Obama's plan to shut down Guantanamo Bay suffers major setback

President Obama’s plan to close the federal prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba hit a major snag Monday as lawmakers finalizing the annual defense policy bill rejected the steps in order to shut down the facility.
The final defense bill will not have a provision giving the president the power to transfer terror suspects to the U.S.  if Congress signs off on the plan, said Sen. Carl Levin.
"Our language ... (on Guantanamo) ... will not be in," Levin said.
Levin backed the authority for Obama to transfer the suspects and enthusiastically herald it in May as the “path to close Guantanamo.”
The House and Senate are expected to vote and overwhelmingly approve the sweeping policy bill in the coming days, sending it to Obama.
The president has pushed to close the post-9/11 prison since his inauguration in January 2009. He has faced strong resistance from Republicans and some Democrats in Congress who don't want terror suspects housed in U.S. facilities and have warned of suspects returning to the fight when they are transferred back to their home countries.
In the previous version of the defense bill, the Senate Armed Services Committee included the provision authorizing the transfer of terror suspects to the U.S. for “detention, trial and incarceration.”
The House version of the defense bill prohibited the transfer to U.S. soil, and Republican and Democratic lawmakers who have repeatedly and successfully fought White House efforts to move detainees prevailed in the final version of the defense bill.
Currently, the prison holds 142 men, including 73 already cleared for release.
Obama was approached by a store patron during his holiday shopping Saturday.
"Hope you can close Guantanamo," said the patron.
"We're working on it," Obama replied, then jokingly added to the nearby crowd of shoppers: "Any other issues?"
The U.S. has released a number of prisoners over the last few weeks.
Saudi national Muhammad al-Zahrani was allowed to return to his country Nov. 22 after five prisoners were released a few days prior.
The board cleared him for release in October, citing a number of factors including his willingness to participate in the Saudi rehabilitation program.
Al-Zahrani was the 13th prisoner to leave Guantanamo Bay this year and the seventh in just the past couple of weeks. Officials have said more prisoners will be released in the coming weeks as part of a renewed effort to close the site. Seventy three are already cleared for release.
The Associated Press contributed to this report

St. Louis police group demands punishment for Rams players in Ferguson protest

A St. Louis police officers' group called on the NFL to punish five Rams players who stood with their hands raised before trotting onto the field for pregame introductions Sunday. 
The St. Louis Police Officers' Association said it was "profoundly disappointed" with what it called a "display that police officers around the nation found tasteless, offensive and inflammatory." It called for the players involved to be disciplined and for both the league and team to issue a "very public apology."
The so-called "hands up, don't shoot" gesture has been commonly used by demonstrators protesting the decision of a St. Louis County grand jury to not indict Officer Darren Wilson in the August 9 shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in suburban Ferguson. Some witnesses said Brown, who was black, had his hands up before being fatally shot by Wilson, who is white. 
Prior to kickoff of their game against the Oakland Raiders, Rams wide receivers Tavon Austin and Kenny Britt came out together and raised their hands, but the move was obscured by a smoke machine in the upper reaches of the Edward Jones Dome. Jared Cook, Stedman Bailey and Chris Givens then came out and stood together with hands raised in the fog.
"I just think there has to be a change," Cook said after the Rams' 52-0 win. "There has to be a change that starts with the people that are most influential around the world.
"No matter what happened on that day, no matter how the whole situation went down, there has to be a change."
Coach Jeff Fisher said he'd not been aware the gesture had been planned by the players, all of them black.
Cook said players have been too busy to go to Ferguson, plus "it's kind of dangerous down there and none of us want to get caught up in anything."
"It takes some guts, it takes some heart, so I admire the people around the world that have been doing it," he added.
SLPOA Business Manager Jeff Roorda was quoted in a statement released by the organization as saying " All week long, the Rams and the NFL were on the phone with the St. Louis Police Department asking for assurances that the players and the fans would be kept safe from the violent protesters who had rioted, looted, and burned buildings in Ferguson ... then, as the players and their fans sit safely in their dome under the watchful protection of hundreds of St. Louis's finest, they take to the turf to call a now-exonerated officer a murderer, that is way out-of-bounds, to put it in football parlance."
Across the street from the stadium, about 75 protesters gathered in the second half as about 30 police wearing riot gear watched from a distance. Protesters chanted "Hands up, don't shoot!" ''No justice, no football!" ''This is what democracy looks like," and "We're here for Mike Brown."
James Weaver of St. Louis was among the protesters outside the stadium and argued with two fans leaving. They were separated by police.
"People don't understand what this is about," Weaver said. "This is about a young man lying on the street for four hours. People are mad."
Weaver added that police are "clicking their boots like the Gestapo."
The Rams had additional security measures in place for the game, including armed personnel from the National Guard. The team has wanded fans outside entrances all season.
Roorda also played down the notion that the players were exercising their right to free speech, saying ""I know that there are those that will say that these players are simply exercising their First Amendment rights. Well I've got news for people who think that way, cops have first amendment rights too, and we plan to exercise ours.
"I'd remind the NFL and their players that it is not the violent thugs burning down buildings that buy their advertiser's products," Roorda added. "It's cops and the good people of St. Louis and other NFL towns that do. Somebody needs to throw a flag on this play. If it's not the NFL and the Rams, then it'll be cops and their supporters."

