to islamic state

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there was an unfamiliar buzz on the debate stage here thursday night: the sound of republican presidential candidates engaging in a sober discussion of policy, rather than savaging each other. their 12th debate took a markedly different tone as donald trump<u+2019>s remaining three rivals prepare for a crucial round of primaries next week that could represent their last chance of stopping him on his march to the gop nomination. while there were sharp exchanges, they were over social security, visa programs for foreign workers, how to fix the veterans<u+2019> health-care system, policy toward cuba and the merits of free trade deals. no one mentioned <u+201c>little marco,<u+201d> <u+201c>lyin<u+2019> ted<u+201d> or the size of anyone<u+2019>s hands. <u+201c>we<u+2019>re all in this together,<u+201d> trump said. <u+201c>we<u+2019>re going to come up with solutions. we<u+2019>re going to find the answers to things. <u+201c>and, so far, i cannot believe how civil it<u+2019>s been up here,<u+201d> the celebrity billionaire marveled. that was because each of them has something to prove and little time to do it. trump sought to project a command of issues and a temperament that is suited to the oval office, rather than a reality show. sen. marco rubio of florida was attempting to repair the damage that he has done to his reputation, and his presidential prospects, by baiting trump with schoolyard taunts. sen. ted cruz of texas portrayed himself as an outsider, like trump <u+2014> but one with greater intellectual depth. and gov. john kasich of ohio emphasized his blue-collar roots and his governing experience <u+2014> the latter commodity being one that thus far has not found a market in this year<u+2019>s discontented electorate. trump<u+2019>s opponents drew pointed yet substantive contrasts with the front-runner over his view that many muslims around the world <u+201c>hate<u+201d> the united states. cruz, rubio and kasich argued that trump<u+2019>s rhetoric unnecessarily and dangerously alienates many peaceful followers of islam, the world<u+2019>s second-largest religion. <u+201c>i know that a lot of people find appealing the things that donald says because he says what people wish they could say,<u+201d> rubio said. <u+201c>the problem is presidents can<u+2019>t just say whatever they want. they have consequences, here and around the world.<u+201d> trump countered that rubio and other politicians espouse a political correctness and diplomatic tone that endangers americans. <u+201c>marco talks about consequences,<u+201d> trump said. <u+201c>well, we<u+2019>ve had a lot of consequences, including airplanes flying into the world trade center, the pentagon and could have been the white house. .<u+2009>.<u+2009>. you can be politically correct if you want. i don<u+2019>t want to be politically correct. i want to solve problems. and we have a problem of hate.<u+201d> rubio shot back: <u+201c>i<u+2019>m not interested in being politically correct. i<u+2019>m interested in being correct.<u+201d> kasich said radical islam is the greatest threat to the united states. <u+201c>they want to destroy everything we<u+2019>re about,<u+201d> kasich said. but he also noted that cultivating alliances of shared trust with such muslim countries as saudi arabia and jordan is critical to the u.s. mission of defeating islamic state terrorists. cruz agreed. <u+201c>the answer is not simply to yell, <u+2018>china bad, muslims bad.<u+2019> you<u+2019>ve got to understand the nature of the threats we<u+2019>re facing and how you deal with them.<u+201d> a clear difference emerged on social security, with trump vowing not to tinker with the popular federal retirement program and other candidates arguing that the system requires a sweeping overhaul, including pushing back the retirement age, to avert a future debt crisis. <u+201c>i will do everything within my power not to touch social security <u+2014> to leave it the way it is, to make this country rich again, to bring back our jobs, to get rid of deficits, to get rid of waste, fraud and abuse, which is rampant in this country,<u+201d> trump said. rubio said trump<u+2019>s promise is unrealistic. <u+201c>the numbers don<u+2019>t add up,<u+201d> the senator said, a line he repeated again and again. <u+201c>the bottom line is we can<u+2019>t just continue to tiptoe around this and throw out things like, <u+2018>i<u+2019>m going to get at fraud and abuse,<u+2019><u+2009><u+201d> rubio said. <u+201c>you still have hundreds of billions of dollars of deficit that you<u+2019>re going to have to make up. and here<u+2019>s the thing: if we do not do it, we will have a debt crisis.<u+201d> cruz sounded a similar call. <u+201c>social security right now is careening towards insolvency, and it<u+2019>s irresponsible. and any politician that doesn<u+2019>t step forward and address it is not being a real leader.<u+201d> trump was challenged on the fact that even as he has railed against the effects of international trade and immigration, he has profited from hiring foreign workers and manufacturing clothing in china and mexico. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m a businessman. these are laws. these are regulations. these are rules. we<u+2019>re allowed to do it,<u+201d> trump said. <u+201c>so i will take advantage of it; they<u+2019>re the laws. but i<u+2019>m the one that knows how to change it. nobody else on this dais knows how to change it like i do, believe me.<u+201d> cruz and rubio, meanwhile, stressed the importance of distinguishing between trade deals that help the economy and u.s. workers and those that do not. <u+201c>we<u+2019>re getting killed in international trade right now,<u+201d> cruz said. <u+201c>and we<u+2019>re getting killed because we have an administration that doesn<u+2019>t look out for american workers and jobs are going overseas. we<u+2019>re driving jobs overseas.<u+201d> trump so far has won gop contests in 15 states. he has accumulated about 458 republican delegates, which is 99 more than his closest rival, cruz. to win the nomination, a candidate needs 1,237 delegates. some gop leaders, including 2012 presidential nominee mitt romney, are vowing never to vote for the man who appears increasingly likely to be their party<u+2019>s standard-bearer in november. there is also more talk of a contested party convention in july, in which gop leaders might engineer a way of awarding the nomination to someone else. the billionaire mogul used his opening statement to send a message to those who would stand in his way: join the movement. <u+201c>one of the biggest political events anywhere in the world is happening right now with the republican party,<u+201d> trump said. <u+201c>millions and millions of people are going out to the polls and they<u+2019>re voting. they<u+2019>re voting out of enthusiasm. they<u+2019>re voting out of love. .<u+2009>.<u+2009>. frankly, the republican establishment, or whatever you want to call it, should embrace what<u+2019>s happening.<u+201d> trump also took a more statesmanlike tone when he was asked about violence at his rallies, which has included protesters being roughed up. <u+201c>i certainly do not condone that at all,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>there is some anger,<u+201d> trump said of the supporters who show up to cheer him. <u+201c>there<u+2019>s also great love for the country. it<u+2019>s a beautiful thing.<u+201d> kasich, however, suggested that the tone of trump<u+2019>s rallies speaks to a larger problem. <u+201c>i worry about the violence at a rally, period,<u+201d> the ohio governor said. <u+201c>the unity of this country really matters.<u+201d> the race will reach what could be an inflection point next week, with primaries in five states, including closely watched florida and ohio. they are must-win for home-state candidates rubio and kasich. and for the first time, delegates will be awarded on a winner-take-all basis, which means that if his rivals cannot curb trump<u+2019>s momentum, he will accelerate on his path to the nomination. thursday<u+2019>s debate at the university of miami, sponsored by cnn, the washington times and salem radio network, was the last time they would all be on the same stage before the next round of primaries. a field that numbered nearly 20 candidates in their first face-off in august <u+2014> so many that the debate had to be split into a main event and an undercard <u+2014> has shrunk to four. trump has led nearly without interruption since then, and he has set the pace and tone, to the dismay of an increasingly impotent republican establishment. rubio tried to put the brakes on trump, and to get under his skin, by adopting the billionaire<u+2019>s own tactics. starting at a debate in houston on feb. 25, he unleashed a barrage of personal insults. at one point, he made a joke about the size of trump<u+2019>s hands that also suggested his genitalia are small. but it backfired, as rubio lost 18 of the next 20 contests. <u+201c>at the end of the day, it<u+2019>s not something i<u+2019>m entirely proud of,<u+201d> rubio acknowledged wednesday. <u+201c>my kids were embarrassed by it, and if i had to do it again, i wouldn<u+2019>t.<u+201d> on thursday night, the adults took a lesson from the kids. david a. fahrenthold in washington contributed to this report.

gop candidates set aside insults

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former president george w. bush weighed in on his successor's foreign policy challenges in a closed-door meeting over the meeting, voicing concerns about iran's trustworthiness as washington and tehran resume nuclear talks. secretary of state john kerry was meeting monday with his iranian counterpart mohammad javad zarif in new york. the u.s. and five world powers are trying to finalize a nuclear deal with iran by the end of june. but bush, who rarely comments on the obama administration's efforts in public, offered a word of caution about the negotiators on the other side of the table, during a closed-door meeting of the republican jewish coalition on saturday in las vegas. according to a report in bloomberg view, bush warned that new iranian president hassan rouhani appears "smooth," but said: "you've got to ask yourself, is there a new policy or did they just change the spokesman?" just how tough bush was on the sitting commander-in-chief, though, is a matter of dispute. the bloomberg report said bush was highly critical of president obama's efforts on iran and the islamic state but another attendee, eric golub, told foxnews.com this characterization was "totally wrong." "[bush] went out of his way not to criticize president obama," golub said. the meeting was off-the-record, but golub -- a conservative comedian who describes himself as a "passionate jewish republican" -- said he's speaking out to correct the record. golub confirmed bush's comments on rouhani, but said the ex-president was criticizing iran, not obama, in sounding a cautious tone about the course of talks. at the heart of the pending iran deal is a commitment by iran to roll back its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. while obama says those sanctions could snap back if needed, bush apparently cast doubt on that claim. "you think the middle east is chaotic now? imagine what it looks like for our grandchildren. that's how americans should view the deal," he said, according to bloomberg. bloomberg also reported that bush accused obama of putting the u.s. in "retreat" while criticizing obama's efforts to check the rise of the islamic state. golub said bush wasn't quite so harsh. he said bush specifically said he did not want to project an image of the u.s. in retreat. the toughest bush appeared to get was quoting sen. lindsey graham as saying the 2011 troop pullout from iraq was a "strategic blunder." golub said bush described isis as al qaeda's "second act" and was delivering the basic message that they're "evil killers" -- and the way to deal with them is to kill them. the new york times described bush's comments on saturday as a "tacit critique" of his successor. golub described the times' account as more accurate than the one in bloomberg. to date, bush indeed has largely avoided commenting on the current administration -- though former vice president dick cheney has been outspoken in his condemnation of obama's national security policies. the iran talks, though, have generated a heated international debate. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, addressing congress at house speaker john boehner's invitation, blasted the preliminary nuclear deal before it was even announced. critics like netanyahu say it does not close iran's path to a nuclear weapon, and merely delays that possibility while giving iran access to funding by lifting sanctions. proponents, though, say the framework deal is better than the alternative options -- including military conflict -- and would allow international inspectors to ensure iran is living up to its end of any agreement.

