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White House reportedly assures Hill lawmakers about executive action this year on immigration reform

The White House this week assured anxious Hispanic lawmakers on Capitol Hill that President Obama will use executive action before the holiday season closes to reform U.S. immigration law, after breaking his pledge to make changes by the end of summer.
The message was delivered in a meeting Thursday with White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and other administration officials, including domestic policy adviser Cecilia Munoz, a key player for Obama on the issue, according to Politico.
The president faced sharp criticism, including accusations of caving to election-year politics, from Hispanic lawmakers, immigration-reform advocates and others in his Democratic base when the White House revealed last weekend that he would delay action until after the Nov. 4 elections.
In 2012, Obama used executive action to delay deportation for many young immigrants brought to the United States illegally by their parents. He is expected to widen that effort to include millions more.
Roughly 11 million people are now living in the U.S. illegally.
This week’s meeting was apparently intended to restore the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s faith in the White House, considering in part that a reform plan appears stuck in the GOP-led House.
Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., said he needs “constant reassurance” that the president will soon act.
“I don’t want to go down this path come November and then for some other reason, find that the immigrant community and the Latino community get thrown in the heap again,” he told Politico.
Multiple people familiar with the meeting told Politico that McDonough did not go into specifics about the executive action but made clear Obama will go as far as he can under existing law.
McDonough also declined to get into specifics.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., said the caucus will meet early next week to determine a formal response to the White House over delaying deportation relief.

Landrieu releases report on questionable flights, new safeguards, after repaying $34G

Louisiana Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu, battling to keep her Senate seat, released a detail report Saturday on her air travel since 2002, after repaying the Treasury earlier this week nearly $34,000 in questionable travel expenses.
The three-term senator on Friday apologized for the mistakes that she blamed on “sloppy bookkeeping" and said that on Sept. 1 she put new procedures in place.
“I take full responsibility,” Landrieu said. “They should have never happened, and I apologize for this. A new system has been established that has been successfully used by a number of Senate offices to provide a safeguard from this happening in the future.”
The 11-page report shows 104 flights. It also states the campaign spent $202,330 for separate flights for campaign travel over the period in question, that the $33,727 repaid is the correct prorated amount and that lawyers will now determine the percentages that Landrieu’s campaign and Senate office should pay.
Louisiana Republican Party Director Jason Dore filed a complaint Sept. 2 with the Senate Ethics Committee, accusing Landrieu of billing taxpayers for campaign travel.
Republicans need to win a net total of six seats in November to take control of the Senate and have made Landrieu a top target since the start of the election cycle.
Over the past few weeks, state Republicans have also argued Landrieu shouldn’t be eligible for reelection because her true residence is in Washington, not her parents’ home in Louisiana.
“No matter how Senator Landrieu spins it, she billed taxpayers for dozens and dozens of private jet flights since the turn of this century," said the campaign for Republican Bill Cassidy, Landrieu’s closest challenger in the deadlocked race. “Even more problematic is the fact that she did not release any flight records from 1997-2002.”
Landrieu also released a letter on Saturday from her Washington, D.C.-law firm, Perkins Coie, to the Ethics committee in which the firm says it conducted the review and arrived at the repayment amount, on behalf of the senator and Friends of Mary Landrieu Inc.