ObamaCare's small business site reportedly opens to scant interest

A long-delayed section of the federal health care exchange website intended to help small business owners enroll their employees in health insurance plans for 2015 has drawn relatively little interest compared to the site's plans for individuals, according to a published report. 
The Washington Post, citing data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, reported Sunday that the home page for the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) drew 200,000 visits during its first week. By contrast, more than 1.5 million people visited Healthcare.gov's plan page for individuals over the same period. It was not immediately clear how many employers have offered health coverage to their employees through the plans or how many employees have bought them. 
The Post also reported that insurers are having trouble accessing their accounts on the site and are not appearing in the system's master lists of professionals available to advise small businesses. The paper reported, citing confidential federal documents, that parts of the online marketplace are still being tested. CMS spokesman Aaron Albright claimed that the sections of the site needed to explore and select health plans has been "thoroughly tested."
The SHOP Marketplace was originally intended to debut on Oct. 1 of last year, along with the other health care exchanges. However, amid massive problems with the launch of Healthcare.gov, the Obama administration announced that the start of online enrollment would be delayed. Initially, the postponement was only supposed to last until November of 2013, but the White House ultimately pushed the launch back to November of this year. 
The administration also postponed a requirement that small business employees be offered a choice of health plans in their area. Earlier this year, federal health officials told states that they still didn't have to honor that requirement. In all, the Post reports, 18 of the 32 states using SHOP to offer coverage declined to offer choices. 
Brokers tell the paper that another reason for the tepid interest in the SHOP website as that under ObamaCare, businesses only qualify for tax credits if they have fewer than 25 workers, specified salary levels and other characteristics. Even if businesses do meet the criteria for tax credits, they only last for two years.

Iraq's Prime Minister said Sunday that the country's army has been paying salaries to at least 50,000 soldiers who do not exist, the latest sign of corruption in a force that the U.S. hopes to help contain the Islamic State militant group. 
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told the country's Parliament that the practice was revealed as part of a preliminary investigation, and that further probes would likely show "more and more" false names. 
"Ghost soldiers" refer to people whose names appear on military rolls and who are paid salaries, but are not in military service. The Washington Post reported that the practice is often carried out by officers, who pretend to have more soldiers on their books then they really do and pocket the extra salary. 
The Post reported that an entry level soldier in the Iraqi army receives a salary of approximately $600 per month. If the 50,000 figure is accurate, the "ghost soldiers" are costing Iraq's treasury at least $350 million per year. However, Iraqi officials say that the true number of false names could be far greater than al-Abadi reported. 
"It could be more than triple this number," Hamid al-Mutlaq, a member of the parliamentary defense and security committee, told the Post. "The people who are responsible for this should be punished. Iraq’s safe has been emptied."
Widespread corruption and mismanagement in the Iraqi army under former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been blamed for the collapse of four of its divisions this summer in the face of an Islamic State offensive that overran Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul. 
The Pentagon has already requested $1.2 billion from Congress to better train and equip Iraq's army to improve its performance against the militants. U.S. officials told the Post earlier this week that the military hoped to build up nine new brigades that could work with Kurdish and Shiite fighters against the Islamic State.

