University cancels church’s Easter service

Easter Sunday is sort of like the Super Bowl for preachers.
It’s all but guaranteed the pews will be packed and that presented a challenge to Roderick Richardson, the pastor of The Word Center Church in Jackson, Miss.
The non-denominational church has a membership of about 1,200 people – but only 275 can fit in the sanctuary. And the preacher estimated they could have as many as 1,500 people show up for Easter Sunday. http://www.thewordcity.com/
So last January Pastor Richardson started scouting out a new location for his growing church. And it wasn’t long before he found a solution – a conference center run by the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW TODD ON FACEBOOK FOR CONSERVATIVE CONVERSATION!
He signed a contract to rent the space on Jan. 27. On March 27 – the university abruptly canceled the contract and told the church they would not be allowed to use their facility.
“It was a week and two days before the largest service of the year,” Pastor Richardson told me. “They told me the climate at UMMC was not conducive for us to have a service at the facility.”
The climate was not conducive?
“They were afraid IHL might come and say something about a church having a service (in their facility),” the pastor said. IHL is also known as the State Institutions of Higher Learning, the agency that oversees Mississippi’s eight public institutions of higher learning.
“We’re not angry at them because we are Christians,” the pastor said. “We’re just a little frustrated that this particular institution did not keep its word.”
Marc Rolph, a spokesman for UMMC, confirmed they canceled the church’s contract – a week and two days before Easter Sunday.
“It was unfortunate that the timing of the cancellation was so close to (the) date of the event,” Rolph told me.
He denied it had anything to do with the church being a church. He said the booking should never have been made in the first place because they only allow their facilities to be used by health-related organizations.
“The event is not health related and thus is not compliant with our policy,” Rolph said.
He said they didn’t realize the church was a church until last week when the director of the facility ran it up the flag pole.
“It was deemed not within the guidelines of our policy and could not be allowed. The church was immediately notified,” Rolph said.
UMMC offered to let the church hold their service inside a medical mall instead. The church declined that offer. I mean – who wants to hold a church service in a mall?
Pastor Richardson said UMMC’s excuse doesn’t make any sense.
“If that was a policy we should have been told back in January when we signed the contract,” he said. “We’ve been preparing for this for two and a half months.”
And it’s not like the church was hiding the fact it was a church.
“On the very first page of the contract it asked for the type of event and it says ‘church service’,” the pastor told me.
Pastor Richardson told me he feels like David battling Goliath.
“They are so large and so powerful they can do us however they want,” he said. “They simply did not conduct business in an adequate fashion.”
The church has been forced to hold services in their small sanctuary. The pastor said they will accommodate the crowds by holding multiple services throughout the day.
The Word Center Church signed a contract in good faith with UMMC. It wasn’t their fault the UMMC made a mistake. So why not honor the contract and allow these good people to hold their Easter service?
“We have to follow our policies,” Rolph said.
There’s a strong argument to make that the church does meet the UMMC’s guidelines of being a health-related organization.
A quick reading of the New Testament indicates our Lord was in the healing business. There are documented reports of giving sight to the blind, healing a leper and even raising someone from the dead.
I’m not too sure the Great Physician would be all that thrilled with the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

State Department rejects call for Iran deal to affirm Israel's 'right to exist'

A State Department official dismissed a plea Friday from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the Iran nuclear agreement include clear recognition of his nation's "right to exist," declaring negotiations are "only about the nuclear issue."
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf, in a terse response to a question about Netanyahu's concerns, told reporters, "This is an agreement that is only about the nuclear issue" -- a comment that indicates the Obama administration is not looking to enshrine Israel's security into a final agreement.
Harf, for her part, suggested the talks are complicated enough already.
"This is an agreement that doesn't deal with any other issues, nor should it," she said.
Obama administration officials have insisted all along that despite their public disagreement with Netanyahu over the Iran deal framework, the U.S. commitment to Israel's security is unwavering. Further, White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters on Air Force One on Friday that the U.S. would not agree to any deal that would threaten Israel.
The Israeli prime minister, though, made the call for the "right to exist" measure during brief remarks early Friday. He blasted the Iran framework deal and said his Cabinet is uniformly opposed to it. He closed his brief address by demanding that any final agreement include "a clear and unambiguous Iranian recognition of Israel's right to exist."
The statement was prompted by reported statements from a top Iranian military official, who was quoted saying "erasing Israel" off the map is "non-negotiable."
To that, Netanyahu said: "The survival of Israel is non-negotiable."
Israel's objections promise to be a major hurdle for the Obama administration as its representatives huddle with those from Iran and five other world powers in pursuit of a final deal by a June 30 deadline.
Last month, Netanyahu railed against the pending agreement in an address before the U.S. Congress. He repeated many of those concerns again, on Thursday and Friday, after the framework was unveiled.
Netanyahu said it would not shut down a single nuclear facility or destroy a single centrifuge.
"The deal would legitimize Iran's illegal nuclear program," Netanyahu said. "It would leave Iran with a vast nuclear infrastructure."
President Obama and Netanyahu spoke by phone late Thursday.
In a statement on that conversation, the White House said Obama "underscored that progress on the nuclear issue in no way diminishes our concerns with respect to Iran's sponsorship of terrorism and threats towards Israel and emphasized that the United States remains steadfast in our commitment to the security of Israel. "
According to the White House, Obama told his Israeli counterpart he has directed his national security team to "increase consultations with the new Israeli government about how we can further strengthen our long-term security cooperation with Israel and remain vigilant in countering Iran's threats."

Easter Cartoon

Seattle minimum wage increase takes effect and eating out gets more expensive

New High Tech Wages, Washing Dishes?

Eating meals out in Seattle just got more expensive as tens of thousands of low wage workers got a raise this week to $11 an hour. It was the first scheduled pay increase on the way to $15 an hour, the highest minimum wage in the country.
Ivar’s Salmon House, an iconic Seattle seafood restaurant, decided to skip the phase-in period and began paying $15 right away.
It also raised menu prices 21 percent. The famous Fish ‘n Chips will run you $20.60 and the Wild Alaska Halibut is now $43.50. The restaurant also wrote on the menu, "Tipping is no longer necessary…we have changed the way we pay our employees."
But that’s not all. In order to keep servers, who used to earn an average of $27 an hour, from quitting, Ivar’s is now sharing revenue among all workers. Owners believe the new formula will have servers and bartenders making the same amount or more money, while dishwashers, cooks and busboys will get a nice pay raise. Of course, it all depends on the amount of business the restaurant does.
Fast food restaurants are taking it much slower, but they’re still charging more. One Subway in South Seattle that’s now paying workers $11 raised prices four percent.
“I don’t have a choice but to increase prices,” said Subway franchisee David Jones. “I just hope that the public rewards us for giving good service and having good food.”
But not everyone is celebrating a fatter paycheck. Public employers may not be bound by the $15 ordinance. Seattle’s biggest employer, with 39,000 employees, is the University of Washington. Officials say the money is not currently there to pay 2,600 student employees $11 an hour. They still are making the state minimum wage of $9.47.
Student workers protested this week and some say they’ll walk.
“If we can get $15 an hour four blocks from here, we’ll go four blocks from here and get it,” said Eric Riner, who works in the student Hub.
From the Seattle school district to King County, every other public employer said it now is paying the higher wages. None would detail how they will afford the higher labor costs, but the Seattle College District listed some options. That list includes reduction in services, increase in fees/prices and eliminating services such as catering and fitness centers.
Kshama Sawant, the $15 wage ordinance architect who is a Seattle City Councilwoman and a Socialist, said the University of Washington, in particular, has other ways of affording the raises.
“It is disingenuous for them to say they don’t have enough to pay $15 an hour,” said Sawant, “Why don’t they cut the salaries of the top executives and try to pay $15 and try to increase the wages for the lowest paid workers?”
But critics contend there will be plenty of losers and they won’t be the high rollers. Taxpayers may see taxes go up to pay for higher public employee wages. There’s also concern about the number of jobs and who will fill them.
Paul Guppy, policy analyst at the Washington Policy Center, a Libertarian think tank, said some jobs will leave Seattle, and the least skilled will be squeezed out of those that remain.
“Youth unemployment in particular will be higher in Seattle,” said Guppy. “It will be harder for people to find a summer job or students to add to their income when they’re in college.”
Small businesses have seven years to work up to paying $15 an hour, while big companies that employ at least 500 workers must get there in just three years. It’s a wage experiment that will be watched closely across the U.S.

