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Second child abuse allegation against Vikings' Peterson comes to light

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was accused of abusing another of his children in an incident more than a year before the All-Pro was indicted on felony charges last week, a Houston television station reported Monday.  
KHOU-TV reported Monday that the incident occurred in June 2013, while the boy, then four years old, was visiting Peterson from out of state. The station reported that the child suffered a head wound that left a scar above his right eye. The scar was still visible weeks later. 
The station also obtained text messages between Peterson and the boy's mother in which Peterson said he had disciplined his son for cursing at a sibling. 
"I felt so bad," one of Peterson's messages says. "But he did it to his self [sic]." Peterson never answers when asked what he hit the child with, but later says "Be still n take ya whooping he would have saved the scare [scar]. He aight [all right]."
A law enforcement official confirmed to KHOU that authorities had known about the allegations, and the station reported that the mother had filed a report with Child Protective Services. TMZ reported that the CPS investigation determined that the child had sustained the head injury accidentally while Peterson was punishing him and no charges were filed. Texas law permits parents to administer "reasonable punishment" to children.
The latest allegation surfaced hours after Peterson was reinstated to the Vikings' active roster after being deactivated from the team's 30-7 loss to the New England Patriots Sunday. The team released a statement to NBC Sports' ProFootballTalk.com late Monday confirming that they had known about the 2013 allegation when the decision to reinstate Peterson was made. 
Peterson's attorney Rusty Hardin responded to the allegation by saying "This is not a new allegation, it's one that is unsubstantiated and was shopped around to authorities in two states over a year ago and nothing came of it. An adult witness adamantly insists Adrian did nothing inappropriate with his son. There is no ongoing or new investigation."
On Monday, the Radisson hotel chain said it was suspending its sponsorship of the Vikings, citing its "long-standing commitment to the protection of children." Radisson's sponsorship includes a press banner that is behind those speaking at Vikings news conferences. On Monday, the banner was behind Vikings general manager Rick Spielman as he discussed the team's decision to reinstate Peterson.
Peterson is scheduled to appear in court in Montgomery County, Texas Oct. 8. He faces charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child. Peterson is accused of using a wooden switch on another of his sons this past May, leaving deep bruises that were visible several days later. 

Businesses reported cutting jobs due to ObamaCare

Businesses are cutting jobs due to ObamaCare, according to surveys by several regional Federal Reserve Banks.
Health economist John Goodman noted that "three Federal Reserve Banks in Philadelphia, New York and Atlanta have surveyed the folks in their area and roughly one fifth of the employers are saying they cut back on employment.
“Roughly one fifth are saying they're moving from full time to part time,” Goodman added. “More than one in ten are saying they're doing more outsourcing - all this because of the new health care reform."
Doug Holtz-Eakin, former Director of the Congressional Budget Office, said “for the smaller employers -- those that have between 20 and 49 employees -- you get a negative impact on jobs, you get a negative impact on wages in those jobs. What this means for small business as a whole is over $22 billion of earnings gone for their workers and 350,000 jobs."
Small business is responsible for the vast majority of job creation in the U.S.
The president repeatedly has delayed the mandate requiring businesses with more than 50 employees to provide insurance. But businesses know it's coming, so many avoid hiring to keep their worker rolls below 50.
Also, the mandate applies only to those who work more than 30 hours a week -- an incentive for employers to reduce hours.
Merrill Matthews of the Institute for Policy Innovation noted, "you have a kind of a natural cliff there, that keeping your employees under that magic number" relieves employers of the mandate to provide insurance.
"The 30-hour cutoff is how the administration determines whether you're full time or part time," Goodman explained. "And so we see this everywhere that people are restricted, they're pushed below 30 hours, they count as part time and when they're part time, the employer doesn't have to provide health insurance."
More than a third of manufacturing firms in the NY Fed survey said they're raising prices to cover the costs of health care, and about half the businesses surveyed by the Dallas Fed said ObamaCare is raising insurance costs for their employees.
"Yes we are going to see increased cost to employers who are trying to provide health care for their employees,but employers don’t just take that lying down," said Tevi Troy of the American Health Policy Institute.
Goodman added, "Even among full-time workers, their take home pay is going to go down because one thing that almost all the employers are doing in response to ObamaCare is raising the deductibles, raising the co-payments and making the employee pay more of the premium."
On Monday, the administration reported that 279,000 people have yet to clear up discrepancies in their income data, which could mean their premiums will go up, as well.
Officials also say 115,000 still have not resolved their immigration status. Their insurance will end if they don't clear things up by Sept. 30.

