Senate wants more answers from feds about fake cell towers, other devices that collect smartphone data

The Senate Judiciary Committee wants more answers about law enforcement agencies across the country deploying surveillance technology, including trick cellphone towers, that gather cellphone data, according to a letter obtained Thursday by FoxNews.com
The bipartisan letter was sent to the departments of Justice and Homeland Security, following a recent FBI policy change regarding search warrants that committee leaders say raises questions about privacy protections and how the equipment was used.
Among the tools singled out in the letter is a Stingray, a device that pretends it is a cellphone tower and tricks cellphones into identifying some of their owners' account information.
In addition, the U.S. Marshal Service is deploying an airborne device -- called a “DRT box” or “dirtbox” -- from five metropolitan-area airports across the United States that also “mimic standard cell towers, forcing affected cell phones to reveal their approximate location and registration information,” the Dec. 23 letter states.
“It remains unclear how other agencies within the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security make use of cell-site simulators and what policies are in place to govern their use of that technology,” states the letter from Vermont Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, the committee chairman, and Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on the committee, reported first by The Associated Press.
The letter also states: "The Judiciary Committee needs a broader understanding of the full range of law enforcement agencies that use this technology, the policies in place to protect the privacy interests of those whose information might be collected using these devices, and the legal process that DOJ and DHS entities seek prior to using them."
A Justice Department spokeswoman told the wire service that agency officials are reviewing the letter.
Law enforcement authorities have said the technology, which allows police to obtain cellphone information without having to ask for help from service providers, is useful for catching criminals, though civil liberties advocates have raised privacy concerns.
The senators’ letter says that FBI officials in recent months have told committee staffers that the agency recently changed its policy so that it now generally seeks a search warrant before using the cell-site technology but with certain broad exceptions -- such as cases that involve a fugitive, pose an imminent public safety danger or in which the technology is used in a public place where no expectation of privacy would exist.
The senators demanded answers about how the FBI and other law enforcement agencies protect the privacy of people whose cellphone information is collected, even when they're not targeted or suspected of any wrongdoing. The letter had a list of questions, including ones about how often the technology has been used and about how often law enforcement has requested a search warrant.
The FBI confirmed that officials had met with committee staff members and said it would respond to oversight questions but otherwise referred questions about the letter to the Justice Department.

New 2015 laws tackle wages and weed, pet tattoos and tiger selfies

Soon, more Americans will be able to legally light a joint. Workers across the country will see a higher minimum wage. And states will crack down on everything from pet tattoos to cramped hen cages to selfies with tigers. 
The new year will usher in thousands of new laws, covering these areas and much, much more. 
Grabbing the headlines lately have been the marijuana legalization measures approved on Election Day in Oregon, Alaska and the District of Columbia. 
Though marijuana is still considered illegal by the federal government, the two states and D.C. follow Colorado and Washington state in allowing it locally. 
But residents there should stick to champagne to celebrate New Year's -- the Alaska measure isn't expected to take effect until February, and the Oregon measure doesn't green-light possession until July 2015. And the Washington, D.C., measure already is getting caught in the congressional grinder, as lawmakers try and block implementation. 
On another front, a number of cities and roughly 20 states are raising their minimum wage next year. 
The highest is in Oakland, Calif., which raised its citywide wage to $12.25 beginning in March, setting an increase every January based on cost-of-living adjustments. Similarly, San Francisco passed its own incremental hike, starting with a raise to $11.05 on Jan. 1. 
Others expecting a wage increase in 2015 include workers in: Alaska ($8.75); Arkansas ($7.50); Nebraska ($8); and South Dakota ($8). 
States are tackling issues that go well beyond marijuana and the minimum wage. They include: 
Animal tattoos. In New York, a law signed Dec. 15 by Gov. Andrew Cuomo will make it a crime to pierce or tattoo animals. 
The only exception will be for markings done under a veterinarian's supervision for a medical reason or identification. But anyone thinking of getting Fido a "ma" tattoo ... should think again. Penalties for violations range up to 15 days in jail and up to a $250 fine. 
The law reportedly gained traction after the case of a woman trying to sell "gothic kittens" with piercings, as well as a New Yorker who tattooed his pit bull. The law takes effect in about four months. 
Hen cages. In California, a 2008 ballot initiative going into effect on Jan. 1 will restrict the confinement of egg-laying hens, breeding sows and veal calves. The new law will require that they have enough space to move around, and not be kept in cramped cages. 
It could be costly for farmers, but animal rights groups are hailing the changes. The Humane Society of the United States says the law goes further than any in the country when coupled with a law signed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that extends the space requirements for egg-laying hens to out-of-state suppliers. 
Driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. Starting Thursday, California illegal immigrants will be able to apply for a state drivers' license under a 2013 law. Hundreds of thousands of applicants are expected. 
Bag ban. Starting in July of 2015, the first part of a controversial plastic bag ban is set to go into effect in California. 
In September, Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB270. It would pull plastic bags out of checkout counters at large grocery stores and supermarkets such as Wal-Mart and Target in the summer of next year, and convenience stores and pharmacies in 2016. The law does not apply to bags used for fruits, vegetables or meats, or to shopping bags used at other retailers. 
However, business groups trying to overturn the law said Monday they've collected more than enough signatures to put their referendum on the November 2016 ballot. If the referendum qualifies, the nation's first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags will be suspended until voters weigh in, effectively buying plastic bag manufacturers more time. 
Fracking bans. In November, voters in Athens, Ohio; Denton, Texas; and California's Mendocino and San Benito counties passed measures banning fracking, a practice in which high-pressure liquid, typically water, is shot through a drill hole in the earth as a means of getting at oil or natural gas. An oil company, Citadel Exploration, which had planned to conduct oil exploration on private lands in San Benito, has already filed a $1.2 billion claim with the county saying that is how much the company will lose from the fracking ban. 
Data destruction. A Delaware law takes effect Jan. 1 requiring companies to scrub a host of customer information. It requires all "commercial entities" to take "all reasonable steps" to destroy consumers' personal identifying information that is "no longer to be retained by the commercial entity" by "shredding, erasing, or otherwise destroying or modifying" it -- "to make it entirely unreadable or indecipherable through any means." 
Laptop rules. In New York, the state later this week will make it illegal to throw away laptops and other electronics in the regular trash. Instead, consumers must begin recycling old computers, televisions and video game consoles. 
Tiger selfies. In New York in February, it becomes illegal to pose for a photo with a lion, tiger or other big cat. The measure, which specifically prohibits contact between members of the public and big cats at animal shows, passed after self-portraits with the animals started becoming more popular online, particularly with some young men on dating sites. 
'Yes means yes.' In California, a "yes means yes" standard for sex between college students takes effect on Thursday, requiring "an affirmative, conscious and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity," meaning silence or a lack of resistance can no longer be deemed consent. 
Sweet-beverage tax. In November, voters in Berkeley, Calif. passed a one-cent tax on certain sugary drinks, including soda and other beverages such as Snapple and Gatorade. The tax, in effect Jan. 1, will be paid by distributors, not retailers, but it is unclear how or if the higher cost will be passed on to consumers. 
Pregnancy accommodation. As of Jan. 1, all employers with one or more workers in Illinois will be violating the civil rights of a pregnant employee if they do not make reasonable accommodations for that employee, or force them to take leave or fail to reinstate them to their position (or an equivalent position) after childbirth. 
'Right to try.' A "Right to Try" law was passed by Arizona's citizens who will now be given access to medications, medical devices and other treatments that have passed first clinical trials but have not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Eligible patients would have to be terminally ill and have exhausted all other FDA-approved treatments.