Menendez pleads not guilty to federal corruption, bribery charges

WASHINGTON –  New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of corruption and bribery.
A Newark grand jury indicted the 61-year-old senator Wednesday on 14 counts of federal corruption in a 68-page indictment.
Menendez has been released on his own recognizance but was forced to surrender his personal passport.
A status conference has been scheduled for April 23, with a tentative July 13 trial date.
Menendez’s friend, Dr. Salomon Melgen, was indicted on 13 counts, including eight bribery charges. Melgen also pleaded not guilty.
The case revolves around alleged gifts and favors Melgen did for the senator, who in turn allegedly helped out the wealthy Florida doctor on several occasions.
The indictments against Menendez and Melgen will likely result in a drawn-out court battle between them and a team of federal prosecutors who have spent years building their case against the two men. Menendez, who is a powerful Capitol Hill Democrat and a leading critic of the Obama administration's Cuba and Iran policies, vowed to fight.
“At the end of the day, I will be vindicated and they will be exposed,” Menendez said at a Wednesday press conference. “This is not how my political career is going to end. I am angry and ready to fight. I am not going anywhere.”
Pricey trips, private planes and young foreign models are all at the heart of the federal criminal case. Prior to the release of the indictment, what was known about the case centered on favors Menendez allegedly did for Melgen concerning his business dealings.
But the indictment also claims the senator helped Melgen’s international girlfriends gain entry to the United States. Court records detail extracurricular activities that include the use of a Caribbean villa, luxury hotel stays in Paris but perhaps most salacious, using political power to secure visas for three of those girlfriends, as well as the visa application of the younger sister of one of Melgen’s girlfriends.
“Throughout these efforts, Menendez allegedly engaged in advocacy for Melgen all the way up to the highest level of the U.S. government, including meeting with a U.S. cabinet secretary, contacting a U.S. ambassador, meeting with the heads of executive agencies and other senior executive officials and soliciting other U.S. senators, all in order to assist Melgen’s personal and pecuniary interests,” the government claims.
According to the indictment, in 2007 Melgen's then-girlfriend, a Brazilian national who worked as an actress, model and lawyer, wanted to go to graduate school at the University of Miami near where Melgen lived. The school required her to obtain a student visa. On July 24, 2008, the day before her visa application appointment in Brazil, Menendez’s senior policy adviser allegedly emailed the deputy assistant secretary at Visa Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs:
“The senator asked me to get in touch with you about the following visa applicant. If it is helpful, I can send over a signed letter from the Senator with the details. Thank you for your help with anything you can do to facilitate the following application.”
The email goes on to state: “Sen. Menendez would like to advocate unconditionally for Dr. Melgen and encourage careful consideration of (the girlfriend’s) visa application.”
One day later, the visa was approved. Another email was sent from Menendez’s office: “Thanks a lot (DAS), the senator very much appreciates your help.”
During another incident in October 2008, Melgen asked for Menendez’s help in getting a tourist visa for another girlfriend, a Dominican model, 21, and her sister, 18. Menendez’s office sent a “general letter of support” from the senator on behalf of the two sisters. He also pledged a follow-up call.
On Oct. 28, 2008, the girlfriend emailed Melgen to ask for a copy of the letter the senator’s office sent.
Her email, according to the indictment,  reads:
“Hello my love, I write to remind you that you need to send me a copy of what Senator Bob Menendez’s office sent you, which I need for the embassy. And also remember the bank thing please. Thank you. A kiss.”
The United States Embassy in the Dominican Republic initially denied the visa requests because the women lacked children, cash and employment.
When told the visas were denied, Menendez reportedly said, “I would like to call Ambassador tomorrow and get a reconsideration or possibly our contact at State. Thanks.”
The staffer wrote back to Menendez asking if the senator would rather wait for the outcome of a follow-up letter or call the ambassador immediately.
Menendez responded, “Call ambassador asap.”
The girlfriend and her sister had both of their visas approved.
Two staffers from Menendez’s office discussed the deal via email, according to the indictment.
“2 people from the DR who wants visas to visit Dr. Melgem (sic) GOT THEM,” one staffer wrote.
Another staffer replied, “In my view, this is ONLY DUE to the fact that RM intervened. I’ve told RM.”
Menendez’s staff also reportedly drafted a letter in 2007 on behalf of a Ukrainian model living in Spain. She wanted to come to the U.S. to visit Melgen as well as for plastic surgery, according to the indictment.
“Dr. Melgen is a person of the highest caliber,” according to the letter sent to the consul general. “He is a fine citizen and held in high esteem by his peers.”

Republicans uneasy over Iran nuke 'deal,' lawmakers demand say on any final agreement

The highly touted "framework" for an Iranian nuclear deal, announced Thursday following days of intense negotiations, is being met with mixed reviews on Capitol Hill -- as Republicans voice skepticism and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle reprise demands that Congress have a say.
President Obama, who pitched the framework as “historic,” said he would speak with House and Senate leaders -- he already has spoken briefly with Speaker John Boehner, Fox News has learned. Obama, in the Rose Garden, said the issue is “bigger than politics” and warned that if Congress killed a deal without a reasonable alternative, the United States would be blamed for the failure of diplomacy. He called it a "good deal."
But Boehner, within hours of the announcement, warned that the "parameters" represented an "alarming departure" from initial U.S. goals.
In a statement, Boehner said his "immediate concern is the administration signaling it will provide near-term sanctions relief," referring to a provision calling for U.S. and E.U. sanctions relief once inspectors verify Iran's progress toward the nuclear-related steps of the deal.
"Congress must be allowed to fully review the details of any agreement before any sanctions are lifted," Boehner said.
Obama's warning to Congress and Republicans' early reaction point to a tense few weeks ahead as Capitol Hill lawmakers weigh legislation -- which has been on hold -- demanding congressional review of a nuclear deal, and potentially another bill dealing with sanctions.
Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said it is important to see the specific details of Thursday’s announcement and said America should remain “clear-eyed” regarding Iran.
“If a final agreement is reached, the American people, through their elected representatives, must have the opportunity to weigh in to ensure the deal truly can eliminate the threat of Iran’s nuclear program and hold the regime accountable,” he said in a written statement.
Corker and Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., sponsored the bill allowing congressional review. A 60-vote threshold would be required before lawmakers could take action. Corker said his committee would take up that legislation on April 14, and said he's "confident of a strong vote."
In a conference call, senior administration officials reiterated concerns about legislation that could derail an Iran agreement but said they are "open to discussions" with Congress on what oversight role they could play. One official said Congress would eventually get a vote, regardless, on whether to lift sanctions.
Menendez, a Democrat who has publicly criticized the Obama administration’s handling of Iran, suggested the White House take its time before agreeing to anything. With the preliminary agreement announced Thursday, negotiators will now try to hammer out a final, comprehensive deal by a June 30 deadline.
“If diplomats can negotiate for two-years on this issue, then certainly Congress is entitled to a review period of an agreement that will fundamentally alter our relationship with Iran and the sanctions imposed by Congress,” Menendez said in a written statement. “The best outcome remains a good deal that ends Iran’s illicit nuclear weapons program. That requires a strong, united, and bipartisan approach from the administration and Congress.”
Earlier Thursday, Menendez pleaded not guilty to 14 federal charges of corruption and bribery that some have called political payback for going against the administration.
Obama's biggest allies, meanwhile, seemed to be giving his diplomatic team some space in the wake of Thursday's announcement. California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer seemed cautiously optimistic following the Iran announcement:
“We don’t yet know the details of a final deal, but initial reports are promising, and if the U.S. had prematurely ended talks on nuclear issues in the past, we would never have had historic and critical international agreements like the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the New START Treaty.”
Boxer went on to praise the president and his administration for working “tirelessly to reach this point” and vowed to work to “ensure that Congress has the patience to support this diplomatic effort because the risks of walking away from the table are simply too high.”