Incoming senators talk compromise on jobs, immigration but partisan divide still an issue

Newly-elected senators from both parties agreed Sunday on several issues facing the incoming Congress, including job creation and the passage of immigration-reform legislation, but also hinted that elusive bipartisan compromise will be difficult to attain.
Arkansas GOP Rep. Tom Cotton, elected in November to the Senate, said the House wants to pass an immigration reform bill, just as the Democrat-controlled Senate did last year. However, the lower chamber’s bill will likely be different.
“I think we should pass a bill that addresses our problems,” Cotton told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
He said the priorities in a House version would be border security and enforcing existing laws on people living illegally in the United States.
Cotton also repeated his concern that Middle East terror groups could be trying to cross through security gaps in the U.S.-Mexico border.
The House faces increasing pressure to pass a bill to override the executive action President Obama took earlier this month on immigration reform.
Incoming Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Gary Peters, D-Mich., also agreed that their parties should work together to create more and better-paying jobs for Americans and to bring overseas manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.
“I think there are a number of opportunities for Republicans and Democrats to work together,” Tillis told CBS’s “Meet the Press.”
Peters agreed, adding that “I’m sure we can find ways to get people back to work and … find common ground.”
Still, their remarks, though perhaps unintended, suggested the continuing divide that frustrates Americans.
Tillis said Obama needs to find “consensus” for administration nominees, including those for the open posts of U.S. attorney general and Defense secretary, that work for “both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue,” meaning the White House and Congress.
He said Congress has failed on immigration reform but agreed with Cotton that border security comes first and argued that Obama’s executive actions could “set us back.”
Peters, the only Democrat newly elected to the Senate in November, called Congress’ inaction on the issue a “constant frustration.”
“Congress needs to act, instead of wringing our hands about the presidential action,” he said. “We have a bill that's been on the table for a year-and-a-half in the House. I believe that if the speaker would put it on the floor, it would actually pass. … If my Republican friends want to work in a bipartisan way and find common ground, we're already almost there.”
Tillis also suggested voters dumping some incumbents during the midterms and giving Republicans control of the Senate was not a mandate to change or compromise, only a “chance” in part to “work across the aisle.”

America Wants Cartoon

Fight brewing over Social Security benefits for illegal immigrants

A new clash over retirement benefits has come to a head following President Obama’s decision to unilaterally protect up to 5 million illegal immigrants from deportation.
The White House now acknowledges that many of the illegal immigrants spared from deportation under Obama’s sweeping executive action will become eligible for Social Security and Medicare benefits once they reach retirement age.
The conservative backlash has been swift and will certainly extend into a GOP Congress’ deliberations in 2015 over how to limit the reach of the president’s immigration blueprint.
A central argument in Obama’s defense of the most extensive overhaul to the immigration system in decades was that those given reprieves from deportation would not qualify for Obamacare benefits. The president reminded critics that Dream Act-eligible immigrants previously granted deportation deferrals could not enroll in federal health exchanges.

Resignation of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson unlikely to halt protests

Bailey Comment: "Cutting off the Welfare Checks, Free Housing, Free Food, Free everything would stop all these protesters! It's hard to attend a riot when your having to work for a living!"