bush weighs in on obama's iran, isis challenges

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ohio democrat tim ryan does a lot of media but only has 2 public supporters

the kochs' plan to beat reid

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bloomberg reports that <u+201c>u.s. internet giants facebook inc., twitter inc., google and microsoft corp. pledged to tackle online hate in less than 24 hours as part of a joint commitment with the european union to combat the use of social media by terrorists.<u+201d> further, the companies <u+201c>said it remains a <u+2018>challenge<u+2019> to strike the right balance between freedom of expression and hate speech.<u+201d> it makes perfect sense if you believe in the existence of evil, and therefore of hatred. it<u+2019>s not just a right, but a moral imperative to forbid it on social media platforms. the most obvious example is, of course, isis and whatever other terrorist groups exist. it<u+2019>s pretty much a unanimous consensus given that even isis et. al. would readily admit they hate the west. so why are conservatives alarmed? why are they pointing i-told-you-so fingers at those<u+00a0> <u+2013> this writer being one --<u+00a0> who recently visited with mark zuckerberg at facebook, and then vouched for the sincerity of the fb brass (but not other sites) that<u+00a0> forcefully stated its desire to work with conservatives? at the meeting at facebook<u+2019>s menlo park headquarters the discussion focused on the roles of the <u+201c>curators,<u+201d> those individuals hired by the company to ensure that community standards are met. it<u+2019>s a necessary endeavor but also one that introduces the human factor and, as a result, subjective opinion. it<u+2019>s not difficult to find the slippery slope where matters of <u+201c>hatred<u+201d> are concerned. what is <u+201c>hate,<u+201d> as defined by leftists, the very community from which these curators hail? the southern poverty law center is a prominent radical leftist group hell-bent on poisoning society against conservatives, especially the social kind. it features a <u+201c>hate map<u+201d> with the locations of conservative organizations of all stripes. the family research center, the center for security policy, the center for family and human rights, act for america and the traditional values coalition <u+2013> these are but a few. and what views do these <u+201c>haters<u+201d> hold? some support traditional marriage, some stopping illegal immigration, some fighting radical islam. a writer for the leftist website salon has his example of hatred <u+2013> the confederate flag, which he calls <u+201c>the american swastika.<u+201d> <u+201c>[d]isplaying the confederate flag anywhere is, at bottom, an act of hate. it should be recognized as such, and punished as a hate crime.<u+201d> (he later reversed himself, heroically likening his <u+201c>inconsistency<u+201d> to that of frederick douglas.) according to <u+201c>the college fix,<u+201d> an employee from loyola marymount university was discussing her views on sexual orientation with three students. <u+201c>both the police and the university<u+2019>s bias incident response team [!] are investigating the stated belief that only two genders exist, male and female, as a hate crime.<u+201d> the college republican chapter at depaul university stands accused of a <u+201c>hate crime<u+201d> for writing trump<u+2019>s name in chalk on sidewalks. speaking of which, when a pro-life student group at john hopkins university used a sidewalk to counsel women near an abortion facility, it was denied official campus club recognition by the college student government for promoting <u+201c>hate speech.<u+201d> google <u+201c>tea party<u+201d> and <u+201c>hate speech<u+201d> and you get 1,280,000 listings. far left agitators branded brendan eich a <u+201c>hater<u+201d> and forced him to step down as head of the company he founded, mozilla, because he contributed $1,000 to a traditional marriage referendum in california (which passed). dan cathy of chick-fil-a was also targeted as a <u+201c>hater<u+201d> for defending traditional marriage. glaad<u+2019>s website features a list of over 100 opponents who serve as media commentators but who should be expelled from civilized society for being <u+201c>extremists<u+201d> or <u+201c>haters.<u+201d> the list includes six u.s. catholic bishops. the <u+201c>washington redskins<u+201d> is hate speech, too. the list seems endless. virtually any belief opposed by the radical left is branded <u+201c>hatred<u+201d> and that belief spoken becomes <u+201c>hate speech.<u+201d> the goal is to silence the conservative world view through censorship, period. the fringe will use every means available to pressure these online giants to follow suit. will facebook, google, twitter and microsoft comply? l. brent bozell iii is founder and president of the media research center.

how will facebook, google and twitter define the "hate" they plan to censor?

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fiorina and trump are both touting their ceo qualities in their bid for the white house. but the differences between executive and political power are enormous. as yet another general joins trump's team, what does the pick reveal? was carly fiorina a good business executive, or a poor one? that<u+2019>s a hot question in united states politics as ms. fiorina rises in the polls. right now, the media is full of in-depth examinations of her tenure as ceo of hewlett-packard and her 20 years at lucent. both firms grew during her tenure but both struggled after she left, and it remains unclear whether her decisions contributed to their stumbles. however, amid the flurry of competing profit claims and clashing job figures, there<u+2019>s a third question that<u+2019>s going largely unasked: is the top-level business experience of fiorina and donald trump actually relevant to the presidency? after all, the oval office is a very different place from a fortune 500 corner office. government bureaucrats don<u+2019>t instantly obey orders. troublesome lawmakers can<u+2019>t be dismissed. reporters are so interested in your decisions that a horde of them occupies a press office in your own building. some ceo qualities are indeed useful in politics, jpmorgan chase chairman and ceo jamie dimon said sunday on <u+201c>meet the press." successful business executives have a general talent for running things, he said, and for identifying and recruiting successful subordinates. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s not sufficient, though. you have a whole other set of attributes<u+201d> necessary to the presidency, said the jp morgan chief. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s complex. it<u+2019>s three-dimensional chess.<u+201d> mr. dimon is a self-identified democrat who has supported hillary clinton in the past. so it<u+2019>s possible he has a partisan interest in pushing the notion that ceo experience isn<u+2019>t a white house prerequisite. but it<u+2019>s undeniable that the greatest presidents weren<u+2019>t business leaders. in at least one case <u+2013> harry truman <u+2013> a successful president was a private sector flop. herbert hoover was a prominent mining engineer, executive, and investor before his disastrous oval office tenure. jimmy carter, peanut broker, is typically ranked<u+00a0>near the bottom<u+00a0>of modern presidents.<u+00a0>george h. w. bush made a fortune in oil, and then lost his presidential reelection bid amid an ailing economy. george w. bush was the first us president with an mba. given the rise of that credential among the american elite class, it<u+2019>s unlikely he<u+2019>ll be the last. in fact, 2016 could be a business executives<u+2019> year. fiorina and trump both insist that business experience is crucial to understanding the economy and job creation and to bringing order and clarity to difficult issues. trump in particular boasts that america would be transformed by the sheer power of his business acumen. pressed last month by george stephanopoulos of abc news about how he would find and deport the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the us, and where he<u+2019>d get the billions to pay for the move, trump said, <u+201c>it<u+2019>s called management." the substance of trump<u+2019>s immigration proposals aside, <u+201c>management<u+201d> might not be enough to carry them out, or indeed to push though and then execute any complex, controversial us political action. the differences between executive and political power are simply enormous. by comparison, executives are the masters of their domain. their leverage over subordinates is direct, and considerable. their ability to set strategy for their entity is similarly unchallenged. presidents have little of that. their hiring power extends to their own staff and cabinet top levels. congress holds the purse strings and has a huge say in the direction of the nation. public opinion is a powerful influence. in his classic study of the office, <u+201c>presidential power and the modern presidents,<u+201d> the influential scholar richard neustadt argued that presidents are<u+00a0>weak when it came to domestic matters. they weren<u+2019>t in any sense the nation<u+2019>s ceo. <u+201c>presidential power is the power to persuade,<u+201d> mr. neustadt concluded. that involves lots of skills ceos don<u+2019>t need. they include the ability to cajole 435 lawmakers, all of whom think they should be sitting in your chair. they include the ability to take an indirect line toward your goal, and often settling for far less than you wanted. they include an inclination to compromise and an acceptance that muddling through isn<u+2019>t so bad, particularly when it comes to foreign policy. <u+201c>there<u+2019>s no equivalent in the corporate world to the separation of powers that often thwarts a president<u+2019>s will. and the job demands political savvy more than managerial experience,<u+201d> wrote bloomberg<u+2019>s david lynch in 2012 when considering businessman mitt romney<u+2019>s presidential qualifications. this doesn<u+2019>t mean ceos are by definition unqualified for presidential duties. to reach the top, they need drive, clarity, the ability to set goals, and the ability to rally a staff <u+2013> all useful qualifies in politics. and business failure can lead to political success. the outline of harry truman<u+2019>s story is well-known: he<u+2019>s the failed haberdasher who rose to finish world war ii and save europe with the marshall plan. but truman<u+2019>s kansas city clothing store thrived, until an economic downturn sucked it under. many of truman<u+2019>s friends from national guard days used the store as an informal clubhouse, and through the store he met many local small businessmen and joined civic associations. this gave him his entr<u+00e9>e into the local democratic machine. he entered county politics, then won a us senate seat, and was chosen as franklin d. roosevelt<u+2019>s vice president. on the afternoon of april 12, 1945, truman received an urgent summons from the white house. eleanor roosevelt met him and told him that fdr had died. truman asked mrs. roosevelt <u+201c>is there anything i can do for you?<u+201d> <u+201c>is there anything we can do for you?<u+201d> she replied. <u+201c>for you are the one in trouble now.<u+201d>

does carly fiorina's business experience at hp matter?