Ind., Ark. pass revised religious objection laws

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. –  Lawmakers in Arkansas and Indiana passed legislation Thursday that they hoped would quiet the national uproar over new religious objections laws that opponents say are designed to offer a legal defense for anti-gay discrimination.
The Arkansas House voted 76-17 to pass a revised bill after Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson asked for changes in the wake of mounting criticism. Hutchinson signed it only moments after the vote, saying the new version recognizes that "we have a diverse workforce and a diverse culture."
A parallel process played out at the Indiana Capitol as the House and Senate passed changes to a law signed last week by GOP Gov. Mike Pence, who quickly approved the revisions.
"Over the past week, this law has become a subject of great misunderstanding and controversy across our state and nation," Pence said in a statement. "However we got here, we are where we are, and it is important that our state take action to address the concerns that have been raised and move forward."
The new legislation marks the first time sexual orientation and gender identity have been mentioned in Indiana law.
The Arkansas measure is similar to a bill sent to the governor earlier this week, but Hutchinson said he wanted it revised to more closely mirror a 1993 federal law. Supporters of the compromise bill said it addresses concerns that the original proposal was discriminatory.
The Indiana amendment prohibits service providers from using the law as a legal defense for refusing to provide goods, services, facilities or accommodations. It also bars discrimination based on race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or U.S. military service.
The measure exempts churches and affiliated schools, along with nonprofit religious organizations.
House Speaker Brian Bosma said the law sends a "very strong statement" that the state will not tolerate discrimination.
Business leaders, many of whom had opposed the law or canceled travel to the state because of it, called the amendment a good first step but said more work needs to be done. Gay-rights groups noted that Indiana's civil-rights law still does not include LGBT people as a protected class.
Former Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, now a senior vice president at drugmaker Eli Lilly, praised the changes but noted that work needs to be done to repair damage to the state's image.
"The healing needs to begin right now," he said.
Democratic leaders said the amendment did not go far enough and repeated their calls to repeal the law.
"I want to hear somebody say we made a grave mistake, and we caused the state tremendous embarrassment that will take months, if not years, to repair," House Minority Leader Scott Pelath said. "I want to hear one of the proponents `fess up."
The lawmaker behind the original Arkansas proposal backed the changes, saying he believed it would still accomplish his goal of protecting religious beliefs.
"We're going to allow a person to believe what they want to believe without the state coming in and burdening that unless they've got a good reason to do so," Republican Rep. Bob Ballinger told the House Judiciary Committee.
Like Pence, Hutchinson has faced pressure from the state's largest employers, including retail giant Wal-Mart. Businesses called the bill discriminatory and said it would hurt Arkansas' image. Hutchinson noted that his own son, Seth, had signed a petition urging him to veto the bill.
After Hutchinson signed the compromise bill, the House voted to recall the original proposal from his desk. Conservative groups said they would have preferred Hutchinson sign the original bill, but they grudgingly backed the compromise measure.
"The bill that's on the governor's desk is the Rolls Royce of religious freedom bills. It is a very good bill," said Jerry Cox, head of the Arkansas Family Council. "The bill that just passed ... is a Cadillac."
The revised Arkansas measure only addresses actions by the government, not by businesses or individuals. Supporters said that would prevent businesses from using it to deny services to individuals. Opponents said they believed the measure still needs explicit anti-discrimination language.
The original bill "gave us a black eye. This bill ices it," said Rita Sklar, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas. "We still need some Tylenol."
The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights group, called the new law an improvement but said it could still be used be used to discriminate based on sexual orientation.
The revised bill also faced opposition from Republicans frustrated over the governor's request for changes to a proposal he had initially planned to sign.
"I, for one, do not appreciate someone hiding behind this body when they're unwilling to take a stand one way or the other," Republican Rep. Josh Miller of Heber Springs said.
Similar proposals have been introduced this year in more than a dozen states, patterned after the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, with some differences. Twenty-one states now have comparable laws on the books.

Shredder Cartoon

Iraq claims victory over ISIS in Tikrit, but US military official says 'block-to-block' fighting ongoing

Iraq's defense minister said security forces have achieved a "magnificent victory" over Islamic State fighters in Tikrit Wednesday, but a senior defense official told Fox News that the fighting is “block to block, especially in the northern part of Tikrit where ISIS still has fighters.”
Khalid al-Obeidi said Wednesday that security forces have "accomplished their mission" in the monthlong offensive to rid Saddam Hussein's hometown of the militant group.
"We have the pleasure, with all our pride, to announce the good news of a magnificent victory," Obeidi said in a video statement. "Here we come to you, Anbar! Here we come to you, Nineveh, and we say it with full resolution, confidence, and persistence," naming other provinces under the sway of the extremists.
Despite the claim, “Iraqi security forces are still fighting block to block in some cases, particularly in the northern part of Tikrit,” a Pentagon official told Fox News. “This operation is still in the clearing stage.”
A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in the region told Fox News that the statement from Obeidi was “probably a little misleading,” but added, “we are confident that Tikrit has been seized from ISIS.”
Both officials said the coalition could not estimate how many militants are left in Tikrit, but described ISIS as “scattered.”
“The fire is out, but some embers remain,” said the spokesman for the Combined Joint Task Force.
Militant mortar fire, which had been intense over previous days, fell silent Wednesday, with commanders saying only a few militant snipers remained in the city. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations.
The U.S. launched airstrikes last week in support of Iraqi ground forces. The battle for Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad, is seen as a key step toward eventually driving the militants out of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city.
The road to Mosul extends another 150 miles to the north, and the Islamic State group still controls much of the vast Anbar province to the west.
Iraqi forces, including soldiers, police officers, Shiite militias and Sunni tribes, launched a large-scale operation to recapture Tikrit on March 2. Last week, the United States launched airstrikes on the embattled city at the request of the Iraqi government.
Tikrit is the hometown of Saddam Hussein, whose Sunni-dominated dictatorship ruled Iraq for more than two decades before it was toppled by the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Since then the Sunni minority has felt increasingly marginalized by the Shiite majority and the Shiite-led government in Baghdad. In 2006, long-running tensions boiled over into sectarian violence that claimed tens of thousands of lives.
The Islamic State was able to rally Sunni support by portraying its advance as a "revolution" against the Shiite-led government, and Tikrit fell in a matter of days last June as the security forces crumbled. Restoring security in the city will be a major test of the government's ability to stitch the country back together.
The objective now, Interior Minister Mohammed Salem al-Ghabban said Wednesday, is to restore normalcy as quickly as possible.
"After clearing the area from roadside bombs and car bombs, we will reopen police stations to restore normalcy in the city, and we will form committees to supervise the return of people displaced from their homes," al-Ghabban said. He said the government will help displaced residents return and that a civil defense unit will be combing the city for roadside bombs and car bombs.
"Daesh is completely defeated," he added, using an Arabic name for the group.
During a visit to Tikrit, Iraqi Prime Minsiter Haider al-Abadi said that military engineering units still need more time to clear the city from booby traps. He also waved an Iraqi flag in photos posted on his social media accounts.
"God's willing, there will be a fund to rebuild areas destroyed by Daesh and the war. Tikrit and Salahuddin areas will be covered by this fund," al-Abadi said.
A satellite image of Tikrit, released in February by the United Nations, showed at least 536 buildings in the city have been affected by the fighting. Of those, at least 137 were completely destroyed and 241 were severely damaged. The current offensive also exacerbated previous damage, particularly in the south, where clashes have been the most intense in recent days.
Iraq's parliament speaker, Salim al-Jabouri, called on the government to find the means to resettle residents from damaged Tikrit buildings. He said this "requires effort and support by the central government in order to financially support the people in rebuilding their houses."