De Blasio reappoints judge who freed men who threatened cops

Mayor Bill de Blasio delivered another blow to New York's Finest on Wednesday when he reappointed a Brooklyn judge who freed without bail two men who threatened cops just days after the Bed-Stuy double police assassination.
The stunning decision came even as one of the suspects — a gang member charged with posting police death threats online — skipped a court date and had a warrant out for his arrest, sources said.
Brooklyn Criminal Court Judge Laura Johnson had faced a midnight expiration of her term. She was appointed by then-Mayor Mike Bloomberg in January 2013.
Her one-year, interim reappointment by de Blasio outraged law enforcement officials a day after he met with the heads of five police unions to heal his fractured relationship with cops.
"The mayor's actions of reappointing this judge are completely hypocritical to his argument that he’s pro-police and counterproductive to what he claims to be an effort to open dialogue going forward,” said sergeants union chief Ed Mullins.
"He had the opportunity to demonstrate good will and support for the police, and he once again has demonstrated the opposite."
The head of the state ¬court officers union, Dennis Quirk, called de Blasio’s decision "a disgrace."

Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo dead at 82

Former three-term New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, the liberal son of Italian immigrants and a gifted orator whose talents brought him national stature, died Thursday. He was 82.
 
Cuomo died in New York of a heart condition shortly after his eldest son, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, was sworn in to a second term, in the office he once held.
Mario Cuomo in November had been hospitalized for a heart condition, shortly after his son won re-election. The New York Post reported that Mario Cuomo joined his son at a victory event, but was rushed to the hospital the next day.
Mario Cuomo, while serving a lengthy term as governor, gained national attention with a rousing speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention criticizing then-President Ronald Reagan. Cuomo went on to be considered a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 and 1992, though he didn’t run.
The New York City native held the highest office in the state for over a decade, between 1983 and 1994. He was defeated in his bid for a fourth term by Republican George Pataki. Before that, he was lieutenant governor of New York from 1979 to 1982.
However, Cuomo never lost sight of his humble beginnings as a son of immigrants. When asked by the New York Times Magazine in 2011 if he was proud that his son Andrew was following in his footsteps, he said he felt lucky.
“I somehow stumbled through and became a governor,” he said. “I’ve told you that story. It was all luck. Luck and nothing else.”
During his tenure, Cuomo was known as a staunch liberal.
In the 1984 convention speech, he criticized Reagan’s economic policies. He accused Reagan of believing in social Darwinism, and said the president’s analogy of America as a “city on the hill” was only for some of its people.
“In fact, Mr. President, this is a nation -- Mr. President you ought to know that this nation is more a ‘Tale of Two Cities’ than it is just a ‘Shining City on a Hill,’” Cuomo said in the address.
Cuomo was later considered a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nominations in 1988 and 1992, but chose both times not to seek the office.
He repeatedly vetoed legislation that would have restored the death penalty in New York, and he closed down the Shoreham nuclear power plant on Long Island. He also built 30 new prisons. Under Cuomo, the state budget grew from $28 billion to $62 billion.
In 1993, he turned down an opportunity to be nominated by Clinton for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, telling the new president in a letter that "by staying active in our nation's political process, I can continue to serve as a vigorous supporter of the good work you are doing for America and the world."
After being defeated for a fourth term, he retired from politics and worked at Manhattan law firm Willkie, Farr & Gallagher.
He was a graduate of St. John’s University and St. John’s University School of Law.

Cuomo is survived by his wife Matilda, and his five children Margaret, Andrew, Maria, Madeline and Chris. Andrew Cuomo was formerly married to Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy.
Margaret Cuomo is a well-known radiologist who frequently writes and blogs about cancer prevention. Maria Cuomo, known as Maria Cuomo Cole, is married to fashion designer Kenneth Cole.  Chris Cuomo is an anchor for CNN’s “New Day.”

Mission Accomplished Cartoon

Obama readies 2,375 new regs; sets record with 468,500 Federal Register pages

The pace of agencies issuing new rules and regulations has hit a record high under President Obama, whose administration’s rules have filled 468,500 pages in the Federal Register.
And, according to the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the president is poised to unleash another 2,375 new rules on American businesses without first giving Congress an up or down vote.
CEI’s Clyde Wayne Crews, vice president for policy, told Secrets Wednesday that of the top six biggest Federal Register page tallies since 2002, the Obama administration owns five. This year, he said, the Federal Register ended up printing 79,066 pages — 78,978 when blank pages are removed.
The Federal Register is a daily publication of federal issues proposed and final administrative regulations of federal agencies.

'Unbroken': Let Japanese audience see Jolie film, learn truth about POW treatment

On most Mondays, we are fed the mildly diverting and largely irrelevant data about weekend box office grosses. Not this Monday. This week we are left to ponder the gross excesses of censors — three to be exact.
First there was the assertion of a scary cyberbullying attack by North Korea seeking to abort the launch of a comedy about a fictional attempt to off Pyongyang’s awful leader. While there’s now skepticism about North Korea’s role, what’s not in dispute is that there is nothing funny about life in North Korea. Tragically, the long-suffering people there, including hidden Christians, did not wake up on Dec. 25 to find regime change gift-wrapped under illegal Christmas trees.
Next came the thought police in Casablanca and Cairo, who have rated the epic remake of the biblical “Exodus” “Z” for Zionist. Apparently, they are less disturbed that God was relegated to a minor supporting role in the narrative than they are that muscular “white guys” dominate the screen and that the movie has the audacity to suggest that Hebrew slave labor contributed to ancient Egypt’s unique skyline. All this from two of the most “moderate” Arab societies.

Shouldn’t the Japanese people be trusted to face their past, even their history’s darkest chapters like POW abuse? 