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[read the latest on the chattanooga shooting] as investigators sought to decipher the motives of the gunman who targeted u.s. troops in chattanooga, tenn., they also began to confront the uncomfortable question of whether counterterrorism agencies are reaching the practical limits of what they can do to detect homegrown plots. on friday, federal officials said they were investigating the shootings thursday in chattanooga as a possible terrorist attack but were a long way from drawing conclusions. they said the gunman, 24-year-old mohammad youssef abdulazeez, had not previously drawn the attention of authorities, save for a drunken-driving charge a few months ago. on saturday, the navy said a male petty officer died at 2:17 a.m. of wounds received in thursday<u+2019>s shooting <u+2014> bringing the number killed in the rampage to five. the sailor<u+2019>s name had not been released. abdulazeez<u+2019>s travels to the middle east, his acquisition of several firearms and his recent online musings about the meaning of islam were coming under fresh examination as hundreds of federal agents sought to reconstruct his movements and mind-set. <u+201c>at this time, we have no indication he was inspired by or directed by anyone other than himself,<u+201d> edward reinhold, the special agent in charge of the fbi<u+2019>s office in knoxville, tenn., told reporters friday. u.s. officials said that devices including a computer and cellphone believed to have belonged to abdulazeez were being examined by fbi technicians in a laboratory at quantico, va. the fbi said that abdulazeez was armed with at least two rifles or shotguns, as well as a handgun, when he opened fire on a military recruiting center and a navy reserve facility in chattanooga. authorities did not give a more detailed description of the firearms or say how he obtained them. <u+201c>some of the weapons were purchased legally and some of them may not have been,<u+201d> reinhold said. [video: who was the chattanooga gunman?] u.s. counterterrorism officials have become increasingly worried about the ability of the islamic state and al-qaeda offshoots to attract and radicalize followers in the united states. at the same time, authorities have expressed concern that their ability to detect such contact has been eroded by the spread of encrypted communication. federal authorities have arrested more than 10<u+00a0>people over the past six weeks who are suspected of having ties to the islamic state. u.s. officials said the crackdown was part of an effort to suppress a surge in suspected plots aimed at unleashing violence on u.s. targets during the muslim holy month of ramadan, which ended the day of the attacks in chattanooga. but officials have also said that homegrown radicals have gotten better at hiding their intentions and cloaking their contacts with overseas groups, despite a massive expansion in u.s. surveillance capabilities since the sept.<u+00a0>11, 2001, attacks. two u.s. law enforcement officials said abdulazeez traveled to jordan on four occasions prior to the shootings. the last trip he took was from april 2014 to november 2014. one of the officials said there was no information the trips were connected to attempts to enter syria or establish contacts with a terrorist group. jordan has been a way station for foreign fighters attempting to enter syria, including a 22-year-old u.s. citizen who similarly went undetected during trips to jordan before carrying out a suicide attack in syria last year. but jordan is also a popular tourist destination, one of several nations bordering syria that account for more than 2<u+00a0>million travelers who arrive in the united states each year. moreover, abdulazeez had a grandmother and other relatives in the country, according to neighbors and court papers. and while his father, youssuf abdulazeez, was investigated by the fbi in 1994 and again in 2002 for donating to palestinian groups suspected of having ties to terrorism, u.s. officials said the father was removed from a terrorism watch list a decade ago. based on the limited information available so far, the younger abdulazeez appears to have repeatedly brushed up against u.s. screening systems without triggering an alert, said rep. devin nunes (r-calif.), chairman of the house intelligence committee. <u+201c>you have to do something that would set off some type of alarm,<u+201d> nunes said in an interview. because of the mounting odds against disrupting plots, as well as the countermeasures being taken by terrorist groups, nunes said that stopping attacks is <u+201c>becoming tougher and tougher.<u+201d> nunes said the fbi has warned lawmakers repeatedly in recent months that the bureau was facing a surge in the number of threats it is tracking <u+2014> many based on intelligence gleaned overseas <u+2014> but has been unable to connect those tips to individuals or specific targets in the united states. <u+201c>the fbi has warned us that there are a bunch of threats that they know about but can<u+2019>t find,<u+201d> nunes said. <u+201c>they have enough specifics to say something is being planned. we know [the islamic state] is talking to someone but we can<u+2019>t find the person.<u+201d> u.s. counterterrorism officials emphasized friday that they have no evidence so far that the attack by abdulazeez fell into that troubling security gap. four marines were killed in thursday<u+2019>s attack: gunnery sgt. thomas j. sullivan of hampden, mass.; staff sgt. david a. wyatt of burke, n.c.; sgt. carson a. holmquist of polk, wis.; and lance cpl. squire k. wells of cobb, ga. [profiles of the marines who died in chattanooga] an unidentified navy petty officer and a chattanooga police officer were wounded. abdulazeez was killed after exchanging gunfire with police. while the fbi was cautious in making judgments, other lawmakers said there was clear reason to suspect that abdulazeez had been inspired, directly or indirectly, by the islamic state or a similar group. <u+201c>based on my experience, i think he was radicalized by these individuals in syria,<u+201d> rep. michael mccaul (r-tex.), chairman of the house homeland security committee, told reporters. <u+201c>the threat is real and it comes from the internet,<u+201d> he added. <u+201c>they don<u+2019>t have to travel to iraq and syria. .<u+2009>.<u+2009>. they<u+2019>re already here.<u+201d> abdulazeez could trace his heritage to several parts of the middle east <u+2014> he was born in kuwait as a jordanian citizen, although his parents identified themselves as palestinians. he came to the united states with his family while very young and grew up in chattanooga, attending a local high school and earning a degree in electrical engineering from the university of tennessee at chattanooga. in addition to his visit to jordan last year, he traveled there on at least one prior occasion, during a combined trip to kuwait in 2010, according to the official kuwait news agency. a high school friend, levon miller, added that abdulazeez traveled abroad once every few years. <u+201c>he<u+2019>d take off for a month or two mostly during his college breaks,<u+201d> miller said, although he said he didn<u+2019>t know details about where he went. other signs emerged friday that abdulazeez and his four sisters had grown up in a troubled household, afflicted by marital strife and debt. his father filed for federal bankruptcy protection in 2002. seven years later, his mother filed for divorce, charging that her husband had sexually and physically abused her, and had threatened to take a second wife. the couple later reconciled. three months ago, abdulazeez was hired as a shift supervisor by superior essex, a firm that manufactures specialty wiring and cables. co-workers said he called in sick last weekend and hadn<u+2019>t been seen since. thomas gibbons-neff and cari gervin in chattanooga, and william branigin, brian murphy, dan lamothe, missy ryan, mark berman, sari horwitz, carol d. leonnig, and julie tate in washington contributed to this report.

marines<u+2019> killer set off no red flags

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myrtle beach, s.c.<u+2014> ted cruz has a simple message for south carolina: i<u+2019>m the only candidate who can stop donald trump. before addressing a raucus crowd of about 200 in this beach resort, mr. cruz told reporters that his third place finish in new hampshire made it clear <u+201c>the only candidate who can beat donald [<u+2026>]

ted cruz says only he can beat donald trump

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gary johnson is the presidential nominee for the libertarian party and a former governor of new mexico. the views expressed are his own. watch cnn's libertarian town hall with gary johnson and bill weld on wednesday at 9 p.m. et. (cnn) what does it say about the level of discontent in our country that a professional salesman can launch a presidential campaign with a promise to build our very own great wall of china and a vague promise to "make america great again" -- and become the republican standard-bearer? and the democrats? it is long overdue that we have a woman as a legitimate contender for the white house. but hillary clinton is the definition of the establishment so many are determined to reject. what does all this tell me? it tells me that america may finally be ready for a presidential candidate who believes in the free market, but rejects crony capitalism. they may be ready for a candidate who actually governed a border state...and doesn't believe that a great wall is a substitute for immigration reform that today's politicians cannot summon the courage to enact. of course, i finished my second term as governor of new mexico more than a decade ago -- back in 2003. and when i left office, i was done. i had been elected governor when everyone said i didn't have a chance. a businessman who had never sought or held elected office, running as a republican in an overwhelmingly democratic state. my prospects for success were dismissed by pretty much everyone. but i worked hard, and told new mexicans what i would do if elected: reduce the size of the government, cut taxes and apply businesslike common sense to the job of governing. my state elected me, i did what i said i would do, and they re-elected me by an even bigger margin. after that second term, i walked away to resume what was -- and is -- a pretty good life. i have had the good fortune to be able to climb the highest mountain on each of the seven continents. i have enjoyed the freedom i had gained from building a successful business from scratch, making some money and creating the lifestyle i wanted. as for being governor, i did what i said i would do. i told people the truth, and i tried to run the state the same way i ran my business, and my life: don't promise what you can't deliver. deliver what you can on time and under budget. and most of all, don't waste anyone's time or money. i vetoed bills we didn't need nor couldn't afford -- 750 of them. to this day, some call me "governor veto." i enjoyed being governor. i didn't enjoy the politics, but it was satisfying to make a difference in people's lives, force debates on issues that needed to be discussed, and put the principles of smaller government and greater freedom into practice. after my service as governor was finished, i largely stayed away from politics. i went home, pursued my passions for skiing and cycling, climbed mount everest, built my dream house and enjoyed my freedom. but there was a big problem. i found i could not sit on the couch and watch as the politicians in washington, republican and democrat alike, ran up trillions in debt, sent our young men and women into harm's way to fight ill-advised wars, and turned our government from a protector of freedom into a threat that is intruding into virtually every aspect of our personal and financial lives. i couldn't stand by and do nothing. i had my freedom, and i had my comfortable life, but i couldn't accept the fact that the politicians were making it increasingly difficult for my kids and millions of others to achieve their dreams as i had achieved mine. so, in 2012, i ran for president . but it became clear rather quickly that the system wasn't ready for my kind of classical liberalism. i tried to run as a republican, but didn't fit into the mold demanded by the republican primary gauntlet. i couldn't evangelize about family values that may be wonderful personal values, but that are frankly none of the government's business. i couldn't talk about increasing defense spending at a time when we are broke. and i had to tell the truth about entitlements that must be reformed if we are ever to balance the federal budget. so i went home to the libertarian party. libertarians, broadly speaking, are fiscally conservative and socially liberal. running as the candidate who could unapologetically advocate those principles was, well, liberating. i didn't win, but i garnered more votes than any libertarian candidate in history. along the way, i learned a lot about the american people. americans are fed up with politicians who lie, who don't really want to change anything, and for whom being elected and re-elected are ends in themselves. millennials -- who will soon be a full one-third of american adults -- may be especially ready to become engaged in politics with a candidate who wants to give them a government that will leave them alone and get its finances in order so that they don't inherit an economic collapse. but all americans who are rightfully and deeply concerned that a feckless foreign policy is allowing the likes of isis to not only threaten our safety, but humiliate us, may be ready for a candidate who will pursue reality-based foreign and military policies that actually fulfill government's most basic responsibility to keep us -- and our freedoms -- safe. so ... for those who are asking "why am i running for president in 2016?" the answer is simple. i believe america might be ready for something -- and somebody -- different.

