Today's Issues

President Looks Shift Attention To Counterterrorism

2013-05-24T02:00:00Z

President Obama on Thursday delivered a counterterrorism speech that some view as an effort to deflect attention from ongoing scandals.

Obama used his speech at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. to shine a light on his administrations use of targeted drone strikes, as well as to renew his call for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention center.

Speaking to the issue of Guantanamo Bay, Obama said that he'd lifted a moratorium against the transfer of detainees to Yemen. Obama also announced that his administration is searching for a site within the U.S. to hold military commissions. Both initiatives drew ire among Republicans.

"This speech was only necessary due to a deeply inconsistent counter-terrorism policy, one that maintains it is more humane to kill a terrorist with a drone, than detain and interrogate him at Guantanamo Bay," Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said in a statement.

The president today also adamantly defended his administration's use of drone strikes, which it was revealed on Thursday, have killed four U.S. citizens overseas.

The president announced that on Wednesday he signed a directive establishing guidelines for future drone strikes. Obama said future strikes will only be authorized against terrorists who pose a "continuing and imminent threat" to Americans and only when there is "near-certainty" that civilians would not put in harms way.

"It is in this context that the United States has taken lethal, targeted action against Al Qaeda and its associated forces," Obama said.

For more on the President's attempt to shift attention to his administration's counterterrorism efforts go to FoxNews.com.

Official At Center Of IRS Scandal Put On Administrative Leave

2013-05-24T01:00:00Z

Lois Lerner, the person who not only ran the department at the epicenter of the IRS scandal, but also refused to testify before Congress finds herself on administrative leave Thursday night.

That news follows calls from lawmakers for her to be suspended or fired after she pleaded the Fifth Amendment before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday.

Before taking the Fifth, Lerner claimed that she had done nothing wrong, and that she broke no laws.

Following her dismissal from the House hearing, the administration was pressured to take action given that two individuals with far less proximity to the scandal had been fired.

According to Fox News, Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and John McCain, R-Ariz., sent a let to IRS Acting Commissioner Daniel Werfel, urging the agency to remove Lerner from office, saying they had "lost confidence in her ability to fulfill her duties."

Lerner's problems are seemingly getting worse. Republicans may try to recall her to testify before the House Oversight Committee.

An aide to Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif. told Fox News that Lerner's Fifth Amendment assertion is "no longer valid," since she offered testimony prior to exercising her right against self-incrimination.

For more about Lerner's placement on administrative leave and the still unfolding IRS scandal, go to FoxNews.com.

U.S. Stocks Fend Of Global Rout!

2013-05-23T23:00:00Z

Wall Street investors today endured another wild ride on Wall Street.

After falling more than 120-points in the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to finish down only 13-points. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 4-points. The S&P 500 down just 5-points on the day.

News of an unexpected contraction in Chinese manufacturing activity, coupled with mixed signals regarding the scale of future Federal Reserve bond purchases led to steep declines at the opening bell.

However investors managed to pare losses following stronger than expected news on the housing and labor markets.

New home sales in April rose 2.3% to an annual rate of 454,000 units, that's the second highest level on new home sales since July 2008. Adding to the good news, the media price for a new home jumped 14.9% compared to a year ago, reaching a record high of $271,600.

Stock prices also firmed after the Labor Department reported that weekly jobless claims fell a steeper than expected 23,000, totaling 340,000.

Hewlett-Packard proved to be a huge source of strength in the stock market. HP's stock price surged 17% after posting stronger than expected quarterly results.

Debt and gold prices both jumped as investors sought safety from volatility in the equities market.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped 2.5-basis points, ending at 2.019%.

Gold prices jumped $24.40 or 1.8%. The August gold contract closed at a one week high of $1,392.80 an ounce.

More Obama/IRS Stonewalling!

2013-05-23T00:00:00Z

If any was expecting a third day of congressional hearings on the IRS scandal would bring them closer to the truth, they were disappointed with the outcome of today's hearing held by the House Oversight Committee.

Wednesday's hearing likely presented Americans with the most vivid example of the obstacles lawmakers face in getting to the bottom of the IRS scandal, which unfairly targeted conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.

Both Democrats and Republicans appeared visibly frustrated by the lack of answers coming from witnesses appearing before the House Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California.

Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., admonished the agency, saying that unless IRS employees don't start talking, a special prosecutor would be appointed.

"There will be hell to pay if that's the route that we to go down," Lynch said.
Defiant to that warning, Lois Lerner, director of the IRS division in charge of the controversial program, claimed that she had done nothing wrong.

"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," Lerner told committee members before invoking her Fifth Amendment right, protecting her from self-incrimination.

It was Lerner who originally admitted her division had been applying extra scrutiny to conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status from 2010 through 2012.

Realizing that lawmaker were not going to get any information out of Lerner, she was dismissed from the hearing, leaving members to focus their frustration on former IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman.

However, Shulman offered repeated testimony that he'd offered to a senate committee on Tuesday, refusing to take responsibility for the actions that took place while he was chief of the IRS.

Shulman also provided little new reasoning as to why he did not update Congress about the program after the IRS concluded an internal investigation that came to similar conclusions reached by Inspector General J. Russell George.

Stocks Fall On Fears Of Fed QE3 Tapering

2013-05-22T23:00:00Z

The Federal Reserve today took investors on a wild ride, inducing a more than 270-point swing on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The blue chip index closed trading down 80-points. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 39-points on the day. The S&P 500 finished down 14-points.

Investors this evening feeling like they've been struck with a serious case of whiplash.

Stocks initially surged more than 120 points on dovish comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Bernanke today told lawmakers and investors that a premature tightening of monetary policy could slow or even end the economic recovery. The market took that to mean that the Fed's easy money policy remains intact, and will remain so for the near future.

But stocks showed some weakness when the issue of the Fed's $85 billion a month bond purchasing program came up, with the Fed Chairman suggesting that depending on economic data, there's room for adjustment in either direction.

And with just two hours left in the trading session, the Fed released the minutes from its April policy meeting. Those minutes showed a growing number of officials favor a scaling back of Fed bond purchases. That revelation proved opened a spigot of selling in the market.

Technology stocks proved to be among the biggest losers in the stock market today. Cisco Systems' stock fell nearly 3%. Facebook and Google shares dropped nearly 2%.

However losses on the Dow might have been worse had it not been for better than 1% gains in the shares of Home Depot, JP Morgan Chase and Pfizer. Pfizer today announcing that it will spinoff the remainder of its stake animal-health company Zoetis.

The market today also reacted to a number of earnings. Target revealed first-quarter profits and revenues that were shy of expectations. Lowe's also posted quarterly results that missed both top and bottom line estimates. Meanwhile, Toll Brothers reported quarterly earnings that were 75% higher than the street had expected, driving its stock 2.9% higher on the day.

Reaction to the Fed minutes pressured both crude oil and debt prices. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note jumped 10-basis points to 2.03%.

And crude oil prices fell 2.1%, or $1.90. The July crude oil contract settled the session at $94.28 a barrel.

DOJ Overreach Extendeded To Reporter's Parents

2013-05-22T22:00:00Z

Outrage of the Department of Justice's investigation of Fox News report James Rosen's news gathering is reaching a new heights following reports of the extremes the DOJ went to in order to monitor his phone calls.

According to a Fox News report, the DOJ seized Rosen's phone records under the Espionage Act, one of the most serious wartime laws on the books.

Attorney Jesselyn Radack told Fox News that the DOJ's use of the Espionage Act could set a dangerous precedent for journalists.

"This kind of puts us into the deep freeze," Radack said. "I feel like we're back to the Dark Ages."

Fox notes that; It's the same law used by the Nixon administration to go after The New York Times and Daniel Ellsberg over the leak of the Pentagon Papers. It's the law used to charge the Rosenbergs, American communists, for allegedly passing secret information to the Soviet Union -- they were executed for the offense in 1953.

Adding more light to the overreach, Fox News is also reporting that not only did the DOJ seize records of phones used by Rosen and other Fox reporters, but the agency apparently also kept tabs on phone calls made to a number which is reportedly that of Rosen's parents.

Rosen's father, attorney Myron Rosen, told FoxNews.com he found the records seizure to be "downright ludicrous."

"My son and his wife call us all the time, and we talk about grandchildren," he said. "We don't talk about nuclear proliferation."

He continued: "The fact that they had our phone records, it shows how crazy they are, how desperate."

These latest revelations will likely do more harm to Obama administration's perception among the American public and lawmakers who over the past few weeks have learned new details about the Benghazi cover-up, and revelations that the IRS has been targeting conservative groups since as early as 2010.

American Public And Lawmakers Wary Of IRS

2013-05-22T00:00:00Z

It's been a rough 11-days for the IRS. Disclosures that agents unfairly scrutinized the applications of conservative groups took both lawmakers and the America public by surprise, eliciting a backlash not seen in almost 40-years.

According to a Fox News poll, just 42% of voters currently have some degree of confidence in the IRS. The poll released Tuesday found that 7% have a great deal of confidence in the agency, with another 35% having some confidence in the agency. That may actually seem high to some given the recent scandal, but those combined figures are actually 20 percentage points lower from the last time Fox News conducted its last IRS poll in May 2003.

Perhaps more interesting are the responses to questions as to whether or not the Obama administration, specifically the White House had any roll in the IRS scandal that seems to have targeted enemies of then presidential candidate Obama.

According to polling data, 37% of respondents believe that while the White House didn't initiate the practice of IRS employees targeting conservative groups, but they do believe the White House was aware targeting was going on.

Perhaps even more concerning to the Obama administration, 29% believe that the White House directed the IRS to target conservative groups leading up to the 2012 presidential election. 24% say the White House had nothing to do with the IRS scandal.

A second day of congressional hearings also appears to have done little to ease the nerves of lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Appearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, Steven T. Miller, the outgoing acting IRS commissioner and Douglas Shulman, a George W. Bush appointee who headed the IRS from March 2008 to November 2012, rejected the notion that politics played a role in singling out conservative groups for heightened scrutiny.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, asked why neither Miller nor former IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman acknowledged the program before given that Congress had been asking about alleged complaints since 2012.

Shulman said that he did not have a "full set of facts," but said he was aware in the spring of 2012 there was an internal list that included the term "Tea Party." Shulman also said he did not know how the controversial program started.

"You should have corrected the record, and you should have done it long before today," Hatch said.

He also accused Miller of lying when he didn't acknowledge the program in letters to Congress last year, despite being aware of it.

"That's a lie by omission, there's no question about that in my mind," Hatch said.
Miller, like he did in testimony last week, said he "did not lie."
And later this afternoon, Fox News reported that Lois Lerner, the director of the IRS division that singled out conservative groups, is expected to invoke the Fifth Amendment Wednesday, when she is scheduled to appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Lerner's attorney reported sent a letter to committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., asking if his client could skip the hearing given that she planned to plead the Fifth.

Dow And S&P 500 Climb To New Record Heights

2013-05-21T23:00:00Z

Stocks bounced back, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average notching its 19th straight Tuesday gain.

For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 52-points higher - The S&P 500 gained 3-points, both indexes closed trading at news record highs. The Nasdaq Composite finished up 6, closing at the highest level since October 2000.

Stocks were mixed for much of the day. Home Depot and JP Morgan Chase were the early advancers on the blue chip index.

Home Depot's stock ended trading 2.5% higher after topping both earnings and revenue targets, and raising its full-year earnings guidance.

JP Morgan Chase rose 1.4% after Jamie Dimon was successful in retaining his titles as CEO and Chairman of Chase.

But it was Merck the proved to be the big winner on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Merck's stock price jumped 4.7%. That run-up a result of apparent speculation among investors that Merck may be preparing to release favorable data on one of its cancer drugs.

The stock market got a further boost following comments out of the Federal Reserve. In recent days, a number of Federal Reserve Bank presidents had indicated that the central bank should begin taping its bond-buying program as early as this summer.

Today, however, New York Fed President William Dudley and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard offered no such assessments.

In a speech to an economic conference in Frankfurt, Germany Bullard said the Fed's bond buying has been effective and that it remains the best policy option at the moment.

Dovish comments out of the Fed helped boost the dollar and eased pressure on debt prices. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note ended unchanged, at 1.932%.

That dollar strength however did hurt dollar-traded commodities. Gold prices ended trading down 0.5%, closing at $1,377.60 an ounce. Crude oil prices edged lower ahead of tomorrow's Energy Department report on gasoline and crude oil inventories. The June crude contract finished down 55 cents, expiring at $96.16 a barrel.

DOJ Targeted Fox News Reporter

2013-05-20T23:00:00Z

The Department of Justice's controversial practice of going after the media escalated on Monday, when the Washington Post revealed that the DOJ had targeted Fox News Report James Rosen in a 2009 criminal investigation.

Rosen, who is now Fox News' Chief White House Correspondent was named in an FBI affidavit as a "co-conspirator" as part of a leak investigation concerning information about North Korea's likely response to U.N. sanctions.

Unlike the case surrounding the Associated Press, where the DOJ seized phone records of AP reports and editors, the DOJ actually claimed Rosen had broken the law. The FBI claimed that by soliciting classified information from his government source, Rosen committed a criminal act "at the very least, either as an aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator."

Learning of the FBI investigation into Rosen and his source, Michael Clemente, Fox News' executive vice president of news, issued a statement defending Rosen.

"We are outraged to learn today that James Rosen was named a criminal co-conspirator for simply doing his job as a reporter," Clemente said. "In fact, it is downright chilling. We will unequivocally defend his right to operate as a member of what up until now has always been a free press."

The investigation into Rosen and his source also generated astonishment among members of Congress. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., also offered a statement of support for Rosen and journalists whose job it is to keep the American public informed of government activities.

"The sort of reporting by James Rosen detailed in the report is the same sort of reporting that helped Mr. Rosen aggressively pursue questions about the Administration's handling of Benghazi. National security leaks are criminal and put American lives on the line, and federal prosecutors should, of course, vigorously investigate," Rubio said in the statement. "But we expect that they do so within the bounds of the law, and that the investigations focus on the leakers within the government -- not on media organizations that have First Amendment protections and serve vital function in our democracy."

The Post report comes on the heels of the DOJ seizing phone records of AP reporters and editors as a part of a 2012 leak investigation.

The fallout of the DOJ's phone record and email seizures is already beginning to have an impact on newsgathering efforts according to AP President Gary Pruitt.

Pruitt said on CBS "Face the Nation" this past Sunday that, "We're already seeing some impact. Officials are saying they're reluctant to talk."

IRS Official Earns Four Pinocchios

2013-05-20T22:00:00Z

The Obama administration earns its second set of four Pinocchios in as many weeks.

Lois G. Lerner, the IRS's director of the exempt organizations division, the department that unfairly singled out conservative group applications, has some explaining to do.

A detailed fact checking report by the Washington Post reveals how Lerner may have misled reporters and Congress in rationalizing her department's scrutiny of conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.

Lerner originally blamed the practice on a huge influx of applications from 2010 thru 2012.

"But between 2010 and 2012, we started seeing a very big uptick in the number of 501(c)(4) applications we were receiving, and many of these organizations applying more than doubled, about 1500 in 2010 and over 3400 in 2012," Lerner said when apologizing for the scandal brought to light during an American Bar Association panel discussion.

However, the Post reported that, "The real jump did not come until 2011, long after the targeting of conservative groups had been implemented."

Furthermore, the Post points out that, "The inspector general report released last week said a Cincinnati office began drafting the new criteria as early as May 2010. But statistics included in the report show the number of applications in that group actually declined between 2009 and 2010 -- from 1,751 to 1,735.

The Post fact-check column adjusted the numbers to reflect the rise from one calendar year to the next, as opposed to fiscal year. Even then, the increase was from 1,745 to 1,865.

Applications did not begin to rise significantly until 2011 and 2012."

The Post also called into question a number of Lerner's other assertions, including the notion that she looked into the issue only after learning of the issue through media reports. Sound familiar?

Growing List Of Law Enforcement Officers Opposing Immigration Reform

2013-05-20T21:00:00Z

Even as the "Gang of Eight" tries to work out the kinks in its immigration reform proposal, more immigration law enforcement officers are opposing their efforts.

Kenneth Palinkas, President of the National Citizenship and Immigration Services Council (USCIS), issued a statement coming out against the proposed reforms to U.S. immigration laws.

"The mission of our federal employees is critical to identifying threats and providing for public safety and national security. We are the very backbone of our nation's immigration system and will be at the center of implementing any immigration reform," Palinkas wrote. "Yet, like the ICE Council, the USCIS Council was not consulted in the crafting of the Gang of Eight's legislation. Instead, the legislation was written with special interests-producing a bill that makes the current system worse, not better. S. 744 will damage public safety and national security and should be opposed by lawmakers."

USCIS represents 12,000 United States Citizenship and Immigration Services adjudications officers and staff.

According to Palinkas, the current "Gang of Eight" legislation fails to address; pressure to rubber-stamp applications instead of conducting diligent case reviews, pressure to approve visas for individuals ICE agents have determined should be deported, and the prevention of officers exercising their judgement and authority to place individuals into immigration removal proceedings.

"The attitude of USCIS management is not that the Agency serves the American public or the laws of the United States, or public safety and national security, but instead that the agency serves illegal aliens and the attorneys which represent them." Palinkas said in his statement. "While we believe in treating all people with respect, we are concerned that this agency tasked with such a vital security mission is too greatly influenced by special interest groups-to the point that it no longer properly performs its mission."

For more about the growing revolt among immigration law enforcement officers and staff, go to FoxNews.com.

The Bulls Take The Reins On Wall Street

2013-05-18T00:17:00Z

The week ended with a bang on Wall Street! The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 121 points on the day. The Nasdaq Composite gained 34-points. The S&P 500 climbed 17-points higher.

Those gains secured the fourth straight weekly gains for all three major stock indexes. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 ended the week at new record highs.
Better than 2% gains in the shares of Boeing, JP Morgan Chase, and United Technologies propelled the blue chip index above 15,350.

Investors today were put in a buying mood on news that consumer confidence in May reached the highest level in almost six years. The Reuters/University of Michigan gauge of consumer sentiment came in at a higher than expected 83.7 in early May, up sharply from the April reading of 76.4.

The April reading of the Index of Leading Economic Indicators further boosted investor enthusiasm. The index bounced back with a 0.6% gain to 95.0% in April after falling 0.2% in March.

J.C. Penney was left out of today's rally. JC Penney's stock ended trading 4% lower after reporting a quarterly loss that was 47% higher than expected.

Dell also missed earnings targets, but ended trading down just .22%.

And it was another horrible day for investors long in the gold market. The June gold contract fell $22.20 an ounce, closing at $1,364.70 an ounce. Gold has now fallen $109 over the past seven

Obama Points To Congress For More Funding To Prevent Future Benghazi(s)

2013-05-17T00:17:00Z

During his joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President Obama tried to put the security of our diplomats serving overseas squarely on the purse string controlled by Congress.

"I want to say to members of Congress in both parties, we need to come together and truly honor the sacrifice of those four courageous Americans and better secure our diplomatic posts around the world," Obama said at a Rose Garden news conference.

Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Congress provided extra security funding in legislation passed this spring.

"It is better management that is required now to address these security concerns," Buck, said.

The State Department is seeking about $1.4 billion for increased security.

Since the attack on Sept. 11, 2012, Democrats have complained that Republicans cut $300 million from the Obama administration's budget request of $2.6 billion for diplomatic and embassy security in 2012.

That argument was raised during Benghazi whistle-blower testimony before the House Oversight committee last week. That argument however was almost immediately negated when members were reminded that previous testimony confirmed that funding issues were not an issue in the decision-making process that led to a reduced security presence in Libya last summer.

President Obama's comments on Thursday came less than 24 hours after the White House released 99 pages of emails related to the inter-agency debate over the Benghazi talking points.

Those emails are being read in some corners as validation that the State Department had a heavy hand in editing the talking points, concerned about references to extremist groups and concerns that it would appear there were security warnings well in advance of the terrorist attack which resulted in the murders of four U.S. citizens.

ICE Illegal Detainee Release Put Felony Convicts Back On The Street

2013-05-16T23:30:00Z

If the week had not already been bad enough for the Obama administration, Department of Homeland Security and its Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency are facing a fresh round of criticism.

In a joint release, Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Carl Levin (D-Mich.) unveiled new information regarding the controversial release of 2,226 illegal immigrants from ICE custody.

Of the more than 2,000 released, due to budget constraints related to sequester budget cuts, 622 detainees had criminal records, including 32 with multiple felony convictions.

According to the statement released Thursday, "Among the 32 detainees, for example, ICE's Phoenix District Office released a detainee who had a felony second degree robbery prior conviction and countless convictions for prostitution and solicitation for lewd conduct. The Phoenix office releases also included an individual who had been convicted of an extreme case of driving under the influence (DUI) and harassment, as well as having caused criminal damage to property, as well as a detainee who had prior convictions for carrying a loaded firearm, DUI with a controlled substance, felony possession of drugs, second degree burglary, vandalism, and trespassing. The San Francisco Field Office released someone with a prior felony conviction to manufacture fake identifications as well as a man with two DUIs and two stalking convictions."

Since the releases almost three months ago, Department of Homeland Security has since re-apprehended 24 of the 32 detainees with felony convictions.

The remaining eight are being monitored using other means, including ankle bracelets to track their movements.

DHS told the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on investigations that, "local ICE officials at regional field offices had the discretion to choose which detainees to release."

Both Sen. McCain and Sen. Levin are recommending disciplinary action be taken against those officials, local or otherwise, responsible for releasing detainees with multiple felony convictions.

"ICE's reprehensible actions put Arizona at risk by setting free into our communities hundreds of detainees who were guilty of criminal offenses," said Senator John McCain. "The ICE officials responsible for this must face disciplinary action and must take all actions necessary to ensure that this never happens again."

More Heads Roll (sort of) Over IRS Scandal

2013-05-16T23:00:00Z

President Obama, for a second straight day, spoke to the scandals plaguing his second term as Commander-in-Chief.

On Thursday, the president faced a skeptical media, not convinced that the he knew nothing of the Inspector General report on the IRS unfairly scrutinizing conservative groups.

"I can assure you that I certainly did not know anything about the I.G. report before the I.G. report had been leaked ... through the press," said Obama. "Typically, the I.G. reports are not supposed to be widely distributed or shared. They tend to be, you know, a process that everybody's trying to protect the integrity of. But, what I'm absolutely certain of is that the actions that were described in that I.G. report are unacceptable."

The president, however, did not specifically say whether or not he was previously aware of the IRS' actions, which appears to have started as early as 2010, well before the inspector general's office began its investigation.

Shortly after his joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the administration announced that Daniel Werfel, current controller of the Office of Management and Budget, will takeover as the new acting Internal Revenue Service commissioner.

That followed news that Joseph Grant, commissioner of the agency's tax exempt and government entities division, is also leaving the IRS in the wake of the I.G. report. Like current acting IRS Director Steven Miller, Grant will retire next month.

Heads Begin To Roll Over IRS Scandal

2013-05-16T01:00:00Z

Responding to a firestorm of controversy regarding the Internal Revenue Service targeting conservative groups, President Obama Wednesday night offered a brief outline of the steps being taken to help repair the IRS's reputation.

Obama said the parties involved in the scandal will be held accountable, announcing that Treasury Secretary Jack Lew asked for and accepted the resignation of acting IRS commissioner Steven Miller.

The President also said that safeguards will be put in place so that this sort of misconduct never happens again. He also pledged to work with Congress as it performs its oversight role.

The IRS has been under fire after an inspector-general report revealed the IRS singled out "Tea Party" and other conservative groups for greater scrutiny when applying for tax-exempt status.

Additionally, the White House appears to have answered calls for greater disclosure in its internal deliberations in the hours and days following the Benghazi terrorist attack.

The administration Wednesday afternoon released a 100-page file that shed an unflattering light on the decision-making process that went into editing of the controversial Benghazi talking points used by U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice.

According to reporting by Fox News, "Individual emails show State officials repeatedly objecting to the intelligence community's early version of events.

The early versions stated that "Islamic extremists with ties to Al Qaeda" participated in the assault and discussed links to militant group Ansar al Sharia -- and referenced prior attacks against western targets in Benghazi.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland complained that she had "serious concerns" about "arming members of Congress" to make assertions the administration was not making.

"In same vein, why do we want Hill to be fingering Ansar al Sharia, when we aren't doing that ourselves until we have investigation results ... and the penultimate point could be abused by Members to beat the State Department for not paying attention to Agency warnings so why do we want to feed that either? Concerned ..."

For more insights into the recently released internal State Department communications go to FoxNews.com.

AG Holder Accuses Rep. Issa Lock Horns

2013-05-16T00:00:00Z

During his testimony before congressional panel on Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder lambasted California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, saying the congressman's behavior was "shameful."

The assertion came amid a tense exchange between Issa and Holder, who had butted heads during the investigation into the botch ATF operation "Fast and Furious."

Rep. Darrell Issa, played a telephone voice recording that he said was of Thomas E. Perez, the assistant attorney general for civil rights and President Obama's nominee for labor secretary.

Mr. Issa suggested that the recording was evidence that the nominee had covered up as a "quid pro quo" and demanded the contents of e-mails from Mr. Perez.

Mr. Issa had subpoenaed records about Mr. Perez's role in a deal with the city of St. Paul to drop a housing discrimination lawsuit in exchange for the DOJ declining to join two whistle-blower complaints against the city.

Holder fired back saying, "That is inappropriate and is too consistent with the way in which you conduct yourself as a member of Congress. It's unacceptable and it's shameful."

Holder was grilled on a series of allegations, including the way the agency tried to find out who was behind a government leak to The Associated Press.

The AP, along with several lawmakers, assert the Justice Department infringed on the constitutional rights of the press when it secretly obtained two months' worth of phone records.

Lawmakers tried to get answers out of Holder but voiced frustration after Holder repeatedly rebuffed questions by claiming he wasn't involved in the decision-making process.

For more on today's contentious hearing on Capitol Hill, go to FoxNews.com

Another Record Setting Rally On Wall Street

2013-05-15T23:00:00Z

So much for selling in May! Wall Street investors on Wednesday drove both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 to new record heights.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average up 60-points on the day, logging its 20th record high close of the year. The Nasdaq Composite gained 9-points. The S&P 500 climbed 8-points higher, recording its 4th straight all-time high close.

The blue chip index driven higher by better than 1.5% gains in the shares of American Express, Intel, JP Morgan Chase, and Procter & Gamble.

Google grabbed the spotlight in the technology sector. Google today announcing that it will offer an online music service called "All Access." Google's stock climbed 3.3% on the day, closing at a record high of more than $915 a share.

The Nasdaq Composite today able to climb higher despite its largest single component Apple falling more than 3%.

Investors today seemingly decided to make the most of a mixed batch of economic reports.
Confidence among homebuilders this month improved more than expected. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing-market index rose to 44 in May from 41 in April.

The market also considered a tame report on wholesale inflation. Falling energy prices drove producer prices down 0.7% in April, the biggest drop since February 2010.

Economists had been expecting a slightly smaller 0.5% dip. Excluding the food and energy components, prices were up 0.1%, a slightly smaller than expected increase.

The New York Federal Reserve's report on regional manufacturing came in at -1.43 in May, down from 3.05 in April. That was considerably weaker than expected, indicating contraction in regional manufacturing.

Industrial output slipped 0.5% in April, inline with consensus estimates.
And continued woes in Europe helped drive the dollar higher.

The Eurozone economy contracted 0.2% in the first quarter. That marks the 6th straight quarter of negative economic output, representing the longest recession in the currency bloc's 14-year history. Europe's two largest economies, Germany and France continued to struggle. Germany's economy grew just 0.1%, while France shrank by 0.2%.

The Obama Administration Fends Off Growing Number of Scandals

2013-05-15T00:00:00Z

The Obama administration on Tuesday found itself in the hot seat, fending off a growing number of scandals and agitated members of Congress.

At the center of today's White House briefing with Jay Carney, much of the focus was on the Department of Justice's seizure of phone records of Associated Press reporters and editors.

The mere appearances of possible government overreach, and intimidation of the media also struck a cord with members of Congress.

House Speaker John Boehner's office said "they better have a damned good explanation" for obtaining the records.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, said he's "very troubled" by the allegations.

News of the DOJ phone record seizure follows revelations that IRS agents had singled out conservative groups for additional scrutiny when applying for tax-exempt status.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a Tea Party-aligned lawmaker, said those responsible should be fired.

"Anybody who was aware of, and approved of targeting people for their political beliefs and speech, needs to be fired, never in this position again, and made an example of," he told Fox News on Tuesday.

Carney on Tuesday called the heat on the administration a product, in part, of the "rapid politicization of everything."

Those two controversies follow last week's hearings in which whistle-blowers offered insights into decision-making that followed the attack in Benghazi, Libya last September.

And if that wasn't enough, media outlets are now reporting that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has been reaching out to private-sector executives seeking donations for nonprofit organizations that help enroll people in ObamaCare.

The concern there is that HHS could be applying undue force for donations from firms that are also doing business with department.

All told, not a good day for the Obama administration which finds itself on the defensive, preventing it from pushing the president's second term agenda, which includes immigration reform and stricter gun control laws.

Another Record Setting Rally On Wall Street

2013-05-14T23:00:00Z

It was another great day on Wall Street as the bulls continue to drive stocks into uncharted territory.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped almost 124-points on the day, closing at a record high of 15,215. The Nasdaq Composite gained 24-points. The S&P 500 finished up more than 16-points, closing at its third straight record high.

Today's broad based rally was led by financial and technology stocks, though every major sector end the day in the green.

American Express, Bank of America and Microsoft led gainers on the blue chip index, all up more than 2% on the day. Interestingly, today's performance on the Dow marked the 18th straight Tuesday gain.

The Nasdaq Composite managed to end at the highest level in nearly 13 years despite a 2.3% drop in its largest single component Apple.

The market today digested a stronger than expected rebound in confidence among small business owners. The National Federation of Independent Business today reported its small-business optimism index rose 2.6 points to 92.1 in April. That was stronger than the street had expected, and more than made up for the decline in March.

Investors today also reacted to declines in both import and export prices paid last month. As expected, prices paid for imported goods fell 0.5% in April, primarily due to lower oil costs. U.S. export prices however fell more than expected, down .7% in April due to lower prices paid from agricultural goods.

A report from the International Energy Agency today referenced the North American Energy boom, saying increased production is producing a "supply shock" in the global energy market. Crude oil prices ended 1% lower, dropping 96 cents to $94.21 a barrel.

IRS Scandal Expands Beyond Scrutiny of Tea Party

2013-05-14T00:00:00Z

The IRS is dreaded by most taxpayers, but now questions surrounding the taxman's extra scrutiny of conservative groups are calling into question the agency's credibility.
The IRS campaign against conservative groups appears to have gone far beyond the Tea Party to include groups that included those focused on government spending and the Constitution.

According to reporting by Fox News: "The internal IG timeline shows a unit in the agency was looking at Tea Party and "patriot" groups dating back to early 2010. But it shows that list of criteria drastically expanding by the time a June 2011 briefing was held. It then included groups focused on government spending, government debt, taxes, and education on ways to "make America a better place to live." It even flagged groups whose file included criticism of "how the country is being run."

The obvious abuse of power and intimidation drew sharp criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers told "Fox News Sunday, "I don't care if you're a conservative, a liberal, a Democrat or a Republican, this should send a chill up your spine. It needs to have a full investigation."

Democrat Max Baucus, the Senate Finance Committee Chairman said in a statement Monday that his committee would launch an investigation into the matter.

"These actions by the IRS are an outrageous abuse of power and a breach of the public's trust. Targeting groups based on their political views is not only inappropriate but it is intolerable," Baucus wrote. "Americans expect the IRS to do its job without passion or prejudice. We need to get to the bottom of what happened here. ... The IRS will now be the ones put under additional scrutiny."

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins on Sunday called the IRS activities chilling and said she was disappointed that President Obama had not condemned the actions.

"It is absolutely chilling that the IRS was singling out conservative groups for extra review. And I think that it's very disappointing that the president hasn't personally condemned this," Collins told CNN's "State of the Union."

President Obama weighed in on the issue Monday saying that if early reports are accurate, "then that's outrageous and there's no place for it -- and they have to be held fully accountable."

Lois G. Lerner, who heads the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt organizations, said the practice was initiated by low-level workers in Cincinnati and was not motivated by political bias.

But on June 29, 2011, Lerner found out that such groups were being targeted, according to the inspector general's report.

She was told at a meeting that groups with "Tea Party," "Patriot" or "9/12 Project" in their names were being flagged for additional and often burdensome scrutiny, the report states.

The 9/12 Project is a group started by conservative TV personality Glenn Beck.
Collins also said she does not believe the activity was limited to "a couple of rogue IRS employees."

"After all," she added, "groups with `progressive' in their names were not targeted similarly."

For the latest developments surrounding the IRS's intimidation of conservative groups , go to FoxNews.com.

Obama Dismisses Benghazi Talking Point Controversy

2013-05-13T23:00:00Z

President Obama on Monday dismissed allegations that politics were a motive in editing the Benghazi talking points used by U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, who went on five Sunday new programs claiming an anti-Islam YouTube video was to blame for the attack on our facility in Benghazi last September.

During his press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron, President Obama said the allegations are politically motivated.

"The whole issue of talking points, frankly, throughout this process has been a sideshow," he said. "What we have been very clear about throughout was that immediately after this event happened, we were not clear who exactly had carried it out, how it had occurred, what the motivations were."

However, three whistle-blowers last week testified before the House Oversight Committee highlighting that there was no protest leading up to the attack, and that no one in Benghazi considered the attack to be anything other than a terrorist attack.

According to reporting by Fox News, "Despite claims that the White House and State Department were not heavily involved in editing the intelligence community's narrative, emails show State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland pushed to remove references to Al Qaeda and to the intelligence community's prior warnings about security in the region.

Based on those talking points, U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice went on five Sunday shows to claim the attack was prompted by a protest over an anti-Islam film.
National Counterterrorism Center chief Matt Olsen days later labeled the assault "an act of terrorism" while appearing before Congress.

"If this was some effort on our part to try to downplay what had happened or tamp it down, that would be a pretty odd thing that three days later we end up putting out all the information," Obama said. "Who executes some sort of cover-up or effort to tamp things down for three days? So the whole thing defies logic."

However, reports following Olsen's testimony before Congress claim he was reprimanded for not following the administration's talking points regarding the catalyst of the attacks that resulted in the deaths of four U.S. citizens, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

DOJ Secretly Obtains AP Phone Records

2013-05-13T22:00:00Z

Less than three days after the IRS admitted it targeted conservative organizations, the Obama Department of Justice is facing accusations of a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" regarding how news organizations operate.

The Associated Press on Monday revealed that the DOJ had secretly obtained two months worth of phone records. The records reportedly list incoming and outgoing calls placed on both personal and office phone numbers of AP reporters and editors in New York, Washington DC and Hartford, Conn.

The record seizure targeted more than 20 phone numbers used by reporters in April and May of this year. According the AP report, more than 100 journalists used the phone numbers during their daily reporting on government and other issues.

In a letter sent to Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday, AP President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Pruitt said, "There can be no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters. These records potentially reveal communications with confidential sources across all of the newsgathering activities undertaken by the AP during a two-month period, provide a road map to AP's newsgathering operations, and disclose information about AP's activities and operations that the government has no conceivable right to know."

On possible explanation for the DOJ seizure of the phone records is the criminal investigation into who leaked information to the AP used in a story about a foiled terrorist attack in Yemen during the spring of 2012.

The AP report states that, "Among those whose phone numbers were obtained were five reporters and an editor who were involved in the May 7, 2012 story."

The story, which was delayed at the request of government officials due to security concerns, detailed the CIA operation in Yemen to stop an bomb plot aboard an airliner at approximately the time of the one year anniversary of the killing of Usama bin Laden.

The AP noted that, "The plot was significant because the White House had told the public it had 'no credible information that terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida, are plotting attacks in the U.S. to coincide with the (May 2) anniversary of bin Laden's death.'"

To read more about the DOJ seizure of AP phone records, go to FoxNews.com

White House Edited Benghazi Talking Points Twelve Times

2013-05-10T21:00:00Z

On Friday, ABC News reported that the White House had edited the Benghazi talking points twelve times. ABC News acquired twelve different copies of the talking points. The final version was used by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice when she made her controversial Sunday talk show appearances claiming the Benghazi attacks were the result of protests over an anti-Islam video.

According to ABC News, White House emails show that the State Department asked that references to Ansar al-Sharia as well as CIA warnings about Benghazi terrorist threats prior to the attack be removed from the talking points. Those references were deleted after a White House meeting the day before Rice appeared on the talk shows.

State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland was worried those statements "could be abused by members [of Congress] to beat up the State Department for not paying attention to warnings, so why would we want to feed that either? Concerned ..."

Nuland also stated that the references to Islamic extremists and al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansar al-Sharia should be removed because "we don't want to prejudice the administration."

The White House has previously claimed that the talking points were primarily the work of the intelligence community. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said last November that, "the White House and the State Department have made clear that the single adjustment that was made to those talking points by either of those two institutions were changing the word 'consulate' to 'diplomatic facility' because 'consulate' was inaccurate."

Original Story: Exclusive: Benghazi Talking Points Underwent 12 Revisions, Scrubbed of Terror Reference

Tea Party groups, Republicans slam IRS for flagging conservative groups

2013-05-10T21:00:00Z

On Friday, the IRS apologized for targeting conservative and Tea Party groups for additional reviews to determine whether or not they violated the rules for tax-exempt status.

However, Tea Party leaders are not accepting that apology. Tea Party Patriots coordinator Jenny Beth Martin has called for resignations over the IRS's "disturbing, illegal and outrageous abuse of government power."

Lois Lerner, the head of the IRS division in charge of overseeing tax-exempt organizations, confirmed on Friday that group were targeted for additional review after using the words "tea party" or "patriot" appeared in their applications. Some of those groups were asked to give the IRS a list of their donors.

Lerner said, "that was wrong. That was absolutely incorrect, it was insensitive and it was inappropriate. The IRS would like to apologize for that." The IRS also stated that asking for donors is not an ordinary practice.

Despite the apology, the IRS claims the heightened scrutiny had nothing to do with political bias. Lerner claimed that the measures that lead to conservative groups being singled out were initiated by low-level workers in Cincinnati, Ohio in response to an exceptionally high number of applications.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has asked for "a government-wide review" to ensure that "these thuggish practices" are eliminated. House Majority Leader Eric Canter said the House would investigate the matter.

Original Story: Tea Party groups, Republicans slam IRS for flagging conservative groups

The State Department Orders the Removal of 3D-Printed Gun Blueprints From Internet

2013-05-10T21:00:00Z

On Friday, Defense Distributed removed its 3D-printed "Liberator" gun blueprints from the internet. The State Department ordered the Texas company to remove the blueprints just days after the gun was successfully fired for the first time.

Cody Wilson, head of Defense Distributed, has said that 100,000 blueprints were downloaded in just two days. The countries downloaded the most blueprints were Spain, the United States, Brazil, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

Fifteen of the gun's sixteen parts are made of plastic and can be printed using a 3D printer. The sixteenth piece requires an ordinary nail such as those found in the average hardware store.

Despite the State Department's orders, the blueprints have already been uploaded to Mega, a New Zealand-based website that encrypts the information of those who download files, as well as the file-sharing website Pirate Bay.

Original Story: State Department orders firm to remove 3D-printed guns web blueprints

ICE Council Warns Gang of Eight Immigration Bill Would Give DHS Secretary "Unlimited Discretion" on Legal Status Waivers

2013-05-09T21:00:00Z

On Thursday, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) entered a letter from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials into the Senate record.

The letter, written by the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council of the American Federation of Government Employees Affiliated with AFL-CIO warns that the new immigration reform bill proposed by the Senate's bipartisan Gang of Eight could give the Department of Homeland Security Secretary "unlimited discretion" to grant waivers for legal status, including waivers for crimes or previous deportations.

The letter warns that, "This same section (Section 2101 of S. 744) gives the Secretary of Homeland Security virtually unlimited discretion to waive any manner of crimes that would otherwise make an individual ineligible for legal status--for such expansive reasons as family unity, humanitarian purposes, or what the Secretary believes is in the public interest."

The ICE officials are concerned that their ability to enforce the law will be severely impaired, claiming, "If this legislation were enacted tomorrow, ICE officers would continue to be powerless to effectively enforce our nation's laws and provide for public safety as S. 744 does nothing to end these dangerous agency- and department-level directives."

Original Story: Bill Gives DHS Sec. 'Virtually Unlimited Discretion to Waive Any Manner of Crimes,' ICE Council Warns Congress

Wall Street Posting Losses on Tuesday

2013-05-09T21:00:00Z

All three major indexes on Wall Street closing Tuesday with losses. The S&P 500 lost 6 points to end its five-day streak of record highs. The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 22 points, and the NASDAQ lost 4 points.

Stocks on Wall Street struggled despite news that weekly jobless claims fell last week to their lowest levels in five years. Jobless claims declined by 4,000 to reach 323,000. The decline was unexpected good news, as experts had predicted a rise in jobless claims.

The dollar rose above 100 yen for the first time in 4 years.

Electric car maker Tesla Motors gained after posting its first quarterly profits. Barnes and Noble shares rose on news that Microsoft was considering buying Nook Media for $1 billion.

Amazon shares getting a boost from news that the online retailer is working on a new smartphone with a 3D screen.

Groupon and Green Mountain Coffee posting gains after reporting strong earnings for the first quarter.

Original Story: Stocks Slip; Dow, S&P Recede from Record Highs

House Speaker John Boehner Calls on the Obama Administration to Release Benghazi Emails

2013-05-09T21:00:00Z

In the wake of Tuesday's House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the Benghazi attacks, House Speaker John Boehner has called on the Obama administration to release emails relating to the September 11, 2012 attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.

The emails in question were mentioned in witness testimony. One shows a State Department official acknowledging that a group affiliated with Islamic extremists was responsible for the attack, but later emails show top officials asking for the removal of references to terrorism from talking points.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice would use those talking points when she appeared on five Sunday talk shows and claim the attack was caused by protests relating to an anti-Islam video.

Boehner said that, "the truth shouldn't be hidden from the American people behind a White House firewall. Four Americans lost their lives in this terrorist attack. Congress will continue to investigate this issue, using all of the resources at our disposal."

The Oversight Committee hearing featured dramatic testimony from three whistleblowers, including the second-ranking U.S. diplomat in Libya at the time of the attacks. House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) has said he will keep asking for other whistleblowers to "come forward."

Original Story: Boehner calls for release of Benghazi emails as pressure grows on administration

Whistle-Blowers Shed Light On Benghazi Terrorist Attack

2013-05-09T00:00:00Z

Nearly eight months after the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, lawmakers on Wednesday finally heard testimony for the first individual in country on the evening of the attack.

Greg Hicks, the deputy chief of mission in Libya who became the top U.S. diplomat in the country after Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed, told House Oversight Committee members that their were no reports of demonstrations prior to the attack. He also stated that White House contradictions to those of Libyan government officials regarding the nature of the attack contributed to bureaucratic delays to the FBI investigation.

"I definitely believe that it negatively affected our ability to get the FBI team quickly to Benghazi," said Greg Hicks. "President Magariaf was insulted in front of his own people, in front of the world. His credibility was reduced," Hicks said, adding that the president was apparently "still steamed" two weeks later.

This bad blood, he claimed, contributed to the FBI team being stuck in Tripoli for 18 days.

The claim was one of several new accounts given at Wednesday's hearing where three whistle-blowers testified.

Another whistle-blower, Mark Thompson, a former Marine and official with the State Department's Counterterrorism Bureau, said the White House rebuffed him when he asked for a specialized team -- known as a FEST team -- to be deployed.

Suggesting that some were hesitant to deploy because they were unsure what was happening, Thompson said, "One definition of a crisis is you do not know what's going to happen in two hours."

The Obama administration has denied several of the latest charges, including a claim that then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and a key aide tried to cut the department's own counterterrorism bureau out of the chain of reporting and decision-making on Sept. 11.

For more information about the whistle-blowers testimony on Capitol Hill, go to FoxNews.com.

Stocks Extend Record Setting Run On Wall Street

2013-05-08T23:00:00Z

After getting off to a shaking start, investor optimism took over in the final hours of trading, lifting stocks to new all-time highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the session 49 points higher, closing at a record high of 15,105. The Nasdaq Composite gained 16-points on the day. The S&P 500 rose 7-points, closing at its fifth straight record high.

Earnings and a stronger than expected economic data out of China and Germany helped stocks find their footing on Wall Street.

UnitedHealth Group led advancers on the Dow, finishing the day with a healthy 3% gain. Both Alcoa and Hewlett-Packard ended trading up more than 2.5%.

Earnings reports helped to generate a number of significant moves in the stock market.
Electronic Arts was the best performers on the S&P 500. EA shares soared 17% on its better than expected full-year outlook, which overshadowed a slight miss on earnings.
Whole Foods also had a banner day. Whole Foods better than expected results lifted its stock 10% higher, closing at $102 a share.

Disney's stock finished down 0.12% despite topping both top and bottom line estimates. Investors early on engaged in a bit of profit taking, cashing in on Disney's 30% appreciation in 2013.

It was up day for commodities as dollar weakness and China's trade report lifted both gold and crude oil prices more than 1%. The June crude contract ended trading at a five-week high of $96.62 a barrel.

Jodi Arias Convicted of First-Degree Murder

2013-05-08T22:00:00Z

The trial to convict Jodi Arias of the murder of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander ended as many suspected - the jury found Arias guilty of first-degree murder.

Jodi Arias, who fought back tears as the verdict was read, while a crowd outside the courtroom cheered the jury's decision.

In total, the 12-member jury spend 15-hours to reach its verdict, ending a four month trial that included lurid tales of sex, lies, religion and a salacious relationship that ended in a blood bath in Alexander's Phoenix home in June 2008.

Arias was accused of planning the attack in a jealous rage after being rejected by Alexander, while he pursued other women. Arias initially denied involvement, but then later blamed the killing on masked intruders. It was not for another two years that she claimed self-defense.

The jury will return to the courtroom Thursday to begin the next phase of the trial, called the "aggravation" phase. Both sides may call witnesses and show evidence to help jurors decide whether or not the killing was cruel, heinous and depraved. The jurors' final decision will be to determine if Arias gets the death penalty.

Benghazi Whistle-Blowers Testimony On Tap

2013-05-08T01:00:00Z

Almost eight months to the day, members of the House Oversight Committee will hear testimony on Wednesday from whistle-blowers critical of the Obama administration's handling of the events of that fateful night that resulted in the murders of four U.S. citizens.

Among those to testify is Gregory Hicks, who was the deputy chief of mission at U.S. Embassy in Libya and in Tripoli during the attacks. Hicks has reportedly told Republican investigators that if the U.S. military had flown aircraft over the Benghazi facility after it came under siege, the show of force might have prevented the second attack on the CIA annex that killed two Navy SEALs.

Republicans insist that the Obama administration is guilty of a cover-up of the events on September 11, 2011 that were originally attributed to a mob action, incited by a YouTube video.

Hicks' comments as well as those of other so-called whistle-blowers are likely to re-ignite accusations that the administration and the State Department failed to act under the leadership of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Hicks also told investigators that if the U.S. military has scrambled jet fighters after the first attack that it would have prevented the mortar attack on the CIA annex.
"I believe the Libyans would have split. They would have been scared to death that we would have gotten a laser on them and killed them," Hicks said.

At the State Department on Monday, spokesman Patrick Ventrell said the committee's work appeared to have political aims rather than ensuring the protection of U.S. diplomats serving overseas.

"We understand this testimony's going to go forward, and we want people to go and tell the truth," he told reporters. "But in terms of the full context of these remarks or these sort of accusations, we don't have the full context, so it's hard for us to respond."

Ventrell also pushed back against allegations from congressional Republicans that the independent panel appointed by former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had not conducted a comprehensive or credible investigation into the Benghazi incident.

The co-chairs of the review board, retired Adm. Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and former senior diplomat Thomas Pickering, rejected claims that their panel had been denied access to key witnesses or had conducted anything less than a thorough and impartial probe.

"From the beginning of the ARB process, we had unfettered access to everyone and everything including all the documentation we needed," the two men said.

Meanwhile, the former head of the State Department's counterterrorism bureau, Daniel Benjamin, denied allegations that his office had been cut out of the loop in the discussions and decision-making processes in the aftermath of the attack.

"This charge is simply untrue," he said. "At no time did I feel that the bureau was in any way being left out of deliberations that it should have been part of."

China's Military Denies Cyber-Attacks

2013-05-08T00:30:00Z

The Pentagon on Monday released a report that included for the first time a claim that at least some attacks on U.S. and other computer systems appeared to be "attributable directly to the Chinese government and military."

China denies such accusations and says the sides should build trust and mechanisms to fight cybercrime.

This year's report was the first time the Pentagon used its annual report on China to directly accuse Beijing's government and military of conducting cyber attacks against the United States.

Over the past year, U.S. government officials and private cyber-security experts have stepped up accusations that the Chinese government is directly involved in cyber espionage against the U.S.

In February, a U.S.-based cyber-security firm, Mandiant, issued a report accusing a secret Chinese military unit in Shanghai of years of cyber-attacks against more than 140 companies, a majority of them American.

The Pentagon report, released Monday, said that, "In 2012, numerous computer systems around the world, including those owned by the U.S. government, continued to be targeted for intrusions, some of which appear to be attributable directly to the Chinese government and military."

Go to FoxNews.com for more information about the Pentagon report and China's efforts to attack U.S. defense databases.

Dow and S&P 500 Climb To New Record Highs

2013-05-08T00:00:00Z

Gains in overseas markets today helped put Wall Street investors in a buying mood, driving U.S. stock indexes to new record highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 87-points, closing above 15,000 for the first time ever. The Nasdaq Composite finished about 4-points higher. The S&P 500 gained 8-points, logging its fourth straight record high close.

With little in the way of economic data released on the day, events in Asia and Europe drove the buying on Wall Street.

The German DAX, which is the country's benchmark index, rallied to an all-time high following a report showing German industrial orders climbed 2.2% in March, which exceeded expectations.

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 surged 3.6% to 14180, its highest level since the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Caterpillar led gainers on the blue chip index, up 2.5% on the day. JP Morgan was a close second, finishing the session up 1.99%.

Cisco Systems on the other hand was the biggest laggard on the Dow, ending the trading session down more than 2%.

The Federal Reserve today released the sole piece of U.S. economic data. The Fed reported that consumer credit in March rose by $7.97 billion, representing the smallest monthly increase in consumer debt since July of last year.

Investor allure with equities took a toll on commodity prices. The June crude oil contract dipped 54 cents, to settle at $95.62 a barrel ahead of tomorrow's inventories report from the Energy Department.

Whistle-blowers To Offer Damning Testimony On Benghazi Terrorist Attack

2013-05-07T00:00:00Z

The Obama administration and its Defense Department, run by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are fending off a fresh wave of allegations from whistle-blowers who are calling into question the decision making and lack of action taken to save American lives that fateful night which marked the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 Terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

According to Fox News, which obtained a transcript of Gregory Hicks' interview last month with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Hicks' feels the military could have saved lives it fighter jets had been permitted to conduct a flyover.

Hicks, who had been serving as the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Libya, became the top diplomat in the region after U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens was killed in the initial attack.

According the interview transcript Hicks told congressional investigators, "And so, in my personal opinion, a fast-mover flying over Benghazi at some point, you know, as soon as possible might very well have prevented some of the bad things that happened that night." Hicks added, "I believe if we had been able to scramble a fighter or aircraft or two over Benghazi as quickly as possible after the attack commenced, I believe there would not have been a mortar attack on the annex in the morning because I believe the Libyans would have split," he said. "They would have been scared to death that we would have gotten a laser on them and killed them."

Hicks acknowledged that such a flyover would have required approval from the Libyan government, but said the Libyan government was surprised such a request was not made.

Gregory Hicks is just one of several whistle-blowers expected to testify before Congressional leaders later this week.

Mark I. Thompson, a former marine and now the Deputy Coordinator for Operations in the State Department's counterterrorism bureau, is claiming that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and an aide deliberately made an end-around the antiterrorism bureau.

According to Fox News, "Clinton and Under Secretary for Management Patrick Kennedy tried to cut the counterterrorism bureau out of the loop as they and other Obama administration officials weighed how to respond to -- and characterize -- the Benghazi attacks."

The State Department and the White House are denying Thompson's allegations, as is Daniel Benjamin, who ran the Counterterrorism Bureau at the time of the attack.

"I ran the bureau then, and I can say now with certainty, as the former Coordinator for Counterterrorism, that this charge is simply untrue," he said. "Though I was out of the country on official travel at the time of the attack, I was in frequent contact with the Department. At no time did I feel that the Bureau was in any way being left out of deliberations that it should have been part of."

Syria's Civil War Spilling Over Borders

2013-05-06T23:00:00Z

Tensions are at a critical point in the Middle East following reports that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has authorized "Palestinian groups to conduct "operations" against Israeli targets on the Golan Heights."

The news follows reports that two mortars struck Israel's Golan Heights on Monday. The Israeli Defense Force reportedly described the mortar strikes as "spillover from fighting across the border in Syria.

Assad's move to green-light operations against Israel follows two separate Israeli Air Force attacks on Iranian and Hezbollah assets on Friday and Sunday.

Errant mortars and other projectiles from Syria have struck the Golan Heights a number of times during the two-year Syrian civil war. After Monday's incident Israel reportedly filed a complaint against the UN observer force monitoring the two countries' border.

Meanwhile the responsibility for the use of chemical weapons in Syria came into question over the weekend.

Carla Del Ponte a member of the U.N. panel probing alleged war crimes in Syria, told Swiss TV that a UN commission has 'strong, concrete suspicions' that rebels had used the nerve agent sarin gas.

"Our investigators have been in neighbouring countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals and, according to their report of last week which I have seen, there are strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof of the use of sarin gas, from the way the victims were treated," said Ms. Del Ponte.

However those claims directly contradict those of the United States, and were refuted by the Obama administration on Monday.

"The commission has not reached any conclusive findings. The fact of the matter is that we are highly skeptical that the opposition has used chemical weapons," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday.

Pentagon spokesman George Little also disagreed with Ms. Del Ponte's assessment.
"We strongly believe that if chemical weapons were used it would be by the regime," Little said.

To get the latest on the politics and posturing around the Syrian conflict go to FoxNews.com.

Legalization of 11 Million Illegal Immigrants: $6.3 Trillion

2013-05-06T22:00:00Z

The much-awaited study of the Senate proposal to legalize an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants already living in the United States pegs the potential price tag at $6.3 trillion, more than a third of our current national debt.

Fox News obtained an advance copy of the report, which factors in the cost of legalizing immigrants, giving them access to Social Security and Medicare to dozens of welfare programs ranging from housing assistance to food stamps.

In a statement, Robert Rector, the Heritage scholar who prepared the report, said "No matter how you slice it, amnesty will add a tremendous amount of pressure on America's already strained public purse."

Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint, though, defended the study Monday morning.
"There's no way you can look at this and say that it's good for the American taxpayer," he told Fox News.

According to Fox News reporting:
"The comprehensive study, aside from looking at benefits, also factored in the cost of public education and other services like highways and police. The government is already providing some of those services to illegal immigrants, so the $6.3 trillion figure would not represent all new costs.

But most of that cost would be new spending, according to Heritage, as illegal immigrants gain access to additional government programs. The study acknowledges that, for a 10-year period, illegal immigrants seeking a reprieve would be barred from these benefits. After that window, though, Heritage forecasts the costs skyrocketing.

On an annual basis, the report estimates the cost will be $106 billion after the interim phase is over. In the course of their lifetime, the report estimates that illegal immigrant households would receive an average of $592,000 in government benefits.

The $6.3 trillion figure is based on what illegal immigrants would cost the government over the course of their lifetime. It factors in the expected $3.1 trillion in taxes they'd pay to the government.

For more on the costs associated with the "Gang of Eight's" efforts to reform U.S. immigration law go to FoxNews.com.

Benghazi Review Board Under Investigation

2013-05-03T00:00:00Z

Benghazi Review Board Under Investigation
The Accountability Review Board, which was charged with investigating the State Department's handling of the Benghazi terrorist attack, finds itself under the microscope.

According to reporting by Fox News, the very panel that investigated the State Department's handling of the events leading up to, during and after the Benghazi Terrorist attack, finds itself the focus of a government probe.

span style="background-color:#CCCCCC">The IG's office is said by well-placed sources to be seeking to determine whether the Accountability Review Board, or ARB -- led by former U.N. Ambassador Thomas Pickering and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen -- failed to interview key witnesses who had asked to provide their accounts of the Benghazi attacks to the panel.

The IG's office notified the department of the "special review" on March 28, according to Doug Welty, the congressional and public affairs officer of the IG's office."

News of the IG's investigation comes at a time when the Obama administration finds itself having to fend off whistleblower claims that there massive communications breakdowns within the administration on the evening of the deadly attack, as well as allegations that some witnesses coerced into silence.

Earlier this week, State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said, "We think that we've done an independent investigation, that it's been transparent, thorough, credible, and detailed, and ... we've shared those findings with the U.S. Congress."

Joe diGenova, a former U.S. attorney, is representing a career State Department officer whom the board failed to interview. DiGenova called the ARB a "cover-up."

DiGenova and his wife Victoria Toensing, a former Justice Department official who is representing another State Department whistle-blower in the Benghazi case, said their clients will testify next week at a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

For more information about the ARB investigation go to FoxNews.com

Syria's 3-Year Civil War At Critical Juncture

2013-05-02T23:30:00Z

Syrian government troops pushed Thursday into the central districts of the city of Homs in an effort to oust rebels from the country's third largest urban center, activists said.

Homs, along with the capital of Damascus and Syria's largest city, Aleppo, has been a key battleground in the country's conflict, which is now in its third year and which has claimed more than 70,000 lives.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said troops loyal to President Bashar Assad regained control of the Wadi Sayeh district in the center of Homs by early Thursday morning.

In recent weeks, government forces have been on a counter offensive to reverse rebel gains in and around Aleppo, where the opposition controls whole neighborhoods and large swaths of land around the city.

The army has also conducted massive sweeps through opposition strongholds around Damascus to oust rebels from their enclaves.

Regaining full control of Homs would be a psychological blow to the opposition, which holds the city as a symbol of Syria's uprising, inspired by other Arab Spring revolts against authoritarian rulers around the Middle East.

News of the counter offensive comes as the suspected use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime is forcing the Obama administration to reconsider its stance on arming the rebels.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday that the Obama administration is re-thinking its opposition to arming the Syrian rebels, as officials weigh a range of options in the wake of findings that chemical weapons were likely used in the country's civil war.
"Arming the rebels -- that's an option," Hagel said at a Pentagon news conference.

The administration last week revealed that U.S. intelligence found evidence that the regime used chemical weapons, specifically sarin, "on a small scale" in Syria. The White House, however, stressed that investigators would need to find out more about how that nerve gas was released before acting on that intelligence.

Obama has long called the use of chemical weapons in Syria a "red line" that could prompt U.S. action if crossed.

Hagel said Thursday that the U.S. must "rethink all options," though "it doesn't mean you do or you will" use those options.

"These are options that must be considered with partners, with the international community," he said.

Read more about the situation in Syria and the administration's options on FoxNews.com.

Economic Data Drives S&P 500 To Fresh All-Time High

2013-05-02T23:00:00Z

What a difference a day makes on Wall Street. After beginning the month of May with a 1% selloff, stocks on Thursday roared back to life as investors applauded a number of better than expected reports on the U.S. economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 131 points, recovering all but a fraction of Wednesday's decline. The Nasdaq Composite recouped all off the previous day's losses, finishing Thursday's session 41 points higher. And the S&P 500 gained 15 points on the day, closing at a new record high of 1,597.59.

The mood of the market on Thursday turned decidedly optimistic following a number of better than expected economic reports.

The Labor Department kicked things off with a surprise drop in the number of weekly jobless claims. Claims for unemployment benefits last week fell 18,000, reaching a more than five year low of 324,000.

Adding to the good news, Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that U.S. firms laid off 38,121 thousand workers in April. That's down a steeper than expected 22.6% compared to March, and is the fewest number of pinks slips in any month so far this year.

Great domestic demand of oil in the United States helped to drive crude oil imports to a 17-year low in March. The reduction in oil imports helped to drive the U.S. trade deficit down 11% to $38.8 billion.

A report from Markit showed the pace of the contraction in the Eurozone's manufacturing accelerated slightly in April. Germany's factory sector contracted for the first time this year.

3 Suspects Arrested In Connection To Boston Marathon Bombers

2013-05-02T00:00:00Z

The investigation into the Boston Marathon bombing resulted in the arrest of three additional individuals on Wednesdays.

According to an FBI affidavit two suspects, Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakova, were charged with conspiring to destroy evidence of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's involvement in the April 15 Boston Marathon bombing. The two allegedly went to Tsarnaev's dorm where they took a laptop, a backpack and other items that may have been used to make the deadly pressure cooker bombs that killed three and injured more than 170 at the race.

The other suspect, Robel Phillipos, was charged for willfully making false statements to federal law enforcement officials during a terrorism investigation.

According to the FBI affidavit, "Kadyrbayev knew when he saw the empty fireworks that Tsarnaev was involved in the marathon bombing." The affidavit also stated that, "Kadyrbayev decided to remove the backpack from the room in order to help his friend Tsarnaev avoid trouble."

The affidavit also states that as early as April 18, three days after the bombing and just hours after the surveillance video of the brothers was released, Kadyrbayev texted Tsarnaev and said he bore a resemblance to the subject of an intense manhunt.

According to media reports, Phillipos confessed that the three took the backpack out of their friend's dorm room, according to the affidavit.

Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov face maximum sentences of five years in prison and fines of $250,000. Phillipos, a U.S. citizen, faces a maximum sentence of eight years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

For more information about the three news suspects go to MyFoxBoston.com.

Benghazi Investigators Post Photos Of Three Men Wanted For Questioning

2013-05-01T23:30:00Z

More than seven months after the deadly Sept 11, 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack that killed four U.S. citizens, the FBI on Wednesday released grainy photos of three individuals wanted for questioning.

The FBI claims the three unidentified men were photographed at the Benghazi compound while it was under attack.

In a statement, the FBI said it is seeking information about three individuals, "who were on the grounds of the U.S. Special Mission when it was attacked."

The FBI statement doesn't not designate the three men as suspects, but states that, "These individuals may be able to provide information to help in the investigation."

Despite President Obama's pledge that "justice will be done," so far U.S. officials have made public little information uncovered during their investigation into those behind the terrorist attack.

While the investigation continues, the debate over Benghazi is heating up, with a number of whistleblowers asking to talk to Congress in an effort to get to the truth of what happened that fateful September night.

The White House on Wednesday denied whistle-blowers were being blocked from testifying, and that the new allegations are a part of a broader partisan effort to discredit the president's handling of national security issues.

"Benghazi happened a long time ago." Carney added that the latest allegations "are part of an unfortunate pattern of spreading misinformation and politicizing the issue."

Victoria Toensing, who is representing one of the State Department employees looking to come forward, told Fox News that her client and others were threatened.

"I'm not talking generally, I'm talking specifically about Benghazi - that people have been threatened," Toensing said in an interview Monday. "And not just the State Department. People have been threatened at the CIA."

Victoria Toensing sheds light on the allegations Wednesday night on Lou Dobbs Tonight on the Fox Business Network at 7 & 10 p.m. ET.

May Begins With A Selloff On Wall Street

2013-05-01T23:00:00Z

The month of May kicked off with a nearly 1% selloff on Wall Street as investors reacted to disappointing manufacturing and jobs data, while global demand concerns hammered commodity prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 139-points. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 30-points. And one-day after closing at new all-time high, the S&P 500 closed Wednesday's session down 15-points.

ADP's private sector job report showed employers in April grew payrolls by a weaker than expected 119,000, missing estimates of 150,000 new jobs. Adding to the bad news, ADP lowered totals for March, showing private sector employers created just 131,000 jobs, down significantly from the original report of 158,000 jobs created.

U.S. manufacturing activity expanded, albeit at a slower than expected rate in April. The Institute for Supply Management's PMI gauge dipped to 50.7, down from 51.3 in March.

Construction spending in March took an unexpected hit, tumbling 1.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual level of $856.7 billion. Residential construction spending ticked up 0.7%, while nonresidential construction on projects dropped 2.9% in March. Still, construction spending in March was 4.8% higher from a year ago.

Those reports placed that much more emphasis on the Federal Reserve's statement on interest rates and monetary policy. The central bank on Wednesday concluded its two-day meeting with a statement that it plans to maintain its easy money policy and ultra low interest rates as the economy confronts headwinds and an elevated unemployment rate.

