Senate to start AG confirmation hearings on Lynch, with immigration, IRS questions expected

Senate hearings begin Wednesday on whether to confirm U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch as President Obama’s next attorney general, with Judiciary Committee members set to question her aggressively on such issues as immigration law and potential overreaches by the IRS and federal law enforcement.
The hearings in the GOP-led Senate Judiciary Committee are expected to begin with Republican members asking Lynch, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, about whether she thinks Obama has overstepped his executive authority by deferring deportation for millions of illegal immigrants.
“It will be a long first day, because my approach … is to allow for as many questions as necessary to ensure that members have a chance to receive answers in person if they’d like,” said committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
Other first-up questions will likely be about whether the IRS broke the law when targeting Tea Party groups and other conservative organizations when they applied for tax-exempt status several years ago.
The Justice Department under outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder, whom Lynch would replace, is apparently still investigating the incidents. The agency did not return a call Tuesday seeking confirmation.
The 55-year-old Lynch -- a black, Harvard-educated lawyer -- is also expected to address the issue of states legalizing the sale and possession of marijuana. The Justice Department’s position is that this violates federal law, but the agency has so far taken a hands-off approach to prosecution.
Obama nominated Lynch in November 2014 when Democrats controlled the Senate through the end of the year. However, Republicans were able to hold off the confirmation process until they took charge of the Senate in January, as a result of the elections, arguing committee members from both sides needed more time to prepare.
Grassley has attempted to assure the public that Republicans didn’t stall the process until they took control of the upper chamber.
“She’ll receive a fair but thorough hearing,” he said earlier this month. “And I expect that she’ll be forthright in return.”
Though Lynch is expected to face tough questions, she is generally expected to be confirmed. She is widely respected in the legal community, and her personal and professional records appear scandal free.
The full Senate also must approve Lynch’s appointment. She will need 51 votes to win confirmation, and a final vote is not expected until at least late February.
Her biggest challenge could be explaining her support and participation in civil forfeitures, a legal process in which law enforcement agencies can seize money and other assets without charging or convicting the owners and that Holder recently scaled back, amid widespread criticism.
Lynch last January said her office collected more than $904 million in criminal and civil actions in fiscal 2013.
The policy generates money for law-enforcement efforts and lessens the burden on taxpayers, but critics say it is “an abuse of due process.”
Just days before Lynch’s confirmation hearings, Holder announced significant changes to the policy, including that federal agencies will no longer be able to accept or "adopt" assets seized by local and state law enforcement agencies -- unless the property includes firearms, ammunitions, explosives, child pornography or other materials concerning public safety.
Holder described the changes as the "first step in a comprehensive review."
Earlier, he said the Justice Department collected roughly $8.1 billion in civil and criminal actions in fiscal 2013 -- roughly three times the appropriated $2.76 billion budget for the 94 U.S. attorney’s offices and the main litigating divisions, in the same period.
Despite Holder’s changes, Capitol Hill Republicans on Tuesday reintroduced legislation to tighten restrictions.
"The federal government has made it far too easy for government agencies to take and profit from the property of those who have not been convicted of a crime,” said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., whose FAIR, or Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act, is also being reintroduced in the House by Rep.Tim Walberg, R-Mich.
Other concerns raised about Lynch include her decision to protect details of a federal case related to a stock-fraud scheme.
The defendant pleaded guilty in 1998, before Lynch started working at the Eastern District office.
But critics, including lawyers who fought to have more details of the case made public, say the defendant should have paid roughly $40 million in forfeitures and restitution, not the $25,000 fine he received.
And they suggested Lynch tried to block efforts to further expose the case, which could have helped plaintiffs recover some of their losses.
The defendant’s lawyers have said their client helped in a major national security probe.
If confirmed, Lynch, a North Carolina native, would become the first black woman to serve as U.S. attorney general, replacing Holder, the first black man to hold the position.
Last week, the Senate committee released a Justice Department review of Lynch in which she received mostly high ratings for her management skills.
But the review also identified areas for improvement, including the office’s responsiveness to public records requests made under the federal Freedom of Information Act.
Supporters of Lynch praised her Tuesday.
Former FBI Director Louis Freeh said Lynch works in the “most complicated criminal justice forum” in the country and that she has gotten “tremendous accolades and praise” from federal agents.
“That’s high praise,” he said. “She’s efficient and fair.”
New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton said he worked with Lynch on two occasions -- in 1994 and again in 1996. Bratton said he found Lynch “collegial, very approachable and well prepared.”
Lynch has since 2010 been the top prosecutor for a district that includes Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island, having also held that role from 1999 to 2001.
As a prosecutor, she was best known for her prosecution of the four New York police officers charged with violating the civil rights of Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant who was beaten and sodomized while in custody.
A second confirmation hearing in the Judiciary Committee is scheduled for Thursday and will include testimony from former CBS investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson, who filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration claiming it hacked into her computer. Lynch is not scheduled to testify.

Deflategate Cartoon

Obama calls for religious tolerance, gender equity in final speech of India visit

NEW DELHI –  President Barack Obama gently nudged India Tuesday to fulfill its constitution's pledge to uphold the "dignity of the individual," drawing on his own experience as a minority in the United States as he closed out a three-day visit to New Delhi.
Obama said that while he has had extraordinary opportunities, "there were moments in my life where I've been treated differently because of the color of my skin." As he touted the importance of religious tolerance, he noted the persistent false rumors that he is a Muslim, not a Christian.
"There have been times where my faith has at times been questioned by people who don't know me, or they've said that I adhere to a different religion, as if that were somehow a bad thing," Obama said.
Equality is enshrined in India's constitution, but religious minorities and women have experienced harassment and violence. A horrific gang rape on a moving bus in the heart of New Delhi in 2012 sparked public protests, which prompted more stringent laws. But critics say more progress is needed and Obama gave voice to their cause.
"Every woman should be able to go about her day -- to walk the street or ride the bus -- and be safe and be treated with the respect and dignity that she deserves," Obama said to applause from the audience of 1,500 at the Siri Fort Auditorium, a government-run event center.
Since taking office in May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often talked about women's rights, urging Indians to treat sons and daughters equally. He recently launched an "educate the daughter, save the daughter," program to stem sex selective abortions that skews the gender ratio toward boys and to encourage parents to educate girls, who are often considered a burden.
Obama nodded to his wife as he noted that he's married to a strong woman who is not afraid to speak her mind. "Our nations are strongest when we uphold the equality of all our people and that includes our women," he said.
India is largely Hindu, with almost 80 percent following the faith. At over 12 percent Muslims are India's largest minority, with Sikhs, Christians and Buddhists making up the rest. While religious groups largely coexist peacefully, the country has seen several flare ups of violence, primarily between Hindus and Muslims.
Obama said no society is immune from man's darkest impulses, as he raised the 2012 shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin that killed six people. "In that moment of shared grief, our two countries reaffirmed a basic truth, as we must again today, that every person has the right to practice their faith how they choose, or to practice no faith at all, and to do so free of persecution and fear and discrimination," Obama said.
Modi was denied was denied a visa to the U.S. in 2005, three years after religious riots killed more than 1,000 Muslims in the Indian state where he was the top elected official. He has denied any wrongdoing and India's top court says it found no evidence of Modi's involvement in the riots, but India's Muslims and Christians are wary of Modi's right wing Bharatiya Janata Party.
Obama's speech was the closing to a three-day visit to celebrate India's Republic Day, the anniversary of India's democratic constitution taking force in 1950. He cut out Tuesday's plans for a visit to the Taj Mahal, India's famed white marble monument of love, to add a stop in Saudi Arabia on the way home to pay respects to the royal family following King Abdullah's death.
Earlier, the Obamas met with Nobel Peace Prize winner and anti-child labor activist Kailash Satyarthi and his wife. They were accompanied by three children -- a 12-year-old rescued from a button factory, an 8-year-old who lost a finger as a farm worker and a 12-year-old girl who has advocated for clean drinking water in school and against child marriages. Satyarthi said there are still more than 5 million child slaves worldwide and thanked Obama for helping fight the scourge.
In his speech, Obama also raised his pursuit of an agreement with India to cut greenhouse gas emissions. "I know the argument made by some -- that it's unfair for countries like the United States to ask developing nations and emerging economies like India to reduce your dependence on the same fossil fuels that helped power our growth for more than a century," Obama said. "But here's the truth -- even if countries like the United States curb our emissions, if countries that are growing rapidly like India with soaring energy needs don't also embrace cleaner fuels, then we don't stand a chance against climate change."
Obama's remarks were well-received despite his criticisms of his host country. He drew laughter and applause when he referenced the hugely popular Bollywood movie Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, or "the brave heart will win the bride." Obama quoted a line in Hindi from the movie as he joked that he wasn't able to dance during this visit as in his last.
The sentence translates to, "Senorita, these things happen sometimes in big countries."

