Brothers linked to Paris attackers reportedly identified as suicide bombers at Brussels airport

The suicide bombers who attacked the Brussels airport on Tuesday morning were identified Wednesday as two brothers who were known to the police for links to organized crime, but also had ties to the ISIS cell that carried out last November's attacks in Paris.
Belgian state broadcaster RTBF, citing a police source, reported that Khalid and Ibrahim El-Bakraoui were the two black-clad bombers who blew themselves up in the airport's departure hall, killing at least 14 people.
Also Wednesday, the Belgian newspaper DH identified the third airport attacker, believed to still be at large, as Najim Laachraoui. Laachraoui, 25, is believed to have constructed the bombs used in the Paris attacks.
RTBF reported that Khalid El-Bakraoui, 27, rented an apartment in the Forest section of the city that was raided by authorities March 15. In that raid, a police sniper killed a man identified as Mohamed Belkaid, 35, an Algerian with links to ISIS. Authorities also reportedly found an ISIS flag and a Kalashnikov rifle and ammunition, as well as several detonators that may have been meant to be used in Tuesday's attacks.
In addition to the airport bombings, a third explosion Tuesday targeted a subway stop in central Brussels, killing at least 20 people. Authorities have not said whether the blast was the result of a suicide bombing, nor have they named a suspect in that attack.
The March 15 raid led to Friday's arrest of Paris attack suspect Salah Abdeslam after one of his fingerprints was discovered in the raided apartment. Politico Europe, citing a senior Belgian official, reported that Abdeslam was supposed to take part in Tuesday's attacks. The report did not specify what role Abdeslam would have played.
Over the weekend, Belgium's Foreign Minister disclosed that Abdeslam had been preparing further attaccks, saying the suspect was "ready to restart something from Brussels."
The Guardian also reported that one of the El-Bakraoui brothers had rented a safe house in Charleroi, Belgium, that was used by Paris attackers Abdelhamid Abaaoud and Bilal Hadfi as a rendezvous point prior to the attacks that killed 130 people in the French capital. The paper also reported that one of the brothers had provided weapons and ammunition to the terrorists who attacked the Bataclan concert hall on that deadly night.
Laachraoui is thought to have built the suicide vests used by the Paris attackers, according to a police official who told the Associated Press that Laachraoui's DNA was found on all of them and in a Brussels apartment where they were made.

DH reported that in October 2010, Ibrahim El-Bakraoui, 30, was convicted of shooting at police with a Kalashnikov during an attempted robbery. He was sentenced to nine years in prison. In February 2011, the paper reported, Khalid El-Bakraoui was sentenced to five years' probation in connection with a string of carjackings.

Montana Democrat Cartoon

Gun-toting owners at Utah eatery show support for Second Amendment

When patrons stroll into Utah’s Sea Bears Ogden Fish House they typically have one of two questions, co-owner Tony Siebers said: What’s with the kilt or what’s with the guns?
That’s because the restaurant workers – Tony, his wife and co-owner, Monika, and their four children – wear kilts around their waists and guns on their hips, KSL reported. The symbols are nods to the Scottish fare and the family’s stance as staunch supporters of the right to bear arms.
"We're big supporters of open carry and the Second Amendment," Tony, 46, told FoxNews.com during a busy lunch rush on Monday. "Out here in the West it's a little more common."
Tony said the business hasn't had any issues with customers that may be uncomfortable around guns. And, more often than not, he said the customers are carrying, too.

"People continually come up to the counter and say, 'Hey, I like that you carry and I've got my concealed license and I'm carrying, too,'" he said. "It's all been positive dialogue because we have like-minded people who really support the Second Amendment and support open- or concealed-carry."

The family first decided to bring guns into the business about a year ago to ward off any would-be criminals while the Siebers counted their money after closing or restocked supplies. But while they were waiting for concealed-carry permits to be approved, Monika began openly carrying, according to The Standard-Examiner.
Tony wears either an EAA revolver or SCCY 9-mm. and his 22-year-old twin sons Collin and Chase both favor .357 Magnums. Monika carries a Smith & Wesson M&P 9-mm. in her holster. The couple’s other children, son Austin, 19, and daughter Toli, 14, don’t carry.
Tony told FoxNews.com none of his family has ever had to use their weapon and he's had no problems with customers who carry, either.
"Never ever," he said. "And like I said, it's not those people you worry about. They use it for protection only."