Top State Department aide listed as Clinton Foundation director

Hillary Clinton's chief of staff at the State Department was listed as a director at the Clinton Foundation in its corporate records for more than three years after joining the administration, highlighting concerns that Clinton's aides were too close to the foundation during her tenure.
The "William J. Clinton Foundation Corporation" named Cheryl Mills as one its three directors when it applied for nonprofit corporate status in Florida in June 2009-five months after Mills began serving as Clinton's chief of staff and counsel at the State Department.
The organization continued to list Mills as a director in its annual state filings in 2010, 2011, and 2012. During this time, the foundation updated its office address and registered agent on the same documents. Chelsea Clinton replaced Mills in the March 2013 report.
The Florida filings highlight the cozy relationship between Clinton's inner circle at the State Department and the Clinton Foundation, which has come under scrutiny from watchdog groups for accepting money from foreign governments and donors.
Huma Abedin, another close Clinton aide, received a waiver in 2012 that allowed her to do part-time consulting for the foundation while working for the government. She did not publicly acknowledge the work until it was revealed by the New York Times.

More on this...

• Senate GOP asking new questions about emails for Clinton and Abedin, who had special employment status

Earlier this month, the conservative group Citizens United sued the State Department to release emails between Mills and Clinton Foundation officials.

Feds won't pursue contempt charges against Lerner for not testifying before House

The Justice Department has declined to pursue contempt of Congress charges against Lois Lerner for refusing to testify about her role at the IRS in the targeting of conservative groups.
The department announced the decision in a letter Tuesday to House Speaker John Boehner, whose Republican-controlled chamber made the request to prosecute, after holding Lerner in contempt for refusing to testify at committee hearings.
"Once again, the Obama administration has tried to sweep IRS targeting of taxpayers for their political beliefs under the rug,” Boehner spokesman Michael Steel told FoxNews.com.
Lerner asserted her Fifth Amendment privilege, which allows people to not testify against themselves, during a May 2013 hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and then again at a March 2014 hearing.
However, House Republicans argued Lerner waived the privilege with an opening statement she made before the committee in the May 2013 appearance. All the chamber’s Republican members and six Democrats officially voted in May 2014 to hold Lerner in contempt.
Ron Machen Jr., the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said in the seven-page letter that federal prosecutors concluded Lerner did not waive her privilege because she made “only general claims of innocence” during the opening statement.
“Thus, the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution would provide Ms. Lerner with an absolute defense should be prosecuted … for her refusal to testify,” wrote Machen, who was appointed to the U.S. attorney post by President Obama and left for private practice Wednesday, one day after sending the letter.
He also said he will not refer the case to a grand jury or take any other action to prosecute.
Lerner ran the IRS’s exempt organizations unit when Tea Party and other nonprofit groups with conservative names applying for tax-exempt status were targeted for additional auditing from April 2010 to April 2012.
She was placed on administrative leave in May 2013 and retired four months later.
“I have not done anything wrong,” Lerner said in her 2013 opening statement. “I have not broken any laws. I have not violated any IRS rules or regulations. And I have not provided false information to this or any other congressional committee.”
The IRS scandal broke in May 2013 when Lerner said at an American Bar Association gathering and during a follow-up conference call with reporters there was a “very big uptick” in nonprofit applications and that the vetting process was limited to the agency’s Cincinnati office.
However, the extent to which the Obama administration knew about the targeting, beyond Lerner’s unit in Washington, remains unclear in part because, she says, her computer crashed and emails were lost.
Lerner attorney William Taylor said he and is client are “gratified but not surprised” by the decision by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Anyone who takes a serious and impartial look at this issue would conclude that Ms. Lerner did not waive her Fifth Amendment rights.” he said. “It is unfortunate that the majority party in the House put politics before a citizen’s constitutional rights.”
Steel also said the White House still has the opportunity to “do the right thing and appoint a special counsel to examine the IRS’ actions."
Ohio GOP Rep. Jim Jordan said federal prosecutors made the “wrong” decision.
“As one of his final acts as U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., Ronald Machen used his power as a political weapon to undermine the rule of law,” Jordan said. “Machen was legally bound to convene a grand jury, but instead he ignored his obligation and unilaterally decided to ignore the will of the House. … This is wrong, and a great example of why so many Americans distrust their government.”

One foot out the door? Iran talks enter double overtime, White House repeats ‘walk away’ threat