City officials in Ferguson, Mo. were due Sunday to address the resignation of Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot and killed teenager Michael Brown in a confrontation in August that fueled protests in the St. Louis suburb and around the nation.
Stephanie Karr, Ferguson city attorney, told the Associated Press that city officials planned to make a statement regarding Wilson's resignation. Karr earlier this week said Wilson had been on paid leave pending the outcome of an internal police investigation.
Wilson's resignation was announced Saturday by one of his attorneys, Neil Bruntrager, who said his client's decision was effective immediately.
"I have been told that my continued employment may put the residents and police officers of the City of Ferguson at risk, which is a circumstance that I cannot allow,” Wilson said in his resignation letter released late Saturday.
“It was my hope to continue in police work, but the safety of other police officers and the community are of paramount importance to me. It is my hope that my resignation will allow the community to heal,” the letter read.
Meanwhile, Brown's parents planned to attend services at the church where their son's funeral was held, with the Rev. Al Sharpton scheduled to preach. 
"We were not after Wilson's job," Sharpton wrote in a statement. "We were after Michael Brown's justice."
On Saturday night, more than 100 protesters gathered near police headquarters, where they were outnumbers by officers, following the news. At least one person was arrested after a brief standoff with officers, while others wearing white masks sat in a nearby street blocking traffic. Another protester burned an American flag. By midnight, only about two dozen protesters remained.
But many seemed unfazed by the resignation. Several merely shrugged their shoulders when asked what they thought, while Rick Campbell flatly said he didn't care about the resignation, noting: "I've been protesting out here since August."
A grand jury spent more than three months reviewing evidence in the case before declining in November to issue charges against Wilson. He told jurors that he feared for his life when Brown hit him and reached for his gun.
The U.S. Justice Department is still conducting a civil rights investigation into the shooting and a separate probe of police department practices.
After the shooting, Wilson spent months in hiding and made no public statements. He broke his silence after the grand jury decision, telling ABC News that he could not have done anything differently in the encounter with Brown.
Wilson said he has a clean conscience because "I know I did my job right." Brown's shooting was the first time he fired his gun on the job, he said.
Asked whether the encounter would have unfolded the same way if Brown had been white, Wilson said yes.
 Away from the protests Saturday night, resident Victoria Rutherford said she believed Wilson should have not only resigned, but been convicted of a crime.
"I'm upset. I have a 16-year-old son. It could've been him. I feel that he was absolutely in the wrong," she said.
Another resident, Reed Voorhees, said he hoped Wilson could find similar work "someplace where he would enjoy life, and move on with his life."
In the days after the shooting, tense and sometimes violent protests popped up in and around Ferguson, a predominantly black community patrolled by a mostly white police force. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon called in the National Guard to help.
Then on Monday night -- when prosecutors announced that a grand jury declined to indict Wilson -- the St. Louis suburb of 20,000 residents was ravaged by looting and violence.
At least a dozen commercial buildings were destroyed in Ferguson and neighboring Dellwood, mostly along West Florissant Avenue, not far from where Brown was killed. By Tuesday, Nixon had sent more than 2,200 National Guard members to the Ferguson area to support local law enforcement.
Demonstrations, which also have been held other U.S. cities, are expected to continue, though a sense of normalcy -- or at least a new normal -- has begun to settle on the city.
Police earlier Saturday reopened several blocks of West Florissant that had been barricaded off since Tuesday. Although most store windows were still boarded up, many have been decorated or spray-painted with messages saying the stores are open and welcoming shoppers.
Some business owners spent an unseasonably warm day Saturday tidying up, hoping customers soon would return.
Tracy Ballard, 44, brought her 7-year-old daughter to a store on West Florissant to buy candy and soda, before a trip to the beautician up the street.
"I feel sad for the business owners," Ballard said. "It's really sad it had to come from this. We just wanted justice. If we'd have had justice, none of this would have happened."