Sea Bears got its distinctive nickname due to the couple's three boys, as "Siebers" turned into the playful "Sea Bears."
“When they were growing up, their friends gave them a nickname,” Tony told KUTV. “They said, ‘Oh, the sea bears are here.’ That’s where the name came from.”
The restaurant opened two years ago in Ogden, a city of about 85,000 people that sits around 10 miles east of the Great Salt Lake. The menu mostly boasts Monika’s creations, but the fish and chips is the eatery’s staple item.
“We’ve been in this location for two years and this location has been really good to us,” Tony told KUTV. “It keeps getting better and better.” 

Montana GOP officials fight to 'close' primary, in complication for Trump

Montana Republicans are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to step in as early as this week and force the state to “close” its upcoming primary so only GOP voters can participate -- in a case that could pose complications for Donald Trump. 
The Republican front-runner so far has done better in "open" primaries, where members of both parties can vote, than in "closed" primaries limited to Republican voters only.
Montana, set to vote June 7, has had an “open primary” since 1912.
But state GOP officials want to change all that, in a bid to keep out Democrats and other “cross-over” voters who might sway the outcome. They argue keeping the primaries open infringes on their constitutional right of association.
“This is a First Amendment right,” state Republican Party lawyer Matthew Monforton told FoxNews.com.
He said the looming primary is particularly important because it would allow people to flood the system in an incredibly close Republican race. If the system is left unchecked, Monforton believes outside groups could unfairly influence the state’s winner-take-all primaries, where Montana’s 27 presidential delegates are up for grabs.

2016 Election Headquarters

The latest headlines on the 2016 elections from the biggest name in politics. See Latest Coverage →

While the primary is set for June, it's possible the race will still be competitive at that point -- though Trump on Monday voiced confidence in his ability to get the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the nomination.
Montana’s Republican Party filed the original lawsuit in 2014, but escalated the matter to the Supreme Court earlier this month. On March 11, Monforton filed an emergency injunction to the court seeking to block non-GOP voters from participating in the upcoming primary.
“Without relief from this court, non-members and Democratic-aligned institutions will soon exploit Montana’s open primary and seek to nominate Republican candidates opposed by the majority of Republican voters,” Monforton wrote.
In a rare one-sentence order Wednesday, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy asked Montana Attorney General Tim Fox, a Republican, to respond to Monforton’s appeal of a lower-court order, which denied his request to block the June primary for Republicans in Montana.
Fox has until Tuesday to respond.
Monforton dismissed Fox, calling him “a liberal Republican” whose political ambitions are what’s driving his refusal to close the state GOP primary.
Calls to Fox for comment were not immediately returned.
Currently, Montana primary voters are free to choose either a ballot that only lists Republican candidates or one that lists Democratic candidates. No proof of party affiliation is required, and voters can request both parties’ ballots. They cannot vote in both, but no one is asked which ballots they ultimately choose.
The unexpected move by the Supreme Court to weigh in last week has given Monforton’s case much-needed momentum.
“We were certainly pleased,” Monforton told FoxNews.com of the Supreme Court’s response. “These emergency applications are the longest of long shots.”
It claimed the open primary violates its First Amendment freedom of association rights by allowing non-party members a vote and thus setting up a scenario where nominees are not chosen by a majority of Republicans.
Though the case pre-dates Trump's entry into the race, Monforton believes the current open system would help Trump -- and a closed primary would aid his top rival, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
Indeed, Trump does seem to be doing better in open Republican primaries than his opponents. The New York businessman has come out ahead in 13 out of 16 states with open primaries including Massachusetts, North Carolina and Illinois. In states with closed primaries like Nevada, Florida and New Hampshire, Trump has taken the top prize in only six out of 14 states.
The outcome of the Montana challenge also could have an impact in state races. This year, 40 Republican legislatives races in the state have contested primary elections. Many feature tough matchups between conservatives and moderate candidates -- who could attract “cross-over” voters in an open primary.

Trump meets with GOP lawmakers in DC, urges party to ‘embrace’ him

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump met Monday in Washington with congressional Republicans and other conservative leaders, attempting to forge a relationship with party leaders while urging them to “embrace this movement.”
Trump described the meeting as a success and just the “beginning” of such efforts, as he tries to convince a seemingly reluctant GOP establishment to join forces with him.
“We had a really good meeting. It is a beginning, but it was a very good one, with some of the most respected people in Washington,” Trump said after the private discussion with roughly two-dozen Republicans including Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Alabama's Jeff Sessions, who has already endorsed Trump.