White House officials warn Syria over ISIS mission

The United States would retaliate against Syrian President Bashar Assad's air defenses if he were to go after American planes launching airstrikes in his country, a senior Obama administration official said Monday.
Officials also told Fox News that the U.S. has a good sense of where the Syrian air defenses, along with their command and control centers, are located. If Assad were to use those capabilities to threaten U.S. forces, it would put his air defenses at risk, a senior official told Fox News.
President Obama has authorized U.S. airstrikes inside Syria as part of a broad campaign to root out the Islamic State militant group, though no strikes have yet been launched in the country.
Asked Monday about the prospect of striking Assad's regime if his forces were to target Americans, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said there will be "rules of engagement that are related to any military orders the president directs."
"It won't surprise you to know that there are contingencies related to self-defense when it comes to these sorts of rules of engagement," he said.
The mere discussion of launching strikes in Syria has highlighted the complexity of taking U.S. military action inside a country locked in an intractable civil war. The conflict has created odd alliances, with both the U.S. and the Assad regime now fighting the Islamic State militant group.
However, U.S. officials have ruled out direct coordination with Assad and insist that a campaign against the Islamic State will not strengthen the Syrian dictator's hold on power. Obama is seeking congressional authorization to train and arm Western-backed rebels in the country in hopes they can both fight the Islamic State and eventually the Assad regime.
Officials told The Associated Press that Obama has been making phone calls in recent days to lawmakers in both parties pressing for them to authorize the train-and-equip mission before lawmakers leave town Friday for an almost two-month recess in preparation for November's midterm elections.
The rise of the Islamic State group has put Obama on the brink of being drawn into a Syrian conflict he has long sought to avoid. Administration officials have long insisted that one of their concerns with taking airstrikes against the Assad regime is the government's formidable air defenses, which could put American forces at risk.
Those air defense capabilities are less prominent in the more desolate stretches of eastern Syria where U.S. warplanes are likely to fly in order to launch airstrikes. However, officials have said that air defense systems can be moved and thus must be monitored as the U.S. mission ramps up.

'OFFER' REJECTED: Iran says it won't help Obama in fight against ISIS

Bailey: "Can you believe the Obama Administration asked one of our Biggest Enemy Iran to help us fight ISIS?  What a bunch of Idiots we elected to run our government!"

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S EFFORT to build broad international support to destroy the Islamic State has become a long-distance dispute between the US and Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said on Twitter he rejected a US offer to help thwart the group.

