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Carson getting 'personnel, rationale' in place for possible 2016 White House run

Dr. Ben Carson acknowledged Sunday that he is building a campaign team for a potential 2016 presidential run and indicated he will make a formal announcement by May.
“We’re making sure all the infrastructure is in place -- personnel and rationale,” said Carson, a conservative favorite expected to run in the Republican primary. “We’re putting all of that together.”
Carson indicated on “Fox News Sunday” that he will, in the next couple of weeks, announce an exploratory committee toward a White House bid and that he would make public in May whether we will formally enter the race.
The 63-year-old Carson continues to do well in early polling.

“We’re making sure all the infrastructure is in place . . ."- Dr. Ben Carson

He finished tied for fifth in a Bloomberg Politics/Saint Anselm New Hampshire Poll for potential GOP candidates released Sunday.
He finished behind former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Carson tied with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Carson criticized President Obama’s plan to provide free community college education to Americans. He said existing Pell Grants already help students from low-income families receive a higher education. And he offered advice for those who don’t qualify for assistance.
“W-o-r-k,” he said, arguing that government is not responsible for providing everything to it citizens, including those in low- and middle-income families.
"We don't have to give away everything," Carson said. "That was never the intention. The government is not there to give away everything and to take care of people. It is to facilitate our ability to have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That's it."
Carson also weighed in on the recent debate about immunization and the measles outbreak that has divided the potential 2016 GOP White House field. He said parents should immunize their children.
Carson said many parents who don’t immunize are the victims of old misinformation and suggested the public health community hasn’t done a good enough job of getting out the correct information, which is that the obvious upsides outweigh the potential downsides, such as allergic reactions.
However, he argued the issue shouldn’t be partisan.
“It’s not a Republican or Democratic issue,” Carson told Fox News.
Days earlier, Paul suggested parents should have their children immunize but also argued that "the state doesn’t own the children.”

Kerry opens door to 2016 White House bid, but just slightly

Secretary of State John Kerry said in an interview broadcast on Sunday that he has not ruled out a 2016 White House bid, which would put him in a wide-open Democrat primary field behind front-runner Hillary Clinton.
Kerry, the party’s presidential nominee in 2004, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “nobody ever says never.”
However, he said he could think of “no scenario whatsoever” in which he would start such a campaign.
“I haven't thought about it. And I'm, as you can tell, pretty busy," Kerry said from Germany, where he is participating in the Munich Security Conference.
To be sure, as the country’s top diplomat, Kerry has been busy traveling around the world to help resolve an array on international crisis and situations, including the battle against Islamic extremist groups, the Iran nuclear deal, a potential Israel-Palestinian peace agreement and Ukraine’s battle against Russian-backed separatists.  
Among those being mentioned as potential Democratic primary challengers to Clinton, a former secretary of State and 2008 White House candidate, are former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Vice President Joe Biden, who ran for president in 1988 and 2008.
Clinton has not declared a candidacy.
Kerry, a former Massachusetts senator, has previously suggested that his current job is his last in politics.

Kerry says US ‘on the road’ to defeating ISIS, amid claims terror group is spreading

Secretary of State John Kerry and a top White House official claimed Sunday that the U.S. strategy to defeat the Islamic State is working – despite warnings from other corners of the Obama administration that the terror network is in fact spreading.
Following the purported deaths last week of two ISIS hostages and concerns about the U.S. needing to do more, Kerry told NBC's "Meet the Press" that the U.S.-led coalition was "on the road" to defeating the Islamic extremist group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, in Iraq and Syria.
He argued that coalition forces have recaptured 22 percent of the populated areas that ISIS once held in the region “without launching what we would call a major offensive."
The claim came just days after Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, delivered a grim assessment of the group’s evolution in testimony to the House Armed Services Committee. He described how the group was surfacing in North Africa.
"With affiliates in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, the group is beginning to assemble a growing international footprint that includes ungoverned and under governed areas,” Stewart testified.
Defense secretary nominee Ashton Carter, who had his confirmation hearing Wednesday, also told Congress this past week he is aware of reports that ISIS may try to expand into Afghanistan.
Still, retired Gen. John Allen, the White House special envoy on the Islamic State, told ABC’s “This Week” that the United States has accomplished its goal of devising a “comprehensive plan” and striking a “hard blow.”
“I believe they have actually,” said Allen, pointing to the northern Syria town of Kobani. Kurdish troops took control of the town several days ago after hundreds of coalition airstrikes on ISIS positions.
Kerry and Allen got some support for their argument from Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Judeh.  
Judeh told ABC later in the show that ISIS is “on the run,” but that certain victory “will not be quick.”
“They are not gone yet,” he said. “The air campaign has degraded their capabilities on the ground. They still control territories. They still have access to Syria’s cash and funds and sophisticated weaponry… . But there is no doubt we shall prevail.”  
Allen and Judeh’s positive analysis was preceded Sunday by Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, the former director of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, who says the United States’ overarching strategy for combating Islamic extremist groups is not working.
“The counterterrorism component works just fine to go after the high-value targets and key leaders,” he told “Fox News Sunday.” “But we need a much broader strategy that recognizes that we’re facing not just this tactical problem of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. … I think what I’m saying is the strategy that we have is not working, and it’s clearly not working.”
He estimated the size of the enemy has doubled in the past 10 years and pointed to such hotspots as middle-central Asia, northern Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. 
However, Flynn also made clear the responsibility to craft a comprehensive plan goes beyond the White House to Congress.
Flynn made his remarks as Congress prepares this week to consider whether to give Obama the authorization to use military force against Islamic State.
Some critics of the current administration plan -- essentially airstrikes in Iraq and Syria with U.S. troops helping train local militias -- want to send American combat troops into the region.
However, the so-called “boots on the ground” strategy appears unpopular for war-weary Americans.
And on Sunday, Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, a potential 2016 White House candidate and ardent Obama administration critic, voiced opposition to sending U.S. troops overseas.
“I don’t believe right now we need American boots on the ground. And the reason is, we have boots on the ground already, with the Kurds,” he told ABC.
However, he also argued the U.S. needs to supply them with more weapons.