The Federal Reserve sees the economy growing at a 'moderate' pace, but unemployment remains 'elevated,' while "fiscal policy is restraining economic growth."

In addition to those headlines, a weaker than expected reading on manufacturing in China sparked a fresh round of demand concerns in the commodity market.

The June crude contract benchmark U.S. crude oil contract tumbled 2.6% to settle trading at $91.03 a barrel. That's the lowest closing price for a front month contract since Apr. 23.

Precious metals also took a beating. Copper and silver prices took the biggest hit; both precious metals fell more than 3%. Gold prices fell 1.8% on the day, with gold for June delivery settling at $1,446.20 an ounce.

The Stock Market Soars in April

2013-05-01T02:00:00Z

All three major indexes on Wall Street finished the month of April with solid gains. The S& P 500 closed at a record high of 1597, adding 1.8% for the month. The Dow Jones Industrials also added 1.8% for the month, and NASDAQ rose 1.9%. NASDAQ closed at its highest level in more than 12 years.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were telecommunications, utilities, and consumer staples. The worst performers were materials and energy stocks.

Stocks soared on Wall Street despite news that Chicago manufacturing activity declined for April. Manufacturing activity around the country was weak in April.

However, home prices rose more than 1 percent in February, bringing price increases to a 6-year high. Consumer confidence for April rose significantly higher, beating Wall Street predictions.

Tomorrow, the Federal Reserve will kick off May with a two-day meeting. The Fed is expected to issue a statement Wednesday.

Original Story: April Advance: Defensives Drive S&P to Record High

Defense Lawyers for Boston Bombing Suspect Have Won Acquittals, Avoided Death Penalty for Other Terrorists

2013-05-01T02:00:00Z

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, accused of planning and executing the Boston Marathon bombings, has assembled a high-powered defense team. Tsarnaev is currently charged with using a weapon of mass destruction to kill. If convicted, he will face the death penalty.

Miran Conrad, the chief federal public defender for Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, will be the head of Tsarnaev's defense team.

On Monday, Judy Clarke was added to the team. Clarke is a well-known death penalty opponent and San Diego lawyer.

Defendants facing charges that carry the death penalty are entitled to have one lawyer on their defense team with experience in death penalty cases. Conrad had asked for a second lawyer with such experience but the judge turned down her request.

Conrad won a 2004 acquittal for a Saudi man who was caught with sparkler firecrackers in his bag at Logan Airport in Boston. Conrad argued in his defense that the man didn't realize the firecrackers were in his bag.

Conrad defended another client who was charged with planning to attack the Capitol building and Pentagon using remote-controlled model planes.

Discussing her clients, Conrad has said, "From a personal standpoint, I would say that there are very few clients I have had who I didn't like. If you scratch the surface, many have had difficult lives, and, as their lawyer, I sort of see them whole - not just as a person charged with a crime," she said.

Clarke has defended the Unabomber, Susan Smith (convicted of killing her two children), Eric Rudolf (the Atlanta Olympics bomber), and Jared Loughner (the Tucson, AZ shooter). She helped all avoid the death penalty.

Original Story: Boston suspect's defense team gets major boost with lawyer who defended Unabomber, Loughner

Whistleblower Claims Special Forces Could Have Responded to Benghazi Attack

2013-05-01T02:00:00Z

An anonymous member of U.S. special operations forces told Fox News that U.S. forces capable of responding to the September 11, 2012 attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi were only hours away at the time of the attacks.

The whistleblower said that C-110, a 40-man team trained to respond quickly to situations like that faced in Benghazi, was training in Croatia at the time of the attack. Croatia is only 3 and a half hours away from
Benghazi.

The special operations member said, "we had the ability to load out, get on birds and fly there, at a minimum stage. C-110 had the ability to be there, in my opinion, in a matter of about four hours...four to six hours."

Forces could also have been used to respond to a second attack, facilitate the rescue of Americans, and assist with caring for injured personnel.

The whistleblower claimed that others have not come forward for fear of repercussions.

He said, "The problem is, you got guys in my position, you got guys in special operations community who are still active and still involved. And they would be decapitated if they came forward with information that would affect high level commanders."

President Obama, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the State Department have all claimed that there was no way the U.S. military could have responded in time to save American personnel during the attack. Four Americans died in Benghazi, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, a U.S. embassy employee, and two former Navy SEALs working as security contractors.

Original Story: Special forces could've responded to Benghazi attack, whistle-blower tells Fox News

Syrian Prime Minister Reportedly Survives Assassination Attempt

2013-04-30T02:00:00Z

On Monday, Syria's state media reported that Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi survived an assassination attempt in Damascus. A bomb exploded near the Prime Minister's convoy, and state TV is reported al-Halqi is unhurt, although several others died in the attack.

According to an anonymous Syrian government official, an improvised explosive device was set off in a car parked near the convoy's route.

State TV ran footage of al-Halqi attending a meeting later in the day, but it was unclear whether the footage was actually taken before or after the assassination attempt.

No group has yet taken responsibility for the attack, which is not the first time that Syrian opposition forces have sought to assassinate top government officials.

Last summer, the Defense Minister and Deputy Defense Minister were killed along with two other officials. Last December, the Interior Minister was injured after another car bomb attack. Earlier this month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' chief of public relations was shot to death at a restaurant.

The use of IEDs increases concerns that Islamist radicals could be behind the attack, as well as fears that those groups are gaining strength among the various opposition groups in Syria's civil war.

Original Story: Syrian prime minister survives assassination attempt, state media says

The S&P Hits a Record High, As Stocks on Wall Street Post Strong Gains

2013-04-30T02:00:00Z

On Monday, the market was boosted by technology stocks, as all three major indexes closed with strong gains as investors responded to positive earnings reports.

The S&P 500 added 11 points to close at a record high of 1594. The Dow Jones Industrials added 106 points to close at 14819, and NASDAQ added 27 points to close at 3307.

Technology stocks were among the day's top performers, with Apple, Google, Microsoft, IBM and FaceBook shares all ending the day with significant gains.

Apple stock added 3 percent as news leaked that the company may release the iPhone 5S sooner than expected.

All major indexes are on track to end the month in the win column, with the S&P 500 likely to finish its sixth consecutive month of gains.

Keystone XL Pipeline Delayed Again

2013-04-30T02:00:00Z

On Friday, Russ Girling, the CEO of TransCanada, announced that the Keystone XL pipeline would be delayed again.

The project's costs, currently estimated at $5.3 billion, will continue to rise as the U.S. government continues to delay approving the pipeline. The government is expected to announce a decision at some point during this summer.

The pipeline is now expected to go into operation by mid to late 2015. Previous estimates had predicted the pipeline becoming operational by late 2014 or early 2015.

"Unfortunately, continued delays ... have an impact on both our schedule and our costs. Based on our current assessment of timing of the permit we would currently anticipate the pipeline could become operational in the second half of 2015," Girling said in his announcement.

Keystone XL would be able to carry 800,000 barrels of oil per day from Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf Coast of Texas.

Although the Keystone XL pipeline could create approximately 20,000 in the United States, the government has been delaying the project in response to environmental concerns.

Original Story: TransCanada Says Keystone XL to Be Delayed and TransCanada says Keystone XL likely won't be operating until second half of 2015 if approved

Bomb Suspects' Mother Now a Person of Interest

2013-04-27T02:00:00Z

As the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombings continues, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, mother of bombers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, has been named a person of interest as federal investigators try to determine what role she may have had in radicalizing her son.

According to Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, "she is a person of interest that we're looking at to see if she helped radicalize her son, or had contacts with other people or other terrorist groups."

Zubeidat was added to the classified Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment databases, along with her elder son Tamerlan, after Russia informed the CIA that both were religious militants before the pair traveled to Russia.

The TIDE database contains between 500,000 to 1 million names, but those on the list are not necessarily considered terrorist subjects, and do not automatically receive surveillance of their activities.

Tsarnaeva has stated her doubts that the Boston Marathon terror attacks took place, and has said she will not return to the United States. The boys' father, Anzor Tsarnaev, plans to travel to the U.S. in order to "find out the truth" about what happened.

Zubeidat Tsarnaeva has had her own troubles with the law in America - she currently has an outstanding warrant for felony shoplifting as well as property damage.

Original Story: Mother of bomb suspects eyed in radicalizing son; was on terror database

Has the "Red Line" Been Crossed in Syria?

2013-04-27T02:00:00Z

On Thursday U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced that the U.S. intelligence community had obtained evidence that the Syrian regime of Bashar Al-Assad used chemical weapons.

President Barack Obama has said that the use of chemical weapons in Syria was "a red line for us" and would be a "game changer" for the United States and how it proceeds with its decision whether or not to intervene in the conflict.

However, the White House has so far responded only by calling for a United Nations investigation into the use of chemical weapons, and the White House has stated its desire "to establish all the facts" at this stage.

In his statement, Hagel was careful to say, ""We still have uncertainties about what was used, what kind of chemicals was used, where it was used, who used it."
The White House wrote a letter to members of Congress, stating its belief that "credible and corroborated facts" were still required.

Several lawmakers have demanded further action, believing the "red line" has been crossed, and pushing the administration to act on its past statements. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) said, "the president of the United States said that this would be a red line if they used chemical weapons. The president of the United States has now told us that they used chemical weapons. We must give the opposition the capability to drive out Bashar Assad once and for all."

On Friday, the Syrian regime denied using chemical weapons in its attacks against opposition forces. Both sides have denied responsibility, and have claimed the other side has used chemical weapons.

Original Story: White House: Obama's "red line" on Syria chemical weapons not crossed and Syrian officials deny use of chemical weapons

The House Takes Up Immigration Reform

2013-04-27T02:00:00Z

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Robert Goodlatte (R-VA) announced on Thursday that the House would begin introducing various bills aimed at immigration reform. Unlike the Senate, where the "Gang of 8" has proposed comprehensive immigration reform including a path to citizenship, the House has yet to offer a bill addressing the issue.

According to Rep. Goodlatte, the first bill will create a new guest worker program targeting agricultural workers, and mandate that employers check the legal status of their employees using an electronic system.

Goodlatte said no decision had been made on whether or not to include a path to citizenship for the approximately 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States, but he did not rule out the possibility. The Senate bill includes a path to citizenship.

Rep. Goodlatte would not commit to completing work on comprehensive immigration reform by the end of the year, a goal expressed by both President Obama and the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" in the Senate.

"It is not whether you do it fast or slow, it is that you get it right that's most important," Goodlatte said during his announcement.

The Senate is expected to begin the markup process on its immigration bill in early May. The House has its own bipartisan committee working on immigration reform, but that group has yet to propose legislation. The group currently plans on offering its own version of comprehensive immigration reform legislation in May.

Original Story: House Panel Set to Offer Several Immigration Bills

Weekly Jobless Claims Fall to their Lowest Levels in Six Weeks

2013-04-26T02:00:00Z

According to the Labor Department, last week's new jobless claims fell by 16,000 to a total of 339,000 last week, their lowest levels in six weeks.

Experts had predicted a total of 351,000 claims for last week, and the drop can be attributed partly to the seasonal effects seen during the weeks following Easter and spring break.

Over the last month, jobless claims have declined by an average of 4,500 to a total of 357,500, hitting their lowest numbers in three weeks.

The jobless claims figures come as a welcome surprise, easing concerns over weak economic reports on manufacturing activity, nonfarm payrolls, and retail sales.

Original Story: Jobless claims fall, labor market recovery advances

U.S. Defense Secretary Confirms Chemical Weapons Used in Syria

2013-04-26T02:00:00Z

On Thursday U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced that the U.S. intelligence community had obtained evidence that the Syrian regime of Bashar Al-Assad used chemical weapons.

The White House sent a letter to selected members of Congress prior to Hagel's announcement, informing them of the intelligence community's judgment that "the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically the chemical agent sarin." The White House said that "physiological samples" played a role in intelligence analysts' assessment.

According to Secretary of State John Kerry, there have been two confirmed cases where chemical weapons were used in the Syrian civil war.

Although there is no definitive evidence on how sarin was released, the administration believes it came from the Syrian regime rather than opposition forces. Both the Syrian regime and the opposition deny using chemical weapons.

President Barack Obama has said that the use of chemical weapons in Syria was "a red line for us" and would be a "game changer" for the United States and how it proceeds with its decision whether or not to intervene in the conflict.

However, the White House has so far responded only by calling for a United Nations investigation into the use of chemical weapons, and the White House has stated its desire "to establish all the facts" at this stage.

Several lawmakers have more forcefully declared that the "red line" has indeed been crossed. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) reiterated the need for the United States to "provide a safe area, to establish a no-fly zone" and "provide weapons to people in the resistance who we trust" in Syria.

Original Story: Hagel says evidence chemical weapons were used in Syria

Boston Bombers Planned to Attack Times Square

2013-04-26T02:00:00Z

On Thursday New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg confirmed that Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the brothers who executed the Boston Marathon bombings, had chosen Times Square in New York City as their next target.
The FBI informed Bloomberg of the brothers' plans, but Bloomberg was not aware of a specific place targeted inside Times Square.
NYC Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the plot was "spontaneous," and the brothers devised the plan after carjacking an SUV in Cambridge last Thursday. They had six bombs in that car with them, and threw explosives at police as they attempted to evade capture.
Meanwhile, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick's administration has failed to provide information regarding the welfare benefits received by Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, claiming the right to privacy.

Massachusetts state welfare spokesman Alec Loftus would confirm that Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his family received benefits that stopped in 2012, but did not provide further details. Both brothers received benefits through their parents after the family arrived from Russia in 2002. As it turns out, that's the most any agency in Massachusetts would offer.

The Labor Department would not confirm if the elder Tsarnaev had received unemployment benefits, and called that information "confidential."

Officials also refused to answer questions about the possibility the brothers received Section 8 housing assistance, or had government-paid cellular phones.

The University of Massachusetts also refused to release Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's student records, including information on financial assistance.

Original Story: Boston Marathon bombers' next target was Times Square, says Bloomberg

House Report blames then Sec. of State Clinton and White House for Benghazi

2013-04-25T02:00:00Z

According to a report released Tuesday by House Republicans, the blame for last September's attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi rests primarily with then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the State Department, and the White House.

Prior to the September 11, 2012 attack, the "highest" levels of authority at the State Department had agreed to security cutbacks. The cutbacks were made despite requests from former U.S. ambassador to Libya Gene Cretze for increased security. Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton authorized the security cuts to move forward.

Former Secretary of State Clinton had testified before the House that she never received requests for additional security in Benghazi.

The report also faulted the White House for its response in the wake of the attack, claiming the administration had changed its explanation of events in order to protect the State Department.

The House report claims that U.S. ambassador to the UN Susan Rice's explanation of events in Benghazi was "altered" in order to protect the State Department from criticism over its security reduction.

In addition, the White House was blamed for failing to recognize the potential for attacks on the 9/11 anniversary, and for failing to authorize the Defense Department to undertake missions outside of self-defense. The military was not given notice to defend diplomatic outposts or authorization to undertake offense operations.

The report claims the Pentagon and intelligence agencies are not to blame, praising the intelligence agencies for their efforts to obtain accurate information regarding regional threats, and for warning U.S. officials about security dangers.

Original Story: House report on fatal Benghazi attack faults State Department for security

Confirmed Case of Bird Flu Reported in Taiwan

2013-04-25T02:00:00Z

The first case of bird flu outside of China was reported in Taiwan on Wednesday.

The Taiwanese man who caught bird flu had been working in Suzhou, China. Symptoms appeared three days after he returned to Taiwan on April 9. He is currently listed in serious condition, and has been in the hospital since April 16.

The H7N9 bird flu has infected more than 100 people in China, and has killed 22. The World Health Organization calls the strain of bird flu "one of the most lethal."

The Centers of Disease control are currently rushing to complete a vaccine for the H7N9 bird flu, but the finished vaccine is expected to be months away.

According to Dr. Joseph Bresee, a CDC flu expert, it is not yet clear whether the H7N9 bird flue is spread from person to person, but acknowledged that it was possible.

The H7N9 bird flu has been described as a "pure" bird flu. Pure bird flu is typically more deadly than hybrids composed of bird and mammal flue.

Original Story: New bird flu strain called 'one of most lethal' viruses baffles scientists

Boston Terror Attacks Raise Concerns on Immigration Reform

2013-04-25T02:00:00Z

In the midst of Tuesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on comprehensive immigration reform, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano faced tough questions from lawmakers concerned about the national security dangers exposed by the Boston Marathon bombings.

The two brothers responsible for the bombings were Chechens granted political asylum from Russia, and lawmakers were concerned about how similar situations could be prevented in the future.

The proposed immigration reform includes proposals such as allowing an estimated people in the country illegally to become eligible for citizenship after 13 years, paying taxes, and paying a fine. More foreign workers will be allowed into the U.S.A. under new guest worker programs. To increase security, employers will be required to make sure their workers are in the country legally, and there will be increased surveillance, law enforcement personnel, and fence reinforcements on the southern border.

Senators were disturbed by the fact that bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev was able to travel to Russia unnoticed, despite the fact the FBI had placed an active alert on him.
Napolitano claimed the proposed immigration reform bill would improve the situation, saying, "The bill will help with this because it requires that passports be electronically readable as opposed to having to be manually input," she said. "It really does a good job of getting human error, to the extent it exists, out of the process."
Concerns remain, particularly over the possibility that those who seek to cause Americans harm could take advantage of the asylum system. Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) noted this danger, saying, "if these two individuals used our immigration system to assist their attacks, it's important to our ongoing discussion."

Original Story: Lawmakers cite Boston bombings in questions on immigration bill

Republicans Accuse the Administration of Playing Politics with Sequester Cuts

2013-04-25T02:00:00Z

Travelers across the country have faced long waits and delays at airports as Federal Aviation Administration furloughs have gone into effect. With the furlough of air traffic controllers, passengers have been stuck waiting on the runway for up to two hours for clearance to take off.

The FAA has warned that, "travelers can expect to see a wide range of delays that will change throughout the day depending on staffing and weather-related issues," making it clear they don't expect the situation to improve.

However, Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) called the airport delays "a manufactured crisis," as Congressional Republicans claim the FAA could cut its budget without instituting the furloughs. Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) has said the FAA "has made zero effort" to prevent furloughs. The GOP believes the administration would like to make the budget cuts as painful as possible in order to increase supports to reverse the cuts.

On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid proposed limiting spending on Afghanistan and Iraq, and using those savings to blunt the effects of the sequester. Republicans have opposed Reid's proposal, viewing it as a budget gimmick in light of the fact that war spending is already expected to drop, and therefore should not be considered new savings.

The Congressional Budget Office currently makes its projections on the assumption that future spending will be the same as current spending.

Original Story: Flight delays set furlough blame game into motion; Reid cites 'dire effects'; GOP says it's politics

Napolitano: Government Internal system "pinged' when Boston bombing suspect left for Russia

2013-04-24T02:00:00Z

In a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on immigration legislation, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, said that the government's system "pinged" when Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the Boston bombing suspect who was killed in a police shoot-out last week, traveled to Russia in early 2012.

This conflicts with earlier suggestions that the trip went unnoticed. "By the time he returned, all investigations - the matter had been closed," Napolitano said.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has summoned the FBI to explain why the 2012 trip didn't raise a red flag, considering that the FBI had already checked out Tsarnaev's background at the request of the Russian government in 2011.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. challenged Napolitano, saying the FBI had already told him they had no prior knowledge of his 2012 trip. Graham claimed the FBI told him that Tsarnaev's name had been misspelled when he traveled, so it never went into the system. Another legislator suggested he could have traveled under a different name.

This was the third hearing on a bipartisan immigration bill, with Republicans arguing it does too little on border security, and some saying the bill should be reviewed again in light of the Boston Marathon explosions.

The reform legislation is attempting to strengthen border security, improve legal immigration and create a path to citizenship for the 11 million people in the U.S. illegally.

Online sales tax bill moves forward in the Senate

2013-04-24T02:00:00Z

A White House backed bill known as" the market place fairness tax bill," which would give states the right to collect sales taxes on purchases made online, has advanced in the Senate.

The collected sales tax would be sent by the merchant to the states where a shopper lives. Under the present law, states can only require stores to collect taxes if the store has a "brick-and-mortar" store in the state. This would close the loophole that benefits online retailers over physical store owners.

The Senate voted 74-20 on Monday evening in favor of this bill -- 26 Republicans joined Democrats in moving it forward. With this level of support, the Senate could pass the bill as early as this week.

Those who support the bill say it is about fairness for businesses, and lost revenue for states. Last year, states lost $23 million on uncollected sales taxes on Internet purchases. Businesses with less than $1 million a year in revenue would be exempt.
"While local, community-based stores and shops compete for customers on many levels, including service and selection, they cannot compete on sales tax," said Matthew Shey, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation. "Congress needs to address this disparity."

Opponents say it would impose complicated regulations on retailers and doesn't offer enough protection to small businesses.

U.S. stocks plunge but recover quickly on fake AP White House tweet

2013-04-24T02:00:00Z

Equities recovered after a fake Associated Press twitter report about explosions at the White House. The Dow Jones plunged 145 points just after 1 pm when the fake tweet appeared, saying there was a terror attack at the White House, but rebounded moments later.

The Dow Jones Industrials rose 152 points for the session - the NASDAQ went up 36 points and the S&P 500 climbed 16 points.

Apple's shares moved higher after the market closed, as the company reported an 18 percent drop in earnings, but narrowly topped Wall Street estimates. The technology giant also announced a 15 percent increase in its quarterly dividend, and its stock buyback was increased from $10 billion to $60 billion.

Netflix, its stock trading at $217 a share, led the S & P winners, jumping 24 percent since announcing strong earnings during after hours trading on Monday. Coach, the second best performer in the S&P, was up 11 percent on unexpectedly strong North American sales.

Travelers also rose 2.1 percent to $86.35 a share, as earnings exceeded estimates. Bank of America gained 3 percent to $12.07, after Morgan Stanley recommended investors buy the stock.

Obama Campaign plans major push in support of Gang of Eight immigration reform bill

2013-04-23T02:00:00Z

Organizing for Action, the activist group which sprang from President Obama's 2012 campaign, plans a "major day of action" next month in support of the Bipartisan Gang of Eight's comprehensive immigration reform bill.

Emmy Ruiz, OFA's immigration campaign manager, by email to Obama supporters, stated "The President made it clear last year that comprehensive immigration reform is a big part of his agenda, and we will help him to keep that promise."

Ruiz went on to say "we are hosting a Major Day of Action in the first week of May, and we want your help in being part of it."

Ruiz called on OFA supporters to take part in a phone bank at OFA's Washington headquarters this Tuesday to begin the process of laying the groundwork. "This is a bill that can pass the House and Senate, but only if we fight for it."

Stocks rebounded today from their worst week in the market this year.

2013-04-23T02:00:00Z

The stock market moved higher today, with the S&P 500 rebounding from its largest weekly losses in five months. The Dow Jones was up 20 points, the NASDAQ rose 28 points and the S&P 500 climbed 7 points.

The S&P increased .5 percent to 1,562.50. It fell 2.1 percent last week, its biggest drop since November.

Initially, stocks were down on the disappointing existing home sales report for March. Home sales came in lower than economist's expectations, falling .6 percent to 4.92 million homes. But stocks erased those early loses later in the session.

Even though Caterpillar initially fell following release of its weak quarterly earnings, its stock eventually closed 3 percent higher for the session, on account of increased production in China.

It is the heart of the earnings season, and that continues to be driving the Market. Investors have been anxiously awaiting Apple's earnings, which are to be released tomorrow after the closing bell.

In commodities, gold rose $29 today to $1,424 an ounce, up 2.25 percent for the session, but still down 17 percent from its recent high.

U.S. Prosecutors Charge Dzokhar Tsarnaev in Boston Marathon Bombing

2013-04-23T02:00:00Z

U.S. Prosecutors filed a criminal complaint in Boston Federal Court against Dzokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings. Prosecutors are charging Tsarnaeav, 19 years old, with using a weapon of mass destruction at the Boston Marathon a week ago, an attack that killed three people and injured more than 200.

The charges carry either the death penalty or life imprisonment as the punishment.
A federal judge went to the Boston hospital where the suspect is being treated today, to hold an initial appearance. No plea was entered.

Tsarnaev remains in serious condition suffering from gunshot wounds to his head, neck, leg and hand, an Federal Bureau of Investigation affidavit stated.

Tamerian Tsarnaev, the 26-year-old brother of the suspect, was the other bomber according to U.S. authorities. He was killed Thursday night during a shootout with police.
The White House said today that Tsarnaev will not be treated as an enemy combatant, drawing a rebuke from Republican lawmakers who want the administration to consider that option for the sake of intelligence gathering.

"Although our investigation is ongoing, today's charges bring a successful end to a tragic week for the city of Boston, and for our country," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a written statement.

Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect In Custody

2013-04-20T02:00:00Z

Four-days after two bombs exploded along the final leg of the Boston Marathon, the two suspected bombers are off the streets.

Shortly before 9:00 p.m. ET, applause erupted in a Watertown neighborhood after suspect 2, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev , was taken into custody.

His arrest followed a nearly two-hour standoff with law enforcement. The standoff began just before 7 p.m., minutes after Massachusetts State Police announced that they had completed their door-to-door search in Watertown without locating the remaining bomber.

Police moved in on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Friday evening after tip led them to the home on Franklin Street. Sources told Fox News the shed and the boat had been searched earlier, but a woman noticed a door to it had been opened, saw blood and called police.

Neighbors said they heard more than 30 shots one likened to "a roll of firecrackers shooting off." Police swarmed the scene, and several explosions, possibly police concussion grenades, were heard after a robot moved in on the boat.

The dramatic development came just after police said their hunt for Tsarnaev, one of two radical Muslim brothers suspected in Monday's attack, had gone cold and urged people to "go about your business."

"We do not have an apprehension of our suspect this afternoon, but we will have one," Massachusetts State Police Col. Timothy Alben said Friday evening.

Alben said police spent the day going door-to-door in a 20-block area. Local, state and federal investigators checked out a "number of leads, that have taken us to various places." However Alben admitted, "none of those leads have been fruitful to this point."

Following the gunfight that resulted in the killing of suspect #1, school, bus and train service were suspended and people were even told not to venture out for work.

For most of the morning and early afternoon, the search was concentrated on the city's Watertown section, where Black Hawk helicopters were patrolling the sky and police were going door-to-door hunting for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

This evening's events end what has been a gut wrenching week for Bostonians, who until Thursday night, had no idea who was responsible for the horrific bombings that killed three people, and injured more than 170.

Thursday night, hours after the photos of radicalized Muslims were circulated around the world, they killed a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer and carjacked an SUV from a man who later escaped.

The brothers led police on a chase through city streets. The pursuit went into Watertown, where suspect #1, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was killed in gunfight with authorities.

Boston Bombing Suspects Injected Into Immigration Reform

2013-04-20T01:00:00Z

While much of the nation was fixated on the manhunt in Boston's suburbs today, the Senate commenced with a hearing on the "Gang of Eight's" proposals to reform U.S. immigration.

However, news that the two Boston bombing suspects may in fact be legal immigrants from a region close to Chechnya, shown a light on deficiencies in U.S. immigration policies and standards.

The two suspects have been identified as Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, and his brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, who was killed Friday morning in a gun battle with law enforcement officers.

Media reports indicate that the two may immigrated to the U.S. within the past decade, from a region near Chechnya.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, suggested that the attacks in Boston, and the status of the suspects could influence how the immigration bill is considered.

"It's important for us to understand the gaps and loopholes in our immigration system. While we don't yet know the immigration status of the people who have terrorized the communities in Massachusetts, when we find out, it will help shed light on the weaknesses of our system," said Grassley. "How can we beef up security checks on people who wish to enter the United States? How do we ensure that people who wish to do us harm are not eligible for benefits under the immigration laws, including this new bill before us?"

"Gang of Eight" member Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., urged lawmakers to let facts unfold "before jumping to any conclusions about Boston."

"I'd like to ask that all of us not jump to conclusions regarding the events in Boston or try to conflate those events with this legislation," Schumer said.

Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., also pushed back against Grassley's comments in a joint statement released after the hearing.

"In the wake of this week's terrorist attack in Boston, some have already suggested that the circumstances of this terrible tragedy are justification for delaying or stopping entirely the effort for comprehensive immigration reform," they said. "In fact the opposite is true: Immigration reform will strengthen our nation's security by helping us identify exactly who has entered our country and who has left -- a basic function of government that our broken immigration system is incapable of accomplishing today. The status quo is unacceptable."

Doug Holtz-Eakin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office, testified the immigration reform legislation could have a major positive impact on the economy.

"At its core, immigration reform represents an economic policy opportunity," he testified.

Holtz-Eakin and others have claimed the legislation could help grow more small businesses and in turn stimulate the U.S. economy.

However Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., citing last month's anemic jobs report, claimed the changes could put Americans in direct competition with more unskilled labor.

"This is indisputable. We have more unskilled labor than we can find jobs for today," he said.

Stocks Suffer Biggest Weekly Drop Of 2013

2013-04-20T00:00:00Z

Earnings reports produced another volatile session on Wall Street Friday.

After falling more than 113 points earlier in the session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to claw its way into positive territory, finishing 10-points higher. The Nasdaq Composite meanwhile soared 40 points, up 1.3% on the day. The S&P 500 finished the session 14-points higher.

Those gains however were nowhere near enough to repair the damage done earlier in the week that kicked off with a more than 260-point plunge on the Dow. All three major U.S. stock indexes ended the week down more than 2%, logging their worst weekly declines of 2013.

With no economic reports out Friday, earnings took center stage on Wall Street. IBM was the big loser on the Dow. IBM's stock plummeted 8.3% after missing both earnings and revenue targets. General Electric posted better-than-expected results, but still ended the session down 4%. McDonald's also proved to be a drag on the blue chip index. McDonald's stock finished down 1.95% after missing earnings targets by a penny, also reporting steeper than expected sales declines in the United States and Europe.

Microsoft proved to be a white knight on the Dow Jones Industrials. Microsoft's stock gained 3.4% after topping earnings targets. The Dow also found strength in better than 2% gains in the shares of American Express, Boeing, Home Depot, and Merck.

The Nasdaq Composite able to shave weekly declines thanks to big gains in Google and Microsoft.

Google's stock ended trading 4.4% higher after it beat earnings targets by 89 cents a share.

And Apple's stock managed to finish the day only modestly lower, down 0.4% on the session. For the week Apple's shares plunged 9.1% on concerns about sales of its iPhone and iPad mini. Apple's stock closed Friday's session at a more than one-year low of $390.53 a share.

FBI Releases Photos Of Suspects In Boston Bombing

2013-04-19T01:00:00Z

The FBI on Thursday released photos and video of the two mean caught on camera carrying backpacks along the final leg of the Boston Marathon where two bombs detonated with horrific consequences.

The suspects appear to be in their twenties and were captured on footage near where one the two bombs exploded, killing three and injuring more than 170.

The two men were caught on video surveillance cameras carrying backpacks near the finish line before the bombs exploded.

"We consider them to be extremely dangerous and armed," said FBI Special Agent Rick Deslauriers. "With the Media's help, we know the public will create a critical role in locating these suspects.

"The nation is counting on those with info to come forward," he added, urging anyone who recognizes the men to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.

Initially the FBI had identified a single person of interest, but then noticed a second individual who appears to be associated with the first.

The second suspect was seen dropping a backpack as both walked along Boylston Street, where both of the bombs exploded.

"Somebody out there knows them as friends, co-workers," Deslauriers said. "Although it may be difficult, we are counting on those [people] to come forward."

Anyone with information about the two men is being asked to call Boston authorities at 1-800-494-TIPS.

ICE Union Comes Out Against Immigration Proposal

2013-04-19T00:30:00Z

Much has been made of the costs and triggers of the "Gang of Eight's proposals to reform U.S. immigration laws. But now the union representing the men and women charged with enforcing our laws say the proposal is littered with loopholes.

According to a FoxNews.com report, those charged with enforcing our laws say the proposals do nothing to clear up issues of inconsistent directives that have prevented them from detaining and deporting illegal immigrants.

In a letter obtained by FoxNews.com, National ICE Council President Chris Crane said, "this legislation again does nothing to resolve that."

The letter was sent Tuesday to Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a key member of the Gang of Eight, shortly before the legislation was formally released. Crane thanked Rubio for meeting with him, a meeting he had long sought, but complained that the bill did not address his concerns.

"In fact, it appears that the security components it does contain focus mostly on the exterior, and rely on the discretion of DHS, even though DHS is in federal court right now for undermining the constitutional rule of law," Crane wrote, referring to a lawsuit brought by ICE agents.

While the legislation does call for multibillion-dollar investments in border security, it doesn't address issues of the current administration hamstringing agents from performing their sworn duty.

Crane said the Senate legislation should be held until several major issues are addressed -- including what he described as "directives" that release "dangerous criminal aliens" back into the community and the Obama administration's "dangerous abuse" of prosecutorial discretion.

The administration has allowed "prosecutorial discretion" to let the government focus on deporting high-risk illegal immigrants. Officials have said criminal aliens are generally not being released, and that only low-priority individuals are given a reprieve. The administration also issued a directive allowing some illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children to stay.

To learn more about the concerns of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents go to FoxNews.com.

Earnings and Economic Reports Weigh On Stocks

2013-04-19T00:00:00Z

Stocks on Wall Street end lower for the third time this week. Weaker than expected news on the economy and mixed earnings drive stock lower for a second straight day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 81 points on the day. The Nasdaq Composite sank 38 points under the weight of another decline in Apple's stock price. The S&P 500 ended trading down 10 points.

Stocks today got off to a shaking start as investors reacted to mixed earnings.
Morgan Stanley's stock finished down 5.4% despite posting earnings and revenues that beat expectations.

Dow components UnitedHealth Group and Verizon Communications posted mixed quarterly results ahead of the bell.

Verizon's stock proved to be the best performer on the blue chip index, climbing 2.8% on the day. Meanwhile, UnitedHealth Group fell 3.8% after the health insurer topped earnings targets, but cut its full-year revenue guidance.

EBay's stock fell 5.8% after the company reported higher first-quarter profit, but posted a weaker-than-expected current quarter sales forecast.

Apple's stock price continued to erode. Concern about sales of Apple's iPhone and iPad mini on Thursday drove its stock down another 2.7%, closing below $400 a share for the first time since December 2011. Apple's stock is down nearly 9% in just the past four trading sessions - plummeting more than 44% from its all-time high set back in September 2012.

Investors on Thursday also digested a number of weaker than expected reports on the economy.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's gauge of manufacturing activity in the mid-Atlantic region fell to 1.3 in April. Though that reading still indicates expansion in activity, the street was expecting a reading of 3.

The Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators for March unexpectedly declined for the first time in seven months. The Conference Board reported that the economy had lost some steam, and that economy will grow slowly in the near term.

The market also reacted to a slightly steeper than expected increase in the number of people filling for initial weekly jobless claims. Claims for last week rose 4,000 to 352,000. Economists expected claims to rise to 350,000.

Senate Shoots Down Expansion Of Background Checks

2013-04-18T04:00:00Z

Efforts to expand background checks to purchases at gun shows and online sales were shot down in the Senate Wednesday.

The proposed amendment, authored by Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., was defeated in a 54-46 vote. Amendments require a 60-vote majority.

While the Senate proceeded with more than a half dozen other gun control measures, the defeat of the Manchin-Toomey proposal is a serious blow to President Obama's efforts to tighten gun controls in the United States.

In total, four Republicans voted for the amendment, while five Democrats opposed the measure. One of those five was Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. By voting against the amendment, Democrats will be able to reintroduce the legislation at a later date.

The defeat for Democrats and the administration comes on the heals of nearly a dozen families of victims of the Newtown, CT shooting lobbying lawmakers to support tighter gun laws, including a ban on assault weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines.

The setback for gun control advocates though did not come as a complete surprise. Earlier on Wednesday, Sen. Manchin acknowledged the bill was having trouble.

Opponents to the expansion of background checks voiced concern that the proposal would infringe on Second Amendment rights by imposing a burden on those buying and selling guns.

They echoed claims also made by the National Rifle Association, that expanded background checks would have not prevented the massacres witnessed at Sandy Hook Elementary School or a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.

For Senate vote tallies on eight other gun control amendments, go to FoxNews.com.

Conflicting Reports on Arrest of Boston Bombing Suspect

2013-04-18T03:00:00Z

Just over 24-hours after the twin bombings along the final leg of the Boston Marathon doctors are offering upbeat assessments of their patients and the investigation to apprehend the bomber is in full swing.

Doctors treating some of the 176 injured victims believe the explosives were packed with deadly shrapnel, including pellets, nails and sharp metallic objects.

"I wouldn't exclude completely the possibility that some of these fragments are environmental, but my opinion is that most of them were in the bomb," George Velnahos, chief of trauma surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital said. "There are people who have 10, 20, 30 or 40 of them in their body or more."

A handful of victims did have to have limbs amputated, but all are expected to recover from their wounds.

In terms of the investigation, a source close to the investigation told Fox News that the style of the device used closely resembles that commonly seen in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Another source confirmed that "pressure cookers were used in both devices."

A separate source said that the FBI is scanning cellphone tower records for the "moment of detonation." If the moment of detonation is positively identified, the corresponding cellphone number can be traced.

"This will be a worldwide investigation," Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI's Boston Field Office Richard DesLauriers said at a Tuesday morning news conference, adding that investigators will go "wherever the leads take us."

It remains unclear if the bombs were the work of a homegrown or foreign threat, but in Washington, both President Obama and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel called the attack terrorism.

"Any time bombs are used to target innocent civilians, it is an act of terror," Obama said Tuesday morning.

Authorities had searched an apartment in the nearby Boston suburb of Revere as part of the investigation into the explosions. But the individual in question, who was initially considered a "person of interest," has now been ruled out as a suspect, sources confirmed to Fox News.

Go to FoxNews.com for up to the minute development on the devastating bombing and the investigation underway to apprehend the bomber.

Stocks Shutter In Wake Of Disappointing Corporate Profit Reports

2013-04-18T02:00:00Z

It was another turbulent day on Wall Street as some investors began to question the strength on corporate earnings for the first quarter of 2013.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 138 points, trimming losses after being down well over 190 points earlier in the session. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 60 points, in large part due to a big drop in the shares of Apple. The S&P 500 finished the session about 23 points lower.

Today's finish on the Dow marks the third straight day of triple digits swings, beginning with Monday's 265 point plunge.

Disappointing earnings from Dow component Bank of America rattle the financial sector and the U.S. financial market as a whole.

Bank of America posted first quarter profits of 20 cents a share, missing estimates by two cents. Revenues of $23.7 billion did top expectations, but that wasn't enough to save the bank becoming the Dow's worst performer on the day. Bank of America's stock ended the session down 4.7%.

Technology stocks also got off to a rough start following earnings from Intel and Yahoo.
Yahoo beat estimates with earnings of 38 cents a share. Revenue of $1.07 billion came in shy of forecasts of $1.1 billion.

Intel managed to match earnings targets despite reporting a 25% drop in first quarter profits. Revenues of $12.6 billion were inline with expectations.

But the big drag on the technology sector came from Apple. The iPhone maker's stock dropped to a more than one-year low on sales concerns. Apple's stock ended the session down 5.5%, closing at $402.80 a share.

The anxiety over Apple's sales and mixed corporate profit reports overshadowed the Federal Reserve's report on the economy. The Fed's Beige Book report revealed that the U.S. economy expanded at a "modest" or "moderate" pace thru mid-April. Continued gains in house and improving demand for automobiles helped to offset headwinds related to cuts in federal spending.

It was another down day in the commodity market. Prices for the June gold contract slipped 0.3% to close at $1,382.70 an ounce. Copper prices dropped 3.6%, ending that day at an 18-month low of $3.118 a pound.

And global demand concerns trumped a surprise drop in weekly crude oil inventories. The May crude oil contract finished down 2.3%, settling at $86.68 a barrel. That's lowest closing price since mid-December of last year.

"Gang Of Eight" Files Immigration Bill While Nation Sleeps

2013-04-18T01:00:00Z

Delayed a day due to the Boston Marathon bombing, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., appeared on the Senate floor around 2 a.m. Wednesday morning to file the "Gang of Eight's" sweeping reform to U.S. immigration laws.

Its authors are heralding the 844-page bill as the beginning to an important debate.
"Gang of Eight" member, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said. "I believe it will fix our broken system by securing our borders, improving interior enforcement, modernizing our legal immigration to help create jobs and protect American workers, and dealing with our undocumented population in a tough but humane way that is fair to those trying to come here the right way and linked to achieving several security triggers."

However, Rubio and his fellow authors face a still challenge in convincing conservative members of the Senate that the bill doesn't amount to amnesty for the estimated 11-million immigrants who crossed U.S. borders illegally.

The bill creates a minimum 13-year path to citizenship for up to 11 million illegal immigrants, costing them each $2,000 in fines plus additional taxes.

Under the proposed bill, the Department of Homeland Security is required to create and launch plans to beef up border security before illegal immigrants can gain a provisional status.

Immigrants would remain in that provisional status for 10 years, able to work in the U.S. legally but be barred from receiving federal benefits or health care.

After 10 years they could seek green cards giving them permanent legal status, provided certain goals for border apprehensions and other security measures are met.

After another three years, those immigrants with permanent legal status could then petition for full citizenship.

The issue over border security "triggers" could also be a sticking point with conservatives who want border security improvements verified before illegal immigrants can seek citizenship.

Boston Bombing Suspect In Custody - Conflicting Reports

2013-04-17T03:00:00Z

Less than 48 hours after two bombs detonated along the route of the Boston Marathon, numerous media outlets are reporting that the authorities have arrested a suspect in the horrific bombing that killed 3, injuring more than 170.

Fox News is reporting that the suspect is in custody and will appear in federal court on Wednesday. However, citing federal and state law enforcement officials, other news organizations are reporting that no arrest has been made.

The suspect was reportedly caught on camera carrying and perhaps dropping a black bag at the sight where the second bomb detonated seconds after the initial blast near the finish line of the marathon.

The camera that caught the suspect's actions was reportedly mounted to the Boylston Street Lord & Taylor directly across the street from where one of the bombs exploded.

The investigation into the bombing has been well underway since the deadly blast occurred, with officials scouring personal videos and those shot by TV news stations covering the race.

Officials on the scene reportedly recovered the circuit board suspected of being used to detonate the at least one of the bombs.

Fragments of at least one pressure cooker, have also been recovered and is believed to have been used as a detonator of one on the bombs.

The bombs exploded at approximately 2:50 p.m. ET along the final leg of the Boston Marathon on Monday, which marked the city's 238th annual Patriots' Day.

With the suspect still unidentified, it is not known if this is a case of a homegrown or foreign-born attack, but it is being considered an act of terrorism by the Obama administration.

"Any time bombs are used to target innocent civilians, it is an act of terror," Obama said Tuesday morning.

Report: Senate Immigration Proposal Establishes Path To Legal Status For Millions

2013-04-17T02:00:00Z

The "Gang of Eight" is delaying the unveiling of its proposal to reform U.S. immigration laws until later this week. But an outline of the bill obtained by Fox News foreshadows possible changes in the nation's immigration policy.

According to Fox News, the legalization program would be coupled with a multibillion-dollar investment to boost border security.

It would require the Homeland Security Department to create and launch plans for border security and fencing before illegal immigrants can enter a provisional status. This could happen as early as six months after enactment of the bill.

They would remain in that provisional status for 10 years, able to work legally but barred from federal benefits like welfare or health care. After 10 years they could seek green cards conferring permanent legal status, provided the security and fencing plans have been "substantially" carried out. After another three years, those immigrants could petition for citizenship.

In total, the bill creates a minimum 13-year path to citizenship for up to 11 million illegal immigrants, costing them each $2,000 in fines plus additional fees. Applicants would have to meet other criteria as well in order to qualify.

It's unclear whether the border security "triggers" will be enough to satisfy skeptical lawmakers. The bill outline establishes numeric goals for border apprehensions, but it's unclear how closely meeting -- or missing -- those goals is tied to the pathway to legal status.

Read more about the bipartisan group's immigration reform proposal on FoxNews.com.

Stocks Rebound From Worst Session Of The Year

2013-04-17T01:00:00Z

U.S. stocks staged a comeback rally on Wall Street Tuesday, recovering about half of Monday's losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 158 points. The Nasdaq Composite gained 48 points. The S&P 500 finished the session up 22 points.

Those gains followed a better than expected report on new home construction. The Commerce Department on Tuesday reported that housing starts jumped 7% in March to an annualized 1.03 million-unit rate. That's the highest level on new home construction in almost five years. That news is blunting a drop in building permits issued last month.

A report from the Labor Department showed inflation at the consumer level remained subdued. Consumer prices in March fell 0.2%, compared to expectations of no change. Excluding the food and energy components, prices rose just 0.1%, half the expected increase. Overall prices climbed 1.5% from the year prior, representing the smallest year-to-year increase since July 2012.

The rally on the Dow was led by Coca-Cola. Shares of Coca-Cola Co. (KO) rose 5.7% after the beverage maker reported first-quarter results that beat expectations.

Fellow Dow component Johnson & Johnson gained 2.1% after the drug maker reported first-quarter revenue that beat expectations.

Goldman Sachs shares erased initial gains to end down 1.6% after the investment bank reported first-quarter results that beat Wall Street estimates.

Gold prices staged a bit of a comeback on Tuesday, ending a two-session slide that eroded more than $200 an ounce.

The June gold contract finished 1.9% or $26.30 higher, closing the day at $1,387.40 an ounce.

At Least 2 Dead and Dozens Wounded In Boston Marathon Explosion

2013-04-16T02:00:00Z

The day many feared rocked downtown Boston just before 3 p.m. ET on Monday afternoon.

Two bombs placed along the finish line of the Boston Marathon exploded seconds apart, killing at least two, injuring dozens of spectators and race participants.

According to Fox News, "authorities were guarding a person of interest at a local hospital. The person, who sources said was 20 years old, had severe burns, but authorities had not determined whether the person was a victim or a perpetrator. Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis said during a press conference that no suspect is in custody.

The simultaneous explosions just before 3 p.m. and reports of two other unexploded devices found near the scene raised suspicions of a terrorist attack. Intelligence officials told The Associated Press two unexploded devices were being dismantled. Competitors and race organizers were crying as they fled the bloody chaos, while some witnesses reported seeing victims with lost limbs.

"Somebody's leg flew by my head," a spectator, who gave his name as John Ross, told the Boston Herald. "I gave my belt to stop the blood."

The first two explosions occurred at 2:50 p.m. - nearly five hours after the marathon began - about 50 to 100 yards apart, according to Davis. A third explosion occurred near the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in the Columbia Point section of Dorchester, several miles southeast of the marathon's finish line, at around 4:15 p.m. Police could not say if it was related to the earlier explosions.

The FBI, which was treating the bombing as a terrorist investigation, was analyzing video from several area surveillance cameras.

Twenty-six people were transported to Brigham and Women's Hospital, including a 3-year-old, who was then taken to a children's hospital. A doctor at the hospital said at least two of the patients there are in critical condition and that some have burns and injuries that will likely require amputations.

For more information about the Boston Marathon bombings go to FoxNews.com.

Global Economic Concerns & Boston Marathon Rock Wall Street

2013-04-16T01:00:00Z

The week begins with devastating news of a bombing at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The meltdown on Wall Street intensified on news of the two explosions that killed at least two, injuring about two dozen.

Stock and commodities prices had already been under significant pressure following weaker than expected economic data.

The three major U.S. stock indexes on Monday suffered their worst losses in five months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished trading down 265 points. The Nasdaq Composite fell 78 points. The S&P 500 finished trading down 36 points.

Today's selloff on Wall Street was triggered by news that China's economy grew a weaker than expected 7.7% in the first quarter of the year, missing estimates of 8% growth.

That news sent tremors through an already weakened gold market. Gold prices collapsed 9.3% or just over $140 dollars, closing at a more than two year low of $1,361 an ounce. That's the worst single-session drop for gold in 30-years. Gold has fallen more than $200 since Thursday, the worst two-day price drop on record.

Weaker than expected reports on the U.S. economy also fueled today's selloff in the financial markets.

The New York Fed's "Empire State" general business conditions index fell to 3.05, from 9.24 in March, short of economists' forecasts for a smaller decline to 7. Investors also digest news that confidence among homebuilders unexpectedly fell for a third straight month.

Industrial, material and mining stocks were among the biggest burdens on the stock market today.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its biggest point decline since last November as shares of Caterpillar, Chevron, ExxonMobil and General Electric all finished down more than 2%.

Dems Buckle To GOP Demands Review Immigration Review

2013-04-15T22:00:00Z

On the eve of the unveiling of the "Gang of Eights" immigration reform proposal, Democrats buckled to complaints that there wasn't enough time for a thorough review.

Republicans have complained that Senate leaders were not allowing nearly enough time to debate the bill, with just one hearing scheduled by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

Sensing the growing frustration over his hearing schedule, Leahy on Monday announced he's delaying a previously scheduled hearing from Wednesday to Friday, and added another hearing scheduled for next Monday.

"Over the course of the next week, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold two hearings on a forthcoming, bipartisan proposal to reform the Nation's broken immigration system," Leahy said in a statement. "I look forward to reviewing the bill, holding prompt hearings on the legislation, and proceeding to debating and marking up legislation on this important issue."

The bipartisan "Gang of Eight" - which for months has been working on the bill -- plans to unveil the legislation Tuesday.

Supporters of the bill are trying to navigate political waters that have drowned prior attempts to pass an immigration overhaul.

Prominent critics include Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., have both raised concerns about the cost of providing a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants -- though Sen. Marco Rubio's office has said it's too early to make assumptions about those costs.

Rubio has also tried to get more hearings schedules, and was pleased with Leahy's decision to give Senators more time to consider immigration proposals.

"The Judiciary Committee's announcement that it will hold multiple hearings on the immigration bill is an encouraging development, and I will continue working with my Senate colleagues to schedule more hearings on this important legislation," he said.

The hearing Friday will feature Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who herself has become the target of criticism over her department's cutback to border agents as a result of sequester cuts.

U.S. Downplays North Korea's Nuclear Strike Capability

2013-04-13T01:00:00Z

Shortly after landing in Seoul, South Korean Secretary of State John Kerry attempted to downplay conclusions of classified intelligence report, which states that North Korea "currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivering by ballistic missiles."

Honing in on the issue of reliability, Kerry contradicted the conclusions reached by at least one agency within the intelligence community.

"It is inaccurate to suggest that (North Korea) has the capability articulated in that report -- they have a missile but that is very different than having the militarization, nuclearization, etcetera," Secretary of State John Kerry said.

The issue of North Korea's capability to arm a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead was brought to light by Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., who on Thursday read aloud a passage of what he thought to be a declassified report.

Reading from the report Lamborn said, "DIA assesses with moderate confidence the North currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivering by ballistic missiles, however the reliability will be low.''

The White House also downplayed that revelation.

"North Korea has not demonstrated the capability to deploy a nuclear-armed missile," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Friday.

Meanwhile, North Korea leveled new threats against Japan on Friday. According to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, the regime warned that Tokyo would, in the event of a war, be the first target "if it continues to maintain its hostile posture."

Japan became the latest target in response to the U.S. ally's vow to destroy any missile heading toward the country.

For more on the rising tensions and latest developments on the Korean Peninsula, go to FoxNews.com.

Disappointing Economic Data Barely Dents Weekly Gains On Wall Street

2013-04-13T00:00:00Z

Stocks on Wall Street finish the week with a lackluster performance.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished trading down less than a point. The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 each ended about 5-points lower.

Those modest declines barely dented what was a great week for the stock market. All three major stock indexes ended higher on the week, with the Nasdaq leading the way - advancing 2.8% higher on the week.

Friday's lackluster performance was due largely to a number of disappointing economic reports.

Reuters and the University of Michigan's reading on consumer sentiment fell to a nine-month low in April. The gauge dropped to 72.3 from 78.6 in March, missing expectations of 78.5.

A Commerce Department report showed U.S. retail sales dropped 0.4% in March, compared to estimates sales would remain flat despite a big drop in gasoline prices. Excluding the auto segment, sales were down 0.4% for the month, also falling short of expectations that core sales would remain unchanged.

A report from the Labor Department showed prices at the producer level dropped a steeper than expected 0.6% in March from February, the biggest drop 10-months. The sharp drop due in large part to a 3.4% drop in energy prices. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, prices rose 0.2%, which matched estimates.

Earnings reports from J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo did little to boost investor confidence. Both banks reported earnings that beat expectations, but shares of both banking giants dropped in early trade. Chase, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, unveiled first-quarter profits of $1.41 a share, compared to estimates of $1.39. Revenues of $25.8 billion matched forecasts.

Wells Fargo posted first-quarter profits of 92 cents a share, topping estimates of 88 cents. Revenues of $21.3 billion came in shy of expectations of $21.6 billion.

Gold prices plummeted into bear market territory as traders dumped the precious metal. The June contract fell 4.1%, closing at a 21-month low of $1,501.40 an ounce.

Energy futures were hit hard as well. The May crude contract fell $2.22, ending the day at a more than one-month low of $91.29 a barrel.

Republicans: One Hearing On Immigration Reform Unacceptable!

2013-04-12T00:00:00Z

Republicans, who are demanding transparency in government, say a single hearing on the still to be written immigration reform legislation in the Senate is "unacceptable."

According to a statement obtained by Fox News, "A single hearing scheduled so quickly to discuss legislative language that is not yet even available is completely inadequate for senators or the American people to get answers to the many questions a bill of this magnitude will inevitably raise," Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said in a statement. "We could not possibly have a meaningful hearing with a substantive discussion of what will surely be over 1,000 pages of provisions we haven't even yet seen."

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., announced his committee would hold a hearing on the legislation April 17.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., called the hearing schedule "unacceptable."

"We need a committee hearing on every component of reform, including the extraordinary potential costs to taxpayers, the impact on wages and job prospects for the unemployed, and the administration's continued refusal to enforce the laws previously enacted by Congress," he said. "Failure to commit to this kind of open process is tantamount to an admission that the bill is not workable and will not stand up to public scrutiny."

Sessions and Lee have been among the most skeptical of the closed-door negotiations conducted by the bipartisan "Gang of Eight."

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who is a leading Republican member of the "Gang of Eight" has urged Senate Democrats not to rush the process.

Sen. Session, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan sent a letter the bipartisan group on Wednesday inquiring about the cost of their proposal.

Stocks Climb To Record Highs For 2nd Straight Session

2013-04-11T22:00:00Z

It was another record setting day on Wall Street as stocks climbed higher for the fourth straight session.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 63-points on the day - the S&P 500 finished 6-points higher. Both indexes logged back-to-back record high closes. The Nasdaq Composite gained 3-points on the day.

The Dow's 14th record close of the year came as investors cheered a steeper than expected drop in weekly jobless claims.

The Labor Department reported that new claims for unemployment benefits fell to 346,000 last week, down 42,000 from an upwardly revised 388,000 for the week prior.

That news was a relief to investors still concerned about the government's dismal March jobs report.

The Commerce Department report on import and export prices also eased concerns about inflation. As expected U.S. import prices dropped 0.5% in March, while export prices actually dropped 0.4%, compared to expectations of a 0.1% increase.

The Dow's record setting close on Thursday however could have been even higher, had it not been for a disappointing report on the PC market.

Market research company IDC reported late Wednesday reported that global PC shipments in the 1st quarter of the year sank 13.9% compared to the same period in 2012. The report also suggested that Microsoft's Windows 8 was a reason some companies had put off new purchases.

That news took a big toll on both Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft's stock price. HP shares ended the trading down more than 6%. Microsoft's stock, which was downgraded from "buy" to "neutral" by Nomura, fell 4.5% on the day.

Senate Gun Legislation Headed To Floor For Debate

2013-04-11T19:00:00Z

16 Republicans joined Senate Democrats to bring a package of gun control measures up for debate.

The final vote 68-31 easily cleared the bar and Republican efforts to stall the legislation from reaching the full Senate floor.

The White House called Thursday's tally an "important" but "early milestone," as the elements of the Democrats' gun bill is to bring out the clear divides among members of the Senate.

"The hard work starts now," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said after Thursday's vote.
Along with the recently unveiled compromise on background checks, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid assured Democrats that Sen. Feinstein's ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines would be introduced as amendments to the larger bill.

Despite failing to block today's vote, Republicans will likely present considerable opposition to elements of the gun bill once it comes up for debate.

"Because the background-check measure is the centerpiece of this legislation it is critical that we know what is in the bill before we vote on it," Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky.; Ted Cruz, R-Texas; and Mike Lee, R-Utah, said in a statement. "The American people expect more and deserve better."

Thursday's vote follows an intense week of lobbying by gun control advocates. President Obama on Monday visited Connecticut where 20-preschool children and school staff were gunned down. Obama returned with 11-families, who lost family members at the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, who earlier this week began lobbying lawmakers for tougher gun control laws.

Obama's Budget: More Taxes And Unsustainable Welfare Spending

2013-04-11T01:00:00Z

If you thought that President Obama's budget would only ask for the rich to pay more in taxes, think again.

The President's $3.77 trillion budget proposal does ask the top earnings to pay more, $580 billion more in tax hikes through closure of certain tax deductions he claims only benefit the rich and well connected.

But digging further into the details of his budget, which increases spending 6% over last year, he's also looking to raise taxes on just about everyone.

Fox News did a blow-by-blow analysis of some of the president's tax proposals.

The biggest item by far is a plan to reduce the value of itemized deductions for top earners, so that they can only reduce their tax liability to 28 percent of income. This would affect deductions for charity, mortgage interest and other expenses -- as well as other select preferences for the top 3 percent of families. The change is projected to bring in $529.3 billion over 10 years.

The plan would implement the so-called "Buffett Rule," the tax change named after Warren Buffett that Obama has long sought. The change would require that "wealthy millionaires" pay at least 30 percent of their income -- after charity -- in taxes. The White House estimates this would bring in $53.4 billion.

Though the president's proposal to curb the growth of Social Security was touted as a budget "cut," the change would also bring in more revenue. The proposal would change the inflation formula, which would in turn curb the growth of benefits. In doing so, that same formula would adjust tax brackets and raise about $100 billion over 10 years.

Buried deep in the budget is a proposal to raise the federal cigarette tax by 94 cents a pack. The hike is projected to raise $78 billion, to pay for an early childhood education program. The federal tax per pack would go from $1.01 to $1.95. "In addition to financing important investments in early learning, the proposed tobacco tax increase would have substantial public health benefits, particularly for young Americans. Researchers have found that raising taxes on cigarettes significantly," the budget document said.

The budget includes a slew of other tax changes and fees too numerous to mention, but they include: a "financial crisis responsibility fee" on financial firms that is projected to raise $59.3 billion; an increase in the aviation passenger security fee projected to raise $18 billion; and a limit on the total accrual of certain retirement benefits projected to raise $9.3 billion.

Republican and Democrats both appear to be less than enthusiastic about the president's budget proposal. Republicans have long said they would resist any tax increases after giving into the hikes absorbed to avert the "Fiscal Cliff."

Some Democrats and their ardent supporters are flatly rejecting any change to Social Security, or other entitlement programs that are the key drivers of our nation's ballooning debt and deficits.

Lawmakers Unveil Compromise On Background Checks

2013-04-11T00:00:00Z

Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) on Wednesday unveiled a compromise to expand background checks on all gun-show purchases, as well as purchases made online.

The two senators have been meeting for days, trying to come up with a compromise aimed at easing Republican opposition to firearms legislation, scheduled for a test vote on Thursday.

The proposal would expand background checks for sales at gun shows and online but exempt family transfers and personal transactions between hunters.

The National Rifle Association quickly shot down the proposal, saying it will do little to curb future shootings.

"Expanding background checks at gun shows will not prevent the next shooting, will not solve violent crime and will not keep our kids safe in schools," the statement read. "The sad truth is that no background check would have prevented the tragedies in Newtown, Aurora or Tucson. We need a serious and meaningful solution that addresses crime in cities like Chicago, addresses mental health deficiencies, while at the same time protecting the rights of those of us who are not a danger to anyone."

The type of greeting the background check compromise will receive is still uncertain. More than a dozen Republican senators have vowed to filibuster any effort to restrict Second amendment gun rights.

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid earlier this week acknowledged that like the ban on assault weapons, he's not sure if gun legislation has enough support to pass.

One concern among Republicans is that they view an expansion of background checks to be a precursor to a national gun registry.

Stocks Soar To Record Highs On Outlook For More Fed Pumping

2013-04-10T23:00:00Z

It was another record setting day on Wall Street, as investors bet the Federal Reserve will maintain its cheap money policy for the near future.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 129-points. The S&P 500 gained 19. Both indexes closed the trading session at fresh all-time highs. The Nasdaq Composite gained 59-points, closing at its best level in 12-years.

The day began with an early release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's March 19-20 policy meeting. The release came five hours early due to an inadvertent release of the minutes to some 100 congressional staffers shortly after 2 p.m. on Tuesday. Investors later learned that a number of big banks also received the minutes early, but at this point, there doesn't appear to be any evidence that the information was used to bid up stocks Tuesday afternoon.

The minutes revealed an apparent division among FOMC members as to the size and duration of the Fed's $85 billion a month bond buying program. Several members advocated for the central bank to taper it purchases by mid-year, with a complete wind down by year's end depending on the committee's outlook on the economy.

However that did little to spook the market which factored in the fact that the minutes pre-dated the dismal March jobs report, leading many investors convince that absent robust economic data, the Fed's bond buying program will remain intact for the foreseeable future.

China's surprise trade deficit also helped to boost the mood of Wall Street investors. Chinese imports in March surged 14.1%, compared to a 10% increase in exports. The imbalance results in an $884 million deficit, while the street was expected China to report a $15.4 trade surplus. Many investors interpreted that deficit as a sign that Chinese domestic demand is picking up, and should help to fuel further gains in the world's second largest economy.

Better than 2% gains in the shares of Cisco Systems, General Electric, Intel, Merck, Microsoft and Pfizer today helped drive the Dow Jones Industrial Average to 14,801.

The day's risk-on trading however did take a toll on U.S. debt and gold prices. The June gold futures contract fell 1.8% on the day, its biggest percentage decline since November of last year, closing the session at $1,558.80 an ounce.

Debt prices also suffered after the government sold $21 billion in 10 year Treasury notes at a high yield of 1.79%. The yield on the government's benchmark note ended trading at just over 1.8%.

North Korea Urges Foreigners To Evacuate South Ahead Of Possible Nuclear Strike

2013-04-09T23:00:00Z

North Korea on Tuesday warned foreigners to leave South Korea, suggesting that the two countries are on the verge of a nuclear war.

"The situation on the Korean Peninsula is inching close to a thermonuclear war due to the evermore undisguised hostile actions of the United States and the south Korean puppet warmongers and their moves for a war against" the North, said a statement by the North Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee.

North Korea's warning that it won't be able to guarantee the safety of foreign diplomats after April 10 has raised fears that it will conduct a missile or nuclear test, or conduct nuclear test in the near future.

While experts see an attack on South Korea as unlikely, there is come concern that a looming missile test could further escalate tensions, and lead to a devastating miscalculation of the United State's resolve to protect its regional allies.

The United States and South Korea have raised their defense postures. The U.S. military has dispatched two missile destroyers to the region and deployed PAC-3 missile interceptors in key locations throughout Japan.

In Seoul, Presidential spokeswoman Kim Haing told reporters that the North Korean warning amounted to "psychological warfare."

"We know that foreigners residing in South Korea as well as our nationals are unfazed," she said.

On Monday, North Korea said it was suspending work at the Kaesong industrial park near its border, which combines South Korean technology and know-how with North Korea's cheap labor.

Read more about the rapidly unfolding situation on the Korean Peninsula on FoxNews.com

Senate Schedules A Test Vote On Gun Control Measures

2013-04-09T21:00:00Z

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is looking to test the resolve of Republicans and their stance on tougher gun control legislation.

The Thursday vote is aimed at measuring the success of negotiations between Senators Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Joe Manchin (D-WV). The two senators are reportedly close to striking a deal requiring background checks on all commerce sales of firearms in the United States.

News of the test vote also follows families of victims of the Newtown, CT shooting today beginning their push to persuade lawmakers to support tougher gun control laws.

At issue for Democrats is the threat of filibuster among Republicans, who at this point are demanding all gun control measures require a 60-vote majority.

The test vote will measure the success of the Manchin/Toomey compromise on background checks and how many Republicans Toomey is able to persuade into supporting the compromise.