Social media sites knocked offline, Lizard Squad hack group claims responsibility

The hacking group Lizard Squad has claimed responsibility for what it said was an attack that briefly knocked several social networking sites, including Facebook and Instagram, offline early Tuesday. 
The Facebook glitch was reported in the United States, Asia, Australia, and the U.K. and affected access to the site from personal computers and from Facebook's mobile app. The social media giant's Instagram service was also inaccessible.
Lizard Squad claimed responsibility for the outage in a Twitter posting that listed the sites it said it had affected, which included matchmaking app Tinder, AIM, and HipChat. The message concluded with the hashtagged statements "offline" and "LizardSquad."
On its website for developers, Facebook said the "major outage" lasted one hour. It said its engineers had identified the cause but did not elaborate. 
The LizardSquad group has previously claimed to have been responsible for a Christmas Day outage that affected Xbox and PlayStation Live services late last year. On Monday, the group said it had hacked the website of Malaysia Airlines, changing the site to display a message reading "404 - Plane Not Found" and that it was "Hacked by Cyber Caliphate," with a photo of one of the airline's Airbus A380 superjumbo jets. The browser tab for the website said "ISIS will prevail", a reference to the Islamic State terror group. 
Lizard Squad occasionally makes tongue-in-cheek claims to support Islamic State, although there are no known links between the groups. The group also claimed that it was "going to dump some loot found on malaysiaairlines.com servers soon," and posted a link to a screenshot of what appeared to be a passenger flight booking from the airline's internal email system.
Facebook has about 1.35 billion active users and Instagram has some 300 million.
News of the Facebook outage set rival social network Twitter alight, propelling the hashtag "facebookdown" to top trend on the site. It comes ahead of Facebook reporting its quarterly earnings on Wednesday.
As access to Facebook returned, some users in Asia reported that the site was loading slowly or not offering full functionality.
The temporary loss of service may be Facebook's biggest outage since Sept. 24, 2010 when it was down for about 2.5 hours.

Justice Department working on national car-tracking database

The Justice Department has acknowledged constructing a database to track the movements of millions of vehicles across the U.S. in real time. 
The program, whose existence was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, is primarily overseen by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to combat drug trafficking near the U.S.-Mexico border. However, government emails indicate that the agency has been working to expand the database throughout the United States over the past several years. 
A Justice Department spokesman told Fox News that the tracking program is compliant with federal, claiming it "includes protocols that limit who can access the database and all of the license plate information is deleted after 90 days." In 2012, a DEA agent testified before a House subcommittee that the program was inaugurated in December 2008 and information gathered by it was available to federal, state, and local law enforcement organizations. 
It is not clear whether the tracking is overseen or approved by any court. 
According to the Journal, the DEA program uses high-tech cameras placed on major highways to collect information on vehicle movements, including location and direction. Many of the devices are able to record images of drivers and passengers, some of which are clear enough identify individuals. Documents seen by the Journal also show that the DEA uses information from federal, state, and local license plate readers to burnish their own program.

White House gets drone defense wake-up call

The quadcopter drone that crashed onto the White House grounds overnight has highlighted the growing security threat posed by small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), experts warn.
The White House incident comes less than two weeks after a drone flew over the French presidential palace in Paris.
“I do think it’s a wake-up call for the government to start thinking about how it will protect against this type of thing -- it’s important for the government and the military in general,” Missy Cummings, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke University, told FoxNews.com. “This [White House drone] was harmless, but in the future it might not be.”
The Secret Service said Monday that the drone was a 2-foot-long commercially available "quadcopter." Brian Leary, a Secret Service spokesman, said an officer posted on the south grounds of the White House complex "heard and observed" the device "flying at a very low altitude" shortly after 3 a.m. ET. The commercially available device was said to pose no threat.
Caroline Baylon, a cybersecurity researcher at the The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, in London, told FoxNews.com that drones, thanks to their small size and ability to hover low over the ground, can pose a huge security headache.
“They have opened up this whole area that we haven’t defended against before,” she said. “Most radar can’t deal with drones that fly really low.”
Baylon, who has studied the spate of drone incidents in the French nuclear industry, explained that taking down a drone is no easy task. “You can shoot a drone down, but it requires a certain level of marksmanship,” she said. “It’s easier said than done.”
The researcher told FoxNews.com that technologies being considered to combat UAVs include a new breed of ‘interceptor’ drones.
One interceptor that has attracted plenty of attention is the Rapere drone. The developers behind the technology say Rapere will hover over a target drone and lower a “tangle-line” to disable its rotor blades. “Right now we are flying under the radar for commercial reasons, but all will be revealed in time,” explains the Rapere project website.
“All you have to do is get something in the rotors,” noted Cummings, a former fighter pilot, but warned that it can be hard for an interceptor drone to find the “enemy drone.”
The Rapere drone uses 12 cameras pointing in every direction. The device uses a range-imaging technique called ‘structure from motion’ to reach its target, according to the project website.
The U.S. military is also ramping up its anti-drone efforts. Last year, for example, the Office of Naval Research announced plans to build a laser weapon to shoot down drones.
However, Cummings believes that this type of technology, like the U.S. military’s “Black Dart” anti-drone program, will be more effective at taking down much larger drones. She also noted the risk of collateral damage that laser weapons pose in a densely-populated area. 
For secure locations such as the White House, quickly identifying small, low-flying drones will be key, according to Cummings. “They need to figure out how to detect these things,” she said. “Radar doesn’t detect them so you really need some new camera vision technology.”
Wireless technology could also be a crucial weapon in combating the drone threat, enabling authorities to locate UAVs and also identify IP addresses associated with the devices.
Scott Schober, CEO of Metuchen, N.J.-based wireless specialist Berkeley Varitronics Systems told FoxNews.com that his company sells a drone detection tool. “All these commercial drones are using standard open Wi-Fi for video telemetry and control and communication,” he said. “We can pick up an approaching drone that might be a threat, the model number, its altitude and approach speed.”
The company’s Yellowjacket tablet Wi-Fi analyzer also can find the precise location of a drone and its pilot, according to Schober.
A man has claimed responsibility for the drone that crashed onto the White House grounds early Monday, an incident that triggered an immediate lockdown and a Secret Service investigation. 
Secret Service spokeswoman Nicole B. Mainor said the individual contacted the agency Monday morning to "self-report" the incident. According to Mainor, "initial indications are that this incident occurred as a result of recreational use of the device." 
A U.S. official told The Associated Press the man said he didn't mean to fly the drone over the White House; he is said to be cooperating with investigators. The New York Times reported he is a government employee, though he does not work for the White House. 
The FAA is referring inquiries about today’s incident to the White House.