ISIS video claims to show beheading of British hostage David Haines

Islamic State militants have released a video claiming to show the beheading of British aid worker David Haines, in what British Prime Minister David Cameron has described as "an act of pure evil."
The 44-year-old Haines was abducted in Syria in 2013 while working for an international aid agency. The British government had managed to keep his kidnapping secret out of concern for his safety until the most recent video identified him as a captive.
Prime Minister David Cameron described the apparent murder as "an act of pure evil" in a tweet from his official account. 
Sky News reports that Cameron is returning to Downing Street to chair a COBRA emergency response meeting.
The UK Foreign Office had said earlier in a statement that they were "working urgently to verify" the video.
"If true, this is another disgusting murder," the Foreign Office said in the statement.
"We are offering the family every support possible. They ask to be left alone at this time."
Islamic State militants have beheaded two American journalists, James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as Kurdish and Lebanese fighters, and posted video evidence online. At the end of the last video showing the beheading of  American journalist  Steven Sotloff, the Islamic State group threatened to kill Haines next and briefly showed him on camera.
In the video posted Sunday, the group threatened to kill another Briton.  Both British men were dressed in orange jumpsuits against an arid Syrian landscape, similar to that seen in the Foley and Sotloff videos.
The SITE Intelligence Group, a U.S. terrorism watchdog, reported the video, which was also posted online by users associated with the Islamic State group.
The video was entitled "A Message to the Allies of America." Haines' purported killer, who appeared to be the same man speaking with a British accent as in the previous videos, tells the British government that its alliance with the U.S. will only "accelerate your destruction" and will drag the British people into "another bloody and unwinnable war".
Late Friday, the family of Haines issued a public plea urging his captors to contact them.

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Vermont bans brownies, turns kids on to kale, gluten-free paleo lemon bars

It’s a best-seller at bake sales, a king of American confections, even a mandatory munchie of marijuana users. But the iconic chocolate brownie, that perfect blend of cake and cookie, is banned in Vermont schools.
In its place are new hoped-for kid favorites like fruit shish kebab, kale and even gluten-free paleo lemon bars.
The switch stems from nutrition mandates required under the new Smart-Snacks-in-Schools program in effect for public schools.
“The new school lunch pattern has low-fat, leaner proteins, greater variety and larger portions of fruits and vegetables; the grains have to be 100 percent whole-grain rich,” Laurie Colgan, child nutrition program director at the Agency of Education, told Vermont Watchdog.
The new rules, which evolved out of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, spell death to brownies, cupcakes, cookies and other bake sale goodies used to raise money for extracurriculars at money-strapped schools.

Military source: ISIS hostages dispersed after revelation of Foley rescue mission

After the administration released details of the July mission to rescue journalist James Foley and others in Syria, intelligence suggests ISIS dispersed the remaining hostages to multiple locations, making them harder to locate, a military source told Fox News.
In addition, the source added guard forces around the hostages doubled while widely publicized reporting about the scope of new aerial surveillance in the region caused ISIS to change its pattern of behavior on the ground.
"Any time you (disclose) very highly sensitive tactical information, you're giving away your road map if you will, your strategy,"  said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who as chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee receives regular intelligence briefings. "It's very highly damaging to the hostages."
The details about the rescue mission were released by the Defense Department and National Security Council one day after a video was posted online Aug. 19 of Foley’s execution.
The administration said its hand was forced because unnamed reporters had learned about the raid to rescue Foley and other hostages, believed to include Steven Sotloff, who was also later executed by ISIS.
Asked about the ramifications of providing the information in such a public way, Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said Friday it was still the right call.
"We regret it at the time we had to talk about this," Kirby said. "There was absolutely no intention of ever having to talk about that rescue attempt but because of leaks to certain reporters, it forced our hand to try and provide some context to that. So it's not about do I now regret it. We regret it at the time. We still regret that we had to talk about it."
The military source said the disclosures, which included specific details about the mission itself -- including personnel and hardware -- increased the risk for special operations forces in the future. 
Two separate sources also told Fox the release of information was damaging because the Foley case was considered "an ongoing mission" after the raid did not locate him and the others near the ISIS stronghold of Raqaa, Syria.
Some Republicans, including McCaul, believe the administration shoulders some of the blame.
"It's all because the administration leaked this information that is highly sensitive,” he said. “And quite frankly is in violation of the law."
Asked about ISIS' response to the disclosures, a National Security Council spokeswoman said she could not discuss intelligence matters, adding the administration had nothing to do with the original leaks to reporters, describing those claims as "baseless."