"If they don't help me invoke cloture on this bill, we're going to vote on these things anyway," Reid said Tuesday. "It will take a little bit of time but as I've said for months now, the American people deserve a vote on background checks, on federal trafficking, on safety in school, on the size of clips, and on, yes, assault weapons."

More than a dozen Republican senators have threatened to filibuster Reid's bill. Tuesday Sen. Manchin said he was confused by the Republican threat to filibuster.

"I agree with Republicans: There should be an open amendment process, and that's been guaranteed," Manchin said. "Why would they be arguing and saying that they're going to filibuster when [they'll get] everything they've asked for, which is an open amendment process? We're all big guys and big ladies, and we can take the votes and it is what it is."

However for republicans it's not simply a procedural issue, but one of transparency.
"The more people learn about the consequences of current gun control proposals, the less they will support the new restrictions," Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said.

Wall Street Bulls Lift Stocks To New Record Highs

2013-04-09T20:00:00Z

It was another record setting day on Wall Street as tame Chinese inflation reports helped overshadow weaker than expected news on the U.S. economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Tuesday rose 60-points, closing at new all-time high of 14,673. The Nasdaq Composite gained 16-points. The S&P 500 finished 6-points higher, ending within 2-points of its own record close.

Investors today digested a decline in confidence among small business owners and an unexpected drop in wholesale inventories.

However, those concerns ebbed by midday as investors chose instead to focus on a tamer than expected report on inflation in China. Retail inflation in the world's second largest economy in March cooled to 2.1% year over year - calming investor anxiety that the Bank of China may be forced to raise interest rates.

By midday stocks were flexing their strength. The technology sector proved to be among the best performers.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was lifted higher thanks in part to better than 3% gains in the shares of Intel and Microsoft.

Fellow Dow component Alcoa ended the day flat after beating earnings targets by 3 cents a share, but coming up just shy of revenue targets.

It was a banner day for solar companies. First Solar's stock soared 45% after the company issued a 2013 full-year earnings and sales forecast that topped Wall Street estimates.

J.C. Penney meanwhile was left behind, falling 12% as investors expressed their skepticism over the company's management shake up. CEO Ron Johnson late Monday was ousted from the company's top slot, replaced by former JC Penney CEO Mike Ullman.

Watch Out! Senators Inching Closer To Deal On Background Checks

2013-04-08T21:00:00Z

According to a number of media reports, the Senate may be moving closer to a deal requiring background checks for all gun sales other than those between family members and hunters.

Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), and Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.) have spent the past few days crafting a framework that would be palatable for pro-gun supporters, while at the same time, striving towards the goals of the administration's call for tougher gun control laws following the Newtown, CT shooting that stamped out the lives of 20-elementary school children and six school staff members.

It's unclear whether or not such a proposal would be embraced by pro-gun rights conservatives and the National Rifle Association, which has long claimed that cumbersome background checks will do nothing to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill.

President Obama has embarked on a fresh round of public appearances in a bid to sway Congress to approve legislation, including stops last week in Denver, Colo., and a visit to the University of Hartford, in Connecticut, where last week Gov. Dan Malloy singed into law an extension to the state's ban on assault weapons and imposed new restrictions on ammunition sales and high-capacity magazines.

A White House official told Fox News on Sunday night that, "On the eve of Senate consideration of gun safety proposals the president will speak, as he did at the State of the Union, of the obligations we have to children lost in Newtown and other victims of gun violence to act on these proposals."

An administration official also told Fox News that nearly a dozen family members of Sandy Hook victims will ride back to Washington DC with President Obama on Air Force One in order to lobby lawmakers to support new gun control measures.

Tensions On Korean Peninsula Continue To Rise

2013-04-08T20:30:00Z

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula did not ebb over the weekend.

On Monday North Korea suspended operations at the Kaesong manufacturing complex just over its border with South Korea.

North Korea recalled 51,000 workers and managers who work at the complex along side workers from South Korea. A statement from the North Korean government did not specify what would happen to the 475 South Korean managers still at the Kaesong complex.

The statement follows weeks of ramped up rhetoric and military maneuvers by the communist government as well as South Korea and the United States.

With some 35,000 U.S. soldiers stationed along the DMZ separating North and South Korea, Gen. James Thurman, the head of U.S. Forces Korea, delayed his schedule visit to his to Capitol.

Gen. Thurman was scheduled to begin testifying on Tuesday before Senate and House committees regarding the situation on the Korean Peninsula after the communist North declared a "state of war" on neighboring South Korea.

"Given the current situation, Gen. Thurman will remain in Seoul next week as a prudent measure," Col. Amy Hannah, a spokeswoman for the general, told Fox News on Sunday.
South Korea's top military officer is also putting off a visit to Washington DC because of the deteriorating situation.

South Korea's military is on heightened alert following North Korean threats to launch attacks on the U.S. and South Korea, as well as its threat to begin producing more uranium for use in nuclear tipped missiles.

South Korea's defense minister said last week that North Korea had moved at least one missile with a "considerable range" to its east coast, and speculated that the North may be planning to test it.

However as a possible sign that South Korean is looking to help defuse the situation a top government official said Monday he misspoke earlier in the day when he told lawmakers there is an "indication" that North Korea is preparing for a nuclear test.

Stocks Whipsaw to Finish In Positive Territory

2013-04-08T20:00:00Z

The week kicks off with a substantial turnaround on Wall Street as bargain hunters took advantage of an early dip in the stock market.

After falling nearly 70-points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session 48-points higher. The Nasdaq Composite gained 18-points. The S&P 500 ended trading about 10-points higher.

Early trading was dominated by lingering after-affects of Friday's dismal jobs report. But as has been the case over the past two weeks, investors used the dip to build their stock portfolios.

A 2% gain in the shares of Bank of America made it the best performer on the blue chip index. Alcoa, Coca Cola and Home Depot also fueled momentum with better than 1.5% gains on the day.

Johnson & Johnson was the biggest drag on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. JNJ shares ended trading down 1.2% after JP Morgan Chase downgraded the company's stock to neutral.

Lufkin Industries proved to be the standout performer on Wall Street. Lufkin's stock soared 37.6% after General Electric agreed to buy the oil services company for $3.38 billion in cash. The Lufkin acquisition just the latest in a string of purchases aimed at expanding GE's fast-growing oil and gas business.

Advanced Micro Devices helped pad gains in the technology sector on Monday. Investors bid up the company's stock after Bloomberg reported that Microsoft will use AMD's processing chip in the next version of the Xbox.

Supply concerns reignited gains in the crude oil market. Crude oil prices, which last week had fallen almost 5%, on Monday rose 66 cents to close at $93.36 a barrel.

Alcoa late today kicked off the earnings season with mixed results. The aluminum producer reported earnings of 11 cents a share, topping estimates by 3 cents. Revenues however came in a little shy of estimates, totaling $5.83 billion. Alcoa did however maintain a 7% rise in global demand for aluminum this year.

JC Penney's stock whipsawed in after hours trading. JC Penney's stock initially jumped 11% on news CEO Ron Johnson was forced out. But shares then turned negative after the retailer announced Mike Ullman is returning to the company to replace Johnson.

North Korea Issues Safety Warning To Foreign Embassies

2013-04-05T21:00:00Z

Tensions continued to escalate on Friday as North Korea repositioned missile launchers along its coastline and issued safety warnings to foreign embassies.

Reuters reported that the N. Korea military deployed two of its intermediate range missiles, on mobile launchers, to the east coast of the country.

That follows South Korea's accounts on Thursday that North Korea moved a missile with "considerable range" to its east coast. An unnamed spokesman for the N. Korean army warned the U.S. Wednesday that its military has been cleared to attack using "smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear" weapons.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom foreign office confirmed to Fox News that N. Korea asked a number of foreign embassies in Pyongyang to consider evacuating staff members, saying it could not guarantee their safety after April 10.

"We are consulting international partners about these developments. No decisions have been taken, and we have no immediate plans to withdraw our Embassy," the UK foreign office statement said.

Under the Vienna Convention, host governments are required to assist in the evacuation of embassy staff from the country in the event of conflict.

North Korea has railed for weeks against joint U.S. and South Korean military exercises taking place in South Korea.

"The current question was not whether, but when a war would break out on the peninsula,'' because of the "increasing threat from the United States'', China's state news agency Xinhua quoted the North's Foreign Ministry as saying, according to a Reuters report.

U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Caitlin Hayden has called North Korea's threats "unhelpful and unconstructive."

Senate Republicans Demand Transparency On Immigration Reform

2013-04-05T20:00:00Z

A number of Senate Republicans signed their names to a letter sent to four of their GOP colleagues tasked with negotiating immigration reform within the "Gang of Eight."

At issue is the secrecy and the impression Democrats are attempting to rush through immigration reform with little input from other members of the Senate.

"We believe it is critical that the public and the entire Senate body be given adequate time to read and analyze the contents of any immigration bill put forth by the majority," the senators wrote in the letter Thursday.

The four Republican members of the "Gang of Eight" include: Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Arizona Sen. John McCain, Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.

"Because the president has failed to lead on this matter, your group has secretly met for months and not consulted with members of the Committee about major changes to our nation's immigration laws. The time for transparency has come," they wrote.

The authors of the letter, all members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are demanding to be briefed on the status and particulars of the deal being negotiated with Democrats.

Read more about Republican concerns and Sen. Marco Rubio's response on FoxNews.com.

Dismal Job Growth Sparks Selloff On Wall Street

2013-04-05T19:00:00Z

Wall Street investors are reeling after the Labor Department released its report on job growth for the month of March.

The report showed the economy in March adding just 88,000 jobs. That number badly missed estimates calling for about 200,000 jobs to be created last month. It also marks the weakest rate of job growth in nine months.

The unemployment rate unexpectedly dipped to the lowest level since December 2008, falling to 7.6%. But the decline came only after a half million Americans gave up on finding work. Adding insult to injury, the nation's labor participation rate fell to 63.3%, now at the lowest level in 34-years.

Those headlines are overshadowing a surprise decline in the U.S. trade deficit, which in February totaled $43 billion. U.S. exports rose .8%, while imports remained flat. Increased U.S. imports of automobiles and consumer goods helped offset a big drop in crude imports, which fell to the lowest level since 1996.

Investors today abruptly steered away from stocks, shifting their portfolios to safer assets gold and U.S. Treasuries.

Gold prices at noon ET were up about 1%, trading at $1,566 an ounce.

Meanwhile U.S. debt prices are soaring to some of the highest levels of the year, which in turn is pressuring yields. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note falling to a near four-month low, under 1.7%.

The day's economic reports are also pressuring crude oil prices, which over the two previous sessions had already fallen 4.1%. The May crude oil contract at mid-session was down 1%, trading below $92.50 a barrel.

Stocks Recover Majority Of Declines Sparked By Dismal Jobs Report

2013-04-05T19:00:00Z

Wall Street investors staged an afternoon comeback, recouping a majority of the losses on the Dow, which had been down more than 170 points following Friday's disappointing jobs report.

After being down more than 170-points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average staged an afternoon comeback to finish trading down 41-points. The Nasdaq Composite declined 21-points. The S&P 500 finished trading 7-points lower.

Both the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 turned in their steepest declines of the year. The S&P 500 lost 1%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the week down just 0.1%.

Today's losses ignited by news the economy in March added just 88,000 jobs. That number badly missed estimates, calling for about 200,000 jobs to be created last month. It also marks the weakest rate of job growth in nine months.

The unemployment rate unexpectedly dipped to the lowest level since December 2008, falling to 7.6%. But the decline came only after a half million Americans gave up on finding work. Adding insult to injury, the nation's labor participation rate fell to 63.3%, now at the lowest level in 34-years.

Those headlines overshadowed a surprise decline in the U.S. trade deficit, which in February totaled $43 billion. U.S. exports rose .8%, while imports remained flat. Increased U.S. imports of automobiles and consumer goods helped offset a big drop in crude imports, which fell to the lowest level since 1996.

Investors today abruptly steered away from stocks, shifting their portfolios to safer assets gold and U.S. Treasuries.

Gold prices closed trading 1.5% higher, closing the session at $1,575.90 an ounce. Gold finished the week down 1.2%.

Meanwhile U.S. debt prices soared, driving the yield on the 10-year Treasury note below 1.7%. However the afternoon rally in the stock market weighed on debt prices, with the yield on the 10-year at 1.706% at the end of trading.

Crude oil prices recovered from session lows as well, ending the session down 56 cents. The May contract settled at $92.70, ending the week down 4.7% lower.

U.S. Ramps Up Diplomacy To Turn Down Temperature On Korean Peninsula

2013-04-05T03:00:00Z

So far, the U.S.'s display of military might in the Pacific has done little to defuse growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. In what appears to be a tit for tat exchange, displays of military might have done little to discourage North Korean rhetoric and threats against the U.S. mainland and military bases planted in the Pacific region.

According to a report by Fox News, U.S. officials are preparing to engage in more diplomatic measures in an effort to avoid an accidental war that could be triggered by miscalculations as to the extent the U.S. is willing to protect its interests in the region and those of its allies.

Newly minted Secretary of State John Kerry is dabbling in several agenda items including trying to unfreeze Middle East peace talks, but is planning a round of meetings with North Korea's neighbors next week. He's also held talks with South Korean and Chinese officials in recent days.

Analysts say urging South Korea to show restraint while urging China to pressure Pyongyang should be at the top of the agenda.

The State Department confirmed Thursday that Kerry had a phone call on Wednesday with Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi to discuss North Korea as well as Kerry's upcoming visit to the region. Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said China's role in pressuring North Korea has been the subject of "intense conversations" between Kerry and his Chinese counterparts.

She added: "It will be a central focus of the secretary's diplomacy when he's in Beijing, to see what more we can do to get the attention of the leadership in the DPRK." DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea.

News of intensifying diplomatic measures follows reports that North Korea moved its mid-range missile launchers - a possible sign that the communist nation is preparing to test one of its missile systems in an already contentious climate on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea claims the North moved a missile to the east coast shortly after N. Korea said that the military had ratified plans for a nuclear attack on the United States.

The U.S. Defense Department on Wednesday announced that an advanced missile defense system, known as THAAD, will be deployed to its base in Guam.

Read more about the Obama administration's diplomatic efforts to defuse tensions on the Korean Peninsula go to FoxNews.com.

2nd Amendment Under Assault

2013-04-05T02:00:00Z

Connecticut's Governor Dannel Malloy on Thursday signed into law a package of new gun control measures that some say should serve as a beacon for the rest of the nation.

The legislation adds more than 100 firearms to the state's assault weapons ban and creates what officials have called the nation's first dangerous weapon offender registry as well as eligibility rules for buying ammunition. Some parts of the bill would take effect immediately after Malloy's signature, including background checks for all firearms sales.

"This is a profoundly emotional day for everyone in this room," Malloy said. "We have come together in a way that few places in the nation have demonstrated the ability to do."

However, National Rifle Association's CEO Wayne LaPierre says provisions of Connecticut's new gun law will do little to ensure the safety of law-abiding citizens or children.

"From the very start, my thought has been with how little this has had to do with actually keeping kids safe and how much it has to do with this decade-long agenda against firearms that [some of] the political class and the media has had," LaPierre said on Thursday.

According to the NRA, a better plan would be to police officers or armed security in every school, fixing the nation's broken mental health system, and getting armed criminals off the streets.

As far as limiting the number of rounds a magazine can hold, LaPierre says that too puts homeowners at a disadvantage if their home is broken into.

"The fact is, if you're a homeowner though and you have someone coming through your door in the middle of the night, why should you be limited to three rounds or four rounds like Mayor Bloomberg wants to do?" LaPierre said. "A third of robberies involve multiple intruders and people want them for the same reason police want them, for the same reason Capitol Hill is protected by them. Why should you be limited to what some politician believes is reasonable?"

Japan's Stimulus Revives Bulls On Wall Street

2013-04-05T01:00:00Z

The major U.S. stock indexes finished Thursday's trading session modestly higher largely thanks to central bank action in Japan.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 56-points, recovering just about half of its losses in the previous trading day. Both the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 finished the day 6-points higher.

Global financial markets today boosted by the Bank of Japan's surprise move to revive its dormant economy. The central bank pledged to inject $1.4 trillion in stimulus over the next two years, with the goal of bringing the world's third largest economy out of a two-decade long malaise.

That news helped take the sting out of mixed news on the U.S. labor market. The Labor Department reported that weekly filings for jobless claims unexpectedly jumped to a four-month high of 385,000. The four-week moving average of claims also ticked higher, rising to a one month high of 354,250.

Meanwhile, Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that layoffs for the month of March fell 11% to just over 49,000. Still, some investors got bogged down in less optimistic quarterly and year over year comparisons. For the quarter, companies announced 145,000 layoffs, the highest number of quarterly layoffs since the 3rd quarter of 2011. On an annual basis, layoffs were 30% percent higher compared to those announced in March of 2012.

Those headlines helped to push U.S. debt prices higher, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury note to the lowest level of the year, ending the session at just over 1.76%.
A number of companies got the attention of buyers on Wall Street. Facebook's stock price rose 3.1% after the social network provider unveiled a new user interface for wireless phones.

But it was electronics retailer Best Buy that turned in the best performance on the S&P. Best Buy's stock price finished trading up an impressive 16% on news it is installing boutique Samsung Experience Shops at 1,600 Best Buy locations by this summer.

And it was another down day in the crude oil market as reports on the U.S. labor market combined with concerns about Europe's economy to push crude prices down 1.3% on the day. The May crude contract settled trading at $93.26, and is down more than 4% over the past two trading sessions.

N. Korea Authorizes Nuclear Strike

2013-04-04T02:00:00Z

The tensions on the Korean Peninsula are rising as North Korea claims to have authorized nuclear strikes against the United States.

According to media reports, the North Korean military claimed that "the moment of explosion is approaching fast," and that fighting could break out in a matter of days.
Pyongyang's latest threats come after the Defense Department announced it's sending a ground based missile defense system, known as THAAD, to the U.S. military base in Guam.

The missile defense system is capable of shooting down short to intermediate range missiles, but will offer no protection to the South Korea's capital city Seoul.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Pyongyang represented a "real and clear danger" to the United States and to its allies.

"They have nuclear capacity now, they have missile delivery capacity now," Hagel said on Wednesday. "We take those threats seriously, we have to take those threats seriously."

Tension was also high on the border separating North and South Korea. Kim Jong-Un's isolated regime barred South Koreans from entering a Seoul-funded joint industrial park on its side of the border.

Go to FoxNews.com for updates to the rising tensions between the United States and Pyongyang.

Texas Prosecutor Quites Case Against Aryan Brotherhood, Citing Safety Concerns

2013-04-04T01:30:00Z

The high profile murders of two prosecutors in Kaufman County, Texas may be having a chilling effect on the judicial systems prosecution of the Aryan Brotherhood.

According to reporting by Fox News; The murders of two prosecutors in Kaufman County, Texas, apparently has prompted a federal prosecutor to withdraw from a major racketeering case in Houston, the latest sign that attacks on lawmen are having a chilling effect on the judicial system.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hileman sent defense attorneys an email Tuesday saying he was withdrawing from the case against the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas due to safety concerns.

"I understand why someone would want to step back, and it makes sense to me, especially people who have families," defense attorney Richard Ely, who is representing one of the defendants in the case, said. "Jay is a friend of mine, and this was a personal decision."

The Aryan Brotherhood case, which netted 34 indictments last November, was followed by a statewide warning that the white supremacist prison gang may be planning retaliation. Ely doesn't know the origins of the threat, but he thinks it was probably someone just "spouting off."

The Kaufman County District Attorney's Office was named in the threat because it joined several other agencies on a task force aimed at cracking down on white supremacist groups. Since then, District Attorney Mike McLelland and Deputy DA Mark Hasse have been murdered in brazen attacks.

Read more about the threats against Texas law enforcement officers on FoxNews.com.

Anxiety Grips Investors Leading To Selloff On Wall Street

2013-04-04T01:00:00Z

Stocks on Wall Street retreated from recent record highs as investors reacted to weak economic reports and suggestions the Federal Reserve may taper its bond buying program as early as this summer.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 112 points, suffering its worst single session performance in five weeks. The Nasdaq Composite fell 36 points. The S&P 500 finished the session down 17 points.

Investors today were put on the defensive following the release of a pair of disappointing reports on the economy. ADP National Employment Report showed private sector employers added just 158,000 jobs in March, badly missing estimates of an increase of 200,000 new jobs. Investor disappointment was not eased by the upward revision to the previous month's report showing an additional 39,000 jobs were created, totaling 237,000 jobs generated in February.

Adding to the anxiety on Wall Street, the Institute for Supply Management report on the services sector failed to live up to expectations. The ISM's non-manufacturing index for March fell to 54.4, representing the slowest growth since August of last year.

Selling picked up in the afternoon following news that San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams said the Fed's $85 billion a month bond buying program could be tapered as early as this summer.

Every major sector finished the session in the red, financial stocks were among the worst hit. Dow components Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase finished down more than 2%.

Oil and gasoline futures came under heavy selling pressure after a report showed crude inventories last week rose to the highest level in more than two decades.

Crude for May delivery fell $2.74 on the day, settling the session at $94.45 a barrel. Meanwhile the May gasoline futures contract plunged 4.2% to end at $2.91 a gallon, the lowest closing since January.

Obama's Entire National Security Team Focusing On North Korea

2013-04-03T02:00:00Z

In what seems to be a daily escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea is now threatening to restart a nuclear facility capable of producing enough plutonium to producer one nuclear bomb a year.

The Pentagon confirmed Tuesday that it is positioning an array of military assets near the Korean Peninsula.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the "entire national security team" is focused on the escalating threats out of Pyongyang.

Pentagon spokesman George Little said that two destroyer warships, the USS Decatur and USS McCain, have arrived in the region as part of a missile-defense mission.

"They have arrived at predetermined positions in the western Pacific, where they will be poised to respond to any missile threats to our allies or our territory," Little said Tuesday.

While that Obama administration is taking serious steps to confront Pyongyang's threats, there is considerable doubt that the communist nation would follow through on its threat.

Officials point out that this is a familiar pattern of N. Korean leaders, who have in the past used such threats in order to extract aid from the international community.

Read about the latest developments along the Korean Peninsula on FoxNews.com.

Global Assault On The Second Amendment

2013-04-03T01:00:00Z

As if the gun control debate in this country wasn't already at a fever level, pro-gun advocates are now contending with a number of new assaults on their Second Amendment right to bear arms.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., is pushing for a new federal requirement for gun owners to buy insurance, an effort that has so far failed to produce results in six different states.

Maloney's Firearm Risk Protection Act would require gun owners to purchase liability insurance or pay a fine of up to $10,000.

"For too long, gun victims and society at large have borne the brunt of the costs of gun violence," Maloney said in a written statement. "My bill would change that by shifting some of that cost back onto those who own the weapons."

Despite such a bill failing to gain much traction at the state level, Maloney says she's ready for a fight at the federal level.

"We have a long history of requiring insurance for high-risk products -- and no one disputes that guns are dangerous," she said. "While many individual states are debating this issue right now, it makes more sense for Congress to establish a national requirement to allow the insurance markets to begin to price the risks involved consistently nationwide."

Maloney also supports proposed bans on assault weapons - a provision that was dropped from the Senate's larger gun control bill because of waning support among senators and the American public.

In Connecticut, however, lawmakers reached a deal Monday to broaden the state's ban on assault weapons and restrict the sale of new high capacity magazines.

The deal comes more than three months after the deadly Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that cost the lives of 20 children and 6 school staff members.

Gun-rights groups argue that the latest proposal would not have prevented the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

"They can register magazines and do all the rest of this stuff. It isn't going to do anything," said Robert Crook, executive director of the Connecticut Coalition of Sportsmen.

The deal announced Monday also creates the nation's first statewide dangerous weapon offender registry, creates a new "ammunition eligibility certificate," imposes immediate universal background checks for all firearms sales, and extends the state's assault weapons ban to 100 new types of firearms.

Weapons on the banned list, currently owned, would have to be registered with the state, just like the high-capacity magazines.

And on the global stage, the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday approved its first treaty to regulating the $60 billion international arms trade.

The National Rifle Association has portrayed the draft treaty as a threat to gun ownership rights. The NRA last week praised the Senate vote to prevent the U.S. from entering into the treaty.

The Obama administration, however, has formally thrown its support behind the treaty.
In a statement on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry assured pro-gun advocates that the treaty will in no way infringe on their Second Amendment rights.

"As the United States has required from the outset of these negotiations, nothing in this treaty could ever infringe on the rights of American citizens under our domestic law or the Constitution, including the Second Amendment," the statement said.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot is urging President Obama to not sign the treaty, claiming it could "draw law-abiding gun owners and gun store operators into a complex web of bureaucratic red tape created by a new department at the UN devoted to overseeing the treaty."

Abbot wrote, "when the Constitution says, "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed," it means no one-including the UN-can infringe that right."

Wall Street Bulls Propel Stocks To New Record Highs

2013-04-02T23:00:00Z

Good news on the U.S. economy helped stocks log another record setting day on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 89 points on the day. The S&P 500 finished 8 points higher - both indexes closed trading at fresh all-time highs. The Nasdaq Composite gained 16 points on the day.

Investors today were put in a buying mood thanks to a slightly stronger than expected rise in factory orders. The Commerce Department reported that demand for aircraft helped drive overall orders 3% higher in February.

The "Big Three" U.S. automakers also posted strong sales during the month of March. General Motors and Chrysler reporting their best month in more than five years. General Motors' sales jumped 6.4%, missing estimates, but still turned out to be GM's best March in five years.

Insurance stocks were among the day's best performers on Wall Street today. That after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services late Monday announced that it would increase Medicare Advantage reimbursement rates by 3.3%, reversing its estimate of a 2.2% cut back in February.

That news propelled UnitedHealth Group's stock 4.5% higher, making it the best performer on the blue chip index. The shares of Wellcare Health Plans and Aetna each finished up more 3.5%.

Gains on the stock market however could have been even better had it not been for a 5% drop in the shares of Hewlett-Packard. Goldman Sachs today lowered its rating on HP to "sell" from "neutral" citing incremental weakness in Hewlett-Packard's PC and enterprise hardware businesses.

Republicans Attempt To Slow Immigration Reform

2013-04-02T01:00:00Z

Sen. Chuck Schumer D-N.Y., on Sunday said that "every major policy issue has been resolved," in reforming the nation's immigration laws.

However, Republicans are pushing back against the haste in which legislation is being pushed through the Senate.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a leading member of the bipartisan Gang of 8, says Schumer is getting ahead of himself, saying the bill "will only be a starting point" and that all senators must weigh in before anyone declares victory.

"Eight senators from seven states have worked on this bill to serve as a starting point for discussion about fixing our broken immigration system," he said. "But arriving at a final product will require it to be properly submitted for the American people's consideration, through the other 92 senators from 43 states that weren't part of this initial drafting process. In order to succeed, this process cannot be rushed or done in secret."

Senators Schumer and Rubio's statements followed signs that the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., intends to rush through his committee, for consideration on the Senate floor sometime in May.

According to Fox News, the bill is said to include:

A program to bring tens of thousands of low-skilled workers into the country as part of a guest worker system.
A pathway to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants. The proposal would include a 10-year wait for a green card.
Strengthened border security, likely tied to the pathway to citizenship.
Requiring employers to use E-Verify to check immigration status of workers.
Overhauling the legal immigration system, authorizing more visas for high-skilled workers.

Read more about the back and forth on immigration reform on FoxNews.com

U.S. Answers N. Korea Rhetoric With Show Of Force

2013-04-02T00:00:00Z

The Obama administration is attempting to leave no room for North Korea's Kim Jong Un to misunderstand the United State's support for its allies in the region.

Reports out today confirming that the Navy has dispatched a U.S. destroyer to a location near South Korea, equipped with the Aegis defense system and is capable of shooting down missiles.

This follows news that in addition to B-2 Stealth bombers flying over South Korea last week, the military also dispatched two F-22 Raptors to take part in military exercises along the Korean Peninsula.

Monday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reports that the display of military is meant to be a deterrent to further provocations.

"We believe this has reduced the chance of miscalculation and provocation," Carney said.

"This pattern of bellicose rhetoric is not new, it is familiar," Carney added. "We take it very seriously, we take prudent measures in response to it."

A Pentagon spokesman confirmed to Fox News that the F-22 Raptors were deployed to Osan Air Base in South Korea from Japan on Sunday to support ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills.

"This exercise has been planned for some time and is part of the air component of the Foal Eagle exercise," spokesman George Little told reporters Monday.

Meanwhile, the North Korean leader gathered legislators Monday for an annual spring parliamentary session that followed a ruling party declaration that nuclear bomb building and a stronger economy were the nation's top priorities.

Read more about the situation unfolding along the Korean Peninsula on Fox News.com.

Stocks Open 2nd Quarter With Modest Retreat

2013-04-01T23:00:00Z

Stocks began the 2nd quarter in reverse with some of the biggest declines emerging out the technology sector.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 6-points on the day, well off its session lows. The Nasdaq Composite fell 29-points. The S&P 500, which ended last week ended at a fresh all-time high, finished Monday's trading session down 7-points.

The market today expressed its disappointment with weaker than expected growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector.

After closing out the first quarter with big gains last week, Wall Street slumped on Monday as traders responded to a round of weak data on the global factory sector. The Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index fell to 51.3% from 54.2% in February. Economists were expecting an identical reading to the February report.

Weaker than expected manufacturing activity in China also burdened stock prices today. China's official PMI last month climbed to 50.9, missing expectations of 52.

Those headlines muted reaction to a stronger than expected rebound in construction spending. The Commerce Department's February reports showed construction spending rose 1.2% to more than $880 billion, and is up 7.9% compared to a year ago.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average today drug lower by declines in industrial, material and technology stocks. Hewlett-Packard was by far the biggest loser, falling 2.2% on the day. Alcoa, Caterpillar and Intel all down more than 1.5%.

Apple's troubles continue. CEO Tim Cook today apologized on the company's website for the customer service problems in China. Apple's stock ended trading down more than 3%.
EBay and Blackberry meanwhile helped to minimize losses in the technology sector. A number of analysts offered positive reviews of eBay's earning potential, lifting the online auctioneer's stock 2.75% higher.

Blackberry shares ended trading up 4.5%. Analysts' offered positive comments about the company following its better than expected quarterly profit report and news it shipped 1-million units of its new Z10 mobile devices.

ICE Agents Left Out Of Immigration Reform

2013-03-29T23:00:00Z

Senators on Capitol Hill are said to be close to striking a deal on immigration reform. Negotiations that have so been conducted behind closed doors, with little to no input from the men and women who protect our nation's borders.

Chris Crane, President of the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council is voicing concerns that President Obama has ignored requests to be involved in the immigration reform process in Washington DC.

Frustrated with a lack of response to inquiries dating back to early February, Crane is now making his appeal to the Senate's "Gang of 8," which is working on an immigration bill.

In his letter to the bipartisan group of senators, Crane wrote, "no reforms to our immigration system will succeed as long as federal officials can continue to unilaterally select which laws are to be enforced -- and which are not -- based on their own political agendas. Without reform in this area, Congress will certainly be back in the next ten years discussing legislation for yet another proposed amnesty."

This is not the first time the ICE union has had issues with leadership within ICE and the Department of Homeland Security.

Last year, ICE officers filed suit against DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and ICE Director John Morton regarding the administration's policy to not deport certain illegal immigrants. More recently, ICE offers expressed frustration with the agency's decision to release thousands of detained illegal immigrants due to budget cuts resulting from sequester.

Now the National ICE Council is asking for a larger role in the immigration reform negotiations.

"We are concerned to see that President Obama is urging Congress to rush immigration legislation when he has still not acknowledged or replied to our letter from 6 weeks ago asking that ICE officers be allowed to meet with the White House to discuss immigration policy," the union said in a statement. "We would hope that the nation's chief executive would be willing to meet with the immigration officers who risk their lives every day to uphold the rule of law. Yet, while powerful businesses and amnesty advocates have a seat at the table, our officers who are charged with protecting the public safety are apparently not welcome -- even though we understand the nation's broken immigration system arguably better than any, by virtue of our firsthand knowledge and experience gained by working within in that system."

Oil Industry Warns Obama EPA Changes Will Cause Another Hike In Gas Prices

2013-03-29T22:00:00Z

Just as prices at the pump are beginning to recede, the Environmental Protection Agency is launching a new initiative that industry experts say could cause another unnecessary hike in gas prices.

The EPA proposal released on Friday seeks to reduce sulfur in gasoline by 60% in 2017, a reduction the agency claims will help save lives.

But according to a report on FoxNews.com, oil industry representatives and Republicans in Congress say the new regulations could cause an unnecessary increase in prices at the pump.

"Increases in gas prices disproportionately hurt the nation's most vulnerable individuals and families -- with $4 dollar a gallon gas the norm in many parts of the country, we cannot afford policies that knowingly raises gas prices," Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., said in a statement. "The Obama administration cannot be more out of touch. With hard-pressed families already struggling to afford each fill-up, Congress needs to take a hard look at any new EPA regulation that may raise the price at the pump."

The oil industry pointed to a study that found the changes could increase the cost of a gasoline by up to 9 cents per gallon. The study projected an annual compliance cost of $2.4 billion for the industry.

There is a tsunami of federal regulations coming out of the EPA that could put upward pressure on gasoline prices," American Petroleum Institute official Bob Greco said. The industry, as well as some in Congress, had urged a delay in the proposed rule.

The EPA estimates a more modest impact. They say it will increase gas prices by less than a penny per gallon and add $130 to the cost of a vehicle in 2025.

The agency argues the plan will yield billions of dollars in health benefits by slashing smog- and soot-forming pollution come 2030. The EPA projected by then, the overall changes to fuels and cars would prevent up to 2,400 premature deaths and 23,000 cases of respiratory ailments in children.

For states, the regulation will make it easier to comply with health-based standards for the main ingredient in smog and soot. For auto makers, the regulation allows them to sell the same autos in all 50 states.

Read more about the new EPA proposal and the energy industry's reaction on FoxNews.com.

U.S. Consumers Unfazed By Obama Sequester Forecast

2013-03-29T21:00:00Z

The resilience of the American consumer was thrust into the spotlight Friday. And though markets are closed for the Good Friday holiday, the better than expected news could push stocks further into record territory when markets re-open on Monday.

The University of Michigan's final report on consumer confidence for March came in well above consensus estimates looking for a reading of 72.5. Consumer sentiment in fact jumped to 78.6. The higher than expected reading marks the third straight month of improving consumer confidence, and is the highest reading since November of last year.

Economists are attributing the sharper than expected gain to consumers discounting the administration's warning regarding the economic impact of sequester. Expectations for job growth to continue to accelerate in the coming months are also helping to boost confidence.

That sentiment seems to be backed up by stronger than expected gains in both personal spending and income. According to the Commerce Department, personal spending in February rose a steeper than expected 0.7%, due in large part to soaring gas prices. However, consumers were able to more comfortably absorb those price hikes as the saw their personal income rise 1.1%, which also eclipsed estimates.

Digging into the details of the report shows that disposable income increased 0.7% in February. That is a huge improvement to the 0.4% decline in January, which was due to the expiration of the payroll tax holiday and an increase in taxes on those family households earning more than $450,000 a year.

All in all the reports indicate that the consumer, which supports 70% of our economic growth, remains resilient to political games in Washington DC and fear mongering by the Obama administration.

The reports could very well help fuel added enthusiasm among Wall Street investors who this week pushed both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 to fresh all-time highs.

The markets on Monday will also consider reports on manufacturing and construction spending in the United States, as well as reports on manufacturing in China.

Obama Attempts To Shame Lawmakers Into Supporting Gun Control

2013-03-29T02:00:00Z

Perhaps sensing that his push to enact tougher gun laws is faltering, President Obama on Thursday attempted to pull at the heartstrings of the American public and lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

"Less than 100 days ago that happened, and the entire country was shocked and the entire country pledged we would do something about it and this time would be different," Mr. Obama said. "Shame on us if we've forgotten. I haven't forgotten those kids. Shame on us if we've forgotten."

Mr. Obama's emotional plea comes a week after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced he was not including a ban on assault weapons in his larger gun control bill. Reid will allow it to be introduced as an amendment, but even that will be an uphill battle due to waning support among Senate Democrats.

A CBS News poll released earlier this week showed that support for tougher gun laws has fallen to 47 percent, down dramatically from 57 percent immediately following the massacre in Newtown, CT.

"The notion that two months or three months after something as horrific as what happened in Newtown happens and we've moved on to other things?" Mr. Obama said. "That's not who we are. That's not who we are. And I want to make sure every American is listening today."

"We need everybody to remember how we felt 100 days ago and make sure that what we said at that time wasn't just a bunch of platitudes, that we meant it," Obama added.

To lawmakers, the president said, "Don't get squishy because time has passed and maybe it's not on the news every single day."

Republican Sen. Mike Lee however was not impressed with the Mr. Obama's impassioned plea, and suggested that the president was attempting to exploit the Newtown tragedy for political gain.

"The proposals the president is calling for Congress to pass would primarily serve to reduce the constitutionally protected rights of law-abiding citizens while having little or no effect on violent crime," Lee said in a statement. "It is deeply unfortunate that he continues to use the tragedy at Newtown as a backdrop for pushing legislation that would have done nothing to prevent that horrible crime."

Sen. Lee and fellow GOP Senators Cruz and Paul have vowed to filibuster any bill brought to the Senate floor next month that infringes on 2nd Amendment gun rights.

Bulls Shift Into Overdrive, Push Stocks To Record Highs

2013-03-29T01:00:00Z

Thursday was an especially sweet day on Wall Street as investors drove stocks to fresh all-time highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 52-points on the day, setting a new record close for the second day this week. The Nasdaq Composite gained 11-points. And it took nearly 5-1/2 years, but the S&P 500 finally eclipsed its 2007 record close, today finishing the session 6-points higher, closing at a new all-time high of just under 1570.

All three major stock indexes ended the month of March with better than 3% gains. But their quarterly performances were even more impressive. The blue chip index finished the quarter up more than 11%, its best 1st quarter performance since 1998. The tech heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 8% year-to-date. The S&P 500 capped off the quarter with a better than 10% advance.

Wall Street investors on Thursday brushed aside a trio of weaker than expected reports on the U.S. economy.

The Commerce Department's final report on 4th quarter GDP showed the economy growing at an annual rate of 0.4%. That was weaker than expected, but was marked improvement to the government's initial report, which showed a 0.1% contraction in the final three months of 2012.

Weekly jobless claims climbed higher, last week rising16,000 to 357,000, which was higher than estimates of 340,000.

And the Institute for Supply Management's reading on manufacturing in the Midwest fell short of expectations. The Chicago PMI gauge fell 4.4 points to 52.4, missing estimates of 56.5.

In corporate news, Blackberry's earnings beat was initially applauded by investors, leading to early gains in the company's stock price. Blackberry, which was expected to post a quarterly loss of 29 cents, actually reported a profit of 22 cents a share. However euphoria over the earnings beat waned by close of trading after investors considered Blackberry's weaker than expected sales, and an exodus of some 3 million subscribers. Blackberry's stock ended the trading session down 0.8%

The debt market remained stable as Cypriot banks re-opened for business with little to no reported disruptions. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note unchanged, holding steady at 1.87%.

Obama Supported U.N. Arms Trade Treaty Establishes A National Control List

2013-03-28T23:00:00Z

FoxNews.com - The U.N.'s Arms Trade Treaty, which seemed dead last July, is beginning to wrap up negotiations. The Obama administration is committed to getting it passed. Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed: "The United States is steadfast in its commitment to achieve a strong and effective Arms Trade Treaty."

The treaty was resurrected on Nov. 8 - the very day after President Obama's re-election. Very conveniently, that the Obama administration delayed the U.N. vote in favor of renewing negotiations delayed until the president was no longer constrained by public opinion.

The Arms Trade Treaty will regulate individual gun ownership all across the world. Each country will be obligated to "maintain a national control list that shall include [rifles and handguns]" and "to regulate brokering taking place under its jurisdiction for conventional arms." In fact, the new background check rules approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee include just those rules -- a registration system and a record of all transfers of guns.

The treaty pretends that individual weapons smugglers are the main problem.

But nations themselves will be responsible for enforcing the rules. That means Iran, China, Russia - the leading countries for the truly troubling parts of the international arms trade - are supposed to curb it. Does anyone actually believe these nations will actually enforce these regulations against themselves?

Democracies are a different story. Many of their civilians have freedoms to lose. And they are much more transparent on whether they are actually honoring the rules that apply to their governments.

Just like with gun control, in general, it is only the "good guys" who will obey the new rules. The U.N. Arms Trade Treaty, if passed, would only be effective against those countries that choose to obey them.

The treaty pretends that individual weapons smugglers are the main problem. But governments, not private individuals, are the primary source of weapons.

Read more of Johnson's analysis on the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty on FoxNews.com.

Supreme Court Justices Hint DOMA's Days May Be Numbered

2013-03-28T01:00:00Z

Fox News - A majority of Supreme Court justices voiced skepticism Wednesday about the legitimacy of a federal provision that prevents married gay couples from receiving a range of federal benefits, raising questions about whether the Defense of Marriage Act will stand.

The court concluded arguments early Wednesday afternoon on the challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act provision that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The hearing was the second in back-to-back gay marriage cases before the court this week, both of which have attracted intense public interest.

In the two-hour hearing Wednesday, Justice Anthony Kennedy, often the decisive vote in close cases, joined the four more liberal justices in raising questions about the provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act that is being challenged.

Kennedy said the law appears to intrude on the power of states that have chosen to recognize same-sex marriages. Other justices said the law creates what Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg called two classes of marriage, full marriage and "skim-milk marriage."

The motivation behind the 1996 federal law, passed by large majorities in Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton, was questioned repeatedly by Justice Elena Kagan. She read from a House of Representatives report explaining that the reason for the law was "to express moral disapproval of homosexuality." The quote produced an audible reaction in the courtroom.

Paul Clement, representing the House Republican leadership in defending the law, said the more relevant question is whether Congress had "any rational basis for the statute." He supplied one, the federal government's interest in treating same-sex couples the same no matter where they live.

Clement said the government does not want military families "to resist transfer from West Point to Fort Sill because they're going to lose their benefits." The U.S. Military Academy at West Point is in New York, where same-sex marriage is legal, and Fort Sill is in Oklahoma, where gay marriages are not legal.

The law affects a range of benefits available to married couples, including tax breaks, survivor benefits and health insurance for spouses of federal employees.

Read more about the issues face the Defense of Marriage Act on FoxNews.com

Medical Claim Costs To Soar Under ObamaCare

2013-03-28T00:30:00Z

If you're one of the few that still believe ObamaCare will result in lower healthcare insurance premiums, you may not to read any further.

A new report on the Affordable Care Act shows that medical claim costs will soar 32% under the president's reform to healthcare in the United States.

The Society of Actuaries, the nation's leading group of financial risk analysts says that those increases with cause individual health insurance premiums to skyrocket.

According to the report by 2017, the estimated increase would be 67 percent for Maryland, 62 percent for California, more than 20 percent for Florida and about 80 percent higher in Ohio.

What's driving costs higher? Sick people joining the ranks of the insured under ObamaCare.

While the Obama administration is skeptical of the study, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius admitted to the Wall Street Journal that, yes health insurance costs are going to increase.

"These folks will be moving into a really fully insured product for the first time, and so there may be a higher cost associated with getting into that market," she said. "But we feel pretty strongly that with subsidies available to a lot of that population that they are really going to see much better benefit for the money that they're spending."

According to Fox News, Kristi Bohn, an actuary who worked on the study, said the study did not attempt to estimate the effect of subsidies, insurer competition and other factors that could mitigate cost increases. She said the goal was to look at the underlying cost of medical care.

"Claims cost is the most important driver of health care premiums," she said.
"We don't see ourselves as a political organization," Bohn added. "We are trying to figure out what the situation at hand is."

Sen. Leahy Defends Push For Nontransparent Immigration Reform Process

2013-03-28T00:00:00Z

Excerpt from breitbart.com - Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) responded with vitriol to the demand by GOP members of his committee for an open and transparent immigration reform process.

Every Senate Republican on the Judiciary Committee, except for Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Jeff Flake of Arizona-both members of the bipartisan so-called "Gang of Eight" pushing immigration reform-signed the request and sent it to Leahy last Tuesday.

Instead of addressing the concerns in the letter in his response days later, Leahy launched a lengthy political and rhetorical attack on one of the letter's signers: Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions.

"I understand that you organized a letter to me from some of the Republican Senators on the Judiciary Committee," Leahy wrote in his response, which he addressed "Dear Jeff."

"Since it was distributed to the press and you went to the Senate press gallery to talk about it before I received it, I am not sure whether you really meant your 'open letter' for me, for the group of Senators meeting with Senator McCain, or just for the press," Leahy continued.

"You know that I am always available to you if you have a concern and that, as Chairman, I have always treated you and all members of the Committee fairly," Leahy claimed. "I have gone out of my way to protect the rights of the minority on the Committee despite the treatment Democratic Senators received preceding my chairmanship."

The crux of the GOP Judiciary Committee members' concern is that Leahy will rush through a large, comprehensive immigration reform package when the Senate returns from recess the week after next.

They noted that the last significant immigration reform bill in the Senate, the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which was first introduced in 1982, had been preceded by "100 hours of hearings with 300 witnesses before marking up a bill."

"Congress continued to debate the bill for the next three years, and even then, the Judiciary Committee spent three months reviewing the bill before it was reported in August of 1985," they wrote.

The Committee Republicans had asked Leahy "that the public be given adequate time, consistent with past practice in handling complex comprehensive immigration legislation, to read and analyze the contents of any such bill before it is listed on the Committee's Executive Business Meeting agenda."

For immigration reform this year, only three hearing have been held. Leahy claims that "during the four Congresses that preceded this one," or over the past eight years, an additional 40 hearings were held "on these issues."

Even though the precedent for public input and congressional hearings has not been met, Leahy said in his response to Sessions that "we have conducted multiple hearings on the exigent need for a comprehensive fix to our broken immigration system," and that he now hopes "to turn to comprehensive immigration legislation and consider it through our normal Committee process." Leahy does, however, admit that "we do not have a legislative proposal before us."

Read more about the quarrel over transparency and immigration reform on Breitbart.com.

Supreme Court Signals Hesitation To Issue Broad Ruling on Gay Marriage

2013-03-27T01:00:00Z

Excerpted from FoxNews.com - Several Supreme Court justices indicated they might lean toward issuing a narrow ruling on gay marriage during a landmark hearing Tuesday on California's same-sex marriage ban, even as lawyers for the plaintiffs argued for legalizing the unions nationally.

The case heard Tuesday, the first of two gay-marriage cases the high court is weighing this week, centered on California's Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage but could have national implications. If the justices choose to rule broadly, they could overturn Prop 8 and in doing so invalidate every other restriction on gay marriage in the country.

But the justices suggested Tuesday they could decide the case without issuing a ruling that ripples through all 50 states.

Several justices, including some liberals who seemed open to gay marriage, raised doubts Tuesday that the case was properly before them. Justice Anthony Kennedy, the potentially decisive vote on a closely divided court, suggested that the court could dismiss the case with no ruling at all.

Such an outcome would almost certainly allow gay marriages to resume in California but would have no impact elsewhere.

Kennedy said he feared the court would go into "uncharted waters" if it embraced arguments advanced by gay marriage supporters. But lawyer Theodore Olson, representing two same-sex couples, said that the court similarly ventured into the unknown in 1967 when it struck down bans on interracial marriage in 16 states.

Kennedy challenged the accuracy of that comment by noting that other countries had had interracial marriages for hundreds of years.

There was no majority apparent for any particular outcome and many doubts expressed about the arguments advanced by lawyers for the opponents of gay marriage in California, by the supporters and by the Obama administration, which is in favor of same-sex marriage rights.

Read more about the arguments posed by each side, and reactions from Supreme Court Justices on FoxNews.com

Republican Senators Warn Of Filibuster To Gun Control Bill

2013-03-27T00:00:00Z

Senator Rand Paul earlier this month staged a 13-hour filibuster of CIA Director John Brennan's confirmation. He and fellow Republicans Senators Mike Lee and Ted Cruz are threatening a repeat performance regarding Sen. Reid's gun control bill expected to be debated in April.

According to a copy of their letter obtained by Fox News, the senators warned Sen. Reid that they are opposed to the intent of the pending legislation.

"We, the undersigned, intend to oppose any legislation that infringe on the American people's constitutional right to bear arms, or on their ability to exercise this right without being subjected to government surveillance," the senators wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Fox News.

Their warning comes after Reid last week announced that his bill would note include a provision banning assault weapons, but the provision will be allowed to be introduced as an amendment.

The larger piece of legislation focuses on the expansion of background checks and more harsh penalties for gun trafficking.

Timing of the senator's letter also follows a decline in public support for tighter gun control measures, a push that was initially sparked by the shootings in Newtown, CT.

According to a new CBS poll, "Support for stricter gun control laws stands at 47 percent today, down from a high of 57 percent just after the shootings. Thirty-nine percent want those laws kept as they are, and another 11 percent want them made less strict."

Economic Reports Lift The Dow To A New Record High

2013-03-26T23:00:00Z

It was an unexpected but historical day on Wall Street as investors used a jump in home prices as a catalyst to drive stocks sharply higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 112-points, closing at a fresh record high of just under 14,560. The Nasdaq Composite finished 17-points higher. The S&P 500 gained 12-points, now less than 2-points from its all-time high set back in October 2007.

As has been the case following modest pullbacks in the stock market this year, Wall Street investors used Monday's dip as buying opportunity.

Tuesday's gains were sparked by better than expected news on home prices and durable goods orders.

The Commerce Department reported that orders for durable goods jumped 5.7% in February, eclipsing estimates of a 3.8% gain. Excluding the transportation segment, orders were down 0.5%, missing estimates of a 0.5% increase.

Further fueling gains in the stock market, Case Shiller's index of home prices in 20-metropolitan cities rose 1% in January, just topping estimates of a 0.9% gain. Year over year, home values in January jumped 8.1%, marking the sharpest annual increase since June 2006.

Those reports allowed investors to shrug off steeper than expected declines in both consumer confidence and sales of new homes.

A Commerce Department report showed sales of new single-family homes dropped 4.6% in February to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 411,000 units. The street was anticipating a more modest decline to 422,000 units. Still, sales of new homes were up 12.3% percent from a year ago.

Meanwhile the Conference Board's index of consumer confidence for March came in lower than expected, falling to 59.7 from a downwardly-revised 68 in February.

Industrial and technology stocks were the best performers on the blue chip index. Boeing, Hewlett-Packard and Intel all finished the trading session with better than 2% gains.
Boeing's stock was boosted by successful tests of the 787 Dreamliner's redesigned battery system.

And crude oil prices benefited from the day's economic reports. The May crude contract jumped $1.53 to settling at a five-week high of $96.34 a barrel. So far, crude prices have risen 4.2% in just the past three trading sessions.

NRA: Bloomberg "Can't Buy America"

2013-03-26T00:00:00Z

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his pro-gun control group Mayors Against Illegal Guns are launching an all-out assault to pressure senators into passing new gun control laws.

The news follows Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's decision last week to drop the ban on assault weapons from his party's large gun-control bill.

Bloomberg over the weekend said he plans to spend $12 million on ad campaign in at least 10-states aimed at pressuring Senators, who are on the fence about gun control.

According to reports, the ads will suggest that there will be a political price to pay should senators not support new gun laws, including a mandatory background check prior to gun purchases.

A spokesman for the National Rifle Association blasted Bloomberg and the new ads, saying NRA members and supporters would be calling senators directly and urging them to vote against proposed gun control legislation.

"What Michael Bloomberg is trying to do is ... intimidate senators into not listening to constituents and instead pledge their allegiance to him and his money," said spokesman Andrew Arulanandam told Fox News.

NRA CEO Wayne LaPeirre on Sunday said that Bloomberg, known for his push to ban 16 oz. sugary drinks, will not be able to force American's into ceding their constitutional rights.

"He can't spend enough of his $27 billion to try to impose his will on the American public," LaPierre said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." "He can't buy America."

Of Bloomberg's push for background checks, LaPierre has long contended that the screening will do nothing to stop criminals who operate outside of the law.

Sen. Reid plans to include a universal background check provision in a gun control package expected to be up for debate on the Senate floor sometime in April. However, Republicans have so far been reluctant to back universal checks.

Bloomberg defended the ad buy Sunday; speaking on the same program as LaPierre, saying it would be a "great tragedy" if the momentum for gun control generated after the Newtown mass shooting withered. At the same time, Bloomberg said, "I think we are going to win this."

Read more about the Bloomberg/NRA showdown on FoxNews.com.

Supreme Court adds Michigan higher education case to affirmative action review

2013-03-25T23:30:00Z

Fox News - The Supreme Court announced Monday it would include a Michigan law that would bar public universities from considering race as an admissions factor in its review of affirmative action in higher education.

The high court is already considering whether the University of Texas violated the constitutional guarantee of equal protection with its affirmative action program. In that case, the justices are considering a challenge to the university's program, which factors in race to fill open spots in its freshman class. The Texas case has been argued before the justices but not yet decided.

The dispute over affirmative action in Michigan has its roots in the 2003 Supreme Court decision that upheld the use of race as a factor in university admissions. That case concerned the University of Michigan law school.

In response to the court's 5-4 decision in that case, affirmative action opponents worked to put a ballot measure in front of voters to amend the state constitution to outlaw preferential treatment on the basis of race and other factors in education, as well as government hiring and contracting. In November 2006, 58 percent of Michigan voters approved the measure.

Civil rights groups sued to block the provision the day after the vote. In November, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 8-7 to invalidate the ban as it applies to college admissions. It did not address hiring or contracting.

The appeals court said the constitutional amendment is illegal because it prohibits affirmative action supporters from lobbying lawmakers, university trustees and other people who ordinarily control admissions policies. Instead, opponents of the ban would have to mount their own long, expensive campaign through the ballot box to protect affirmative action, the court said.

That burden "undermines the Equal Protection Clause's guarantee that all citizens ought to have equal access to the tools of political change," the court said. The 6th Circuit divided along ideological lines, with its more liberal judges in the majority.

Read more about the cases being heard this week by the Supreme Court on FoxNews.com.

Optimism Over Cyprus Evaporates, Dragging Stock Prices Lower

2013-03-25T23:00:00Z

Stocks open the week with losses as investors react to mixed messages regarding the Cyprus bailout.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 64-points. The Nasdaq Composite declined 10 points. The S&P 500, which earlier in the session came within a point of its 2007 record high close, ended the trading session down 5-points.

Initial reaction to the $13 billion bailout of Cyprus was euphoric. But jubilation fizzled out by mid-session following comments from the head of the Eurogroup.

Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem referred to the Cyprus deal as a "template" for restructurings going forward, which immediately pushed the major U.S. stock indexes into negative territory. However, a European Union official told FOX Business the comments were taken out of context, and that the Cyprus situation is indeed "unique" in nature. But that clarification failed to quell the nerves of investors.

Industrial and material stocks proved to be among the biggest burdens on the broader market.

Bank of America, Caterpillar and MMM weighed on the blue chip index, all finishing the day down more than 1%.

Dell was able to avoid today's downdraft, gaining 2.7%. That following confirmation that both billionaire investor Carl Icahn and the Blackstone Group are looking at separate proposals to take the company private. Both bids are said to value Dell above the original bid by founder Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners.

Blackberry's launch of its new Z-10 smartphone fell flat with both investors and consumers. Blackberry's stock ended trading down 4.5%, adding to Friday's nearly 8% loss on the same day the company debuted it new touchscreen smartphone to U.S. consumers.

President Wraps Up Middle East Tour With Concerns About Syria

2013-03-23T00:00:00Z

Fox News - President Obama said Friday he's "very concerned" that civil war-racked Syria could become a haven for extremists, should President Bashar Assad leave a power vacuum in the chaotic country.

Obama, during a press conference with Jordan's King Abdullah II, reiterated that Assad must, and will, go. But he stressed that it's critical for the international community to work together to accelerate a viable political transition -- one that does not let extremists exploit the power gap.

"I am very concerned about Syria becoming an enclave for extremists, because extremists thrive in chaos," Obama said.

Both Obama and the Jordanian king addressed the mass killing in Syria, with the king indicating he would keep his borders open to the thousands of refugees fleeing the country.

"Something has been broken in Syria, and it's not going to be put back together perfectly immediately -- even after Assad leaves," Obama said. "But we can begin the process of moving it in a better direction, and having a cohesive opposition is critical to that."

More than 400,000 refugees have crossed into Jordan to escape two years of bloodshed at home, crowding refugee camps and overwhelming aid agencies run by this important U.S. ally in the Middle East. Jordan's King Abdullah II has also voiced fears that extremists and terrorists could create a regional base in his country.

Jordan stands as a key ally to the United States in the region, which is why Obama was closing out his trip to the Middle East there. The president spent most of the trip in Israel, marking his first visit to the country as commander-in-chief.

Obama also sought to bolster Jordan's efforts to reform its government in an attempt to stave off an Arab Spring-style revolution that has led to the downfall of longtime leaders in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.

About to wrap up the tour, Obama also said Friday that he still endeavors to bring Israelis and Palestinians to the negotiating table -- after failing to advance the process during his first term.

Read more about Obama's concerns regarding Syria and the broader Middle East on FoxNews.com.

Making Sequester Hurt: FAA To Close Air Traffic Towers

2013-03-22T23:00:00Z

Excerpted from FoxNews.com - The Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday that it will close 149 air traffic control towers, in a move one lawmaker said was akin to "removing stop lights and stop signs from our roads."

That lawmaker, Republican Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran, also claims the FAA could save the towers by tapping into millions of dollars in unspent FAA research money.

Yet the FAA moved forward Friday with plans to shut down the air traffic control facilities, describing them as a necessary cutback due to the sequester.

"These were very tough decisions," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a written statement.

The cuts will affect small airports starting April 7. The closures will not force the shutdown of any of those airports, but pilots will be left to coordinate takeoffs and landings among themselves over a shared radio frequency with no help from ground controllers under procedures that all pilots are trained to carry out. The FAA decided to keep open 24 towers that were on the original list of possible closures.

"We will work with the airports and the operators to ensure the procedures are in place to maintain the high level of non-towered airports," FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said in a statement.

But the plan has raised concerns about the impact on safety and the potential financial effect on communities that rely on airports as key economic engines for attracting businesses and tourists.

Read the entire story about the FAA air traffic control tower closures on FoxNews.com.

Corporate Headlines Spur Gains on Wall Street

2013-03-22T22:00:00Z

Wall Street investors on Friday brushed aside concerns about Cyprus, instead they focused on corporate earnings and headlines, driving stock prices solidly higher on Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 91 points. The Nasdaq Composite gained 22 points. The S&P 500 rose 11 points.

For the week, the Dow fell 0.01%, breaking its string of four straight weekly gains. The S&P 500 edged 0.24% lower, while the Nasdaq dipped 0.13%.

Time is running out quickly for Cyprus. The ECB said Thursday that it won't provide emergency liquidity to its banks after Monday if it doesn't receive an official rescue.

In a sign of just how serious the issue is, Greek banks were in the process of acquiring deposits of branches of Cypriot banks in Greece, according to multiple media reports.

In corporate news, Nike shares soared 11% after the apparel maker posted better than expected quarterly profits, and a strong forecast on sales through July.

Micron Technology gained 10.7% after investor's took an optimistic view of its mixed quarterly report; posting a wider than expected quarterly loss, but topping sales targets.

Apple's stock finished 2% higher on the company's plans to rollout new versions of its iPhone and iPad later this summer.

Blackberry's stock left out in the cold today. Investors initially bid the company's stock higher as it debuted its Z-10 smartphone on the U.S. market, but shares tumbled 7.7% on concerns of weak demand for the new smartphone.

Obama Pushes For Mideast Peace Talks

2013-03-21T23:00:00Z

President Obama renewed calls Thursday for peace in the Mideast, and said he's still holding out hope that both Israelis and Palestinians could come to a compromise -- but admitted the process would be difficult.

"I think we can keep pushing through some of these problems and make sure that we don't use them as an excuse not to do anything," the president said in a joint news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, West Bank.

Obama also said the United States continues to strongly oppose the construction of Jewish housing on land claimed by Palestinians, and says that the core issues that continue to divide the two groups should not be used as an "excuse" to do nothing.

"I think we can keep pushing through some of these problems and make sure that we don't use them as an excuse not to do anything," he said.

Obama's comments may rub the Palestinians the wrong way.

"Even though both sides may have areas of strong disagreement, maybe engaging in activities that the other side considers to be a breach of good faith, we have to push through those things to try to get to an agreement," Obama said.

At the joint news conference, Obama said he had "been clear" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington did not consider continued settlement activity to be constructive to "the cause of peace."

During Obama's first four years in office, the White House sided with Palestinians and repeatedly demanded that all settlement activity cease.

Read more about the President's trip to the Middle East on FoxNews.com.

Obama Gun-Control A Boon For NRA Fundraising

2013-03-21T22:00:00Z

There's been what many Democrats would likely consider an unforeseen consequence to efforts to restrict gun purchases in the United States; A monsoon of support for the nation's largest and most powerful gun lobby.

The National Rifle Association has witnessed a tidal wave of support in the form of donations since President Obama and Democrats in both federal and state governments began pushing for tighter gun control laws. A movement sparked by the Dec. 2012 massacre at The Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.

The NRA's Political Victory Fund raised $1.1 million in January, followed by another $1.6 million in donations in February, it's best fundraising month since October 2000. In total, the NRA raised $14.4 million in 2011 and 2012.

NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre told a Conservative Political Action Committee group that, "the NRA's nearly five million members, and America's 100 million gun owners will not back down, not ever."

In fact it appears that it is in fact Senate Democrats who are backing down from the president's agenda to ban assault weapons. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid earlier this week announced that Sen. Feinstein's bill to ban assault weapons will not be a component of the larger gun-control bill debated on the floor of the Senate next month.

Even as an amendment, Feinstein's bill faces likely failure as according the Sen. Reid, the bill has the support of fewer than 40 fellow senators. Two-thirds the support the amendment would need to be attached to the larger bill.

Oracle, Cisco and Cyprus Fray Nerves on Wall Street

2013-03-21T21:00:00Z

After touching fresh intraday highs a day ago, Thursday the Dow Jones Industry Average retreated following big declines in the technology sector.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 90-points, weighed down by its four largest tech stocks. The Nasdaq Composite lost 32 points on the day. The S&P 500 fell 13-points.

Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Intel - all finished lower on day. Cisco led decliners, down 3.8% after FBR Capital downgraded the networking company to "underperform," citing challenges ahead for Cisco as it contends with weakening demand.

Oracle's stock is proved to a big drag on the broader market. Shares of Oracle fell 9.6% after posting weaker than expected quarterly results - also forecasting up to a 4% drop in 4th quarter revenue.

Concerns about Cyprus also weighed on the minds of Wall Street investors, concerned about a debt contagion or run on Cypriot and other European Union banks. Reports out of Cyprus described long lines at ATMs, where banks have been closed all week, not scheduled at this point to reopen until Tuesday of next week.

The EU has given Cyprus until Monday to agree to a bailout plan, or risk its banks being cut off from further liquidity funding. Cyprus Popular Bank imposed a $336 ATM withdrawal limit. Banks in Cyprus were originally supposed to re-open for business today, but after the parliament voted down a tax on private deposits, the decision was made to keep banks closed until Tuesday of next week.

News also surfaced late Thursday that the Cypriot government is considering a plan to restructure the country's second largest bank, Cyprus Popular Bank PCL. A vote on restructuring the bank is expected sometime Friday. If approved, the bank would be effectively shuttered, pushing the bank's good and bad assets into separate entities.

Weakness in techs and news on Cyprus muted investor reaction to good news on the U.S. economy.

The National Association of Realtors reporting that sales of existing homes last month jumped to a 3-year high of 4.98 million. The .8% increase though was met with some disappointment by investors who'd bet on an increase to 5.0 million units.

News on the labor market keeps improving. The Labor Department reported that weekly jobless claims last week rose by just 2,000 to 336,000. That total figure was lower than estimates calling for jobless benefits to rise to 342,000. Adding to the good news, the four-week moving average for new claims slid 7,500 to 339,750 -- the lowest level since February 2008.

In manufacturing, the flash report from Markit showed U.S. manufacturing growth in March grew more than expected, coming in at 54.9. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's March report on area manufacturing also topped estimates. Regional manufacturing actually expanded, delighting investors we were expecting another monthly reading indicating further contraction in activity.

Chemical Weapons In Syria a "Game-Changer" for Obama Administration

2013-03-20T21:00:00Z

Fox News - President Obama said Wednesday that the use of chemical weapons in Syria would be a "game-changer" that would demand action from the international community, though he stressed that the U.S. and other nations are still trying to determine whether those weapons were used.