Iranian Cartoon

Rand Paul clashes with Rubio, Cruz on defense, foreign policy at Koch forum

WASHINGTON –  Rand Paul is demonstrating how he could disrupt the Republican presidential field if he seeks the nomination, sparring with potential rivals over Iran, Cuba and the Pentagon's budget in a face-to-face forum that offered an early preview of the feisty policy debate to come.
The Kentucky Republican joined fellow first-term senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida on stage Sunday evening in California for a summit organized by Freedom Partners. That group is the central hub of the powerful network of organizations backed by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch.
Each likely candidate has broad backing from tea party activists, who helped push them to victory over establishment-minded rivals in their most recent races. But a split is already starting to emerge even before they formally decide if they will run, and Paul seems to be an eager wedge.
"I'm a big fan of trying the diplomatic option as long as we can," Paul said of talks with Iran over its nuclear plan. "I do think diplomacy is better than war."
Lawmakers from both parties are pushing for a new round of sanctions against Iran. The White House and foreign leaders have urged Congress to not do that, for fear it would agitate Iran and prompt them to end negotiations over its nuclear abilities.
Cruz and Rubio were sharply critical of negotiations, backed by President Barack Obama.
"This is the worst negotiation in the history of mankind," Cruz said, predicting an Iranian nuclear strike in "Tel Aviv, New York or Los Angeles."
Added Rubio: "At this pace, in five years, we're going to build the bomb for them."
Paul urged his colleagues to have patience. "Are you ready to send ground troops into Iran?"
Cruz was having none of it. "The problem with Iran is Khomeini and the mullahs are radical Islamic nutcases," he said.
It was as intense a disagreement on Cuba. Obama late last year sent shockwaves across the hemisphere by restoring diplomatic ties with Cuba after more than a half-century of estrangement and embargoes. Politicians from corner of both parties were critical.
Cruz and Rubio, both Cuban-Americans fiercely opposed to the Castro regime's hold on power there, have been outspoken critics of Obama's move, while Paul notes the embargo has not ousted Fidel or Raul Castro.
"I'm kind of surrounded on this one," Paul said, sitting between Cruz to his right and Rubio to his left.
"The Castros are brutal dictators," Cruz said. He also said the potential for U.S. dollars flooding into Cuba would only keep the Castro regime in power longer.
"Maybe. Maybe not," Paul said.
Even on military spending, which is typically sacrosanct among Republicans, Paul needled his colleagues. Paul said national security is the most important spending in the budget, but "I'm not for a blank check."
Rubio said the United States' economic challenges did not stem from defense spending and smaller budgets would only threaten its future economic growth.
"Try economic growth while you're under attack," Rubio said.
The trio of lawmakers is laying the groundwork for presidential bids that are expected to launch in the coming months and will be competing for many of the same donors, including those the Kochs count as allies and who joined the weekend summit in Palm Springs, California.
The Koch network, which includes Americans for Prosperity, Generation Opportunity and the Libre Initiative, is unlikely to formally back one of the presidential hopefuls but its deep pockets can certainly focus the terms of the debate.
Sunday's event was closed to journalists but Freedom Partners broadcast the panel discussion with the three senators online for reporters, an unusual step toward transparency at the historically private gatherings. An earlier session with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, another likely contender, was not available online.
"There are a bunch of Democrats who have taken as their talking point that the Koch brothers are the nexus of all evil in the world," Cruz said, acknowledging the event's organizers.
"I admire Charles and David Koch," Cruz continued. "They are businessmen who have created hundreds of thousands of jobs and they have stood up for free market principles."
The evening session's online broadcast did not include images of the audience so it was impossible to know if either Charles or David Koch were in the audience.