But these two incidents, both generated in tightly controlled societies, pale in comparison to the decision of a leading studio to stop the release of a true story in a sister democracy. 
On Christmas Day, Universal Pictures released Angelina Jolie’s “Unbroken" — which depicts the remarkable life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who became a prisoner of war of the Japanese — all over the world … except in Japan. 
The Los Angeles Times reported that “Unbroken,” with its unflinching depiction of the brutality of Japanese POW camps during World War II, would have encountered considerable resistance there. 
Already millions of viewers — most of them born long after the Second World War — have been inspired by Zamperini’s sheer determination to survive unimaginable brutality at the hands of the Japanese; his struggle with post-war PTSD; and his finally being able to forgive his former tormentors. People in the very country where these events took place are now robbed of the opportunity to learn from their nation's past.
Why did Universal feel compelled to make this draconian move? Japan is no North Korea. She is one of the United States’ closest allies, with almost 70 years of friendship based on shared values of democracy and human rights. Shouldn’t the Japanese people be trusted to face their past, even their history’s darkest chapters like POW abuse? 
One of us recently attended the signing at the State Department of a joint agreement between France and the U.S. that calls for France to provide $60 million in compensation to Holocaust survivors it deported to Nazi concentration camps. But it was not only about money. Speaking for France, Patrizianna Sparacino-Thiellay, the ambassador-at-large for human rights in charge of the Holocaust, declared, “This agreement is a further contribution to recognizing France’s commitment to face up to its historic responsibilities.”
The Japanese people deserve this kind of commitment from their leaders, not the overwhelming denial of history that led to the “Unbroken” blackout.
It took until 2009, when then Japanese Ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki, on behalf of his government, apologized to former American POWs at their last national reunion, for the real reconciliation to finally start. Because of the ambassador’s commitment to improving U.S.-Japan relations and his willingness to work closely with Dr. Lester Tenney, a survivor of the Bataan Death March and of forced labor in a Japanese coal mine, a POW invitation program to promote reconciliation funded by the Japanese government started in 2010.
Former POWs in their late 80s and 90s who went to Japan were finally able to feel peace and a sense of closure as they visited the places where they had endured hard labor and were warmly welcomed by today’s Japanese. U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy praised this program. The positive publicity generated by the surviving ex-POWs’ yearly visit has been helping younger Japanese to learn about what happened to POWs in their country — in most cases, for the first time.
One group that must have welcomed the “Unbroken” cancellation was the very Japanese companies that enslaved American POWs. Of some 12,000 Americans who were sent to Japan after being captured on the battlefield, 1,115 died while being forced to work for these companies. Their refusal to honor the request of aging ex-POWs who insist “We survivors want our honor returned; we want you to apologize” is not worthy of Asia's leading democracy.
In contrast, France's state-owned railway company, SNCF, whose trains were used to deport Jews from France to Auschwitz, has expressed regret for those actions, opened its WWII archives to historians and increased its financial commitment to Holocaust education in France, Israel and the U.S.
In 2015, some Japanese companies that used and abused American POWs will try to sell their high-speed rail technology to the U.S., as will SNCF. These Japanese companies should emulate their French competitor by issuing an apology and committing themselves to educate the future generation on the history of American POWs of the Japanese. Showing “Unbroken” across Japan can be one way to show such a commitment, as well as reassuring her neighbors on both sides of the Pacific that the mindset that led Japan into World War II is a thing of the past, not an inspiration for the future.
Rabbi Abraham Cooper is associate Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. Follow the Simon Wiesenthal Center on Facebook and on Twitter.

Jeb Bush resigns from remaining board memberships with eye on 2016

Jeb Bush is clearing a path for a 2016 presidential campaign after resigning from all of his board memberships.
The former Florida governor stepped down from his remaining board memberships Wednesday. It is part of the process to actively explore a White House bid.
Spokesman Kristy Campbell called Bush's review of his business interests "a natural next step as he turns his focus to gauging whether there is support for a potential candidacy."
Bush, the son of one president and brother of another, is seen as an early favorite of the Republican establishment as the next presidential primary season begins. He launched a series of private business ventures after leaving the Florida governor's mansion in 2007.
Bush has said his business record will be an asset to his campaign, though strategists say his private-equity work could open him to the same criticisms Mitt Romney received during his run.
He previously announced plans to step down from the board of Tenet Healthcare Corp. and leave his advisory role with British banking giant Barclays by Dec. 31. He severed ties to other business entities on Wednesday including the for-profit education company Academic Partnerships, Empower Software Solutions and CorMatrix Cardiovascular Inc.
Earlier in the week Bush resigned from the board of timber company Rayonier Inc.
Bush also confirmed Wednesday he declined to speak at a political event organized by Steve King, a strident immigration critic due to a scheduling conflict.

Deadly winter storm kills at least 5 in California

Interstate 17

A blustery winter storm has dumped snow across the West, killing at least five people and forcing residents in some usually sun-soaked cities to bundle up for a frosty New Year’s.
Strong gusts toppled trees in Northern California, killing two people in the town of Paradise on Tuesday. Another person was killed by a tree early Wednesday in Redding.
Two other people died and a third was missing after storm winds broke boats loose from moorings at Santa Catalina Island off the Southern California coast late Tuesday night. The National Weather Service said winds up to 40 miles an hour hit the harbor.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said one of the dead is a harbor patrol officer and the other is an unidentified citizen.
More than 180 motorists were rescued after they were stranded by the snow on mountain highways northeast of Los Angeles.
Revelers planning to celebrate in Las Vegas or by watching the Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif., were bracing for near freezing temperatures.
California citrus growers appeared to pull through the storm unscathed. Potentially damaging cold failed to materialize overnight in most areas, with only a few spots requiring some form of frost protection, said Joel Nelsen, president of California Citrus Mutual.
Seventy-five percent of this year’s crop was still on trees and yet to be harvested, he said.
The National Weather Service said the storm was moving across California into the Mojave Desert and Las Vegas, dropping snow on parts of northern Arizona and Utah along the way.
Ice and snow also made roads and highways treacherous in New Mexico and along the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma.