The president addressed the issue during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on his first visit to Israel as commander-in-chief. Syria, as well as Iran, were at the top of the agenda in a meeting between the two leaders earlier in the day.

Asked about allegations that chemical weapons have been used in Syria, Obama stressed that "we have to make sure that we know exactly what happened."

Once the facts are established, Obama said, "I have made clear that the use of chemical weapons is a game-changer."

He said the use of those weapons would create an even more "horrific scene" in Syria -- and the "international community has to act on that additional information."

Any confirmation that the Assad regime used the weapons would put pressure on the Obama administration to follow through on warnings that such an act would constitute crossing a "red line." Syrian rebels and Assad's regime on Tuesday accused each other of using those weapons, though Obama said he is "deeply skeptical of any claim" that the opposition was behind that kind of attack.

Read more about President Obama's first visit to Israel on FoxNews.com.

Stocks Boosted By The Fed's Easy Money Policy

2013-03-20T20:00:00Z

The bulls re-emerged on Wall Street, energized by the Federal Reserve's maintaining its easy money policy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average today closed 56-points higher, backing off a bit from fresh all-time intraday highs. The Nasdaq Composite gained 25-points. The S&P 500 gained 10-points, now fewer than seven points from its record close set in October 2007.

Stocks were higher for much of the day as investors bet the Federal Reserve would issue a dovish statement at the conclusion of its two-day meeting on interest rates and monetary policy.

Sure enough, the Federal Reserve announced that it plans to maintain its $85-billion a month bond buying program in an effort to spur the economy. The Fed also said it sees the economy growing at a moderate pace, with the unemployment rate falling to as low as 7.3% this year.

The blue chip index today high a fresh all-time intraday high with solid gains emerging out of consumer and pharmaceutical stocks. Coca-Cola, Disney and Pfizer all gained more than 1% on the day.

Adobe systems proved to be a source of strength in the broader market after topping both earnings and revenue targets.

Meanwhile FedEx revealed an adjusted fiscal third-quarter profit of $1.23 a share, missing estimates by 15 cents a share. Revenues of $11 billion beat Wall Street's expectations of $10.85 billion. But the company's full-year earnings guidance missed estimates, contributing to a 6.9% drop in the company's stock price.

BlackBerry's stock jumped almost 6.5% on news Morgan Stanley upgraded the smartphone maker to "overweight" from "underweight."

Horses Headed To Slaughterhouse For Human Consumption

2013-03-20T19:00:00Z

According to report by FoxNews.com, slaughterhouses across the country are applying for permits to kill horses for human consumption.

The slaughter of horses for consumption was banned in 2007, but the law expired in 2011, opening the gateway for a fresh source meat.

Companies like Valley Meat Co., outside of Roswell N.M., are flooding the U.S. Department of Agriculture with applications for permits to slaughter horses, with initial plans to export the meat.

However, the sensitivity Americans have about such a practice has created something of a backlash towards slaughterhouses tapping into the new source of revenue.

A. Blair Dunn, attorney for Valley Meat Co., told Fox News that his client's farm has been broken into multiple times, and has been the target of a bomb threat.

According to the Fox News report, the USDA has been sending out mixed messages on the practice of slaughtering horses.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters Tuesday, "We're very close to getting the work done that's needed to be done to allow them to operate."

Read more about the controversy surrounding the slaughtering of horses of human consumption on FoxNews.com.

Senate Dems Drop Assault Weapons Ban

2013-03-19T21:00:00Z

Score one for the Second Amendment! Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today announced that a ban on assault weapons will not be part of gun-control legislation up for debate on the Senate floor next month.

Reid on Tuesday told reporters that the bill to ban assault weapons "has less than 40 votes."

"I'm not going to try to put something on the floor that won't succeed. I want something that will succeed. I think the worst of all worlds would be to bring something to the floor and it dies there," Reid said.

That realization comes less than a week after Sen. Dianne Feinstein successfully pushed the bill through the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Upon hearing of Reid's decision, Sen. Feinstein said she was "disappointed."

"I very much regret it," Feinstein said after learning of Reid's tactical decision to drop the assault weapons ban. "I tried my best. But my best, I guess, wasn't good enough."

Feinstein can still offer the ban as an amendment to the larger bill next month, but will face opposition from Republicans and those Democrats who are reluctant to support the ban.

The proposed ban passed was passed last week along with three other measures. The others dealt with offering more school safety aid, expanding federal background checks and helping authorities prosecute illegal gun traffickers.

Sen. Reid Politicizes Marine Deaths With Talk Of Sequester

2013-03-19T20:30:00Z

For more than a month now, the Democrats, the Obama administration in particular, attempted to scare the American people about a dooms day scenario resulting from automatic spending cuts known in Washington DC as sequester.

On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid D-Nev., appears to have crossed a line by politicizing the deaths of seven Marines killed during a training accident in his home state of Nevada.

To Reid's comments, some are taking offense.

"I don't know how anyone could link this accident to budget cuts. Budget cuts would never cause Marines to operate in unsafe conditions," one Marine official told Fox News.

Realizing the hornet's nest he'd poked with his insensitive statements, Reid's office sought to clarify his remarks.

"In the wake of the Hawthorne tragedy, Senator Reid's thoughts are with the Marines who were killed or injured and their loved ones," spokeswoman Kristen Orthman told Fox News. "The idea that Senator Reid thinks the Hawthorne tragedy has anything to do with the sequester is absurd and unsubstantiated by his remarks on the topic. Marines would not be forced to operate under unsafe conditions due to budget cuts."

The deadly explosion is still under investigation. Military officials have confirmed to media outlets that a 60mm mortar prematurely exploded in its tube.

TSA Humiliates Marine Double Amputee

2013-03-19T20:00:00Z

Everyone's heard or lived through their own horror stories regarding the TSA screening processes. Well the list just got longer.

On March 13th, a group of Marines who had been seeking treatment for various wounds were bound for San Diego California, departing out of Phoenix, AZ.

Upon their arrival to the security screening area at Phoenix Sky Harbor International, one Marine had a humiliating encounter with apathetic TSA screeners.

While being pushed in his wheelchair, with both prosthetic legs in clear view, the Marine was forced to walk, unassisted by sitting TSA officers, to multiple examination stations.

Hearing of the humiliating incident, Rep. Duncan Hunter sent a letter to the TSA Administrator John Pistole, expressing his concern and outrage over such treatment of a wounded, active duty Marine.

In his letter, Rep. Hunter recounted the incident, "A TSA officer asked the Marine to stand and walk to an alternate area, despite the fact that he physically could not stand or walk on his own. With numerous TSA officers sitting and unwilling to assist, an officer then made him remove his legs, then put them back on, only to advance to a secondary screening location where he was asked again to stand, with extraordinary difficulty, while his wheelchair was examined for explosives."

Rep. Hunter enclosed several photos to provide a visual reference of the incident.

In his letter, Rep. Hunter inquired as to the discretion afforded TSA screeners in this type of situation, and why TSA officers were unwilling or unable to assist the Marine's movement from one screening location to another.

Hunter concluded his letter questioning the respect and sensitivity TSA officers failed to exhibit to the wounded Marine.

"While I recognize the necessity to appropriately screen passengers, I am concerned by the apparent lack of situational awareness and respect among TSA officers - specifically when it comes to the treatment of war wounded."

Senate Republican Vows to Block Obama's Pick To Head Labor Dept.

2013-03-18T20:00:00Z

The President's nominees to fill out his cabinet have not been without controversy, and his pick to man the helm of the Labor Department proved to be no different.

President Obama on Monday nominated Justice Department official Thomas Perez to be his next Labor secretary, a move that quickly drew criticism from Republicans.

Republican Sen. David Vitter vowed to block Perez's nomination, citing concerns over his role in the voter intimidation case involving the New Black Panther Party.

A newly released report by the DOJ's inspector general found Perez gave incomplete testimony on the decision to drop charges against members of the new Black Panthers. The report challenged testimony Perez gave to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, when he claimed in 2010 that no political leadership was involved in the decision to dismiss three of the four defendants in a lawsuit the George W. Bush administration brought against the New Black Panther Party. The high-profile case involved allegations of voter intimidation outside a Philadelphia polling place in the 2008 election.

According to the reports, "We did not find that Perez intentionally misled the commission," said the IG. "Nevertheless, given he was testifying as a department witness before the commission, we believe that Perez should have sought more details ... about the nature and extent of the participation of political employees in the NBPP decision in advance of his testimony before the commission."

"Thomas Perez's record should be met with great suspicion by my colleagues for his spotty work related to the New Black Panther case" Sen. Vitter said in a statement.

Vitter's also leery of Perez over his involvement in a Justice Department filing against Louisiana regarding its voter registration efforts. Vitter's office said he would block the Perez nomination until the Justice Department responds to a 2011 letter on the issue.

"Perez was greatly involved in the DOJ's partisan full court press to pressure Louisiana's Secretary of State to only enforce one side of the law -- the side that specifically benefits the politics of the president and his administration at the expense of identity security of each and every Louisianian on the voter rolls," Vitter said.

If confirmed Perez, an assistant attorney general in charge of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, would replace Hilda Solis at Labor. Obama, touting Perez' personal story as the son of immigrants who became the first lawyer in his family, urged the Senate to act quickly on the nomination.

Read more about the president's controversial pick to head the Labor Department on FoxNews.com

Obama Continues Mexican Food Stamp Partnership Despite Domestic Budget Cuts

2013-03-18T19:00:00Z

According to a Fox News report, while the Obama administration is doing its best to scare Americans about possible bacteria outbreaks in our food chain due to furloughed food inspectors, it is still working with Mexico, at an unknown cost, to heighten awareness about food stamps for Mexican immigrants.

A top Senate Republican last week attempted to cut off funding for the program, but was defeated by Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee.

Senator Jeff Sessions, in a statement to FoxNews.com, said he believes the public will eventually demand an end to the program, though the Senate Budget Committee allowed it to continue in the vote last week.

"We have uncovered extensive evidence that federal authorities have -- during the Bush and Obama administrations -- aggressively undermined a core legal tenet of immigration policy: that those granted admission should be self-sufficient and contribute to the economic health of the nation," Sessions said. "It is amazing that Budget Committee Democrats would unanimously vote to continue funding these costly promotions, especially when our debt is causing such profound economic harm."

According to a letter from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to Sessions last September, the "partnership" since 2004 has included roughly 91 meetings between U.S. and Mexico embassy and consulate staff.

Read more about Obama administration's costly outreach to Mexican immigrants at a time it is cutting services to U.S. citizens.

Stocks End Lower On Cyprus Bailout Terms

2013-03-18T18:00:00Z

Stocks on Wall Street kicked off the week with modest declines, suffering nowhere near the losses incurred in overseas markets following an unprecedented move by the European Union authored Cyprus bailout, requiring taxes be levied on private Cypriot bank accounts.

After falling nearly 110 points at the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average strengthened to close 62-points lower. The Nasdaq Composite lost 11-points on the day. The S&P 500 finished down 9-points.

In an unprecedented move, euro-zone finance ministers agreed to a $13 billion bailout of Cyprus, but called on the government to levy a tax on all Cypriot bank accounts. Specifically, the plan calls for a 6.75% tax on all accounts up to $129,000 and 9.9% on those accounts holding a great balance. Banks in Cyprus were closed for a holiday Monday. In an effort to prevent a run on the banks, Cyprus announced on Monday that all banks will be closed until Thursday, after parliament has voted on the terms of the bailout which will be up for debate on Tuesday.

President Nicos Anastasiades called on Cyprus' parliament to push the plan or face the possibility that island nation's two biggest banks could go under. T

The events in Cyprus took a toll on U.S. bank stocks. The shares of Citigroup and Morgan Stanley suffered the steepest declines, down 2.1% and 2.5% respectively.

Hewlett-Packard proved to be the white knight on the Dow. H-P's stock gain 2.9% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the company's stock to "overweight."

A trio of technology companies also provided the market with solid support. Speculation that Apple may decide to increase its dividend payment helped Apple shares rise 2.7%. Advanced Micro Devices' stock price rose 1.9%

Elsewhere, the commodity and debt markets proved to be volatile as investors weighed European exposure to Cyprus.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond slumped 0.03-percentage point to 1.6% as traders bid up the safe-haven asset. Investors also sought safety in gold. The April gold contract finished up $12, settling at $1,604 an ounce. Today's the first time this month the front month contract has closed above $1,600.

And after falling more than $1, crude oil prices rebounded to finish modestly higher. The April crude contract gained 29 cents on the day, settling at $93.74 a barrel.

Sen. Graham Alleging White House Silenced Benghazi Attack Survivors

2013-03-15T23:00:00Z

Allegations of secrecy and a possible cover-up of the Benghazi terrorist attack have reached new heights. Sen. Lindsey Graham telling Fox News on Friday that he believes wounded survivors of the Benghazi terrorist attack were "told to be quiet."

That allegation comes as Republicans grow even more frustrated with the administration's slow response to turning over documents and information regarding the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.

However the White House is denying any such influence was brought to bear.
"I'm sure that the White House is not preventing anyone from speaking," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said.

But Graham told Fox News, "the bottom line is they feel that they can't come forth, they've been told to be quiet."

"We cannot let this administration or any other administration get away with hiding from the American people and Congress, people who were there in real time to tell the story," Graham told Fox News.

Republicans in both the Senate and House have been calling on the State Department to make those injured in the attack available to investigators.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz told Fox News that the Obama administration has provided "zero" documents on the matter, nor has it provided a list of those wounded in the attack.

Judge Blocks ObamaCare Contraception Mandate

2013-03-15T21:00:00Z

In what may prove to be a crucial setback for President Obama's signature piece of legislation, a U.S. judge on Thursday issued an injunction, blocking the ObamaCare requirement that private employers offer contraception coverage to employees covered under employer health care plans.

U.S. District Judge Lawrence Zatkoff granted a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the contraception provision.

The suit was brought by Domino's Pizza Founder Tom Monaghan and Domino's Farms Corp., a management company with no affiliation with Domino's Pizza.

"It is in the best interest of the public that Monaghan not be compelled to act in conflict with his religious beliefs," Judge Zatkoff wrote.

Monaghan, a Roman Catholic says he considers contraception a "gravely immoral" practice and for that reason does not offer his employees health care benefits that include coverage for abortion or contraception.

The Thursday ruling could expose a chink in the federal law requiring employers to offer insurance that includes contraception coverage or risk fines.

Dow's Record Setting Run Comes To An End

2013-03-15T20:00:00Z

They say all good thinks must come to an end, and today the Dow's 10-session winning streak came to a grinding halt as investors reacted a surprise drop in consumer confidence.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 25 points, ending a streak of 8 straight record high finishes. The Nasdaq Composite lost 10-points. The S&P 500 ended the session down 2.5 points. All three major stock indexes however managed to log modest weekly gains.

Telecommunication stocks were among the day's worst performers, followed by consumer related stocks.

Investors today were put on the defensive following the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan/Reuters' report on consumer confidence. Its preliminary reading on consumer sentiment for came in at 15-month low of 71.8. That was well below estimates looking for a reading of 78, and well off the final February reading of 77.6.

The Labor Department reported that consumer prices climbed 0.7% in February. The sharper than expected rise coming as gasoline prices soared 9.1%. Excluding food and energy prices, core prices increased as expected, up 0.2% last month.

The Federal Reserve's gauge of industrial production rose 0.7% in February, topping expectations of a 0.4% increase. However, a separate report from the New York Federal Reserve showed New York area manufacturing cooled slightly in March. The Empire State gauge fell to 9.24 from 10.04, compared to expectations of a fall to 10.

Nearly two-thirds of the Dow's 30 stock ended the day in the red. JP Morgan Chase led decliners, falling 1.9% as investors reacted to hearings on Capitol Hill regarding the bank's $6.2 billion London trading loss, and apparent efforts by CEO Jamie Dimon to hide details of the losses from federal regulators. Investors were also unamused that the Federal Reserve asked Chase to resubmit its capital plan, citing issues with its planning processes.

Bank of America however was a standout performer on the blue chip index. B-of-A's stock up 3.8% after it, and 13 other banks got the greenlight on their capital plans.

Senate Judiciary Approves Assault Weapons Ban

2013-03-14T23:00:00Z

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved Sen. Dianne Feinstein's, D-Calif., bill to ban assault weapons and ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds.

The vote, 10-8, was decided along party lines, and sets up a larger fight when the bill reaches the full Senate floor sometime in April.

Sen. Feinstein, D-Calif., said she knows her bill is going to face a hostile reception from Republicans and even some Democrats representing second amendment enthusiasts.

"Are we going to stand with the thousands of police chiefs and law enforcement officers who do support this bill? Are we going to stand with the victims of gun violence?"

Republicans have long charged that the renewed push to ban assault weapons and require universal background checks will be ineffective in curbing gun violence - and that this type of legislation will only hurt lawful gun owners, not the criminals or the mentally ill who commit acts like that witnessed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT last December.

Senate Judiciary Committee's approval of the assault weapon bans comes on the heels of bills passed out of committee earlier in the week to enact near-universal background checks and combat gun trafficking.

Read more about the bill and the uphill battle Sen. Feinstein faces getting it through the Senate on FoxNews.com.

Making Sequester Hurt: ICE Released Thousands, Not Hundreds Of Illegals

2013-03-14T21:00:00Z

The Obama administration apparently has a serious internal communication problem, or DHS Sec. Janet Napolitano is aloof at running the agency charged with securing our borders and ports of entry.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday confirmed that his agency released 2,228 detained illegal immigrants from local jails throughout the Border States.

That is a direct contradiction to what Sec. Napolitano said during a Politico sponsored event the week after sequester went into effect.

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano (March 4, 2013)

As it turns out, the mythology turned out to be reality.

According to a report from the Associated Press, Morton testified that ICE released illegal immigrants for "solely budgetary reasons." Morton said that no political appointees played a role in the decision, and that it was the looming sequester that lead to the release.

"We were trying to live within the budget that Congress had provided us," Morton said, according to the AP's report. "This was not a White House call. I take full responsibility."

For the first time, Morton also gave a description of the offenses committed by the released illegal immigrants. The charges that landed them in custody include: theft, financial crimes and drunk driving. However at lease 10 of those released are considered to have committed Level One offenders, which is the most serious of the classifications.

At the time of this report, four of the ten are back in custody.

Morton now says multiple factors were driving the release, but it took until now for the agency to provide the number.

Republicans for weeks have charged that the Obama administration has tried to hype the impact of the sequester cuts, and where it can, make the cuts hurt as much as possible.

"At the time this release started, the president of the United States was going around the country telling people what the pain was going to be from sequester," Carter said. "That's a fact. That was the atmosphere. It was Chicken Little, the sky is falling almost."

In coming days, the Obama administration will likely face even greater criticism as it has now been caught, yet again, not talking straight to the American people.

Dow Logs Longest Record Setting Run Since 1996

2013-03-14T20:00:00Z

News of a surprise drop in jobless claims ignited another wave of buying on Wall Street Thursday, with the Dow tallying its 8th straight record close.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 84 points on the day, closing higher for a 10th straight session. The Nasdaq Composite finished up 14. The S&P 500 gained 9-points, now just 2-points from its October 2007 record close of 1565.15.

Today's buying spree was ignited by another surprise drop in weekly jobless claims. According to the Labor Department, initial jobless claims last week unexpectedly fell 10,000 to 332,000. That's the smallest number of claims filed in any week since mid January. Adding to the good news, the four-week moving average of jobless claims fell to a five year low of 346,750.

News on wholesale inflation turned out to be better than expected. Producer prices in February increased at the fastest pace in five months, up .7% in February. That increase was inline with estimates, which accounted for a gain due soaring energy prices.

Excluding prices paid for energy and food, core producer prices rose a more modest .2%, matching Wall Street estimates.

Technology stocks proved to be a source of strength in the stock market. Hewlett-Packard led the charge on the Dow, closing 2.8% higher on the day.

The shares of eBay and IBM each logged better than 1.5% gains. Apple's stock ended about 1% higher despite rival Samsung Electronics' release of its new Galaxy S4 smartphone.

Investors also applauded Men's Wearhouse decision to authorize a $200 million stock buyback program, also hiring Jefferies to evaluate alternatives for its K&G division. The shares of Men's Wearhouse soared 19% on the day.

Amazon.com and E*TRADE however, left out of today's rally in the stock market.
Amazon's stock price down about 3.4% after JP Morgan Chase downgraded the online retailer to "neutral" from "overweight."

E*TRADE shares taking an 8.2% haircut after the online broker's largest shareholder, Citadel, announced its selling its entire stake in E*TRADE.

Senate Drafts Its First Budget in Four Years

2013-03-13T21:00:00Z

Fox News - The Senate on Wednesday presented its first budget in four years, a proposal by leaders of the Democrat-controlled chamber that calls for nearly $1 trillion in tax increases but includes no strategy to make federal revenue match spending in the coming years.

The plan calls for $975 billion in new tax revenue through closing loopholes and ending deductions and credits benefiting corporations and the country's highest wage earners.

It also calls for $100 billion in new stimulus spending while cutting $1.85 trillion from the deficit over 10 years. The rest of the savings would come through spending cuts.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray said the budget takes a balanced, "pro-middle-class" approach and argued the country's economic problems started long before fellow Democrats entered the White House in 2009.

"Despite some of the rhetoric you may hear from my Republican colleagues, the Great Recession didn't start the day President Obama was elected," said Murray, D-Wash.

The plan also calls for replacing the recent, $85 billion in spending cuts with more measured cuts.

Committee members will begin voting and submitting amendments Thursday, with a full Senate vote expected by next week.

Read more about the Senate budget proposal on FoxNews.com.

The Dow Logs Its Longest Record Win Streak In Since 1996

2013-03-13T20:00:00Z

It was another record setting day on Wall Street, with the Dow finishing higher for a ninth straight session.

Today's 5-point gain on the Dow Jones Industrial Average pushed the index to its seventh straight record high. That's a fete unmatched since since November 1996.

Gains were modest for both the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500, up 3 and 2-points respectively.

Stocks were able to come out on top as investors cheered a bigger than expected jump in consumer spending. The Commerce Department reported that retail sales in February increased 1.1%, representing the biggest increase in five months.

The Labor Department reported import prices rose 1.1% last month to the highest level since August due to a big increase in fuel prices. Export prices also topped Wall Street estimates, rising 0.8% in February.

Adding to the good news, business inventories in January jumped 1%, giving economists reason to believe that 1st GDP may prove to stronger than some are expecting.

Blackberry stole the show in the technology sector today. Blackberry's stock closing 8%higher after announcing its largest single sale in the company's history. An unnamed customer placed an order of 1 million of the new Blackberry 10 devices.

Netflix had a strong performance of its own, its shares up 5.6% on the day. That followed an announcement that the Netflix is proving customers with a feature allowing them to connect their accounts to Facebook.

Meanwhile, Facebook's stock ended the session down 2.6%. The FTC today stepping up requirement for online advertiser to include disclaimers to prevent users from misleading advertisements.

Oops! White House Fudging The Truth On Decision To Cancel Tours

2013-03-13T18:00:00Z

The issue of body within the Obama administration cancelled tours of the White House is beginning to get comical.

The president told on Wednesday told ABC news during an interview that the Secret Service made the decision to suspend tours of the White House stemming from budget cuts related to sequester.

On Thursday, reporters perhaps sensing that the White House was looking to deflect negative publicity on the issue, pressed the issue with Press Secretary Jay Carney.

This isn't the first issue that the administration seeming can't seem to get its hands around.

The Blaze.com's Becket Adams perhaps best summarized the administrations fudging with the truth.

"Between Carney, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano all getting caught in budget cut contradictions/fibs, we think it's time the president officially appoints someone to coordinate the White House's sequester hand-wringing."

Republican Budget Proposal Bold First Step

2013-03-12T21:00:00Z

The House Republican budget unveiled on Tuesday aims at balancing the federal spending within ten years, but a huge part of the savings comes at the expense of the President's signature legislative accomplishment ObamaCare.

For that reason alone the so-called Ryan budget will go nowhere, but could perhaps send a clear message to Senate Democrats that Republicans are serious about cutting spending.
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chairman of the House Budget Committee, said Tuesday, "We are addressing the most predictable debt crisis in this country's history."

In response to the gutting of ObamaCare and changes to Medicare, the White House issued a statement saying that it doesn't ask enough of top earners, and the president believes it's the "wrong course for America."

Press Secretary Jay Carney said. "Deficit reduction that asks nothing from the wealthiest Americans has serious consequences for the middle class. By choosing to give the wealthiest Americans a new tax cut, this budget as written will either fail to achieve any meaningful deficit reduction, raise taxes on middle class families by more than $2,000 -- or both."

Perhaps knowing that Democrats would not openly embrace is budget proposal, Rep. Ryan said the framework is an invitation to Obama and Democrats to work out their differences.
"It's not too late," the budget states. "This budget provides an exit ramp from the current mess."

Senate Democrats plan to offer their budget proposal Wednesday, which will call for increase domestic spending and another round of tax hikes on the top earners.

Dow Scratches Out Its 6th Straight Record Close

2013-03-12T20:00:00Z

Wall Street investors played it safe for much of the session, which set up a dramatic close to the day's trading session.

In the end, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was able to scratch out 3-point gain, closing at its 6th straight record high, logging gains for the eight straight session.

The Nasdaq Composite however was not able to overcome selling in some of its biggest names, finishing 11-points lower on the day. And the S&P 500 snaps its seven session winning streak, ending the day down 4-points.

Stocks were mixed for much of the day as some investors began to cash in on the bull market, which some fear may be headed for a correction. Others turned their attention to Capitol Hill, where Republicans today unveiled their spending framework that aims to balance the budget in 10-years.

The technology, industrial, financial and utility sectors were a burden on the stock market, while health-care and energy stocks were among the best performers.

The Dow led higher by a 3% gain in the shares of Merck. Investors today applauded news that the drug company was given the okay to continue its trial study of the safety and effectiveness of its cholesterol drug Vytorin.

Apple proved to be the biggest drag on the tech heavy Nasdaq Composite. Apple, the Nasdaq's single largest component, ended the session down 2% after Jefferies cut its price target on the iPhone maker to $420, citing slow sales.

With little in the way of U.S. economic data, the focus shifted to Capitol Hill. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan unveiled the Republican Party's federal budget proposal that aims to balance the government's finances in a decade without raising taxes, while resurrecting its goal of repealing ObamaCare.

The Senate on Wednesday is expected to unveil its budget proposal, including $1 trillion in new taxes on top earners.

Investors today deciding to play it safe with their money drove debt prices higher for the first time in over a week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note ended the day down around 2.03%.

And crude oil price increased for the fourth straight day. The April crude contract edged 48 cents higher, settling at $92.54 a barrel.

Tomorrow investors will offer their reaction to news on retail sales in February. The market will also consider reports on import and export prices, as well as the Energy Department's latest reading on weekly gasoline and crude oil inventories.

ICE In Hot Water Over Informant's Role In Murder-For-Hire Case

2013-03-12T18:00:00Z

Officials with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement find themselves in what could be a particularly damaging situation.

Fox News is reporting that Ruben Rodriguez-Dorado who is charge with capital murder for the 2009 killing of Jose Daniel Gonzalez-Galeana. Both men are confirmed to not only be Mexican drug cartel members, but ICE informants as well.

The heat is turning on ICE following suspicions that at least one ICE agent may have been were aware of the murder-for-hire.

Now the focus of unanswered questions, ICE is refusing to cooperate with attorneys, jeopardizing the prosecution of Rodriguez-Dorado, who allegedly hired two hit men.

"We've been trying unsuccessfully to obtain testimony and document evidence from ICE in regards to their involvement in this case," said Leonard Morales, Rodriguez-Dorado's defense attorney.

ICE has repeatedly refused to comply with subpoenas filed by Morales. What little documentation he has received from ICE was heavily redacted and provided scant information, he said.

"Without ICE's support in state court there's certainly going to be a difficult time prosecuting this case," Morales said.

Perhaps most troubling is speculation that ICE officials in El Paso may have been aware of the hit on Gonzalez-Galeana before it happened and did not intervene. Authorities believe the hit was ordered after cartel bosses learned he was working with ICE. The murder occurred at his El Paso home just yards from the residence of the city's chief of police.

Read more about the precarious situation ICE finds itself in on FoxNews.com.

White House: Karzai Accusation "Categorically False"

2013-03-11T21:00:00Z

The Obama White House today shot down allegations that the U.S. is colluding with the Taliban in order to strike fear into his people, and justify a longer U.S. military presence in the war-torn country.

At his briefing with reporters on Monday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said, "Any suggestion the United States is colluding with the Taliban is categorically false." Carney added "The United States has spent enormous blood and treasure for the past 12 years supporting the Afghan people ... in the effort to ensure stability and security in that country. The last thing we would do is support any kind of violence, particularly involving innocent civilians."

Over the weekend, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai charged that a recent spate of deadly bombings blamed on the Taliban in his country were actually "in service of America."

"It was in the service of the 2014 slogan to warn us if they (Americans) are not here, then Taliban will come," Karzai said in a speech on Sunday. "In fact those bombs, set off yesterday in the name of the Taliban, were in the service of Americans to keep foreigners longer in Afghanistan."

Karzai's outburst on Sunday, came as new US defense secretary Chuck Hagel made his first visit to the country, and highlighted the tensions between Washington and the Afghan government regarding the withdrawal of NATO Troops and U.S. special operations forces.

President Obama will make a decision regarding the size of the post-2014 US force at a later date according to Press Secretary Carney.

Karzai's outrageous outburst also drew a sharp response from the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan.

Gen. Joseph Dunford telling reporters, "All I can do is speak for the coalition to tell you that it's categorically false, that we have no reason to be colluding with the Taliban. We have no reason to be supporting instability in Afghanistan."

Dunford went on to also say, "All that we have been about over the past 12 years is to bring peace and stability to the Afghan people so that they can take advantage of the decade of opportunity that will follow 2014. That's what we're all about."

According to iCasualties.org, more than 2,180 soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since 2001.

Stocks Shoot Lucky No. 7

2013-03-11T20:00:00Z

Wall Street investors today shrugged off initials concerns about the global economy, by session's end able to drive stocks new highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 50-points higher, closing at its fifth straight record high. The Nasdaq Composite gained 9 points. The S&P 500 moved five points higher, closing just 9-points away from its own all-time high.

Wall Street investors today were able to overcome initial weakness sparked by concerns over the global economy and weaker than expected data out of China.

Data released over the weekend showed China's industrial output growing at an annual pace of 9.9% in the first two months of the year, slower than the 10.5% economists expected. Retail sales expanded at a rate of 12.3%, also missing estimates of a 15.2% increase.

Boeing was the biggest percentage mover on the Dow, up 2.1% following news that it is consolidating its flight training and maintenance programs, moving all activities to Miami.

Shares of Apple were a source of strength in the technology sector. Apple's stock finished 1.4% higher on speculation the company may soon announce a stock buyback program or announce a special dividend. Apple recently has been criticized for not sharing its $137 billion in cash on hand with investors.

Treasury prices remained under pressure as investors continued to buy up equities. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note on Monday rose to the highest level in almost a year, ending at 2.07%.

Energy futures ended the trading session mixed. The April crude oil contract rose 11 cents, settling at $92.06. Meanwhile gasoline futures fell 1.6% to end at $3.152 a gallon.

Firearms and Ammo Targeted With Sin Tax

2013-03-11T19:00:00Z

In an era where one city is banning drinks of more than 16 ounces, federal and state lawmakers are attempting to attach "sin taxes" to purchases of both firearms and bullets.

According to an article posted on FoxNews.com, lawmakers appear to taking the approach, "If you can't ban'em, tax'em."

Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., is proposing a bill that would apply a 10% tax on any weapon that is concealable, which would apply to any handgun on the market today.

On the state level, Rep. Roger Dickinson D-Calif. 7th District, in February introduced a bill that would levy a 5 cent tax on each round of ammunition sold in the state. That would equate to 15% tax on a box of 50 rounds of 9mm ammunition that sells for about $17 a box.

Gun advocates say that such taxes are aimed at curtailing a U.S. citizen from exercising their Second Amendment right, and penalizes law-abiding citizens.

"We're obviously extremely opposed to try to tax the lawful exercise of the Second Amendment rights by law-abiding Americans," Lawrence Keane, senior vice president and general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation told FoxNews.com.

Keane added that, "If anything, gun owners ought to be getting a tax rebate for helping reduce crime."

California Rep. Dickisnon however says the tax revenues generated through sales would benefit society.

"A limited tax on ammunition is a small price to pay for better mental health care for children in our state," he said in a recent statement referring revenue going to the screening of mental illness among young people in his state.

Obama Admin Furloughing Border Agents

2013-03-08T20:00:00Z

While the Secret Service is reporting already planning the first family's vacation in Martha's Vineyard this some, some 60,000 working under the Bureau of Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) are preparing for furloughs.

According to a spokesperson, everyone at CBP is being told that they will be furloughed 14 days, without pay, between mid-April and the end of September.

Those furloughs will jeopardize both our border security and screening operations at both the nation's ports and airports.

In addition to furloughs, employees have been notified that the $595-million in budget cuts at the CBP will result in restrictions in a hiring freeze and elimination of overtime.

According to the Border Patrol agents' union, the National Border Patrol Council, overtime for them is straight time, not time and a half and it is routinely used to make sure shifts overlap and give agents time to return from the field to the stations.

There are roughly 21,000 Border Patrol agents who guard the borders, and another 21,000 in field operations, including crossing booths, seaports, airports and process international packages.

The union claims that the bulk of the budget cuts are falling on Border Patrol.

Ironically, while the border agents are having their pay cut, border station managers are receiving classification upgrades which increases the base pay of the managers at 31 stations.

Bin Laden Son-in-Law's Plea Of Not Guilty Sets Up al Qaeda Propaganda Circus

2013-03-08T19:30:00Z

Friday the son-in-law of Usama bin Laden, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith appeared in New York federal court, where he pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to kill Americans.

Abu Ghaith, a top Al Qaeda spokesman, touching off what could be lengthy legal proceedings on U.S. soil, something Republicans say should never been allowed to happened.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said, "From public reports it is clear that Abu Ghaith possesses valuable knowledge of al Qaeda's activities within Iran. Abu Ghaith has sworn to kill Americans, and he likely possesses information that could prevent harm to America and its allies. He is an enemy combatant and should be held in military custody."

In the past, enemy combatants were sent to the Guantanamo Bay detainee facility for extended questioning.

"Article 3 courts have shown that they are, in many ways, a more efficient way for us to deliver justice to those who seek to harm the United States of America and that is the consensus view of the president's national security team and of agencies all across the federal government -- that this is the best way to handle bringing Abu Ghaith to justice," Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Friday.

However whether or not that efficiency and justice comes to fruition remains to be seen.
Some worry that a trial in civilian court, especially in New York City, will afford Ghaith a forum to further his hate of America, while propagating the virtues of al Qaeda.

Dow Soars Further Into Uncharted Territory

2013-03-08T19:00:00Z

Stocks on Wall Street continued their march higher as investors applauded the government's better than expected jobs reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 68 points, closing at its 4th straight record high of 14,397. The Nasdaq Composite finished the day 12-points higher. The S&P 500 gained 7-points, ending the week about 14 points from its own record high.

Today's gains capped what was a great week for the stock market, with all three major stock indexes up more than 2%.

Wall Street investors today put in a buying mood following great news on the U.S. labor market. Non-farm payrolls in February grew by 236,000, almost 50% higher than what the street had been expecting. That news was complemented by a .2-percentage point drop in the unemployment rate, falling to a four-year low of 7.7%.

A report from the Commerce Department showed wholesale inventories jumped 1.2% in January, far outpacing estimates for a 0.3% increase.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average extended its winning streak thanks to strong gains in consumer related stocks. Home Depot, Disney and McDonald's all finished the session up more than 1.5%. McDonalds on Friday got a boost from better than expected February sales. The hamburger chains same-store sales last month fell a shallower than expected 1.5%. The year over year decline reflecting that February 2012 had an extra day in the month due to the leap year.

Pandora Media's stock price got a big boost, jumping 17.5% after the online radio company posted a smaller than expected quarterly loss and topped revenue targets. Pandora also issued current quarter and full-year revenue guidance that exceeded Wall Street expectations.

And today's stronger than expected jobs reports helped fuel a second straight day of gains in the crude oil market. The April crude contract finished up 39 cents, settling at $91.95 a barrel. For the week, crude prices rose 1.4%.

Obama Admin. Finally Responds to Sen. Paul's Filibuster Demand

2013-03-07T20:00:00Z

Sen. Rand Paul is claiming victor tonight, after Attorney General Eric Holder assured him that the President doesn't have Constitutional authority to use drones to strike noncombatant citizens in the United States.

Sen. Paul apparently first heard the news during an interview with Fox News earlier on Thursday.
"Hooray" Paul exclaimed at hearing the letter read to him.

Responding to Eric Holder's letter answering his question, Sen. Paul said he's quite happy with the answer, but " disappointed it took a month and a half and a root canal to get it, but we did get the answer."

Many Republicans applauded Sen. Paul's 13-hour filibuster on Wednesday. But at least two elder statesmen within the GOP ranks were less than impressed with the senator's actions.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., both of whom dined with President at a swanky DC restaurant during Paul's filibuster, had harsh critiques of Paul's filibuster and criticism of their fellow Republicans.

"People are astonished that President Obama is doing many of the things that President Bush did. I'm not astonished. I congratulate him for having the good judgment to understand we're at war," Graham said. "And to my party, I'm a bit disappointed that you no longer apparently think we're at war."

During Paul's filibuster on Wednesday he used Jane Fonda as an example of someone who under this administration might be a target of a drone strike.

"No one will ever forget Jane Fonda swiveling around in North Vietnamese armored guns, and it was despicable. And it's one thing if you're going to try her for treason, but are you just going to drop a drone hellfire missile on Jane Fonda?"

Thursday, Sen. McCain a Vietnam Veteran and P.O.W. found little enlightening about Paul's historical analogy.

"Somehow to allege that the United States of America - our government - will drop a drone hellfire missile on Jane Fonda, that that brings the conversation from a serious discussion about U.S. policy to the realm of the ridiculous," McCain quipped.

The criticism by the two senators of their colleague is now causing some to wonder if there is a divide beginning to form in the Senate regarding how the administration conducts its war terror.

Data Drives Dow To Another Recrod High

2013-03-07T19:00:00Z

The Dow is on a roll, logging its third straight record close of the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average today climbed 33 points, higher, closing at an all-time high of just under 14, 330. The Nasdaq Composite gained 10-points, with the S&P 500 climbing 3-points higher. Both indexes touched multi-year highs before the end of trading today.

Those gains came in the face of mixed news on the economy. Investors seemingly chose to focus on better than expected news on weekly jobless claims. The Labor Department reported that claims last week unexpectedly fell 7,000 to 340,000. The street was looking for initial jobless claims to rise to 355,000. Adding to the good news, the four-week moving average of claims fell to the lowest level in nearly five years.

Those headlines allowed investors to brush aside disappointing news on monthly layoffs and the trade deficit. The U.S. trade gap in January widened more than expected to $44.4 billion. The ballooning of the trade deficit is being attributed to a drop in U.S. fuel oil exports, while imports of crude oil increase for the first time in two months.

And global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that monthly layoffs in February rose for a second straight month, totaling 55,356. That figures is 37% higher than the previous month, due in large part to more than 22,000 layoffs in the financial services sector last month.

The Dow today received broad support as it marched into uncharted territory. Boeing and Bank of America were the biggest winners, both company stocks up more than 2% on the day.

The Gap got an unexpected boost after its report on February same-store sales was released prematurely. The Gap shares rose 4% as investors learned of its 3% sales gain, which outpaced estimates of a 2.3% improvement.

As expected the European Central Bank and the Bank of England both elected to not tinker with interest rates or monetary policy. That and the news on the U.S. economy pressured the dollar, which in turn sparked a rebound in the crude oil market. The April crude contract finished trading up 1.3%, settling at $91.56 a barrel.

Bin Laden's Son-in-Law Captured - Faces Charges in NY Federal Court

2013-03-07T18:00:00Z

The son-in-law of Usama bin Laden is expected in New York City this week. Captured in Jordan, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith will face U.S. charges for conspiring to kill Americans.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., first revealed that Sulaiman Abu Ghaith was captured in Jordan. According to Fox News, sources claim the arrest was made some time ago.

King called Ghaith's capture a "very significant victory" in U.S. efforts against Al Qaeda.

"The propaganda statements in which Abu Ghaith and his late father-in-law, Usama bin Laden, praised the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 are alone enough to merit the most serious punishment," King said.

"It has been 13 years since Abu Ghaith allegedly worked alongside Usama Bin Laden in his campaign of terror, and 13 years since he allegedly took to the public airwaves, exhorting others to embrace Al Qaeda's cause and warning of more terrorist attacks like the mass murder of 9/11," U.S. Attorney Bharara said in a news release announcing arrest.

Attorney General Eric Holder added, "No amount of distance or time will weaken our resolve to bring America's enemies to justice."

But not all Americans were pleased to hear the news of his arrest and pending arrival to NYC.

Republican senators Lindsey Graham and Kelly Ayotte said Thursday that the Obama administration's decision to bring Abu Ghaith to court in New York is wrong, "sneaky" and against the will of Congress.

Graham says Abu Ghaith is clearly an enemy combatant and should have been sent straight to the Guantanamo Bay.

Abu Ghaith became an international name in late 2001 when he appeared on pan-Arab satellite television urging Muslims everywhere to fight the United States and warning of more attacks similar to those of Sept. 11.

The New America Foundation think tank in Washington identified Abu Ghaith as a major Al Qaeda core official. Rep. Peter King said he was involved in the planning in the 9/11 attacks against the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

"Definitely, one by one, we are getting the top echelons of Al Qaeda," King said. "I give the (Obama) administration credit for this: It's steady and it's unrelenting and it's very successful."

It's likely that Abu Ghaith will face a host of terrorism-related charges and possibly murder.

Abu Ghaith's trial will make one of the few prosecutions of senior Al Qaeda leaders on U.S. soil. Charging foreign terror suspects in American federal courts was a top pledge by President Obama shortly after he took office in 2009.

Sen. Paul Filibusters Brennan Nomination Over Drone Strikes In U.S.

2013-03-06T20:00:00Z

In just the latest example of outrage over the Obama administration's drone program, Sen. Rand Paul on Wednesday took to the Senate floor to hold up John Brennan's confirmation vote to head the CIA.

Paul's filibuster on Wednesday came after he received a letter from Attorney General Eric Holder, in which Holder admitted it was imaginable and entirely legal that drone strikes could be carried out against citizens on U.S. soil.

"To allow one man to accuse you in secret -- you never get notified you've been accused," Paul said during his more than three hour filibuster. "Your notification is the buzz of propellers on the drone as it flies overhead in the seconds before you're killed. Is that what we really want from our government?"

Paul is just one of many lawmakers on Capitol Hill who are uncomfortable with the administration's growing drone program, and its chief architect John Brennan, who is also President Obama's pick to be that nation's top spy.

"No one politician should be allowed to judge the guilt, to charge an individual, to judge the guilt of an individual and to execute an individual. It goes against everything that we fundamentally believe in our country," Sen. Paul added.

Today's Senatorial display of outrage came after Paul received a letter from Holder stating that while it is "unlikely to occur," it is possible that U.S. citizens, within U.S. borders could become the target of a drone attack.

"It is possible, I suppose, to imagine an extraordinary circumstance in which it would be necessary and appropriate under the Constitution and applicable laws of the United States for the president to authorize the military to use lethal force within the territory of the United States," Holder wrote.

Senate leaders were hoping to hold a vote on Brennan's nomination as early as Wednesday.
Check FoxNews.com for updates on Sen. Rand Paul's filibuster.

Obama Admin's Release of Detained Illegal Immigrants Draws Fire From GOP

2013-03-06T19:30:00Z

The White House on Wednesday drew additional criticism over how it is dealing with $44 billion in fiscal 2013 budget cuts.

A one-page letter obtained and published by the House Judiciary Committee highlights Immigration and Customs Enforcement's plan to release 1,000 illegal immigrant detainees each week from mid-February through March of this year.

Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said in a statement that "Clearly, there are better ways to save money than to release criminals onto the streets."

This is just the latest example being called into question regarding the Obama administration's hyperbolic rhetoric and blind administering of sequester cuts that officially went into effect on March 1.

Deflecting responsibility, the Department of Homeland Secretary said in a statement: "These decisions were made on a case-by-case basis, by career law enforcement officials in the field, in order to ensure that ICE maintained sufficient resources to detain serious criminal offenders and other individuals who pose a significant threat to public safety through the end of the continuing resolution."

"Considering the government's primary function is public safety, it is very concerning to me that the Department of Homeland Security had plans to reduce spending by releasing thousands of illegal immigrants and criminal aliens," Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said in response to the latest ICE document. "How could this be the most responsible way to reduce agency costs? Did DHS look to other parts of the budget?"

The release of thousands of illegals due to budget constraints comes on the heels of DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano claiming that sequester cuts had already caused long delays at some of the nation's busiest airports.

And just Tuesday, an email from within the Agriculture Department revealed that Obama administration officials were more interested in living up to the doom and gloom sequester forecasts, rather than finding ways of limiting the impact on fish inspections.

Anger Management a Prerequisite to Ammunition Purchases in Florida

2013-03-06T19:00:00Z

In the latest example of how lawmakers are assaulting the 2nd Amendment and trying to control human behavior, one Florida legislator is trying to push through a bill that would require individuals to first take anger management classes before purchasing ammunition.

Florida's Sen. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville filed the bill over the weekend. The bill, according to FoxNews.com, requires would-be ammunition purchasers to endure a 3-day waiting period for purchasers of both firearms and require buyers to show proof they've completed an anger management course over the past ten years.

"This is not about guns," Gibson said. "It's about getting people to think, really, about how much ammunition they need," Gibson said. "It's a step, I think, in a safer direction. It's about getting people to think before they buy."

Gibson's bill does not offer a threshold for the amount of ammunition needed to necessitate the need for anger management courses.

If the bill were to pass into law it would be unlawful to "A) Sell ammunition to another person who does not present certification that he or she has successfully completed an anger-management program consisting of at least 2 hours of online or face-to-face instruction in anger-management techniques."

Critics of the bill say it's "absolutely ridiculous" and suggested that Gibson take a course on the U.S. Constitution.

"When I first saw it, I thought it had to be a joke," said Sean Caranna, executive director of Florida Carry, a nonprofit group championing the right to bear arms. "They're trying to say that anyone who owns a gun or shoots a gun or has ammunition for it needs counseling and obviously has some anger problems."

Read more about this latest effort to restrict 2nd Amendment rights on FoxNews.com.

Email Confirms Obama Administration Focused On Delivering Maximum Sequester Pain

2013-03-06T01:00:00Z

According to a new report by the Washington Times, a federal official was directed on Monday, who on Monday inquired about the latitude he had to lessen he impact of the sequester cuts was told that, "however you manage that reduction, you need to make sure you are not contradicting what we said the impact would be."

In an email written by Charles Brown, an official with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) office in Raleigh, N.C., Brown inquired with officials in Washington D.C. as to the latitude he had in distributing the cuts in order to less the impact on fish inspection in the region.

According the Brown, he received the following reply: "We have gone on record with a notification to Congress and whoever else that 'APHIS would eliminate assistance to producers in 24 states in managing wildlife damage to the aquaculture industry, unless they provide funding to cover the costs.' So it is our opinion that however you manage that reduction, you need to make sure you are not contradicting what we said the impact would be."

The email was brought to the attention of Arkansas Republican Rep. Tim Griffin who today said, "This email confirms what many Americans have suspected: The Obama administration is doing everything they can to make sure their worst predictions come true and to maximize the pain of the Sequester cuts for political gain."

APHIS is an agency under the control of the Department of Agriculture, which is led by Sec. Tom Vilsack who happened to be appearing before a House committee on Tuesday.

Rep. Kristi Noem challenged Sec.Vilsack on the email, saying, "I'm hopeful that isn't an agenda that's been put forward"

Vilsack said he had not seen the email, but said, "If we have flexibility, we're going to try to use it to make sure we use sequester in the most equitable and least disruptive way." Vilsack added, "There are some circumstances, and we've talked a lot about the meat inspection, where we do not have that flexibility because there are so few accounts."

The revelations regarding the email come after weeks of doom and gloom rhetoric from the President and his agency heads, including warnings that supplies of beef, pork and poultry could decline because inspectors at slaughterhouses would be furloughed, and meat cannot be processed without an inspector present.

Read the entire report on the enlightening email exchange on WashingtonTimes.com.

Dow Roars To New All-Time High

2013-03-06T00:00:00Z

Stocks on a record setting tear on Wall Street today, with Dow soaring to fresh all-time high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 126 points, closing at a new record high of just under 14,254. This record setting day comes nearly 4-years, to the day, when the Dow marked its 'Great Recession' low of 6547 on March 9, 2009.

It is also turned out to be a banner day for both the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500, both of which touched multi-year highs. The Nasdaq Composite gained 42 points on the day. The S&P 500 finished up 15 points.

Wall Street investors today were put in a buying mood following news that European finance ministers agreed to a bailout package from Cyprus. Global stock markets also applauded a stronger than expected reading on retail sales in the euro-zone, up 1.2% in January. The composite purchasing manager's index for the 17-member euro-zone was also revised up to 47.9 for February from an initial estimate of 47.3, indicating the rate of contraction was slower than expected.

Here at home, stocks added to gains after the ISM non-manufacturing index showed unexpected strength, rising to 56 in February, the highest level in a year.

Taking a look at stocks, financial and technology issues among the best performers on the Dow Jones Industrial Average today.

Boeing, Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard and United Technologies led the rally on the blue chip index, all up more than 2% on the day.

The Nasdaq Composite got a boost from better than 2% gains in the shares of its two highest profile stocks, Apple and Google. Google's stock closed at a new record high for a second straight session, ending at $838.60 a share.

Qualcomm also taking part in today's rally, up 2% after the company hiked its quarterly dividend 40% to 35 cents and announced a $5 billion share buyback plan to replace its $4 billion plan.

Risk on trading today pressured the dollar and debt prices. That dollar weakness helped to prop up commodity prices. Gold for April delivery rose a modest .2%, closing at $1,574.90 an ounce. Crude oil prices finished higher for the first time in four days, adding 70 cents, settling at $90.82 a barrel.

Obama Wants More Revenue Despite Taxes On Pace To Hit Record High

2013-03-05T22:00:00Z

Things may have just become more difficult for President Obama who is looking to close tax loopholes in order for the wealthy to pay their fair share.

A new report from the Congressional Budget Office estimates that total federal income tax collected for this fiscal year in on pace to hit a record high of $2.7 trillion.

Federal income taxes have risen as the economy has improved in recent years, up 6 percent in 2012, and could grow by 11% in 2013 as a result of tax hikes agreed to in the 'Fiscal Cliff' deal.

Those tax hikes are big part of the reason Republicans are so adamant about not allowing the President to take a balanced approach in cutting the deficit.

"The president got $650 billion of higher taxes on the American people on January the 1st," House Speaker John Boehner told NBC's "Meet the Press" over the weekend. "How much more does he want?"

Obama, at the start of the first Cabinet meeting of his second term Monday said that he wants to continue to push for "the kind of balanced approach of spending cuts, revenues, entitlement reform that everybody knows is the right way to do things."

Further calling into question the president's assertion that the rich don't pay their fair share, a new Tax Policy Center report shows that the top 20% of earnings in this country will pay nearly 71% of all federal income tax.

Meanwhile, spending is on pace to hit $3.55 trillion in 2013, roughly what it was in 2012. According to the CBO, that represents 22.2 percent of GDP -- "a share that is still larger than in any year between 1986 and 2008."

Napolitano: Sequester causing airport delays

2013-03-04T23:00:00Z

It's the first workday under sequester and already Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano attributing airport delays to the $85 billion in sequester cuts that went into effect last Friday.

Speaking at a Politico-sponsored event on the 10th anniversary of DHS, Napolitano reportedly said Los Angeles and Chicago's O'Hare International are experiencing delays in customs waiting lines that are a result of across-the-board spending cuts. The head of DHS also said she expects things to get worse.

According to reporting by the Associated Press, Customs and Border Protection agency issued a statement saying that there were weekend delays at LAX and O'Hare were related to "booth staffing" because of cuts to overtime. The CBP also stated that there were unusually long waiting times at New York's JFK and Miami International.

However, reporting by Fox News and it's affiliates across the nation have found no unusual wait times at airports where reporters where able to speak with passengers.

"TSA, which is responsible for screening passengers entering airports, said travelers can expect longer security checkpoint lines as the agency reduces overtimes and freezes hiring. TSA said in a statement that it expects to have about 1,000 vacancies by Memorial Day and as many as 2,600 by the end of the budget year in September.

Napolitano said she expects a cascading effect during the week, with wait times expected to double in worst cases."

So are Secretary Napolitano's words an example of a self-fulfilled prophecy due to poor planning, or so far unconfirmed anecdotes of what's to come? Stay tuned to find out if the Obama drama surrounding sequester goes on.

Obama's EPA Pick Could Foil Future of Keystone Pipeline

2013-03-04T22:00:00Z

President Obama on Monday chose EPA veteran Gina McCarthy as his nominee to run the environmental wing of his administration.

McCarthy led the Office of Air and Radiation, and in that role oversaw regulations that some say cost jobs in the domestic energy industry.

Thomas Pyle, president of the Institute for Energy Research, said in a statement.
"Throughout her career McCarthy has implemented policies that attempt to constrain the use of reliable energy sources. ... It appears the president is rewarding these efforts by increasing her ability to implement an ideological and political agenda. If confirmed as EPA administrator, McCarthy will continue the regulatory attack on oil, coal and natural gas with the result that Americans will experience increasing energy costs and high unemployment rates."

McCarthy was one of three cabinet nominees announced by Obama, but her's could face the stiffest fight with senators on Capitol Hill.

All will have to undergo Senate confirmation. And McCarthy -- given her background and the controversial nature of the agency she wants to lead -- could face the toughest screening.

"Throughout her career McCarthy has implemented policies that attempt to constrain the use of reliable energy sources. ... It appears the president is rewarding these efforts by increasing her ability to implement an ideological and political agenda. If confirmed as EPA administrator, McCarthy will continue the regulatory attack on oil, coal and natural gas with the result that Americans will experience increasing energy costs and high unemployment rates."

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., said the nomination makes clear that Obama "wants to continue pursuing an aggressive climate agenda at EPA."

Obama described McCarthy as someone who could balance smart environmental regulation and economic growth.

"She has earned a reputation as a straight-shooter," Obama said Monday. "I'm confident that she is going to do an outstanding job."

Perhaps one of her first jobs will be to weigh in on the incomplete Keystone Pipeline.

The State Department on Friday issued a draft report on the pipeline, stating that it had no major objections to the completion of the oil pipeline, and that other options to get the oil from Canada to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries are worse for climate change.

With that hurdle cleared, it will be largely left to Obama and his EPA as to whether no the pipeline is completed. The President finds himself caught between labor unions, who support the pipeline, and the estimated 16,000 jobs it would create, and his backers from the environmental base who are steadfast opponents of fossil fuels.

An editorial on WSJ.com come perfectly summarizes the situation once you strip away the politics, and focus on the nation's long-term energy needs.

"The larger issue is whether the U.S. wants to continue to be considered a serious economic nation with rising living standards and a modern energy supply. If Mr. Obama turns down Keystone XL, the Chinese will be laughing at us as they buy Canadian oil and build their economic power, while America adapts to the Sierra Club's preferred future of the world as Walden Pond."

Read the entire editorial regarding Obama's choice on the Keystone Pipeline on WSJ.com

Dow Inches Closer To All-Time High

2013-03-04T21:00:00Z

Investors came out on top of what proved to be a bumping, but worthwhile ride on Wall Street today.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38 points on the day, closing at its second highest level on record, fewer than 40-points from its all-time high of 14,164.53. The Nasdaq Composite gained 12 points, while the S&P 500 finished 7 points higher.

Stocks got off to a rough start as investors considered the possible economic fallout from the $85 billion in sequester cuts. The market initially also balked at China's efforts to cool down its white-hot housing market. The Chinese government last Friday raised down payments and mortgage rates on those buyers purchasing second homes in some of China's most sought after, but inflated housing markets.

China's move to reign in a possible housing bubble to a toll on energy, materials and industrial stocks. However consumer, drug and technology issues were able to offer investors solid gains.

Wal-Mart led advancers on the blue chip index, up 2.1% on the day. The shares of Home Depot, IBM and Intel all finished with better than 1% gains.

The Nasdaq Composite came out ahead despite a 2.4% drop in its largest component Apple. The iPhone maker's stock feeling the sting of a federal judge on Friday slashing a $1 billion jury award by 40%. The judge also elected to retry the damages portion of the patent infringement case against Samsung Electronics.

Google was a huge catalyst behind today's strength in the technology sector. The shares of Google finished the session up 1.9%, closing at a record high of $821.50 a share. Year to date, Google shares are up 16%.

Crude oil prices today were pressured by demand concerns stemming out of Europe and China. The April crude oil contract ended the session down 56 cents, closing at the lowest level of the year, settling at $90.12 a barrel.

The Sky Isn't Falling Despite Weeks of Fear Mongering

2013-03-02T01:00:00Z

To no one's surprise, President Obama and congressional leaders failed to workout a last minute compromise to avoid the $44 billion in across-the-board spending cuts set to go into effect sometime Friday.

Following the meeting, Republicans reiterated their position that the President got his tax hikes as a part of the "Fiscal Cliff" deal, now it is about spending.

"The discussion about revenue in my view is over," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio said. "It's about cutting the spending in Washington."

Appearing before the White House press corp., President Obama characterized the cuts as "dumb, arbitrary cuts," and even watered down some of his own doomsday rhetoric surrounding the spending cuts.

"This is not going to be a apocalypse, I think, as some people have said," Obama said. "These cuts will hurt our economy; they will cost us jobs."

The President also blamed Republicans for the cuts, saying that they refuse to budge on closing tax loopholes that benefit the wealthy and well connected.

Despite the obvious differences on the sequester, it does appear that both the President and Speaker Boehner have decided to lay down their swords regarding the continuing resolution that expires on March 27.

For his part, the President said he made a deal with Republicans in the Budget Control Act of 2011, and as long as they live up to their end of the deal, he'll live up to his end.

Boehner said Congress is planning to extend the continuing resolution currently funding the government in order "to prevent a government shutdown while we continue to work on a solution to replace the president's sequester."

Barring any last minute miracles, President Obama will is required by the law to issue a sequestration order by 11:59 p.m. Friday.

Obama

2013-03-02T01:00:00Z

President Obama on Monday chose EPA veteran Gina McCarthy as his nominee to run the environmental wing of his administration.

McCarthy led the Office of Air and Radiation, and in that role oversaw regulations that some say cost jobs in the domestic energy industry.

Thomas Pyle, president of the Institute for Energy Research, said in a statement.
"Throughout her career McCarthy has implemented policies that attempt to constrain the use of reliable energy sources. ... It appears the president is rewarding these efforts by increasing her ability to implement an ideological and political agenda. If confirmed as EPA administrator, McCarthy will continue the regulatory attack on oil, coal and natural gas with the result that Americans will experience increasing energy costs and high unemployment rates."

McCarthy was one of three cabinet nominees announced by Obama, but her's could face the stiffest fight with senators on Capitol Hill.

All will have to undergo Senate confirmation. And McCarthy -- given her background and the controversial nature of the agency she wants to lead -- could face the toughest screening.

"Throughout her career McCarthy has implemented policies that attempt to constrain the use of reliable energy sources. ... It appears the president is rewarding these efforts by increasing her ability to implement an ideological and political agenda. If confirmed as EPA administrator, McCarthy will continue the regulatory attack on oil, coal and natural gas with the result that Americans will experience increasing energy costs and high unemployment rates."

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., said the nomination makes clear that Obama "wants to continue pursuing an aggressive climate agenda at EPA."

Obama described McCarthy as someone who could balance smart environmental regulation and economic growth.

"She has earned a reputation as a straight-shooter," Obama said Monday. "I'm confident that she is going to do an outstanding job."

Perhaps one of her first jobs will be to weigh in on the incomplete Keystone Pipeline.
The State Department on Friday issued a draft report on the pipeline, stating that it had no major objections to the completion of the oil pipeline, and that other options to get the oil from Canada to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries are worse for climate change.

With that hurdle cleared, it will be largely left to Obama and his EPA as to whether no the pipeline is completed. The President finds himself caught between labor unions, who support the pipeline, and the estimated 16,000 jobs it would create, and his backers from the environmental base who are steadfast opponents of fossil fuels.

An editorial on WSJ.com come perfectly summarizes the situation once you strip away the politics, and focus on the nation's long-term energy needs.

"The larger issue is whether the U.S. wants to continue to be considered a serious economic nation with rising living standards and a modern energy supply. If Mr. Obama turns down Keystone XL, the Chinese will be laughing at us as they buy Canadian oil and build their economic power, while America adapts to the Sierra Club's preferred future of the world as Walden Pond."

Read the entire editorial regarding Obama's choice on the Keystone Pipeline on WSJ.com

Sequester A Non-Event on Wall Street

2013-03-02T00:00:00Z

Stocks on Wall Street brushed of the pending doom associated with sequester cuts.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 35 points. The Nasdaq Composite gained 10 points. The S&P 500 rose 4 points.

All three major stock indexes scored modest weekly gains, with the blue chip index less than 75 points from its all-time high of 14,164.53.

The market today reacted to great news on U.S. manufacturing. The ISM manufacturing index for February hit a 1 ½ year high of 54.2%, coming in ahead of the 52.5% forecast.

The University of Michigan-Thomson Reuters consumer-sentiment gauge last month rose to a final reading of 77.6, the highest level since November.

And Consumers spending in January increased for the third straight month, despite personal income falling 3.6%, the biggest drop in 20-years.

Groupon Inc. rallied 12.5% after the daily-deals site fired its founder and CEO Andrew Mason.

Gap Inc. shares gained 2.9% after the clothing retailer reported fourth-quarter profit that exceeded estimates.

Salesforce.com Inc. 7.8% after posting better-than-anticipated results for its fourth quarter.

Crude oil prices remained under pressure following weaker than expected data on Chinese manufacturing. The April crude contract ended the session down $1.37, closing at a more than two month low of $90.68 a barrel.

Senate Sequester Alternatives Fail On Eve Of Deadline

2013-03-01T01:00:00Z

The Senate on Thursday failed to pass either of the alternatives up for consideration as viable alternatives to sequester.

Neither the Democratic bill nor the Republican sponsored bill to allow President Obama to make the final cuts garnered the necessary 60 votes needed to bring the bills up for an official vote.

The outcome was expected as Democrats and Republicans have been pounding away at each other, blaming the other for the $44 billion in automatic spending cuts that will go into effect sometime on March 1.

The Democrat's tried to push through a bill that would have replaced the sequester cuts with higher taxes on the wealthy. Republicans helped to defeat that bill in a cloture vote 51-49.

Meanwhile the Republican bill would have ultimately left it up to President Obama to decide which programs to cut, and by how much, but still cut enough to meet the same level of cuts prescribed by the sequester. That bill was defeated in a vote 62-38, with eight Republicans voting against the bill.

Today's results were not unexpected given the animosity brewing between the two parties, but senators were still hot under the collar regarding what appear to be inevitable across-the-board spending cuts.

"Any competent middle manager of any business in America knows, when you have to tighten your belt, you have to go through and prioritize," Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) said.

"It is mindless to say we are going to cut $1 billion from the Department of Transportation and no one will feel it. Please don't sugar coat it and say there's this magic wand out there," said Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D., Ill.).

"We'll do something sensible after we've tried everything else," said Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn.).

All that's left is for the President's signature on the law putting the cuts into effect on Friday. That is unless his meeting with congressional leaders tomorrow results in a grand bargain that, at this point no sees coming.

Woodward Has Company In Receiving Threats From Obama White House

2013-03-01T00:00:00Z

One day after author and famed Watergate journalist Bob Woodward claim he was threatened by a White House aide, we now know to be Gene Sperling, a second journalist says he too was the target of threats from the Obama administration.

Lanny Davis, who served as counsel to former President Bill Clinton and later went on to write for The Washington Times, is telling of intimidation tactics used against him by the Obama White House.

In a radio interview on WMAL, Davis said that a "senior Obama White House official" called his editor at the Times and implied that if the paper continued to run his columns, "his reporters would lose their credentials."

Davis's entire interview on WMAL

Davis's account appears to provide further evidence that the Obama administration doesn't like it when the usually tame media doesn't report the news it wants reported.