Obama, Merkel aim to keep united front amid dispute over arming Ukraine

A previously scheduled Monday morning White House meeting between President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel has taken on greater import as both leaders attempt to keep a united front in the midst of a dispute over whether to arm Ukrainian forces battling Russian-backed separatists in the country's east. 
The Wall Street Journal reported late Sunday that Obama has held off on making a final decision on whether to provide so-called lethal aid to Kiev until his meeting with Merkel, which will also be attended by Vice President Joe Biden.
Support for weapons deliveries has grown in Washington as Russian-backed separatist rebels have made significant gains in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks. For her part, Merkel has given Russian President Vladimir Putin until Wednesday to agree to a road map to end the bloody fighting. Merkel and her French counterpart, Francois Hollande, spoke by phone to Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko Sunday, with the aim of finalizing a deal Wednesday in the Belarussian capital of Minsk. 
The differing approaches of the U.S. and Germany came to a head over the weekend at a security conference in Munich, Germany, at which Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., accused Germany of abandoning Ukraine, which he described as a "struggling democracy."
That comment brought a rebuke from German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who said "Perhaps we are so insistent [on negotiation] because we know the region a bit."
It fell to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to smooth things over, as he said both the U.S. and Europe were "united in our diplomacy."
"There is no division, there is no split," Kerry added. "I keep hearing people trying to create one. We are united, we are working closely together."
German diplomats have warned that any new arms deliveries will cause Russia to respond in kind, leading to more bloodshed and the end of any chance for a negotiated settlement to the conflict. Western officials told the Journal that Germany will move to increase sanctions against Russian companies if Merkel determines that Russia has blocked a deal.
For their part, some U.S. officials tell the paper that giving Ukraine more weapons would force Putin to rethink his strategy. Western and Ukrainian officials believe that regular Russian troops are embedded with the rebels. Russia has denied this, and officials say that has caused authorities in Moscow to hold secret burials for troops killed in Ukraine all over the country in the hope of avoiding suspicion and backlash from military families. Russia has also repeatedly denied providing training and equipment to the separatists. 
"If we help Ukrainians increase the military cost to the Russian forces that have invaded their country, how long can Putin sustain a war that he tells his people is not happening?" Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Sunday in Munich. 
The plan presented to Poroshenko and Putin last week by Merkel and Hollande would call for a case-fire and the withdrawal of heavy weaponry from the front line to create a demilitarized zone. The plan would also call for separatist forces to withdraw from the territory they have captured while preventing Ukrainian forces from entering it during any future negotiations for a permanent settlement.

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Brian Williams does not face investigation, stepped aside voluntarily, source says