36 dead and dozens injured in Shanghai New Year's Eve stampede

SHANGHAI –  People unable to contact friends and relatives streamed into hospitals Thursday, anxious for information after a stampede during New Year's celebrations in Shanghai's historic waterfront area killed 36 people in the worst disaster to hit one of China's showcase cities in recent years.
The Shanghai government said 47 others received hospital treatment, including 13 who were seriously injured, after the chaos about a half-hour before midnight. Seven of the injured people had left hospitals by Thursday afternoon.
The Shanghai government information office said one Taiwanese was among the dead, and two Taiwanese and one Malaysian were among the injured.
The deaths and injuries occurred at Chen Yi Square in Shanghai's popular riverfront Bund area, an avenue lined with art deco buildings from the 1920s and 1930s when Shanghai was home to international banks and trading houses.
The area is often jammed with people during major events.
At one of the hospitals where the injured were being treated, police brought out photos of unidentified dead victims, causing dozens of waiting relatives to crowd around. Not everyone could see, and young women who looked at the photos broke into tears when they recognized someone.
A saleswoman in her 20s, who declined to give her name, said she had been celebrating with three friends. "I heard people screaming, someone fell, people shouted `don't rush,"' she said. "There were so many people and I couldn't stand properly." She added that she still could not contact one of her friends.
The official Xinhua News Agency quoted a woman with the surname Yin who was caught with her 12-year-old son in the middle of crowds of people pushing to go up and down steps leading from the square.
"Then people started to fall down, row by row," Yin said. When her son was finally brought to safety, he had shoe prints over his clothes, "his forehead was bruised, he had two deep creased scars on his neck, and his mouth and nose were bleeding," she said.
Xia Shujie, vice president of Shanghai No. 1 People's Hospital, told reporters that some of the victims had been suffocated.
At the hospital, which was guarded by police, a man who would give only his surname, Li, said he had identified the body of his wife's cousin among the dead.
Relatives desperately seeking information earlier tried to push past hospital guards, who used a bench to hold them back. Police later allowed family members into the hospital.
CCTV America, the U.S. version of state broadcaster China Central Television, posted a video of Shanghai streets after the stampede showing piles of discarded shoes amid the debris.
One photo from the scene shared by Xinhua showed at least one person doing chest compressions on a shirtless man while several other people lay on the ground nearby, amid debris. Another photo showed the area ringed by police.
On Thursday morning, dozens of police officers were in the area and tourists continued to wander by the square, a small patch of grass dominated by a statue of Chen Yi, the city's first Communist mayor.
Steps lead down from the square to a road across from several buildings.
"We were down the stairs and wanted to move up and those who were upstairs wanted to move down, so we were pushed down by the people coming from upstairs," an injured man told Shanghai TV. "All those trying to move up fell down on the stairs."
Xinhua quoted witness Wu Tao as saying some people had scrambled for coupons that looked like dollar bills bearing the name of a bar that were being thrown out of a third-floor window. It said the cause of the stampede was still under investigation.
Last week, the English-language Shanghai Daily reported that the annual New Year's Eve countdown on the Bund that normally attracts about 300,000 people had been canceled, apparently because of crowd control issues. The report said a "toned-down" version of the event would be held instead but that it would not be open to the public.
The stampede appeared to be near that area.

Happy 2015? Newsweek hit piece smears Bible, Christians

Newsweek is launching the New Year with an old school attack on the Bible and Christians. It was just the sort of holiday hit piece that we’ve come to expect from these anti-Christian pinheads.
I imagine the Yuletide season must bring about near celebrations in the hallways of Newsweek as writers giddily try to find new ways to defile the followers of Christ.
This year’s winner was Kurt Eichenwald – and he certainly spun quite a yarn – one truly worthy to be published in a magazine. Mr. Eichenwald is known around literary circles as a man of words – and he certainly used most of them in his verbose essay.

I’m not sure why, but the folks over at Newsweek seem to hold a mighty big grudge against Christians. Maybe somebody spiked their Kool-Aid during Vacation Bible School? Who knows?

“The Bible – So Misunderstood it’s a Sin,” was the title of his treatise – of such import that editors demanded it grace the cover of the magazine. 
At first glance, I thought Mr. Eichenwald’s essay was a failed attempt at satire. However, by the end of the first paragraph, I realized it was meant to be a scholarly work. By the end of the second paragraph I was overcome by the fumes from this steaming pile of stink.
Newsweek’s 16-page diatribe portrays Evangelical Christians as homophobic, right-wing fundamentalist hypocrites who believe an unbelievable Bible. And just in case the reader misses the writer’s subtle nuance, the essay was illustrated with images of snake handlers, Pat Robertson and the Westboro Baptist Church.
That’s because in the minds of Newsweek’s esteemed editors, most evangelical Christians spend their weekends dancing with snakes and picketing gay nightclubs. Merry Christmas, America.
“They wave their Bibles at passersby, screaming their condemnation of homosexuals,” Eichenwald wrote. “They fall on their knees, worshipping at the base of granite monuments to the Ten Commandments while demanding prayer in school. They appeal to God to save America from their political opponents, mostly Democrats. They gather in football stadiums by the thousands to pray for the country’s salvation.”
I’m not sure why, but the folks over at Newsweek seem to hold a mighty big grudge against Christians. Maybe somebody spiked their Kool-Aid during Vacation Bible School? Who knows?
“These are God’s frauds, cafeteria Christians who pick and choose which Bible verses they heed with less care than they exercise in selecting side orders for lunch,” Newsweek’s writer blathered. “They are joined by religious rationalizers – fundamentalists who, unable to find Scripture supporting their biases and beliefs, twist phrase and modify translations to prove they are honoring the Bible’s words.”
As if Newsweek was trying to honor the Bible.  The magazine goes on to advance theories that some of the New Testament books are forgeries and it calls I Timothy “one of the most virulently anti-woman books of the New Testament.”
That statement then leads to a virulently anti-woman attack on Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin – because nothing says “Merry Christmas” to liberals like bashing the Baby Jesus and Sarah Palin.
Get a load of this subheadline: “Sarah Palin is sinning right now.”
Here’s what the magazine had to say about Bachmann: “Well, according to the Bible, Bachmann should shut up and sit down. In fact, every female politician who insists the New Testament is the inerrant word of God needs to resign immediately or admit that she is a hypocrite.”
I don’t know Mr. Eichenwald personally, but it strikes me that he might not have a good time at a Billy Graham Crusade.
Newsweek also wagged its finger at Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal for attending public prayer rallies.
“Jesus would have been horrified,” Eichenwald wrote.  
Dr. Albert Mohler is president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary – one of the largest seminaries in the world. He’s also one of the nation’s leading evangelicals.
Mohler’s takedown of Newsweek and Eichenwald is brilliant. You can read it here. 
“Newsweek’s cover story is exactly what happens when a writer fueled by open antipathy to evangelical Christianity tries to throw every argument he can think of against the Bible and its authority,” Mohler wrote on his blog. “To put the matter plainly, no honest historian would recognize the portrait of Christian history presented in this essay as accurate and no credible journalist would recognize this screed as balanced.”
Mohler called the essay an “embarrassment” and correctly noted that the writer had an axe to grind “and grind he does.”
“To take advantage of Newsweek’s title – it so misrepresents the truth, it’s a sin,” he wrote.
The news magazines do this all the time – attacking Christians during the Christmas and Easter seasons. It’s a free country. We have a free press. They can write whatever they choose.
But the national news magazines never seem to target Islam. When was the last time Newsweek or Time published an attack piece on Muhammad during Ramadan?
I wonder if Newsweek would have the courage to publish “The Koran: So Misunderstood It’s a Sin”? 
I wonder if Newsweek would allow a feminist to weigh in on what the Islamic holy book says about women?  Perhaps Newsweek could illustrate their story with cartoons of Muhammad – or maybe photographs of jihadists beading Christians in the name of Allah?
But we all know that won’t happen, right Newsweek?