FDA could set millions of genetically modified mosquitoes loose in Florida Keys

KEY WEST, Fla. –  Millions of genetically modified mosquitoes could be released in the Florida Keys if British researchers win approval to use the bugs against two extremely painful viral diseases.
Never before have insects with modified DNA come so close to being set loose in a residential U.S. neighborhood.
"This is essentially using a mosquito as a drug to cure disease," said Michael Doyle, executive director of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, which is waiting to hear if the Food and Drug Administration will allow the experiment.
Dengue and chikungunya are growing threats in the U.S., but some people are more frightened at the thought of being bitten by a genetically modified organism. More than 130,000 signed a Change.org petition against the experiment.
Even potential boosters say those responsible must do more to show that benefits outweigh the risks.
"I think the science is fine, they definitely can kill mosquitoes, but the GMO issue still sticks as something of a thorny issue for the general public," said Phil Lounibos, who studies mosquito control at the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory. "It's not even so much about the science — you can't go ahead with something like this if public opinion is negative."
Mosquito controllers say they're running out of options that can kill Aedes aegypti, a tiger-striped invader whose biting females spread these viruses. Climate change and globalization are spreading tropical diseases farther from the equator, and Key West, the southernmost city in the continental U.S., is particularly vulnerable.
"An arriving person would be infectious for several days, and could infect many of the local mosquitoes," Doyle said. "Within a few weeks you'd likely end up with several infected mosquitoes for each infected visitor."
There are no vaccines or cures for dengue, known as "break-bone fever," or chikungunya, which causes painful contortions. U.S. cases remain rare for now, but dengue sickens 50 million people annually worldwide and kills 2.5 percent of the half-million who get severe cases, according to the World Health Organization. Chikungunya has already overwhelmed hospitals and harmed economies across the Caribbean after infecting a million people in the region last year.
Insecticides are sprayed year-round from helicopters and door-to-door in charming and crowded neighborhoods throughout the Keys. But because Aedes aegypti don't travel much and are repeatedly doused with the same chemicals, they have evolved to resist four of the six insecticides used to kill them.
Enter Oxitec, a British biotech firm launched by Oxford University researchers. They patented a method of breeding Aedes aegypti with fragments of proteins from the herpes simplex virus and E. coli bacteria as well as genes from coral and cabbage. This synthetic DNA has been used in thousands of experiments without harming lab animals, but it is fatal to the bugs, killing mosquito larvae before they can fly or bite.
Oxitec's lab workers manually remove modified females, aiming to release only males, which feed on nectar and don't bite for blood like females do. The modified males then mate with wild females whose offspring die, reducing the population.
Oxitec has built a breeding lab in Marathon and hopes to release its mosquitoes this spring in Key Haven, a neighborhood of 444 homes closely clustered on a relatively isolated peninsula at the north end of Key West.
FDA spokeswoman Theresa Eisenman said no field tests will be allowed until the agency has "thoroughly reviewed all the necessary information."
Company spokeswoman Chris Creese said the test will be similar in size to Oxitec's 2012 experiment in the Cayman Islands, where 3.3 million modified mosquitoes were released over six months, suppressing 96 percent of the targeted bugs. Oxitec says a later test in Brazil also was successful, and both countries now want larger-scale projects.
But critics accused Oxitec of failing to obtain informed consent in the Caymans, saying residents weren't told they could be bitten by a few stray females overlooked in the lab.
Instead, Oxitec said only non-biting males would be released, and that even if humans were somehow bitten, no genetically modified DNA would enter their bloodstream.
Neither claim is entirely true, outside observers say.
"What Oxitec is trying to spin is that it's highly improbable that there will be negative consequences of this foreign DNA entering someone that's bitten by an Oxitec mosquito," said Lounibos. "I'm on their side, in that consequences are highly unlikely. But to say that there's no genetically modified DNA that might get into a human, that's kind of a gray matter."
Asked about these points, Creese says Oxitec has now released 70 million of its mosquitoes in several countries and received no reports of human impacts caused by bites or from the synthetic DNA, despite regulatory oversight that encourages people to report any problems. "We are confident of the safety of our mosquito, as there's no mechanism for any adverse effect on human health. The proteins are non-toxic and non-allergenic," she said.
Oxitec should still do more to show that the synthetic DNA causes no harm when transferred into humans by its mosquitoes, said Guy Reeves, a molecular geneticist at Germany's Max Planck Institute. To build trust in any cutting-edge science, a range of independent experts — not just the company that stands to gain or the regulatory agency involved — should have enough access to data published in peer-reviewed journals to be able to explain the specific benefits and risks, he said.
"Failing to do this almost inevitably means a potential for controversy to be sustained and amplified," said Reeves, adding that mosquito-borne diseases need more solutions. "We should not be closing down productive avenues, and genetically modified mosquitoes might be one of them."
With the FDA watching, Doyle and Oxitec's product development manager, Derric Nimmo, checked their frustration at public meetings in November and December, repeatedly fielding the same questions from the same critics.
Their selling points:
This experiment is self-limiting, using insects engineered to kill their progeny, not make them stronger. It is contained, since Oxitec's mosquitoes won't breed with other species. Killing off Aedes aegypti can protect human health while eliminating an invasive species. And most Key Haven residents responded positively to a district survey about the planned field test.
Using GMOs also could save money: The district spends 10 percent of its budget on Aedes aegypti, which represents less than 1 percent of the 45 mosquito species buzzing around the Keys.
Key Haven resident Marilyn Smith still wasn't persuaded. The Keys haven't experienced a dengue outbreak in years, and no chikungunya cases have been reported here, she said.
"If I knew that this was a real risk and lives could be saved, that would make sense," Smith said. "But there are no problems. Why are we trying to fix it? Why are we being used as the experiment, the guinea pigs, just to see what happens?"
If the FDA decides against the test, or the modified mosquitoes fail to work as promised, Doyle will still need to kill the bugs.
"I'm convinced the only way to fight this is using the mosquitoes to fight each other," he said.

WH, Feinstein make clear US won't negotiate with ISIS over hostages, interfere with Japan

Top Washington Democrats said Sunday that the U.S. won’t try to meddle in a potential hostage-prisoner exchange between the Islamic State and Japan but suggested that compromising with the ruthless extremist group is a step in the wrong direction.
California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein told Fox News that the negotiations are “obviously” between both sides and involve Jordan, where a female prisoner is being held in connection with a series of 2005 terror bombings, but she still doesn’t like the idea.
“I'm not for it candidly,” said Feinstein, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s top Democrat and former chairwoman.
Her comments follow a video released Saturday apparently by Islamic State with the message that the group executed Haruna Yukawa, a 42-year-old adventurer fascinated by war, and wants the release of the female prisoner to spare the life of the other Japanese hostage, 47-year-old journalist Kenji Goto.
Earlier Sunday, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough on “Fox News Sunday” also made clear that the decision was Japan’s and stated the U.S. policy of not negotiating with terror groups over hostages.
“The policies are well set: The U.S. doesn't pay ransoms and will not do prisoner swaps. We will not discuss what the Japanese should do,” he said. “We are not going to advise Japan.”
McDonough also argued “cash fuels future kidnappings.”
President Obama has spoken out about the apparent killing.
“The United States strongly condemns the brutal murder,” he said Saturday in a statement. “We stand shoulder to shoulder with our ally Japan.”
Feinstein also argued that Islamic State, which has executed dozens of hostages in recent months, including three Americans, is asking for the release of Sajida al Rishawi -- the prisoner connected with the 2005 bombings at several Jordanian hotels in which 57 people were killed.
The explosive carried by al Rishawi’s husband detonated, but hers did not. Al Rishawi reportedly has also confessed to taking part in the attacks, allegedly orchestrated by al Qaeda.
“The prisoner that they want is a very high-level woman who participated in what was a devastating bombing,” Feinstein said.  
She also said that Congress can do little to stop the hostage taking that often includes online videos of the victims getting beheaded.
“That's very difficult to do unless you want to take anyone and everyone out of the country,” Feinstein said. “I think we're trying to combat it. We've got air missions attacking ISIL. … The battle against ISIL has been joined [by other nations]. The question that's going to come is how much will the United States put into that battle.”