Hurdles for ObamaCare in 2nd sign-up season

Potential complications await consumers as President Barack Obama's health care law approaches its second open enrollment season, just two months away.
Don't expect a repeat of last year's website meltdown, but the new sign-up period could expose underlying problems with the law itself that are less easily fixed than a computer system.
Getting those who signed up this year enrolled again for 2015 won't be as easy as it might seem. And the law's interaction between insurance and taxes looks like a sure-fire formula for confusion.
For example:
-- For the roughly 8 million people who signed up this year, the administration has set up automatic renewal. But consumers who go that route may regret it. They risk sticker shock by missing out on lower-premium options. And they could get stuck with an outdated and possibly incorrect government subsidy. Automatic renewal should be a last resort, consumer advocates say.
--An additional 5 million people or so will be signing up for the first time on HealthCare.gov and state exchange websites. But the Nov. 15-Feb. 15 open enrollment season will be half as long the 2013-2014 sign-up period, and it overlaps with the holiday season.
-- Of those enrolled this year, the overwhelming majority received tax credits to help pay their premiums. Because those subsidies are tied to income, those 6.7 million consumers will have to file new forms with their 2014 tax returns to prove they got the right amount. Too much subsidy and their tax refunds will be reduced. Too little, and the government owes them.
--Tens of millions of people who remained uninsured this year face tax penalties for the first time, unless they can secure an exemption.
"It's the second open enrollment, but the first renewal and the first tax season where the requirements of the Affordable Care Act are in place," said Judy Solomon, vice president for health policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which advocates for low-income people, and supports the law.
"The fact that it is all going to be occurring within an overlapping and relatively short time frame ... means that there will be many issues," she added.
At Foundation Communities, an Austin, Texas, nonprofit serving low-income people, Elizabeth Colvin says more volunteers will be needed this year to help new customers as well as those re-enrolling. Last time, her organization's health insurance campaign lined up 100 volunteers. She figures she will need a minimum of 50 more.
"We have less than half the time than last year, and it's over the holidays," she said. "We have a concern about trying to get more people through the system without shortchanging education, so that consumers know how to use the insurance they're enrolling in,"
Some congressional supporters of the law are worried about more political fallout, particularly because of the law's convoluted connections with the tax system.
"It seems to me there ought to be some way to better educate folks on what they may face in this process," Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., told Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen at a hearing last week.
Thompson wasn't impressed when Koskinen said the IRS has put information on its website and is using social media to get out the word.
Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., said in an interview that he disagrees with making people pay back part of their premium subsidy. That would happen if someone made more money during the year and failed to report it to HealthCare.gov.
"Why should individuals be punished if they got a bump in salary?" said Pascrell. "To me, this was not the ACA I voted on."
Last year the federal website that serves most states crashed the day it went live, and it took the better part of two months to get things working reasonably well. This year, the Obama administration is promising a better consumer experience, but officials have released few details. It's unclear how well system tests are going.
"This coming year will be one of visible and continued improvement, but not perfection," said Andy Slavitt, a tech executive brought in by the Department of Health and Human Services to oversee the operation.
Insurers say they continue to worry about connections not fully straightened out between their computer systems and the government's.
They also are concerned about retaining customers. One quirk troubling the industry is that policyholders who want to update their subsidies and stay in the same plan will have to type in a 14-character plan identifier when they re-enroll online. That's longer than a phone number or a Social Security number, and customers may not know where to find it.
Administration spokesman Aaron Albright says consumers will have several ways to do that. The number will be mailed to them by their insurer as part of their renewal notice, they can get it from a HealthCare.gov call center or they can select the same plan while browsing other options online.
Alex Stevens, a dishwasher at an Austin pizzeria, got covered this year and said he's planning to re-enroll. A skateboarding enthusiast in his late 20s, Stevens broke a leg skating with friends this summer. It was a bad break and he had major surgery the next day.  But his insurance paid most of the $55,000 bill, and he only owed $750.
"My mom said she was glad that I have insurance," said Stevens.
As the share of Americans remaining uninsured declines, it's clear the health care law has filled a need for millions of people like Stevens, who work but don't have coverage on the job.
That demand was strong enough to overcome a dysfunctional website the first year of the coverage expansion. The second year will show whether the full program is workable for the people it was intended to serve, or if major retooling will be needed.

Hillary Clinton in Iowa stirs 2016 speculation

INDIANOLA, Iowa –  Hillary Clinton returned to Iowa on Sunday for the first time since her 2008 Democratic presidential primary loss in the state, telling the crowd at the 37^th annual Harkin Steak Fry -- “I’m back.”
Clinton, the clear Democratic frontrunner should she make a 2016 White House bid, was greeted with loud cheers at the fundraising event. The event was held in honor of Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who is retiring from Congress this year.
The former secretary of state told the crowd of several hundred that her immediate focus is helping fellow Democrats in the midterm elections but that she also thinks about “that other thing,” hinting at a 2016 run.
"It's true, I've been thinking about it," she said. “People get excited about presidential campaigns, look I get excited about presidential campaigns, too.”
Missing in her speech were remarks on President Obama's recent efforts to destroy the Islamic State militant group and on other pressing foreign policy issues.
However, she praised Obama for his attempts to bring the country out of the recession, saying the country is on its way to recovery.
She was joined at the event by husband and former President Bill Clinton, who also spoke.  Clinton urged guests to vote for Democrats on Nov. 4 to "pull this country together, to push this country forward.”
The last time Hillary Clinton was in Iowa she finished third in the state's first-in-the-nation caucus in 2008, behind now-President Obama and John Edwards.    
On Sunday, Clinton delivered a keynote speech that focused on such issues as equal pay for women and increasing the minimum wage. She also thanked Harkin for all of his hard work and talked about the changes he had made during his time in the Senate, particularly his efforts to help people with disabilities.  
Harkin was critical of Clinton in a recent ABC News interview, saying he still had questions about her foreign and economic policies.
However, on Sunday, Harkin stood side by side with the Clintons, then introduced Hillary by talking about her accomplishments in the Senate and as secretary of state.  
Though Clinton has not officially made a decision about a run for the White House, many are already building a network for her run. The Super PAC Ready for Hillary has been drumming up support across Iowa and other key voting states.
Clinton finished her speech by telling the crowd she would not “let another seven years go by.”
“It’s time to write a new chapters in the American dream,” she said.