Read more about the allegations of White House threats and intimidation on FoxNews.com

Stocks Stumble At the Finishline

2013-02-28T23:00:00Z

It was looking like the Dow Jones Industrial Average was on it way to eclipsing its all-time closing high of 12, 164.53, but a last minute selloff left stocks in the red.

After being up as many as 60 points, The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended trading down 21 points. The Nasdaq Composite lost 2 points. The S&P 500 slipped a point.

Triple digit rallies in the two previous trading session secured monthly gains on the blue chip index, which ended February up 1.4%. The Nasdaq Composite rose a more modest 0.6%. The S&P 500 climbed 1.1%.

Market participants today considered both mixed earnings and news on the economy.

The Commerce Department's revised report on 4th quarter GDP showed the economy expanding at an annual rate of 0.1%. That was below estimates of a 0.5% gain, but was considerably better than the original report, which showed a slight contraction in the final three months of 2012.

The Labor Department reported that weekly jobless claims last week dropped a steeper than expected 22,000, totaling 344,000. Adding to the good news, continuing claims for jobless benefits last week dropped to a more than 4 ½ year low of 3.07 million.

And manufacturing in the Midwest accelerated for a second straight month. The Chicago PMI index reached an 11-month high in February, with strong gains in new orders.

Obama Calls Meeting With Congressional Leaders After Sequester Deadline Passes

2013-02-28T01:00:00Z

Too little too late is how some are describing the President's decision to meet with congressional leaders on Friday, hours after the $85 billion in sequester cuts go into effect.

President Obama will meet with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, as well as the top two Democrats in Congress, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

When asked about the scheduled meeting McConnell issued a statement, "The meeting Friday is an opportunity for us to visit with the President about how we can all keep our commitment to reduce Washington spending," he said in a statement. "With a $16.6 trillion national debt, and a promise to the American people to address it, one thing is perfectly clear: we will cut Washington spending."

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Obama is looking for "a constructive discussion" with the Republicans about avoiding the sequester with a "balanced" debt reduction plan that would include budget cuts and higher taxes.

"What we have not seen from the Republicans is anything like the willingness to compromise inherent in the proposals that the president has put forward," Carney said.
But if the President is expecting Republicans to cave to his demand for another tax hike, McConnell appears adamant in is objection to such a move.

"We can either secure those reductions more intelligently, or we can do it the president's way with across-the board cuts," McConnell said. "But one thing Americans simply will not accept is another tax increase to replace spending reductions we already agreed to."

The meeting will come after weeks of back and forth between the President and Republicans, and a Senate led by Democrats that will, not until Thursday, have even voted on an alternative plan to the sequester cuts.

In a speech Tuesday at a shipbuilding factory in Newport News, Va., Obama told workers that "the sequester will weaken America's economic recovery. It will weaken our military readiness. And it will weaken the basic services that the American people depend on every single day."

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Wednesday that the president is using the automatic spending cuts that amount to about 2% of the federal budget "to scare people in order to grow the size of government."

A plan floated among Senate Republicans is being greeted with mixed reviews. Republicans say the administration has -- or should be granted by Congress -- the authority to spread the cuts around in a way that is less damaging.

"It's absurd to think that the government cannot get by with a little more than a 2 percent reduction in spending when every working American had to figure out how to make do with 2 percent less in their paychecks just last month," McConnell said Wednesday, referring to the expiration of a payroll tax cut for millions of Americans.

White House Claims No Roll In Illegal Immigrant Releases

2013-02-28T00:00:00Z

The issue of detained illegal immigrants being released due to upcoming budget cuts is drawing fire from Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Unlike the scare tactics used in the past weeks surrounding the upcoming sequester cuts, which included DHS Secretary Napolitano warning our border security will suffer, the White House is denying any responsibility in the decision to potentially release up to 10,000 detained illegal immigrants.

"This was a decision made by career officials at ICE without any input from the White House as a result of fiscal uncertainty over the continuing resolution as well as possible sequestration," spokesman Jay Carney told reporters on Wednesday.

However the optics and timing of the releases are not being looked upon favorably by lawmakers, who claim the White House and its agencies are seeking to dramatize the impact of the $85 billion in automatic cuts.

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, fired off a letter to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement director John Morton, in which he said, "this decision reflects the lack of resource prioritization within the Department of Homeland Security" and ICE.

McCaul gave Morton until March 6, a week from now, to provide a detailed list how many individuals were or are to be released, and from what facilities they will be released from.

ICE on Tuesday stressed that those illegal immigrants being released are low-priority, and will be monitored. .

"Over the last week, ICE has reviewed several hundred cases and placed these individuals on methods of supervision less costly than detention," an ICE spokeswoman said. "All of these individuals remain in removal proceedings. Priority for detention remains on serious criminal offenders and other individuals who pose a significant threat to public safety."

However, law enforcement officials in Border States are calling the releases a political tactic, aimed at heightening public fear regarding the sequester cuts.

In a statement released Tuesday, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu wrote, "The safety of the public is threatened and the rule of law discarded as a political tactic in this sequester battle," he said in a statement.

Great News On Home Sales Pushes Stocks To Fresh 5-Year Highs

2013-02-27T22:00:00Z

Stronger than expected data on home sales boosted stock prices on Wall Street Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average benefitted from a broad-based rally, up 175 points on the day. The blue chip index is now less than 90 points from its record close of 14,164. The Nasdaq Composite gained 33 points. The S&P 500 finished the session 19 points higher, closing back above 1500. Today's rally puts all three major stock indexes on track to close February in the winner's column.

Wall Street investors today welcomed more good news on the housing market. The National Association of Realtors reporting that pending home sales in January jumped a stronger than expected 4.5%, more than doubling expectations of a 1.8% increase.

The stock market taking in stride news of a steeper than expected drop in durable goods orders last month. Overall orders last month fell 5.2%, primarily due to a 64% drop in military demand for aircraft. The news mitigated as investors learned that factoring out transportation orders, that orders for long lasting items actually rose a the steepest pace in over a year, up 1.9% in January.

Financial, industrial, and material stocks offered the market solid gains. JP Morgan Chase led advancers on the Dow, up about 3.5% on the day. Boeing and Caterpillar also turned in solid 2% gains.

The stock market also got a boost from retailers. Dollar Tree was among the best performers on the S&P 500. Dollar Tree's stock more than 10% after the discount retailer topped earnings targets, reporting a 22% jump in 4th quarter profits.

Luxury accessories company Coach also gained a lot of attention following reports the company may put itself up for sale. Shares of Coach up 2.8% on the day.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke appeared on Capitol Hill for his second day of testimony on the economy. The Fed chairman reiterated his defense of the Fed's bond buying program, and again urged Congress to find an alternative to the $85 billion in sequester cuts set to go into effect on Friday.

The market today also seemingly more at ease over Italy's divided government and its ability to carry debt. The Italian government today sold $5.2 billion in 10-year notes with a yield of 4.83%.

Today's rally in the equity market took its toll on gold prices, which on Tuesday logged it best gain of the year. The April gold contract on Wednesday fell $19.80 or 1.2% to close at $1,595.70 an ounce.

Crude oil prices only modestly higher despite a small than expected rise in weekly crude oil inventories. The April crude contract up 13 cents on the day, settling at $92.76 a barrel.

Obama Ramps Up Scare Tactics While Boehner Tells Senate To Get "Off Their Ass"

2013-02-27T00:00:00Z

In another chapter of the administration's doom and gloom scenario surrounding sequester cuts, President Obama today took his dour message to Virginia, where he spoke to workers at the Newport News Shipbuilding yard.

The president warned about the impact of the automatic spending cuts on the military and those that contract with the Defense Department, saying that for the Newport News and Norfolk areas the cuts mean ships might not get built.

"And that hurts your bottom line, that hurts this community," Obama said.

Back in Washington D.C. tempers flared over the lack of effort being made by the President and his colleagues in the Senate to come up with a viable alternative to the $85 billion in automatic spending cuts set to go into effect on March 1.

Speaker Boehner today voiced his frustration with not only the president and his demand for more taxes, but also with the Senate, which has yet to move a bill to replace the sequester cuts.

According to Fox News: "Senior administration officials, in a briefing with reporters late Tuesday, acknowledged that the sequester's impact would not necessarily be felt immediately. But they expressed confidence that, as the cuts take effect over a period of weeks, Republicans would start to bend on their resistance to raising more revenue."

Read more about the sequester showdown on FoxNews.com.

DHS: Budget Cuts Force Release Of Jail Illegal Immigrants

2013-02-26T23:00:00Z

The Department of Homeland Security is releasing hundreds of jailed illegal immigrants, citing budget constraints related to pending sequester cuts set to go into effect on March 1.

According to reporting by FoxNews.com, the more than 500 illegal immigrants released over the weekend are jus the tip of the iceberg.

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said Tuesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement released more than 500 detainees in his county alone over the weekend. A spokesman for Babeu told FoxNews.com that ICE officials have said they plan to release a total of nearly 10,000 illegal immigrants.

Babeu described the move as a "mass budget pardon" and suggested the administration was going to unnecessary lengths to demonstrate the impact of the so-called sequester.

"President Obama would never release 500 criminal illegals to the streets of his hometown, yet he has no problem with releasing them in Arizona. The safety of the public is threatened and the rule of law discarded as a political tactic in this sequester battle," he said.

ICE spokeswoman Gillian Christensen those released will remain under supervision by authorities, and that their release was based on the level of threat they posed to the public.

"Over the last week, ICE has reviewed several hundred cases and placed these individuals on methods of supervision less costly than detention," she said. "All of these individuals remain in removal proceedings. Priority for detention remains on serious criminal offenders and other individuals who pose a significant threat to public safety."

The revelation of the releases comes after DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano on Monday furthered the Obama administration's doom and gloom scenario associated with the $85 billion in sequester cuts.

"We're doing our very best to minimize the impacts of sequester. But there's only so much I can do," she said. "I'm supposed to have 34,000 detention beds for immigration. How do I pay for those?"

Republicans in Congress, though, have challenged the numerous Obama Cabinet secretaries warning about the devastating impact to their departments.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., called the move to release illegal immigrants "abhorrent." "By releasing criminal immigrants onto the streets, the administration is needlessly endangering American lives," he said in a statement.

Economic Data and Bernanke Spark Rebound On Wall Street

2013-02-26T22:00:00Z

Stocks stage an impressive comeback to yesterday's rout on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average up 116 points on the day. The Nasdaq Composite gained 13 points. The S&P 500 finished with a 9 point gain, closing just shy of 1500.

The stock market today got a big boost from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who offered testimony on Capitol Hill today. Bernanke told members of the Senate Banking Committee that currently, benefits from the Fed's bond buying program outweigh the costs. Bernanke's comments were interpreted by the market to mean that the Fed's easy money policy is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

Wall Street investors on Tuesday were also put in a buying mood following the release of a number of better than expected reports on the economy.

New home sales in January surged 15.6%, marking the sharpest monthly gain since April 1993. The stronger than expected increase vaulted the annual sales rate to the highest level since July 2008, totaling 437,000 units.

Home prices unexpectedly ticked higher, up 0.2% in December. Case Shiller's index of home prices in 20-metropolitan areas up 6.8 percent compared to a year ago.

And the Conference Board's gauge of consumer confidence improved far more than expected this month, coming in at 69.6. That's the highest reading since November of last year.

In corporate news, Home Depot topped both earnings and sales targets thanks to rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy. The world's largest home improvement retailer reporting a 34% jump in earnings compared to a year ago. That news helped boost Home Depot's stock more than 5.5%, making it the best performer on the blue chip index.

Continued anxiety over divided government in Italy and its impact on the broader euro zone economy pressured crude oil prices. The April crude contract ended the session down 48 cents, falling to the lowest level of the year, settling at $92.63 a barrel.

GOP to Obama: No Time For A Road Show President

2013-02-26T01:00:00Z

The sequester rhetoric and scare tacks remained in high-gear on Monday, with the $85 billion in automatic spending cuts set to go into effect this Friday.

President Obama speaking at the White House to a group of the nation's governors at the White House again urged Congress to pass an alternative package.

"The longer these cuts are in place, the bigger the impact will become," Obama said, adding that the cuts could be avoided "with just a little bit of compromise."

Republicans however don't see it in nearly the same light, contending that it is the President and the Democrats in the Senate that must come up with a solution that doesn't raise taxes.

"If the president was serious, he'd sit down with (Senate Democratic Leader) Harry Reid and begin to address our problems," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Oh., said Monday afternoon.

House Republican Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., took a shot at the President, who is set to visit Newport News, Virginia on Tuesday to highlight the impact of Pentagon cuts on a shipbuilding facility.

"This is not time for a road-show president," McCarthy said.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nv., said the Senate will take up two measures aimed at replacing the sequester later this week.

Read more about the drama surrounding the sequester countdown on FoxNews.com.

Lawmakers divided over gun registry and enforcement

2013-02-26T00:00:00Z

Aside for the rhetoric regarding the looming sequester scheduled to go into effect on Friday, March 1, lawmakers are also voicing their frustration with administration efforts to establish a national gun registry.

This weekend on "Fox News Sunday," Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn said such an effort would be a deal breaker in the Senate.

"Absolutely will not be record-keeping of legitimate, law-abiding gun owners," Coburn told "Fox News Sunday." "That will kill this bill."

Coburn is a member of a bipartisan panel examining ways to curb gun violence in the wake of the Newtown, CT shooting in December.

His consternation towards a gun registry came to light after the Washington Post on Saturday reported, "A bipartisan group of senators is on the verge of a deal that would expand background checks to all private firearms sales with limited exemptions."

Coburn refused to comment on the status of the negotiations other than to say he doesn't negotiate through the press.

President Obama is reportedly working on a plan that, like Senate proposals, calls for background checks as well as bans on assault weapons and high-capacity gun magazines.

The National Rifle Association, the country's most powerful gun lobby, opposes background checks and a federal database. His objections are that background checks and a database of gun owners will do nothing to address criminals, who will not voluntarily take part in background checks or have their names in a registry.

The Obama administration is taking to billboards and radio in attempt to deter those legal gun purchases from selling guns to criminals.

Meanwhile new studies indicate that either gun violence isn't as bad as the administration would have us believe, or gun laws are simply not being enforced by the Obama administration as its predecessors.

According to data from Syracuse University, gun crime prosecutions hit a decade low in 2011, down 40 percent from their peak under President George W. Bush in 2004.

That revelation has caused some on Capitol Hill to call into question if the country needs new laws, or rather simply better enforce those that are already on the books.

"It is imprudent to simply call for new laws without examining the efficacy of the current laws," wrote House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va. "We must all be looking for ways to prevent senseless acts of violence and the taking of innocent life, but the best place to start would be enforcing the laws that Congress has already enacted."

The SU study reveals that in 2011, under the Obama administration, there were a total of about 6,000 federal weapons prosecutions, with another 7,700 in 2012. Both figures represent a huge falloff from the 11,000 prosecuted in 2004 under the Bush administration.

"If the prosecution of people lying on forms is really a priority for the president, then all he has to do is say, 'I want my federal law enforcement officials to prosecute these kinds of cases,'" former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told Fox News. "Obviously there is a different level of priority given to these type of crimes in this administration compared with other administrations."

Justice Department sources told Fox News that, "the attorney general has finite resources. DOJ prefers to prosecute prohibited persons who actually obtain guns illegally, who've gotten around the background check system, rather than just those who just lie on the form, which is also a crime."

Political Concerns Ignite A Selloff On Wall Street

2013-02-25T23:00:00Z

Anxiety surrounding elections in Italy and sequester cuts set to take effect on Friday combine to drive stock prices down more than 1%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 217 points, logging its worst session since November of last year. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 46 points. The S&P 500 fell 28 points, closing back below 1,500.

After starting the day off strong, stocks came under dramatic selling pressure this afternoon, with all eyes focused on elections Italy.

After polls closed in Italy's second day of general election voting, partial results pointed to an outcome that could end in a split parliament. Initial exit polling indicated the center-left party, one that would likely go easy on austerity measures, was in the lead. However, news in the day suggested the more austerity-friendly center-right party actually stood a chance.

Italy has come in and out of the spotlight as the country has worked to keep its debt under control while also keeping its economy from contracting further. Its bonds are widely held by banks in Europe, so major moves often ricochet into equities across the continent.

Political issues in the U.S. also contributed to the selling pressure on the stock market.

Investors now seemingly resigned to $85 billion in sequester cuts set to go into effect this Friday.

All but three Dow stocks ended the day in the red. Bank of America was the big loser, ending the session down nearly 3.6%. The index also succumbing to more than 2% declines in the shares of Alcoa, Boeing, Caterpillar, General Electric, Chevron, Home Depot, just to name a few.

The exodus out of equities proved a boon for debt and precious metals.
Gold futures turned in the best session gain of the month, up 0.9%, closing at more than $1,586 an ounce.

Meanwhile the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to the lowest level since late January, slipping to just under $1.87%

Transportation the latest casualty of gloom and doom surrounding sequester cuts

2013-02-23T00:00:00Z

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was just the latest Obama Cabinet official to publicly warn about the impact of sequester on his department.

With the Federal Aviation Administration composing the bulk of that department, he said the "vast majority" of the 47,000 employees there would be furloughed at least one day per pay period, resulting in delays at major airports of up to 90 minutes "during peak hours."

"These are harmful cuts with real-world consequences that'll cost jobs and hurt our economy," he said.

Injecting a strange twist of pop culture into the rhetoric, LaHood made a direct comparison to President Obama's efforts with that of Abraham Lincoln.

"Go see the movie 'Lincoln'," LaHood said, in a message to congressional Republicans. He said Lincoln brought people together in "the way I believe President Obama is doing."
In a direct appeal to Republicans, LaHood warned that they will get angry calls from their constituents.

"Your phones are going to start ringing off the hooks," he said.
But Republicans aren't flinching in the face of the Obama administration's ramped up rhetoric.

"Trying to drive up Republicans' negative poll numbers by posing with first responders and the men and women of America's Armed Forces while making vague calls for higher taxes won't solve the problem," spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, Michael Steel said in an email.

The conservative Crossroads GPS got injected itself into the back and forth regarding the sequester and who is ultimately responsible for the $85 billion in spending cuts.

So far Republicans are holding firm for their demand of spending cuts as a means of avoiding the sequester. Meanwhile, despite getting $600 billion in new taxes at the beginning of this year, the President and Democrats in the Senate are looking for another $55 billion in taxes while pushing $50 billion in news infrastructure spending.

USDA Sensitivity: "If we work for a federal agency, we've discriminated in the past."

2013-02-22T23:00:00Z

"Federal agencies are wasting money and abusing employees through these left-wing and racially inflammatory indoctrination programs," wrote Tom Fitton, President of Judicial Watch.

For those of you who believe sensitivity training promotes unity and understanding of the differences of opinion and cultures, you may what to stop reading unless you're willing to have those perceptions challenged, paid for with your tax dollars.

Judicial Watch this week unleashed a fresh batch of not to be publicly viewed videos of a United States Department of Agriculture sensitivity training class.

Trainer Samuel Betances of Souder, Betances and Associates charged the federal government $200,000 for sensitivity training classes in 2011 and 2011, and more than $3.3 over the past five years.

In these so-called emotional intelligence classes attendees were asked to admit that their employment by the federal government makes them complicit in discriminatory practices.

"See, if you work for a federal agency, it doesn't matter if it's DOD, Commerce, Labor, Education, Housing, every agency has discriminated, because every agency reflects the values of the generation in charge," he adds.

Watch for yourself:

In another clip Betances says that for those who say Mexican should go back where they came from, Betances seems to remind his audience that many wouldn't have to cross any U.S. border.

"Mexicans came to this country last night illegally; never mind that the United States expanded and took over what used to be Mexico. If the truth be known, in a lot of these circumstances, if you tell some of these Mexicans 'Go back where you came from,' they go to Texas, California, Arizona," he says.

Judicial Watch highlighted another clip in which Betances speaks about the Founding Fathers basing our current form of government on that of Native Americans' system of government.

Watch:

"It is downright disgraceful that American taxpayers are forced to pay for this ridiculous indoctrination program. This 'cultural transformation' program has nothing to do with improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the USDA workforce and everything to do with brainwashing federal employees," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

Dow rallies triple digits; S&P 500 records first decline of the year

2013-02-22T22:00:00Z

Stocks on Wall Street capped the week with solid gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 120-points on the day. The Nasdaq Composite gained 30-points. The S&P 500 finished 13-points higher.

Today rally came too late and wasn't enough to extend the S&P 500's seven week winning streak. The index closed the week down 0.15%, logging its first weekly decline of the year. The Nasdaq Composite finished lower as well, down 0.95%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average however managed to scratch out a 0.13% gain on the week.

Materials, technology and financials led gainers among its 10 major industry groups.

Hewlett-Packard led advancers on the blue chip index. HP's stock jumped 12.23% after topping Wall Street earnings and sales targets.

Technology stocks also proved to be a source of strength for the broader market.

Texas Instrument's stock price rose 5.23% after raising its dividend by 33%.

Marvell Technology gained 4.44% on its better than expected earnings and upbeat assessment of current quarter sales.

The market also got a boost on reassurances that the Federal Reserve's easy money policy wasn't going away anytime soon.

St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard today said, "Fed policy is very easy, and it's going to stay easy for a long time."

Wall Street also found support from a survey of German business executives showing sentiment in February rose to its highest reading since April. Read more about how data prompts rise in European stocks.

Obama Reaches Out to GOP Leaders With Sequester Eight Days Away

2013-02-22T00:00:00Z

With just over a week before sequester cuts are to go into effect, President Obama today reached out to House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

According to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, President Obama had conversations with both GOP leaders, but had offered no description of the conversation other than to say the men had "good conversations."

Neither Boehner nor McConnell's office offered details regarding the conversations.

The calls to the Republican leaders come at a curious time given that President Obama today was on Rev. Al Sharpton's radio show, saying "We continue to reach out to the Republicans and say 'this is not going to be good for the economy and it's not going to be good for ordinary people,' but I don't know if they're going to move. And that's what we're going to have to try to keep pushing over the next seven, eight days."

This president may be feeling the pressure as more and more Americans remember that it was this president who insisted on the sequester - and who in Nov. 2011 vowed to veto the very type of short-term, stopgap measures that he's pleading with Congress to pass now that the cuts are eight days away from becoming reality on his watch.

So far the Republican led House of Representatives has passed two bills that would replace the $85 billion in spending cuts set to go into effect on March 1. Meanwhile, President Obama hasn't offered a proposal that would pass out of Congress nor have his allies in the Senate voted on a single bill to replace the automatic spending cuts.

Egypt Denies U.S. Access To Benghazi Terror Suspect

2013-02-21T23:00:00Z

Billions of dollars in aid, F-16 fighter jets and scores of Abrams A-1 battle takes are scoring the U.S. no favors or courtesy from Egypt's government.

Fox News is reporting that Egyptian President Morsi's government is denying U.S. interrogators to sit in the same room with a Benghazi terrorist attack suspect in custody somewhere in Egypt.

The suspect, Abu Ahmed, is suspected of establishing Islamist training camps in Eastern Libya where militants, who took part in the Sept. 11 Benghazi terrorist attack, trained.

This is the second such occasion that U.S. investigators have been denied direct access to a suspect believed to be involve in the 9/11 terrorist attack that claimed the lives of four U.S. citizens, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

In January, Tunisian authorities released Ali Ani al-Harzi, who is suspected of taking part in the attack, citing a lack of evidence.

FBI agents finally got access to al-Harzi after the personal intervention of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Thomas Joscelyn, with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said some of the militants Ahmed helped train "directly took part" in the Benghazi attack.

Joscelyn, who was the first to report the access problem, said he's been told U.S. officials have asked the Egyptians for access to the suspect but were denied by the Egyptian authorities.

"The Egyptians like to control the interrogations and interviews of these suspects for their own reasons and of course the Americans should want access for our purposes as well," he said.

Neither the CIA nor FBI provided comment on the record about this latest case.

Read more about our government investigators problems with access to terror suspects on FoxNews.com

Economic Reports and Fed Weigh On Stocks

2013-02-21T22:00:00Z

Stocks the casualties in a battle between the bulls and bears on Wall Street Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the session down 47-points. The Nasdaq Composite fell 32-points. The S&P 500 lost 10-points, and is on track to log its first weekly decline of the year.

Investors today reacted to mixed news on the economy, while still trying to gauge possible adjustments the Federal Reserve's $85 billion a month bond buying program.

The National Association of Realtors on Thursday reported existing home sales rose 0.4% in January from December to a 4.92-million unit annualized rate, slightly beating estimates of 4.9 million.

The Labor Department said consumer prices in January remained flat for a second straight month. That surprising the market which had expected an uptick in gasoline prices to lift consumer prices by 0.1% last month. Excluding the food and energy components, prices rose a steeper than expected 0.3%, representing the sharpest monthly increase since May 2011.

The Labor Department reported that weekly jobless claims last week jumped a slightly steeper than expected 20,000, totaling 362,000.

And news on manufacturing did not bode well for stock prices either. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's gauge of manufacturing activity in the mid-Atlantic region fell to -12.5 in February. The market was looking for a slight expansion in the region's manufacturing, looking for a reading of 1.0.

In corporate news, Wal-Mart posted quarterly profits of $1.67 a share, beating estimates by 10 cents. However, the world's biggest retailer's revenues of $127.1 billion missed expectations of $128.8 billion. Wal-Mart finished the session 1.5% higher.

Hewlett-Packard also a standout performer on the blue chip index. The shares of HP rose 2.4% in regular trading. Hewlett-Packard able to build on those gains in after hours trading. HP late today posted better than expected quarterly earnings of 82 cents a share on revenue of $28.4 billion.

Continued dollar strength and demand concerns sparked another bill selloff in the crude oil market. The April crude oil contract fell 2.5% or $2.38, to close at the lowest level of the year, settling at $92.84 a barrel.

Boehner Challenges Obama To Clean Up His Sequester Mess

2013-02-21T00:00:00Z

House Speaker John Boehner, R-OH, took his argument against President Obama's sequester cuts to the American people, outlining the GOP's case against Obama's demand for tax hikes to offset $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts over the next decade.

"The president's sequester is the wrong way to reduce the deficit, but it is here to stay until Washington Democrats get serious about cutting spending. The government simply cannot keep delaying the inevitable and spending money it doesn't have."

In his Wall Street Journal op-ed Wednesday, Boehner took to task the president's erroneous claims that Republicans are to blame for the looming sequester spending cuts.

"Having first proposed and demanded the sequester, it would make sense that the president lead the effort to replace it. Unfortunately, he has put forth no detailed plan that can pass Congress, and the Senate-controlled by his Democratic allies-hasn't even voted on a solution, let alone passed one." Boehner also noted, "By contrast, House Republicans have twice passed plans to replace the sequester with common-sense cuts and reforms that protect national security"

The speaker also pointed out that the administration's already raised taxes, not only on top earners, but middle class Americans as well.

"The president got his higher taxes-$600 billion from higher earners, with no spending cuts-at the end of 2012. He also got higher taxes via ObamaCare. Meanwhile, no one should be talking about raising taxes when the government is still paying people to play videogames, giving folks free cellphones, and buying $47,000 cigarette-smoking machines."

Boehner concluded his op-ed with a simple, straight-forward question to President Obama:

"Mr. President, we agree that your sequester is bad policy. What spending are you willing to cut to replace it?"

The "sequester" is the Washington word for the $85 billion in 2013 spending cuts set to hit the economy on March 1, with more than $1 trillion in cuts on tap over the next decade.

You can read Speaker Boehner's op-ed challenge to the President Obama on WSJ.com.

Will gas prices eclipse the record high?

2013-02-20T22:00:00Z

Everyone's seeming asking the same question: What's up with the recent surge in gasoline prices?

Prices as of Wednesday have risen 33 straight days, with the nationwide average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline now at $3.77, according to AAA.

Traditionally gas prices begin rising from February through Memorial Day on expectations of rising consumption and costlier summer-blend gas.

But this year's increases began a lot earlier, and are on a ferocious pace, up 45 cents in the past month, and 20 cents higher than a year ago.

But as Fox Business Network's Elizabeth McDonald found, it's not just the speculators or the transition to summer blends, taxes are also raising prices at the pump.

"U.S. crude oil inventories typically decline during December as oil companies try to reduce the tax they must pay on the value of their oil holdings," EIA spokesman told Fox Business.

December 31 is the day states like Louisiana and Texas, where huge volumes of crude oil are stored, slap state taxes on crude oil stocks. The lower the inventory, the lower the tax bill for oil companies.

"These taxes," the EIA says, "create an incentive to draw down crude stocks in the region at the end of the year in order to reduce the tax bill. If oil prices have risen during the year, this accounting practice gives companies stronger incentive to reduce inventory because doing so will further limit their tax exposure," the EIA says.

The EIA adds: "Although large crude oil draws can be an indication of demand outpacing supply, the December phenomenon typically does not reflect tightening of the oil market, but rather how companies in the region are taxed on crude stocks." It says it believes the markets take this tax move into account.

But those tax moves can only work for so long. States are pushing to raise gas taxes more than ever, to fill balance sheet holes blown open by things like government benefits.
Differences in state taxes help cause huge swings in gas prices, ranging from a low of $3.19 a gallon in Wyoming and Montana, to $4.17 in California and $4.28 in Hawaii, says AAA. New York taxes are about 49 cents, the highest in the nation, but the price per gallon is on average $3.99, AAA says.

Read more about how taxes are impacting gasoline prices on FoxBusiness.com

Researchers May Breath New Life Into Coal Industry

2013-02-20T21:00:00Z

According to a new report on FoxNews.com, researchers at The Ohio State University have developed of process of extracting energy from coal, with virtually no pollution.

"We've been working on this for more than a decade," Liang-Shih Fan, a chemical engineer and director of OSU's Clean Coal Research Laboratory, told FoxNews.com, calling it a new energy conversion process. "We found a way to release the heat from coal without burning."

The discovery is 15 years in the making at a modest cost of just $5 million in federal funding.

Fan discovered a way to heat coal, using iron-oxide pellets for an oxygen source and containing the reaction in a small, heated chamber from which pollutants cannot escape. The only waste product is therefore water and coal ash -- no greenhouse gases. As an added benefit, the metal from the iron-oxide can be recycled.

Fan's process, called "coal-direct chemical looping," has been proven in a small-scale lab at OSU. The next step is to take it to a larger test facility in Alabama, and Fan believes the technology can be commercialized and used to power an energy plant within five to 10 years, if all goes smoothly. The technology generated 25 kilowatts of thermal energy in current tests; the Alabama site will generate 250 kilowatts.

If Fan's process proves viable in large scale testing it could be the answer the industry's been looking for as the Obama administration attempts to pressure the industry into extinction.

Despite the possible breakthrough, liberals are still skeptical of the new technology in an era when solar and wind are seen as the energy sources of the future.

"Claiming that coal is clean because it could be clean -- if a new technically unproven and economically dubious technology might be adopted -- is like someone claiming that belladonna is not poisonous because there is a new unproven safe pill under development," wrote Donald Brown at liberal think tank Climate Progress.

Approximately 70% of all electricity used in the United States is generated by coal burning power plants.

Read more about the
promising coal energy breakthrough on FoxNews.com.

Obama Ramps Scare Tacticts On Sequester Cuts

2013-02-20T00:00:00Z

President Obama, fresh off his three-day golf weekend in West Palm Beach, Fl., on Tuesday put the blame for potentially crippling automatic spending cuts squarely on Republicans who are demanding other cuts to spending, not higher taxes, to replace the $85 billion in sequester cuts set to go into effect on March 1.

"These cuts are not smart. They are not fair. They will hurt our economy. They will add hundreds of thousands of Americans to the unemployment rolls," Obama said. "This is not an abstraction -- people will lose their jobs."

The President rattled off a number of government agencies that will be hurt by the cuts, including the Border Patrol, emergency responders, FBI agents, school teachers and told of a degradation to our military.

However, flashback to November 2011, you might recall that it was President Obama who vowed to veto any short-term, stopgap measures to take the place of the hard hitting sequester cuts.

Obama is now attempting to cast the blame for these cuts on Republicans, who to this point, are refusing to consider an alternative to the sequester cuts includes raising taxes.

Obama suggested Republican resistance to his calls for a "balanced" package is the holding-up a deal, blaming their reluctance on "partisan recklessness and ideological rigidity."

Shortly after Obama left the White House podium, House Speaker John Boehner said Obama was reinforcing what Republicans have been saying all along, "his sequester is the wrong way to cut spending."

Boehner also reminded the President, that the more than $1 trillion in sweeping spending cuts originated in his White House.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney acknowledged that the idea was originally "put forward" by the White House.

Compounding Obama's political issues today, former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson, who co-chaired the president's deficit-reduction commission came forward with a glaring warning to the President.

Simpson warned that Obama "will have a failed presidency" unless he deals "honestly" with entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security.

"If he wants to leave it alone and not deal with those two biggies, forget the rest of the stuff -- he'll have a failed presidency," Simpson told Fox News.

While Obama claims Republican opposition to tax hikes is holding up a deal, Republicans point to Democrats unwillingness to tack entitlement programs as a key roadblock to a budget deal.

Read more about Simpson-Bowles proposals to address runaway deficit spending on FoxNews.com.

Obama Facing Failed Presidency If He Doesn't Handle Entitlements

2013-02-19T23:30:00Z

Tuesday morning Former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson of Wyoming, who along with former Clinton administration Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles are trying to revive a bipartisan effort to reduce deficit spending, issued the President a warning.

"[Obama] knows what to do and if he doesn't get a handle on entitlements and the solvency of Social Security, he will have a failed presidency," Simpson early Tuesday morning. "And if he wants to have a legacy of the new FDR or the second whatever that is that drives him that's fine with me, but he will have a failed presidency unless he deals honestly with these programs without cutting the poor and the wretched and all the rest. I don't think he wants that at all. He's too smart."

Whether it's a matter of intelligence or political ideology, the President has so far been unable to lead a bipartisan effort to address the government's runaway deficit spending that's led to a national debt of more than $16 trillion.

Government spending on entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security accounted for 44% of the fiscal 2012 budget.

Simpson is hoping the political savvy and legacy thirsty Obama will tamp down his never-ending campaign, and do what's right for the country's fiscal future.

"The political guys have hopefully all gone home now and they were there for a purpose and it worked: get him re-elected," he said. "So now maybe, maybe, just maybe they'll sit down and do policy for the best interest for the country without the howling, shrieking, keening wail of the coyotes using emotion, fear, guilt, and racism to beat your brains in."

Obama Admin Raises Red Flag On Cyber Security

2013-02-19T23:00:00Z

In the wake of a fresh report highlighting the cyber threat the Chinese government presents to U.S. corporations, the Obama administration says it is shoring up "our cyber defense."

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney on Tuesday said, "it is a major challenge for us in the national security arena." Other administration officials acknowledged that attacks are emanating from China, prompting the administration to engage in dialogue with the Chinese government at the "highest levels."

Those revelations come after U.S. firm Mandiant Corp. issued a report on Monday, outlining a series of attacks on U.S. corporations by a group linked to the Chinese government.

The 74-page report claims that China's People's Liberation Army has stolen information from more than 140 U.S. companies over a seven-year period beginning back in 2006.

The report does not specify which companies had been hacked, only describing them as aerospace, energy and information technology companies.

According to media reports, the information stolen includes proprietary company processes, blueprints and contacts lists.

Speaking at a news briefing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei denied the accusations and questioned the report's credibility.

"Cyber attacks are anonymous and transnational, and it is hard to trace the origin of attacks, so I don't know how the findings of the report are credible," Lei said.

Read more about the rising number of cyber attacks on FoxNews.com

White House walking back leaked immigration proposal

2013-02-19T00:00:00Z

The White House on Monday found itself on the defensive after a veiled attempt to hijack congressional efforts to come up with a bipartisan agreement to reform immigration laws.

One White House official told Fox News that they were "surprised" that the "draft" language of the President's proposal was given to the press and thought the publication was "unfortunate."

"This was not the administration floating anything," the official said, adding that the White House reached out to Senate offices Saturday evening to stress their support for ongoing congressional talks.

"The president is pleased by (the) current state of progress being made by bipartisan efforts on the Hill and the administration looks forward to continuing to work with them," the official said.

The USA Today on Saturday published its synopsis of the White House plan.

A draft of a White House immigration proposal obtained by USA TODAY would allow illegal immigrants to become legal permanent residents within eight years.

The plan also would provide for more security funding and require business owners to check the immigration status of new hires within four years. In addition, the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants could apply for a newly created "Lawful Prospective Immigrant" visa, under the draft bill being written by the White House.

If approved, they could then apply for the same provisional legal status for their spouse or children living outside the country, according to the draft.

Republican reaction to the leak was swift and to the point.

"The president is torpedoing his own plan," Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told "Fox News Sunday" following the USA Today report. "It shows me he is really not serious. ... The bill won't pass."

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fl., a member of the so-called "Gang of Eight" that drafted an initial bipartisan outline of immigration reforms also offered a sharp rebuke to the leaked proposal, calling it "half-baked and seriously flawed."

"If actually proposed, the president's bill would be dead on arrival in Congress, leaving us with unsecured borders and a broken legal immigration system for years to come," Rubio said in a statement.

White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough downplayed the plan as merely a backup in the event the bipartisan efforts in the Senate fail to produce a solution to our broken immigration system and the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants currently living within our borders.

Republican Governors Reject ObamaCare Health Insurance Exchanges

2013-02-18T23:00:00Z

New Jersey, Tennessee and Florida say the mandated ObamaCare healthcare insurance exchanges simply will not work.

In his announcement Friday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said his administration is committed to complying with ObamaCare, but "only in a manner that is the most effective and efficient for the residents of New Jersey, and the businesses that will carry the costs of this new program."

Christie, who previously vetoed legislation establishing a state-run health insurance exchange, said in a statement that the federal government is best equipped to operate the exchange.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, a Republican, said in a letter to U.S. Health and Human Resources Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that the partnership model doesn't address his concerns over what he called "aggressive federal timelines, a lack of true flexibility for states, and misguided federal policies."

Haslam noted that he had the same complaints when he rejected a state-based exchange in December. His deadline decision means Tennesseans will participate in an exchange completely run by the federal government.

In Florida, which already missed the deadline for operating an exchange on its own, Gov. Rick Scott also declined to partner with the federal government.

"We continue to be concerned about the many unknowns impacting the cost of operating an exchange, and simply do not have enough information to make a decision about running one at this time," Scott's communications director, Melissa Sellers, told the Palm Beach Post.
Lou offers on Monday offered his take on the ObamaCare mandated health insurance exchanges.

Read more about the conservative reluctance to bow to ObamaCare on FoxNews.com

Chicago's Top Cop Blames City's Violence on Second Amendment

2013-02-18T23:00:00Z

Chicago's top cop over the weekend stirred the airwaves with outrageous claims that those who lobby their representatives on gun rights and donate to pro-Second Amendment groups are guilty of corruption and present a threat to public safety.

Chicago's chief of police can't seem to avoid controversy over his statements related to gun control.

"Garry McCarthy 's understanding of our Constitution barely qualifies him as a meter maid, never mind the chief of the nation's third largest police department," commented ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson . "What on earth would possess McCarthy to assert that constitutional rights should be meted out based on public opinion polls? Let's not forget that public opinion polls once opposed a woman's right to vote while it would be a safe bet that, at one time, polls would have shown lynching as an acceptable form of justice. It has been said that our Constitution exists to protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority. McCarthy's view of our Constitution is dangerous and unbecoming of a civil servant."

The embattled police chief - who previously blamed "government-sponsored racism" and Sarah Palin for Chicago's gun-related violence, also was said that federal gun laws are responsible for the killing of black and brown babies.

Read more about reaction to McCarthy's comments on FoxNews.com.

NASA: A Day Of Cosmic Coincidence

2013-02-16T01:00:00Z

Friday will likely go down as one of the more memorable days for astronomers and astrophysicists, tantalized with an asteroid near-miss and a meteor strike that impacted with the force of an atomic bomb.

The spectacle of a meteor streaking through the Russian sky early Friday morning frightened citizens, some of whom reportedly thought the world was coming to an end.

"There was panic. People had no idea what was happening," said Sergey Hametov, a resident of Chelyabinsk, a city of 1 million about 930 miles east of Moscow.

A meteor exploded over Russia's Ural Mountains with the power of an atomic, its sonic blasts shattering windows, blowing down doors and injuring about 1,000 people who were just beginning their morning.

Many of the injured were cut by flying glass as they rushed to windows in order to catch a glimpse of the meteor and its contrail.

The meteor, estimated to weigh 10 tons and 49 feet wide, shot through the Earth's atmosphere at a hypersonic speed of more than 30,000 miles per hour.

The Russian Academy of Sciences said the meteor shattered into pieces about 18-32 miles above the ground.

Amateur video showed an object speeding across the sky about 9:20 a.m. local time.

Hours later, the world was captivated by NASA animation of a near-miss by an asteroid that crossed well inside the orbits of communications satellites.

The DA14 asteroid, estimated to be 150 feet in diameter, is flew within 17,200 miles of earth at about 2:25 p.m. EST on Friday.

According to NASA, the two events are entirely unrelated. Small meteorites slam into earth every couple of months, while the DA14 event is extremely rare. NASA says the flyby is the "closest-ever" near-miss for an object this large."

Obama's Gun Control Charade Lands in Chicago

2013-02-16T00:00:00Z

President Obama is wrapping up his three-day policy push following his State of the Union address, in which he emotionally declared that the victims of gun violence deserve a Congressional vote on his gun control initiatives.

Obama is expected to focus on his economic policies, while weaving in his desire for a ban on assault weapons, high capacity magazines, and push for universal background checks at the point of purchase of a firearm.

The President though will also face his face share of criticism for largely ignoring Chicago's horrible record on gun violence. During all of last year Obama virtually ignored the murder rate in Chicago, and did not push for new gun control measures until after the Newtown, CT massacre that claimed the lives of 20 elementary school children.

Chicago last year was the murder capitol of the United States with more than 500 gun related murders. This year alone, there have been 41-gun related murders.

Flying in the face of Obama's call for tougher gun control measures, Chicago accrued those statistics while having the toughest gun control laws in the United States.

Of the 7,400 guns seized in Chicago last year, just 300 of those guns were assault weapons. That's just 4% of all gun seizures, which may cause some to wonder why the focus on an assault weapons ban.

In fact, nationally about half of all murders were committed with a handgun, and more people lost their lives to hammers and bats than they did to an assailant using an assault weapon in 2011.

Obama's visit to Chicago also comes just days after 25-year old Willie Cook was gunned down during a trip to Chicago with his two-year old son.

Cook, an Indiana Guardsman, last act was shielding his two-year old son from the gunfire. Cook died on the streets of Chicago just five months after returning from a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Opponents to gun control say the administration is focusing on guns, when it should be enacting measures to go after those that are pulling the triggers.

On Thursday, Wayne LaPierre, the chief executive of the NRA, panned Obama's gun push as a "charade."

"It was only a few weeks ago when they were marking their anti-gun agenda as a way of protecting school children from harm," LaPierre said in a speech Thursday night.
"That charade ended at the State of the Union, when the president exposed their fraudulent intentions. It's not about keeping kids safe at school. That wasn't even mentioned in the president's speech."

Tales of Horror Aboard Carnival's Crippled Triumph

2013-02-15T22:00:00Z

Carnival's Triumph cruise ship finally moored in Mobile, Alabama late Thursday night, ending a four-day tour from hell on the high seas.

Passengers applauded the end of their cruise with rancorous cheers, and would later recount to reporters stories of sweltering heat and horrible odors.

"It was horrible, just horrible" said Maria Hernandez, 28, of Angleton, Texas, who had boarded the ship for a girls trip with her friends.

Other were just happy that the four-day ordeal was over for them, and their families who could only imagine what passengers were going through aboard Triumph.

"It just feels so good to be on land again and to feel like I have options," said Tracey Farmer of Tulsa, Okla. "I'm just ready to see my family. It's been harder on them than us I think because they've been so worried about us. It's been extremely stressful for them."

Elaine Roberts of Gainesville, Texas, said the conditions aboard the boat deteriorated to that of a "cesspool."

It reportedly took about four hours for all the 3,143 passengers to get off the cripple cruise ship.

Carnival provided the beaten down passengers with three options once they were off the boat: take a bus straight to Galveston, Texas, to pick up their cars parked at the ship's departure port, take a bus to New Orleans to stay at a hotel before a charter flight home or have family or friends pick them up in Mobile.

"It's going to be a very long day," said Dwayne McAbee, who told reports he would be driving from Galveston to his home in Fort Worth, Texas, a more than six hour drive.
Carnival CEO Gerry Cahill apologized at a news conference.

"I appreciate the patience of our guests and their ability to cope with the situation. And I'd like to reiterate the apology I made earlier. I know the conditions on board were very poor," he said. "We pride ourselves on providing our guests with a great vacation experience, and clearly we failed in this particular case."

Hear more about the ordeal aboard the Triumph on FoxNews.com.

Republicans Block Obama's Pick To Head Pentagon

2013-02-15T00:00:00Z

In dramatic showdown in the Senate, Republicans on Thursday showed a veneer of solidarity, successfully filibustering former Sen. Chuck Hagel's nomination for the top spot at the Pentagon.

Republicans mounted an unprecedented opposition over demands that the White House provide more information about the Libya terror attack.

Hagel was just shy of clearing the 60-vote bar, needed to advance to a final confirmation vote.

The final vote was 58-40, with one senator voting present. For procedural reasons, Democratic Leader Harry Reid switched his vote to "no" at the last minute -- a routine move that allows him to bring up the vote later on. No date has yet been set for a second push to get Hagel confirmed.

Some Republicans said Thursday that they would be willing to ultimately allow for an up-or-down vote -- which requires only a simple majority -- once they get more answers on Libya from the Obama administration.

"There are still questions outstanding," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said on the floor, asking for "sufficient time" to get those answers.

The battle on the floor of the Senate Thursday was historic. The Senate has never successfully filibustered a Cabinet secretary before.

Only two previous Cabinet officials required 60 votes before confirmation, and this has never happened for a Defense secretary nominee.

Read more about the unprecedented filibuster on FoxNews.com.

Boehner Challenges Obama and Senate Democrats To Solve Sequester

2013-02-14T23:00:00Z

With just two weeks left before sequestration go into effect, Speaker Boehner on Thursday said sequester will remain in effect until Democrats offer up cuts to government spending.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said that the automatic budget cuts known as the sequester will go into effect unless Congress balances the federal budget over the next decade.

"I'll tell you the same thing I told my Republican colleagues at our retreat: The sequester will be in effect until there are cuts and reforms that put us on a path to balance the budget over the next 10 years. Period," Boehner said at his weekly press briefing.

Boehner has said repeatedly that while he doesn't like sequester as a means of reducing government spending, he will allow the automatic cuts to go into effect unless Senate Democrats and President Obama present a plan to avoid it that cuts spending without raising taxes.

In his State of the Union speech Tuesday, President Obama called the sequester "sudden, harsh, arbitrary cuts" that would harm vital government programs.

"These sudden, harsh, arbitrary cuts would jeopardize our military readiness. They'd devastate priorities like education and energy and medical research," he said.

Though in 2011, when Obama was perhaps feeling more politically empowered on the issue, he threatened to veto any attempt by lawmakers to delay the sequester cuts with short-term, stopgap measures. The very thing he is asking from Capitol Hill in 2013.
Boehner said Thursday that the only reason the sequester exists is because Obama insisted it be included in a debt ceiling and budget deal the two negotiated in 2011.

"This sequester was the president's idea. His party needs to follow through on their plans to replace it," Boehner said. "I've made it very clear. The sequester - I don't like it. Nobody should like it, but the sequester is there, because the president insisted it be there. Where's the president's plan to replace the sequester that he insisted upon?"

Animosity between lawmakers and military officials also flared up on during a House committee hearing on Wednesday.

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, told Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter that the military has known for a long time the cuts were a possibility but failed to adequately plan for them.

"You are part of the problem," Bishop said. "The silence that was coming out of the Pentagon ... did not help in actually presenting to the American people what this means."
He added: "I'm sorry. There is a lot of blame to go around if we actually have to have sequestration. Don't think you're going to get out of accepting some part of that blame."
Carter defended the Pentagon's planning, saying he alerted Congress last year.

But Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., said lawmakers have been kept in the dark until just a few weeks before the cuts are to go into effect.

"We heard over and over again when we were asking you guys what's the impact, we were hearing, `We're not doing the planning. You can't plan for chaos,"' Forbes told Gen. Raymond Odierno, the Army's chief of staff.

The committee's top Democrat, Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, urged lawmakers to prevent the cuts.

Later in the day, outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta complained about the tone in Washington, perhaps in response to the hearing.

"I don't pretend that we always make the right decisions. We make mistakes," he said. "But what I look for are members who are willing to work with us, to try to work our way through some tough issues and be able to find some solutions. We need to find solutions. We can't just sit here and bitch."

Carnival's Stink Ship: "Room Smells Like an Outhouse"

2013-02-14T22:00:00Z

Valentine's Day will carry great significance for 3,143 passengers who've been contending with rooms that "smell like outhouses" for four-days aboard Carnival's Triumph cruise ship.

The disabled ship entered Mobile Bay about 4 p.m. Central time. Three tugboats are towing the Triumph, but a broken towline has delayed the ships arrival to between 8 & 11pm Thursday night.

Passengers and 1,086-person crew will have the option of boarding buses to Galveston or Houston, Texas. They can also spend the night in New Orleans and fly out to Houston tomorrow.

According to reports, conditions on the boat are said to be 'extremely terrible' as the ship finally came within sight of land Thursday morning.

Fox News obtained a text from the wife of Thelbert Lanier who is aboard the beleaguered ship.

"Room smells like an outhouse. Cold water only, toilets haven't work in 3 1/2 days. Happy Valentines Day!!! I love u & wish I was there," she said in the text message, which was viewed by The Associated Press. "It's 4:00 am. Can't sleep...it's cold & I'm starting to get sick."

Renee Shanar was on board with her husband. In a text message to AP, she said Carnival told the passengers they are delayed again "because of winds."

"We think they don't want media there," she wrote.

Shanar said conditions were "horrible." There was food, but bathrooms weren't flushing.
"People have gotten food poisoning. Old people have fallen and hurt themselves," she wrote in a text message.

Carnival Cruise Lines said Wednesday all guests on board will receive a full refund for the cruise, as well as a future cruise credit equal to the amount paid for the trip and an additional $500.

Read more about the 'horrible' ordeal on the high seas on FoxNews.com.

GOP Scoffs At Obama Spending Plan With Zero Increase To Deficit

2013-02-14T00:00:00Z

President Obama during his State of the Union address Tuesday night outlined a lavish array of government investments, claiming that the costs should be offset, resulting in not one dime being added to the deficit.

That assertion met with significant skepticism among Republicans on Capitol Hill.

"The president said we do not need a bigger government, but a smarter government, and I agree. But actions speak louder than words," said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.).  

"For four years, we have seen record deficits and mountains of debt heaped on our children and grandchildren. And for four years we have seen little to no action from President Obama or his Democratic colleagues in the Senate to take our spending problem seriously," Cantor added.

The President also reiterated his call for Congress to replace the $85 billion in spending cuts with a package comprised equally of spending cuts and tax revenues, a call rejected by Republicans you say Obama got his pound of flesh in the fiscal cliff deal, now its time for spending cuts.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who delivered the GOP response, said Obama's solution "to virtually every problem we face is for Washington to tax more, borrow more and spend more."

Obama's proposals went beyond roads and bridges to include the creation of "manufacturing hubs" across America.

He called for more "investments" in science and technology, as well as legislation to address climate change and increase the minimum wage to $9 an hour.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said an increase in the minimum wage would result in fewer jobs.

"When you raise the price of employment, guess what happens?" Boehner said. "You get less of it. At a time when the American people are still asking the question, where are the jobs?"

The current unemployment rate is 7.9%, 0.1 percentage point below where it was when Obama took office.

The president also vowed to sign immigration legislation that achieves certain goals -- like a "responsible pathway to earned citizenship." The immigration legislation may be easier to achieve than any comprehensive gun regulation package, but even immigration reform will face doom should lawmakers back off calls for strengthening our border security.

Read more about the political wrangling Obama's State of the Union agenda has stirred up on Capitol Hill.

Lew Faces Tense Questions Surrounding $1 Million Bonus From Bailed Out Bank

2013-02-13T23:00:00Z

Jack Lew, the President's nominee to replace outgoing Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner faced a mixed crowd at his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

While not a contentious as that of the president's pick to run the Pentagon, Chuck Hagel, Lew faced his fair share of critics.

Republican lawmakers questioned him on a $940,000 bonus from Citigroup in early 2009, which at the time received a $45 billion taxpayer funded bailout from the federal government.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asked Lew if he thought it was "morally acceptable" to take the money from an "insolvent" company receiving federal aid.

Lew responded by saying he was compensated in a manner consistent with payment to other employees.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, was unimpressed with Lew's rationale, saying that his explanation is akin to "gee, Dad, everyone was doing it."

"Unfortunately that type of reasoning is exactly what led to this financial crisis," Hatch said.

While Lew did have his share of praise from Democrats like Sen. Chuck Schumer, R-N.Y., who characterized the nominee as a "straight shooter," Republicans were still skeptical of the man who they feel misled Congress regarding the president's deficit-heavy budgets.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., accused Lew of "deliberate" deception, saying statements Lew made while serving as director of the Office of Management and Budget should disqualify him from the position.

In 2011, Sessions says Lew repeatedly asserted that a budget proposal he had authored would lead to a decrease in the national debt, and that the government would no longer be adding to the debt annually.

In a letter sent to fellow senators ahead of Lew's hearing, Sessions argued Lew's assertions were "so false and outrageous as to disqualify him from serving as Secretary of the Treasury."

"OMB Director Lew looked the American people in the eye and, without any qualification, made what is surely the greatest financial misrepresentation in history," Sessions wrote.

Sessions said Lew's statements were "not error or puffing," asserting they were "deliberate artifice" to deceive the public.

For more on Jack Lew's confirmation hearing visit FoxNews.com.

Immigration Hearing Filled With Contradictory Grades on Border Security

2013-02-13T21:00:00Z

The Senate opened its first hearing on a comprehensive immigration overhaul Wednesday, with testimony from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano who fired a shot at Republicans who calls for tougher border security are just a means of delaying immigration reform.

"Too often the border security refrain simply serves as an excuse," Napolitano said. "Our borders have in fact never been stronger."

A top committee Republican, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., quickly contradicted her, saying the administration has not focused sufficiently on enforcement.

Chris Crane, president of the union representing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, backed up session's claims

Each year, ICE leadership finds new excuses to justify the low morale," Crane said. "Most Americans would be surprised to know that immigration agents are regularly prohibited from enforcing the two most fundamental sections of United States immigration law."

The hearing came amid a concerted focus on immigration reform from the White House to Capitol Hill. Obama says he is determined to finally make good on his promise to the Latino community to sign into law a comprehensive immigration bill with border security, employer enforcement, improvements to legal immigration and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already here.

However a bipartisan group of eight senators is developing a bill that accomplishes eventual citizenship for illegal immigrants contingent on increased border security first.

Several Republicans on the panel rejected Napolitano's contention that the border is secure.

"I do not believe the border is secure and I still believe we have a long, long way to go," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

Protesters interrupted the hearing several times, with some shouting and waving banners against deportations, which have increased markedly under the Obama administration.

In an unusual move senators heard testimony from an illegal immigrant, Jose Antonio Vargas, a former journalist who founded the group Define American, which campaigns for immigration reform.

"Too often, we're treated as abstractions, faceless and nameless, mere subjects of debate rather than individuals with families, hopes, fears, and dreams," Vargas told committee members. "We dream of a path to citizenship so we can actively participate in our American democracy."

In a brazen move Vargas also lashed out at those that refer to him and others as being illegal immigrants or aliens.

"When you inaccurately call me illegal, you not only dehumanize me, you're offending them," he said. "No human being is illegal."

A major difference between Obama's proposals and the blueprint embraced by the bipartisan Senate negotiators is that the senators are making a pathway to citizenship conditional on border security being accomplished first - something Republicans demand - while Obama's plan contains no such linkage.

North Korea's Nuke Program Concerns Experts

2013-02-13T00:00:00Z

North Korea's nuclear program gained much attention on Tuesday after it successfully detonated a miniaturized nuclear bomb, a fete that puts it one step closer to equipping ballistic missiles with the devastating power.

Word of the detonation of the nuclear device surfaced early Tuesday, and comes in direct defiance to U.N. Security Council orders to shut down its atomic activity.

The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting after the test on Tuesday morning and pledged further action.

The 15-member council unanimously approved a statement that said North Korea's latest test presents "a clear threat to international peace and security."

The council also reiterated that in its resolution approved in January, that if further tests were conducted, the council would take "significant action."

"In line with this commitment and the gravity of this violation, the members of the Security Council will begin work immediately on appropriate measures in a Security Council resolution," the council said.

North Korea claims its latest nuclear test on Tuesday was its "first response" to perceived U.S. threats and warned it will continue with unspecified "second and third measures of greater intensity" if the United States maintains its hostility.

In addition to the successful miniaturization of its nuclear bomb, what's also concerning to experts is the timing of the detonation which comes just months after North Korea's successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

With regard to the size and power of the latest nuclear device, Peter Beck, an expert for Asia Society, told Fox News the blast appears to be "significantly greater" than North Korea's past nuclear tests.

Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton will appear on Lou Dobbs Tonight to offer his take on North Korea's brazen efforts to become a nuclear threat to the United States.

Go to FoxNews.com to read more about North Korea's progress in becoming a nuclear force, and the dangers the rogue nation presents to international peace.

Boehner: Obama doesn't have

2013-02-12T23:00:00Z

Just hours before President Obama is to deliver his fifth State of the Union address, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said the president has no intention of tackling runaway government spending, or offending liberal Democrats.

"I don't think he has the guts to do it. He doesn't have the courage to take on the liberal side of his own party -- never has," Boehner said.

Boehner made that comment during a breakfast on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning.

On the issue of 'sequester' cuts set to hit the economy on March 1, the Speaker made clear he's not in favor of the automatic cuts, but is more concerned with the impact of runaway deficits and a ballooning national debt.

Pressed on the possible negative impact of the sequester cuts, Boehner said, "I don't like the sequester. I don't want the sequester. But, this spending issue is the biggest issue that threatens our future. "

"When are we going to get serious about our long-term spending problem?" he asked. "When is the president going to propose something instead of the sequester? How about Senate Democrats?"

Regarding the president's plea to Congress for a stopgap measure to head off sequester cuts, Mr. Boehner made it clear that he has no intention of signing off on more tax hikes.

"The president's gotten his revenue. Period," Boehner said, referring to tax rate hikes on those making $400,000 or more enacted in the fiscal crisis deal. Pressed again, Boehner repeated, "The president's gotten his revenue."

While recognizing that it's a gamble to allow the sequester cuts to go into effect, Boehner is betting a steadfast stance against additional taxes and even more government spending may win Republicans points with those in the private sector.

"If the private sector were to see that we were serious about dealing with our spending problem in Washington, that might instill some confidence," Boehner said.

Obama has urged Congress to craft a short-term bill to avoid the cuts, since it appears unlikely that they would be able to reach a larger solution with the deadline less than three weeks away. Asked about the possibility that Congress might vote push back the sequester kick-in date, Boehner said, "We're not moving it."

With regard to President Obama's expected calls for new "investment" in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, Boehner said, "More government spending is what that is."

"If government spending were the tonic for all our ills, this would have been solved a long time ago," he said. Boehner said the president added "$5 trillion in new debt over the last four years. How much further is he going to run us into the sewer?"

U.S. Approves China's Largest Overseas Energy Grab

2013-02-12T20:00:00Z

The U.S. government on Tuesday approved China's CNOOC Ltd.'s $15.1 billion purchase of Canadian oil-sands operator Nexen Inc., clearing the way for China's largest overseas energy grab.

Both the British and Canadian government's had already approved the deal, leaving the U.S. as the loan holdout. At stake from a U.S. perspective is the large number of assets Nexen controls in the Gulf of Mexico.

The approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. marks a significant milestone for CNOOC, which attempted to invest in the U.S. energy when it tried to buy Unocal Corp. That deal died amid political opposition.

According to Dealogic, Chinese buyers last year agreed to spend more than $10 billion in 46 deals to acquire U.S. companies or stakes in U.S. companies. That volume was higher than the Chinese total from 2009 through 2011 combined.

Read more about China's emergence as a dominant player in the North and Central American energy market on WSJ.com

Obama Planning Another Pivot in State Of The Union Address

2013-02-11T23:00:00Z

After spending much of his energy to center the nation's attention on the need for gun control and immigration reform, the President on Tuesday night is expected to deliver a State of the Union address focused on the economy and jobs.

The president's facing a tough task in justifying more government spending, for which his critics point out have little support based on the mediocre success of his first $787 billion stimulus package passed in 2009.

Also, Republicans are still getting over the bludgeoning regarding the fiscal cliff which resulted in higher tax rates on the so-called rich, as well as a 3-percentage point increase in payroll taxes for all Americans.

Furthermore, the president last week called on Congress to pass a balanced, stopgap measure that would prevent the economy from getting slapped with $85 billion in automatic sequestration spending cuts. Republicans for now appear to be holding strong against closing loopholes, i.e. tax hikes as a means of resolving the looming cuts set to go into effect March 1.

Tuesday night the president will brazenly pitch his new prescription for growth, which is curiously similar to the so-called "shovel-ready jobs" that were supposed to revive the economy nearly four years ago.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reports the core focus of the president's speech will be "the need to make the economy work for the middle class president's speech."

The president is expected to resurrect his calls for government "investments" in infrastructure and education. He'll focus on economic growth, while acknowledging the need to close the deficit through a combination of budget cuts and tax increases.

However striking a balance between re-energizing a fragile economic recovery and reducing the deficit will be a dicey proposition.

Aside from Republican objection to more taxes and government spending, a Fox News poll released last week found that 73 percent of voters say cutting spending would be more likely to help strengthen the nation's economy. Just 15 percent believe increasing spending would spur the economic recovery and grow jobs.

The White House And Pelosi At Odds Over Spending Problem

2013-02-11T22:00:00Z

The White House and one of its leading Democratic allies on Capitol Hill at at odds as to whether or not the United States has a spending problem.

On Fox News' "Fox News Sunday" Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told Chris Wallace the country has to protect government spending that helps spur job growth, while at the same time contending that we don't have a spending problem despite running $1 trillion deficits for the past four years.

"We have to recognize that, which cuts really help us and which cuts hurt our future? And cuts in education, scientific research and the rest are harmful, and they are what are affected by the sequestration," she said on "Fox News Sunday." "So, it is almost a false argument to say we have a spending problem. We have a budget deficit problem that we have to address."

On Monday, the White House appeared to be looking to square the public record on whether or not government spending is out of control, a moment of clarity not often articulated by this Obama administration.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters, "Of course, the president believes that we have a spending problem," Carney said, adding that the problem is "specifically driven" by health care spending. "And that's just a fact."

The contradictory claims were made as the nation's defense department is facing sequestration cuts to the tune of $85 billion on March 1. The president has called on Congress to pass a stopgap measure mixed with some cut and additional tax revenues resulting from the closure of certain loopholes he contends are only benefitting the wealthiest of Americans at the expense of the middle class.

However, Republicans are resistant to the idea of more tax hikes after "fiscal cliff" deal resulted in tax rate hikes on those making over $400,000 a year and the expiration of the payroll tax holiday which result in a two-percentage point increase on all payroll taxes.

Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole said fellow House Republicans will "absolutely not" accept tax increases as part of a deal, which could make the sequester cuts an unfortunate inevitability.

Cole told ABC News' "This Week" that the president refused to agree to spending cuts during the recent, so-called "fiscal cliff" negotiations so Democrats are not getting revenue increases now.

"I think (sequester) is inevitable, quite frankly," he said.

The entire Pelosi interview on Fox News Sunday.

Federal Workers Union Leader Says Pay Raise "Absolutely Unconscionable"

2013-02-11T20:00:00Z

Amazingly, some government employees don't quite understand the outrage the private sector is feeling towards calls by federal and state employee unions for raises.

The Commerce Department just reported the first contraction in the economy in more than three years, and the unemployment rate is creeping back towards 8% again.

Our Defense Department as well as the men and women serving our nation in uniform are preparing for the fallout resulting from the White House originated idea of sequestration cuts, which will slam the economy with $85 million in automatic spending cuts on March 1.