America's first offshore wind project dealt major setback after utilities bolt

An ambitious and controversial push to erect America's first offshore wind farm has been dealt what some call a potentially "fatal" blow after two utility companies pulled out of commitments to buy energy from the lagging operation. 
The $2.6 billion Cape Wind project, a private operation benefiting from millions in federal subsidies, is attempting to pioneer offshore wind energy in pursuit of an eco-friendly, sustainable energy supply. Wind turbines would be installed off the coast of Massachusetts' Cape Cod in Nantucket Sound. 
But Cape Wind is now in limbo after utility companies terminated huge purchase agreements. They pulled out after the project failed to meet two requirements by Dec. 31: to secure financing and begin construction. 
The wind farm was relying on NSTAR and National Grid to purchase a combined 77.5 percent of its offshore wind power. 
But Greg Sullivan, a former inspector general of Massachusetts who now works at the Pioneer Institute in Boston, said Cape Wind was struggling to find a buyer for the rest of the energy. 
"And because they couldn't do that, they had to let the deadline slip with the utility companies. And they walked," Sullivan said. "And I would be very doubtful they would come back." 
Doug Pizzi, spokesman for the Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters, said he is "very concerned" about the future of the project.
"That's certainly a setback for Cape Wind. It sounds like a major one," he said. "But I don't know if that kills the project or if that's something they can overcome." 
Cape Wind argues the deadline to secure funding should be extended, saying the project was overwhelmed by lawsuits, wasting time needed to meet the requirements. 
Pizzi agreed. "If you have to fight something in court for ten years ... it's going to take a lot more time to break even and/or become profitable," he said. 
In a statement issued to Fox News, National Grid said it was "disappointed" in Cape Wind. NSTAR also faulted Cape Wind for missing "critical milestones" and choosing not to pursue financial measures that could have extended the deadline. 
NSTAR, in a statement, said strict deadlines are in place to protect the consumer from high-priced energy due to lack of supply. Sullivan added that with falling gas prices, "the contract began to look worse day by day" for the utility companies. 
Critics of the project with the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound called the utilities' decision "good news" for ratepayers. "The decision by NStar and National Grid to end their contracts with Cape Wind is a fatal or near-fatal blow to this expensive and outdated project," the group said in a statement. 
Still, Pizzi said Cape Wind isn't America's only hope for offshore wind, touting a federal auction to take place next week that would lease portions of the Atlantic Ocean to potential offshore wind farms. "That potentially could just set off a chain reaction of positive things for wind power offshore," Pizzi said, noting, "Obviously that's something that's going to take some time." 
But Susan Tierney, a former assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy who has worked with Cape Wind officials, predicted a slowdown for the nascent industry. 
"It may give a lift to opponents who feel emboldened to keep pounding on things and it may chill some developers who might otherwise really want to do it," she said in an interview with Watchdog.org. 
Cape Wind officials did not respond to a request from Fox News for comment.

Christie launches PAC in significant step toward White House run

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has taken a major step toward a run for president in 2016, forming a political action committee that will allow him to raise money for a possible White House bid. 
The creation of the committee, called Leadership Matters for America, was first reported by The Wall Street Journal early Monday. It also allows Christie to begin to hire staffers, build the foundations of a campaign operation and travel across the country as he weighs a final decision on a run.
The move comes one month after former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush announced that he he was launching a similar organization, which kicked off an aggressive race to lock down donors and may have drawn 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney into the race.
The PAC's staffers will include Matt Mowers, a former Christie aide, who is stepping down from his job as executive director of the New Hampshire Republican Party at the end of the month.  Christie is named as its honorary chairman.
"We believe there's a void right now in leadership throughout the country," Christie's chief political adviser Mike DuHaime told The Journal. "We aim to support candidates who are willing to take on tough problems and make tough decisions."
A mission statement on the organization's website echoes themes that Christie has focused in recent speeches, including remarks on Saturday in Iowa in front of conservative activists.
"America has been a nation that has always controlled events and yet today events control us. Why? Because leadership matters," the mission statement reads. "It matters if we want to restore America's role in the world, find the political will to take on the entrenched special interests that continually stand in the way of fundamental change, reform entitlement spending at every level of government, and ensure that every child, no matter their zip code, has access to a quality education."
Christie, a former federal prosecutor who passed up the opportunity to challenge President Barack Obama in 2012, turned quickly toward laying the groundwork for a 2016 campaign after winning a second gubernatorial term in the heavily Democratic Garden State in 2013.
In the past several months, he has held meetings to court donors, convened late-night briefing sessions on foreign policy and made repeated visits to early-voting states, including in Iowa over the weekend, where he vaguely referred to himself as "a candidate."
He takes his next step into the race with several advantages, among them having recently completed a banner year of fundraising as chair of the Republican Governors Association. The group raised more than $100 million on Christie's watch and helped Republican candidates win a series of unexpected races, including the nominally Democratic states of Maryland and Illinois.
Serving as RGA chief also gave Christie the opportunity to travel across the country and build relationships with donors and activists. He is also one of his party's most talented retail politicians, reveling in the kind of one-on-one interaction that voters in the crucial early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire demand.
But Christie also has challenges to overcome, including the still-pending federal investigation into accusations that former staff members and appointees created traffic jams as political payback against the Democratic mayor of a New York suburb by blocking access lanes to the George Washington Bridge into Manhattan.
He's also dogged by questions about the economy of New Jersey, including several recent downgrades of the state's credit rating and sluggish job growth. Christie is also viewed with distrust in certain conservative circles, while other question whether his brash persona and habit of confrontation will play well outside his home state.
While Christie has told supporters to "relax" about the timing of his entry into the race, he has faced mounting pressure to get started after Bush -- whose support and donor base significantly overlaps with Christie's -- said he would "actively explore" a run.
Christie's campaign is likely to focus on many of the themes he's spent years developing in New Jersey, including a pitch that he can expand the Republican Party's tent by appealing to independent, women and minority voters.

Insult Cartoon

'Repeal every word': Potential GOP 2016 rivals hammer ObamaCare, IRS at Iowa summit

DES MOINES, Iowa –  Conservative heavyweights joined with up-and-comers in hammering President Obama Saturday over everything from the health care law to his immigration policies as they played to a sold-out Iowa crowd in what amounted to the opening bell of the Republican presidential campaign.
They spoke at the Iowa Freedom Summit in Des Moines, held in the first-in-the-nation caucus state at a time when big-name Republicans are getting close to announcing whether they’ll seek the presidency.
While nobody at the summit has definitively declared a 2016 bid, nearly a dozen of the summit’s speakers are flirting with one. Testing their message on the conservative Iowa crowd, they took a hard line in their prescriptions for the country.
“The most important tax reform we can do is abolish the IRS,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told the fired-up audience.
The firebrand senator compared the EPA to a locust and got a huge reaction when he demanded to “repeal every word of ObamaCare.”
Sarah Palin, too, after telling reporters she’s thinking about a 2016 run, laced her speech with snappy one-liners as she lit into the current president.
Of Obama, she said: “America, he’s just not that into you.” The 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee also knocked the idea of a Hillary Clinton run.
“Hey Iowa, can anyone stop Hillary? To borrow a phrase, yes, we can!” she said.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry – who was interrupted by immigration protesters – helped closed out the daylong event. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum spoke earlier. 
Christie also was interrupted by a protester in the crowd. Unlike Perry, who kept talking through it, Christie couldn’t resist. “Don’t they know I am from New Jersey? This stuff doesn’t bother me one bit,” he said. He went on to dismiss the notion he’s too blunt for Iowa.
“If that was the case, why would you keep inviting me back and why would I keep coming back?” he asked, to applause.
The summit, which included a packed schedule of speeches back-to-back, served as the unofficial kickoff to the 2016 Republican presidential race.
It included big names like Cruz and Christie, but also some rising stars, like Ben Carson, a neurosurgeon who has reinvented himself as an outspoken conservative and won an enthusiastic following in the process.
Drawing some of the biggest applause of the day, Carson took on the thorny subject of immigration, saying fixing the country's immigration issues should rest on Congress' shoulders and not the president's – in a dig at Obama’s executive actions.
Carson, who has been flirting with the idea of a 2016 presidential run, told the crowd the next president should "make it their goal to seal the border within a year."
He said part of the problem is that the United States is too attractive to illegal immigrants.
"We have to reverse the magnet," he said. "We should not be employing illegal immigrants. Do we have the ability to seal the border? Yes. We don't have the will."
Carson suggested adopting a guest-worker program similar to the one Canada has and said anyone applying for guest-worker employment should do so while in another country. 
Carson also took on the Affordable Care Act and said "even if it worked, I would oppose it."
Carson warned the crowd that health care should not be put in the hands of the government and said ObamaCare fundamentally changes America.
Donald Trump, too, told a revved-up audience he'd build an impenetrable wall to keep illegal immigrants out. “I’m Trump. I build things,” he said, while saying he’s “seriously thinking” of running for president.
Freshman Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, who gave the GOP response to the State of the Union address, also had tough words for the president’s record on fighting terrorism. Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore told the crowd he was “ashamed” of that record and said the president should have gone to Paris to join the unity rally after the attacks in that city this month.
The summit was sponsored by Iowa GOP Rep. Steve King and Citizens United.
King, in his opening remarks, called for abolishing the IRS and going after Obama’s “executive overreach,” while largely sidestepping the broader immigration issue.
King, known for controversial statements on immigration, recently called a 21-year-old illegal immigrant who was Michelle Obama’s guest at the State of the Union address “a deportable.” He told an Iowa radio station Friday he was being “kind and gentle” with that description.
The incident became quick fodder for Democrats eager to cast Republicans attending as “extreme” on immigration. Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, in a press conference across the street from the summit in Des Moines, called it an “extremist ring-kissing summit masquerading as a political forum.”
King, though, did not fuel the immigration fire in his opening remarks. Instead, he focused on the future and said the next president of the United States must “restore that separation of powers.”
He also took a jab at those in his party who declined to attend. (2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul were among those not in attendance.)
“Do you believe that the next president of the United States is going to be speaking from this stage to you today?” he asked, to applause. “As do I.”
King said he wants Americans to elect a new president who is ready to sign legislation that will “rip ObamaCare out by the roots.” He also told the crowd he has penned a 40-word bill to make ObamaCare “as if it had never been enacted.”