why i'm running for president

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(cnn) the syrian regime, which had appeared earlier this year to be on the ropes, has "launched a wide-scale offensive," a senior military official said thursday. the aim is "eliminating the terrorist groups and liberating the areas and towns that have suffered from terrorism and its crime," gen. ali abdullah ayyoub, the syrian army chief of staff, said on state media, ayyoub provided no details of the area in which the offensive is being launched or its size and scope. but he acknowledged the key role being played by russia , which appears bent on supporting a syrian regime that had been badly in need of help. "following the russian military airstrikes that diminished the fighting capacity of isis and other terrorist groups, the syrian armed forces maintained their military initiative," ayyoub said. shoigu said the strikes were launched from the caspian sea using precise long-range missiles that flew 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) to their targets. the report appeared to offer fresh evidence that russia's primary goal is propping up al-assad rather than fighting terrorism. even as its ships and warplanes conducted fresh strikes, russia said it was willing to cooperate with the united states in carrying out attacks in syria. however, speaking to reporters in rome, u.s. defense secretary ashton carter called the russian campaign of airstrikes in syria a "fundamental mistake." he said the united states was not ready to cooperate with russia on operations in syria. the u.s. military recently had to divert an aircraft over syria to ensure it could maintain a safe flying distance from a russian fighter, a pentagon representative said. until the two countries agree on mutual flight safety rules in syrian airspace, u.s. pilots are under orders to change their flight path if a russian plane is within 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers), a senior defense official told cnn. russian warplanes conducted heavy airstrikes wednesday on islamist factions, accompanied by shelling from government forces, according to the uk-based, anti-assad syrian observatory for human rights. the head of the observatory said that there were no isis positions in the areas targeted and that fierce clashes were taking place on the ground between regime forces and their allies and armed islamist rebel factions, including the ahrar al-sham and al qaeda-affiliated al-nusra front. wednesday's clashes are the fiercest in the last month, the observatory said. but turkey, syria's neighbor to the north, cast fresh doubt wednesday on whether russia's goal was to go after isis. a fraction -- 3.5% -- of russia's airstrikes in syria so far have targeted the terror group, turkish prime minister ahmet davutoglu said. on thursday, nato secretary-general jens stoltenberg called recent violations of turkish airspace unacceptable and said the alliance stood ready to help turkey protect itself. speaking after a meeting of nato defense ministers in brussels, belgium, stoltenberg said the alliance was in constant dialogue with turkey, and its determination to help turkey defend itself was "rock solid." "a political solution to the crisis in syria is more needed than ever," he said. the u.s. embassy in syria also questioned russia's targets. the developments came a day after stoltenberg expressed alarm over how the russian military had grown on several fronts in syria, including boots on the ground. russian planes have also incurred into turkish airspace twice, he said. "it's unacceptable, it's dangerous, and it's reckless behavior and it adds to the tensions," he told cnn. stoltenberg said he doubted that russia was interested primarily in fighting isis. "i'm also concerned that russia is not targeting isil but instead attacking the syrian opposition and civilians," he said. the latest u.s. assessment indicates that russia has moved ground combat weapons and troops to western syria where anti-regime forces are, according to two american defense officials. the united states sees the move as russia "stepping up its ground activity" in syria to attack those forces, rather than isis elements, according to one of the officials. but russian officials deny ramping up military activity. officials quoted by state media said there would be no ground operation in syria and -- in contrast to what officials had said earlier -- russia would try to prevent any "volunteers" from going to syria.

syrian official says 'wide-scale offensive' launched

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the man widely known as the suspected mastermind of last friday's paris attacks that killed 129 people, who bragged that he could always stay one step ahead of western intelligence, was killed in the police raid north of paris wednesday. officials also confirmed that his cousin was killed, when she apparently blew herself up. abdelhamid abaaoud, 27, had been linked to as many as four thwarted attacks since this spring, including the plot to kill passengers on a paris-bound high-speed train in august, a plot that three young americans helped foil. he was identified from skin samples after the saint-denis apartment raid, the french prosecutor's office reported. later thursday, police in the eastern french city of charleville-mezieres blew open a door to enter a house during a new raid. french police are looking for anything that could be linked to jihadi networks or illegal weapons. police spokeswoman mathilde coulon would not give further details about the thursday evening raid. abaaoud had claimed he successfully moved back and forth from europe to syria coordinating terror attacks, and narrowly escaped a january police raid in the belgian city of verviers. <u+201c>allah blinded their vision and i was able to leave... despite being chased after by so many intelligence agencies," he told the isis magazine dabiq. two counterterrorism sources tell fox news his death marks a major advance for the investigation, but add they are operating on the premise that more senior suspects connected to the plot are still out there. they describe abaaoud as the <u+201c>mohammed atta<u+201d> of the paris attacks, the <u+201c>tactical guy<u+201d> who identified and pulled together the operatives, in the same way the lead hijacker kept the 9/11 teams on course. they emphasize that based on his skill set and experience, abaaoud was not the strategic planner, in the same way khalid sheikh mohammed was for the 9/11 attacks. the paris massacre involved a plot or plots with multiple layers and upwards of 20 players, according to the chairman of the house homeland security committee, texas republican michael mccaul. police say they launched wednesday's operation after receiving information from tapped phone calls, surveillance and tipoffs suggesting that abaaoud was holed up in the apartment. investigators said it was still unclear how he died. eight other people were arrested. french authorities did not know he was in europe before the massacre, france's interior minister bernard cazeneuve said thursday. he demanded europe do everything in its power to "vanquish terrorism." during the raid, according to one police official, an officer approached abaaoud's cousin, hasna aitboulahcen, and asked her, "where is your boyfriend?" she responded angrily: "he's not my boyfriend!" then there was an explosion. the bodies recovered in the raid were badly mangled, with a part of the woman's spine landing on a police car, complicating formal identification. her possible role in the paris massacre was unclear. abaaoud's death may provide some relief not only for europeans, but also for his own family. <u+201c>we are praying that abdelhamid really is dead,<u+201d> his sister, yasmina, said last year, the new york times reported. at the time, there was word he died fighting for isis, but it eventually emerged that he escaped syria for europe. his own father, omar, said the jihadi "dishonored" his family, the times added. abaaoud had also used internet social networks to try to recruit women from spain to join isis, spanish interior minister jorge fernandez diaz said thursday. the manhunt for at least two other suspects believed to have participated in the attacks continued. police have identified one of them as salah abdeslam, who grew up in the same belgian district as<u+00a0>abaaoud, the brussels suburb of molenbeek. there was no indication abdeslam escaped to neighboring spain or tried to do so, diaz added. he told antena 3 television that security officials from several countries were called together in paris to discuss the possibility that abdeslam might try to cross into a country bordering france. spanish police say french authorities sent a bulletin to officers across europe asking them to watch out for a citroen xsara car that could be carrying abdeslam. also thursday, authorities say they detained nine people during as many raids in the brussels area. two of the detentions were related to friday's massacre, and seven others involved the entourage of bilal hafdi, one of the suicide bombers at the stadium, but related to issues from before the paris attacks, according to a prosecution official who spoke on condition of anonymity. the official refused to provide any details on the two detainees linked to the paris attacks. there are currently already two suspects in custody charged with terrorist murder and belonging to a terrorist group. friday's attacks wounded hundreds of people, and left europe and much of the world on edge french prime minister manuel valls warned thursday that associates of the attackers could use chemical and biological weapons, as he urged parliament to extend a state of emergency. valls said "terrorism hit france, not because of what it is doing in iraq and syria ... but for what it is." the french senate is set to vote friday on prolonging the nation's state of emergency by three months. the state of emergency expands police powers to carry out arrests and searches, and allows authorities to forbid the movement of people and vehicles at specific times and places. turkey's president urged muslim nations to unite against the extremist groups that he says are tarnishing islam. president recep tayyip erdogan said that islamic countries have a responsibility to "stand hand-in-hand and show a clear and principled position" against the islamic state group, al qaeda and boko haram. erdogan added that countries must combat poverty, which he described as the "swamp" that breeds terrorism. erdogan was addressing health ministers from the organization of islamic cooperation at a meeting in istanbul. fox news' catherine herridge and the associated press contributed to this report.