Brian Williams decided on his own to step aside from his NBC newscast for several days and was under no pressure to do so by network executives, a person familiar with the situation says.
The move on Saturday, developed in consultation with the NBC brass, was not a thinly disguised suspension. In fact, no one, including NBC News President Deborah Turness, suggested that Williams take time off, this person says.
What’s more, according to the source, NBC is not conducting an internal investigation of its anchor, as has been widely reported. The network is engaging in journalistic fact-gathering so it can respond to questions about the crisis created by Williams’ false story about having been in a helicopter in Iraq that was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. That means there will be no report with a finding on his conduct, this person says.
Williams knows that he needs to address the situation beyond the botched apology this week that made matters worse. And he has a prime forum coming up: An appearance scheduled for Thursday on CBS’s “Late Show” with David Letterman.
Williams is strongly considering keeping the appearance and using it as an opportunity to clear the air and address the lingering questions, the source says, but no final decision has been made.
Ironically, the anchor will be sitting in the same chair where he told Letterman the false Iraq story in 2013—a clip that has been widely replayed to show that he has repeatedly claimed to have been in the downed Chinook.
No one, including Williams, is minimizing the gravity of the situation. He is said to be embarrassed and very remorseful about the crisis that he created by misrepresenting what happened in Iraq in 2003.
NBC executives have not publicly defended Williams, fueling media speculation that his job may be in jeopardy. But the person familiar with the situation says Williams wanted no such public show of support, fearing it would appear to be the kiss of death.
That’s because NBC management had expressed support for David Gregory before dumping him as moderator of “Meet the Press,” and for Ann Curry before pushing her off the “Today” show.
Williams understands how badly he has damaged the news division. He told colleagues this week that while the Iraq debacle was solely his mistake, he hurt all of them because he is the high-profile face of NBC News.
He also is acutely aware that by saying during his apology that he was in a “following aircraft” behind the chopper that was hit—which was debunked by Stars & Stripes—he prolonged the controversy and made matters worse.
On the central question of why he claimed to have been in the helicopter that was struck by an RPG, Williams is said to believe that he simply succumbed to the sin of exaggeration. Armchair pundits have been analyzing whether he somehow convinced himself that he was a hero by taking enemy fire.
For now, at least, Williams’ job at NBC, where he has been the top-rated network anchor for a decade, appears secure. But that could change if journalists poke more holes in other stories reported by Williams.
For instance, a report in the New Orleans Advocate questioned whether Williams actually saw a dead body floating by his hotel when he was covering Hurricane Katrina in 2005, as he has repeatedly said.
The New Orleans Times Picayune reports Saturday that since the anchor was staying at the Ritz-Carlton in the French Quarter, “it is possible Williams saw floodwater outside the hotel, as water pouring in from failed levees reached that [area]. The Associated Press reported that a news photographer and a law enforcement official said they saw bodies in the area.”
By handing his anchor duties to Lester Holt for a week or so—there is no exact timetable—Williams hopes to minimize the distraction that his credibility problems have created. But whether he can achieve his goal of regaining the audience’s trust depends on how he handles the mounting questions in the days ahead.

Obama administration issues 5.5M work permits to non-citizens; critics call it 'shadow' immigration system

The Obama administration has since 2009 issued roughly 5.5 million work permits to non-citizens beyond what Congress has authorized, according to recently-released documents that critics of U.S. policy say reveals a "shadow" or "parallel" immigration system stifling wages and taking jobs from Americans.
The information was obtained by the conservative-leaning Center for Immigration Studies through a Freedom of Information Act request and has prompted Alabama GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions to call for an investigation.
"This request has unearthed the operation of a shadow immigration system previously unknown to the American public," said Sessions, one of Capitol Hill's most outspoken critics of President Obama's immigration policy. "A full investigation is warranted."
Congress authorized an estimated 5 million green cards and 3.5 million guest worker permits during the 2009-2014 period, in addition to the 5.5 million issued by administration action, a Senate staffer said Wednesday.
Jessica Vaughn, the study author and the center's director of policy studies, argues the administration has discovered the power to issue work permits outside the limits set by Congress and that it has become "the vehicle" for Obama’s executive actions -- in which he has offered deferred deportation to millions of people now in the country illegally.
The biggest group of recipients has been people entering the U.S. without being inspected. More than 957,200 of them received permanent or "pre-permanent" work permits, according to the center.
Others received those types of permits were 23,215 parolees, nearly 1,000 stowaways and 49 people suspected of document fraud.
In addition, 531,692 students and 470,028 students received temporary work permits over that period. And those in both groups were neither originally admitted to the U.S. for employment nor qualified for admission, the group found.
"Some of those people are on track to get a green card," Vaughn said recently on Fox News Business' "Lou Dobbs Tonight." "But the vast majority of them entered illegal or on a tourist visa or the visa waiver program. … It's not like there’s a labor shortage here."
Session has largely framed his argument against Obama's immigration policy as hurtful to U.S. workers, many of whom have not seen wages increase in the growing, post-recession economy.
"The slack labor market has depressed median family income by $5,000" since 2009, he said.
Vaughn also broke down the numbers to show the three biggest groups ineligible for work permits but receiving them are illegal immigrants (928,000), people of "unknown" immigration status (1.7 million), and those on a temporary visa (1.8 million).
"There's no reason to issue (work permits) to people here illegally or whose status is unknown," Vaughn also said.
She said 1.7 million have either not been recorded or their statuses have not being disclosed by the Citizenship and Immigration Services, which  should be a concern because work permits are “gateway documents” to drivers' licenses and other benefits.
The agency did return a call requesting comment.
"And if the government agency issuing them does not know or will not disclose how the bearer arrived in the country how can others rely on the authenticity of an individual's identity? It is equally disconcerting if the government does know and chooses not to disclose it," Vaughn said.