Immigration protesters arrested at Iowa summit, Christie spars with one

Two protesters were arrested Saturday after they interrupted speeches by Texas Gov. Rick Perry and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at the Iowa Freedom Summit.
The summit was a gathering of high-profile conservatives, many of them weighing a 2016 presidential bid, in Des Moines.
The first interruption was during Perry’s speech. Marco Malagon, a Texas resident who came to the country illegally when he was young and benefited from the Obama administration’s “dreamer” reprieve, shouted: “Governor, do you stand with King, or do you stand with us and our families? Do you think I’m deportable?” A dozen other protesters stood up with signs that read, “DEPORTABLE?”
The signs were in reference to the event’s organizer, Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, and a tweet he sent out during the State of the Union speech where he referred to a guest of Michelle Obama as “a deportable.”
“We are here today sending a message to the GOP presidential candidates, like Perry, that if they are serious about 2016, they need to stay as far as possible from Steve King and his hateful actions towards us,” Malagon told reporters.
He and Cesar Vargas, who interrupted Christie, were arrested.
While Perry did not acknowledge any of the protesters, Christie wisecracked back.
“Don’t they know I am from New Jersey? This stuff doesn’t bother me one bit,” he said.
Vargas told reporters that immigration is a “central issue” for Republicans.
“Events like the Freedom Summit further illustrate how out of touch the Republican Party is with the growing Latino and immigrant population in the United States. Do they really want to deport me and my mother?" Vargas asked.

Palin rips Michael Moore, PETA at Iowa summit

DES MOINES, Iowa –  Sarah Palin had choice words Saturday for director Michael Moore following his criticism of the movie “American Sniper” and its subject, the late Navy SEAL Chris Kyle.
At the Iowa Freedom Summit, a gathering of high-profile conservatives in Des Moines, she said the director deserved the backlash he got.
The former Alaska governor recently posed for a photo with Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer who held up a sign that read, “F--- you Michael Moore.” Palin, chuckling, told the Iowa audience that “what the poster said is what the rest of us are thinking.”
The sign was in response to a tweet in which Moore called snipers cowards: “My uncle killed by sniper in WW2. We were taught snipers were cowards. “
Since then, Moore clarified his comments on his Facebook page and said his comment was in reference to snipers, but that he was not specifically commenting on the film “American Sniper.”
Palin also took PETA to task for recent criticism against her for posting a picture of her son stepping on the family’s dog to reach the kitchen sink.
“The usual suspects, they just went loco,” Palin said. “Barking their tired old death threats against us. And I’m thinking, get in line!”
She referred to the organization as “a bunch of weasels” and joked that at least her son Trig did not eat the family dog.

Japan PM left 'speechless' after video claims hostage dead

Japan's prime minister said Sunday he was "speechless" after an online video purportedly showed an Islamic State militant killing one of the two Japanese hostages.
Shinzo Abe told Japanese broadcaster NHK the government is still reviewing the video, but it was likely authentic. Abe offered his condolences to the family and friends of 42-year-old Haruna Yukawa, who was taken hostage in Syria last year.
Abe did not comment about the message in the latest video that demanded a prisoner exchange for the other hostage, journalist Kenji Goto.
"I am left speechless," he said, stressing he wants Goto released unharmed. "We strongly and totally criticize such acts."
Yukawa's father, Shoichi, said he hoped "deep in his heart" that the news of his son's killing was not true.
"If I am ever reunited with him, I just want to give him a big hug," he told a small group of journalists invited into his house.
President Obama condemned the "brutal murder." He said in a statement that the United States stands by Japan and calling for Goto's release.
The U.S. National Security Council said it has seen the video and that the intelligence community is working to confirm its authenticity.
“The United States strongly condemns (Islamic State’s) actions, and we call for the immediate release of all the remaining hostages,” said agency spokesman Patrick Ventrell.
The CIA also has confirmed it is aware of the video and is reviewing it.
The video message claims one hostage has been killed and demands a prisoner exchange for the other.
The Associated Press could not verify the contents of the message, which varied greatly from previous videos released by Islamic State, which now holds a third of both Syria and Iraq.
Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the audio was still being studied, but there was no reason to deny the authenticity of the video.
One militant on the Islamic State-affiliated website warned that Saturday's new message was fake, while another said that the message was intended only to go to the Japanese journalist's family.
A third militant on the website noted that the video was not issued by al-Furqan, which is one of the media arms of the Islamic State group and has issued past videos involving hostages and beheadings. Saturday's message did not bear al-Furqan's logo.
The militants on the website post comments using pseudonyms, so their identities could not be independently confirmed by the AP. However, their confusion over the video matched that of Japanese officials and outside observers.

NFL Cartoon

Fool of the Week: Seth Rogen

What a week. So many nominees to choose from! 
The resounding winner, however, is Seth Rogen.
Last weekend Rogen compared the film “American Sniper” and it’s hero Chris Kyle to… wait for it… Nazi propaganda.
Rogen apologized earlier in the week…
Look. You screwed up. We all do. You said you were sorry.  You should have left it there, Seth.
Move on, right?
Wrong!!
This week, Rogen doubled down, suggesting that people took his attack on “American sniper” the wrong way. Because, after all, his grandfather was in the military.
That’s a lame-assed excuse, brother.
Don’t you know, Seth, you never ruin an apology with an excuse
It gives the impression that you’re not really sorry, that you’re just a poor, ol’ misunderstood Hollywood celebrity.
Seth Rogen: For doubling down on your bad comparison of an American hero to a genocidal maniac, you have earned the “Fool of the Week” title.