Secretary of State John Kerry is sticking around for at least another day of tense talks over Iran's nuclear program, pushing negotiations into double overtime -- even as other foreign ministers were sitting it out and the White House repeated a threat that all sides are "prepared to walk away."
"We continue to make progress but have not reached a political understanding," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a brief statement, revealing that Kerry would once again postpone his departure from the Switzerland talks and "remain in Lausanne until at least Thursday morning to continue the negotiations."
Negotiators already had blown past a Tuesday at midnight deadline to push talks into Wednesday. It remained unclear whether talks continuing into Thursday could yield a deal framework.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said negotiators were still facing a "tough struggle," indicating the talks were not likely to end anytime soon. "Tonight there will be new proposals, new recommendations. I can't predict whether that will sufficient to enable an agreement to be reached," he said.
At the same time, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif accused his country's negotiating partners, particularly the U.S., of having "defective" political will in the talks.
"I've always said that an agreement and pressure do not go together, they are mutually exclusive," he told reporters. "So our friends need to decide whether they want to be with Iran based on respect or whether they want to continue based on pressure."
The foreign ministers of China, France and Russia previously had departed Lausanne Tuesday night. With talks bleeding into Thursday, France's foreign minister reportedly was on his way back.
But patience may be wearing thin.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday that talks were "making some progress" but that "we have not yet received the specific, tangible commitments we and the international community require."
And he restated a threat that the U.S. and others are prepared to leave the table.
"We're going to drive a hard bargain and we're going to expect Iran to make serious commitments," he said. "And we're going to give them the opportunity to do so.  But if they don't, the international community, alongside the United States, is prepared to walk away and consider some alternatives."
The Obama administration has faced recent calls to do just that.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., told Fox News he's concerned the framework of a deal could allow Iran keep its uranium stockpiles and continue to enrich uranium in an underground bunker.
"You have to be willing to walk away from the table and to reapply leverage to Iran," Cotton said. "And the fact that they're not willing to do that, that we're still sitting in Switzerland negotiating when three of our negotiating partners have already left just demonstrates to Iran that they can continue to demand dangerous concessions from the West."
Speaking on MSNBC, former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean seemed to agree. He said that while President Obama is "right" to seek a deal, it might be time to "step away" from the table and make clear that the U.S. is not backing off key positions -- including on Iran's uranium stockpile and the pace of sanctions relief.
The negotiators' intention is to produce a joint statement outlining general political commitments to resolving concerns about the Iranians' nuclear program in exchange for relief of economic sanctions against Iran. In addition, they are trying to fashion other documents that would lay out in more detail the steps they must take by June 30 to meet those goals.
But Iran has pushed back not only on the substance of the commitments the sides must make but to the form in which they will make them, demanding that it be a general statement with few specifics.  That is politically unpalatable for the Obama administration which must convince a hostile Congress that it has made progress in the talks so lawmakers do not enact new sanctions that could destroy the negotiations.
Zarif said the result of this round of talks "will not be more than a statement."
A senior Western official pushed back on that, saying that nothing about a statement had been decided and that Iran's negotiating partners would not accept a document that contained no details. The official was not authorized to speak to the negotiations by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Deputy Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi named differences on sanctions relief as one dispute -- but also suggested some softening of Tehran's long-term insistence that all sanctions on his country be lifted immediately once a final deal takes effect.
He told Iranian TV that economic, financial, oil and bank sanctions imposed by the U.S., the European Union and others should be done away with as "the first step of the deal."
Alluding to separate U.N. sanctions he said a separate "framework" was needed for them.
Negotiations have already been twice extended since an interim agreement between Iran, the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany was concluded in 2013. President Obama and other leaders, including Iran's, have said they are not interested in a third extension.
But if the parties agree only to a broad framework that leaves key details unresolved, Obama can expect stiff opposition at home from members of Congress who want to move forward with new, stiffer Iran sanctions. Lawmakers had agreed to hold off on such a measure through March while the parties negotiated. The White House says new sanctions would scuttle further diplomatic efforts to contain Iran's nuclear work and possibly lead Israel to act on threats to use military force to accomplish that goal.

Nuclear Cartoon

Obama vetoes measure against swifter union elections

President Obama on Tuesday vetoed a measure passed by the Republican-run Congress blocking the National Labor Relations Board from streamlining the process for union elections, saying government should not make it harder for workers to be heard in the workplace.
Obama also announced a fall White House summit on worker rights.
The NLRB rule, set to take effect on April 14, would shorten the amount of time between when an election is called and when it is held by eliminating a 25-day waiting period.
Republicans and business groups opposed the rule, arguing that it would limit the ability of businesses to prepare for what some critics have dubbed "ambush elections." Opponents also said workers wouldn't have enough time to make informed decisions about whether to join a union.
In the Oval Office on Tuesday, Obama called the labor board's changes "common sense" and "modest" before he vetoed a resolution the Congress passed to nullify the rule.
"Unions historically have been at the forefront of establishing things like the 40-hour work week, the weekend, elimination of child labor laws, establishing fair benefits and decent wages," Obama said. "And one of the freedoms of folks here in the United States is, is that if they choose to join a union, they should be able to do so. And we shouldn't be making it impossible for that to happen."
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, criticized Obama's decision.
"The NLRB's ambush election rule is an assault on the rights and privacy protections of American workers," Boehner said. "With his veto, the president has once again put the interests of his political allies ahead of the small-business owners and hardworking Americans who create jobs and build a stronger economy."
The rule was a victory for unions, which have long complained that the process is too long.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, using language similar to Obama, has said that the board's "modest but important reforms" will help reduce delays and make it easier for workers to vote on forming a union. Using language similar to Boehner, Trumka has called lawmakers' attempt to overturn the rule "a direct attack on workers and their right to be heard in the workplace."
The NLRB rule also permits some documents to be filed electronically instead of by mail, and generally delays legal challenges by employers until after workers have voted on whether to unionize. The rule will also require employers to supply union organizers with workers' email addresses and telephone numbers.

Iran nuclear talks resume in Switzerland day after missing deadline

Talks between Iran and six world powers on the future of Tehran's nuclear program resumed in Switzerland Wednesday after missing a deadline to produce the framework of a permanent agreement.
Secretary of State John Kerry, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier met with Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in Lausanne early Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. Their French, Russian, and Chinese counterparts had all left overnight, leaving their deputies in charge. It was not immediately clear what effect their departures would have on negotiations.
Tuesday's talks had stretched into Wednesday morning local time before negotiators broke up, promising to meet a few hours later. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said earlier Tuesday that that enough progress had been made over six days of intense bartering to warrant an extension of the self-imposed deadline, though she noted "there are several difficult issues still remaining."
The deadline to agree on the outline of a permanent deal had already been extended twice before Tuesday, and it was not clear what would happen if an agreement was not reached by the end of Wednesday. The deadline for all the details of a comprehensive agreement to be settled is the end of June.
As the talks broke up late Tuesday, Zarif said that solutions to many of the problems had been found and that documents attesting to that would soon be drafted. That sentiment was echoed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who was quoted by Russia's TASS news agency as saying that "all key aspects" of a potential deal had been agreed upon.

More on this...

• Iran backs away from uranium concession ahead of deadline

Other officials were more skeptical. Asked how high the chances of success were, Steinmeier said: "I cannot say." And Hammond said Iran might still not be ready to accept what is on the table.
"I'm optimistic that we will make further progress this morning but it does mean the Iranians being willing to meet us where there are still issues to deal with," Hammond told British reporters. "Fingers crossed and we'll hope to get there during the course of the day."
The uncertain direction of negotiations could soon trigger renewed pressure from Congress on the Obama administration.
Congressional lawmakers had agreed to hold off on pursuing new sanctions legislation while negotiations were underway in advance of the initial March 31 deadline.
But according to reports, the talks may only result in a general statement that pushes off the hard decisions until June.
And patience may be wearing thin on Capitol Hill.
Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., the lead Republican sponsor of the legislation imposing new sanctions on Iran if talks fail, on Tuesday renewed his call for the bill.
"Rather than rush headfirst into a disastrously bad deal, the administration should work with Congress to shift the burden of accepting a good deal onto Iran," Kirk said in a statement to FoxNews.com.
"The president could do that by signing into law the Kirk-Menendez legislation, which would empower the president to impose new sanctions if Iran fails to meet the major June 30th deadline or if Iran is not complying with the interim deal."
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., had co-sponsored the legislation, and along with other Democrats agreed to put the effort on hold while talks played out. If he and other Democrats join Kirk in pressing anew for the sanctions bill, the Obama administration has warned it could create turbulence for the talks themselves.
But supporters of the legislation argue it would only apply more -- and needed -- pressure on Iran to negotiate in good faith.
Prior to Tuesday's extension announcement, the Associated Press reported that, the sides were preparing to issue only a general statement agreeing to continue talks in a new phase aimed at reaching a final agreement to control Iran's nuclear ambitions by the end of June.
After intense negotiations, obstacles remained on uranium enrichment, where stockpiles of enriched uranium should be stored, limits on Iran's nuclear research and development and the timing and scope of sanctions relief among other issues.
The joint statement would have been accompanied by additional documents that outline more detailed understandings, allowing the sides to claim enough progress has been made thus far to merit a new round, the officials told the AP.
The softening of the language from a framework "agreement" to a framework "understanding" appeared due in part to opposition to a two-stage agreement from Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Earlier this year, he demanded only one deal that nails down specifics and does not permit the other side to "make things difficult" by giving it wiggle room on interpretations.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has been meeting with his Iranian counterpart Zarif since Thursday in an intense effort to reach a political understanding on the issue.
Kerry and others at the table said the sides have made some progress, with Iran considering demands for further cuts to its uranium enrichment program but pushing back on how long it must limit technology it could use to make atomic arms. In addition to sticking points on research and development, differences remain on the timing and scope of sanctions removal.