Yet on Saturday the president of the largest federal employee union scoffed at the idea of a 1% pay raise for his members, characterizing the increased pay as "simply not enough" and "absolutely unconscionable."

According TheHill.com, "The White House told labor leaders of the proposed increase in the 2014 fiscal year budget in a phone call late Friday night. That raise would come on top of the half-point pay hike, scheduled to take effect in late March, which has been delayed as part of the "fiscal cliff" deal struck last month. Federal salaries have been frozen since 2011.

Read more about the union leader's dissatisfaction on TheHill.com

Iran's Supreme Leader Rejects VP Biden's Offer To Talk Nukes

2013-02-08T23:00:00Z

Responding to a suggestion from Vice President Joe Biden that the U.S. was open to one-on-one talks with Iran about its nuclear program, the Islamic Regime's supreme leader says his county will not sit down for direct talks as long as the U.S. is threatening Iran.

On his website, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, "They say the ball is in Iran's court. The ball is in your court... You have to be accountable and explain what it means to offer talks while simultaneously continuing pressure and threats."

Khamenei apparently referring to the U.S. tightening sanctions on Iran - even tough sanctions than those that have slashed Iran's oil revenue by 45%.

The supreme leaders comments also follow his nation's attempt to embarrass the United States by claiming it was able to crack our military technology seized when it captured a CIA spy drone back in December 2011.

"We were able to definitively access the data of the drone, once we brought it down," said the chief of the Revolutionary Guard's airspace division, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
Iran claims that it was able to reverse engineer U.S. technology, giving it the capability to manufacture its own line of unmanned drones.

Where or not Khamenei's rebuff of the VP's offer for direct talks is posturing or not, the tension between the two countries could spill over into negotiations in Kazakhstan later this month, when Iran's schedule to sit down with six-nation group, all U.N. Security Council members regarding its nuclear program.

Stocks Riding a Winning Wave In 2013

2013-02-08T22:00:00Z

Great news on the trade deficit helped to extend the 2013 rally for at least another week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 49-points on the day. The Nasdaq Composite rose 29-points, closing at its highest level since November 2000. And the S&P 500 closed 9-points higher.

Despite today's gains, the blue chip index logged its first weekly loss in 2013, recording a .1% decline. Both the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 climbed fractionally higher, logging gains for a sixth straight week.

The market today got a boost from news the U.S. trade deficit in December narrowed 20.7% to a near three-year low of $38.5 billion. A big catalyst behind the steeper than expected drop was record high petroleum exports with helped drive overall exports up 2.1% to $186.4 billion. Conversely, imports fell 2.7% as imports of petroleum goods fell to the lowest level since 1997.

The technology sector was a huge source of strength to the stock market today.

Hewlett-Packard led advancers on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, HP's stock closed 2.55% higher. IBM, Intel and Microsoft each gained about 1% on the day. Apple's rebound continues. The iPhone maker closed today's session up 1.6%.

LinkedIn's stock soared 21% after the social networking site late Thursday reported a 66% jump in quarterly profits that easily topped Wall Street estimates.

And the shares of Dell end about 0.75% higher despite news the company's largest institutional investor is opposing the $24.4 billion deal to take the No. 3 PC maker private. Southeaster Asset Management contending that Dell's stock is worth $24 a share, well above the offered buyout price of $13.65 a share.

Virtually No Communication Between Obama & Panetta During Benghazi Attack

2013-02-07T20:00:00Z

Secretary of defense Leon Panetta used what will likely be his last appearance in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee to draw attention to the crippling impact sequester will have on our military readiness.

However, Republicans on the committee were far more interested in getting an explanation from Panetta about the efforts made to save the lives of Americans under attack in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012.

Republican Ted Cruz asked both Leon Panetta and Martin Dempsey, "In between 9:42 p.m., Benghazi time, when the first attacks started, and 5:15 am, when Mr. Doherty and Mr. Woods lost their lives, what conversations did either of you have with Secretary Clinton?"

Neither men talked with Clinton during the nearly 8 hour attack.

The question however became even more contentious whey Sen. Lindsey Graham question the two men about efforts to deploy troops and military aircraft, and the level of communication that took place between the Defense Department and President Obama during the nearly eight-hour attack.

Stocks End Lower, Putting Into Jeopardy a Six-Week Winning Streak

2013-02-07T19:00:00Z

It was another volatile session on Wall Street today as investors considered disappointing news on the U.S. economy and concerns in the Eurozone.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average recovered from an early triple digit decline to end the session just 42-points lower. Both the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 slipped 3-points.
Dollar strength against the euro combined with disappointing reports out of the Labor Department soured the mood of investors.

4th quarter productivity fell 2%, representing the biggest decline in almost two-years. Adding insult to injury, the Labor Department also reported that unit labor costs last quarter jumped 4.5%, well above estimates looking for a 3% increase. The Labor Department also reported that weekly jobless claims last week fell a weaker than expected 5,000, totaling 366,000.

And late this afternoon, the Federal Reserve reported that consumer borrowing in December jumped 6.3% to a total of almost $2.8 trillion. In dollars, borrowing jumped $14.6 billion, with all of the months increased borrowing going towards auto and student loans.

The dollar today rose 1.2% against the euro after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi talked down the currency, saying the central bank would be on the lookout for inflation should the currency continue to rise.

Today's comments out of the ECB initially sparked another flight to safety, but prices stabilized later in the day, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note holding steady at 1.96%

There was some great news out of retailers. Macy's saw its January same-store sales jump 11.7% from a year ago. Target's results beat expectations as well, with same-store sales climbing 3.1% compared to expectations of a less than 2% increase. And Gap doubled Wall Street estimates, its same-store sales jumping 8% on a year-over-year basis.

A 2.97% jump in the shares of Apple helped to minimize losses on the tech heavy Nasdaq Composite. Apple the focus of much criticism about what it should do with its billions in cash on hand, with by some estimates accounts for 1/3 of the company's more than $429 market cap. David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital is planning to sue Apple and urged company to issue preferred stock paying a 4% dividend in order return cash to investors. Einhorn also revealed a 1.3 million-share long position in Apple.

Chicago Police Union Looking For 12% Pay Hike

2013-02-07T18:00:00Z

The Fraternal Order of Police representing union members in Chicago defended their push for a 12% pay hike on Thursday.

According to reporting by the Chicago Tribune, the head of the union says the city has enough money, and if Mayor Emanuel is serious about cleaning up the streets, its time to pony up.

Union president Michael Shields said it's simply a matter of Mayor Rahm Emanuel making public safety a priority. In addition to 6 percent yearly raises, the union wants $3,000 yearly "cost of living in Chicago" stipends for police to help defray the expense of the requirement that they live within city limits.

Union president Michael Shields said it's simply a matter of Mayor Rahm Emanuel making public safety a priority. In addition to 6 percent yearly raises, the union wants $3,000 yearly "cost of living in Chicago" stipends for police to help defray the expense of the requirement that they live within city limits.

Shields making that assertion despite the fact that Chicago is facing a nearly $300 million 2013 budget deficit.

The union's demands are even more amazing when you consider that the city is the murder capitol of the entire country, with 506 murders committed in 2012.

Asked if the union demands were realistic, Mayor Emanuel, who caved to the Teacher's union said, "In whatever conversation I've had, or negotiations, I represent the taxpayers and what they can afford. That's my perspective."

Read more about what's sure to be another concession to employee unions in the Windy City on ChicagoTribune.com.

Republicans Chide Obama's Plea For Compromise

2013-02-06T22:00:00Z

After telling Congress, more specifically House Republicans, that he's not willing to negotiate when it comes to the well being of the American economy, that's exactly what the president did on Tuesday.

Now Republicans, after feeling shutdown by the president, are not feeling inclined to bailout the president when it comes to $85 billion in sequestration cuts set to slam the economy in less than a month.

These are the same sequestration cuts that the president during the 2012 presidential debates said would never happen. And the same sequestration cuts that the president, who in 2011, said he would protect under the threat of veto if any effort was made to avoid to water-down the automatic spending cuts.

Now one could say the very chicken that was born out of the White House is coming home to roost.

"At some point, Washington has to deal with its spending problem. Now, I've watched them kick this can down the road for 22 years that I've been here. I've had enough of it. It's time to act," House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday.

Congress is facing a March 1 deadline before sweeping defense and other cuts kick in. Obama on Tuesday said the best thing to do if they can't meet that deadline is to pass a package of "spending cuts and tax reforms" that would push off the deadline for a "few more months."

House Republican Leader Eric Cantor and others accused the president of once again "kicking the can" on the debt crisis. Adding insult to injury, after raising taxes on the top earners, Republicans contend that the president and Democrats are trying to squeeze more out of taxpayers, while offering little to nothing in the way of spending cuts.

"(Obama) wants to continue down the path of insinuating that somehow taxpayers have got to put more and more money in, when the problem is spending," Cantor said.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell accused Obama of wanting to "delay" the cuts "for a few months with more permanent tax hikes at a time when American families are already feeling the pinch of the Obama economy."

Obama is not calling for increases in tax rates, like those resulting from the so-called "fiscal cliff" deal. Rather he wants to close, still unspecified, tax loopholes and eliminate tax deductions he claims are only benefitting the rich.

Call it what you want, at the end of the day the president is looking to raise taxes and keep the pedal to the metal when it comes to government spending.

The question now is; Will Republicans possess enough restraint and tactic force the president to get behind meaningful spending cuts needed to address our ballooning national debt and deficits?

Looming Sequestration Cuts Hit Carrier Fleet In Gulf

2013-02-06T21:00:00Z

The cuts in U.S. defense spending are going to be felt and seen across our military force, including the Navy that is tasked with patrolling the Persian Gulf.

The USS Harry S. Truman -- which was scheduled to leave Friday from Norfolk, Va. -- has been cancelled, leaving the Navy with only one carrier in the region.

"Facing budget uncertainty ... the U.S. Navy made this request to (Defense Secretary Leon Panetta) and he approved," Pentagon spokesman George Little said in a statement. "This prudent decision enables the U.S. Navy to maintain these ships to deploy on short notice in the event they are needed to respond to national security contingencies."

The decision, which is effective immediately, is perhaps the most vivid example of how budgetary constraints are impacting our military and national security.

According to reports, officials say that if the $500 billion cuts in defense spending aren't avoided, the Navy cannot justify the expense of having two carriers on station in the Persian Gulf.

In total the Navy has 10 aircraft carriers in its fleet, with less than a third of them currently engaged in forward-deployments.

The move by the Pentagon comes as lawmakers argue over how, if at all, to avoid a March 1 deadline -- after which automatic cuts to the Pentagon and other areas of the budget will begin to take effect.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta laid out a grim list of spending cuts the Pentagon may have to make in the coming weeks.

"My fear is that there is a dangerous and callous attitude that is developing among some Republicans and some Democrats, that these dangerous cuts can be allowed to take place in order to blame the other party for the consequences," Panetta said in a speech at Georgetown University. "This is a kind of `so what?' attitude that says, `Let's see how bad it can get in order to have the other party blink'."

In separate, memo sent to Congress, the military described widespread civilian furloughs, layoffs and hiring freezes that will hit workers all around the country. Overall, the military will furlough 800,000 civilian workers for 22 days, spread across more than five months, and will lay off as many as 46,000 temporary and contract workers.

Read more about the impact of sequestration cuts on our military forces and national security on FoxNews.com.

Unions Look To Pot Industry To Boost Membership

2013-02-06T20:00:00Z

Medical marijuana shops, still very much a novelty in the United States, are now the targets of labor unions needing to find a fresh crop of new members.

Reuters highlighted one such marijuana shop in Los Angeles, California, which seems to proudly display a United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union sticker on its front door.

According the report, the Venice Beach Care Center is one of three Los Angeles dispensaries that are staffed by dues-paying members. Nearly 50 other shops in the city plan to enter into labor agreements with the United Food and Commercial Workers union.

But if you think this is just a unique California movement, think again. The UFCW is being credited with playing a significant role in efforts to legalize marijuana not only in California, but 17 other states as well as Washington, D.C.

In Colorado, the UFCW helped get-out-the-vote efforts that eventually helped voters last year to decide to legalize marijuana.

Unfazed by the optics, union leaders reportedly acknowledged that their support of the legalization effort is tied to the potential replenishment of the fading union membership, which is now at the lowest level in nearly a century.

Read more about the < href=" http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/06/us-usa-marijuana-unions-idUSBRE91507E20130206 " target="_blank">cozy relationship being cultivated between unions and the medical marijuana industry.

Immigration Reform Not a Race

2013-02-05T22:00:00Z

The House of Representatives kicked off the debate on immigration reform at a hearing held by its Judiciary Committee.

The committee, chaired by Virginia Republican Bob Goodlatte, heard from individuals on both sides of the issue.

Rep. Goodlatte set the goal of the hearing, saying that "We all agree that our nation's immigration system is in desperate need of repair," said committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va. "But before we rush to judgment, we need to carefully look at the current laws on the books to see what is and isn't working. Reforming our nation's immigration laws is a massive undertaking and is too important to not examine each piece in detail."

Goodlatte's comments follow calls from the President to get immigration reform done, and get it done soon or he'll offer his own bill and demand that Congress vote on his bill.

While some on Capitol Hill are pushing for a comprehensive immigration reform package, several House Republicans homed in Tuesday on a handful of policy changes they argued should take priority -- including improving the visa system for immigrants who graduate from American schools and dealing with illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.

House Republican Leader Eric Cantor, during a policy speech Tuesday at the American Enterprise Institute, called for helping the youngest illegal immigrants while saying the debate must balance "respect for the rule of law and respect for those waiting to enter this country legally."

"We can save the economy, and immigration is one of the ways to make it happen," said Vivek Wadhwa, director of research at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering, during the hearing.

While the House held its hearing, Obama held separate White House meetings with labor and business leaders to discuss a wide range of issues, including immigration reform and how it fits into the broader economic picture.

Among the most high-profile speakers at the House hearing was Julian Castro, the Democratic mayor of San Antonio, Texas. He urged Congress to help those brought to the United States illegally by their parents and businesses that are helping train highly skilled immigrants, only to see them deported.

"The reforms that you have on the table are ... pro-family and pro-business," Castro testified. "Every year as competition increases, American companies throw up their hands, watch those trained in American universities leave in frustration."

While Obama and other Democrats have called for expedient and comprehensive reform, Republicans on Tuesday cautioned against passing legislation without a thorough debate.

House Speaker John Boehner told reporters he was pleased with the bipartisan Senate effort on immigration, but the reform effort is "not a race. It's about trying to get it right."

Read more about today's House immigration reform hearing on FoxNews.com.

Obama: Do As I Say, Not As I Do

2013-02-05T21:00:00Z

President Obama plead with Democrats and Republicans in Congress to pass a short-term package of spending cuts and tax reform aimed at averting $85 billion in automatic spending cuts set to slice into defense and domestic government spending March 1.

"There is no reason that the jobs of thousands of Americans ... not to mention the growth of the entire economy, should be put in jeopardy just because folks in Washington couldn't come together," Obama said during his brief statement at the White House on Tuesday.

President Obama pointed to the more than $2 trillion in deficit spending reductions achieved through reforms to health care reform and higher taxes on the wealth as evidence that a compromise could be reached despite political differences.

"They should at least pass a small package of spending cuts and tax reforms that would delay the economically damaging effects of the sequester," Obama said.

Prior to the president's press conference, White House officials claimed that the a short-term solution "will allow Congress more time to reach a solution that permanently avoids the (automatic cuts) and significantly reduces the deficit in a balanced way."

However, Obama's plea for another short-term fix is being met with opposition among Republican leaders - many of whom are still dismayed by the Obama administrations failure to submit a budget. Something it was legally required have done by Monday Feb 4.

"We believe there is a better way to reduce the deficit, but Americans do not support sacrificing real spending cuts for more tax hikes," House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement.

"The clock is ticking. It's time to get serious," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said.

McConnell accused Obama delaying the cuts "for a few months with more permanent tax hikes at a time when American families are already feeling the pinch of the Obama economy."

The president's call for tax reform came at no surprise to anyone on Capitol Hill. Over the weekend, the president told CBS that he wants to raise revenue by closing loopholes.

"There is no doubt we need additional revenue, coupled with smart spending reductions, in order to bring down our deficit," he said.

The automatic cuts are part of a 10-year, $1 trillion deficit reduction plan that was supposed to be a punitive measure aimed a spurring Congress to arrive at a more rational targeted set of spending cuts.

If the automatic cuts go into affect early next month, they would slash Pentagon spending by 7 percent and domestic programs by 5 percent. Food stamps and Medicaid are exempt from the axe, but Medicare could take up to a 2 percent hit under the sequestration plan.

Obama Administration Defends Drone Attacks On U.S. Citizens

2013-02-05T20:00:00Z

The Obama administration today came under heightened scrutiny after reports surfaces that its authorized drone strikes against U.S. citizens abroad believed to have ties to terrorist groups.

In his press briefing today, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney defended the administration, reminding reporters that Al Qaeda is in a "state of war with us," and defended "targeted strikes against specific Al Qaeda terrorists."

"We conduct those strikes because they are necessary to mitigate ongoing actual threats, to stop plots, to prevent future attacks and to save American lives," Carney said. "These strikes are legal, they are ethical and they are wise."

Scrutiny over the drone attack program rose considerably following the 2011 drone strike in Yemen that killed two Americans -- Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan. The occasion was the first such attack that put an American citizen in the crosshairs of a U.S. military drone attack.

Questions regarding the administration drone attack policy resurfaced Monday when a bipartisan group of 11 senators wrote a letter to Obama asking for "any and all legal opinions" that substantiated the basis for his authority to "deliberately kill American citizens."

As the letter was released to the media, news reports also emerged of a Justice Department document that outlined the administration's drone attack authority.

The 16-page memos says it is legal for the government to kill U.S. citizens abroad if it believes they are senior Al Qaeda leaders continually engaged in operations aimed at killing Americans. The document states that delaying action individuals continually planning to kill Americans would create an unacceptably high risk. It adds that the threat posed by Al Qaeda and its associated forces demands a broader concept of when a person continually planning terror attacks presents an imminent threat.

Fox News is reporting that, according to an unnamed Justice Department official, "there are at least three conditions that have to be met in order for a strike to be ordered -- there has to be an "imminent" threat, the target has to have engaged in terrorist activities, and the target has to be unable to be captured. "

Read more about the administration's unprecedented drone program and the concerns of lawmakers on FoxNews.com

Obama's War On Second Amendment Hits The Road

2013-02-04T21:00:00Z

Standing before crowd in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Monday, President Obama used a backdrop of police officers as props to further his war on the Second Amendment.

Sensing that support on Capitol Hill for his tough new gun laws is already waning, Obama attempted to feed on emotions rather than reason in his push to restrict what guns Americans can lawfully own, and a beefed up so-called universal background check.

Obama tried to undercut National Rifle Association leaders and appeal directly to their membership, claiming gun owners support the "common-sense" gun control measures he's proposed -- and urging those supporters to "keep the pressure" on Congress.

"The overwhelming majority of gun owners think (universal background checks are) a good idea," Obama said, referring to recent polling that shows most gun owners support background checks at gun shows and for private sales. "So if we've got lobbyists in Washington claiming to speak for gun owners saying something different, we need to go to the source and reach out to people directly.

NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre told "Fox News Sunday" that his group has tried unsuccessfully for such a check for two decades.

"I've been in this fight for 20 years. We proposed it. I don't think it's going to happen," said LaPierre, who argued the mental health lobby and federal laws have prevented the names of people with potentially dangerous mental health problems from being put into a federal database.

LaPierre also said, "criminals won't comply" with background checks.

Adding to the uphill battle facing the president is the waning support in the Senate for a new ban on assault weapons.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal: "Senate Democratic leaders expect a gun bill to move to the Senate floor that includes most of the proposals backed by President Barack Obama, with the notable exception of a ban on military-style, semiautomatic weapons, a top aide to Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said."

According to the report, the gun bill will likely seek to restrict ammunition magazines to 10-rounds, expand background checks to be used at gun shows and private sales and require better record keeping in order to not allow mentally ill or violent individuals purchase guns.

Senate Majority Leader Reid over the weekend told ABC's "This Week" that a gun bill could be up for debate and amendment on the Senate floor as early as next month.

However, when it comes to establishing a ban on assault weapons, that is likely something that would have to be attached to the bill through the amendment process.

Reid himself said he was not in favor of the original ban on assault weapons passed in 1994. He did however say that he'd be happy to let Sen. Diane Feinstein have a vote on that issue on the Senate floor.

Obama's Not Done Raising Taxes

2013-02-04T20:00:00Z

Two weeks after officially taking his second oath as President of the United States, President Obama on Sunday said he's not done raising taxes on the rich.

The president's interview with CBS just hours before the Super Bowl should be an eye-opener to those who think he's raised taxes as much as he can.

Obama also called for further health care reforms, noting the U.S. spends "more than every other country does." He says there's "no doubt we need additional revenue coupled with smart spending reductions." However, at no time did he point savings thru reform to our nation's unfunded liabilities, Social Security and Medicare, or offer a means of reducing our government's runaway spending, now in its fifth year of trillion dollar deficits.

Amazingly, the president's interview and vow to hike taxes comes less than a week after weekly jobless claims jumped far more than expected, the Commerce Department reported contraction in 4th quarter GDP and weaker than expected increases in January non-farm payrolls.

Stocks Retreat From More Than 5-Year Highs

2013-02-04T19:00:00Z

Wall Street investors took a breather today as politics and allegations of corruption put downward pressure on stocks in Europe and the United States.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 130 points on the day. That's the blue chip's largest single session point decline so far this year. The Nasdaq Composite lost 48 points. The S&P 500 fell 17 points, closing back below 1500.

Technology stocks proved to be a huge burden on the stock market today. The shares of social media giant Facebook retreated 5.45%. Meanwhile tech bellwethers Apple, Dell, Google and Oracle all finished trading down more than 2%.

Politics and allegations of corruption in Europe also weighed on the U.S. financial markets.

Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is facing criticism follow a report that he and members of the country's ruling party accepted payments from a secret slush fund. The story broke by El Pais claims that Rajoy and other party members received non-salary payments over an 18-year period. Rajoy is denying the allegations.

In Italy, elections to be held later this month are expected to garner neither party in firm control of the government. That prospect will likely make it more difficult for Europe's third largest economy to fix its financial crisis, and re-energize a slowing economy. Italy's borrowing costs are at 4.39%, up 0.06-percentage point from last week.

In economic news, factory orders in December picked up steam after coming in flat during November. Still the 1.8% rise in December failed to live up to Wall Streets expectations of a 2.3% rise.

Anxiety over Europe's financial issues helped to the dollar and U.S. debt prices higher. The yield on the government's benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 4 basis points to 1.97%.

Those same factors took a toll on crude oil prices. The March crude oil contract fell $1.60, settling at $96.17 a barrel.

Outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Takes Last Swing At Benghazi Critics

2013-02-01T09:00:00Z

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is refusing to ride off into the sunset quietly. Instead she used her last one-one-one interview as an opportunity to jab critics of her handling of the events before, during and after the Benghazi terrorist attack.

Speaking to the Associated Press, Clinton said, "I was so unhappy with the way that some people refused to accept the facts, refused to accept the findings of an independent Accountability Review Board, politicized everything about this terrible attack," she said. "My job is to admit that we have to make improvements and we're going to."

According to the AP, Clinton claims Republican lawmakers who accused the administration of seeking to deceive voters ahead of the November presidential elections don't live in an "evidence-based world" and refuse to "accept the facts."

"And that's regrettable. It's regrettable for our political system and for the people who serve our government in very dangerous, difficult circumstances," she said.

However, her critics would likely contend that her job was to protect the lives of our men and women serving abroad, prior to becoming the targets of an attack. Something she failed to do for four U.S. citizens in Benghazi after numerous requests were made to beef up security forces at the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya.

Clinton's interview with the AP also emerged at the same time the America public is learning of a terrorist attack on the U.S. Embassy in Turkey.

There a sole suicide bomber detonated an explosive at a security checkpoint outside the embassy, killing himself and a security guard.

Fox News is reporting that despite initial reports that the bomber was linked to Al Qaeda, local media outlets say the man has been identified, and linked to a Marxist extremist group.

"We can confirm a terrorist blast at a check point on the perimeter of our embassy compound in Ankara, Turkey," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Friday. "We are working closely with the Turkish national police to make a full assessment of the damage and the casualties, and to begin an investigation."

That attack comes just one day after reports surfaced of a possible threat to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

The private guards hired at the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan say it remains dangerously vulnerable to attack, David Hilzenrath, editor at the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), told FoxNews.com.

POGO, a non-profit Washington group released a report highlighting eerily similar findings to the situation that unfolded in Benghazi less than five months ago.

According to the report, security guards protecting the U.S. Embassy in Kabul know that they are not enough to stave off a terrorist attack.

"If we ever got seriously hit (by terrorists), there is no doubt in my mind the guard force here would not be able to handle it, and mass casualties and mayhem would ensue."

The report also points to poor training of security personnel, and shoddy security measures that have allowed vehicles to enter the compound without being properly inspected for explosives.

Several members of the protective force also said they and other guards were rarely if ever given an opportunity to go to the firing range to "qualify" in their use of weapons -- in other words, demonstrate an ability to hit targets. In addition, they said they were often prevented from "zeroing" -- or properly sighting -- guns and optical scopes.

One alleged that even "sharpshooters on the embassy roof did not have zeroed weapons."

"Without a zeroed weapon, I can't defend myself or the embassy," said a former guard.
According to one guard who left last summer, some of his colleagues had "never fired their own weapons."

Read the POGO report on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and decide for yourself who is not living in an "evidence-based world."

Obama's Contraception Accommodation Panned As "Radically Inadequate"

2013-02-01T09:00:00Z

The Department of Health and Human Services on Friday unveiled a long awaited "accommodation" to religious organizations resisting the contraception mandate written into ObamaCare.

Under the new rule, still yet to be finalized, nonprofit religious organizations would be able to offer their employee health insurance that did not include coverage for contraception. Instead, it would be up to the employee to inform the insurance company that they wish contraception coverage. The coverage would then be provided to the employee at no cost to them or their religious organization employer.

However the "accommodation" offers no opt-out option for employers who have religious based objections to offering free contraception coverage to their employees.

"After over a year of litigation, our clients and many others like them were hoping for much, much more from the administration," Kyle Duncan, general counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which has represented several religious-affiliated schools suing over the rule.

"The rights of family businesses like Hobby Lobby are still being violated," Duncan said.
Hobby Lobby, which sued the administration over the rule, would not be given the choice to "opt-out" because it is not a religious organization - rather a company owner which has objected to offering employees contraception on religious and moral grounds.

In late December, Hobby Lobby was denied a hearing by the Supreme Court when it sought to protect itself from the mandate.

CEO David Green argued that his family would have to either "violate their faith by covering abortion-causing drugs or be exposed to severe penalties."

Critics said Friday that all businesses should be exempt if they want, while also voicing concern that religious-affiliated groups would still be "conduits" for contraceptives.
Another group that has been supportive of the administration in the past, Catholics United, praised the proposal Friday.

"This is a victory not only for the Obama administration, but for the Catholic Church," director James Salt said.

Dow Roars Above 14,000 For First Time Since 2007

2013-02-01T08:00:00Z

A healthier jobs market, and jumps in both consumer confidence and manufacturing helped to lift stocks to new five-year highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average today jumped 149 points, closing above 14,000 for the first time since October 2007. The Nasdaq Composite closed the session up 37 points. The S&P 500 gained 15, closing back above 1500.

All three major stock indexes ended the week higher for a fifth straight week, logging gains of just under 1%.

Good news helped to put investors into a buying mood on Wall Street.

The Labor Department's January jobs figures did leave something to be desired. The economy last month added a weaker than expected 157,000 jobs, missing estimates of 165,000. And the unemployment rate ticked slightly higher to 7.9% in January.

The market however overlooked those headlines, instead focusing on unexpected improvement in 2012 jobs growth. Revised reports for December and November showed the economy grew an additional 127,000 jobs on the two-month period. For the year, average monthly job growth increased to 181,000, up 18% from the original estimate of 153,000.

Investors are also applauded better than expected reports on construction spending, consumer confidence and U.S. manufacturing.

The Institute for Supply Management reported that the U.S. manufacturing sector in January grew at its fastest rate in nine months. The ISM manufacturing index jumped to 53.1 in January from 50.2 in December, topping an expected reading of 50.6.

The final January reading on U.S. consumer confidence from Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan came in higher than expected. Its gauge of consumer sentiment in January improved to 73.8, a considerable improvement from a preliminary reading of 71.3.

And construction spending ended 2012 on a high note, up 0.9% in December. That was slightly higher than the expected increase of 0.8%, and helped drive overall construction spending up 9.2% last year, marking that strongest annual increase in seven years.

Earnings from Dow Components Chevron and ExxonMobil also boosted investor enthusiasm. Chevron Corp. fourth-quarter earnings rose 41% to $7.25 billion, or $3.70 a share. Revenue rose 1% to $60.55 billion.

ExxonMobil, the world's biggest publicly traded energy company topped Wall Street targets with earnings of $9.95 billion, or $2.20 a share, up 6% from a year ago. Analysts expected earnings of $1.99 a share. Revenue rose to $115.17 billion from $121.6 billion, roughly inline with estimates.

Pharmaceutical giant Merck also topped quarterly targets, posting adjusted earnings of 83 cents a share on revenue of $11.74 billion. However the company's cautious 2013 earnings forecast of $3.60 to $3.70, coupled with increased competition due to generic brands is weighing on the company's stock price.

President's Jobs Council Getting Pink Slips

2013-01-31T20:00:00Z

The president's under-performing Council on Jobs and Competitiveness is getting laid-off Thursday.

The 26-member jobs council, made up of business and labor leaders, was created to help spur economic growth and address a 9% unemployment rate in the Obama's first term. However the council officially only met 4 times in two years, and last met over a year ago.

The president and high hi-profile council members have been under sharp criticism for underperforming at a time when the country's unemployment rate remained above 8% for more than 40 straight months.

Critics of the president and council were quick to point their failed record of achieving robust job growth.

"To understand the abysmal nature of our economic recovery, look no further than the president's disinterest in learning lessons from actual job creators," Speaker Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said on Thursday. "Whether ignoring the group or rejecting its recommendations, the president treated his Jobs Council as more of a nuisance than a vehicle to spur job creation."

But the White House is rebuffing the president's critics, stating on its website that, "Some of the implemented recommendations include proposing new tax rules that encourage businesses to invest and create jobs in the United States instead of overseas, expediting job-creating infrastructure projects across the country, eliminating inefficient and burdensome federal regulations, and streamlining government."

The administration says the President no long feels constrained to meeting with only his jobs council to discuss the economy and job growth, pointing to the numerous CEO's Obama's met with since his re-election in 2012.

However, Republicans say the disbanding of the jobs council is a sign that the president has put jobs and the economy on the back burner now that unemployment is at 7.8%

"Instead of taking real action, like renewing his Jobs Council or approving the Keystone Pipeline, President Obama has moved on to his second-term liberal agenda," the National Republican Congressional Committee said in a statement. "But with 12 million Americans unemployed and a national debt over $16 trillion, shouldn't President Obama keep his eye on the ball and work to find real solutions to create jobs and tackle our out-of-control spending?"

When Obama formed his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness in January 2011, unemployment was hovering above 9 percent. Two years later, more than 23 million people in the U.S. are out of work or under-employed. The unemployment rate has fallen to 7.8 percent, but only after some 8 million people dropped out of the labor force.

Read more about the president's disbanding of the underperforming jobs council on FoxNews.com.

Hagel Grilled By Both Sides During Contentious Confirmation Hearing

2013-01-31T19:00:00Z

Former Republican Senator from Nebraska, Chuck Hagel faced a litany of tough questions regarding statements he'd made in the past, many of which called into question his view of U.S. policy as it relates to international affairs.

Perhaps the most heated exchanged took place between Hagel and Senator John McCain, (R-AZ) over the surge in Iraq.

McCain and then-Sen. Hagel (R-Neb.) were two of the most prominent voices debating the war at the time, with McCain backing the Bush administration's surge, Hagel opposed it.

McCain aggressively pressed Hagel on whether he stands by his past statements, made as recently as 2001, that the surge was the "most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam."

"Were you right?" McCain asked. "Were you correct in your assessment?"

"Well, I would defer to the judgment of history to sort that out," Hagel said.
"This committee deserves your judgment as to whether you were right or wrong about the surge," McCain responded, adding, "I want to know if you were right or wrong. That's a direct question. I expect a direct answer."

Watch the full exchange between the two former Senate colleagues.

Chuck Hagel was later caught off-guard by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz who played tapes of Hagel's appearance on Al Jazeera where the former senator failed to disagree with one caller who accused Israel of committing war crimes, and another's characterization that the U.S. was behaving as "the world's bully."

Of the Israel interview, Cruz said: "The caller suggests that the nation of Israel has committed war crimes, and your response to that was not to dispute that characterization." He then asked Hagel directly whether he thinks Israel has committed war crimes.

"No, I do not," Hagel said, while saying he wanted to see the "full context" of the interview.

Cruz called the war-crimes suggestion "particularly offensive given that the Jewish people suffered under the most horrific war crimes in the Holocaust."

"I would also suggest," he continued, "that for ... a prospective secretary of Defense not to take issue with that claim is highly troubling."

Cruz then played the tape of Hagel being asked about the perception and "reality" that America is the world's bully. Hagel could be heard calling the point a "good one."
Cruz said the answer is "not the conduct one would expect of a secretary of Defense."
Hagel disagreed with Cruz' characterization of his answers.

List for yourself: Chuck Hagel interview with the Riz Kahn Show, Al Jazeera, March 21, 2009

Hagel, during the hearing, urged lawmakers not to write him off based on a string of controversial votes and quotes from his career in the Senate.

"Like each of you, I have a record," Hagel said Thursday. "A record that I'm proud of. I'm proud of my record not because of any accomplishments I may have achieved, or certainly because of an absence of mistakes, but rather because I've tried to build that record based on living my life and fulfilling my responsibilities as honestly as I knew how and with hard work."

While today's hearings made for good theater, it is believed that Hagel will ultimately win his confirmation to be the next Secretary of Defense.

If confirmed, Hagel, a decorated Vietnam combat veteran, would be the first enlisted man and first Vietnam veteran to serve as defense secretary.

His role in the Obama government will require both diplomacy and leadership as the U.S. looks to address rising tensions in North Africa, the Middle East and along the Korean Peninsula.

Read more about Hagel's contentious confirmation hearing onFoxNews.com

Stocks Off To The Best Start In Over a Decade

2013-01-31T18:00:00Z

Mixed news on the economy leads to modest declines on Wall Street but fails to tarnish a great month for the stock market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average today retreated 50-points. The Nasdaq Composite finished down less than a point. The S&P 500 ended trading down about 4 points.

For the month, stocks turned in their best start to any year in more than a decade. The blue chip index jumped 5.8%, its best January since 1994. The S&P 500 logged a 5.1% gain, its best January performance since 1997. The Nasdaq Composite turned in a solid 4% gain this month.

Today's lackluster performance followed mixed news on the economy. U.S. personal income surged 2.6% in December, blowing by estimates of an 0.8% rise. The increase was the largest since December 2004, and due primarily to U.S. companies paying special dividends and bonuses ahead of tax changes in 2013. U.S. consumer spending rose 0.2%, slightly shy of the 0.3% expected.

The Labor Department reported weekly jobless claims rose more than expected, jumping to 368,000, topping estimates of 350,000.

Manufacturing activity in the Midwest this month accelerated far more than expected. The Institute for Supply-Management-Chicago's PMI gauge jumped to 55.6 from 50, easily surpassing expectations of 50.5.

Sides Spar Over Gun Control Measures

2013-01-30T20:00:00Z

The Senate Judiciary Committee today heard testimony from both sides of the gun control debate. The testimony exposed the complexity to resolving a complex issue that has become one of emotion following the horrific shooting in Newtown, Connecticut that claimed the lives of 20 elementary school children and six adults.

Advocates on both sides of the gun control debate today testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, a hearing that began with an impassioned plea from former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

"Too many children are dying. ... It will be hard but the time is now. You must act. Be bold. Be courageous. Americans are counting on you. Thank you," Giffords said.

On the other side of the issue, National Rifle Association President Wayne LaPierre cautioned law makers about supporting a ban on assault weapons and a universal background check that he says will do little to deter crime, but exact an undue burden on law abiding gun owners.

"When it comes to background checks, let's be honest -- background checks will never be universal because criminals will never submit to them," LaPierre said.

Former Rep. Giffords' husband, Mark Kelly, argued that improving the background check system should be a priority.

"We believe in the Second Amendment. We take that right seriously and we would never give it up. But rights demand responsibility and this right does not extend to terrorists...to criminals ...to the mentally ill. When dangerous people get dangerous guns, we are all the more vulnerable," Kelly said.

Questioned by Sen. Chuck Schumer, (D-NY), Baltimore County Police Chief James Johnson said the current background check system has already stopped nearly 2 million "prohibited purchases" between 1994 and 2009.

This was just one point of contention revealed during the Senate hearing.

On the issue of the president's push for more gun laws, Wayne LaPierre said additional statutes are not the answer.

"Proposals that would only serve to burden the law-abiding have failed in the past and will fail in the future." He said studies show the 1994 assault weapons ban did not reduce crime.

LaPierre argued that prosecuting criminals is a point of weakness in our nation's enforcement of gun control laws.

"Prosecuting criminals who misuse firearms works," LaPierre testified. "Unfortunately, we've seen a dramatic collapse in federal gun prosecutions in recent years."

LaPierre pointed to statistics that showed federal weapons violations in 2011 were down 35 percent, compared to previous administrations, which he says means violent felons, gang members and the mentally ill who possess firearms are not being prosecuted.

"That is completely and totally unacceptable," said LaPierre, who suggested fixing the country's "broken" mental-health system become part of the solution to gun violence.

Read more about today's emotionally charged gun control hearing on FoxNews.com.

Israel Attacks Suspected Arms Convoy Inside Syria

2013-01-30T19:00:00Z

The Syrian conflict that has already claimed 60,000 lives over the past two years, and may be now presenting a clear and present danger to Israel's security.

Israel launched an overnight attack inside the Syrian border, targeting a convoy of trucks believed to be transporting sophisticated weapons to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

Fox News is reporting that Israel had been planning the attack for days.

Syrian state TV is reporting a separate incident that included an airstrike targeting a military research center used to advance Syria's military capabilities.

Fox News is reporting that sources claim the facility is believed to be related to the development of chemical weapons and was attacked for that reason.

Read more about the escalating conflict in Syria that's spreading well beyond its own borders on FoxNews.com

Stocks Retreat On News Of Economic Contraction

2013-01-30T18:00:00Z

Wall Street investors turned cautious on news of dismal economic activity.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 44 points. The Nasdaq Composite fell 11 points. The S&P 500 dipped 6 points.

The market was taken by surprise with a contraction in 4th quarter GDP. The economy reporting that in the final three months of 2012, the economy shrank at an annualized rate of 0.1%, marking the first economic contraction in 3 ½ years. Investors had been expecting the Commerce Department to report economic growth of about 1.1%.

The Federal Reserve concluded its two-day policy meeting, also noting pause in economic activity over the recent months. In light of what it is considering to be only a temporary pause, the Fed pledged to maintain its $85 billion bond-buying program, with no change in its stance on ultra low interest rates.

The impact of those headlines was lessened somewhat by better than expected news on private sector jobs. ADP reported the private sector created a stronger than expected 192,000 jobs in January. The services sector generated the lion's share of the new positions, hiring 177,000 workers this month.

In corporate news, Boeing's fourth-quarter earnings and outlook topped expectations, but revenues fell short. The overall positive news on the company's books helped overshadow the ongoing safety issues of its grounded fleet of 787 Dreamliners. Boeing's stock finished trading up 1.46% percent, making it the best performer on the blue chip index.

Amazon.com missed on both top and bottom lines, but investors applauded the company's 56% surge in operating profits, driving Amazon's stock up 4.77% on the day.

Research in Motion's debut of two new smartphones based on its Blackberry 10 operating system not as well as some had hoped. RIM's stock fell 12% as the market worried a prolonged rollout of the new phones may hurt demand. RIM also announced that it will officially change its name to Blackberry.

Rubio Warns Obama: Don't Move Goalpost On Immigration Reform

2013-01-29T20:00:00Z

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), a leading advocate for responsible immigration reform responded directly to reports the president is opposing a requirement to shore up border security before legalizing up to 11 million illegal immigrants.

"I think that would be a terrible mistake," Rubio told Fox News. "We have a bipartisan group of senators that have agreed to that. For the president to try to move the goalposts on that specific requirement, as an example, does not bode well in terms of what his role's going to be in this or the outcome."

Rubio, who is a member of the bipartisan group of eight senators who just yesterday introduced an outline to reforming the nation's immigration policy, said border security is paramount to his supporting immigration reform.

"If that's not in the bill, I won't support it," he said.

Watch Rubio's interview regarding immigration reform on Lou Dobbs Tonight

According to Fox News, Rubio was responding to reports that the president will offer his vision for immigration reform, which does hinge on increased border security.

Initial response from the White House regarding the Senate proposal was warm, but hinted at further massaging down the road.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said, "This is an important first step. ... We need to continue the movement."

However, the measure whether it includes enforcement measures first or not is drawing mixed reaction among Republican lawmakers in the House.

"No one should be surprised that individuals who have supported amnesty in the past still support amnesty," Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said. "By granting amnesty, the Senate proposal actually compounds the problem by encouraging more illegal immigration."

Go to FoxNews.com for more on the debate on how best to reform the U.S. immigration policy.

Dow Closes Within Striking Distance of 14,000

2013-01-29T19:00:00Z

Stocks end the day mostly higher as investors appear determined to push the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 14,000.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average today closed up 72 points, closing at the highest level since October 2007. The blue chip index is now less than 50-points of 14,000 and just 1.4% away from its record close of 14,164.

The Nasdaq Composite ended the session with a fraction loss, down just 0.64 points. The S&P 500 closed the trading session about 8 points higher.

Pfizer led gainers on the Dow today. The drug company's stock finishing up 3.2% after topping both earnings and revenue targets.

Meanwhile Ford was a drag on the broader market. The U.S. automaker exceeded both quarterly profit and sales estimates. But its forecast for a $2 billion 2013 loss in its European operations led to a 4.6% drop in the company's stock.

Losses on the Nasdaq Composite were minimized by gains in its largest component Apple. Apple gained 1.9% on news its planning to unveil a new version of its 4th generation iPad, geared toward the corporate market. It is unclear how successful the enterprise will be without Microsoft's Windows operating system. But there is speculation that that may be a part of next week's announcement.

Investors today got some great news on housing. Case Shiller reporting that home prices in November rose inline with estimates, up a seasonally adjusted 0.6%. Year over year, prices jumped a stronger than expected 5.5%.

That news helped the market shrug off a steeper than expected drop in consumer confidence. The Conference Board's reading on consumer confidence in January fell to 58.6, the lowest level since November 2011. Some economists are attributing the steep drop to Americans contending with a 2% across the board tax hike resulting from the Fiscal Cliff deal struck earlier this month.

Rising tension in the Middle East contributed to supply concerns in the crude oil market. The March crude oil contract rose 1.2% to settle at a four-month high of $97.57 a barrel.

And Amazon.com's quarterly report garnering a lot of attention in after hours trading. Amazon late today posted earnings and revenue that fell short of Wall Street targets. However, a 56% surge in Amazon's operating profit drove the company's stock up double digits in electronic trading.

Texas Senator Pens Support to Banks and Gun Makers Bullied By

2013-01-29T18:00:00Z

The battle over the second amendment and free enterprise is getting heated.

Last week Mayor Rahm Emanuel, reportedly wrote TD Bank and Bank of America to request that they revoke the lines of credit they offer to Sturm, Ruger, and Co., and Smith & Wesson, unless those weapons manufacturers back gun control measures.

"Collectively we can send a clear and unambiguous message to the entire gun industry that investors will no longer financially support companies that support gun violence," Emanuel wrote.

Expressing his support for free enterprise and American ideals, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Tuesday sent letters to the CEOs of Bank of America and TD Bank Group offering up the Lone Star State as a place where they could do business as our founders had intended.

"Texans value jobs and value freedom, and over 1,000 people a day are moving to Texas (often from cities like Chicago), because Texas is where the jobs are." Sen. Cruz added, "In light of the reception you have received in the Windy City, please know that Texas would certainly welcome more of your business and the jobs you create."

He also sent letters to the CEO of Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. -- writing "should Emanuel's bullying campaign prove successful, I am confident that there are numerous financial institutions in Texas that would be eager to earn your business."

Further highlighting his disdain for government interference in lawful free enterprise, Cruz said those businesses should not be intimidated by Emanuel.

"We do not accept the notion that government officials should behave as bullies, trying to harass or pressure private companies into enlisting in a political lobbying campaign," Cruz said. "And we subscribe to the notion, quaint in some quarters, that private companies don't work for elected officials; elected officials work for private citizens."

Gang Of Eight Senators Reach Agreement on Immigration Reform

2013-01-28T20:00:00Z

A bipartisan group of Senators have announced agreement on general principles for comprehensive immigration reform.

Eight U.S. Senators will be announcing a set of principles for comprehensive immigration reform during a press conference Monday afternoon. The group of Senators includes Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Dick Durbin (R-IL), Sen. Michael Bennet (R-CO), and Sen. Robert Menendez (R-NJ).

The four main goals agreed upon by the bipartisan group include creating a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country. In order to achieve this goal, there will be requirements for increased border security and improving the tracking system for those people in the U.S. on visas.

Another goal is to allow greater numbers of low-skilled workers into the U.S. and permit employers to hire immigrants as long as they provide proof that they could not find a suitable U.S. citizen for the position. In addition, the Senators seek to create a new program for agricultural workers.

The Senators also seek to improve the employment verification system to prevent employers from hiring legal immigrants.

Finally, the group seeks to reform the legal immigration system in America. Proposed reforms include giving green cards to immigrants with degrees from American universities in critical fields such as science, math, technology or engineering.

NLRB Rulings Invalidated

2013-01-28T19:00:00Z

In a blow to the Obama administration, a three judge appellate court on Friday ruled that President Obama's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board are unconstitutional.

The Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia said that appointments are illegal because the Senate was not officially in recess.

The president's attorneys argued that he had the authority because the Senate was in recess.

The panel of judges however saw the issue differently, saying that the appointments were not valid because the Senate was not officially in recess.

"Either the Senate is in session, or it is in the recess. If it has broken for three days within an ongoing session, it is not in 'the Recess," the panel said.

The court said the president could only fill vacancies, using the recess appointment procedure, when the Senate in an official recess break, officially deemed as the break between sessions of Congress.

"Considering the text, history and structure of the Constitution, these appointments were invalid from their inception," the panel said.

Now speculation is building that the ruling could invalidate actions taken by the NLRB in the past year.

In addition, Richard Cordray's appointment to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could be the next appointment struck down, as Cordray's appointment was made by Obama on the same day as the unconstitutional appointments to the NLRB.

Cordray's appointment had been blocked in the Senate by Republicans seeking to have the bureau run by a bipartisan commission rather than a single appointed director.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) appeared on Fox News Sunday, and spoke of the potential for having the NLRB's decisions over the past year struck down.

"In each case someone might have to challenge those rulings to make them invalid, but certainly that's what we said at the time - these people were going to be working in vain and the rulings that they come forth with were going to be challenged. That's turned out to be the case."

Obama Pushes Gun Control As DHS Orders 7,000 Assault Rifles

2013-01-28T18:00:00Z

As President Obama continues to push for new gun control legislation, Obama and Vice-President Biden meet with police chiefs from three towns where mass-shootings took place. Despite the push for gun control, DHS has ordered 7,000 new assault rifles.

On Monday morning, President Obama and Vice-President Biden will meet with police chiefs from three towns where mass shootings took place. The police chiefs were from Newton, CT; Aurora, CO, and Oak Creek, WI. Also in attendance will be Attorney General Eric Holder and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, as well as representatives from the Major County Sheriffs Association and the Major Cities Chiefs association.

The meeting takes place as Obama continues to seek support for new gun control restrictions, including a ban on so-called "assault weapons." In addition, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is pushing her proposed legislation to ban 157 kinds of weapon, as well as magazines capable of holding over 10 rounds. The Senate Judiciary is plans to take up these proposals on Wednesday.

Despite the focus on gun control, DHS has placed an order for 7,000 new assault rifles, as well as 30 round magazines. The 5.56x45mm NATO "personal defense weapons" (PDW) and magazines would be illegal for civilians to own. In the request, DHS described the weapons as "suitable for personal defense use in close quarters." No word yet on whether the request, made in June 2012, was accepted.

Read more about DHS's weapons purchase on TheBlaze.com

Women Headed To Front Lines

2013-01-25T18:00:00Z

In perhaps his last act as Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta lifted the military's ban on women serving on the front lines in battle.

Panetta came to the decision at the advisement of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"This policy change will initiate a process whereby the services will develop plans to implement this decision, which was made by the secretary of defense upon the recommendation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff," a senior defense official told reporters.

The move would open hundreds of thousands of front-line positions and possible slots in the nation's elite military units.

Panetta's decision gives the military services until January 2016 to determine if there are roles/positions within the services that must be closed to female soldiers. Some less sensitive positions are expected to open to women as early as this year.

A defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity told the Associated Press that the military chiefs must report back to Panetta with their initial implementation plans by May 15.

Women comprise 14 percent of the 1.4 million active military personnel.

Panetta's move expands the Pentagon's action from a year ago to open about 14,500 combat positions to women; most of those positions are in the Army.

Dow and S&P 500 Soar to New 5-Year Highs

2013-01-25T17:00:00Z

Earnings helped to drive stocks on Wall Street to fresh five-year highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average up 71 points on the day. The Nasdaq Composite gained 19 points. The S&P 500 finished up 8, closing above 1500 for the first time since late 2007.

All three major stock indexes ended higher for a fourth straight week. The Dow logged a 3% gain. The S&P rose 1.1%, while the Nasdaq edged a 0.5% higher.

The blue chip index is up 6% year to date, putting the Dow on track to post its best January performance in more than two decades.

Procter & Gamble led the charge on the blue chip index. P&G jumped 4% on its better than expected quarterly report.

Microsoft's stock finished up 0.9% despite posting weaker than expected revenues of $21.46 billion.

The Nasdaq managed to finish in positive territory despite another decline in its single largest component, Apple. Apple's stock fell 2.3% on the day, compounding yesterday's more than 12% selloff ignited by the company's weaker than expected quarterly sales.

Apple surrendered its title as the world's most valuable publicly traded company to ExxonMobil, now sitting on top of the mountain with a market cap of $418 billion. Apple has lost $246 billion in market capitalization since peaking at $705 a share in September of last year.

Meanwhile the good times just keep on rolling over at Netflix. The shares of Netflix today rose another 15.5%, bringing its two-day rally to more than 64% since surprising the market with a surprise quarterly profit of 13 cents a share.

In economic news, sales of new single-family homes fell 7.3% in December to an annual rate of 369,000 units. The market took the news in stride after digging into the report beyond the headline figures. New home sales in December rose 8.8% compared the same month in 2011, while the median sales prices jumped 13.9%.

Sen. Feinstein's Assault On The Second Amendment

2013-01-24T20:00:00Z

Democrat Sen. Diane Feinstein took extraordinary measures to introduce her ban on various pistols and assault weapons.

With more than a dozen assault weapons cleverly put up for display, Feinstein's news conference began with a anti-gun prayer.

Sen. Feinstein, who was behind the original 1994 assault-weapons ban that expired in 2004, followed up the prayer with her proposal to ban military style assault weapons and high capacity ammunition clips.

"Our weak gun laws allow these mass killings to be carried out again, and again, and again in our country," Feinstein said. "Weapons, designed originally for the military to kill large numbers of people in close combat, are replicated for civilian use."

The bill was quickly shouted down by the National Rifle Association, which characterized the measure as an assault on the Constitution.

"The American people know gun bans do not work and we are confident Congress will reject Senator Feinstein's wrong-headed approach," spokeswoman Andrew Arulanandam said.

The proposed bill would bar the "sale, transfer, manufacture and importation" of assault weapons, as well as ban ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds.

As part of the press conference, lawmakers displayed an array of weapons, including a Colt AR-15, a semi-automatic assault rifle, and an Intratec TEC-9, a semi-automatic handgun.

All of which are illegal to possess in the District of Columbia, even for display purposes. Various reports claim that Feinstein sought special permission from authorities in order to display the weapons in order to make great impact during her press conference.

Despite the theatrics and backdrop of various police officers behind her, the bill faces a tough road in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

In a statement, Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said the proposal would have done "nothing" to prevent the Newtown tragedy.

"Washington politicians shouldn't be taking advantage of recent tragedy to try to push an aggressive gun control agenda. Real assault weapons -- machine guns -- are already functionally illegal, and they have been since 1934," he said.

Feinstein's office says the bill would grandfather in weapons legally owned prior to enactment and exempt more than 900 "specifically named weapons" for hunting or sporting purposes.

Senators Urge Obama To Approve Keystone Pipeline

2013-01-24T19:00:00Z

Bipartisan Support In Senate For Keystone Pipeline

A day after Nebraska's governor gave his blessing to a rerouted Keystone XL Pipeline, a majority of the Senate urged the president to approve the pipeline.

The Obama administration is facing more pressure to approve the rerouted Keystone XL Pipeline.

In total 53 senators, both Democrats and Republicans on Wednesday urged the president to review and approve the pipeline "expeditiously."

The senators' letter to the president follows Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman's approval of a revised route for the Canada-to-Texas pipeline that his office said would avoid environmentally sensitive areas in his state.

"Construction and operation of the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline, with the mitigation and commitments from Keystone would have minimal environmental impacts in Nebraska," he wrote in a letter to Obama and Clinton.

Heineman's approval puts the ball squarely in the court of the president, putting him in a dicey situation with supporters from both unions and environmentalists.

The president had previously cited the Nebraska's concerns about the pipeline as a key obstacle to approving the pipeline. At the same time, the president was able allay the concerns of major environmental groups crucial to his bid for a second term in the White House.

During Obama's inaugural address on Monday, he pledged to take action on climate change, a pledge applauded by the Sierra Club, which urged the administration to reject "the dangerous tar sands pipeline," referring to the Keystone XL Pipeline.

However the has received backing from unions, and has been heavily promoted by Canadian officials. In Heineman's letter, the governor said construction in Nebraska would yield $418 million in economic benefits.

Asked about the Nebraska governor's decision Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney noted the State Department was still reviewing the issue.

"There are stages in this process. ... I don't want to get ahead of that process," Carney said.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland later said the Nebraska decision would "inform" the department's review.

North Korea Threatens The United State With Nuclear Testing

2013-01-24T18:00:00Z

North Korea's National Defense Commission on Thursday denounced sanctions levied against the communist nation by the UN Security Council earlier this week.

In reaction to those sanctions, North Korea is promising more long-range missile tests and to carry out a "high-level" nuclear test targeted at the United States.

"We do not hide that a variety of satellites and long-range rockets which will be launched by the DPRK one after another and a nuclear test of higher level which will be carried out by it in the upcoming all-out action, a new phase of the anti-U.S. struggle that has lasted century after century, will target against the U.S., the sworn enemy of the Korean people," the commission said.

"Settling accounts with the U.S. needs to be done with force, not with words, as it regards jungle law as the rule of its survival," the commission added.

While experts say North Korea doesn't have the capability to hit the U.S. with its missiles, recent tests and rhetoric indicate the country is feverishly working toward that goal.

The U.S. State Department had no immediate response to Thursday's statement. Shortly before the commission issued its declaration, U.S. envoy on North Korea Glyn Davies urged Pyongyang not to explode an atomic device.

Read more about North Korea's latest military threats on FoxNews.com

Clinton's Benghazi Testimony Turns Heated

2013-01-23T20:00:00Z

The long awaited testimony from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's regarding the administration's handling of the Benghazi terrorist attack began with her taking responsibility for the lives lost.

For much of the hearing, Clinton accepted criticism from Republicans and praise from Democrats.

But when pressed by Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson about why the State Department and the Obama administration misled the American people regarding the nature of the attack, Clinton lost her cool.

Watched the exchange between Sec. of State Clinton and Sen. Johnson.

"We were misled that there were supposedly protests and something sprang out of that," Johnson said. "The American people could have known that (there was no protest) within days, and they didn't know that."

On the defensive, Clinton's tone turned confrontational.

"With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans," she said.

"I understand," Johnson said.

Clinton continued with her arms raised in frustration: "Was it because of a protest or is it because of guys out for a walk one night and they decide they go kill some Americans?
"What difference, at this point, does it make?"

Clinton, lowering her voice, but pounding the table in front of her, said it is the administration's job to "figure out what happened" and prevent it from happening again.

In a later exchange, with tempers far better controlled Clinton acknowledged that the State Department did not have a "clear picture" of what was happening in Benghazi.

Clinton, throughout the hearing, walked a fine line between taking responsibility generally for what went wrong and challenging specific allegations against her department and the administration.

Go to FoxNews.com for a full rundown of today's testimony from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Groupon Shows Its Colors: Bans Gun-Related Promotions

2013-01-23T18:00:00Z

Many gun-related business owners who had partnered with Groupon are expressing outrage over the abrupt cancellation of their deals.

Daily Finance is reporting that Central Texas Gun Works was one of the gun businesses to have its Groupon shut down.

The deal for a discounted concealed handgun training course at the Austin-based business was reportedly a success before Groupon marked it as "no longer available" on Friday morning.

Owner Mike Cargill told the news site that, "[My Groupon representative] said the CEO of the company decided that he's not going to do any more gun-related deals," Cargill said. "I'm asking everyone in the Second Amendment community to boycott Groupon, because the message they're sending is, 'Look, we do not want to support law-abiding citizens taking time out of their schedule to learn the safety surrounding firearms.'"

Groupon spokeswoman Julie Mossler on Tuesday told USA TODAY that the company's decision is based on the deals' performance as well as "current customer and merchant feedback."

Gun control proponents are applauding the decision. "We, along with other groups, had been applying pressure to Groupon for some time now because we were disturbed by the flippant nature of previous gun deals," Ladd Everritt, director of communications at The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, told the Huffington Post.

F-16 Fighter Gift Inbound To Egypt

2013-01-22T20:00:00Z

Some lawmakers are up in arms following news that the U.S. this morning sent Egypt four F-16 Falcons.

The delivery is part of a 2010 aid package pledge to the nation when it was still under the rule Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a longtime U.S. ally.

According to reporting by FoxNews.com, the overall aid package includes "Sixteen F-16s and 200 Abrams tanks" which are to be delivered to Egypt by year's end.

But critics of the delivery of sophisticated military hardware to a leader who less than two months ago attempted to assert dictatorial rule over Egypt is not in our nation's best interest, or that of Israel.

"It is appalling that the Obama administration would send F-16s and 200 military tanks to Egypt in the wake of the instability, [and the] anti-American and anti-Israel atmosphere," Rep. Louie Gohmert, (R-Texas), told FoxNews.com.

"My hope and prayer is that someone in this administration will wake up and smell the burning of [Israel's] future and rescind the supply of planes and tanks," Gohmert added. "If they do not, then perhaps there will arise leaders within our Congress with newfound courage to stop the lunacy."

At the center of the issue for some are the 2010 comments that now Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi made as a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.

"One American president after another - and most recently, that Obama - talks about American guarantees for the safety of the Zionists in Palestine," Morsi said on Egyptian television in reaction to Obama's 2009 speech in Cairo. "[Obama] was very clear when he uttered his empty words on the land of Egypt. He uttered many lies, of which he couldn't have fulfilled a single word, even if he were sincere - which he is not."

In comments translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute, Morsi urged parents to teach their children to hate Jews.
"Dear brothers, we must not forget to nurse our children and grandchildren on hatred towards those Zionists and Jews, and all those who support them," he said. "They must be nursed on hatred. The hatred must continue."

Read more about the controversial military gifts being sent to Egypt on FoxNews.com.

 

Stocks Log 3-Day Rally

2013-01-22T19:00:00Z

Stocks opened the holiday-shortened week with solid gains on Wall Street, both the Dow and S&P 500 closing at more than 5-year highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 62.5 points on the day. The Nasdaq Composite rose 8 points. The S&P 500 finished up 7 points.

Both the Dow and S&P were pushed to more than five year highs on strength in the materials sector and mostly good news on corporate profits.

Alcoa, DuPont, Travelers and UnitedHealth Group led advancers on the Dow, all gaining more than 2% on the day. DuPont, Travelers and Johnson & Johnson topped quarterly earnings targets. However J&J's stock finished in negative territory after forecasting a weaker than expected full-year earnings outlook. Verizon's stock finished up .94% despite missing earnings targets by 13 cents a share.

Research in Motion provided a significant boost the technology sector. Rim's stock price jumped nearly 13% to close at a 52-week high of $17.90. Investors today reacted to remarks by CEO Thorsten Heins in an interview with Germany's Die Welt that suggested possible exit strategies, including the sale of its handset unit or a licensing deal of its Blackberry 10 operating system to competitors.

Dell's stock gained 2% on reports Microsoft may be willing to pony up somewhere between $1 and $3 billion to fund the buyout of Dell.

On the economic front, the market shrugged off a surprise 1% decline in existing home sales during the month of December.

"Record low mortgage interest rates clearly are helping many home buyers, but tight inventory and restrictive mortgage underwriting standards are limiting sales," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist.

There was however some good news in the report. Existing home sales in December 2012 are up 12.8% compared to a year ago, and median sales prices rose 11.5%.

Oil prices finished the session sharply higher. The February crude oil contract expired with a 68 cent gain to close at $96.24 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline jumped 1.2% to $2.83 a gallon.

President Obama Version 2.0

2013-01-21T20:00:00Z

In his second inaugural speech, President Obama today attempted to strike a balance of American unity, while still drawing the line with his Republican adversaries.

Fresh off the heels of his victory over Republicans to raise taxes on high earners, the president today fired another shot at Republicans demanding cuts in entitlement programs in order to address the nation's unsustainable spending.

"We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future," Obama said. "The commitments we make to each other -- through Medicare, and Medicaid and Social Security -- these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great."

The president's roughly 20-minute speech also presented a checklist of unfinished business leftover from his first term in office.

Obama today vowed to address everything from climate change, and immigration reform, to equal rights for gay and lesbian couples.

For the most part, Republicans were politically polite in their reaction to the president's speech.

"The president's second term represents a fresh start when it comes to dealing with the great challenges of our day; particularly, the transcendent challenge of unsustainable federal spending and debt," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said in a written statement.

However some political pundits were less diplomatic about what they heard.

Fox News contributor and former Clinton advisor Doug Schoen wrote an article entitled, "Obama practices the divisive politics he eschews in Inaugural speech."

In the article published on FoxNews.com, Schoen writes "I am in agreement with the president that we need a more equal society and a strong, clear plan for our country's future. We need a viable solution to our fiscal mess and a plan for our national security and foreign policy strategy going forward. While it is clear that the president recognizes this as well, he did not offer the kind of specifics and detail that he needed to today. Speaking to the goals of great leaders before him like Martin Luther King Jr. lends itself to a rousing speech, but the president has not proven himself to be a man whose actions have been congruent with the ideals and goals for America that he says are so important."

Now that the pomp and circumstance are beginning to fade, we will soon learn the direction and tone of a second Obama administration.

House Republicans' "no budget, no pay" Running Into Opposition

2013-01-21T19:00:00Z

In an effort to delay the debt ceiling showdown in Washington DC, House Republicans are expected to vote on a measure that would suspend the debt ceiling through May 19. In exchange, Republicans are demand that both the House and Senate pass comprehensive budgets.

"We will authorize a three-month temporary debt limit increase to give the Senate and House time to pass a budget," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said.
"Furthermore, if the Senate or House fails to pass a budget in that time, members of Congress will not be paid by the American people for failing to do their job."

Aside the obvious questions within its own ranks as to why Republicans would raise the debt ceiling without offsetting spending cuts, Democrats are claiming the penalty for not passing a budget is unconstitutional.

"I understand the sentiment behind 'no budget, no pay,'" Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, (D-NY), said Monday, but "it appears that the 27th Amendment does not permit Congress to alter its pay in the midst of a current session."

The 27th Amendment states that: "No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened."

Rep. Darrel Issa (R-Calif.) was quoted by Roll Call on Friday as saying the plan is "unconstitutional," but later told Fox News ""I strongly support the House Republican leadership's proposal to link the debt ceiling increase to passage of a budget by the Senate, which has gone 1360 days without passing a blueprint for federal spending."

Issa added that, "While the 27th Amendment prohibits Congress from varying its own pay within a given Congress, as I noted in my interview it can certainly withhold pay."