Kentucky counties make unprecedented push for right-to-work laws

Local governments in Kentucky are taking matters into their own hands in a bid to battle union influence and, they say, make their communities more business-friendly. 
Kentucky is one of the last states in the South that does not have a so-called right-to-work law, which bar unions from forcing workers to pay dues. But surrounding states like Tennessee do -- and counties along Kentucky’s southern border say they're tired of losing jobs to other southern states. 
So, in an unprecedented step, county leaders are passing their own right-to-work laws, even as the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives in the state capital refuses to consider one. 
"We are not growing as fast as Tennessee. We're not growing as fast as Indiana, Michigan,” Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon said. "This actually puts us on a level playing field. It enables us to compete with other states."
In the last month, five counties have approved ordinances limiting unions – becoming the first counties in the nation to do so. And several more Kentucky counties are expected to follow suit in the next month. 
Unions, though, are fighting back. They have filed lawsuits against the counties, claiming they're only interested in bashing unions -- not boosting local economies. 
"If you just go after those companies that are paying the lowest wages, you're not going to benefit in the long run because they can always find cheaper wages somewhere," said Eldon Renaud, president of the local UAW in Bowling Green, where the Corvette plant operates.
When businesses are looking to expand, many site-selectors say right-to-work is often one of the key criteria used in finding an ideal location -- meaning Kentucky often doesn’t make the initial list of potential candidates.
County leaders are hoping to change that, and say it’s the reason they've seen almost unanimous support from both Democrats and Republicans in passing these local right-to-work ordinances.
"We understand at the local level that it's not politics. It's economics. Unfortunately, when you get to the state capital, it's not necessarily the same thing," said Hardin County Judge-Executive Harry Berry.
The newly passed ordinances still have to work their way through a legal battle, and heavy-hitters are coming out for both sides.
State Attorney General Jack Conway, a Democrat who is running for governor, issued a legal opinion last month stating that only state governments, and not local governments, have the authority to pass right-to-work laws.
On the other side are two former justices from Kentucky’s Supreme Court who argue the counties gained that authority in the 1970s, when legislators granted county governments broad powers to pass laws regarding economic development.
Outside groups supporting the right-to-work effort are closely following the case. If it’s successful, they plan to take this same strategy to counties in other non-right-to-work states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Regardless of what the courts decide, Jeff Donohue, Democratic member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, said right-to-work laws won’t affect businesses coming to the state.
“Why is Ford Motor Company here? Why is UPS here? Why is Georgetown Toyota here in the state of Kentucky? Why is the Corvette plant here? They're here because of the productivity about the location, and we can get the job done," said Donohue, who is a member of the Economic Development and Tourism committee.
The Bluegrass State economy has out-performed each of its southern, right-to-work neighbors over the last five years -- lowering unemployment and adding manufacturing jobs at a higher rate.
While unions point to those figures as evidence that right-to-work laws aren’t needed, county leaders suggest they could be doing even better.

‘There will be a price’: Obama team reportedly fuming over Netanyahu visit

The Obama administration reportedly is fuming over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to address Congress in March regarding the Iranian threat, with one unnamed official telling an Israeli newspaper he will pay “a price” for the snub.  
House Speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu -- and the Israeli leader accepted – without any involvement from the White House.
In public, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest politely describes this as a “departure” from protocol. He also says the president will not meet with Netanyahu when he visits in early March, but has attributed that decision only to a desire not to influence Israel’s upcoming elections.
But in private, Obama’s team is livid with the Israeli leader, according to Haaretz.
"We thought we've seen everything," a source identified as a senior American official was quoted as saying. "But Bibi managed to surprise even us. There are things you simply don't do.
“He spat in our face publicly and that's no way to behave. Netanyahu ought to remember that President Obama has a year and a half left to his presidency, and that there will be a price."
The anonymous quote was a throwback to when, last year, Atlantic magazine quoted another unnamed senior administration official calling Netanyahu a “chickenshit.”
Administration officials, including Earnest, did not deny the quote at the time, though the White House stressed the criticism did not reflect how the rest of the administration views Netanyahu.  
On Friday, Earnest once again was asked about tensions with the Israeli government. Asked if the decision to speak to Congress was a slap at the Obama administration, he said, “I certainly didn’t interpret it that way.”
As for the decision for Obama not to meet with his Israeli counterpart, he stood by the earlier explanation.
“This administration goes to great lengths to ensure that we don’t give even the appearance of interfering or attempting to influence the outcome” of democratic elections abroad, he said.
Meanwhile, Haaretz also reported that Obama had directly warned Netanyahu to stop urging U.S. lawmakers to back legislation teeing up new sanctions against Iran.
Obama has threatened to veto such a bill, saying it could derail delicate talks over Iran’s nuclear program – and Netanyahu’s visit to Washington could give him an opportunity to further encourage sanctions legislation.
Haaretz reported that Israel’s ambassador already has been urging members of Congress to support the measures. The newspaper reported that Obama told Netanyahu to stop during a Jan. 12 phone call.
On Friday, Earnest acknowledged that Obama and Netanyahu have a “fundamental disagreement” about the diplomatic talks with Iran.
“He doesn’t share [the administration’s] view,” he said. But Earnest also said the “differences of opinion” do not undermine America’s commitment to Israel’s security.
As Obama officials often do, he described that commitment as “unshakable.”

And They’re Off: Republicans descend on Iowa summit, with 2016 in the air

WASHINGTON –  Call it the unofficial kick-off of the 2016 Republican presidential race. 
Two-dozen Republican politicians -- nearly half of them at least considering a run for the White House -- are descending on downtown Des Moines this weekend for the Iowa Freedom Summit, where they'll test their conservative chops before a sold-out crowd. 
The summit, which was held in New Hampshire last time around, is only in its second year but is drawing an impressive amount of GOP star power. The heavy-hitting lineup, in the first-in-the-nation caucus state, effectively makes it the first major candidate forum of the cycle. 
"Odds are, the next president of the United States will be there," said Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, who is sponsoring the event along with Citizens United. 
The Saturday event is being held as the field of potential 2016 candidates grows ever-larger, with 2012 nominee Mitt Romney and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush making moves toward a run. 
The two former governors will not be in Iowa, but here's who will: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. 
Others slated to speak include neurosurgeon and conservative firebrand Ben Carson, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and businessman Donald Trump, as well as former Hewlett-Packard head Carly Fiorina and former U.N. ambassador John Bolton. 
All at least carry with them presidential speculation; most are openly flirting with a bid. 
The Iowa summit, which lasts all day Saturday, will be their biggest chance so far to test-run their messages with Iowa voters. 
For some -- particularly those with appeal to social conservatives, a powerful bloc in the Hawkeye State -- it's a chance to stand out in a crowded field. Potential candidates like Santorum, who have been out of the game since the last race, could use some heartland buzz. 
At the same time, the setting could test the reach of more moderate GOP figures. 
"A lot will depend on exactly what they will say," said Lara Brown, director of the political management program at George Washington University. "At some level, people have to decide what are the issues that bring them together, and what are the issues that will turn them off." 
But she noted, "For every Republican nominee, they have to have support from the Republican right and the evangelical community." 
Christie -- known more for his record battling the unions and his Jersey-style put-downs than his work on issues that drive caucus-goers -- is one to watch. Brown believes the New Jersey governor will spend his time hammering home the message he's pro-life. 
"He may also feel that he should address his stance on immigration and what he experienced as a governor in a state that has a lot of immigrants," she said. 
Also generating some buzz is Walker, who unlike many other potential candidates has been busy running for reelection. 
His spokesman Tom Everson said in a statement the governor is looking forward to "sharing the story of Wisconsin's successful reforms." 
Despite the big turnout, a number of major GOP players are not joining the summit. Aside from Romney and Bush, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio also aren't attending. 
"What they are likely calculating is how they would be associated with a high-profile event that could be used against them if they were in a general election," Brown said, as a possible reason for the no-shows. 
King, a staunch conservative, recently ruffled Republican feathers after he voted against re-electing Rep. John Boehner as speaker of the House. 
King's controversial comments on illegal immigrants -- he has compared them to drug mules, and most recently described an undocumented immigrant invited to sit with Michelle Obama at the State of the Union as a "deportable" -- have also alienated him from some in his party. 
"Guilt by association is a pretty effective tool," Brown said. "When you have trackers and people tweeting selfies, it makes it more difficult for politicians to talk to people, whether they agree with people or not."