suspected mastermind of paris massacre killed in terror raid

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donald trump is forecast to lose wisconsin, and while that doesn't necessarily signal a deeper shift in the race, it could be decisive nonetheless. how snl's 'the bubble' sketch about polarization is all too true republican presidential candidate ted cruz greets supporters from the back of a pickup truck at a campaign stop at altoona family restaurant in altoona, wis., last week. it was, republican opponents of donald trump said at the time, a last-ditch rallying cry to prevent the mercurial billionaire from winning the gop presidential nomination and effectively taking over the party. five weeks later, #nevertrump is still trending <u+2013> and the republican movement to derail the <u+201c>trump train<u+201d> faces its moment of truth tuesday in the wisconsin primary. conservative groups have spent millions of dollars on television and radio attack ads. wisconsin gov. scott walker, a onetime contender for the nomination, has rallied support for texas sen. ted cruz, mr. trump<u+2019>s top opponent. in milwaukee, whose suburbs are rich with republican voters, conservative talk radio hosts have been skewering trump relentlessly. <u+201c>honestly, if donald trump does win in wisconsin, i don<u+2019>t know how he<u+2019>s possibly stoppable,<u+201d> says charlie sykes, wisconsin<u+2019>s top conservative radio voice, speaking monday on msnbc. <u+201c>but i do think that people are going to look back at wisconsin and say, <u+2018>all right, this is exactly what it will take to stop donald trump from being the republican nominee.<u+2019> <u+201d> there are indications that wisconsin could indeed slow trump<u+2019>s momentum. one key poll has senator cruz 10 points up. for his part, mr. sykes says the lead-up to wisconsin has uncovered a <u+201c>formula<u+201d> for stopping trump that includes a new willingness by the media to drill down on issues with trump <u+2013> as msnbc host chris matthews did last week on abortion. trump said he believed women should be punished for having abortions, then quickly reversed himself after an uproar ensued. but many of wisconsin<u+2019>s lessons about how to beat trump are particular to the state. its deeply ingrained sense of civility, as well as its relatively higher levels of education and religious adherence, all play to trump<u+2019>s weaknesses. in the end, wisconsin<u+2019>s biggest contribution to the #nevertrump movement could simply be in denying him the delegates he needs to win a majority by the republican national convention this summer. at the convention, trump<u+2019>s chances of securing the nomination will plummet if he can<u+2019>t do it on the first ballot. in wisconsin, trump has been his own worst enemy, with a brash style that clashes with the state<u+2019>s culture of civility. <u+201c>even when scott walker was battling the unions [in 2011] and 100,000 people were marching around the capitol, those were family-friendly events,<u+201d> says barry burden, a political scientist at the university of wisconsin, madison. <u+201c>there were massive policy disagreements, but not a lot of personal insults.<u+201d> trump<u+2019>s recent retweet of an unflattering picture of cruz<u+2019>s wife, heidi, is just one example of his tone-deaf approach in wisconsin, the only state voting tuesday. trump<u+2019>s repeated attacks on walker and on the republican speaker of the house, paul ryan of wisconsin, have also baffled observers, as both men are popular among the state<u+2019>s republicans. trump is running into the buzzsaw of a state gop that coalesced around walker during his clashes with public unions and the subsequent recall election in 2012, which the governor survived, followed by his reelection in 2014. <u+201c>that means there<u+2019>s not a rump group of the party ready to bolt to go to trump,<u+201d> says charles franklin, director of the marquette university law school poll. last week, the poll showed cruz beating trump, 40 to 30 percent. on the plus side for trump, wisconsin does not register voters by party and allows same-day registration. so first-time or infrequent voters inspired by trump<u+2019>s message can easily turn out for him. ultimately, observers still expect cruz to win, though there are important demographic reasons not to put too much stock in a cruz victory. nate cohn, a specialist on voter analytics at the new york times, points to several factors that have always spelled trouble for trump in wisconsin, including: education. the state is average or above average in every educational category, while support for trump skews toward those with less education. wisconsin is unusual in that <u+201c>many of its most strongly republican areas are well-educated suburbs,<u+201d> mr. cohn notes. religion. wisconsin is also a bit above average for religious adherence, and <u+201c>with the exception of white roman catholics, trump fares worse in areas where larger shares of the population are reported to be religious adherents,<u+201d> cohn writes. family. trump also fares worse in areas with strong traditional families; wisconsin has an above-average number of married couples. ancestry. wisconsin<u+2019>s population skews toward those from <u+201c>predominantly protestant countries in northern europe,<u+201d> a demographic in which trump has struggled, cohn reports. in short, wisconsin republicans are similar demographically to those in iowa, kansas, and utah, all states where cruz beat trump <u+2013> who then rebounded. the key for trump will be to recover quickly if he loses wisconsin. the calendar both helps and hurts him. the next contest isn<u+2019>t until april 19, so he potentially faces two weeks of being cast as a loser. the good news for him is that the next contests are on friendlier turf <u+2013> his home state of new york, followed by pennsylvania. but if trump loses wisconsin badly enough that he earns no delegates, his path to clinching the republican nomination before the convention becomes steeper. then, his biggest failing as a candidate <u+2013> his weak organization <u+2013> could come into play. he has a dearth of insiders both nationally and inside the state parties who can defend his interests in delegate allocation. trump has already reportedly been losing delegates to cruz, whose operation is going after those who are uncommitted or won by candidates no longer in the race. trump has attempted to address this by bringing in veteran republican strategist paul manafort to wrangle delegates at the convention, a major <u+201c>get.<u+201d> the third remaining gop candidate, ohio gov. john kasich, remains an important factor, preventing trump and cruz from going against each other one-on-one. governor kasich appears to have benefited from the departure of florida sen. marco rubio from the race march 15. he scored 21 percent in the latest marquette poll, up from 8 percent in late february, and is the choice of older-generation gop leaders in the state, including former gov. tommy thompson and former rep. scott klug. polling shows kasich beating democratic front-runner hillary clinton in the general election in november, while both cruz and trump lose to mrs. clinton. <u+201c>at least at the moment, he seems to have a better chance at preventing another clinton presidency,<u+201d> says rich bonomo, an engineering researcher at the university of wisconsin, madison. kasich trails far behind trump and cruz in the delegate count, and the only way he can win the gop nomination is through a contested convention. but for some wisconsin voters, kasich is an important option <u+2013> the only candidate left with executive branch governing experience and more-moderate republican policies. rebecca forbes wank, bookkeeper for the university of wisconsin press, says she doesn<u+2019>t like cruz, because he<u+2019>s <u+201c>so far to the right.<u+201d> and she can<u+2019>t vote for trump, in part because <u+201c>the way he<u+2019>s been running has made it ok for people to be racist.<u+201d> that leaves her with kasich. in ultra-liberal madison, trump and cruz supporters are few and far between, but in the wider state, they are the ballgame. and after tuesday, republicans nationally will be one step closer to knowing whether they<u+2019>re headed for a contested convention.

how wisconsin could be a turning point in the gop race (+video)

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around the world, markets are in chaos. japan's stock market plunged 5 percent on friday, while markets in france, germany, and the uk all saw big losses on thursday. the us stock market is doing better than most, but it is also down since the start of the year. oil hit a new low on thursday of $26 per barrel. these declines reflect growing concerns that the world economy is headed for another recession. before 2007 we<u+2019>d say, "if things get bad, the fed will cut interest rates." but with the fed<u+2019>s benchmark rate below 0.5 percent already, a substantial cut would mean rates that are below zero. that's an unorthodox strategy, and it might not even be legal, according to testimony by fed chair janet yellen before congressional committees this week. the fed needs a new strategy: stop targeting interest rates and instead target the growth of the overall economy. moving away from interest rate targeting would give markets confidence that the fed has the tools to deal with the next economic downturn, which would reduce the danger of another 2008-style meltdown. unfortunately, there's little sign that the fed is laying the groundwork for a shift in strategy. instead, yellen seemed to be in denial about the magnitude of the challenge she is facing. "let<u+2019>s remember that the labor market is continuing to perform well," she said to the senate banking committee on thursday. "we want to be careful not to jump to a conclusion about what is in store for the economy." maybe not <u+2014> but the fed needs to be prepared for the worst. "the fed needs to change their fundamental approach," argues scott sumner, a monetary policy expert at the mercatus center. right now the fed's policy discussions are all about where to set short-term interest rates. but not only does that approach stop working when interest rates fall to zero <u+2014> as they did in 2008 <u+2014> but interest rates aren't even what people actually care about. instead, sumner argues, the fed should start directly targeting a variable people do care about: either the inflation rate or (even better) the total amount of spending in the economy. he argues that the fed should focus on setting long-run goals for these variables and then doing whatever it takes to meet those goals. the fed currently has an official target of 2 percent inflation. but the central bank's actions make it clear that it's not serious about this target. last december, for example, the fed's own forecast showed that inflation would be around 1.6 percent in 2016 <u+2014> and the forecast inflation rate had actually been falling. yet the fed raised interest rates anyway. that was a pretty clear signal to the markets that the fed cared more about returning to "normal" interest rates than it did about achieving its inflation target. the problem isn't just that the economy will grow a little bit slower in early 2016 than it could have otherwise. by ignoring its own targets, the fed sent a message that it wasn't really committed to robust growth over the long run, which undermines businesses' confidence in the recovery and discourages investment. the solution, sumner argues, is for the fed to use a strategy called level targeting to make its own targets more credible. under a level targeting regime, the fed would compensate for missing its target in one year by overshooting the following year. for example, in 2015, the fed's preferred measure of inflation came in at 1.4 percent <u+2014> 0.6 percent below the fed's 2 percent target. under level targeting, the fed would aim to achieve 2.6 percent inflation in 2016, delivering 2 percent inflation on average in 2015 to 2016. that would not only support faster economic growth in 2016, it would also give the markets more confidence in the fed's forecasts for 2017, 2018, and beyond. abandoning interest rate targeting might seem radical, but the fed has actually done it once before, in the late 1970s. back then, it seemed that no matter how high the fed raised interest rates, it couldn't get inflation under control. so in 1979, the fed stopped targeting interest rates altogether. instead, it simply set a target for the total amount of money in the economy. fed chair paul volcker knew that if the amount of money in circulation stopped rising, the inflation rate would eventually have to stop rising too. it took a couple of years (and helped induce a major recession in 1980), but it worked. a big reason the strategy worked is that markets believed volcker was serious about the target. targeting the money supply directly signaled he was willing to let interest rates go as high as they had to in order to get inflation under control. once markets believed he was serious, they started doing a lot of his work for him <u+2014> and businesses began to curtail price increases in the expectation that the overall inflation rate was going to decline. today we're facing the reverse situation. a big reason the economy has been recovering so slowly is that businesses are worried about sluggish growth <u+2014> or, worse, another 2008-style meltdown <u+2014> in the coming years. so they've been reluctant to invest, making slow growth a self-fulfilling prophecy. if the fed can convince businesses that it's serious about delivering consistent growth, businesses will start investing more in the expectation that demand for their products will grow <u+2014> and that investment will itself produce growth. level targeting is a strategy for giving the market more confidence in the fed's long-term targets. and while inflation-based level targeting would work better than what we're doing now, sumner argues that the best strategy would be to target the total amount of spending in the economy. this approach, known as nominal gdp targeting, has been endorsed by prominent economists such as christina romer. there are two big problems with the fed's current strategy of focusing on interest rates. the obvious one is that once rates hit zero, the conventional approach to monetary policy becomes ineffective. after rates hit zero in 2008, the fed was forced to use an ad hoc strategy known as "quantitative easing" to pump more money into the economy. lacking experience with this new strategy, the fed twice made the mistake of ending easing too early, slowing the economic recovery between 2010 and 2012. the larger problem with zero interest rates, however, is politics. people are used to thinking of low interest rates as a sign of easy money and vice versa, so the zero interest rate struck many as a sign of recklessly easy monetary policy. in the years after the financial crisis, critics warned that fed policies would create runaway inflation. in retrospect, it's clear that these concerns were unfounded. the average inflation rate since 2008 has been well below the fed's 2 percent target, while the economy has suffered from persistently slow job and wage growth. but fear of a political backlash for doing "too much" discouraged yellen's predecessor, ben bernanke, from acting decisively to promote economic growth. more recently, the fed has come under a lot of pressure to "normalize" <u+2014> that is, raise <u+2014> rates above zero percent. after resisting these pressures for most of 2015, the central bank finally pulled the trigger in december, boosting its target rate from zero percent to 0.25 percent. it did this despite the fact that <u+2014> as vox's matt yglesias pointed out at the time <u+2014> most economic indicators suggested that a rate hike would do more harm than good. this is the flip side of the situation the fed faced in the 1970s. because interest rates were high, many people thought monetary policy was too tight, and the fed faced a lot of pressure to cut rates. but cutting rates triggered another wave of inflation, forcing the fed to raise rates once again. interest rate targets had become a distraction, and abandoning them helped volcker focus on the variable he really cared about: inflation. negative interest rates are one way the fed could try to salvage the current regime of focusing on interest rates. but it's not a very good one. just as you might have a savings account with your bank, so a nation's banks all have accounts with their nation's central bank. the money deposited in these accounts is called reserves, and in recent years a lot of banks around the world have chosen to build up huge reserve war chests. that's frustrating to central bankers who have been trying to encourage banks to stimulate economic activity by lending out the money. so recently japan's central bank and some central banks in europe have been experimenting with negative interest rates on reserves. last month, the japanese central bank announced that banks would be assessed a 0.1 percent penalty on their reserves <u+2014> an interest rate of -0.1 percent. a bank with a billion yen deposited with the bank of japan will now have to pay 1 million yen per year for the privilege. obviously, 0.1 percent is not a very big number, so the direct effects of japan's new policy won't be very large. but going negative breaks through an important psychological barrier <u+2014> once a central bank has instituted a slightly negative interest rate, it's more likely to cut rates further in the future. in her testimony before congress this week, yellen was pressed on whether the fed would follow its european and japanese counterparts and impose a penalty on reserves. yellen demurred, saying that the fed's experts were still studying whether negative interest rates would be legal and technically feasible. but even if the fed ultimately decides to adopt negative rates, there are real limits on how far they can go. if negative interest rates get too steep, banks have an obvious alternative: they can get physical cash and store it in a big warehouse. by definition, cash is worth as many dollars a year from now as it is today. there are a couple of ways central banks could try to make negative interest rates more feasible. university of michigan economist miles kimball, for example, advocates a shift to a new form of electronic money that would allow central banks to impose economy-wide negative interest rates. others argue that the fed should raise its inflation target so that real, inflation-adjusted interest rates can go lower. but not only do both of these approaches have technical challenges, they're also likely to be intensely unpopular with voters. so even if the fed adopted negative rates, it wouldn't improve the effectiveness of the current interest rate targeting regime very much. just as the fed got stuck at zero percent interest rates in 2008, it could get stuck at -1 percent interest rates in 2017 or 2018. so the fed is going to need a new framework that's less dependent on interest rates regardless. it might as well get started.