The House Rules Committee will hold an emergency meeting to discuss the legislation Tuesday, which could result in a vote as soon as Wednesday.

Teed Off About Taxes, Mickelson May Bail On California

2013-01-21T18:00:00Z

A man more commonly know for his smooth left-handed golf swing, Phil Mickelson has entered the political conversation focused on taxes.

It's been an interesting off-season," Mickelson, said Sunday after his final round at the Humana Challenge. "And I'm going to have to make some drastic changes. I'm not going to jump the gun and do it right away, but I will be making some drastic changes."

But if you thought he was talking about his golf swing, think again. Mickelson's talking about the massive taxes levied against his annual income.

"If you add up all the federal and you look at the disability and the unemployment and the Social Security and the state, my tax rate is 62, 63 percent," Mickelson said. "I've got to make some decisions on what I am going to do."

Mickelson's tax liabilities, like his fellow high earners in California, went up dramatically this year.

California voters in November approved Prop 30, which, raised not only the state sales tax, but hiked the state income tax from 10.3% to 13.3% on those earning more than $1 million a year. Put into Mickelson context, Phil's looking at an additional $1.8 million in state income taxes compared to a year ago.

Yes, he makes a boatload of money, but remember he's now paying 62 to 63 cents in taxes on every dollar he earns.

President Obama is fond of saying, "Everyone must pay their fair-share."
But when golfers and corporations alike are contemplating an exodus out of "The Golden State," it may be a sign that the government is getting a little piggy.

Read more about "Lefty's" financial planning on FoxNews.com.

Terrorists Offer to Free Americans for Release of Blind Sheikh

2013-01-18T20:00:00Z

According reports Friday, Islamic militants are holding captive two Americans believed captured when an Al Qaeda-linked group seized a gas plant in Algeria on Wednesday.

The militants are offering to release their American hostages in return for the release of terrorists currently in U.S. jails, including the believed mastermind behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman.

News of the offered exchange came via a Mauritanian news site that received a statement about the offer on Friday.

Despite attempts yesterday by Algerian forces, The Al Qaeda-linked raiders still occupying part of an Algerian natural gas plant.

Following the rescue attempt on Thursday, some 60 foreign hostages are still reportedly unaccounted for three days into the raid.

The Associated Press reports at least six people, and perhaps many more, were killed -- Britons, Filipinos and Algerians -- in the Algerians Special Forces' rescue mission.

Britain's Foreign Office said Friday the hostage crisis in Algeria "remains ongoing" but offered no details on the situation.

Read more about the hostage situation in Algeria on FoxNews.com.

TSA Unplugging Full-Body Nude Scanners

2013-01-18T19:00:00Z

If you're one of those uncomfortable getting examined by those TSA full-body scanners, there's reason to feel more at ease tonight. The Transportation Security Administration today announced it will remove all of scanners by June of this year.

The surprise move comes after the manufacturer of the scanners, Rapiscan Systems, failed to comply with a Congressional mandate requiring the scanners to better protect passenger privacy.

"Due to its inability to deploy non-imaging Automated Target Recognition (ATR) software by the Congressionally-mandated June 2013 deadline, TSA has terminated its contract with Rapiscan," the agency wrote on its website.

For years, privacy rights activists have complained that the scanners, which produce a naked image of an individual's body, amount to a visual strip search.

In total, the TSA has deployed some 800 scanning machines in 200 airports nationwide at an expense of $180 million.

"By June 2013 travelers will only see machines which have ATR that allow for faster throughput. This means faster lanes for the traveler and enhanced security. As always, use of this technology is optional."

Those scanners produce a far less invasive image of passengers, comparable to a cartoon, by still highlights foreign objects on a traveler's body.

For more about the nude imaging scanner's demise go to FoxNews.com

Dow & S&P 500 Hit More Than 5-Year Highs

2013-01-18T18:00:00Z

Stocks on Wall Street finish today's trading mostly higher despite a steep drop in consumer confidence.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 54-points. The Nasdaq Composite slipped a point. The S&P 500 gained 5-points.

All three indexes marched higher for a third straight week. The Dow led advancers, tallying a 1.2% gain. The Nasdaq Composite finished up .3%, with the S&P 500 gaining .95% on the week. Those gains lifted both the blue chip index and S&P to the highest levels since December 2007.

Today's mixed index performances were reflective of economic news and earnings reports.
Investors were caught off-guard by a surprise drop in the consumer confidence. The University of Michigan/Reuters preliminary reading on consumer sentiment this month fell to 71.3, the lowest level since December 2011.

The market also digested mixed earnings. General Electric's earnings beats helped drive its stock up more than 3.47% on the day, making it the best performer on the blue chip index.

Fellow Dow component Intel meanwhile was a huge burden on the index. Intel's stock price fell 6.3% on its disappointing full-year outlook, which reflected the challenges the chipmaker faces in a weakening PC market.

Two Americans Escape Al Qaeda Captors in Algeria

2013-01-17T21:00:00Z

The crisis at an Algeria gas plant appears to have ended, but not without loss of life.
It was still unclear early Thursday evening how many hostages and terrorists lost their lives as Algerian forces attacked the terrorist hostage takers protesting western involvement in Mali.

Reports claim that two Americans are free and are destined for London.

According to media reports, two Britons and two Filipinos were killed in the fighting, while militants claim that at least 35 hostages were killed.

Fox News is reporting that according to a U.S. official, an unarmed drone patrolled the sky over the gas plant in order to feed Algerian forces intelligence.

The early reports of casualties produced some criticism of the Algerian military operation.

Britain's Foreign Office prepared the public for potential bad news by saying, "We should be under no illusion that there will be some bad and distressing news to follow from this terrorist attack."

The Algerian government said it was forced to intervene due to the militants' stubbornness and their desire to escape with the hostages.

"An important number of hostages were freed and an important number of terrorists were eliminated, and we regret the few dead and wounded," Algerian Communications Minister Mohand Said Oubelaid told national media.

Read more about the Algerian efforts to rescue the hostages on FoxNews.com

Economic Data Spurs Stocks Higher

2013-01-17T20:00:00Z

Wall Street investors today were put in a buying mood by stronger than expected reports on housing and jobless claims.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 85-points. The Nasdaq Composite gained 18-points. The S&P 500 rose 8, closing at the highest level since December 2007.
Those gains spurred on by a steeper than expected drop in weekly jobless claims. First time claims for unemployment benefits last week dropped 37,000, falling to a five year low of 335,000.

Housing starts in December surged a stronger than expected 12.1%, pushing the annualized rate to 954,000. That's the highest level of new home construction since June 2008. Building permits, a gauge of future construction rose a more modest .3%.

Those headlines overshadowed unexpected weakness in Philadelphia area manufacturing. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's report on area manufacturing fell to -5.8, signifying contraction in manufacturing activity.

Stocks marched higher despite lackluster earnings out of the financial sector.

Bank of America's disappointing results pushed its stock down more than 4%. BofA, the second-biggest U.S. bank by assets, saw its net income tumble to $700 billion from $2 billion a year ago. Its earnings of 3 cents a share did manage to top Wall Street estimates, while revenues of $19.61 billion came in shy of the $21.11 billion analysts were expecting.

Citigroup fell 3% after posting fourth-quarter profit of 69 cents per share, missing targets by 27 cents a share. Citi's revenues of $18.7 billion just missed expectations of $18.8 billion.

And Crude oil prices jumped 1.3% as investors worried the hostage situation in Algeria prompted concerns about the security of supplies in the Middle East and North Africa. The February crude oil contract ended trading at a four month high of $95.49 a barrel.

Growing Opposition To Obama's Gun Control Proposals

2013-01-17T19:00:00Z

State and local officials in Mississippi, Oregon and Texas are vowing to rebuff efforts to enforce any new gun control laws proposed by President Obama earlier this week.

Well before the president signed 23-executive orders and urged congress to pass a ban on assault weapons, Linn County Sheriff Tim Mueller wrote a letter to Vice President Joe Biden saying his department will not enforce any new gun laws it considers unconstitutional.

Mueller contends that the Obama administration is attempting to exploit the deaths of innocent victims" by supporting laws that would infringe on the Constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans.

"We are Americans," Mueller wrote. "We must not allow, nor shall we tolerate, the actions of criminals, no matter how heinous the crimes, to prompt politicians to enact laws that will infringe upon the liberties of responsible citizens who have broken no laws."

In a phone interview with the Associated Press Sheriff Mueller also shined a light on the double standard applied when the government picks and chooses which federal laws local officials should enforce.

"We're restricted and prohibited from enforcing all types of federal laws, including immigration laws," he said Tuesday. "It would be unreasonable for anyone to think that I would enforce a federal firearms law."

Republican Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant on Wednesday urged his Lt. Gov., Tate Reeves, and Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn to resist any presidential order that may infringe on gun rights protected by the 2nd Amendment.

"I am asking that you immediately pass legislation that would make any unconstitutional order by the president illegal to enforce in Mississippi by state or local law enforcement," Bryant wrote.

Giving new meaning to the state mantra "Don't mess with Texas," Republican state Rep. Steve Toth is attempting to pass legislation that would make it illegal to enforce any federal laws restricting semi-automatic firearms or the size of gun magazines in the state of Texas.

Toth told 1200 WOAI that his bill would allow felony charges to be brought against any federal official who attempts to enforce any such rules.
"If a federal official comes into the state of Texas to enforce the federal executive order, that person is subject to criminal prosecution," Toth told 1200 WOAI.

Obama Signs Executive Orders To Curb Gun Violence

2013-01-16T21:00:00Z

President Obama on Wednesday unveiled what some are calling the most comprehensive gun control package in decades.

In addition to urging Congress to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines, the president also signed 23 executive orders calling for additional funding to address mental health and school security.

"If there's even one life that can be saved, then we've got an obligation to try," said Obama.

President Obama's sweeping plan to address gun violence was met Wednesday with swift and stiff resistance by gun rights advocates and conservative lawmakers, setting up a tense debate that will be held on the airwaves, in congressional hearing rooms and in communities across America.

However GOP lawmakers claim that the president's proposals will likely do little to prevent future shootings witnessed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut last month.

"Nothing the president is proposing would have stopped the massacre at Sandy Hook. President Obama is targeting the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens instead of seriously addressing the real underlying causes of such violence," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said. "Rolling back responsible citizens' rights is not the proper response to tragedies committed by criminals and the mentally ill."

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said the proposals would merely invite "drawn-out court battles."

"Instead of a thoughtful, open and deliberate conversation, President Obama is attempting to institute new restrictions on a fundamental constitutional right," he said.

In fact, of the more than 13,800 murders committed in the United States in 2011, roughly 49% were committed using a handgun. A fraction, 2.5% of all murders were committed using a rifle, which includes assault rifles.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, in a written statement, said: "Guns require a finger to pull the trigger. The sad young man who did that in Newtown was clearly haunted by demons, and no gun law could have saved the children in Sandy Hook Elementary from his terror."

But both sides of the debate are preparing to engage in campaigns to further their causes.
The NRA launched its campaign with an ad accusing the president of being a hypocritical elitist.

A handful of Democratic lawmakers have already proposed gun-control bills, though Obama on Wednesday did not endorse any specific piece of legislation. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy said he plans to start holding hearings in two weeks on the issue.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who intends to introduce a gun-control package next week including an assault-weapons ban, on Wednesday praised the president's announcement.

"He was exactly right when he said 'weapons designed for the theater of war have no place' in our society. I couldn't agree more. These weapons have one purpose: to kill the most people in the shortest amount of time possible," Feinstein said.

The leaders of the House and Senate declined to issue any definitive statements on the issue.

Michael Steel, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, only saying that, "House committees of jurisdiction will review these recommendations. And if the Senate passes a bill, we will also take a look at that."

In the Senate, Democratic Leader Harry Reid said: "I am committed to ensuring that the Senate will consider legislation that addresses gun violence and other aspects of violence in our society early this year." He thanked the task force for the "thoughtful" ideas and said, "all options should be on the table moving forward."

This is the list of executive orders signed by President Obama on Wednesday:

1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system.

2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system.

3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system.

4. Direct the Attorney General to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks.

5. Propose rulemaking to give law enforcement the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun.

6. Publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.

7. Launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign.

8. Review safety standards for gun locks and gun safes (Consumer Product Safety Commission).

9. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations.

10. Release a DOJ report analyzing information on lost and stolen guns and make it widely available to law enforcement.

11. Nominate an ATF director.

12. Provide law enforcement, first responders, and school officials with proper training for active shooter situations.

13. Maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime.

14. Issue a Presidential Memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence.

15. Direct the Attorney General to issue a report on the availability and most effective use of new gun safety technologies and challenge the private sector to develop innovative technologies.

16. Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes.

17. Release a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits them from reporting threats of violence to law enforcement authorities.

18. Provide incentives for schools to hire school resource officers.

19. Develop model emergency response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education.

20. Release a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover.

21. Finalize regulations clarifying essential health benefits and parity requirements within ACA exchanges.

22. Commit to finalizing mental health parity regulations.

23. Launch a national dialogue led by Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan on mental health.

House Democrats Pushing to Abolish Debt Ceiling

2013-01-16T19:00:00Z

The federal government has already technically reached its $16.4 trillion debt limit. Now Democrats in the Republican controlled House are looking to due away with the mechanism used to limit spending altogether.

A group of Democrats is accusing Republicans of "weaponizing" the nation's debt limit in order to extort spending cuts.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) says, "The Republicans have chosen to exploit the routine necessity of raising the debt ceiling as a means of blackmailing the American people in order to impose an extremist agenda."

"The debt ceiling has been a harmless exercise in minor political propaganda from time to time," said Nadler. "But they have...weaponized the debt ceiling and made it into an active threat to the American economy."

Adding to the already heated rhetoric being bandied about regarding the debt ceiling debate, Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said Republicans have made the nation's debt ceiling into an "economic weapon of mass destruction."

The proposed piece of legislation is almost sure to fall flat in the Republican controlled House of Representatives.

Republicans are expected to put up more of a fight over an increase to the debt ceiling than they did the fiscal cliff.

Led by Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Republicans are expected to push for spending cuts equal to any increase in the nation's debt ceiling. But that too is presenting issues given that President Obama has said he'll not allow Republicans to use the nation's economy as a bargaining chip in order to extract spending cuts out of his administration.

Obama To Unveil Sweeping Gun-Control Proposals

2013-01-15T21:00:00Z

The month long efforts of the president's task-force on gun violence will come into full-view on Wednesday when Obama announces recommendations which will include up to 19-executive actions to tighten gun laws in the United States.

According to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, when the president holds his press conference he'll be flanked by gun control advocates as well as school children who wrote the president letters following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting last month.

Carney refused to offer details regarding what measures the president is considering.

"I will not get ahead of the president in terms of what his package of proposals will include," he told reporters Tuesday. "I will simply note that the president has made clear that he intends to take a comprehensive approach."

It is being widely reported that the president will announce executive orders that could include:

Regarding the extent that the president can influence gun control laws, Carney acknowledged that this in not an issue the president can tackle on his own.

"It is a simple fact that there are limits to what can be done within existing law, and Congress has to act on the kinds of measures we've already mentioned, because the power to do that is reserved by Congress," Carney told reporters on Tuesday.

The president's announcement comes just over a month after the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, which claimed the lives of 20-children ages 6 & 7.

The shootings, carried out by a lone gunman who also killed himself, have prompted a wave of demands for stricter gun-control laws, as well as a wave of both gun sales and enrollment in the NRA.

The National Rifle Association told U.S. News and World Report that the gun advocacy group has seen its membership grow by a quarter million in just the past month.

Andrew Arulanandam, the NRA's public affairs director, told U.S. News and World Report that "Every time President Obama opens his mouth and Sen. [Dianne] Feinstein opens her mouth and they talk about gun bans and restricting the rights of law abiding Americans, people pay attention to that and sign up."

The NRA met with Vice President Joe Biden last week, a meeting that the organization characterized as disappointing.

"We were disappointed with how little this meeting had to do with keeping our children safe and how much it had to do with an agenda to attack the Second Amendment," the NRA said in a statement Thursday. "While claiming that no policy proposals would be 'prejudged,' this task force spent most of its time on proposed restrictions on lawful firearms owners-honest, taxpaying, hardworking Americans."

The intent of the president's efforts may be genuine in terms of protecting lives, but as Lou Dobbs pointed out in his Chalk Talk segment Monday night, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines will address a sliver of the murders committed in the United States.

The Dow Extends Its Winning Streak Ahead of Earnings

2013-01-15T20:00:00Z

Stocks today ended a choppy trading session mostly higher, with the blue-chip index tallying its fifth straight gain.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 28 points. The Nasdaq Composite meanwhile slipped 7 points. The S&P 500 finished up a point and a half.

Many investors today took up defensive positions ahead of a barrage of bank earnings due out tomorrow. A note of caution from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner also sidelined some investors. Treasury Secretary Geithner informing Congress late Monday that the U.S. is likely to run out of borrowing authority between mid-February and early March.

Meanwhile great news on consumer spending offered comfort to others. Retail sales jumped 0.5% in December, topping the 0.2% expected. Excluding the auto sales, retail receipts rose 0.3%, slightly higher than the expected 0.2% gain.

Producer prices ticked declined 0.2% in December. The stepper than expected decline coming as food prices took their biggest fall since May 2011. Excluding the food and energy, core prices rose 0.1%, which was inline with estimates.

And the Empire State's manufacturing index in January remains in contraction for a sixth straight month.

Hewlett-Packard Co. fell 2.5%, the biggest decliner in the Dow, while Microsoft Corp. rose 1.2%, the biggest gainer in the blue-chip benchmark.

Apple's issues continue to weight on its market cap. Its shares dropped 3.2%, making it the biggest laggard on the S&P 500.

Facebook unveiled its new "Graph Search" feature. Shares of the social-networking company fell 2.7%, as the hype leading up to the announcement didn't live up to expectations. News from MarketWatch.com that Facebook lost 1.4 million U.S. users in early December also weighed on Facebook's stock price.

Liberal Agenda To Clamp Down On 2nd Amendment Rights

2013-01-14T21:00:00Z

Monday President Obama held the final press conference of his first term the day before Vice President Joe Biden is set to present his task force's recommendations for curbing gun violence.

Obama said he has received a list of "sensible, common-sense steps" that could be taken through executive action or legislation to reduce violence. He plans to make public those recommendations later this week.

During the press conference the president address a question as to what he thinks is behind the soaring demand for guns, even in Connecticut which was the scene of a shooting that claimed the lives of 20 school children ages 6 and 7.

"Those who oppose any common-sense gun control or gun-safety measures have a pretty effective way of ginning up fear on the part of gun owners that, somehow, the federal government's about to take all your guns away," Obama said.

However, the president has those in his corner too who are launching major campaigns to support his agenda.

Sunday the influential liberal the Center for American Progress said it will mount a full-scale campaign to push for more gun control.

Neera Tanden told "Fox News Sunday" the Center for American Progress will "absolutely" launch a major campaign in states across the country.

Tanden spoke after a report published by The Washington Post stated the group is recommending 13 new gun policies to the White House, including some that call for executive action that will allow the president to sidestep Congress altogether.

The proposals according the Washington Post include:

Tanden argues that both sides can find common ground on tougher background checks.

Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, disagreed with that notion.

He argued that stolen guns were used in the fatal shooting last month at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

President Obama has already expressed support for many of the group's proposals put forward in the Center for American Progress' 11-page report.

Obama to Republicans: No Debt Ceiling Negotiations

2013-01-14T20:00:00Z

President Obama on Monday took a defiant tone in addressing Republican desires to raise the debt ceiling only equal to cuts in federal spending.

"They will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing the economy," Obama warned. "The full faith and credit of the United States of America is not a bargaining chip. And they better decide quickly because time is running short."

A number of Republicans have said they would be willing to allow a U.S. debt default or a government shutdown to force the Obama administration to accept deeper spending cuts than the White House would like.

"It would be a self-inflicted wound on the economy," he said. "Even entertaining the idea of this happening, of the United States of America not paying its bills, is irresponsible. It's absurd."

The president faced some blunt questions for reports, some of whom reminded him that he and other president's had agreed to compromises in spending in order to get the increase to the nation's debt limit.

CBS reporter Major Garrett reminded the president that as Senator, he'd voted against an increase to the debt ceiling under the George W. Bushes second administration.

Here is then-Senator Barack Obama on March 16, 2006:

"The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can't pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies."

Today, now President Obama said "If the goal is to make sure that we are being responsible about our debt and our deficit - if that's the conversation we're having, I'm happy to have that conversation." But warned, "What I will not do is to have that negotiation with a gun at the head of the American people."

The president's remarks today were met with stern responses from Republicans in both chambers of Congress.

"I do know that the most important issue confronting the future of our country is our deficit and debt," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said. "So we are hoping for a new seriousness on the part of the president with regard to the single biggest issue confronting the country, and we look forward to working with him to do something about this huge, huge problem."

House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement, "The American people do not support raising the debt ceiling without reducing government spending at the same time. ... The House will do its job and pass responsible legislation that controls spending, meets our nation's obligations and keeps the government running, and we will insist that the Democratic majority in Washington do the same."

As it stands now, the nation's debt is nearing the $16.4 cap, and is expected to reach the limit between February 15 and March 1 of this year.

Flu Outbreak Worsening

2013-01-14T18:00:00Z

This year's flu season is getting worse, with 47 states reporting outbreaks; supplies of the vaccine are growing scarce.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is estimating that 128 million does of the vaccine were administered this month. That represents 95% of the 135 million doses planned for manufacturing for the entire year.

New York State is the latest to declare a public health emergency, with 19,128 confirmed cases of influenza. That is five times the total number of cases reported in all of last season, which topped out at just over 4,400 confirmed cases.

New York Gov. Cuomo says that all state residents should have access to the vaccine. By declaring a public health emergency, pharmacies are now allowed to vaccinated residents 6 years of age and older.

Among health care workers there has been some reluctance to get this year's flu vaccination.

According to reports, in the past two months, 15 nurses and other hospital staffers in four states have lost their jobs because they refused to get the flu shot. Several others have resigned because they refused to get vaccinated.

In Rhode Island, which has a mandatory vaccination policy for its health care workers, some 1,000 workers signed a petition opposing the state's policy.

Reasons for work objections to getting vaccinated include allergic reactions, religious objections, skepticism over whether or not the vaccine will prevent health workers from infecting patients, and just good old American personal choice.

However, Medical ethicist Art Caplan told Fox News that health care workers' ethical obligation to protect patients trumps their individual rights.

"If you don't want to do it, you shouldn't work in that environment," said Caplan, medical ethics chief at New York University's Langone Medical Center. "Patients should demand that their health care provider gets flu shots -- and they should ask them."

Click this link if you're looking for answers about the flu

NRA Accuses Obama Task Force of Attacking 2nd Amendment

2013-01-11T20:00:00Z

After meeting with Vice President Joe Biden, who is leading the president's task force on gun violence, officials from the NRA said they were shocked at the administration's efforts to reduce gun violence.

"We were disappointed with how little this meeting had to do with keeping our children safe and how much it had to do with an agenda to attack the Second Amendment," the group said in a written statement. "While claiming that no policy proposals would be 'prejudged,' this Task Force spent most of its time on proposed restrictions on lawful firearms owners -- honest, taxpaying, hardworking Americans."

"It is unfortunate that this administration continues to insist on pushing failed solutions to our nation's most pressing problems. We will not allow law-abiding gun owners to be blamed for the acts of criminals and madmen."

That reaction came as the VP laid out various task force proposals, which included "universal" background checks, restricting high-capacity magazines and allowing federal agencies to do more research on gun violence.

That glimpse into the recommendations comes a day after Biden revealed that the president may use "executive orders" to implement some of the recommendations of the task force.

In addition to the meeting with the NRA, Biden and other Obama administration officials, including AG Eric Holder, also met with gun retailers including Walmart, Cabela's and Gander Mountain.

Obama Considering Executive Order On Gun Control

2013-01-10T20:00:00Z

Fueling what has already become a heated debate over gun control laws, Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday fanned the flames, saying the president is considering some sort of executive order as means of stiffening the nation's gun laws.

"Executive action ... can be taken," Biden said, adding that, "we haven't decided what that is yet."

The Vice President's comments came as he sat down with advocates for tighter gun control laws, specifically those relating to assault rifles and large-capacity magazines.

"This is not an exercise in photo opportunities or just getting to ask you all what your opinions are. We are vitally interested in what you have to say," Biden said.

Among the gun-advocacy groups attending the meeting Wednesday were Arizona for Gun Safety, the Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence, the Campaign to Keep Guns off Campus and Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

Today's meetings come a day ahead of what's being billed as a showdown between the author of the expired 1994 ban on assault weapons and the nation's largest lobby, the NRA.

Vice President Biden's revelation regarding executive order is sure set off a firestorm of reaction among second amendment advocates who worry that the government will eventually try to ban all guns from civilian owners.

Read more about The Gun Debate on FoxNews.com

Obama's Controversial Pick For Treasury Secretary

2013-01-10T19:00:00Z

In nominating his Jack Lew takeover for outgoing Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Obama has set the stage for what could be a contentious confirmation hearing.
In his fourth nomination, Obama said he "cannot think of a better person" to continue Geithner's work.

"I trust his judgment, I value his friendship. I know very few people with greater integrity," Obama said.

However his selection is already generating pushback from one leading GOP senator.
"Jack Lew must never be secretary of Treasury," Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee.

Sessions and other Republicans are still chapped over testimony Lew offered the Senate nearly two years ago in which Lew said the president's budget blueprint would get the country to a point where "we're not adding to the debt anymore."

The White House budget plan at the time showed the public debt soaring from $11 trillion in 2001 to nearly $19 trillion by 2021.

Before the Senate Lew said, "Our spending will not add to the debt."

Republican senators slammed Lew as "dishonest" for the claim.

Sessions said Lew's comments stand as "the most direct and important false assertion during my entire time in Washington."

He said the next Treasury secretary must be able to "look the American people in the eye and lay out an economic plan for America that will end our debt." Sessions continued: "Jack Lew is not that man."

While other Republican senators said they would reserve judgment on Lew, issues over Lew's involvement in upcoming sequestration cuts may gain traction as well.
In the 2012 Presidential debates, the issue of sequestration came up to which the president said the idea of sequestration was not his. It belonged to Congress.

However, according to legendary reporter and author Bob Woodward that is not entirely true. Speaking to Politico back in October 2012, Woodward said "What the president said is not correct," Woodward told Politico. "He's mistaken. And it's refuted by the people who work for him."

In his book "The Price of Politics" Woodward said that White House Office of Management Director Jack Lew and Legislative Affairs Director Rob Nabors took the sequestration proposal to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Read more about the president's controversial pick to be the next Treasury Secretary on FoxNews.com.

Lew As Treasury Secretary Facing GOP Opposition

2013-01-10T09:00:00Z

President Obama on Thursday is expected to nominate White House Chief Jack Lew to fill the slot of outgoing Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, whose reportedly told the president he's leaving at the end of January.

The prospect of Lew's nomination however is generating ire from at least one high-ranking GOP senator.

According to TheHill.com, Sen. Jeff Session (R-Ala.), the top republican on the Senate Budget committee says he will oppose Lew's nomination to run the Treasury Department, Jack Lew must never be Secretary of Treasury."

Sen. Session's issue with Lew goes back to testimony he gave the Senate Budget Committee less than two years age.

In a statement, Sessions says that Lew, as the president's budget director told Congress the budget "would not add to the debt of the United States."

Sessions recites Lew's testimony in the statement: "Our budget will get us, over the next several years, to the point where we can look the American people in the eye and say we're not adding to the debt anymore; we're spending money that we have each year, and then we can work on bringing down our national debt."

To which Session offered this statement: "To 'look the American people in the eye' and make such a statement remains the most direct and important false assertion during my entire time in Washington."

Read more about Sen. Session's issues with Jack Lew as Treasury secretary on TheHill.com

Flu Outbreak Spreads to More than 40 States

2013-01-09T06:00:00Z

From coast to coast, hospitals are being inundated with patients suffering from the flu. So far more than 2,000 people are in hospital beds suffering from influenza, 18 children have died.

Doctors are still not sure what's behind the early and strong outbreak of the flu that has now spread to more than 40 states.

As of last Thursday, nearly 300 confirmed cases were reported in the state of Michigan, where 3 children have died.

Seven people in Indiana have died of influenza during what is considered 1 of the worst outbreaks in several years.

The CDC says anyone who has not yet received a flu shot, should get one.
"While we can't say for certain how severe this season will be, we can say that a lot of people are getting sick with influenza, and we are getting reports of severe illness and hospitalizations," said Dr. Joe Bresee, chief of the Epidemiology and Prevention branch.

According to the CDC, it is likely the increased flu activity will continue for a while.

Read more about this year's flu outbreak and what you can do to fend it off on FoxNews.com

Investors Cautious Ahead of Earnings Season

2013-01-09T04:00:00Z

The Dow Jones Industrial Average 55 points on the day. The Nasdaq Composite lost 7 points. The S&P 500 finished down 5 points.

Industrial and telecom stocks were among the biggest burdens on the blue chip index. Boeing's stocks fell 2.6 percent on news of a second incident with its 787 Dreamliner was reported in as many days.

Other laggards on the Dow included Verizon, which fell 2.4%. AT&T finished trading down 1.7% despite reporting record quarter smartphone sales, topping 10 million units in the final quarter of 2012.

Apple's stock price ended trading fractionally higher on reports the company is looking at a cheaper version of its iPhone. Apple reportedly looking at using less expensive and some recycled components to offer a lower cost iPhone to better compete with rivals like Samsung in emerging markets.

The shares of Yum Brands, parent company of KFC and Taco Bell ended the session sharply lower, down 4.2% on the day. That after the company said it expects to report a 6% drop in 4th quarter same-store sales in China.

The shares of Sears Holding ended trading down 6.4% following news its CEO Louis D'Ambrosio is stepping down to address family medical issues.

Oil futures inched lower ahead of the Energy Department's report on weekly petroleum inventories report due out on Wednesday. The benchmark crude oil contract fell 4 cents, or 0.04%, to settle at $93.15 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline rose 0.61% to $2.794 a gallon.

And after finishing the regular trading session flat, the shares of Alcoa traded up better than 1% on its late day earnings report. The aluminum producer reported adjusted earnings of 6 cents a share, matching Wall Street estimates. Alcoa's $5.9 billion in quarterly revenues however was above estimates of $5.6.

Obama Nominations Face Political Scrutiny

2013-01-08T06:00:00Z

With his batteries recharged over a truncated Hawaiian vacation, President Obama on Monday announced two nominations to fill out his national security team.

The president nominated Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel to be the next Secretary of Defense, replacing the outgoing Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta.

Hagel since 2009 has served as co-chair of the president's Intelligence Advisory Board, and would be the first enlisted soldier and Vietnam veteran to hold the top slot at the Defense Department.

Hagel served two terms as a Senator from Nebraska, during which time he sat on the Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees.

"Chuck Hagel is the leader that our troops deserve. He is an American patriot," the president said.

However, Hagel's nomination doesn't come with some political baggage, likely to be addressed during his Senate confirmation hearing.

Hagel has been criticized for advocating for direct talks with both Iran and Hamas, and voted against encouraging the European Union to label Hezbollah a terrorist group.

Hagel once referred to the "Jewish lobby" and its supposed efforts to "intimidate" members of Congress, and he distanced himself from Israel, reportedly asserting that he was not an Israeli Senator.

"This is a controversial pick," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told CNN. "He is an antagonistic figure when it comes to the state of Israel. It's a signal you're sending to Iran at the worst possible time and to our allies."

President Obama on Monday also named John Brennan as choice to head the CIO, currently being led by acting CIA Director Michael Morell.

If confirmed, Brennan brings with him 25-years with the agency, making him well versed in the inter-workings of the secretive intelligence community.

However, like Hagel, Brennan has made his fair-share of miscues that will surely be brought up during confirmation hearings.

Brennan once referred to Jerusalem as "Al Quds," the Arabic name for the city, and he announced that the government would not use the terms "Islamists" and "Jihadists."

After it was reported that 20 percent of detainees released from the Guantanamo Bay prison returned to terrorist activities, Brennan said that rate "isn't that bad" compared to the American recidivism rate.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) declared Brennan's comment "just absolutely disconnected from the world in which we live."

"He's lost my confidence," Graham said at the time.

Brennan has also advocated prosecuting detained terrorists in the civilian criminal system, and he drew sharp criticism for his handling of the foiled Christmas Day Bomber plot.

Republicans Next Move After

2013-01-08T05:00:00Z

Republican leaders in Washington are facing another politically vital showdown with President Obama over government spending and the nation's $16.4 trillion debt.

"The only thing less responsible than refusing to raise the debt ceiling is continuing to put us more in debt," says Chris Chocola, president of the conservative Club for Growth.

Chocoala's words are resonating with conservatives on Capitol Hill and Americans across the nation. The question now is, do Republicans have the will and leadership to force President Obama to concede 1-for-1 spending cuts in return for an increase in the debt ceiling.

For his part, President Obama has said he will not negotiate on the debt ceiling.

"I will not have another debate with this Congress over whether or not they should pay the bills that they have already racked up through the laws that they passed," the president said last week. "If Congress refuses to give the United States government the ability to pay these bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy would be catastrophic."

On NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, (R-KY), was noncommittal on whether or not he'd go as far as a supporting a government shutdown.

"It's a shame that we have to use whatever leverage we have in Congress" to force the White House to negotiate, he said.

Looking to put their trashing over the 'fiscal cliff' behind them, Republicans seem eager for a fight over the debt ceiling and spending cuts.

"The debt ceiling is our next best opportunity to start controlling spending," said Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee.

However White House spokesman Josh Earnest says Obama "stands ready to compromise with Republicans on a balanced approach to reducing our deficit that includes cutting spending, reforming entitlements and asking wealthy Americans and American corporations to pay a little more. But that agreement will not be the ransom paid for the full faith and credit of the United States of America."

Boehner & Obama Headed Towards a Debt Ceiling Showdown

2013-01-05T07:00:00Z

As the President winds down his Hawaiian vacation, Speaker Boehner is throwing down the gauntlet on out of control spending and the debt ceiling.

In a closed door meeting with his fellow Republicans, the re-elected speaker used a recent poll to warrant his demand that the president cut spending in return for an increase to the nation's $16.5 trillion debt limit.

Boehner reportedly told the attendees of the Republican conference, "With the cliff behind us, the focus turns to spending."

According to reports, the Speaker cited a poll that showed "72 percent of Americans" believe an increase to the nations debt ceiling must be offset by spending cuts and reforms equal to any increase to the government's debt limit.

"That's the principle I laid out before the Economic Club of New York in May of 2011, and I've repeated a number of times since. The debate is already underway," Boehner said, according to reports citing unnamed sources.

Boehner's renewed bravado comes on the heels of what many consider a lashing from the President over the so-called fiscal cliff. A potentially economically crippling combination of tax hikes and automatic sequestration spending cuts that was avoided at the last minute with the passage of the Senate crafted deal, which raised tax rates on those couples earning more than $450,000 a year.

The Speaker's new declarations were made in the face of the president's warnings issued shortly after the House passed the fiscal cliff deal.

"While I will negotiate over many things, I will not have another debate with this Congress over whether or not they should pay the bills that they've already racked up through the laws that they passed. Let me repeat: We can't not pay bills that we've already incurred. If Congress refuses to give the United States government the ability to pay these bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy would be catastrophic -- far worse than the impact of a fiscal cliff. "

Treasury Secretary Timothy notified Congress earlier this week that the nation had already hit its $16.4 trillion debt limit, but temporary measures to pay creditors would hold off the need for an increase to the debt ceiling for perhaps a couple months.

In 2011, the debt ceiling debate debacle resulted Standard and Poor's downgrading the nation's credit rating after Congress struggled to lift the cap.

Stocks Turn In Strong Weekly Gains

2013-01-05T06:00:00Z

Stocks on Wall Street finish the trading session modestly higher, capping what was a stellar week for the market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 44 points on the day. The Nasdaq Composite rose a point. The S&P 500 gained 7 points to close at the highest level since 2007.

For the week, the Dow tallied an impressive 3.8% gain. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 4.8%. And the S&P 500 climbed 4.6%, logging its strongest weekly percentage gain in more than a year.

Investors today showed modest enthusiasm towards mostly upbeat news on the economy. Non-farm payrolls in December rose inline with expectations, up 155,000 from November. The private sector grew payrolls by 168,000 while government employment shed 13,000. Construction, health-care and manufacturing combined created some 100,000 jobs last month.

The unemployment last month came in at 7.8%. While that is slightly higher than the 7.7% reading in November, the unemployment rate is viewed as unchanged because the increase is a result of an annual adjustment by the Labor Department.

The market did get some great news on the services sector, which expanded more than expected. The ISM services index for December rose to ten month high of 56.1%, surpassing the expected reading of 54.7%.

The only disappointing news came on factory orders during the month of November. The Commerce Department reported that orders, which were expected to rise by .3%, were flat in November. The report highlighted weak demand for transportation items, specifically civilian and military aircraft, as the primary drag on monthly factory orders.

Lingering concerns over several Federal Reserve officials suggesting that Fed bond purchases should be slowed or stopped by the end of 2013 took a toll on precious metals. Gold prices ended the day down 1.5% to close at $1,648.90 an ounce. Losses were far worse in the silver market. The March silver contract finished trading down 3.25%, closing at $29.95 an ounce.

Crud oil prices meanwhile found support from news of a steeper than expected drop in weekly crude inventories. The Energy Department today reported that crude inventories last week fell by 11-million barrels, far steeper than the 1-million barrel decline the market was expecting. By day's end, crude finished 17 cents higher, settling at $93.09 a barrel, 2.5% higher for the week.

State and Federal Lawmakers Ramping Up Calls For Tighter Gun Regulation

2013-01-05T05:00:00Z

The debate over tighter gun regulation is reaching new heights following the shootings that killed 20 children and six adults in Newtown, Connecticut last month.

One Connecticut state lawmaker is attempting to make public the names and addresses of 170,000 handgun permit holders in the state.

The measure introduced by Rep. Stephen Dargan is the latest effort to clamp down on guns in Connecticut in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. If passed, the bill would reverse a 20-year decision by state lawmakers to keep the personal information confidential.

Wasting no time after the swearing in of the 113th U.S. Congress, Democratic Reps. Carolyn McCarthy of New York and Diana DeGette of Colorado refiled a bill that would ban high-capacity ammunition magazines.

"These devices are used to kill as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time possible, and we owe it to innocent Americans everywhere to keep them out of the hands of dangerous people," McCarthy said. "We don't even allow hunters to use them - something's deeply wrong if we're protecting game more than we're protecting innocent human beings."
In addition to the bill that would ban the high-capacity magazines, McCarthy and DeGette also introduced a bill that would ban the online sale of ammunition.

The Obama administration, which was virtually mute on the issue until last month, is expected to issue a plan of its own by mid-January. President Obama asked Vice President Biden, who helped pass the 1994 assault weapons ban while a senator, to lead the administration's effort to send proposals to Congress.

The National Rifle Association, which has successfully fought off many attempts to increase gun regulation over the years, expects gun control advocates to come "full force" at the NRA.

But Chicago's status being the murder capitol of the nation, while having some of the strictest gun laws in the country, there seems to be no obvious answer to solving the gun debate.

Read more about Chicago's out of control gun violence on FoxNews.com.

Boehner Elected Speaker of 113th Congress

2013-01-04T07:00:00Z

Speaker John Boehner appears to have dusted himself off from the GOP's fiscal cliff collapse.

Boehner who was elected as Speaker of the 113th Congress has reportedly written off future closed door, one on one meetings with President Obama.

According to Fox News, Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said going forward "he is recommitting himself and the House to what we've done, which is working through regular order and letting the House work its will."

Boehner will preside over a Congress that looks much like the one that failed to support his fiscal cliff "Plan B," a Republican majority but reported divisions emerging within the GOP leadership.

The 12-term congressman called on the House to take on the nation's spirally debt with urgency.

"The American dream is in peril," Boehner said. "It's wrong to pass this debt on to our kids and our grandkids," referring to the nation's more than $16.4 trillion debt.

Those words come as the county is reach its debt limit in February, setting up another showdown with President Obama over spending cuts and taxes.

Read more about what's ahead for Speaker Boehner and the 113th Congress on FoxNews.com.

Uncertainty Surrounding The Fed's Bond Purchases Weighs On Stock Prices

2013-01-04T06:00:00Z

Stocks on Wall Street ended the day modestly lower. Investors finding little motivation in better than expected economic reports, instead choosing to focus on conflicting opinions on the Federal Reserve's stimulus programs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session down 21 points. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 12 points. The S&P 500 finished trading down 3 points.

Stocks bobbed in and out of positive territory for much of the day leading up to the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's December policy meeting.

Stocks lost traction as it appears Fed officials don't see much improvement in the labor market without further stimulative measures by the central bank. Investors also reacted to several officials questioning whether or not the Fed should end its bond purchasing program by the end of this year.

Those conflicting points of view overshadowed mostly great news on the U.S. economy.

ADP reported that private sector employers added 215,000 jobs in December, easily topping estimates of a far more modest 133,000.

Planned layoffs in December declined for the first time in four months. Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported planned layoffs last month plunged 43% to just 32,556. For the year, planned layoffs fell 14% from the previous year. The year-end total of 523,362 layoffs is the lowest since 1997.

Weekly jobless claims last week rose 10,000 to 372,000. But the weekly revision would have been double that had the previous week's report not been unexpected revised to show an additional 12,000 claims for first time unemployment benefits.

2012 proved to be another solid year for U.S. automakers Chrysler, Ford and General Motors. Not only did all three top December sales targets, but the group also posted its third straight year of double-digit sales growth.

Retailers however not having nearly as cheerful close to the year. Family Dollar Stores, Kohl's, Limited Brands and Target among the retail chains to report disappointing December sales.

Gold prices on Thursday retreated following a two-day rally. The February gold contract fell 0.8% on the day, closing at $1,674.60 an ounce.

Crude oil prices ended the session modestly lower, down 20 cents, settling at $92.92 a barrel.

Report: Geithner Leaving Administration Before Debt Ceiling Deal

2013-01-04T04:00:00Z

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is reportedly planning to leave the Obama administration before the debt ceiling debate heats up.

According to reporting by Bloomberg's Hans Nichols, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Obama administration he's leaving at the end of the month - with or without a deal on the nation's debt ceiling.

That news comes on the heels of a contentious battle over a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff that left many in Washington exhausted.

If Geithner does leave as some suspect by the end of January, President Obama will have to scramble to appoint his replacement. Some say the frontrunner for the slot is Obama's current Chief of Staff Jack Lew.

However, the administration is looking to Wall Street for potential candidates as well.

According to Bloomberg, America Express CEO Kenneth Chenault was approached about possibly joining that administration as Treasury Secretary. But according to a spokesman, Chenault "isn't interested in leaving his private sector job."

Whoever the president chooses, their job comes at a pivotal time in American politics.

Republicans appear recommitted to a fight over raising the nation's debt ceiling and our out of control government spending which has amounted to five straight years of trillion dollar deficits and $16.4 trillion in debt.

Mini Fiscal Deal Avoids Cliff For Now

2013-01-03T07:00:00Z

With overwhelming Democratic support in the House, lawmakers Tuesday night passed the Senate crafted "fiscal cliff" proposal in a 257-167 vote.

Once signed into law by President Obama, those earning more than $450,000 a year will be taxed at a higher rate of 39.6%.

The bill provides a permanent fix to the alternative minimum tax, and also raises the tax rate on capital gains and dividends for top earners from 15% to 20%.

The bill delays automatic sequestration spending cuts for two months. However, it wasn't a total win for those making under $450,000 a year. The passed bill ends the so-called payroll tax holiday, which means that everyone will see their payroll taxes go up by two percentage points.

Final passage of the bill came at the end of a day filled with a lot of drama. Majority Leader Eric Cantor voiced opposition to the Senate proposal earlier in the day. Other Republicans echoed his concern over the bill, which has $1 in spending cuts for every $41 in new taxes, as well.

"I would be shocked if this bill didn't go back to the Senate," he said. "I think we're there on more revenue, but, you know, there is more revenue but no spending cuts," said Rep. Spencer Bachus, (R-AL).

Republicans floated a proposal to add $330 billion in spending cuts to the Senate bill, but back off the idea once leaders learned they did not have a majority behind any spending-cut plan, and allowed the straight vote.

In the straight up vote on the Senate bill, Republicans appeared boxed in, and cast their vote with a seeming defeated tone.

The final vote tally showed twice as many Democrats supporting the bill as Republicans - with 172 Democrats in favor, compared with 85 Republicans.

President Obama took to his podium shortly after the vote before midnight to thank those Democrats and Republicans who voted in favor of the bill. He also thanked Vice President Joe Biden for his efforts that helped push the bill through Congress.

"Thanks to the votes of Republicans and Democrats in Congress, I will sign a law that raises taxes on the wealthiest 2% of Americans while preventing tax hikes that could have sent the economy back into recession," Obama said.

House Speaker John Boehner said shortly after the vote that Congress must now turn its attention to spending.

"The American people re-elected a Republican majority in the House, and we will use it in 2013 to hold the president accountable for the `balanced' approach he promised, meaning significant spending cuts and reforms to the entitlement programs that are driving our country deeper and deeper into debt," he said.

However President Obama took a defiant tone towards those Republicans who believe he's now obligated to cut spending without generating additional revenues.

"The fact is, the deficit is still too high," Obama said, repeating his openness to examining ways to strengthen entitlement programs like Medicare. "But the deficit needs to be reduced in a way that's balanced," he added, saying "further reforms to our tax code" must accompany spending cuts.

"Today's agreement enshrines, I think, a principle into law that will remain in place as long as I am President," Obama said. "The deficit needs to be reduced in a way that's balanced. Everyone pays their fair share. Everyone does their part. That's how our economy works best. That's how we grow."

The president and lawmakers are likely to put the country through a similar series of debates and finger pointing in the near future. While the fiscal cliff deal addresses tax rates on higher earners, expect to be bombarded by debate focusing on the government spending and the debt ceiling, as well as automatic sequestration cuts which the fiscal deal simply delayed for two months.

Stocks Begin The New Year in Rally Mode

2013-01-03T06:00:00Z

2013 begins with a bang on Wall Street as investors cheer action to avoid the fiscal cliff.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 308 points, its best start to any new year. The Nasdaq Composite skyrocketed 93-points. The S&P 500 gained 36 points on the day.

The market today expressed it jubilation over Congress finally passing a fiscal cliff deal. While reviews of the agreement are mixed, the accord at least offered the investors some certainty on taxes heading into 2013.

After months of political sparring on Capitol Hill, lawmakers finally passed a budget bill Tuesday, electing hike federal income tax rates on those couples earning more than $450,000 a year. The deal also delays painful automatic sequestration spending cuts for another two months.

The market further boosted by a stronger than expected rebound in manufacturing. The ISM manufacturing index for December came in at 50.7, rebounding from the sub-50 reading in November. Construction spending during the month of November however was weaker than expected, unexpectedly slipping .3%.

All 30-Dow components ended trading higher, led by a 5% jump in the shares of Hewlett-Packard. Caterpillar gained 4.3% on the day. While Alcoa, Bank of America, Cisco Systems, Intel, Coca Cola, Microsoft and Pfizer all logged better than 3% gains. A truly a strong, broad-based rally on the blue chip index.

Apple's stock continued to build on year-end momentum, today rallying 3.1% on news its already testing a new iPhone and version of its operation system.

Today's risk on trading took a big toll on debt prices. After logging the lowest year-end close in decades, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose 8 basis points, ending at a more than three-month high of 1.84%.

Commodity prices meanwhile benefitted from today's rally. Gold prices rose .5%, closing at $1,684.60 an ounce. Crude oil prices advanced $1.30, or 1.4%, settling at $93.12 a barrel.

House Leaves Sandy Victims Swinging In The Wind

2013-01-03T05:00:00Z

With all eyes focused on the House passage of the Senate crafted fiscal cliff deal, the current session of Congress is set to expire without voting on aid for victims of Super-storm Sandy.That omission in the day's business has lawmakers on both sides of the aisle up in arms.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., who was apparently told the House would vote on the aid bill Tuesday, voiced his frustration saying, that leaving the bill to the next session of Congress is absolutely inexcusable, absolutely indefensible."

His frustration over the bill not making it to the floor for a vote was echoed by other House members representing the storm ravaged northeast.

"I truly feel betrayed this evening," said Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y.

"We need to be there for all those in need now after Hurricane Sandy," said Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y.

"This is an absolute disgrace and the speaker should hang his head in shame," said Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y.

The Senate approved a $60.4 billion measure Friday to help with recovery from the October storm that devastated parts of New York, New Jersey and nearby states.

The House Appropriations Committee has drafted a smaller, $27 billion measure, and a vote had been expected before Congress' term ends Thursday at noon.

More than $2 billion in federal funds has been spent so far on relief efforts for 11 states and the District of Columbia struck by the storm, one of the worst ever to hit the Northeast.

Read more about the unfinished business in the House of Representatives on FoxNews.com

Obama & Lawmakers Consider Watered Down Deal To Avoid Fiscal Cliff

2012-12-27T05:00:00Z

President Obama and lawmakers are expected to return to Washington DC on Thursday in hopes of striking a last minute deal to avoid the fiscal cliff.

With no bills passed in either the House or the Senate, President Obama faces a daunting task to craft a compromise that will pass muster with lawmakers.

A new Gallup poll released on Wednesday shows that Americans are growing less optimistic that a bargain on any scale will be reached in time to stave off a combined $600 billion in tax hikes and government spending cuts.

The president's aids are reportedly discussing a watered down deal, aimed at extending jobless benefits and preventing most of the scheduled tax increases from going into affect.

Last week the president and Speaker Boehner were $600,000 apart in the income thresholds expected to see an increase in taxes.

Obama, who had originally demanded taxes rise for all households making more than $250,000, then agreed to raise the threshold to $400,000.

Boehner, who initially opposed any increase in tax rates, believed he could sell fellow conservatives on a deal that would raise taxes on those households earning $1,000,000 or more. However, his so-called "Plan B" failed to garner enough support in the House, forcing Boehner to cancel a vote on the bill.

Read more about the status of the fiscal cliff negotiations on FoxNews.com

Obama Urges Congress To Take Another Swing At a Fiscal Cliff Deal

2012-12-22T05:00:00Z

As lawmakers were heading home for the Christmas holiday, President Obama on Friday urged congressional leaders to take another stab at drafting a bill aimed at solving the fiscal cliff impasse.

Speaking at the White House, the president said no side is going to get everything they want.

"Everybody's got to give a little bit in a sensible way" to prevent the economy from pitching over a recession-threatening fiscal cliff, he said.

Despite months of wrangling between he and speaker Boehner with nothing to show for their efforts, President Obama suggested that a bill could be crafted before the fiscal cliff deadline, now just 10-days away.

After failing to muster enough Republican support for his fiscal cliff back up plan, House Speaker John Boehner he'd done all he could in the House and that it was now up to the president and the Senate to recue the economy from the cliff.

"We didn't have the votes to pass it," Boehner said. "It's not the outcome that I wanted, but that was the will of the House."

He called on Democrats to step up and get serious about spending cuts, noting they control the Senate and White House.

"At some point the United States Senate has to do something," he said. At the same time, Boehner denied that he was giving up on talks with Obama.

Standing by Boehner, House Republican Leader Eric Cantor said "we stand ready to continue a dialogue with this president to actually fix the problem."

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, in response, accused Boehner of pursuing "political stunts," and urged the House to approve a Senate plan that would let taxes rise for incomes only above $250,000.

The Fiscal Cliff Impasse Sparks a 1% Selloff On Wall Street

2012-12-22T04:00:00Z

Wall Street investors today balked at the fiscal cliff impasse in Washington.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 121 points on the day. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 29 points. The S&P 500 finished with 14 point loss.

Despite today's selloff all three indexes ended the week higher. The Dow rose 0.4%. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 each finished with better than 1% gains.

Today's selling pressure was ignited by Speaker Boehner's failure to muster enough support from conservatives to a call a vote on his back up plan.

Late Thursday, in a last minute change of direction, Boehner issued a statement saying the vote wouldn't take place, calling on President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to offer a solution.

The market today is also reacted to mixed news on the economy. The Commerce Department reported that orders for last month increased a better than expected 0.7 percent. Excluding the transportation, orders jumped 1.6%, topping estimates of a 0.2% decline.

Consumer spending rose 0.4% in November, a slightly larger increase than the 0.3% economists had forecast. Gains in personal income were also stronger than expected, up 0.6%, marking the steepest monthly gain since February.

The news on consumer confidence was not nearly as good. The Reuters/University of Michigan reading of consumer sentiment in December sank to 72.9. The steeper than expected decline is being blamed on rising anxiety over the fiscal cliff impasse.

Bank of America led decliners on the blue chip index, B of A fell 2% on the day.

Research in Motion turned out to be a huge drag on the technology sector. RIMM plunged 23% despite topping quarterly earnings and revenue targets. Investors instead focused on the company's first-ever drop in its subscriber base. Investors were also uncomfortable with RIMM's vagueness regarding how revenues would be impacted by the launch of its new Blackberry 10 platform next month.

The dollar, gold and U.S. debt proved beneficiaries of safe haven buying spurred by the fiscal cliff impasse. Traders bid up the price of the U.S. 10-year Treasury note, pushing the yield on the benchmark Treasury note to 1.76%.

A five-day winning streak in the crude oil market comes to an end. The February crude oil contract ended the session down more than 1.6%, settling at $88.66 a barrel.

Obama Nominates Sen. John Kerry To Replace Sec. of State Hillary Clinton

2012-12-22T03:00:00Z

While trying to remain engaged in the fiscal cliff negotiations, President Obama on Friday nominated Sen. John Kerry as his next Secretary of State.

Obama described Kerry as the "perfect choice" to replace outgoing Sec. of State Clinton.

Obama's final choice comes after U.S. Ambassador to the UN, believed to be his first choice, ended her bid for the job as a result of her becoming the face and voice of what many believe is the administration's cover-up regarding the Benghazi terrorist attack that result in the death of four U.S. citizens.

In making his decision on Kerry, President Obama highlighted the Senator's years of service in the upper chamber and his chairmanship of the Foreign Relations Committee.

"In a sense, John's entire life has prepared him for this role. ... John's played a central role in every major foreign policy debate for nearly 30 years," the president said. "Few individuals know as many presidents or prime ministers or grasp our foreign policies as firmly as John Kerry."

The president's nomination of Kerry marks the first of many members of his cabinet expected to step down leading up to the Obama's second term in office.

Boehner's Plan B Vote Cancelled, Fiscal Cliff Less Than Two Weeks Away

2012-12-21T06:00:00Z

House Speaker Boehner Thursday night was slapped with a slab of conservative angst over raising taxes on anyone. Obviously lacking the support needed to pass his "Plan B," Boehner pulled the bill from the floor just minutes before the scheduled vote.

The surprise cancellation of the vote followed House Republicans narrowly passing a bill aimed at replacing automatic spending cuts set to hit next month. That bill passed on a 215-209, with 21 Republicans reportedly unwilling to support the measure.

Leading up to the second of the two votes, some 40 Republicans came out against the tax bill that would have raised taxes on those earning over $1,000,000 a year, while preserving the Bush era tax cuts for the rest.

"The House did not take up the tax measure today because it did not have sufficient support from our members to pass," Boehner said in a statement. "Now it is up to the president to work with Senator Reid on legislation to avert the fiscal cliff."

Shortly after that statement, the White House said the "President will work with Congress to get this done and we are hopeful that we will be able to find a bipartisan solution quickly that protects the middle class and our economy."

Today's turmoil on Capitol Hill is raising more questions about Washington's ability to avoid the fiscal cliff now fewer than 11-days away.

The global financial markets embodied investor dissatisfaction with the day's events. Stocks in Asia suffered steep declines, with U.S. futures tanking as well.

State Department Official Suggests Benghazi Warnings Went to Top

2012-12-21T05:00:00Z

State Department officials testifying before Congressional committees learn what many had feared - top department officials, if not Secretary of State Hillary Clinton herself should have been aware of security issues leading up the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.

Deputy Secretary of State Williams Burns, testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the cables "would have been reviewed up through the assistant secretary level, and it may be that some of my colleagues on the seventh floor saw them as well." Burns was referring to Clinton's office in his reference to the seventh floor.

Burns also confirmed that "there were certainly memos" that went to Clinton's office describing numerous security incidents in the region before the attack that claimed four American lives, including that of two Navy Seals, a State Department information staffer and U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

Expressing their outrage over the security lapses and lack of action to avoid tragic events like those on Sept. 11, Senate Foreign Relations Committee dressed down State officials.

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., pushed back after a State Department witness suggested that a lack of funding was partly responsible for insufficient security at the consulate.

"This is not about the money," Corker said at the hearing. "I want to know why you did not ask for the resources in Benghazi. You were aware of the security issues there. We've read the cables."

Corker however saved his greatest criticism for Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides.
"We never did a top-to-bottom review, so we have no idea if the State Department is using its money wisely," Corker said. "I cannot imagine sending out folks to Benghazi if we did not have adequate security for them. So my question, again, is why? Why did we do it?"

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, a possible nominee to replace outgoing Secretary of State Clinton, faulted Congress for failing to provide sufficient funds to protect American officials overseas. He also claimed government staffers serving in hostile regions will remain vulnerable until more funds are allocated to address security issues.

"There is no doubt in my mind that we need additional resources," Kerry said.

Nides and Burns both told committee members that the State Department had "already begun to fix" the "serious, systemic problems" highlighted in the report that pointed mismanagement at the State Department in its handling of the Benghazi incident.

Stocks Rise Along With Fiscal Cliff Optimism

2012-12-21T04:00:00Z

Stocks able to recover from early losses as optimism about a fiscal cliff deal boosted investor confidence.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average up 61 points on the day. The Nasdaq Composite rose 6 points. The S&P 500 gained 8 points.

House Speaker Boehner today saying that despite his effort to push thru a back up plan, the Republican "Plan B," he still intends to continue working with President Obama to arrive at a deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff now less than two weeks away.

The market also got a boost from some great news on the U.S. economy. The government's revised report on 3rd quarter GDP showed the economy growing at a better than expected rate of 3.1%. That's considerably better than expected growth rate of 2.8%.

Existing home sales last month also far exceed Wall Street expectations, reaching the highest level in three years. Sales of previously owned homes in November jumped 5.9% to an annual rate of 5.04 million units.

News of expansion manufacturing in the Philadelphia region also delighted investors. The Federal Reserve's gauge of mid-Atlantic manufacturing activity showing expansion, coming in at 8.1. That's a huge rebound from the -10.7 reading in November.

As expected, the Fed's index of leading economic indicators for November retreated 0.2%. The only really disappointing news was an unexpected rise in weekly jobless claims. First time claims for unemployment benefits last week rose 17,000 to 361,000.

In corporate news, it's a possible end of an era. The 220-year old, independently owned and operated, New York Stock Exchange is being purchased by Intercontinental Exchange. ICE is buying the big board's parent company NYSE Euronext for $8.2 billion, ICE paying a 38% premium based Wednesday's closing price of $24.05 a share.

Obama Vs. Boehner In Fiscal Cliff Political Death Match

2012-12-20T06:00:00Z

The rhetoric between President Obama and House Speaker Boehner heated up ahead of the planned vote on the Republican "Plan B."

The plan, which extends the Bush-era tax cuts to all those making less than $1,000,000 a year, is schedule to go to the House floor on Thursday.

The back up plan is aimed at averting a deluge of tax hikes less than two weeks form potentially crippling the U.S. economy. Both President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are vowing to oppose it.

"Tomorrow, the House will pass legislation to make permanent tax relief for nearly every American," Boehner said in his 56 second press conference. "Then the president will have a decision to make. He can call on the Senate Democrats to pass that bill or he can be responsible for the largest tax increase in American history."

The game of economic chicken developed after the budget negotiations on Tuesday hit an impasse.

On Wednesday morning, the White House issued a formal veto threat, suggesting that the Republicans needed to "peel off the partisan war paint."

The American public and Wall Street had been feeling more optimistic that lawmakers and the president were moving closer to striking a fiscal cliff deal. The speaker and president had reportedly narrowed the gap between income thresholds subject to 2013 tax hikes.

Senior administration officials accused Boehner of derailing the cordial and productive tone of the fiscal talks with his "Plan B."

Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said the "opposition to a back-up plan to ensure taxes don't rise on American families is growing more bizarre and irrational by the day."
President Obama had reportedly planned to leave on Friday for his family vacation. However, he's now planning to remain in Washington DC for the foreseeable future.

Libya Report Forces State Department Resignations

2012-12-20T05:00:00Z

The scathing report highlighting security lapses at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi leading up to the Sept. 11 ushers in resignations of three State Department Officials.

According to the Associated Press, Eric Boswell, the assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security, and Charlene Lamb, the deputy assistant secretary responsible for embassy security, were both pressured to step down after the release of the report Tuesday night. A third, still unidentified official is believed to have worked for the Bureau of Near East Affairs.

The State Department-ordered investigation of the terrorist attack concluded that "systemic failures" left the facility inadequately protected.

The independent review board's report also confirmed that no protest preceded the deadly attack, as the Obama administration first told the public.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was scheduled to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday. But that testimony is now expected sometime in next month after a concussion will prevent her from attending tomorrow's hearing.

The Accountability Review Board's report identified "leadership and management deficiencies at senior levels within two bureaus," but recommended no disciplinary action.

Investigators also concluded that "a pervasive realization among personnel who served in Benghazi that the Special Mission was not a high priority for Washington when it came to security-related requests, especially those relating to staffing."

The board's co-chairman, retired Adm. Mike Mullen, told reporters that "we did conclude that certain State Department bureau level senior officials in critical levels of authority and responsibility in Washington demonstrated a lack of leadership and management ability appropriate for senior ranks in their responses to security concerns posed by the special mission."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday she will address the deficiencies identified in the report.

Heightened Fiscal Cliff Rhetoric Weighs On Investor Confidence

2012-12-20T04:00:00Z

The mood on Wall Street Wednesday turned decided sour as the political rhetoric heated up in Washington DC.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 99 points. The Nasdaq Composite lost 10 points. The S&P 500 finished trading down 11 points.

The upbeat mood that lifted stocks to two year highs on Tuesday evaporated after President Obama warned Republicans that he will veto their fiscal cliff "Plan B" is it reaches his desk.

An aid for House Speaker Johh Boehner promptly struck back, calling the response from the White House "bizarre and irrational." Adding to the day's bizarre events, Speaker Boehner held a 56 second press conference.

He said Obama can "call on the Senate Democrats to pass (Plan B), or he can be responsible for the largest tax increase in American history."

The mood of the market was also dampened by a softer than expected report on home construction. Housing starts in November fell 3% to an annual rate of 861,000.

Meanwhile, building permits issued last month jumped to the highest level since July 2008. Those mixed readings called into question the strength of the housing recovery.

90% of the Dow's 30 components ended the day in the loser's column. Alcoa and General Electric led decliners on the blue chip index, both stocks lost 3% on the day.

Unlike the equities market, energy futures rallied higher. Crude oil prices logged gains for a fourth straight session. The January futures contract expired at the close of trading, up $1.58, settling at $89.51 a barrel.

Republicans Look To "Plan B"

2012-12-19T06:00:00Z

House Republicans today worked on a "Plan B" in the event recent traction in the fiscal cliff negotiations falters.

House Speaker John Boehner took to his fellow Republicans a proposal for legislation that would only raise taxes on those making more than $1 million a year. The plan also calls for entitlement cuts and a tax reform debate next year.

"Every income tax filer in America is going to pay higher rates come Jan. 1 unless Congress acts," Boehner said Tuesday morning, as he introduced his alternative plan.
The White House however rejected the idea of Boehner's "Plan B," saying it will never pass into law.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said it "doesn't ask enough of the very wealthiest in taxes and instead shifts the burden to the middle class and seniors," and cannot pass the Senate.

Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck quickly shot back at that suggestion.

"After spending months saying we must ask for more from millionaires and billionaires, how can they reject a plan that does exactly that?"

Boehner's office is accusing the president of "moving the goal posts" and flirting with the real possibility of raising taxes on every American taxpayer.

Keeping in mind that recent talks have yielded movement on income thresholds subject to tax hikes, one Boehner aide said the speaker "hopeful an agreement will be reached," but complained that the president's latest counteroffer of $1.2 trillion in revenue increases and "only" $850 billion in spending cuts is still out of balance.

Still, Boehner faces an uphill battle in selling conservatives on any agreement with the president or his own "Plan B" that results in higher taxes.