Obama cancels end of India trip to fly to Saudi Arabia following king's death

President Obama has cancelled the end of his trip to India to fly to Saudi Arabia in the wake of the death of the country's king and growing instability in the region, a top Indian official told The Associated Press.
The official said Obama will fly from India Tuesday, skipping a planned trip to the Taj Mahal. The White House did not immediately confirm the report. 
Obama will reportedly arrive in New Delhi Sunday for talks with Prime Minister Nerendra Modi and to be the chief guest in India's Republic Day parade Monday. Obama had been scheduled to return to Washington late Tuesday
Obama's travel schedule was changed so that he could meet with King Salman and other Saudi officials after his speech in India Tuesday. Biden will stay in Washington.
Saudi Arabia has long been a key U.S. ally, and a bulwark against Iran’s reach. Given the line of succession – King Abdullah's half-brother Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud has replaced him – the former diplomat did not expect major policy changes in the short-term. 
Indeed, Salman said in a speech that aired on the state-run Saudi television that the country will adhere to the same policies it has followed "since its establishment."
Salman made an oblique reference to the chaos gripping the greater Middle East as the extremist Islamic State group now holds a third of both Iraq and Syria.
"The Arab and the Islamic nations are in dire need of solidarity and cohesion," the king said.
A former U.S. diplomat told Fox News that the Saudi policy on matters like Yemen has not been clear since 2009, and the diplomat even anticipated a softer stance from the Kingdom on Syria, where the late king committed Saudi airpower to fighting the Islamic State.
Abdullah's death may also open up a bigger power vacuum in Riyadh than first believed. The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. officials do not consider the 79-year-old Salman to be a strong or healthy ruler in his own right, which raises the possibility that others in the royal family could come to the forefront.
Most immediately, the Obama administration faces a critical challenge in Yemen, where President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi,a U.S. ally, resigned Thursday after being held captive by Houthi rebels.
The White House had originally said Vice President Biden would lead a delegation to Saudi Arabia. However, it was reportedly determined that the window when Biden would be on the ground in Riyadh coincided with Obama's departure from India. 
Obama, in the meantime, will be the first U.S. president to visit India twice while in office; he also traveled there in 2010 for an economic summit.
The president's visit is expected to be heavy on symbolism and lighter on substantive advances, though climate change, economics and defense ties are all on the agenda. Indian political commentator Ashok Malik said expectations for concrete deliverables during the visit are "below the standards usually set by U.S. presidents when they travel across the world for a three-day visit."
Still, U.S. and Indian officials appear to agree that even a symbolic show of solidarity between the leaders would be a sign of progress after recent difficulties.
While military cooperation and U.S. defense sales have grown, Washington has been frustrated by India's failure to open up to more foreign investment and to address complaints alleging intellectual property violations. India's liability legislation has also prevented U.S. companies from capitalizing on a landmark civil nuclear agreement between the two countries in 2008.
U.S. officials hope the improving relationship between Obama and Modi will payoff in the policy arena. The White House plans to push India on climate change.

Ask Me Cartoon

UNICEF tech chief quits after Fox News inquiry

EXCLUSIVE: The newly appointed chief information officer of UNICEF has abruptly resigned from the job he officially took up at the beginning of January. His departure came days after Fox News raised questions about the selection process that had gotten him the post.
The UNICEF CIO, Paul van Essche resigned “for personal reasons,” a spokesman for the United Nations Children’s Fund told Fox News. “We wish him well in his future career.”
The quick exit is Van Essche’s second departure from a top U.N. info-tech post.
In August, 2011, he ended a three-year term as project director of a still unfinished computerized U.N. financial management system known as Umoja (Swahili for Unity), amid a growing chorus of criticism about the project’s extensive—and expensive-- difficulties and delays in execution.
Months after his departure from the Umoja position, the system that was touted as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to transform the U.N. was judged to be least $100 million over budget at $315 million, and two years behind its planned 2013 completion date, with the delay described as a “failure in management of the project” under the aegis of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
At the time, the U.N.’s chief financial oversight advisory committee declared that it was “deeply disturbed and dismayed by the apparent lack of awareness and foreknowledge in the Organization as to the actual status of the project, which, in its view, points to the inadequacy of the project governance, oversight and reporting arrangements.”
Most of Umoja’s many problems, the advisory committee declared, “could have been foreseen and avoided through proper project planning and prompt management action.”
Umoja is still incomplete. Its long-overdue starting date has been turned into a phased series of unveilings now scheduled to take place from 2016 to 2018. Its current cost is estimated to be $378, million—up from its most recent budget of $348 million, and last fall it was considered likely to run up a further tab that auditors declared was “still unknown.”
The UNICEF job that van Essche briefly held was advertised last June., and the fact that he had taken the job was announced on the website of his personal consultancy, Paul van Essche and Associates, in December. 
According to a UNICEF spokesperson, he was chosen for the position “through UNICEF’s standard, competitive procedures for recruitment of senior officials.” 
The selection process “included a competitive application, assessment by a panel and recommendation to the executive head” of UNICEF, Anthony Lake. The spokesperson did not reveal how many other candidates were considered in the final selection for the job.
Among the responsibilities van Essche was hired to fulfill was to “provide strategic leadership and overall direction to all Information and Communication Technology (ICT) activities in support of UNICEF’s programs, and “drive the continual transformation of the ICT function” at the organization.
According to the UNICEF spokesperson, “a senior UNICEF colleague has temporarily assumed the interim Director role until the position is filled.”
Fox News attempts to reach van Essche through his corporate website and colleagues in his consultancy were unavailing.
George Russell is editor-at-large of Fox News and can be found on Twitter: @GeorgeRussell or on Facebook.com/George Russell