the next recession could be around the corner, and the fed isn't ready for it

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you must file back to the democrats<u+2019> convention in chicago in 1968 to find a similar political forum which unfolded under such a pall and the potential for epic violence. and frankly, as the gop convenes its cleveland conclave, things could be even more volatile after the three police murders in baton rouge. security concerns are off the chart in cleveland. the country reels from baton rouge -- just days after the assassinations of five dallas-area police officers. we haven<u+2019>t even mentioned talked about controversial police shootings of black motorists in baton rouge and minnesota. turkey boils. people are still trying to piece together a murder-by-renault-truck scheme in nice, france. when was orlando again? and then there are the politics at the gop convention. this convention features the most-unconventional candidate to head the ticket of a major political party in decades. welcome to the cleveland show. it wasn<u+2019>t long ago that ryan<u+2019>s predecessor, former house speaker john boehner, r-ohio, suggested the gop should try to draft the wisconsin republican as the 2016 standard-bearer should donald trump fail to secure the nomination on the first ballot. then ryan called a press conference this spring to quash (once and for all) suggestions that there was some way republicans would draft him. so ryan is sticking with his day job. a better place to be? in the days after orlando, ryan tried to cobble together a terrorism/guns package before congress bolted washington for a protracted, seven-week recess. but those efforts collapsed after republicans rejected virtually any gun legislation. there didn<u+2019>t appear to be the votes for a plan authored by senate majority whip john cornyn, r-texas. it would grant the attorney general a three-day window to halt potential gun sales for prospective terrorists. <u+201c>i think what we should be focused on is listening to people in communities who have done a good job of merging law enforcement with the communities so that these kinds of problems don<u+2019>t occur,<u+201d> ryan said after the questionable traffic stop killings and police violence. dallas was known in law enforcement circles as one of those agencies which had done just that in recent years. still, look what happened. democrats struggled to keep their focus on firearm laws. on thursday night, house democrats staged a <u+201c>speak-out<u+201d> about guns at sunset on the west front of the u.s. capitol. but even that scored scant coverage. just an hour before the protest, the now-infamous white lorry tore through the streets of nice, bludgeoning everyone in its path. one violent news story, usurped by another violent news story. before long, it too was usurped by another violent news story: the coup attempt in turkey. and then that fell by the wayside too as soon as gunfire cut down officers in baton rouge. baton rouge frayed nerves even further in cleveland. immediately, the union representing the cleveland police department fired off a request to ohio gov. john kasich. law enforcement wanted kasich to suspend a state law allowing for the open-carry of firearms around the convention zone. <u+201c>ohio governors do not have the power to arbitrarily suspend federal and state constitutional rights or state laws as suggested,<u+201d> said kalmbach. during an appearance on fox news, steve loomis, president of the cleveland police patrolman<u+2019>s association, took issue with kasich. <u+201c>that<u+2019>s a well-written political statement. there<u+2019>s no basis in reality. the governor could easily declare a state of emergency and act with executive powers,<u+201d> said loomis. of course, this is precisely why some democrats assert it<u+2019>s important to change the law. if the law poses danger, then change it. we<u+2019>ll find out soon if the law is right on this score. keep in mind that cleveland banned everything from water pistols to tennis balls in an area near the convention. but firearms are fine under the buckeye state<u+2019>s open-carry statute. one can only imagine how the baton rouge shootings could reignite the gun debate in washington. interestingly, most of the gun reform efforts propounded by democrats <u+2013> and even some republicans <u+2013> would do little to end the spate of violence which now grips the country. moreover, another utterly incomprehensible slaughter of law enforcement on the eve of the most combustible political convention in nearly a half-century unglues those already fretting about security in cleveland. if the police aren<u+2019>t safe, then no one is safe. that means all constitutional freedoms are in jeopardy, too. no wonder everyone is flipped out about security at the republican convention. and we haven<u+2019>t even gotten to the democratic convention next week. everyone is expecting the republican convention to erupt into a conflagration <u+2013> be it a political melee in the hall or violent protests in the streets. the bar is pretty low. but if things actually go well, a successful, relatively calm convention helps establish calm elsewhere. but if things erupt into mayhem, all bets are off. it<u+2019>s possible a debate over guns and unrest could dominate the conversation. if so, the trend of police shootings coupled with violence in cleveland could very well drive democrats closer to their goal of votes on gun bills. and that could be the ultimate irony of the cleveland convention.