Defense rests in 1st phase of Boston Marathon bombing trial

BOSTON –  Lawyers for Boston Marathon bomber Dzkokhar Tsarnaev rested their case in his federal death penalty trial Tuesday after presenting a brief case aimed at showing his late older brother was the mastermind of the 2013 terror attack.
The defense admitted during opening statements that Tsarnaev participated in the bombings. But Tsarnaev's lawyer said he was a troubled 19-year-old who had fallen under the influence of his radicalized brother, Tamerlan, 26.
Closing arguments will be held April 6.
The defense has made it clear from the beginning of the trial that its strategy is not to win an acquittal for Tsarnaev but to save him from the death penalty.
If the jury convicts Tsarnaev — an event that seems a foregone conclusion because of his admitted guilt — the same jury will be asked to decide whether he should be executed or spend the rest of his life in prison.
During its brief case, the defense called a cell site analyst who showed that Tsarnaev was at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth when Tamerlan purchased components of the two bombs used in the 2013 attack, including pressure cookers and BBs.
Tsarnaev's lawyer told jurors that it was Tamerlan who shot and killed MIT police Officer Sean Collier three days after the bombings. Tamerlan died after a gun battle with police hours after Collier's slaying.
Prosecutors called more than 90 witnesses over 15 days of testimony, including bombing survivors who described losing limbs in the attack. Three people were killed and more than 260 were wounded when two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the marathon finish line on April 15, 2013.
Jurors saw gruesome autopsy photos of the three killed: 8-year-old Martin Richard, a Boston boy who had gone to the marathon with his family that day; 23-year-old Lingzi Lu, a graduate student from China who was studying at Boston University; and 29-year-old Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant manager.

Arkansas passes 'religious freedom' bill similar to new Indiana law, sparking more protests

Arkansas lawmakers on Tuesday approved a religious-freedom bill similar to the one recently passed in Indiana that critics say creates the potential for businesses and others to legally discriminate against people because of their sexual orientation.
The state’s Republican-led House gave final approval to the bill, which prohibits the state and local governments from infringing on a person's religious beliefs without a "compelling" interest.
The measure now goes to Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who has said he will sign it into law.
Doug McMillon, the CEO of Arkansas-based Wal-Mart, issued a statement Tuesday pressing Hutchinson to "veto this legislation," and adding that the law would "undermine the spirit of inclusion" in the state.
"[It] does not reflect the values we proudly uphold," McMillon's statement read.
Indiana GOP Gov. Mike Pence signed a similar bill on Thursday, and 19 other states have comparable measures on the books.
Companies and lawmakers across the country denounced the Indiana law as discriminatory against gays, lesbians and others --and ordered that official business and travel there either be curtailed or stopped.
This week, hundreds of protesters filled the Arkansas Capitol urging Hutchinson to veto the bill, which is almost identical to the Indiana bill.
Both appear to state that a person could deny another person a service, based on a religious belief, and use that circumstance as a legal defense.
One frequently used example is a baker refusing a wedding cake order from a gay couple.
Pence and the leaders of the state’s Republican-led legislature have argued their bill does not legalize discrimination and is similar to a 1993 federal law signed by President Clinton and to legislation in 19 other states.
And it has been supported by such social conservatives and potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Dr. Ben Carson, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
However, the Indiana Republican lawmakers vowed Monday to clarify the law -- just before a front-page Indianapolis Star editorial with the giant headline “Fix This Now.”
Prior to the passage Tuesday of the Arkansas bill, the White House repeated its opposition to the Indiana law.
“This kind of public outcry … is indicative of how this piece of legislation flies in the face of values that people all across America strongly support,” said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest. “Governor Pence falsely tried to suggest the law is the same as the 1993 law. That is not true.”
Earnest also said the Indiana law was a “significant expansion” of law.

Iran Deal Cartoon

VA hospital chief draws $179G salary despite missing 80 days over 1 year

DeWayne Hamlin, the top official of the Department of Veterans Affairs' Puerto Rico hospital, was absent from the hospital some 80 days in a one-year period, according to documents obtained by the Washington Examiner.
Hamlin was paid $179,700 despite being absent from the hospital approximately one in three business days last year, according to "delegation of authority" documents by which he temporarily transferred his job responsibilities to deputies.
In April 2014, for example, he was absent from the 10th to the 18th, then from the 24th to the 27th. He also submitted a delegation document saying he would be gone the 28th and 29th. For part of that time, he was traveling to Florida, where he previously lived. He was arrested by Florida police while sitting in his car at 2:00 a.m. on the 26th.
Police said that he smelled of alcohol, twice refused to take a breath test, and that they found oxycodone for which he did not have a prescription. He reportedly refused to say where he got the painkiller.

Rubio to announce whether he'll join 2016 race on April 13

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio confirmed Monday on Fox News that he will announce April 13 whether he will be a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016.
“I will announce on April 13th what I’m going to do next in terms of running for president or the U.S. Senate,” Rubio said on Fox News’ “The Five.”
Rubio has said he would not run for both offices in 2016, while his team has been moving ahead as though it were putting together a White House bid, including donors who helped previous presidential nominees collect tens of millions of dollars.
But Rubio faces steep challenges to win the nomination, including from his one-time mentor, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. He could face as many as 20 other rivals for the GOP nomination.
Rubio also told supporters to check the site www.MarcoRubio.com, which now reads, “Big announcement is coming! Will you be there?”
Rubio plans to sell a chance to win tickets to any campaign kickoff for $3.05, a nod to Miami's 305 area code. It would also a way for the nascent campaign to collect contact information from everyone who wants to be in the audience that day, including low-dollar donors.
A site for the announcement has not been finalized but Rubio's senior aides plan to visit the Miami area on Tuesday to scout options.
A first-generation immigrant whose parents fled Cuba, Rubio could make history as the nation's first Hispanic president. Rubio frames his pitch to voters as the embodiment of the American dream, a son of a maid and bartender who worked his way through law school and now sits in Congress.

Arab League to create joint military force

Leaders of the 22 countries that make up the Arab League are vowing to defeat Iranian-backed Shiite rebels in Yemen, and other countries, by creating a joint Arab military force that is setting the stage for potential Middle East clashes between U.S.-allied Arab nations and Tehran.
Members of the Arab League met in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, to discuss the growing threat to the region’s Arab identity by what they called moves by "foreign" or "outside parties" who have stoked sectarian, ethnic or religious rivalries in Arab states.
The Arab League is made up of 22 independent Arab states -- including Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia.

Related Image

Expand / Contract

March 28, 2015 - Egyptian Pres Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi (ctr) Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby (left) and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri, preside over a meeting of Arab heads of state, in Sharm el Sheik, Egypt. El-Sissi endorsed a resolution creating an Arab military force, saying the Arab world was currently facing unprecedented threats.