White House claims Arab nations offer to join airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq, Syria

White House officials have claimed that Arab nations have offered to join the U.S. in airstrikes against the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria, though no countries were specifically named. 
The New York Times reported that Secretary of State John Kerry had declined to say which states had offered to contribute air power, with White House officials saying that any announcement of specifics could wait until later this week. Kerry is scheduled to testify before congressional committees Wednesday and Thursday. 
Led by Kerry, U.S. diplomatic officials have raced to secure commitments from allies in Europe and the Middle East, as well as nations like Australia, since President Obama authorized expanded action against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, in a televised address last Wednesday. On Monday, Kerry attended international talks in Paris seeking to finalize a strategy against ISIS, which rocketed to prominence over the summer by seizing broad swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq. 
The Times reported late Sunday that any effort on the ground against ISIS would be dependent upon regular Iraqi troops, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in that country's north, and moderate Syrian rebels who have battled the forces of that country's President, Bashar al-Assad, in a bloody civil war since 2011. The paper said that the U.S. strategy calls for the Iraqi army to be guided by 12-man teams of advisers, with arms and other assistance going to the Peshmerga. The Obama administration has called on Congress to approve a $500 million arms package for the Syrian opposition, meant to serve as a prelude for the expansion of the U.S. effort against ISIS. 
According to the Times, State Department officials say that Arab nations could participate in non-lethal ways against an air campaign against ISIS, possibly by making reconnaissance flights or by flying arms to Iraqi or Kurdish forces. 
Reuters reported Monday that France has offered to take part in airstrikes against Iraq, and the Associated Press reported, citing a French official, that jets from that country were prepared to carry out reconnaissance flights beginning Monday. 
"The terrorist threat is global and the response must be global," French President Francois Hollande said in opening Monday's conference. "There is no time to lose." French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius acknowledged that a number of the countries at the table Monday had "very probably" financed ISIS's advances.
Muslim-majority countries are considered vital to any operation to prevent the militants from gaining more territory in Iraq and Syria. Western officials have made clear they consider Assad to be part of the problem, and U.S. officials opposed France's attempt to invite Iran.
In an exclusive interview on Sunday with The Associated Press in Paris, Iraq's President Fouad Massoum — a Kurd, whose role in the government is largely ceremonial — expressed regret that Iran was not attending the conference.
Massoum noted "sensitivities between some countries and Iran."
He also seemed not to welcome the possible participation Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in air strikes in Iraqi territory.
"It is not necessary that they participate in air strikes; what is important is that they participate in the decisions of this conference," he said, underscoring Baghdad's closeness to Iran and how tensions among the regional powers could complicate the process of forming a Sunni alliance.
Speaking in his first interview since becoming Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi told state-run al-Iraqiyya in comments aired Sunday that he had given approvals to France to use Iraqi airspace and said all such authorizations would have to come from Baghdad.
Earlier, Fabius said quick action was vital, insisting there was no comparison with the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, which France vocally opposed.
"It's the same geographic area but that's the only similarity," Fabius told France Info radio on Monday. "When you are a political leader you have to measure the cost of inaction."
U.S. Central Command has carried out more than 150 airstrikes against ISIS targets in Iraq since August 8. The militant group has responded by beheading three Western hostages, most recently British aid worker David Haines, whose killing was shown in a graphic video released Saturday.