the cleveland show: convention starts under security cloud

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exclusive: a senior hillary clinton aide has maintained her top secret security clearance despite sending information now deemed classified to the clinton foundation and to then-secretary of state clinton's private unsecured email account, according to congressional letters obtained by fox news. current and former intelligence officials say it is standard practice to suspend a clearance pending the outcome of an investigation. yet in the case of cheryl mills, clinton<u+2019>s former chief of staff at the state department, two letters indicate this practice is not being followed -- even as the clinton email system remains the subject of an fbi investigation. in an oct. 30, 2015, letter to senate judiciary committee chairman charles grassley, r-iowa -- who has been aggressively investigating the clinton email case -- mills' lawyer beth a. wilkinson confirmed that her client <u+201c>has an active top secret clearance." the letter said previous reporting from the state department that the clearance was no longer active was wrong and due to "an administrative error." a second letter dated feb. 18, 2016, from the state department's assistant secretary for legislative affairs, julia frifield, provided additional details to grassley about the "administrative error." it, too, confirmed mills maintained the top secret clearance. the letters come amid multiple congressional investigations, as well as an fbi probe focused on the possible gross mishandling of classified information and clinton's use of an unsecured personal account exclusively for government business. the state department is conducting its own administrative review. under normal circumstances, mills would have had her clearance terminated when she left the department. but in january 2014, according to the state department letter, clinton designated mills <u+201c>to assist in her research.<u+201d> mills was the one who reviewed clinton<u+2019>s emails before select documents were handed over to the state department, and others were deleted. dan maguire, a former strategic planner with africom who has 46 years combined service, told fox news his current and former colleagues are deeply concerned a double standard is at play. "had this happened to someone serving in the government, their clearance would have already been pulled, and certainly they would be under investigation. and depending on the level of disclosure, it's entirely possible they would be under pretrial confinement for that matter," maguire explained. "there is a feeling the administration may want to sweep this under the rug.<u+201d> on monday, the state department was scheduled to release the final batch of clinton emails as part of a federal court-mandated timetable. so far, more than 1,800 have been deemed to contain classified information, and another 22 <u+201c>top secret<u+201d> emails have been considered too damaging to national security to release even with heavy redactions. as clinton's chief of staff, mills was a gatekeeper and routinely forwarded emails to clinton's personal account. as one example, a jan. 23, <u+200e>2011 email forwarded from mills to clinton, called "update on dr meeting," contained classified information, as well as foreign government information which is "born classified." the 2011 email can be declassified 15 years after it was sent -- indicating it contained classified information when it was sent. fox news was first to report that sworn declarations from the cia notified the intelligence community inspector general and congress there were "several dozen emails" containing classified information up to the most closely guarded government programs known as <u+201c>special access programs.<u+201d> clinton has maintained all along that she did not knowingly transmit information considered classified at the time. the u.s. department of state foreign affairs manual lays out the penalties for taking classified information out of secure government channels <u+2013> such as an unsecured email system. while the incidents are handled on a "case by case" basis, the manual suggests the suspension of a clearance is routine while "derogatory information" is reviewed. the manual says the director of the diplomatic security service, "based on a recommendation from the senior coordinator for security infrastructure (ds/si), will determine whether, considering all facts available upon receipt of the initial information, it is in the interests of the national security to suspend the employee<u+2019>s access to classified information on an interim basis. a suspension is an independent administrative procedure that does not represent a final determination <u+2026><u+201d> fox news has asked the state department to explain why mills maintains her clearance while multiple federal and congressional investigations are ongoing. fox news also asked whether the department was instructed by the fbi or another entity to keep the clearance in place. fox news has not yet received a response. catherine herridge is an award-winning chief intelligence correspondent for fox news channel (fnc) based in washington, d.c. she covers intelligence, the justice department and the department of homeland security. herridge joined fnc in 1996 as a london-based correspondent. pamela k. browne is senior executive producer at the fox news channel (fnc) and is director of long-form series and specials. her journalism has been recognized with several awards. browne first joined fox in 1997 to launch the news magazine <u+201c>fox files<u+201d> and later, <u+201c>war stories.<u+201d>

senior clinton aide maintained top secret clearance amid email probe, letters show

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much like former democratic primary candidate bernie sanders, donald trump is wildly popular among small donors, raising millions with contributions of less than $200. but there's no guarantee this pattern will continue for future republicans. republican presidential candidate donald trump meets supporters after addressing a gop fundraising event in birch run, mich., in august. mr. trump has set new records among small donors for a republican presidential candidate. republican candidate donald trump, who did little to establish a fundraising army for his presidential primary campaign, has raked in an unprecedented amount of donations for a republican candidate in the last three months, leading some to liken his efforts and success to that of sen. bernie sanders (i)<u+00a0>of vermont. mr. trump has already raised nearly $100 million from donors writing checks for less than $200 <u+2013> an impressive feat considering he only started soliciting donations in may and had just $1.3 million on hand in june, politico reported. as the numbers roll in, many republicans are surprised by the real estate mogul<u+2019>s fundraising success among small donors, noting that democrats typically rake in a high number of small to moderate donations, while republicans rely on fewer donors, but larger sums of money. in 2008 and 2012, republican candidates john mccain and mitt romney pulled in less than $64 million from small donors, the wall street journal reported. <u+201c>i<u+2019>ve never seen anything like this,<u+201d> a senior republican operative working with the campaign<u+2019>s small-dollar fundraising operation, told politico. <u+201c>he<u+2019>s the republican obama in terms of online fundraising.<u+201d> or the senator sanders, who built his primary campaign with average donations of just $27 and famously said he did not have, or want, a super political action committee (pac). by soliciting small contributions, sanders<u+2019>s campaign was able to raise $229 million through june, while former secretary of state hillary clinton brought in $238 million before the help of super pacs. <u+201c>sanders<u+2019>s ability to attract small donors has truly been remarkable,<u+201d> anthony corrado, a professor at colby college who studies campaign finance and presidential elections, told the atlantic during sanders<u+2019>s campaign. <u+201c>small-dollar donations have become the bedrock of his campaign, and he has been able to motivate more donors more quickly to raise more money from small amounts than was the case for [barack] obama or [howard] dean.<u+201d> despite trump<u+2019>s latest success among small donors, some say it<u+2019>s not enough, and that such success comes from different tactics than those used by democrats. <u+201c>i would just put it in the perspective of they<u+2019>re still not doing as well as they should be doing and they<u+2019>re doing too little too late,<u+201d> kenneth pennington, the former digital director for sanders<u+2019>s campaign, told politico. <u+201c>once they start copying some of things democrats are doing, then i<u+2019>ll get worried.<u+201d> instead, trump is using his name to capitalize on donations, and has offered the chance to have dinner or other meetings with the candidate and his family in return for donations. an email campaign offers autographed copies of trump<u+2019>s book, the art of the deal, for $184. sanders<u+2019>s campaign, on the other hand, used lengthy appeals over email, sometimes between 1,000 to 2,000 words to garner donations. <u+201c>we find that people develop a deeper investment and appreciation for the campaign when they<u+2019>re being counted as part of something bigger than themselves,<u+201d> robin curran, sanders<u+2019>s former digital-production director, told the atlantic in march. while trump<u+2019>s fundraising success might mirror that of sanders, it<u+2019>s worth noting that money wasn<u+2019>t enough to win the primary for the vermont senator when he ran against mrs. clinton, and there<u+2019>s no guarantee trump<u+2019>s donation bounty will help him fair any better against the democrat. some also question whether trump's success will usher in a new era of small donations for future republican candidates. <u+201c>a lot of them probably don<u+2019>t realize that 20 percent of the money goes to the rnc otherwise they probably wouldn<u+2019>t give,<u+201d> an operative working with the candidate and the rnc, which has started a joint fundraising venture with trump, told politico. <u+201c>people are giving money to the joint fundraising committee because donald trump<u+2019>s name is on it.<u+201d>

how trump is following in sanders's fundraising footsteps (+video)

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former secretary of state and retired four-star gen. colin powell, who served under three republican presidents, called donald trump "a national disgrace" and an "international pariah" in a personal email, buzzfeed news reported. according to the outlet, the june 17 email to emily miller, a journalist who was once powell's aide, took steely aim at the gop nominee, saying he "is in the process of destroying himself, no need for dems to attack him" <u+2013> and at speaker of the house paul ryan, whom powell wrote "is calibrating his position again." buzzfeed reported the website dcleaks.com <u+2014> which has reported but unconfirmed ties to russian intelligence services <u+2014> obtained powell's emails. buzzfeed reported it has seen the posts. according to the outlet, in an aug. 21 email, powell blasted trump for embarking on a "racist" movement insinuating president barack obama was not born in the united states. "yup, the whole birther movement was racist," powell wrote, according to buzzfeed. "that's what the 99 percent believe. when trump couldn't keep that up, he said he also wanted to see if the certificate noted that he was a muslim. "as i have said before, 'what if he was?' muslims are born as americans everyday." powell also derided former fox news ceo roger ailes, who advises trump, saying the sex scandal-plagued executive would hurt trump's chances among women voters. "and ailes as an advisor won't heal women, don't you think?'" powell wrote, per buzzfeed. according to buzzfeed news, the other emails included: buzzfeed said powell responded to the emails by saying: "i have no further comment. i'm not denying it."

buzzfeed: leaked colin powell emails rip 'racist' trump as 'national disgrace'