Much of the rhetoric was aimed at Iran, which has consolidated its hold in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and, most recently, Yemen. Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi blamed Iran for what he said was its intervention "in many nations," while speaking to reporters after the summit.
The weekend meetings resulted in a resolution declaring a newly unveiled joint Arab defense force that would be deployed at the request of any Arab nation facing a national security threat. The force -- comprised of some 40,000 elite troops, war planes, navy ships and weapons -- could also be used to combat terrorist groups like the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.
"The Arab leaders have decided to agree on the principle of a joint Arab military force," Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Sunday, describing the growing threats to the region as "unprecedented.”
The Arab League will work with military representatives of its members to organize the voluntary force, the BBC reported.  Analysts say establishing the force could take months and it’s unlikely that all 22 members of the Arab League will join.
Saudi Arabia is already leading a 10-nation coalition to carry out airstrikes against Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen, which pit Sunni Arab nations against Shiite Iran. The strikes are in support of Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, who was forced to flee after gains by the Houthi fighters. Saudi Arabia says the Houthis are backed by Iran, but the rebels deny receiving support from Tehran.
Pakistani officials said Monday that Pakistan will send troops to Saudi Arabia to join the coalition against the Yemeni rebels, Reuters reported.
The Saudi-led offensive against the Houthis would "continue until the militia withdraws and surrenders its weapons," Chief al-Arabi said.
"Yemen was on the brink of the abyss, requiring effective Arab and international moves after all means of reaching a peaceful resolution have been exhausted to end the Houthi coup and restore legitimacy," he added.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters Sunday that the U.S.  is giving logistical and military support to the ongoing operation in Yemen to try to restore stability between Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
“We obviously are interested in coordinating with GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries including militarily. This is something we're considering in light of the security challenges in the region,” Earnest said.
The Arab League agreement came as U.S. and other Western diplomats were pushing to meet a Tuesday deadline to reach a deal with Iran that would restrict its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Deadline day for Iran nuclear talks dawns with sides far apart on key issues

Diplomats tasked with crafting the framework of a permanent agreement on the status of Iran's nuclear program faced a long day and night of talks in Switzerland Wednesday, with no guaranteed of success.
Early Tuesday morning, top diplomats of four of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany met alone and then with Iran's foreign minister to try to bridge the remaining gaps.
"Long day ahead," Deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a tweet announcing the early Tuesday morning start of the foreign ministers' meeting with Iranian officials.
The so-called P5+1 nations -- the U.S., Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China -- have until midnight local time (6 p.m. Eastern Time) to hammer out an understanding that would serve as the jumping-off point to conclude a final deal by the end of June. The negotiation deadline has already been extended twice since an interim agreement was reached in November 2013, and it was not immediately clear what failure to meet this deadline would do for the future of the talks.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has been meeting with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in the Swiss town of Lausanne since Thursday in an intense effort to reach a political understanding on terms that would curb Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
Kerry and others at the table said the sides have made some progress, with Iran considering demands for further cuts to its uranium enrichment program but pushing back on how long it must limit technology it could use to make atomic arms. In addition to sticking points on research and development, differences remain on the timing and scope of sanctions removal, officials told the Associated Press.
Adding another layer of complexity to the difficult negotiations, The Wall Street Journal, citing Western officials, reported late Monday that there are signs that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has not granted his negotiators the power to budge from their positions on certain critical issues.
In particular, the Journal reported that Khamenei has repeatedly insisted that U.N. sanctions be lifted immediately once any deal takes effect. By contrast, the U.S. and the other nations involved have proposed that sanctions would be lifted gradually and be tied to Iran living up to promises it has made in any agreement.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Monday that Iran's expectations from the talks are "very ambitious" and not yet acceptable to his country or the other five negotiating: the U.S., Britain, China, France and Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov left the talks on Monday and planned to return only if the prospects for a deal looked good.
Iran's deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told Iranian state television on Monday that the talks were not likely to reach any conclusion until "tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."
The Obama administration says any deal will stretch the time Iran needs to make a nuclear weapon from the present two to three months to at least a year. But critics object that it would keep Tehran's nuclear technology intact.
Officials in Lausanne said the sides were advancing on limits to aspects of Iran's program to enrich uranium, which can be used to make the core of a nuclear warhead.
Tehran has said it is willing to address concerns about its stockpiles of enriched uranium, although it has denied that will involve shipping it out of the country, as some Western officials have said. One official said on Monday that Iran might deal with the issue by diluting its stocks to a level that would not be weapons grade.
Uranium enrichment has been the chief concern in over more than a decade of international attempts to cap Iran's nuclear programs. But Western officials say the main obstacles to a deal are no longer enrichment-related but instead the type and length of restrictions on Tehran's research and development of advanced centrifuges and the pace of sanctions-lifting.
Over the past weeks, Iran has moved from demanding that it be allowed to keep nearly 10,000 centrifuges enriching uranium, to agreeing to 6,000. The officials said Tehran now may be ready to accept even fewer.
Tehran says it wants to enrich only for energy, science, industry and medicine. But many countries fear Iran could use the technology to make weapons-grade uranium.

Reid Cartoon

President Obama and the high price we paid for Bowe Bergdahl

After almost a year of debate, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has been charged with desertion and misbehaving before the enemy.
This was the expectation and, I believe, the right decision. Bergdahl left his post in Paktika, Afghanistan, in the middle of the night in June 2009 after expressing his disappointment with U.S. policy there. Six brave soldiers died looking for him once he was taken by the Taliban. These were lives we never should have lost.
Furthermore, we are now facing the possibility of losing even more lives in this saga.

The Bergdahl trade was a bad one on every level.

Three main points highlight the absurdity of swapping five high-level Taliban terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay to bring Bergdahl back to the U.S., and the level of bad decision-making involved.
1. The swap itself.
In exchange for Bergdahl, we turned the prisoners over to the Qatari government, a so-called friendly government but one we have no good reason to trust at this level. And the supervised release is set to expire in just two months.
Recent reports suggest that at least three of the five Taliban leaders have attempted to “re-engage” with their old terror networks, the most disastrous outcome we could’ve expected from this.
To this end, Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said, “I’ve seen nothing that causes me to believe these folks are reformed or [have] changed their ways or intend to reintegrate to society in ways to give me any confidence that they will not return to trying to do harm to America.”
It looks like Pompeo is right.
2. There was no congressional oversight of the swap.
The Obama administration went ahead with this deal on its own, leaving top figures in Congress in the dark.
Former Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) broke with President Obama on this, telling reporters, “It’s very disappointing that there was not a level of trust sufficient to justify alerting us.”
I’d say it’s more than disappointing. It’s an egregious overreach on the part of the administration and shows a complete disregard for process and for Congress itself. Moreover, as negotiations with the Iranians on a nuclear deal continue, the lack of congressional oversight there is increasingly worrying.
3. Susan Rice.
It’s almost as if I don’t need to write anything more on this beyond her name, but it’s important to make this clear. Rice went on all the Sunday shows arguing that Bergdahl served with honor and distinction. She praised the swap – and the decision-making that brokered the deal in the first place.
Just like on Benghazi, she has been proven wrong. And it’s understandable that many are questioning how she still has her job.
The Bergdahl trade was a bad one on every level.
This is not to say that I am not aware of, and cognizant of, the argument that the U.S. should never leave an American behind, especially in enemy hands. However, in this case, I believe it to be a principle that must be considered alongside competing priorities.
And the price we have now paid for a deserter is just much too high.