The billionaire businessman sought the meeting as he adds to his delegate count, vowing he will eventually clinch the nomination. Yet he still faces opposition from rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich and plotting by some Republicans to derail his outsider campaign with an alternative candidate.
“If people want to be smart, they should embrace this movement,” Trump said. “If they don’t want to be smart, the whole thing could go down.”
Among those also in attendance Monday was New York GOP Rep. Chris Collins, whose post-meeting analysis was similar to Trump’s and who sounded a sense of the inevitable.

2016 Election Headquarters

The latest headlines on the 2016 elections from the biggest name in politics. See Latest Coverage →

“Mr. Trump will be our nominee. We need to bring the rest of the party to unite us to stop Hillary Clinton,” he told reporters, adding the GOP front-runner’s dialogue with Washington Republicans was “just starting.”
No members of either House or Senate GOP leadership were known to have been in attendance, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell or House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Trump said Monday that he has had a good conversation with each of them.
McConnell told Fox News on Sunday that he would be home in Kentucky. However, Ryan along with Trump was in Washington on Monday to speak at the annual policy conference for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a major pro-Israel group.
The meeting was also attended by former South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, who now runs the influential Heritage Foundation conservative  think tank, as well as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and wife, Callista.
Among the GOP establishment’s concerns about Trump is that his comments and views about women, Muslims and some Mexican immigrants are too divisive to win the White
House. And more recently, the violence at his campaign events have added to such concerns.
Trump suggested after the meeting that he understood the establishment’s fears. But he argued that he has the support of millions of everyday Americans and cited as proof that GOP voter turnout is up this year by 72 percent.
“I’m an outsider. I understand,” Trump said. “They are senators, governors, congressmen, women. They are not used to this. … But I have many, many people behind us. And to be honest with you guys, Republicans should embrace me.”
Also attending the meeting at the Jones Day law firm, at the base of Capitol Hill, were GOP Reps. Duncan Hunter Jr., Calif.; Tom Marino, Pa.; Scott DesJarlais, Tenn.; and North Carolina’s Renee Ellmers, the only other woman in the room besides Callista Gingrich.
DesJarlais described the meeting as “very frank” and “honest,” with discussions on such topics as foreign policy, Republicans’ support of Israel, defeating Democratic front-runner Clinton and Trump’s potential Supreme Court nominations.
Others at the meeting said Trump asked for their support. They said some in attendance already supported Trump while others came to “test the waters.”
Collins said the violence at Trump rallies was only discussed in the context of organized protesters trying to disrupt free speech.
Ellmers, who voted for Trump in the North Carolina GOP primary, told Fox News that Trump’s remarks about women were discussed.
“Women are going to choose the next president, they care very much about all kinds of issues. National security is a main issue, soccer moms of yesterday are security moms of today,” she said. “I know he's made some off-the-cuff comments. I certainly don't condone them, but I know the sense of un-comfortability as a Republican, I think, we need to concentrate on things we agree with, we need to come together in a unified party.”

Bill Clinton slams 'awful legacy of the last eight years', claims he was criticizing Republicans

Former President Bill Clinton slammed what he called the "awful legacy of the last eight years" during a campaign appearance for his wife, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, in Washington state Monday. 
Clinton made the remarks at an event in Spokane ahead of Saturday's Washington state Democratic caucuses.
"If you believe we’ve finally come to the point where we can put the awful legacy of the last eight years behind us," Clinton said, "and the seven years before that when we were practicing trickle-down economics and no regulation in Washington, which is what caused the crash, then you should vote for her."
The remarks appeared to be a shot at President Barack Obama, in whose administration Hillary Clinton served as secretary of state and whose policies she has defended in her primary campaign against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Republicans quickly seized on the statement, posting a video of the remarks to YouTube.
 

2016 Election Headquarters

The latest headlines on the 2016 elections from the biggest name in politics. See Latest Coverage →

However, a Clinton spokesman told USA Today that the former president was referring to Republicans in Congress with his "awful legacy" remark.
"After President Obama was elected, Republicans made it their number one goal to block him at every turn," spokesman Angel Urena said. "That unprecedented obstruction these last eight years is their legacy, and the American people should reject it by electing Hillary Clinton to build on President Obama's success so we can all grow and succeed together."
Hillary Clinton has a lead of more than 300 delegates over Sanders in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination from primaries and caucuses following a sweep of five states March 15. Alaska and Hawaii also hold Democratic caucuses on Saturday, but Washington has the most delegates ultimately at stake with 101.