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<u+201c>i hope you realize the irony of what she<u+2019>s doing,<u+201d> paul czisny, a wisconsin delegate for bernie sanders, said, nodding his head backward at a young woman in the stands, a piece of white tape across her mouth that said in stark black letters silenced. periodically, she stood up and photographers rushed over, camera shutters whirring, to snap her admittedly very dramatic portrait. <u+201c>she<u+2019>s able to vote, she<u+2019>s able to get elected as a delegate, she<u+2019>s able to come here,<u+201d> czisny rolled his eyes. he<u+2019>s as pissed off as anyone about the business of the democratic national committee emails<u+2014><u+201c>it just feeds the frustrations of the bernie people<u+201d><u+2014>but he was frustrated with people like that young woman. <u+201c>unfortunately, all they<u+2019>re doing is aiding the trump camp,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>virtually no one here<u+201d><u+2014>meaning the bernie delegates<u+2014><u+201c>is going to vote for trump, but will they stay home? will they vote for jill stein [of the green party]? i find this maddening because we<u+2019>ve seen this movie before, and if we think bush was a disaster, trump will be an even bigger disaster.<u+201d> like the other bernie supporters in the wisconsin delegation, he doesn<u+2019>t love hillary clinton, but he would do the adult thing and vote for her come november. <u+201c>because i<u+2019>m not selfish,<u+201d> says 22-year-old bernie activist hailey storsved, who led the student movement for sanders at her university. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s kind of like saying, <u+2018>i<u+2019>m taking my ball and going home.<u+2019><u+201d> monday night's democratic national convention felt, at times, like an unsettled argument<u+2014>a restive sanders contingent looking for opportunities to boo the primary opponent he'd been railing against for months, and boo everyone she'd invited to support her. but a big part of the argument was underway within the sanders camp itself: how long to hold out against your own party's nominee? this is politics, after all: at what point did principle become a kind of vanity? i tried to talk to the young woman with the tape over her mouth, but she refused to communicate, silenced as she was. instead, she showed me a facebook post she wrote. <u+201c>the dnc is threatening that they might pull my credentials if i don<u+2019>t take this off,<u+201d> she wrote of her mouth tape. her name is angie aker. <u+201c>they want to truly silence me. they don<u+2019>t even want me to have this much free speech.<u+201d> a follow-up question about who she was and why she felt silenced resulted in her showing me her screen: another facebook post. <u+201c>for the media looking for context on my <u+201c>silenced<u+201d> cry for help: the establishment wants us to lie for them and say we are behind hillary when it<u+2019>s clear there hasn<u+2019>t even been a fair primary,<u+201d> she wrote. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m desperate to show somehow it<u+2019>s not true.<u+201d> then she ran out of facebook posts to show me, and commandeered my notepad to scribble me notes, like a modern beethoven. <u+201c>everyone has to vote their conscience,<u+201d> she wrote, echoing ted cruz at last week<u+2019>s republican convention. <u+201c>i don<u+2019>t know who i<u+2019>ll vote for. but i know i won<u+2019>t cast my vote out of fear anymore.<u+201d> <u+201c>we<u+2019>re talking about the political maturation of left-wing politics,<u+201d> said peter rickman, a young man leading the wisconsin delegation, a longtime left-wing activist, and a sanders supporter. he was going to get behind clinton, rallying fellow bernie-ites to her side because, as he said, <u+201c>we don<u+2019>t need to love hillary, but we need to mobilize so that, after november, we<u+2019>re fighting for a progressive agenda under a clinton white house and not being on the defensive in a proto-fascist regime.<u+201d> when i asked him about the silenced woman in his delegation, he too rolled his eyes at aker. he leaned in conspiratorially. <u+201c>she runs upworthy,<u+201d> he said, referring to the social media site. <u+201c>soon someone is going to put two and two together that she<u+2019>s just doing this to get personal attention.<u+201d> (aker actually works in video licensing for the site.) there was a periodic booing from behind the very polite and very pragmatic wisconsin delegation, most of whom seemed at peace with the need to vote for clinton in the fall. <u+201c>oh, that<u+2019>s not us,<u+201d> one of them told me. <u+201c>that<u+2019>s new mexico.<u+201d> up a few rows was the new mexico delegation, which was in the thick of a civil war. <u+201c>no, never,<u+201d> said a young man named rusty pearce, a sanders delegate from the state. <u+201c>this is a political revolution and a political revolution doesn<u+2019>t just stop.<u+201d> <u+201c>we will continue to work to elect progressives up and down the ticket,<u+201d> said a freckled middle-aged woman named nicole renee peters. she also wasn<u+2019>t voting for hillary. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m not for hillary and i<u+2019>m not for trump,<u+201d> she said defiantly. <u+201c>i will never vote for hillary.<u+201d> most of their state delegation, they both told me confidently, was for sanders and felt the same way. <u+201c>unfortunately, that<u+2019>s not true,<u+201d> chimed in an older woman named theresa trujeque standing next to me with a hillary sign. <u+201c>the majority is for hillary.<u+201d> twenty-four delegates out of 43 were for hillary. <u+201c>that<u+2019>s with the superdelegates!<u+201d> peters and pearce interjected. after some squabbling and eye-rolling at me<u+2014>can you believe her? can you believe these two?<u+2014>they agreed that there were 18 delegates for hillary and 16 for bernie. <u+201c>they<u+2019>ve been telling us to shut up all day,<u+201d> peters complained to me. <u+201c>they<u+2019>ve been fighting and booing all day,<u+201d> trujeque complained to me. <u+201c>they<u+2019>ve been fighting with the poor delegates with indiana,<u+201d> trujeque scolded. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s not respectable.<u+201d> <u+201c>well, i don<u+2019>t find it respectable that hillary clinton lied under oath!<u+201d> <u+201c>i<u+2019>ve been involved in the democratic party for years and there<u+2019>s no fraud, no corruption we take care of everyone. some people have never been involved.<u+201d> <u+201c>i<u+2019>ve been involved for many years!<u+201d> <u+201c>that<u+2019>s because i<u+2019>ve lived in new mexico for almost a whole year!<u+201d> <u+201c>well, then don<u+2019>t try to change us new mexicans!<u+201d> the bernie people told me elaborate tales of how the dnc outfoxed and cheated them at every turn<u+2014>and there were very many turns, so many we had to keep going over them for clarity until they pointed defiantly to a young man, the communications director for the new mexico delegation, eyeing them nervously. <u+201c>he<u+2019>s going to take our credentials away as soon as this interview is over!<u+201d> one of them said. it was the first the young man, named joe kaburek, heard of it. <u+201c>we need to do a better job of talking to them,<u+201d> he said diplomatically. in cleveland, a cruz underground refused to concede and get behind the party<u+2019>s nominee, and their candidate gave them the satisfaction of a principled last stand: he refused to endorse a man they loathed with every fiber of their being. in philadelphia, the bernie holdouts had no such luck. their man endorsed a woman they loathe with every fiber of their being, and asked them to vote for her in november. instead of getting booed, like cruz, they were the ones doing the booing. they booed lilly ledbetter, they booed cory booker, and they managed to refrain from booing michelle obama. when elizabeth warren spoke, the bernie holdouts of michigan sat there in grim anger, arms crossed, fake birds pinned to their hats. they liked warren, but didn<u+2019>t like that she was selling out to hillary. <u+201c>not for sale!<u+201d> some of them yelled. when bernie emerged on stage, they screamed his name and his slogans<u+2014><u+201c>this is what democracy looks like!<u+201d> many of them cried and refused to believe it was over. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s not over!<u+201d> some of them shouted. <u+201c>nooooo!<u+201d> others hollered. up and down this midwestern section, bernie supporters who so reviled superdelegates were praying for them to see the light and switch to bernie<u+2019>s side tuesday, thereby annulling the popular vote of the democratic primary, which had not been in their favor. <u+201c>you never know how many people have turned since wikileaks!<u+201d> one michigan delegate told the correspondent of michigan radio. she held out hope that tuesday's vote would tilt toward bernie. <u+201c>are you going to vote for hillary in november?<u+201d> the reporter asked her. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m voting for bernie tomorrow,<u+201d> she said, defiantly. <u+201c>he asked us to vote for him tomorrow.<u+201d> <u+201c>he also asked for you to vote for hillary in november,<u+201d> the reporter pressed. nearby, a schoolteacher named tammy lewis sat weeping softly. <u+201c>we<u+2019>ll never have a chance like this again,<u+201d> she said, dabbing her dark eyes with a white tissue. her husband, she said, was a nafta victim and she wasn<u+2019>t about to let tpp destroy her family a second time. but she was at a loss after bernie<u+2019>s speech. <u+201c>he<u+2019>s doing what he has to do,<u+201d> she said with a melancholy admiration. <u+201c>he knows he has to stop trump. he<u+2019>s a good man.<u+201d> <u+201c>i<u+2019>m voting for bernie tomorrow, that<u+2019>s what i came here to do,<u+201d> she said with a quiet sadness. would she vote for hillary in the fall, as bernie had asked of her? <u+201c>maybe,<u+201d> she said, lost. <u+201c>i don<u+2019>t know. i know i have to stop trump, too. but the choice is either i press the pause button or go back in time with trump.<u+201d> she rose to leave and wiped her eyes. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s not what i wanted,<u+201d> she said, and left the hall.

life among the berned

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michael d'antonio is the author of the new book , "the truth about trump." the opinions expressed in this commentary are his. (cnn) america seems to be catching onto the flaws of "trumpspeak" -- the gop candidate's method, perfected over decades in the public eye, of winning attention and creating an illusion of unbounded success. polls in key swing states and nationally now show him well behind hillary clinton and some of his rhetorical tricks, like the use of "people are saying" to spread falsehoods while avoiding responsibility for them, have become popular memes still, anything can happen with nearly three months left to go in the election. so it's instructive to look at the five elements of trumpspeak: the media record is littered with moments when donald trump appeared to set a new mark for outrageousness that even he couldn't surpass. then came another day and a new bizarre performance. the current example of the presidential candidate at his trumpiest is the argument that president barack obama and hillary clinton are the "founder" and "co-founder" of isis. 2) the art of the false claim although trump routinely attacks the press for its supposed bias, he consistently promotes arguments with little basis in fact and no specific sources. with phrases like "many people are saying" and "i'm hearing," trump manages to insert unsubstantiated notions into the electoral discourse without taking responsibility for the messages he's sending. trump's innuendo had no basis in fact. when he spoke, the president's short form birth record had been released by officials in hawaii, and there was no mystery about his college years. nevertheless, trump built a following with this method and continues to use it. 4) i'm a winner (even when i'm not) how is it that someone who cares so much about numbers as represented in his business record and ratings comes to declare himself a winner in ways that can be so readily refuted? it's possible that the template was established so long ago that it's an ingrained habit. when i interviewed trump, he told me more than once that in his youth he had been the best high school baseball player in new york state. in those years, the empire state was home to several future major leaguers and at least one future hall of famer. the players who competed in big city leagues played against the toughest opponents. trump played for a tiny school that squared-off against other small schools in upstate new york. the chance that he was "the best" is practically zero. why does he do it? gingrich cited the comments about obama and isis as an example. "i know what trump has in his mind, but that's not what people hear," said gingrich. in a rare case of self-correction, trump explained that he was practicing "sarcasm" when he linked obama to the founding of isis. he offered the same explanation when he mused about how russian hackers should muck around in clinton's email accounts. trump's excuses, like his behavior, resemble what one might expect from a bullying child who is caught tormenting a sibling. any adult who has ever interceded in this kind of conflict knows to expect to hear "i was only kidding" and "can't you take a joke?" from the kid who is doing the harm. in trump's case, of course, the childishness does harm to the country as a whole and, as the case of tur suggests, poses a real threat to specific individuals. trump is the same person he was as a boy. "when i look at myself in the first grade and i look at myself now, i'm basically the same," trump once told me. "the temperament is not that different." having studied trump intently over the last three years, i would agree that he's the same person he was as a child, but i would peg the exact date to the summer between seventh and eighth grade. it was then that his parents, exasperated over his behavior, sent him away to a military academy because they couldn't handle him. there he was plunged into a cruel and often violent environment where grown men trained young men by smacking them around. in the meantime, his four siblings were comforted in the luxury of the trump mansion, peacefully attended by domestic help and educated at posh private schools. trump was, by his own admission, an out-of-control child, and he says that he needed the discipline he got at the military academy. i agree, but i don't think the discipline took. this is what the more sober minded elders of the gop, gingrich included, are discovering now. trump is still the unruly child who will not be tamed. the chances of him accepting discipline now, at age 70, after a lifetime of accumulating wealth, power and attention, are slim to none.

opinion: the flaws of trumpspeak

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