VA facing new congressional crackdown after Colorado hospital boondoggle

A congressional battle is brewing over the Department of Veterans Affairs' admitted mismanagement of construction projects across the country -- including an over-budget, billion-dollar hospital in Colorado that was, briefly, abandoned by the contractor. 
"VA construction managers couldn't lead starving troops to a chow hall," Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman said in a recent statement. 
Coffman, an Army and Marine Corps combat veteran, plans to introduce legislation stripping the VA of its authority to manage construction projects, and putting the Army Corps of Engineers in charge instead. 
The Republican congressman's district includes the location of the troubled VA hospital project in Aurora, Colo. -- the latest black eye for the agency following the scandal over secret waiting lists. 
The VA's original design in 2005 was estimated to cost $328 million. By 2008, design changes led Congress to authorize $568 million for the project. By 2010, Congress increased the authorization to $800 million. 
With most of that money already spent, the hospital is still only half-finished, leaving area veterans frustrated and angry. 
"It makes no sense to me why the VA is managing the project," one veteran named Mark said while entering the aging Denver hospital which the Aurora project is supposed to replace. "I am one of the many hundreds of thousands who need a better facility to get treatment quicker." 
With costs soaring and the VA falling behind on payments to general contractor Kiewit-Turner, the company sued. 
In December, the U.S. Civilian Board of Contract Appeals agreed with the company's assessment that the project could not be completed for less than $1 billion -- and let it out of its contract. 
Kiewit-Turner then initially walked off the half-finished project, leaving 1,400 workers out of a job. 
In a visit to Colorado to negotiate a deal to bring workers back, VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson admitted the agency was at fault. "I apologize to veterans here in Colorado. I apologize to the taxpayers. We have let you down," he said. 
Coffman maintains, "It's not isolated to Aurora, Colorado. Every major construction project that the [VA] has right now is hundreds of millions of dollars over-budget and years behind schedule." 
A report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office said that VA hospital construction projects in several cities were, on average, $300 million over-budget and three years behind schedule. 
During his visit to the construction site in Colorado, Sloan announced an interim agreement for work to resume temporarily. Kiewit-Turner is now back on the job, but with the Army Corps of Engineers overseeing the project. 
"Their role here on-site will be to advise and support VA in the execution of this interim contract," Sloan said. Sloan said the Army Corps will also figure out just how off-track the project is, and negotiate with the contractor on a plan to actually finish it. 
"We don't know, I don't know, quite frankly I don't think KT knows right now, what it will cost to complete the project." He said he hopes it will finally be ready for area veterans, "sometime in 2017." 
While work has resumed for now, Sloan said the VA only has enough money left to keep the project going for a few months. To finish it, Congress will have to come up with more. 
If passed, Coffman's legislation would lift the current $800 million spending cap. "Right now there is nothing that we can do to reverse the costly mistakes that the VA has made," he said. "This project can't be left sitting there half-finished." 
However, Coffman said his legislation will also include the requirement that the VA transfer authority over all its construction projects to the Army Corps. "We cannot expect those who drove us into the ditch at the [VA] to drive us out of the ditch. That's just not going to happen." 
Sloan said the agency wants to stay in control. "Whether or not it makes sense for the Corps to take over all the VA's construction activity, I'm not there yet," he said.  
Colorado veteran John Dennis expressed disgust at the course of the project. "The people that are spearheading this new hospital, which is a much-needed thing, to me are acting like selfish children," he said.

'Severe' flu season could grip US, CDC doc warns

A deadly influenza strain has the U.S. in the grip of what could develop into a "severe" flu season, with widespread cases already reported in 36 states, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expert said Tuesday.
The H3N2 strain, the most common flu virus this season, began mutating shortly after U.S. health experts created this year's vaccine -- rendering it less effective compared to past flu vaccines, Dr. Michael Jhung, a medical officer with the CDC's influenza division, told FoxNews.com.
The H3N2 virus was predominant during the 2012-13, 2007-08 and 2003-04 flu seasons, the CDC said earlier this month. Because it's been associated with particularly harsh flu seasons in the past, the CDC believes the 2014-15 season could be a "severe" one, Jhung said.
But he cautioned that this year's flu season -- which began in late November and is expected to continue through April -- won't be "terribly severe."
"We're seeing things that we see every year," Jhung said. "We're not seeing dramatically higher levels of flu activity than we see every year."
The CDC says that those at high risk from influenza include children younger than 5 years (especially those younger than 2 years); adults 65 years and older; pregnant women; and people with certain chronic health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart or lung disease, and kidney disease.
So far, the CDC has recorded 15 flu-related deaths in children across the U.S. this season, though Jhung said it's too soon to make comparisons to past years. Overall, there were 109 flu-related deaths in kids last year, and 171 in the 2012-13 season. There were more hospitalizations so far this year compared to the same time in the previous two seasons, however.
The CDC does not compile similar data for flu-related deaths in adults.
Jhung said that because this year's vaccine might not be as effective as that of past years, people at high risk from the flu, including the elderly, young children and people with underlying chronic medical conditions should obtain flu anti-virals.
And he said Americans who haven't gotten the vaccine yet should get it, adding that only 40 percent of people who the CDC believes should get vaccinated have done so thus far.
"We're not even halfway through the flu season," he said. "It's certainly not too late to get vaccinated."

De Blasio aides reportedly urged NYC mayor's political allies to blast cops for funeral gesture

Top aides to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio reportedly urged his political allies to blast the city's police union and rank-and-file officers for turning their backs on the mayor during the funeral for one of two NYPD cops assassinated earlier this month. 
The website DNAinfo.com reported Tuesday that members of de Blasio's government affairs staff began contacting Democratic state and city officials Monday asking them to publicly criticize Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch. 
While this was going on, the website reported, de Blasio himself was setting up a meeting with the heads of five police unions in an effort to repair a relationship that has been stretched close to a total breaking point in recent weeks. 
"City Hall wanted me to blast the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association for turning their backs on him," one legislator told the site. "They ... said they were calling all of us, and that it was our obligation to stand up defending the mayor." The legislator described the tenor of the call as being "because they were calling that we should do whatever they ask."
Another pol told DNAinfo that he did not feel pressured to speak out and did not agree with the police's gestures toward the mayor, but still felt it was "really inappropriate" for the mayor's team to make such a request. 
"The mayor's people said that this had nothing to do with politics," one of the lawmakers added. "So I said, 'then what is the purpose of this call?'"
De Blasio spokesman Phil Walzak denied asking the lawmakers to "'attack' anyone," and claimed the calls were to encourage support for the murdered officers' families, a claim one of the politicians contacted called "preposterous" and "not reality."
Police officers were seen turning their backs on de Blasio during Saturday's funeral for Officer Rafael Ramos, who was ambushed and killed along with his partner Wenjian Liu Dec. 20 in Brooklyn by a gunman who made posts on his Instagram expressing a desire to kill officers in revenge for the July death of Eric Garner. 
Garner, a Staten Island man, died after he was apparently placed in a chokehold by an NYPD officer. Regular protests have occurred in New York City and around the country since a grand jury decided not to indict the officer involved in the confrontation. 
PBA President Lynch said Tuesday's meeting with the mayor had ended with "no resolve", adding that "our thought here today is that actions speak louder than words and time will tell."