At least one dead, several hurt after explosions at Brussels airport, Metro

BREAKING: At least one person was killed and several others were injured after explosions rocked the Brussels airport and subway system Tuesday morning, days after a key suspect in last November's Paris terror attack was apprehended in the city.
Authorities did not immediately confirm that the explosions were a terror attack. However, Belgium's interior minister announced that the terror threat was being raised to its maximum level. Flights were canceled and arriving planes were diverted. Security was also tightened at all Paris airports.
"One person has died and perhaps there are several more," said a police official at the airport told the Associated Press.

Brussels Airport spokesman Anke Fransen confirmed that the blasts occurred shortly after 8 a.m. local time (3 a.m. EST). Reuters, citing the Belga news agency, reported that shots were fired and shouting in Arabic was heard before the explosions.
Zach Mouzoun, who arrived on a flight from Geneva about 10 minutes before the first blast, told BFM television that the second, louder explosion brought down ceilings and ruptured pipes, mixing water with blood from victims.

"It was atrocious. The ceilings collapsed," he said. "There was blood everywhere, injured people, bags everywhere."

"We were walking in the debris. It was a war scene," he said.

About 80 minutes after the airport blasts, an explosion was reported at the Maelbeek subway station, not far from the headquarters of the European Union. Rescue workers set up a makeshift treatment center in a local pub. Dazed and shocked morning travelers streamed from the metro entrances as police tried to set up a security cordon.

Alexandre Brans, 32, who was wiping blood from his face, said: "The metro was leaving Maelbeek station when there was a really loud explosion. It was panic everywhere. There were a lot of people in the metro."
First responders ran through the street outside with two people on stretchers, their clothes badly torn.

The explosions at the airport hit at the middle of the busiest time there. Smoke was seen billowing out of the terminal while other images showed a security officer patrolling inside a hall with blasted paneling and what appears to be ceiling insulation covering the floor. A member of Belgium's parliament, whose wife was at the airport, told Belga that the wounded were struck by flying glass and ceiling tiles.
Marie-Odile Lognard, a traveller who was lining up in the departures hall for a flight to Abu Dhabi, told BFM television that people panicked after the first explosion about 20 meters from her and that a second explosion about 15 seconds later caused parts of the ceiling to collapse.
"I knew it was an explosion because I've been around explosions before," said Denise Brandt, an American woman interviewed by Sky television.

"I felt the explosion, the way it feels through your body. And we just looked at each other and I said let's go this way. It was over there. There was just this instinct to get away from it. Then we saw people running, crying, toward us. So I knew we were going in the right direction and away from it. "
Amateur video shown on France's i-Tele television showed passengers including a child running with a backpack dashing out of the terminal different directions as they tugged luggage.
eslam, the prime suspect in the Paris attacks, was arrested in Brussels.

Leftist Protesters Cartoon

Donald Trump's sister, like son, receives threatening letter

PHILADELPHIA –  A threatening letter has been sent to Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's sister, who's a judge in Philadelphia.
The letter was sent to Judge Maryanne Trump Barry, who sits on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.
The FBI said Sunday it's "aware of the incident and is working closely with the United States Secret Service and U.S. Marshals Service." It says no further details are available.
Law enforcement officials said Friday that Donald Trump's son Eric Trump received a threatening letter urging the candidate to exit the presidential race. Eric Trump has been campaigning for his New York real estate mogul father.

The money trail: Cruz trounces Kasich, Sanders outraises Clinton in February

John Kasich, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, the final three Republican candidates running for president, began this month with drastically different campaign fortunes, new fundraising reports show.

In one month, Cruz raised what Kasich has collected over the entire course of his longshot bid. Trump, a billionaire, has raised relatively little money as he "self-funds" his effort.

On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders outraised Hillary Clinton for the second month in a row. But the Vermont senator still started March with about half as much cash on hand as the former secretary of state.

The presidential candidates -- current and former -- were required to file their February campaign finance reports to the Federal Election Commission by Sunday, as they look ahead to the next series of nominating contests -- in Arizona, Idaho and Utah on Tuesday.

What we've learned on the money front:

------

2016 Election Headquarters

The latest headlines on the 2016 elections from the biggest name in politics. See Latest Coverage →

KASICH MONEY STRUGGLES

Kasich, the Ohio governor, had about $1.3 million in available campaign cash as this month began.