Adrian Peterson indicted: Arrest warrant issued for Minnesota Vikings running back

MINNEAPOLIS –  Authorities in Texas issued an arrest warrant Friday for star Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson after he was indicted on a charge of child abuse for using a branch to spank his son. He was swiftly benched by his team for this weekend's game against New England.
Peterson's attorney, Rusty Hardin, said that the charge in Montgomery County, near Houston, accuses Peterson of using a switch to spank one of his sons. Hardin said Peterson didn't mean to hurt the boy, whose injuries and age were not disclosed.
"Adrian is a loving father who used his judgment as a parent to discipline his son. He used the same kind of discipline with his child that he experienced as a child growing up in East Texas," Hardin said.
"Adrian has never hidden from what happened. He has cooperated fully with authorities and voluntarily testified before the grand jury for several hours," he said. "Adrian will address the charges with the same respect and responsiveness he has brought to this inquiry from its beginning. It is important to remember that Adrian never intended to harm his son and deeply regrets the unintentional injury."
The Vikings, about an hour after issuing a statement acknowledging the case, said Peterson would be on the inactive list Sunday for their home opener against New England. Houston police and authorities in Montgomery and Harris counties declined comment.
Peterson will have to surrender to authorities, but there is no timeline for when he will appear in Texas, Hardin said.
"We are just obligated to try to get it done as soon as possible, which we intend to honor," he said.
Peterson is in his eighth season, all of them with the Vikings. Widely considered the best running back in the league, he has rushed for 10,190 yards and 86 touchdowns in his career.
The allegations against one of the NFL's biggest stars came during a week in which the NFL has been under heavy criticism and scrutiny for the way it handled a domestic violence case involving former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice and his then-fiancee. Commissioner Roger Goodell initially suspended Rice for two games, but he was suspended indefinitely this week after a longer version of security video surfaced showing Rice punching her in the face.
Critics are also closely watching how the league proceeds in the cases of Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy and Ray McDonald of the San Francisco 49ers, both still playing with domestic abuse cases pending. Hardy was convicted July 15 of assaulting a woman and communicating threats, but is appealing. San Jose police are still investigating an Aug. 31 incident involving McDonald.
The NFL didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Peterson's situation.
Peterson did not practice on Thursday because of what coach Mike Zimmer called a "veteran day," allowing experienced players to rest, but Peterson was at the team facility that day and spoke to reporters about the upcoming game against the Patriots.
He returned to practice on Friday and was in the locker room following the workout with the rest of his teammates for lunch. Shortly thereafter, Peterson posted a message on his Twitter account that said in part: "It's your season! Weapons may form but won't prosper! God has you covered don't stress or worry!"
A man who identified himself as Peterson's uncle, Chris Peterson, answered the door at the running back's home in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and said Peterson wasn't there and that the family had no comment.
Peterson grew up in little Palestine, Texas. When he was 7, his 8-year-old brother Brian was riding his bicycle when he was killed by a drunk driver. Years later, his half-brother, Chris Paris, was shot and killed the night before Peterson worked out for scouts and coaches at the NFL combine.
His mother, Bonita Jackson, was a former Olympic sprinting hopeful and his father, Nelson Peterson, spent eight years behind bars for laundering drug money yet still managed to be a positive influence on his son's life.
"I told him to always introduce himself, look a man in the eye, give him a firm handshake and say, 'I'm Adrian Peterson,'" Nelson said at the Pro Bowl in 2009. "Respect others. That will take you a long way in life."
Peterson rushed for 2,960 yards and 32 touchdowns during his senior season at Palestine High School, then racked up an NCAA freshman record 1,925 yards in his freshman season at Oklahoma in 2004. He hasn't looked back, even with some bumps in the road.
Last season, not long after finding out that he had a 2-year-old son living in South Dakota, Peterson rushed to the hospital after authorities said the boy was brutally beaten by his mother's boyfriend. The boy died, and a 28-year-old man is scheduled to go on trial next month on second-degree murder charges in the case.
Hardin, the defense attorney, is a familiar name in sports circles. He successfully defended Roger Clemens in his recent perjury trial over the alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs and two years ago represented Los Angeles Lakers forward Jordan Hill, who was sentenced to one year of probation after pleading no contest to assaulting his former girlfriend.
He has worked with Peterson before, too: In 2012, he said Peterson was the victim after the player was charged with misdemeanor resisting arrest following an incident at a Houston nightclub.