Bad weather wreaks havoc on search for victims of AirAsia flight disaster

Stormy weather has hindered the efforts of rescuers to recover the victims of AirAsia Flight 8501, even as a seventh body was pulled from the Java Sea Wednesday. 
Heavy rain, wind, and thick clouds have prevented divers from carrying out their recovery operations and largely grounded helicopters, though ships were still scouring the area. 
Indonesian search and rescue chief Bambang Soelistyo said that the bodies of four men and three women had been recovered as of Wednesday morning. Soelistyo said that one of the women was clad in the distinctive red uniform of an AirAsia flight attendant. Another victim was wearing a life jacket, which may raise questions about whether the passengers may have known that the plane was going down, despite the lack of a distress call from the pilots. 
"One individual with a life jacket doesn’t tell much," Greg Waldron, the Asia managing editor for industry publication Flightglobal, told The Wall Street Journal. "It could be a person who thought that the plane was going down and put the life jacket on. I really don’t know what to make of it."
"If the pilots had ordered passengers to wear their life jackets," Waldron added. "I'd imagine they would have the presence of mind to make a distress call."
Meanwhile, officials said that sonar images had identified what appeared to be large parts of the Airbus A320, but strong currents appeared to be moving the wreckage. Indonesia's meteorology and geophysics agency predicted that the conditions would worsen, with more intense rains, through Friday.
"It seems all the wreckage found has drifted more than 50 kilometers (31 miles) from yesterday's location," said Vice Air Marshal Sunarbowo Sandi, search and rescue coordinator in Pangkalan Bun on Borneo island, the closest town to the site. "We are expecting those bodies will end up on beaches." Sandi announced that the search for bodies had been expanded to approximately 94 miles of the nearby coastline to allow for that possibility. 
The airliner's disappearance halfway through a two-hour flight from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore early Sunday triggered an international search for the aircraft involving dozens of planes, ships and helicopters from numerous countries. It is still unclear what brought the plane down.
The aircraft's cockpit voice and flight data recorders, or black boxes, must be recovered before officials can start determining what caused the crash. Items recovered so far include a life jacket, an emergency window, children's shoes, a blue suitcase and backpacks filled with food.
Experts say that the recovery of the recorders would be aided by the relatively concentrated area of wreckage and the shallowness of the water. 
Simple wooden boxes containing bodies, with signs numbered 001 and 002, were unloaded in Pangkalan Bun, with flowers placed on top.
Nearly all the passengers were Indonesian. The country is predominantly Muslim, but most of those aboard were Christians of Chinese descent.
One Surabaya church -- Manwar Sharon Church -- lost 41 members in the crash. On Wednesday, around 100 relatives gathered for a prayer service in an hall at the Surabaya airport where the Rev. Philip Mantofa urged the crowd to hold onto their faith, despite their pain.
"Some things do not make sense to us, but God is bigger than all this," he said. "Our God is not evil ... help us God to move forward even though we are surrounded by darkness."
Before breaking up, those gathered stood together and sang with their hands reaching upward: "I surrender all. I surrender all. I surrender all to God our savior. I surrender all."
About 125 family members had planned to travel to Pangkalan Bun, 100 miles from the area where bodies were first spotted, to start identifying their loved ones. However, Surabaya airport general manager Trikora Hardjo later said the trip was canceled after authorities suggested they stay to avoid slowing down the operation.
Instead, some relatives gave blood for DNA tests in Surabaya, where the bodies will be transported, and submitted photos of their loved ones along with identifying information, such as tattoos or birth marks that could help make the process easier.
Nearly all the passengers from Indonesia were frequent visitors to Singapore, particularly on holidays.
It was 13-year-old Adrian Fernando's first trip to the city-state and was supposed to be a fun vacation with his aunt, uncle and cousin before he went back to school.
"He is my only son," said mother Linca Gonimasela, 39, who could not join them because of work. "At first, he didn't want to go, but later on he was persuaded to join them for the New Year holiday."
Malaysia-based AirAsia's loss comes on top of the still-unsolved disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in March with 239 people aboard, and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in July over Ukraine, which killed all 298 passengers and crew.
The jet's last communication indicated the pilots were worried about bad weather. They sought permission to climb above threatening clouds but were denied because of heavy air traffic. Four minutes later, the jet disappeared from the radar without issuing a distress signal.

Jesse Watters

Soldiers relocate Hawaii wedding so Obama can play golf

Before they could say "I do," President Obama needed to play through. 
Two Army soldiers reportedly had to relocate their Hawaii wedding over the weekend so the commander-in-chief could play golf. 
Bloomberg reports that the Army captains, Natalie Heimel and Edward Mallue Jr., had planned to get married at the 16th tee box at Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course, on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, on Sunday. 
But just as they were finishing their wedding rehearsal on Saturday, they were told they'd have to move -- to accommodate the president's round the following day. 
"It was emotional, especially for her -- she's the bride and in less than 24 hours they had to change everything they had planned," Mallue's sister Jamie McCarthy told Bloomberg. 
The couple reportedly ended up moving to a lush site overlooking the 16th hole, which one of the wedding planners said was more secluded and prettier anyway. 
The White House may not have even known about the wedding in advance. 
And after Bloomberg asked the White House about the incident, Obama apparently tried to make it right. 
McCarthy told Bloomberg the president called the bride to apologize and congratulate them. "Made their day," she said. 
A source familiar with the incident confirmed the phone call to Fox News. 
Still, the incident proved fast fodder for the president's critics. 
"I usually say at least he isn't doing something harmful when he's playing golf..." Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., quipped on Twitter, linking to a story on the relocated wedding.