That's far less than the $8 million in cash that Cruz's campaign had on hand as of the last day of February, although millions of those dollars are under lock until the general election.

Cruz, a Texas senator, continued to lap Kasich in fundraising. His $12 million in February roughly equals Kasich's entire campaign haul, dating to last summer.

Kasich's home-state win last week convinced him to stay in the race in the hope of emerging as a "consensus candidate" during a contested convention this summer. That could be triggered if Trump does not win enough delegates in the remaining primaries. Kasich has no mathematical path for winning the nomination outright.

Both candidates also benefit from outside groups known as super PACs. Several of Cruz's boosters reported beginning March with a collective $10 million left to spend. Add to that another donor-led super PAC funded by a $10 million contribution that remained mostly intact.

Kasich's super PAC, New Day for America, reported raising $3.2 million in February and ended the month with $2.5 million cash on hand.
------
TRUMP DIGGING DEEPER INTO HIS POCKETS

The billionaire businessman loaned himself another $6.9 million, bringing the total amount he's loaned to himself to $24.4 million. Trump's campaign manager has said the candidate has no intention of trying to recoup the money he loans himself.
And while Trump continues to boast about self-funding his campaign, he collected about $2 million in new contributions in February, bringing his total raised this cycle to $9.5 million.

He continues to spend big on private airfare, including more than $640,000 to his own airline. And he spent $3.5 million on placed media, including Twitter and Facebook ads.

------

TRUMP FIGHTERS

Three billionaires supplied more than 80 percent of the cash last month for a super political action committee dedicated to derailing Donald Trump. The group is called Our Principles.

February fundraising reports show the Ricketts family -- who own the Chicago Cubs and whose patriarch founded TD Ameritrade -- gave another $2 million last month, adding to their earlier $3 million investment. Paul Singer, a New York hedge-fund billionaire who backed Rubio, gave $1 million, and Arkansas investment banker Warren Stephens also chipped in $1 million.

The group has reported raising $7.8 million since its inception. FEC documents show the group has spent at least $16 million attacking Trump -- so far with little impact. The gap between reported income and expenditures means the majority of the donations to Our Principles arrived this month. Those donors will be disclosed next month.

------

GOING BROKE FOR RUBIO

Wealthy donors handed over $25 million last month to a super PAC backing then-Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio. And the candidate's official campaign had its best month yet, raising about $9.6 million.

It still wasn't enough. Rubio, a Florida senator, ended his bid after an embarrassing loss to Trump last week in his home state.

Conservative Solutions PAC raised about $58 million in support of Rubio and it attracted a surge of donors in the days after one-time rival Jeb Bush, a former Florida governor, dropped out on Feb. 20.

Poultry magnate Ronald Cameron was Conservative Solution's top donor in February, contributing $5 million. Cameron had previously given $3 million to a group backing former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, also once a 2016 presidential hopeful.

The insurance executive Hank Greenberg's C. V. Starr & Company Inc. and Starr International companies gave a total of $5 million to Conservative Solutions. Last year, C.V. Starr gave $10 million to a group backing Bush.

------

DEMOCRATIC CASH

Sanders' campaign reported raising more than $43 million in February, outraising Clinton by about $14 million, federal fundraising reports show.

Sanders, whose online fundraising in small increments has set records, continued to draw substantial support from low-dollar donors. In February, more than 60 percent of his campaign's money came from people who had given $200 or less to federal candidates in this election cycle.

But the Vermont senator also reported spending about $41 million last month. He started March with about $17 million in cash, about half as much as Clinton's $31 million in available cash.

Clinton's supportive super PAC, Priorities USA, reported raising a little less than $5 million in February, half of its January haul. Still, the group began this month with $44 million to spend; representatives say they are preserving much of it for the general election.

The biggest donor last month to Priorities was Chicago media executive Fred Eychaner, who gave $2 million.

------

CARSON CASH CONTINUED

One hallmark of a failing presidential candidate is the struggle to raise money.

That's why Bush had to lend his campaign hundreds of thousands of dollars last month, fundraising documents show. And it's why New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie appeared to end his bid owing roughly $200,000 more than he had in available cash.

Not so with political newcomer Ben Carson.

The retired neurosurgeon never won any of the early primary contests, and he suspended his campaign at the beginning of this month. Even so, in February he raised $5.7 million, and he had almost $5 million in cash at the start of March.

Carson was the top Republican fundraiser of the 2016 contest at the time he dropped out, but he also maintained above-average costs for raising that money.