Military planning to spend billions on new Air Force One

The Pentagon is considering spending billions of dollars on three new Boeing 747s to use as Air Force One, the aircraft that shuttles the United States president.
According to CBS News, the current Air Force One fleet is getting old, and the U.S. military says it’s time for a new generation to carry future commanders in chief.
"We've got a pretty good size team working on it," said Air Force Col. Amy McCain, who is in charge of ordering the new Air Force One, according to the station.
McCain's team has grown to 80 people from 20 in the past year. The team is expected to swell to 100 shortly.

"It's actually cheaper in the long run to replace it."- Air Force Col. Amy McCain

Budget paperwork shows the military requested from Congress $102 million this year to buy the planes, with the numbers growing to more than $3 billion over the next five years. Those numbers do not include the final three years of the project, CBS reported.
Questions linger as to whether taxpayers can afford to buy a new presidential plane.
"The current airplane was fielded in 1991," McCain said. "It's the only 747-200 left in the United States that is flying. So it costs a lot more time and money to keep that airplane flying than it used to. It's actually cheaper in the long run to replace it."
"The top priority is an affordable aircraft that will meet the presidential requirements," McCain said. "We're buying up to three. It depends on all the availability of having two airplanes available for the president at any one time."
The Air Force expects to ink its first contract with Boeing sometime in 2015 for the next Air Force One, and wants to have the new 747s flying the president in 2023.

Assad 'open' to negotiations with US, says ISIS strengthening despite airstrikes

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Sunday that he’s "open" to negotiations with the United States and that airstrikes conducted by a U.S.-led coalition in the region are not defeating the Islamic State terror group.
“We didn’t attack the American population. We didn’t support terrorists who did anything in the United States,” Assad told CBS’ "60 Minutes." "We always wanted to have good relation with the United States. We never thought in the other direction.”
Assad was reacting to comments made earlier this month by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in which Kerry said Washington was "working very hard with other interested parties to see if we can reignite a diplomatic outcome ... Because everyone agrees there is no military solution. There is only a political solution."
Assad has presided over Syria during a devastating civil war that has lasted for four years, claimed over 200,000 lives, and seen the rise of jihadist groups like Islamic State, or ISIS. The Obama administration has repeatedly insisted that any solution to the conflict would involve Assad's removal from power.
Assad repeated his denial that the Syrian Army has been responsible for thousands of civilian casualties through the use of chemical weapons such as chlorine gas, as well as so-called "barrel bombs." He called the claims by activists "part of the malicious propaganda against Syria."
The Syrian leader said that his government has had no direct contact with U.S. officials, but noted, "As principle, in Syria we could say that every dialogue is a positive thing, and we are going to be open to any dialogue with anyone, including the United States, regarding anything based on mutual respect."
However, Assad refused to countenance the idea of stepping down at the insistence of the U.S., saying "This is not their business. We have Syrian citizens who can decide this. No one else." He said he would step down "when I don't have public support. When I don't represent the Syrian interests and values."
When asked why the West questions his legitimacy as president, Assad said the West is used to having “puppets” and “not independent leaders, or officials in any other country.”
Assad said that ISIS, which has conquered vast swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq, has been strengthening despite U.S.-led military action against the terror group, including strikes inside Syria that began this past September.
“Sometimes you could have local benefit but in general if you want to talk in terms of ISIS, actually ISIS has expanded since the beginning of the strikes.”
He added that “some estimate that they have 1,000 recruits every month in Syria,” and that the number of ISIS fighters is also growing in Iraq and Libya.
In the interview, Assad compared ISIS to the rulers of Saudi Arabia, saying the two are one and the same and have similar "ideology." Saudi Arabia and nine other Arab nations launched airstrikes against Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen earlier this week. The Houthi rebels in Yemen, like Assad's government in Damascus, are widely believed to be allied with Iran, Saudi Arabia's great rival in the Middle East.
"It's Wahhabi ideology," said Assad." They use the same books to indoctrinate the people."
Assad also spoke disparagingly of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogen, calling him a "Muslim Brotherhood fanatic" and "somebody who's suffering from political megalomania."
Assad also discussed his relationship with Russian President Vladmir Putin and said that Russia wants “to have balance in the world.”
“They want to be a great power that have their own say in the future of this world,” Assad told CBS News’ Charlie Rose.
When asked what Russia wants for Syria and the region, Assad said "stability."
"Syria, and Iran and Russia, see eye-to-eye regarding these conflicts."
Assad said Syria doesn't have an obligation to any of those countries and that they "do it for the region, and for the world. Because stability is very important to them."

Iran reportedly makes new push for uranium concessions in nuclear talks

Iranian negotiators reportedly have made a last-ditch push for more concessions from the U.S. and five other world powers as talks on the fate of Iran's nuclear program come down to the final days before a crucial deadline.
The New York Times reported late Sunday that Tehran had backed away from a tentative promise to ship a large portion of its uranium stockpile to Russia, where it could not be used as part of any future weapons program. Western officials insisted to the paper that the uranium did not have to be sent overseas, but could be disposed of in other ways.
The new twist in the talks comes just two days before the deadline for both sides to agree on a framework for a permanent deal. The final deadline for a permanent deal would not arrive until the end of June.
However, if Iran insists on keeping its uranium in the country, it would undermine a key argument made in favor of the deal by the Obama administration. The Times reports that if the uranium had gone to Russia, it would have been converted into fuel rods, which are difficult to use in nuclear weapons. It is not clear what would happen to the uranium if it remained in Iran.
The Associated Press reported Sunday that Iran's position had shifted from from demanding that it be allowed to keep nearly 10,000 centrifuges enriching uranium, to agreeing to 6,000. Western officials involved in the talks told the Associated Press that Tehran may be ready to accept an even lower number.
The United States and its allies want a deal that extends the time Iran would need to make a nuclear weapon from the present two months to three months to at least a year. However, The Times reported Sunday that a paper published by Olli Heinonen, former head of inspections for the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, estimated that Iran could still develop a nuclear weapon in seven or eight months with around 6,500 centrifuges.
Tehran says it wants to enrich only for energy, science, industry and medicine. But many countries fear Iran could use the technology to make weapons-grade uranium.
Officials told the Associated Press that another main dispute involved the length of an agreement. Iran, they said, wants a total lifting of all caps on its activities after 10 years, while the U.S. and the five other nations at the talks — Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — insist on progressive removal after a decade.
A senior U.S. official characterized the issue as lack of agreement on what happens in years 11 to 15. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with State Department rules on briefing about the closed-door talks.
Limits on Iran's research and development of centrifuges also were unresolved, the Western officials said.
Tehran has created a prototype centrifuge that it says enriches uranium 16 times faster than its present mainstay model. The U.S. and its partners want to constrain research that would increase greatly the speed of making enough weapons-grade uranium for a bomb, once limits on Iran's programs are lifted.
One official said Russia opposed the U.S. position that any U.N. penalties lifted in the course of a deal should be reimposed quickly if Tehran reneged on any commitments.
Both Western officials Iran was resisting attempts to make inspections and other ways of verification as intrusive as possible.
There was tentative agreement on turning a nearly-finished reactor into a model that gives off less plutonium waste than originally envisaged. Plutonium, like enriched uranium, is a path to nuclear weapons.
Iran and the U.S. were discussing letting Iran run centrifuges at an underground bunker that has been used to enrich uranium. The machines would produce isotopes for peaceful applications, the officials said.
With the Tuesday deadline approaching and problems remaining, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry canceled plans Sunday to return to the United States for an event honoring the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, his German counterpart, scratched planned trips to Kazakhstan.
Kerry has been in discussions with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif since Thursday.

Iran Cartoons