ObamaCare fines rising in 2015, IRS prepares to collect

Don't have health insurance? Get ready to pay up. 
The ObamaCare-mandated fines for not having insurance are rising in 2015 -- and for the first time, will be collected by the Internal Revenue Service. 
The individual requirement to buy health insurance went into effect earlier this year. But this coming tax season is the first time all taxpayers will have to report to the IRS whether they had health insurance for the prior year. 
The fines for the 2014 year were relatively modest -- $95 per person or 1 percent of household income (above the threshold for filing taxes), whichever is more. 
But insurance scofflaws face a sharp increase if they don't get covered soon. The fine will jump in 2015 to $325 or 2 percent of income, whichever is higher. By 2016, the average fine will be about $1,100, based on government figures. 
The insurance requirement and penalties remain the most unpopular part of the health care law. They were intended to serve a broader purpose by nudging healthy people into the insurance pool, helping to keep premiums more affordable. But the application of fines in 2015 could renew criticism of the law, at a time when Republicans are taking control of Congress and looking at ways to undercut the policy. 
According to government figures, tens of millions of people still fall into the ranks of the uninsured. 
Unclear is how many would actually be assessed a fine. The law offers about 30 different exemptions, most of which involve financial hardships. Further, it's unclear how aggressively the IRS would go after the fines. 
Many taxpayers may be able to get a pass. 
Based on congressional analysis, tax preparation giant H&R Block says roughly 4 million uninsured people will pay penalties and 26 million will qualify for exemptions from the list of waivers. 
Deciding what kind of waiver to seek could be crucial. Some can be claimed directly on a tax return, but others involve mailing paperwork to the Department of Health and Human Services. Tax preparation companies say the IRS has told them it's taking steps to make sure taxpayers' returns don't languish in bureaucratic limbo while HHS rules on their waivers. 
TurboTax has created a free online tool called "Exemption Check" for people to see if they may qualify for a waiver. Charges apply later if the taxpayer files through TurboTax. People also can get a sense of the potential hit by going online and using the Tax Policy Center's Affordable Care Act penalty calculator. 
Timing also will be critical for uninsured people who want to avoid the rising penalties for 2015. 
That's because Feb. 15 is the last day of open enrollment under the health law. After that, only people with special circumstances can sign up. But just 5 percent of uninsured people know the correct deadline, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll. 
"We could be looking at a real train wreck after Feb. 15," said Stan Dorn, a health policy expert at the nonpartisan Urban Institute. "People will file their tax returns and learn they are subject to a much larger penalty for 2015, and they can do absolutely nothing to avoid that." 
In a decision that allowed Obama's law to advance, the Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that the coverage requirement and its accompanying fines were a constitutionally valid exercise of Congress' authority to tax. 
Sensitive to political backlash, supporters of the health care law have played down the penalties in their sign-up campaigns. But stressing the positive -- such as the availability of financial help and the fact that insurers can no longer turn away people with health problems -- may be contributing to the information gap about the penalties.

Rep. Michael Grimm to resign after admitting to tax evasion

U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm plans to resign, Fox News confirmed Monday, one week after the Staten Island congressman admitted to federal tax evasion.
Grimm, who was re-elected to a third term representing New York's 13th district in November, is expected to resign sometime this week.
"After much thought and prayer, I have made the very difficult decision to step down from Congress effective January 5th, 2015," Grimm said in a statement. "This decision is made with a heavy heart, as I have enjoyed a very special relationship and closeness with my constituents, whom I care about deeply.
"The events which led to this day did not break my spirit, nor the will of the voters. However, I do not believe that I can continue to be 100% effective in the next Congress, and therefore, out of respect for the Office and the people I so proudly represent, it is time for me to start the next chapter of my life."
Grimm, a Republican, pleaded guilty on Dec. 23 in federal court in Brooklyn to one count of aiding in the filing of a false tax return. He had been accused of hiding more than $1 million in sales and wages while running a Manhattan health-food restaurant.
Under the plea agreement, he could face up to three years in federal prison. His sentencing is set for June 8.
Following his guilty plea, Grimm said he planned to continue serving in the Congress.
"As long as I'm able to serve, I'm going to serve," he said last week. "As of right now I'm still in a capacity to serve, and that's exactly what I plan on doing."
The House won't formally recognize the vacancy until after the new Congress convenes on Jan. 6. Grimm's resignation will reduce the GOP majority in the new Congress from 247 seats to 246.
A senior Democratic source tells Fox News that even though Democrats have eyed the seat, the party believes it will be difficult to pick it up in a special election.
The indictment against Grimm alleged the tax fraud began in 2007 after he retired from the FBI and began investing in a Manhattan eatery called Healthalicious. It accused him of underreporting more than $1 million in wages and receipts to evade payroll, income and sales taxes, in part by paying immigrant workers, some of them in the country illegally, in cash.
In court last week, Grimm acknowledged that while operating the restaurant, "we underestimated gross receipts and used money to pay employees off the books. The tax returns were false."
The case stemmed from an investigation of Grimm's campaign financing. He was never charged with any offense related to his campaign, but a woman romantically linked to him pleaded guilty in September to lining up straw donors for his 2010 run. Grimm has denied knowledge of any fundraising improprieties.
Grimm, 44, made headlines in January after telling a local cable TV news station reporter he wanted to throw him off a balcony in the Capitol for asking about the campaign finance inquiry.

US airstrike targets al-Shabab militants, Pentagon says

A U.S. airstrike targeted a senior leader of the al-Shabab militant group in Somalia, the Pentagon said Monday.
Pentagon officials did not identify the leader of say whether the strike was successful.
A senior defense official said the strike did not target Ahmad Umar, who took over as the top leader of al-Shabab when its previous leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Somalia on Sept. 1. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss details of the attack by name.
In a brief written statement the Pentagon said the airstrike took place Monday in the vicinity of Saakow, Somalia. It provided no details, beyond saying it did not believe the attack caused any civilian or bystander casualties.
Al-Shabab is an ultra-conservative Islamic extremist group that is linked to Al Qaeda. The group wants to run Somalia under its interpretation of Shariah law.
Umar, the top al-Shabab leader, goes by several aliases, but intelligence officials in Somalia say they know him as Sheikh Mahad Abdikarim, a militant who once governed Somalia's Bakool region on behalf of al-Shabab.
In 2012 the U.S. offered a $3 million reward for information leading to Umar's arrest. At the time Umar was reported to be al-Shabab's intelligence chief.

Report: More than 40 bodies found in search for missing AirAsia plane

More than 40 bodies have been reportedly found in the area where the missing AirAsia last made contact with air traffic controllers.
Sky News also reports that the "shadow" of a plane has been spotted on the seabed.
The bodies were found in the Java Sea six miles from Flight 8501's last known contact. The plane disappeared Sunday with 162 people on board traveling from Surbaya, Indonesia to Singapore.
The three bodies were initially recovered by an Indonesian navy ship and were not wearing life jackets.
Family members watched the graphic details unfold on local television. Indonesian television showed a half-naked bloated body bobbing in the sea. Many screamed and another man fainted and was rushed from the room on a stretcher.
CEO of AirAsia offered his condolences in a message on his Twitter account.

Indonesia officials confirmed early Tuesday that 'victims' were spotted in the area where the plane disappeared. Officials also said they found a life jacket and an emergency door and were "95-percent" sure that the debris belonged to the doomed plane.
AirAsia Flight 8501, an Airbus A320-200, was carrying 162 people before it disappeared Sunday after seeking permission to divert its course due to impending severe weather.
Indonesia search-and-rescue chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo speculated Monday that the plane was "at the bottom of the sea."

Obamacare Cartoon

NYC Police Commissioner says cops 'feel under attack' from White House, Justice Department

Cops on the beat and their bosses believe they are under attack from President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, New York City’s police commissioner said Sunday.
Commissioner William Bratton said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the president and the attorney general have to see why police have the anxieties and perceptions they have as law enforcement grapples with the fallout from the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases.
“They really do feel under attack, rank-and-file officers and much of American police leadership, that they feel they’re under attack from the federal government at the highest levels,” Bratton said. “So that’s something we need to understand also, this sense of perception that becomes a reality.”
 He added, “We have a lot of talking we’re going to have to do here to understand all sides of this issue. This is not a one-sided issue.”
On the program the commissioner also said the rift between New York City cops and Mayor Bill de Blasio is going to take a lot more time to heal.
“However we will be making an effort to sit down and talk with the (police) union leaders, in particular, to deal with their issues,” Bratton said.
On CBS’ “Face the Nation” Bratton criticized his officers for turning their backs on de Blasio Saturday as the mayor eulogized fallen police officer Rafael Ramos.  Hundreds of police officers standing outside the church where Ramos was being laid to rest turned away from TV screens showing de Blasio as he delivered his eulogy.
“I think it was very inappropriate at that event,” Bratton said. “That funeral was held to honor Officer Ramos, and to bring politics or to bring issues into that event, I think was very inappropriate and I do not support it.”
Ramos and his partner were killed Dec. 20 when a gunman ambushed them in their patrol car on a Brooklyn street.

Hamas turns back Gaza war orphans bound for Israel on goodwill trip

Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip prevented a group of 37 children and their adult chaperones from entering Israel on what would have been a rare goodwill visit meant to foster peace in the region. 
The New York Times reported that the bus carrying the group was forced to turn back at the Erez border crossing, a major checkpoint at the northern end of the Gaza Strip. Hamas spokesman Eyad Bozum told reporters that that the decision was made "to protect the culture of our children and our people" from what he described as "[normalizing] our children with the Zionist occupation." He said Hamas would make sure such a trip "will never happen again."
The children, most of whom have lost at least one parent in fighting between Israel and Hamas were to enter Israel on Sunday and spend a week visiting Jewish and Arab communities and a zoo. They were also going to travel to the West Bank for a meeting with the Palestinian president. Bozum said the children were all between 13 and 16 years old and were to be accompanied by five adults from Gaza.
The two sides fought a 50-day war this summer that caused heavy damage in the coastal enclave. According to the United Nations, the fighting killed more than 2,100 Palestinians, though it is not clear how many of those were civilians. On the Israeli side, the fighting killed 72 people, the vast majority of them soldiers, while rocket attacks disrupted the lives of millions of people.
Yoel Marshak, an Israeli organizer and activist, told the Associated Press that the visit was meant to a show a positive side of Israel and promote peace.
"These children will one day be the leaders of Gaza and they would have remembered this trip and known that we can live in peace, side by side," he said.
Marshak told the Times that a similar trip took place after a conflict between Israeli and Hamas in 2009. On that occasion, Hamas prevented the group from crossing the border twice, but later acquiesced. He said he received written approval for the trip three weeks ago from Hamas and that the cancellation came as a surprise. He said he and other organizers were working to reorganize the trip.
Said Abu Luli, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy whose father was killed in an electrical accident in 2009, said he was disappointed he could not make the trip.
"I was very happy that I will go and was saddened when we were prevented," he said in a telephone interview. "I was hoping to visit the places in the West Bank and our lands in Palestine," he added.

Hundreds await rescue from crippled ferry in Adriatic Sea

Dozens of ferry passengers in the Adriatic Sea remained stranded and adrift between the coasts of Italy and Albania Monday morning, one day after a fire crippled the vessel. 
Meanwhile, Italian and Greek military and coast guard rescue crews battled gale-force winds and massive waves as helicopters plucked small groups of people and whisked them to safety aboard any of ten mercantile ships waiting nearby. One person has died in the risky rescue operations and at least two others have been injured. 
The BBC reported that an Italian air force pilot who participated in the rescue told state television that his helicopter's cabin filled with smoke from the fire, adding another degree of difficulty to the operation. 
A cargo ship with 49 people evacuated from the Norman Atlantic arrived in the Italian port of Bari on Monday, the first big group to reach land after rough seas forced the initial plan of docking down the coast in Brindisi to be scrapped. Greek Merchant Marine Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis said early Monday that 316 people had been evacuated, leaving 161 more on board.
The first to disembark in Bari was an injured man wrapped in a yellow striped blanket and wearing bandages around his bare feet, helped down the ship's ladder by two rescue workers. Other evacuees, many wrapped in blankets, made their way slowly down the ladder with assistance, some thrusting their hands in a victory sign as they waited their turn. Among them were four children. TV crews and relatives gathered on the docks below in near silence.
The evacuees then boarded bright red fire department buses. Officials have said hotels have been booked for them around town.
The Italian Navy said the man who died and his injured wife were transported by helicopter to the southern Italian city of Brindisi. It was unclear how the death and injury occurred, but the Greek Coast Guard said the pair -- both Greek passengers -- were found in a lifeboat rescue chute.
Other survivors had been taken to southern Italian hospitals in smaller numbers in the hours immediately after the rescue operation got underway. Several were treated for hypothermia, some for mild carbon monoxide poisoning and one woman suffered a fractured pelvis, officials said.
Dr. Raffaele Montinaro at the hospital in Lecce said the three children taken there were in "excellent" condition, and emergency room doctor Antonio Palumbo said a pregnant woman was also in good condition.
"For sure they are scared," said Eligio Rocco Catamo, manager of the Copertino hospital. "But I should say that I was impressed by the calm and the serenity they are showing."
A local convent was housing survivors who were released from the hospital.
 Helicopters rescued passengers throughout the night, completing 34 sorties with winds over 40 knots (46 miles per hour). The Greek coast guard said seven people had been airlifted from the ferry to Corfu.
`'Notwithstanding the weather and the darkness, which is another factor, we persisted throughout the entire night," Italian coast guard Admiral Giovanni Pettorino told Sky TG24.
Those remaining on board were given thermal blankets and found places to wait protected from the elements `'even if the conditions remain very difficult," Pettorino said.
Italian navy Capt. Riccardo Rizzotto said the ultimate destination of the stricken ferry was unclear. Some Italian officials said it would likely be towed to an Italian port, even though it was currently closer to Albania.
"The priority now is to rescue the crew and passengers as quickly as possible," Rizzotto said.
The fire broke out before dawn Sunday on a car deck of the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic, carrying 422 passengers and 56 crew members. All day and night, passengers huddled on the vessel's upper decks, pelted by rain and hail and struggling to breathe through the thick smoke.
The second injury was to a member of the Italian military involved in the rescue operation, Pettorino said.
Pettorino said two Italian tugs tried to attach themselves to the ferry in the evening, but were frustrated by the thick smoke. Eventually the tugs managed to attach the line to stabilize the ferry, ANSA reported.
Passengers described scenes of terror and chaos when the fire broke out as they slept in their cabins.
"They called first on women and children to be evacuated from the ship," Vassiliki Tavrizelou, who was rescued along with her 2-year-old daughter, told The Associated Press.
Dotty Channing-Williams, mother of British ferry passenger Nick Channing-Williams, said she had managed to speak to her son before he and his Greek fiancee were airlifted to safety. She said she had complained to her son that there was no information available for families.
"He said `Well, it's an awful lot worse for us because we're actually standing out here in the pouring rain, and thunder and lightning, and we really just don't know exactly what's going to happen."'