Further complicating matters, some rank and file members are not thrilled with the idea increasing the debt ceiling to a level that would exclude the issue from negotiations over the coming year.

Stocks Rally on Rising Hopes For a Fiscal Cliff Deal

2012-12-19T05:00:00Z

Rising optimism regarding a possible deal to avert the fiscal cliff bolstered investor confidence on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average logged a back-to-back triple digit gain, rising 116 points on the day. The Nasdaq Composite gained 44 points. The S&P 500 finished the session 16 points higher. Those gains marked the S&P 500's best two-day performance in nearly a month, ending at its highest level in nearly two months.

The upbeat mood that began on Monday carried over into trading today. Sources told Fox News the Obama administration offered Republicans a higher threshold for tax increases in a move House Speaker John Boehner's office called "a step in the right direction." However, sticking points remain, including raising the debt ceiling.

In the event that Boehner and Obama aren't able to bridge the gap between their proposals, House Republicans today took up a 'Plan B' that would avoid tax hikes on most Americans. The plan leaving in place the Bush era tax cuts for those making less than $1,000,000 a year.

Financials today turned in strong gains after well known analyst Meredith Whitney turned bullish on the sector, upgrading Bank of America, Citigroup and Discover Financial to "buy" from "hold."

Bank of America led advancers on the blue chip index, jumping 3.27% on the day. The Dow also enjoyed better than 2% gains in the shares of Hewlett-Packard and United Technologies.

Apple's stock appears to be on the mend, up just under 3% at the close of trading. Apple still benefitting from strong iPhone 5 sales in China, as well as news Korean smartphone competitor Samsung dropped requests of injunctions on Apple in five European countries.
Tuesday's risk-on trading took a significant toll on the dollar, as well as debt and gold prices.

Weak demand for the government's benchmark 10-year Treasury note drove yields to 1.83%, the highest level since late October.

Gold prices sank to the lowest level since August. The February gold contract fell $27.50, closing the session at $1,670.70 an ounce.

Meanwhile, expectations of a fiscal cliff deal helped drive crude oil prices higher for a third straight session. The January crude contract rose 73 cents, settling at $87.93 a barrel.

Obama Administration Did Leak Info To Movie Producer

2012-12-19T04:00:00Z

President Obama's choices for replacing Former CIA Director David Petraeus may be in some hot water.

McClatchy Newspapers revealed that Under-Secretary of Defense Michael Vickers shared "restricted information" with the producers of "Zero Dark Thirty."

"The case involved a determination by investigators of the Pentagon's inspector general's office that Vickers provided to the makers of the film, Zero Dark Thirty, the restricted name of a U.S. Special Operations Command officer who helped plan the May 2, 2011, raid on bin Laden's hideout in Pakistan, one official said. The identities of Special Forces personnel can be classified in certain circumstances and making them public is against the law, according to experts....

The Pentagon inspector general's office is continuing to examine whether there were any other leaks of restricted information to the makers of the film. In a Dec. 4 letter denying a McClatchy Freedom of Information Act request for the findings, the office said that the material was "currently part of an open investigation...."

One of the filmmakers attended a June 2011 CIA award ceremony that recognized the Navy SEALs and CIA officers involved in the raid, but no effort was made to protect the special operators' identities, investigators found."

This news long held speculation that the Obama White House offered producers extraordinary information used in producing the movie "Zero Dark Thirty."

Today Rep. Peter King echoed his prior calls for an investigation into the access offered to the movie's producers.

"The news that the DoD Inspector General has referred an aspect of its investigation to DoJ for possible criminal prosecution is quite troubling," he said in a statement. King added, "This reported referral by the DoD Inspector General is an indication that our security and theirs was, indeed, placed at risk by people who wanted to help Hollywood make a movie."

King's original request for an investigation came in 2011 when there were political concerns among some Republicans that the film, slated for release during the election, might have glorified President Obama's role in bin Laden's death.

Connecticut Tragedy Sparks New Calls For Tougher Gun Laws

2012-12-18T07:00:00Z

The horrific images of the massacre last week in Connecticut are refueling calls for tighter gun legislation.

At Sunday night's vigil, President Obama hinted at his determination to take measures to help prevent future acts of random, senseless murder.

"We can't tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end, and to end them, we must change," Obama said. He said "no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world ... but that can't be an excuse for inaction."

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers are not only looking for an examination and necessary fix to what they see as a gun control issue, but the violence and culture glamorized by the entertainment industry.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., on "Fox News Sunday," called for a "national commission" looking at "violence and the entertainment culture" -- at video games, at movies, and asking whether they are causing "vulnerable young men, particularly, to be more violent."

Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., on "Fox News Sunday," called for a "national commission" looking at "violence and the entertainment culture" -- at video games, at movies, and asking whether they are causing "vulnerable young men, particularly, to be more violent."
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., endorsed the idea, but is still advocating for greater scrutiny of U.S. gun laws.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday that the issue will require a "comprehensive solution" involving gun control and other measures.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said she will introduce on the first day of the next session a de facto renewal of the assault-weapons ban that expired in 2004. She said the bill would also ban high-capacity clips.

On Monday, Feinstein announced details of the bill, including that it would stop the sale of more than 100 assault weapons but protects gun owners by exempting more than 900 specific hunting and sporting weapons.

The bill more specifically stops the sale, transfer, importation and manufacturing of more than 100 specifically-named firearms. The bill would also significantly reduce the size of fixed magazines, limiting owners to owning magazines that hold no more than 10 rounds.

Read more about the renewed debate on tougher gun laws on FoxNews.com

Obama and Boehner Still Far Apart On Fiscal Cliff Deal

2012-12-18T06:00:00Z

In a brief meeting at the White House on Monday, President Obama and House Speaker Boehner met on the fiscal cliff, but like their previous meetings the two men walked away with little accomplished.

In the 45 minute meeting, the two attempted to iron issues preventing a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff now just over two weeks from jeopardizing the U.S. economy.

Seen by some as a possible breakthrough, the Speaker last week offered to raise taxes on those earning $1,000,000 a year. However, that still isn't, in the White House's opinion, good enough.

The debt ceiling issue is still a sticking point, not just between Boehner and Obama but also between Boehner and his fellow Republicans.

Boehner's office tried to assure conservatives over the weekend that he's not backing off his debt ceiling demands. That reassurance was required following a story in The Washington Post that he offered to push off any battle over the debt ceiling for another year.

Boehner contends that story isn't true, and that any increase in the debt ceiling will be contingent on spending cuts greater than the requested increase in the debt ceiling.
Boehner and other Republicans have so far refused Obama's demand that he be given the authority to raise the debt ceiling whenever he wants.

Instead, Republicans are apparently considering a one-time increase in the debt limit tied to a fiscal cliff deal.

Boehner is asking for $1 trillion in spending cuts over the next 10 years from government benefit programs like Medicare, the federal health care program for the elderly. Those cuts would defer most of a painful set of across-the-board spending cuts set to slash many domestic programs and the defense budget by 8-9 percent, starting in January.

On the revenue side, Boehner's offer calls for about $450 billion in revenue from increasing the top rate on million-dollar-plus income from 35 percent to the Clinton-era rate of 39.6 percent. The additional revenue required to meet Boehner's $1 trillion target would be collected through a rewrite of the tax code next year and by slowing the inflation adjustments made to tax brackets.

Read more about the 'fiscal cliff' impasse on FoxNews.com

Benghazi Report Is In Sec. Clinton's Hands

2012-12-17T08:00:00Z

The State Department sponsored report on the Benghazi terrorist attack on Monday was delivered to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The contents of that report will not be shared until Wednesday, when members of the investigating body will brief lawmakers on their findings.

Secretary Clinton who was scheduled to testify as to the contents of the report, will not appear before Congressional committee members due to a concussion sustained as a result of an apparent fainting episode.

Senior State Department officials William Burns and Thomas Nides are expected to take Clinton's place at the hearings on Thursday.

Adm. Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Thomas Pickering, a former U.S. diplomat led the investigation into the attack that resulted in the murder of four U.S. citizens, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland last week hinted that Clinton might not be prepared to testify. That compounded by U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice's ending of her bid to replace Clinton ushered in a fresh wave of speculation regarding the possible findings of the investigative body's report.

Obama/Boehner Meeting Fails To Move Fiscal Cliff Negotiations

2012-12-15T08:00:00Z

Americans head into the weekend with fiscal cliff negotiations at an impasse.
The president and lawmakers on Friday appear to have made little progress in striking a deal aimed at avoiding the so-called fiscal cliff.

Even after an impromptu meeting between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner Thursday evening, some are beginning to seriously contemplate the year ending without a deal, and the economy slapped with a $550 billion combination of tax hikes and crippling spending cuts.

The meeting between Obama and Boehner was describe by both sides as a "frank" exchange, suggesting the two stuck to their guns, affording little room for compromise.

White House spokesman Jay Carney conceded "one aspect of a way to deal with this at the very least would be to pass the tax cuts for 98 percent of the American people. That would deal with a chunk of the so-called fiscal cliff."

However a narrow deal, involving only an increase in marginal rates for the top 2% of earners would leave the door open for further negotiations to included raising the debt ceiling. That is something the White House says shouldn't be a part of the political brinksmanship.

"We cannot play this game, because while it might be satisfying to those with highly partisan and ideological agendas, it's not satisfying to the American people and is punishing to the American economy," he said. "We cannot do it."

Thursday evening's meeting followed Speaker Boehner's sharp criticism of the president dragging his feet on real deficit reduction proposals.

"Unfortunately, the White House is so unserious about cutting spending that it appears willing to slow-walk any agreement and walk our economy right up to the fiscal cliff," he said in a press conference Thursday.

Rice & Clinton Add To Speculation On Benghazi Report

2012-12-15T07:00:00Z

Capitol Hill is all a clamor about possible findings of the State Department's review board investigating the Benghazi terrorist attack on Sept. 11.

A confluence of events is adding to that speculation. On Thursday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations ended her bid to replace outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Rice was facing an uphill battle in possible confirmation hearings after becoming the administration's controversial voice repeating claims that the attacks were born out of a spontaneous demonstration against an anti-Muslim YouTube video.

Here abrupt withdrawal from consideration on Thursday coincided with indications that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may not appear for a Congressional hearing scheduled for Dec. 20.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland indicated the report, and the secretary, might not be ready.

"The Hill has talked about a planning date on the calendar. That presumes that the (report) is finished," Nuland said. "I don't have any dates, any schedule of the secretary's to announce here."

Asked whether Clinton has committed to testifying, Nuland said, "it's dependent on the work being finished."

The review board's been conducting an investigation into the terrorist attack and related actions taken by State Department staff for the better part of three months.

Further surprising reporters and members of Congress, Nuland said that the findings of the report didn't necessarily need to be shared with Congress. Rather, all that is required is "the secretary's response" to the report's conclusion.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz says that if the report was done properly, it will be a difficult thing for the State Department, the White House and the intelligence community to explain away.

"The State Department owes us a report," Chaffetz told Fox News. "That's why I think Susan Rice made the announcement today, because I think we're on the verge of getting that report."

Read more about the speculations surrounding the review board's Benghazi report on FoxNews.com

Winning Streak Ends On Growing Concerns Over The Fiscal Cliff Impasse

2012-12-15T06:00:00Z

Stocks ended the week on a sour note. Investor enthusiasm dampened by a lack of progress in fiscal cliff negotiations.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 36 points. The Nasdaq Composite retreated 21 points. The S&P 500 finished trading 6 points lower.

All three major stock indexes ending the week in the loser's column, ending a three week wining streak on the Dow and S&P 500.

The market as of late has maintained a wait-and-see stance regarding a resolution to budget negotiations. However, following Thursday's fruitless meeting between President Obama and Speaker Boehner, the market may be losing its patience with Washington.
Technology stocks were a big drag on the market on Friday.

Apple's stock fell 3.76% after UBS cut it price target from $780 to $700 a share. A chilly reception to its debut of the iPhone 5 in China also weighed on Apple's stock which is down almost 13% in just the past two weeks. However, Apple maintains a health 26 percent return year to date.

Best Buy shares dropped 14.6% after the electronics retailer said it had extended the time frame for co-founder Richard Schulze to submit a buyout offer for the company.
Adobe Systems was a standout performer among technology stocks. Adobe's stock jumped 5.7% after topping both earnings and revenue targets.

Economic reports on Friday showed a decline in consumer prices and larger than expected increases in industrial production last month.

The crude oil market got a 1% lift from a stronger than expected report on Chinese manufacturing. HSBC's "flash" manufacturing PMI for December came in at 50.9. That is the highest reading on Chinese manufacturing in 12-months.

Those economic reports helped push crude oil prices 1% higher on the day. The January crude contracted ended trading up 84 cents, settling at $86.73.

Obama & Boehner Meet Again

2012-12-14T07:00:00Z

After days of finger pointing and political posturing, President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met at the White House for another meeting on the fiscal cliff.

The late-scheduled meeting came after Boehner declared that talks had yielded little progress, accusing the president of ignoring the federal government's spending problem.

Boehner earlier in the day used a chart to show how federal spending will skyrocket between now and 2041 -- to 40 percent of the nation's total economy.

"If you look at the spending problem, you see (the additional tax revenue) does nothing," Boehner said. "The president wants to pretend that spending isn't the problem. That's why we don't have an agreement."

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, countered that argument saying that Republicans' resistance to tax hikes on the top 2% of earners is what's holding up an agreement.

Carney, taking a direct shot at the House Speaker, said he's personally "very fond" of Boehner, "his record of predicting what would happen if certain policies, economic policies were instituted, is abysmal."

The comments come amid increased pessimism on Capitol Hill about the prospects for a deal any time soon.

Earlier this week Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he was doubtful that a deal would be reached by Christmas.

Fox News is reporting that in a private meeting, Reid suggested going off the so-called fiscal cliff is a real possibility -- but thinks a more likely scenario is that the House ends up passing the Senate bill to only extend rates for households making less than $250,000. From there, both chambers would return in January to fight over spending cuts.

The latest Fox News poll shows 61 percent of voters say major spending cuts are necessary to reduce the deficit.

House Republican Leader Eric Cantor on Wednesday vowed that Republicans will work through the holidays to reach a deal to avoid a roughly $500 billion mix of automatic tax increases and federal spending cuts set to go into effect on Jan. 1.

Fiscal Cliff Jitters Weigh On Stock Prices

2012-12-14T06:00:00Z

Investors are beginning to lose their patience with leaders in Washington. Today they expressed their displeasure with a .5% pullback in the equities market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 75 points to 13171. The Nasdaq Composite slumped 21.7 points, or 0.72%, to 2992. The S&P 500 slipped 9 points, snapping a six session winning streak, closing at 1419.

The market is losing confidence in Washington's ability to reach a sensible solution to the fiscal cliff crisis, a mess that both the president and lawmakers created.

House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner on Thursday used a press conference to illustrate what is at the heart of Republican demands for spending cuts. Boehner also accused the president of slow walking toward the cliff.

Investor confidence was also rattled by Standard & Poor's putting the U.K.'s 'AAA' credit rating on negative outlook from stable.

Those events overshadowed any stimulative effects of the Federal Reserve's new round of monetary easing. The central bank said Wednesday it will begin buying long-term Treasury bonds at a clip of $45 billion a month on top of $40 billion a month in mortgage-backed securities.

The market also had a number of economic reports from which to draw conclusions as to the health of the U.S. economy.

The Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales rose 0.3% in November from October, less than the 0.5% expected. Excluding the auto segment, retail sales were unchanged from October.

The Labor Department reported that producer prices last month slipped a steeper than expected 0.8%. Excluding the food and energy components, prices rose 0.1%, half the expected gain.

New claims for unemployment benefits fell a steeper than expected 29,000. That put claims at 343,000 last week, the lowest level since early October.

Syrian President Bashar Assad Losing Control

2012-12-14T04:00:00Z

President Bashar Assad's days of ruling over the Syrian people may be winding down than many had hoped or thought.

Russia, Syria's most important international ally, said for the first time that President Bashar Assad is increasingly losing control and the opposition may win the civil war.
The Russian diplomat, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, acknowledged that rebels could defeat Mr. Assad's forces.

"Unfortunately, it is impossible to exclude a victory of the Syrian opposition," Mr. Bogdanov said. His remarks, initially reported by reported by Russia's Interfax news service, were echoed by secretary general of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

"I think the regime in Damascus is approaching collapse," Rasmussen told reporters after a meeting with the Dutch prime minister at NATO headquarters in Brussels. "I think now it is only a question of time."

Rebels have seized large swaths of territory in north Syria and appear to be expanding their control outside of Damascus, pushing the fight closer to the seat of Assad's power.

On Wednesday, the U.S., Europe and their allies recognized the newly reorganized opposition leadership, giving it a stamp of credibility and possibly paving the way for greater international aid to those fighting Assad's forces.

World powers have remained deadlocked on how to end Syria's crisis, with the U.S. Europe and many Arab nations calling on Assad to stand down while Russia, China and Iran continue to back him.

Read more about Assad's withering control in Syria on FoxNews.com

Fiscal Cliff Dampens Christmas Cheer On Capitol Hill

2012-12-13T07:00:00Z

The Christmas spirit is fading on Capitol Hill as GOP lawmaker's vow to work out a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor on Wednesday said, "We're going to stay here until Christmas Eve and even the time between and before the new year."

Echoing Cantor's conviction, Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash said "It's going to be a long December for us."

Democrats on the other hand, seem to be taking a more casual approach to the deadline facing the U.S. economy.

"Faith and family, that's what the holidays are about," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said during a news conference. "These are bonding opportunities for families and strengtheners for our families. We should home for that."

That exchange comes as Democrats and Republicans continue to point fingers over which side is to blame for the fiscal cliff impasse.

Hopes for a deal intensified following a phone conversation between the Speaker Boehner and President Obama. The two reportedly exchanged ideas about how to bridge the divide, but concluded with little accomplished.

Boehner refusal Tuesday night to talk about his counter-offer and the most recent phone was interpreted by some to mean the two were close to striking a deal.

However those hopes were dashed in a morning news conference in which Boehner said the president's most recent offer still has "too many taxes" and could pass in neither the House nor the Senate.

"The longer the White House slow-walks this, the closer we get to a fiscal cliff," Boehner said after meeting with members of his leadership team.

Bernanke: We Don't Have The Tools To offset The Impact of The Fiscal Cliff

2012-12-13T06:00:00Z

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke echoed warnings about the negative impact of the $600 billion combination of tax hikes and spending cuts contained in the fiscal on Wednesday.

In a press conference in Washington, Bernanke pleaded with Congress to resolve their bridge their differences regarding the fiscal cliff.

"It's exceptionally important and urgent that Congress come to a sensible agreement" on the fiscal cliff, Bernanke said.

The Fed Chairman warned that going over the cliff "could have a very negative effect on hiring, jobs, wages, economic activity and investment."

Seeking to not spook investors, Bernanke offered an optimistic outlook on negotiations between the White House and Republicans on Capitol Hill.

"I actually believe that Congress will come up with a solution and I certainly hope they will," Bernanke said in his afternoon press conference.

Bernanke urged Congress to do the "right thing" by taking a two-pronged approach to the combined tax hikes and spending cuts.

He suggested modifying fiscal policy in a way that doesn't "create enormous burdens on the economy in the near term" and begin to build framework for "sustainable" fiscal policy in the long term.

He said the fiscal-cliff talks wouldn't be considered a success unless both parts are achieved.

For his part, the Fed Chairman announced a bold initiative regarding long-term interest rates.

The FOMC members today pledged to keep interest rates near zero so long as the unemployment rate remains above 6.5% and inflation stays below 2.5%.

"If we could wave a magic wand and get the unemployment rate down to 5% tomorrow, obviously we would do that," Bernanke said.

"If news comes in that the economy is stronger or weaker, then financial markets and the public will be able to adjust their expectations for when policy tightening will occur," Bernanke said.

The Fed's decision to state specific thresholds wasn't expected, but came after what Bernanke described as "a good bit of discussion."

In an effort to help boost the economy, the Fed also announced a new bond buying program, planning to buy about $40 billion of Treasury bonds a month when a current program Operation Twist expires at the end of the year.

Bernanke said the Fed could increase its asset purchases "a bit" if the U.S. goes off the fiscal cliff, but warned: "We cannot offset the full impact of the fiscal cliff. It's just too big given the tools we have available."

Michigan Becomes The
24th "Right-to-Work" State

2012-12-12T07:00:00Z

In the face of furious union members protesting outside the Michigan Legislature, state lawmakers passed the contentious "right-to-work" legislation.

Sensing the urgency to solidify his state's position, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder Tuesday evening signed the legislation into law.

Ignoring warning from Democratic opponents, votes on two separate bills on the House side Tuesday delivered a blow to the labor movement in the heart of the U.S. auto industry. The measures ban unions from demanding dues from workers.

"There will be blood, there will be repercussions," State Democratic Rep. Douglas Geiss, speaking on the House floor on Tuesday, warned ahead of the votes.

One bill dealt with public sector workers, the other with government employees.

A chorus of noisy protests both inside and outside the Capitol from pro-union demonstrators served as a reminder of the sharp divide between union and non-union interests in the state. Thousands descended upon downtown Lansing to rally against the legislation that prohibits requiring nonunion employees to financially support unions at their workplace.

Earlier in the day, two state school districts closed after hundreds of teachers called out, reportedly to join the protests.

In an interview with Fox News, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican, said it was "unfortunate" that teachers called out.

"Too often the educational system's all about the adults," he said. "To see schools shutting down because of an issue like this is not appropriate in my view."

"This is about giving workers the freedom to choose whether their resources go to a union or not -- and I actually don't view this as anti-union," he said. "Indiana's had a strong experience. ... They've seen thousands of jobs come to Indiana. Those jobs could also come to Michigan."

However, in a trip to an engine plant in a suburb of Detroit on Monday, President Obama expressed his opposition to the legislation.

"These so-called 'right-to-work' laws, they don't have anything to do with economics. They have everything to do with politics," Obama said. "What they're really talking about is they're giving you the right to work for less money."

Boehner Sends Obama 2nd Fiscal Cliff Counter-Proposal

2012-12-12T06:00:00Z

Shortly after demanding that the president specify which cuts he was amenable to, House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) sent to President Obama another counter-proposal aimed at ending the fiscal cliff impasse.

"We sent the White House a counteroffer that would achieve tax and entitlement reform to solve our looming debt crisis and create more American jobs," said Michael Steel, a spokesman for Mr. Boehner.

No details of the Republicans' second offer were immediately available.

Earlier in the day Speaker Mr. Boehner took to the House floor to complain about the cliff talks with Obama, accusing the White House of "slow walking" the negotiations and calling again for the administration to specify what cuts it could live with.

Mr. Boehner said, "We are still waiting for the White House to identify what specific cuts the president is willing to make.''

"Where are the president's spending cuts?'' Mr. Boehner asked. "The longer the White House slow walks this process, the closer our economy gets to the fiscal cliff.''

In a rebuttal to Boehner, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said she was glad Mr. Boehner brought the fiscal-cliff debate before the full House and reiterated Democratic demands that any spending cuts "not hurt the middle class.''

She expressed optimism that a deal could be struck by the January 1 deadline.

"I don't think there is any reason for us not to come to the table to make an agreement,'' Mrs. Pelosi said. "Every day that we can remove all doubt about the full faith and credit of the United States of America...is a good day."

However the White House appears ready for a drawn-out fight. White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer suggested on Twitter that it is the Republicans who need to make a better offer on cuts.

Obama Recognizes Syria's Main Opposition Group

2012-12-12T05:00:00Z

In an interview with ABC News, President Obama has reportedly said that the U.S. now recognizes Syria's main opposition group as the "legitimate representative" of the country's people.

According the to Associate Press, "Obama says the Syrian Opposition Council is now "inclusive enough" to be granted greater legitimacy in the international community. The president says that level of recognition comes with responsibility, including making sure the group organizes itself effectively and is committed to a political transition that respects the rights of women and minorities."

The move could clear hurdles to greater U.S. support of the group that is fighting to remove Syrian President Bashar Assad from power.

The now 21-month long civil war has cost the lives of some 40,000 civilians, including women and children.

How the rebels have become so well armed is also raising questions on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is concerned that the Pentagon has ignored his inquiries into whether the U.S. is helping to facilitate the movement of arms from Libya to the Syrian opposition.

"If it is true, it's disturbing. The U.S. doesn't have a good record of arming so-called rebel groups and in some cases those weapons have been used against us and our allies," said Rep. Poe.

Poe has posed the question twice to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. The inquiries from Poe and others on Capitol Hill come amid claims that weapons are at least traveling from Libya to Syria.

Fox News is reporting that sources confirmed last week "that the movement of arms from Libya to support Syrian fighters is well-known in Benghazi and began almost immediately after the fall of Muammar Qaddafi."

Following a report in Britain's Sunday Times that the Obama administration was facilitating that movement, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland flatly denied the charge.

"It was a false report," she said. Nuland later added: "We are providing nonlethal assistance. Other countries are making other choices. ... We have not changed our policy."

So far, however, Panetta has not responded to the letters sent by Poe, the first of which was sent Oct. 31.

Red Sun Rising: China To Overtake U.S. By 2030

2012-12-11T06:00:00Z

A new report from the national intelligence community highlights how the U.S. national debt and fiscal policy are leaving us vulnerable to being overtaken by China on the world economic stage.

By 2030 China is expected to become the world's largest economy, dramatically shifting world power over to the communist nation.

The National Intelligence Council's Global Trends report forecasts hat by 2030 Asia will surpass North America and Europe combined in terms of global power.

That power shift is based on gross domestic product growth, population size, military spending and technological investment.

The report goes on to conclude that China alone will "probably" have the world's largest economy, surpassing the U.S. "a few years" before 2030.

"By 2030, no country - whether the U.S., China, or any other large country - will be a hegemonic power," according to the report.

Over the past three decades China's economy averaged 10% real growth hitting an estimated $11.3 trillion in GDP in 2011.

The U.S. intelligence report also says the global economy's health will be more closely tied to developing nation's rather than the traditional West.

In contrast, the economies of Europe, Japan and Russia are expected to suffer "slow relative declines."

With the world population expected to grow by nearly 17% by 2030, putting further strain on food, water and energy.

Obama's Arab Spring Aspirations Evaporating

2012-12-11T04:00:00Z

The Obama administration's foreign policy is facing strong challenges in bringing peace to the Middle East.

Rebels captured part of a Syrian army base outside the embattled northern city of Aleppo. The capture by rebel forces came as the European Union denounced the Syrian conflict, which has reportedly resulted in the deaths of 40,000 people.

"The current situation in Syria is a stain on the world's conscience and the international community has a moral duty to address it," European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said in Oslo as the EU received the Nobel Peace Prize.

The rebels also killed 13 soldiers in an ambush near a strategic northern town along a road linking Aleppo, the nation's largest city and business hub, with Damascus, and captured 20 soldiers and policemen at a major post on the highway linking the central town of Salamiyeh with the northern city of Raqqa, activists said.

Syria's rebels have gained momentum in recent weeks with a number of tactical advances, seizing airbases near Damascus and Aleppo.

That has put President Bashar Assad's forces on their heels, with news reports emerging last week that the Syrian military has armed bombs with Sarin gas.

Manaf Tlass, a Syrian general who defected in July, was the first member of Assad's inner circle to break ranks and join the opposition, said "we are at a turning point and the train of the revolution will be victorious."

In an interview with Dubai TV, Tlass said Assad's regime is "over" and advised the president to leave office and let the country's people decide their own fate.

Read more about the rebels' progress in bringing down the Assad regime at FoxNews.com.

In Egypt, President Morsi declared martial law in order to quell protesters angered over his November 22 decree, which effectively put him above Egyptian law.

The Muslim Brotherhood Morsi gave the army temporary power to arrest civilians in order to help secure a constitutional referendum.

Politically bruised by the uproar that led to hundreds of thousands protesting last week, Morsi has rescinded a November 22 decree giving him wide powers, but has not budged on the referendum date.

A decree issued by Morsi late on Sunday means the armed forces can arrest civilians and refer them to prosecutors until the results of the referendum are announced.

The arrest are likely to revive memories of Hosni Mubarak's emergency law under which military or state security courts tried thousands of political dissidents and Islamist militants.

Protests and violence have racked Egypt since Morsi decreed himself extraordinary powers he said were needed to speed up a troubled transition since Mubarak's fall nearly two years ago.

Islamists and their opponents are planning rival rallies in different parts of Cairo before the vote set for Saturday.

Fiscal Cliff Deadline Rapidly Approaching

2012-12-10T08:00:00Z

The deadline for President Obama and Congress to avert the fiscal cliff is a lot closer than January 1, 2013.

As Fox New's Chad Pergram reports, leaders need to get the ball rolling this week in order to get the actual legislation passed into law before the end of the year.

Officials have been scrambling for weeks in hope of writing some alternative package to avert the sweeping set of tax hikes and spending cuts poised to go into effect at the beginning of January. But despite possible signs of progress -- namely, a face-to-face meeting Sunday afternoon between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner -- the two sides have just a matter of days to work things out.

That's because both sides will need to account for the time it takes to actually bring the bill to the floor. Here's the kind of timetable the chief negotiators could be dealing with:

Even if Obama and Boehner somehow strike a deal by mid-week, it would take several days to write the legislation and additional time to send it over to the Congressional Budget Office so they can estimate how much deficit reduction it entails.

This means lawmakers probably would not have a piece of written legislation until this weekend at the earliest.

From there, both sides would have to get to work selling members of their own party on the package. This would be no easy feat. On the left, many Democrats are resistant to any serious cuts to entitlements. On the right, many Republicans are resistant to tax increases -- which Obama is demanding as part of any deal.

Further, even if Boehner and Obama figure out what to do with the expiring Bush tax rates and the automatic spending cuts, congressional leaders are faced with a string of other prickly questions. They still have to decide whether to extend lower-profile items like long-term unemployment aid, and whether to include in any package the supplemental spending request for Super-storm Sandy victims. The requested amounted, as of Friday, was $60 billion.

Capitol Hill rules pose further problems. Because any package will contain spending and tax language, the bill must start on the House side, according to the Constitution. House Republicans, though, impose a so-called "three-day rule," meaning legislation has to wait for three days before the House will consider it.

That puts lawmakers well into next week to even get a bill to the House floor. From there, it would still have to come back to the Senate, where a new set of problems could arise -- namely, Republican lawmakers opposed to the package could choose to force the rest of the chamber to break two filibusters, adding even more time to the process. It could take until after Christmas for the Senate to do its part.

Finally, any differences between the two chambers' bills would have to be resolved before a final version heads to the president's desk.

It's possible that, to buy some time, lawmakers could craft a short-term bill holding off the tax hikes and spending cuts. Leaders, though, would still need to corral enough support to pass such a bill.

Read more about the logistical obstacles facing Congress and the President on FoxNews.com

No Progress In Fiscal Cliff Negotiations

2012-12-08T08:00:00Z

House Speaker John Boehner on Friday said there was no progress to report in negotiations to avert the so-called fiscal cliff.

Boehner, who four days ago offered a counter-proposal to the president's plan that included $1.6 trillion in tax hikes, has only spoken with the president over the phone on Wednesday.

"Since then, there's been no counteroffer from the White House," Boehner said. "Instead, reports indicate that the president has adopted a deliberate strategy to slow-walk our economy right to the edge of the fiscal cliff."

Boehner took exception with White House aides who've said the president is will to go off the cliff, calling their comments "reckless talk."

Boehner who has put higher revenues on the table is finding it hard to negotiate with the president, who Boehner believes has taken a hardline on his demands for higher taxes on those making more than $250,000 a year.

"There are a lot of things that are possible to put the revenue that the president seeks on the table. But none of it's going to be possible if the president insists on his position - insists on 'my way or the highway,'" Boehner said when asked whether he might be able to accept a compromise top rate of 37 percent. "That's not the way to get to an agreement."

Read more about the 'fiscal cliff' stalemate at WashingtonTimes.com

Reports Paint Confusing Economic Picture

2012-12-08T07:00:00Z

Americans today were met with mixed readings on the strength of the U.S. economy.

The Labor Department delighted Wall Street, reporting that non-farm payrolls grew a steeper than expected 146,000 in November. Economists had expected to see jobs grow by a more modest 93,000.

The unemployment rate last month also defied expectations, dropping to a near four-year low of 7.7 percent. However, digging into the report, some 540,000 individuals dropped out of the labor force last month, driving the labor participation rate down to 63.6%, still hovering around a 30-year low.

And consumer confidence this month nosedived. The University of Michigan - Thompson Reuters index of consumer sentiment tumbled to 74.5 from 82.7 in November. That more than 8-point drop is the largest single monthly decline since March 2011.

Despite those mixed headlines, the stock market managed to end mostly higher, with technology stocks presenting the only significant blemish.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up 81-points. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 11-points. The S&P 500 ended trading with a 4-point gain.

For the week, both the Dow and S&P 500 finished in positive territory. A four-day winning streak on the blue chip index helping it finish up just about 1% higher.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq felt the weight of Apple's woes, the tech heavy index ending the week down 1.1%.

Financial and industrial stocks were among the best market performers today. JP Morgan Chase led advancers on the Dow, logging a 2.5% gain.

Apple's stock continued to come under fire, finishing the session down 2.5%. The iPhone maker's stock though is still up an impressive 31% on the year, despite a more than 20% retreat since touching an all-time high of $705 a share back in late September.

And crude oil prices headed south for a fourth straight session today. The January crude contract down 3% on the week, settling at $85.93 a barrel.

Defections Within the Republican Rank and File

2012-12-07T07:00:00Z

House Speaker John Boehner's having to contend with possible defections among rank and file Republicans. Some are hinting that they'd be willing to meet the President at least half way on his demand for higher tax rates on the top 2%.

According to a letter obtained by Fox News, "All options for mandatory and discretionary spending and revenues must be on the table," the lawmakers wrote in the letter.

Republican Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson, in an interview with Bloomberg said he'd be open to higher tax rates for married couples with annual incomes exceeding $500,000 in exchange for cuts to entitlement programs.

Amid warnings that deadlock in Washington could send the nation plunging into a buzzsaw of tax hikes and spending cuts next month, some Republicans have started to signal a possible middle ground that could involve tax increases on top earners -- even if they're not as drastic as President Obama wants.

House Speaker John Boehner and other Republican leaders are holding firm to their opposition to tax rate increases as part of any deal to avert the looming fiscal crisis.

Obama until recent stood by his ultimatum that no deal will be struck unless tax rates go up on those making $250,000 and up.

However, the president said in an interview earlier this week with Bloomberg that if Republicans are willing to close certain loopholes and deductions next year, "it's possible that we may be able to lower rates by broadening the base at that point."

That could work to Republican leader's favor. Boehner has already put the possibility of raising revenue by limiting deductions on the table.

Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn also said on MSNBC Wednesday that he personally doesn't care how the revenue is raised.

"I don't really care which way we do it. Actually, I would rather see the rates go up than do it the other way because it gives us greater chance to reform the tax code and broaden the base in the future," Coburn said.

Read more about the political maneuvering on Capitol Hill at FoxNews.com.

The World Watches As Syria Readies Chemical Weapons

2012-12-07T06:00:00Z

The Pentagon is taking seriously reports that the Syrian military is equipping bombs with chemical weapons, prompting Defense Secretary Panetta to issue a warning to the Assad regime.

"The whole world is watching," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said. "There will be consequences if the Assad regime makes a terrible mistake by using these chemical weapons on their own people."

Panetta addressed the Syrian crisis during a press conference at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

"I think there is no question that we remain very concerned that as the opposition advances particularly on Damascus that the regime might very well consider the use of chemical weapons," Panetta said.

Numerous news agencies on Wednesday reported Syria's military has mixed chemical weapons, believed to be sarin gas, and loaded them into bombs in preparation for possible use on the Syrian people. They have 60 days to use these bombs until the chemical mixture expires and has to be destroyed.

To the backdrop of this threat, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday held a meeting with her Russian counterpart and the United Nations' peace envoy for Syria.
Afterward, Brahimi said Russia and the U.S. will seek a "creative" solution to the crisis, according to Reuters.

"We haven't taken any sensational decisions," Brahimi said.

Ahead of the three-way meeting, Clinton and Lavrov met separately Thursday for about 25 minutes.

The former Cold War foes have been at odds over how to resolve the 20-month old conflict. Washington is accusing Moscow of shielding its Arab ally. While the Russians have responded by accusing the U.S. of meddling in its demands for the downfall of Assad's regime.

Stalled Fiscal Cliff Talks Forces Pentagon To Look at Cuts

2012-12-06T07:00:00Z

House Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday urged President Obama to meet face to face with Republicans in hopes of striking a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff.

Boehner, who announced the Republicans counter-proposal to the president's initial offer say they need to know where the president stands and where they can meet in hopes of saving the economy from a possible catastrophe.

"We need a response from the White House," said Boehner, who sent a proposal Monday to the White House. "We can't sit here and negotiate with ourselves. ... If the president doesn't agree with our proposal and our outline, I think he's got an obligation to send one to the Congress."

The president and congressional Republicans are at a stalemate on how to check the country's rising $16 trillion debt and to reduce its budget deficits, which have topped $1 trillion for several straight years.

In addition to tax hikes on the top 2%, the president has upped the ante, saying he also wants the debt ceiling raised.

Boehner insists he will not increase tax rates on any Americans and says closing loopholes, and making other changes to the tax code can reduce the deficit.

Meanwhile the standoff is having a ripple affect that could harm our nation's security.
The Pentagon on Wednesday is now preparing for billions in budget cuts.

The move breaks from earlier statements that no plans were being made - a signal that difficulties reaching a deal are beyond the public stalemate or so-called "political theater" and that Washington officials are bracing for the worst.

Pentagon spokesman George Little said the Office of Management and Budget instructed the department to begin preparing for the roughly $500 billion cuts over the next 10 years - a situation resulting from both sides failing earlier to reach a more measured approach to cutting the country's roughly $16 trillion deficit.

"If we are going to be faced with the consequences of sequestration for a long period of time... then at a certain point we may have to look at the defense strategy at least in the near term," Little said.

He also said the Pentagon would be forced to slash personnel across the services. Military salaries will not be impacted because Obama exempted them in July 30. However, pay raises could be affected, Little added.

Stocks Finish Mostly Higher Despite Apple Sinks 6%

2012-12-06T06:00:00Z

Trading on Wall Street today proved choppy. The broader market pulling well ahead of the tech heavy Nasdaq, weighed down by big losses in Apple.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 83-points higher, closing back above 13,000. The Nasdaq Composite fell 23 points, primarily due to steep losses in Apple. The S&P 500 ended the session 2-points higher.

The energy, financial and industrial sectors all solidly higher on the day, while technology and materials shares came under pressure.

The blue chip index today boosted by strong gains in the financial and industrial sectors. Bank of America and Travelers each jumped 5% on the day. Caterpillar and General Electric each up 2% on the day.

Apple's stock plunged nearly 6.5% percent, its worst single session loss in four years. The steep selloff blamed on the investor disappointment that the company doesn't appear to be readying a special dividend payment. Investors also rattled by news that COR Clearing doubled margin requirements on Apple to 60%.

The broader market moving higher on mostly great news on the economy. The Institute for Supply Management's services index increased to 54.7 in November from 54.2 in October, compared to expectations of a drop to 53.5. That indicates the services sector expanded at a slightly faster pace that month. The Commerce Department today reported factory orders in October jumped .8%, well above estimates calling for a slight decline.

ADP reported that the private sector added 118,000 jobs in November, missing expectations of 125,000 new jobs.

This report comes out ahead of Friday's government reports on unemployment and non-farm payrolls for November. The market is expecting the economy to have grown 93,000 jobs in November, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 7.9%.

In corporate news, Citigroup announced its cutting 11,000 jobs worldwide and will take a $1.1 billion charge as part of it restructuring.

The energy sector got a boost from news Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold is buying Plains Exploration & Production Company and McMoRan Exploration Co. in a $20 billion deal.

Egypt Remains in Turmoil As Protesters and Morsi Supporters Clash

2012-12-06T04:00:00Z

Supporters of President Mohammed Morsi and protesters threw firebombs and pelted each other with rocks on Wednesday.

Reuters is reporting opposition supporters reportedly set fire to the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood in the nearby city of Ismailia.

Thousands of Islamist supporters of Morsi descended on the area around the presidential palace where 300 protesters were staging a sit-in. The Islamists, members of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood group, chased the protesters away from their base outside the palace's main gate and tore down their tents.

After a lull in fighting, hundreds of young Morsi opponents arrived at the scene and immediately began throwing firebombs at the president's backers.

By nightfall, there were about 10,000 Islamists outside the palace. They set up metal barricades to keep traffic off a stretch of road that runs parallel to the palace in Cairo's upscale Heliopolis district.

The outbreak of violence follows protesters storming barricades on Tuesday.

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi fled the presidential palace Tuesday as violence erupted between police and at least 100,000 protesters in Cairo.

Police fired tear gas to stop protesters approaching the palace in the capital's Heliopolis district. Morsi was in the palace conducting business, but left for home through a back door when the crowds "grew bigger," according to numerous media reports.
Morsi reportedly left on the advice of security officials at the palace and to head off "possible dangers" and to calm protesters.

The violence erupted when protesters pushed aside a barbed wire topped barricade several hundred yards from the palace walls. Police fired tear gas, and then retreated.

Read more about the growing tension in Egypt on FoxNews.com.

Conservatives Revolt Over Republican Fiscal Cliff Counter-Proposal

2012-12-05T06:00:00Z

House Speaker Boehner is contending with only with the White House's rebuff of the Republican counter offer to avoid the fiscal cliff, but a backlash among conservatives as well.

South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, a Tea Party conservative, on Tuesday said his party's plan "will destroy American jobs and allow politicians in Washington to spend even more."
Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, said Boehner's proposal was "not a good place to start."

The Heritage Foundation is among the conservative think tanks and advocacy groups that also expressed skepticism over the Republican proposal to increase revenues, hike taxes, by $800 billion over ten years.

Those internal criticisms seemingly emboldened the White House's rejection of the Republican counter-proposal.

President Obama in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday said the Republican plan is "out of balance" and he will not agree to a deal that doesn't include hiking taxes on the top 2% of earners.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney more colorfully reiterated the president's critique of the proposal, equating it to "magic beans and fairy dust."

The Republican counter-offer includes $800 billion in revenue through tax reform; $600 billion in health savings; $300 billion in other entitlement savings; and another $300 billion in savings elsewhere in the discretionary federal budget.

Republicans were similarly unimpressed with the president's call for $1.6 trillion in tax hikes -- four times the value of his proposed spending cuts.

Protests Force Egyptian President Morsi to Flee Palace

2012-12-05T05:00:00Z

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi fled the presidential palace Tuesday as violence erupted between police and at least 100,000 protesters in Cairo.

Police fired tear gas to stop protesters approaching the palace in the capital's Heliopolis district. Morsi was in the palace conducting business, but left for home through a back door when the crowds "grew bigger," according to numerous media reports.
Morsi reportedly left on the advice of security officials at the palace and to head off "possible dangers" and to calm protesters.

The violence erupted when protesters pushed aside a barbed wire topped barricade several hundred yards from the palace walls. Police fired tear gas, and then retreated. With the barricaded breached, protests closed in on the palace.

Police abandoned the rest of the barricades, allowing the crowds to surge ahead to the walls of the palace complex. But there were no attempts to storm the palace, guarded inside by the army's Republican Guard.

The brief outburst of violence left 18 people injured, none seriously, according to news reports.

Protesters gathered as tensions grew over Morsi's seizure of nearly unrestricted powers and a draft constitution hurriedly adopted by his allies, scheduled for ratification on December 15.

Crowds around the capital and in the coastal city of Alexandria were still swelling several hours after nightfall. The large turnout signaled sustained momentum for the opposition, which brought out at least 200,000 protesters to Cairo's Tahrir Square a week ago and a comparable number on Friday. They are demanding the Morsi rescind decrees that placed him above judicial oversight.

Read more about the Egyptian uprisings on FoxNews.com.

Republicans Counter Obama On Fiscal Cliff

2012-12-04T05:00:00Z

After calling the president's tax heavy fiscal cliff proposal a 'joke,'
House Republicans today countered with a plan of their own.

Answering their Democratic critics, Republican leaders on Monday countered the president's budget proposal with their own, a plan they characterize as "bold."

The plan set forth by House Republican leaders agrees to $800 billion in "revenue through tax reform" over the next 10 years. That number is half the $1.6 trillion in tax hikes that Obama proposed. And the two sides are likely to continue to butt heads over the issue of an increase in tax rates for the top 2 percent of earners.

In a letter to Obama Monday, Republicans said they "cannot in good conscience agree" to the president's proposal, which was unveiled last week by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, calling it "neither balanced nor realistic."

"Regrettably, the proposal he outlined on behalf of your administration contains very little in the way of common ground," they wrote.

The Republican counter-offer includes $800 billion in revenue through tax reform; $600 billion in health savings; $300 billion in other entitlement savings; and another $300 billion in savings elsewhere in the discretionary federal budget. The plan would hike the Medicare eligibility age and lower cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security.

Republicans estimate the plan would save $2.2 trillion over 10 years -- or $4.6 trillion if one uses the accounting methods employed by the White House.

In the letter signed by House Speaker John Boehner and other Republican leaders, the lawmakers called the plan an "imperfect, but fair middle ground."

"If you are agreeable to this framework, we are ready and eager to begin discussions about how to structure these reforms so that the American people can be confident that these targets will be reached," they wrote.

Republicans were fuming last week over the president's call for $1.6 trillion in tax hikes -- four times the value of his proposed spending cuts. Boehner said he was "flabbergasted" by the plan.

The administration's latest proposal includes roughly $600 billion in spending cuts. Those cuts, however, would be offset by $200 billion in proposed stimulus and other spending programs. The multi-year stimulus program would include at least $50 billion in fiscal 2013 alone; the administration also wants an extension of unemployment aid. And, in what one House Republican source called a "pipe dream," the administration called for effectively implementing a permanent increase in the debt limit.

Read more about the Republicans' counter-offer on FoxNews.com.

Obama Warns Syria: Chemical Weapons Use A Redline

2012-12-04T04:30:00Z

The Obama administration on Monday issued a warning to Syrian President Bashar Assad and his officials.

"The use of chemical weapons is and would be totally unacceptable. And if you make the tragic mistake of using these weapons, there will be consequences and you will be held accountable," the president said in a speech at the National Defense University, in Washington.

The warning follows indications that the Assad regime in recent days has began moving its chemical weapons cache. It's unclear if the move is advance of an attack the Syrian civilians, or an effort to move the weapons out of reach of rebel attacks.

President's Obama's warning followed statements by both White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"As the opposition makes strategic advances and grows in strength, the Assad regime has been unable to halt the opposition's progress through conventional means," Carney said. "And we are concerned that an increasingly beleaguered regime -- having found its escalation of violence through conventional means inadequate -- might be considering the use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people."

Clinton, in Prague for meetings with Czech officials, declared that Syrian use of chemical weapons was a "red line" that would be met by U.S. action.

"I'm not going to telegraph in any specifics what we would do in the event of credible evidence that the Assad regime has resorted to using chemical weapons against their own people. But suffice it to say, we are certainly planning to take action if that eventuality were to occur," she said.

Syria said Monday it would not use chemical weapons against its own people. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Syria "would not use chemical weapons -- if there are any -- against its own people under any circumstances."

The Assad regime in the past has tried to play down its possession of chemical weapons, never confirming that the Syrian government was in possession of such weapons.

The use of chemical weapons would mark an escalation to the bloodshed and murder that's been worsening in Syria. Some 40,000 people have been killed in the past 20 months, and the conflict is beginning to spill over into neighboring countries as well.

Stocks Begin December In The Red

2012-12-04T04:00:00Z

The month kicks off with losses on Wall Street. The stock market today taken back by a surprise drop in manufacturing activity.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the session down 60-points. The Nasdaq Composite lost 8-points. The S&P 500 ended trading with a 7-point loss.

The Institute for Supply Management's index of purchasing managers dropped to 49.5% from 51.7% in October, signaling contraction in the manufacturing sector. The November was well below Wall Street estimates, and was the lowest level of the ISM Manufacturing index since July 2009.

Meanwhile, China's manufacturing sector in November expanded for the first time in 13 months, according to HSBC. That news easing somewhat concerns that the world's No. 2 economy could be in for a so-called hard landing. Some economists said that it appears accommodative monetary and fiscal policies out of Beijing may be helping to avoid that scenario.

The manufacturing sector in the embattled Eurozone showed modest signs of recovery. Eurozone manufacturing in November contracted at a slower pace than the month before.

Despite the improvement, manufacturing still shrunk in the 17-member currency bloc's four biggest economies, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, illustrating that the crisis is not limited to the periphery.

The market is also mindful of the impasse on Capitol Hill. Over the weekend, Treasury Secretary Geithner, the president's lead negotiator in budget talks aimed at avoiding the "fiscal cliff," and House Speaker John Boehner exchanged barbs on the Sunday news show circuit.

Boehner calling the president's plan to raise taxes by $1.6 trillion on top of added stimulus spending a "joke." Geithner, stuck up for his bosses plan, saying that it is a "balanced" approach, and that he's waiting for Republicans to offer alternatives to the president's plan.

Fiscal Cliff Talks Going 'Nowhere'

2012-12-01T05:00:00Z

President Obama visited a Philadelphia toymaker, pushing his position that raising taxes on the top 2% is a reasonable and responsible means of addressing the nation's fiscal woes and deficit spending.

Obama said it will be a "Scrooge Christmas" for millions of middle-class Americans who could see their tax rates rise if Congress fails to agree to his plan.

House Speaker John Boehner, responding to President Obama's tax-hike campaign stop, accused the administration of not being "serious" and characterized negotiation progress as "almost nowhere."

"There is a stalemate. Let's not kid ourselves," the Ohio Republican said of the talks between both parties over how to avert a year-end package of tax increases and spending cuts that could throw the economy into recession.

Thursday, President Obama unveiled his proposal to Republicans, seeking $1.6 trillion tax hike. In addition to raising rates on high-income earners, the current Democrat proposal includes raising taxes on capital gains and dividends, extending the payroll tax holiday, raising estate taxes and another $600 billion in new spending. Democrats are also pushing for new stimulus spending, including $50 billion for 2013, and raising the debt ceiling for good.

No surprise, the offer was effectively dead on arrival, with one Republican insider saying, "Even as an opening bid, this offer would be ludicrous."

Obama said it will be a "Scrooge Christmas" for millions of middle-class Americans who could see their tax rates rise if Congress fails to agree to his plan.

The president on Friday said he needs Americans to put pressure on Congress members to pass his proposal.

"I want you to call, I want you to send an email, post on their Facebook wall," he said on the factory floor of the Philadelphia toymaker.

Boehner shot back that it would be a "crippling blow" for small business owners if tax rates increase for the top 2 percent of earners.

"Raising taxes on small businesses -- instead of taking a balanced approach that would cut spending -- is wrong," Boehner told reporters.

Obama accused a "handful of Republicans" on Friday of holding middle class tax cuts "hostage," and he said both sides need to "get out of our comfort zones" to reach an agreement.

Read more about the impasse between the president and Republicans on FoxNews.com.

House Republicans Offer Green Cards to Foreign Graduates With Advanced Degrees

2012-12-01T04:00:00Z

House Republicans approved a bill that would offer green cards to foreign students with advanced degrees, but only after a partisan fight that spells trouble when Congress attempts a wholesale immigration overhaul next year.

In approving what is called the STEM Jobs Act on a 245-139 vote, Republicans who control the House hoped to show Hispanic voters who abandoned them in the election that they're serious about fixing the flawed system. The bill passed Friday would provide 55,000 permanent residency visas to foreign students with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. But it drew fire from Democrats because it would kill a program that helps less-trained people from Africa and elsewhere gain entry to this country.

"We could boost economic growth and spur job creation by allowing American employers to more easily hire some of the most qualified foreign graduates of U.S. universities," said Rep. Lamar Smith, chair of the House Judiciary Committee. "These students have the ability to start a company that creates jobs or come up with an invention that could jump-start a whole new industry."

But the bill is unlikely to go anywhere this year in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and the Obama White House has come out against it, saying it "does not support narrowly tailored proposals that do not meet the president's long-term objectives with respect to comprehensive immigration reform."

A major point of contention is that the bill offsets the increase in visas for the highly educated by eliminating the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. This year the program made 50,000 visas available to people from countries with traditionally low rates of immigration. About half of those visas go to African nations.

Read the full story on FoxNews.com

Stocks Mixed on Stalled Fiscal Cliff Talks

2012-12-01T03:00:00Z

Stocks on Wall Street end the day mixed as budget talks appear to be going 'nowhere.'
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3 points. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 2 points. The S&P 500 gained 0.3 point.

For the month, the Dow slipped 0.5%, the S&P 500 rose 0.3% and the Nasdaq jumped 1.1%, logging its first November gain since 2009.

Stocks hovered around the breakeven mark for much of the day as focus remained on Capitol Hill budget talks.

Disagreements between Republicans and Democrats, and the president's campaign style campaigning for a $1.6 trillion tax hike dampening enthusiasm.

The market today also digested a surprise decline in consumer spending. The Commerce Department reported U.S. consumer spending dropped 0.2% in October, the first decline since May. Meanwhile, personal income remained unchanged. Economists expected spending to remain unchanged and income to rise 0.2%.

The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago's PMI gauge ticked up to 50.4 in November from 49.9 in October, marking the first expansion in Midwest manufacturing since August.

Fiscal Cliff Talks Spoil On Capitol Hill

2012-11-30T05:00:00Z

Following a closed door meeting with Obama's chief budget negotiator, Treasury Secretary Geithner, Republican House Speaker John Boehner voiced his displeasure regarding the negotiations.

"First, despite the claims that the president supports a balanced approach, Democrats have yet to get serious about real spending cuts," Boehner said. "And secondly, no substantive progress has been made in the talks between the White House and the House over the last two weeks."

Obama dispatched Geithner and White House Legislative Director Rob Nabors to meet separately Thursday with Boehner, as well as with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

The Thursday meeting was to be an important first step in striking a deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff."

Instead, Republicans demanding spending cuts see the president's proposal as a step backward.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the president's opening bid is for a $1.6 trillion tax increase, a $50 billion economic-stimulus program and new power to raise the federal debt limit without congressional approval.

Senate Majority Leader Reid said he's still waiting for Republicans to offer a reasonable proposal to head of the tax hikes and spending cuts set to go into affect just 33-days from now.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney weighed in on the impasse between Republicans and President Obama.

Carney called the president's approach "very pragmatic," saying, "he believes that it is entirely appropriate, as the American people do, that the wealthiest should be asked to pay a little bit more as we develop a balanced package for long-term deficit reduction.
"And he believes that the right way to do it, because it is mathematically sound and it is the simplest way, is to extend tax cuts for 98 percent of the American people, but not extend tax cuts for the top 2 percent ... and also to write into law some of the other changes that he's proposed that include caps on deductions of 28 percent and include other loophole closures."

On the Senate floor Thursday, Senate Minority Leader McConnell said raising tax rates during tough economic times is the "last thing we want to do."

Read more about the budget negotiations on WSJ.com.

Appeals Court Blocks Obama's Contraception Mandate

2012-11-30T04:30:00Z

A three-judge panel of the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to temporarily block the Obama administration's contraception mandate.

O'Brien Industrial Holdings and O'Brien, a devout Catholic, sued the federal government in March, alleging the contraception mandate that's part of the 2010 health care reform law would force him to choose between his moral and religious beliefs and possibly face stiff fines.

Opponents of the law said that it was the first time that an appeals court had weighed in on the issue, which has spawned multiple suits across the country, and called it a "significant victory."

"By granting our motion, the appeals court blocks the implementation of the HHS mandate and clears the way for our lawsuit to continue - a significant victory for our client," said Francis Manion, Senior Counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, which sued on O'Brien's behalf.

"The order sends a message that the religious beliefs of employers must be respected by the government. We have argued from the beginning that employers like Frank O'Brien must be able to operate their business in a manner consistent with their moral values, not the values of the government. We look forward to this case moving forward and securing the constitutional rights of our client."

O'Brien, a Roman Catholic, says his religious beliefs guide the operation of his business, which employs 87 people. On its website, the holding company says its mission "is to make our labor a pleasing offering to the Lord while enriching our families and society."

The the HHS mandate requires coverage of prescription birth control pills and implants in all private health insurance policies, starting in 2013.

Economic Reports Spur Stocks Higher

2012-11-30T04:00:00Z

Stocks ticked higher on Wall Street today. Good news on the economy trumped political wrangling over debt talks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 37-points, closing back above 13,000 for the first time in 3 weeks. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 20-points. The S&P 500 advanced 6 points on the day.

The blue chips dipped into the red in late morning trading after pessimistic comments from House Speaker John Boehner, wiping out a rally of as much as 85 points earlier in the session.

The knee-jerk reaction to comments from Boehner, who had just left a meeting with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, underscore the jitters on Wall Street about the ability of Washington to avoid sending the U.S. over the fiscal cliff.

Optimistic comments from the House Speaker a day earlier sparked a more than 200-point turnaround on the Dow, which closed up 107 points on Wednesday.

In a bit of a role reversal today, it was economic reports that sparked gains in the stock market.

The National Association of Realtors reported that pending home sales in October jumped 5.2%, reaching the highest level in more than five years. The data provide further evidence of the housing recovery as the markets had been anticipating a more modest increase of less than 1%.

On the jobs front, the Labor Department said initial claims for unemployment benefits fell 23,000 to 393,000 last week. Economists had forecasted a drop to 395,000. Claims for continuing benefits tumbled by 70,000 to 3.287 million.

And the Commerce Department said 3rd quarter GDP improved significantly from its prior reading. The revised report showing the economy growing at an annual rate of 2.7%. Though that was just shy of estimates, it represents the strongest growth of the year.

On the corporate front, shares of retailers were under pressure after Kohl's, Macy's, Nordstrom and Target all missed November same store sales targets.

Overall, Thomson Reuters estimates preliminary November same-store sales gained just 1.6%, well below forecasts from analysts for an increase of 3.3%.

Optimism Shines Through

2012-11-29T05:00:00Z

One day after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he saw little progress in budget negotiations, both sides came out swinging in the duel over higher taxes and spending cuts.

House Republican leaders on Wednesday said they've done their part, putting higher revenue on the table, now its time for the president and Democrats to pony up cuts to entitlement programs.

"We have done our part by putting revenue on the table," said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

Cantor and fellow House leaders have agreed to close tax loopholes to generate revenue in effort to reduce the more than $1 trillion deficit. They're now looking for President Obama to publicly state what he's willing to cut, specifically costly entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

Republicans continue to argue that just raising taxes on the top 2% will fall far short of addressing the nation's deficit and debt crisis.

Their argument was made on the same day Gene Sperling, the director of the president's National Economic Council, reportedly told House Democrats that not extending the Bush-era tax cuts to the top earners could trickle down and hurt the middle class.

Amid all the posturing on Capitol Hill today it was House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who offered the most pragmatic and upbeat assessment of the task before President Obama and Congressional leaders.

"Going over the fiscal cliff will hurt our economy and will hurt job creation in our country," Boehner warned. "Republicans are committed to continuing to work with the president to come to an agreement to avert the so-called fiscal cliff."

Despite the inconsistent messaging and political rhetoric, Boehner said he is still optimistic a deal will be reached.

Meanwhile, House Minority Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday furthered the Democrats argument that the party has already made cuts.

"We have already agreed to over a trillion dollars in cuts," The California congresswoman said. "We're looking to see what the revenue piece will be to that."

The president on Wednesday appeared before cameras with a group of select individuals he claimed would be adversely affected if Congress doesn't extend the Bush-era tax cuts to those families making under $250,000 a year.

"My hope is to get this done before Christmas," he said of an agreement to avert deep spending cuts and tax increases scheduled to take place automatically with the new year. "But the place where we already have in theory at least complete agreement right now is on middle-class taxes."

He said such an approach "would give us more time next year to work together on a comprehensive plan to bring down our deficits" and "streamline our tax system."

Rice Fails To Allay Concerns Among Senate Republicans

2012-11-29T04:30:00Z

Traveling to Capitol Hill for meetings with Senate Republicans proved no more productive for Ambassador Susan Rice.

Following the meeting with Rice, Sen. Susan M. Collins, R-Maine, said she's not satisfied with what she heard from Rice regarding her statements following the September terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.

"I still have many questions that remain unanswered," Sen. Collins of Maine told reporters. She added, "I continue to be troubled by the fact that the U.N. ambassador decided to play what was essentially a political role at the height of a contentious presidential election campaign by agreeing to go on the Sunday shows to present the administration's position."

Fellow Republican Bob Corker of Tennessee, who is in line to be the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee next year, offered a more reserved statement following the meeting with Rice.

Corker referred to the issue of Benghazi "a tawdry affair," and encouraged Obama to "step back for a moment" before nominating Rice to be secretary of state.

"All of us here hold the secretary of state to a very different standard than most cabinet members," Corker said.

For her support, Collins made if very clear Rice has a lot of ground to make up, and fences to mend.

"I would need to have additional information before I could support her nomination," Collins said, adding she thought another potential nominee - Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts - would be "easily confirmed by his colleagues."

Collins also raised concerns about Rice's time as U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs at the time of the 1998 embassy bombing in Africa.

"What troubles me so much is the Benghazi attack in many ways echoes the attacks on those embassies in 1998 when Susan Rice was head of the African region for our State Department," Collins said. "In both cases the ambassador begged for additional security."

Republicans have criticized Mrs. Rice for insisting five days after the military-style assault that it had grown out of a spontaneous protest against an anti-Muslim video. U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed in the attack.

Mrs. Rice has said that her comments were based on unclassified talking points prepared by the U.S. intelligence community.

Tuesday, she acknowledged that the talking points and the initial intelligence assessments on which they were based were wrong.

Boehner Powers A Comeback On Wall Street

2012-11-29T04:00:00Z

After drowning in red for much of the morning, stocks rebounded as House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he remains optimistic a deal will be struck to avoid the "fiscal cliff."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, after falling 110-points, regained traction climbing 107-points higher on the day. The Nasdaq Composite gained 24-points. The S&P 500 climbed 11, to close back above 1400.

This week, mixed messages from Capitol Hill regarding progress in averting the "fiscal cliff" hampered enthusiasm on Wall Street.

However that changed after House Speaker John Boehner said he is "optimistic that we can continue to work together to avert this crisis and sooner rather than later."
The best-performing sector was consumer discretionary, followed by energy and industrials. Meanwhile, utilities, materials and telecommunications shares performed the worst.

It was Hewlett-Packard that led the rebound on the Dow. HP's stock climbed 3% on the day. American Express and Chevron each finished 2% higher.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said sales of new single-family homes fell 0.3% in October from September to a 368,000-unit annualized rate. Economists were expecting a rate of 390,000. But a cut to September's reading took the market by surprise. Sales in the previous month were cut by 20,000 to 369,000.

The Federal Reserve's Beige Book report released this afternoon pointed to moderate economic expansion last month. The report said most districts experienced "modest improvements" in hiring activity, while consumer spending grew at a "moderate pace" and manufacturing weakened. Some districts also reported weakness as a result of Hurricane Sandy, the central bank said.

Oil futures slumped for the third day in a row. The benchmark crude contract slipped 69 cents, or 0.79%, to $86.49 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline rose 0.07% to $2.734 a gallon.

Rice Fails To Allay Concerns Among Senate Republicans

2012-11-28T05:00:00Z

The Tuesday meeting on Capitol Hill between Ambassador Rice and three Senate Republicans concluded with more concern than insight regarding the administration's communications following the Benghazi terrorist attack in September.

The 90-minute meeting on Tuesday concluded with Republicans about Rice's comments five days after the attack that resulted in the murder of four U.S. citizens.

"I am more disturbed now than before," said South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Alongside Graham was Sens. Kelly Ayotte, of New Hampshire, and John McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"I'm significantly troubled by the answers we got and didn't get," McCain said.

The meeting today was an opportunity for Rice to clear the way with the Senators who've voiced their opposition to her possible nomination to fill the seat of outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Sen. McCain in the past has demanded Rice be held accountable for her comments on five separate Sunday talk news programs.

Rice, speaking based on talking points edited by the DNI said the attacks were "spontaneous" violence that seemed to grow out of a protest of an anti-Islamic video. But just days after her comments, U.S. intelligence officials later said the event appeared to be a pre-planned terrorist attack.

Read more about the meeting between Rice and Senate Republicans on FoxNews.com

Republicans & Democrats At Odds Over Fiscal Cliff

2012-11-28T04:00:00Z

GOP leaders on Capitol Hill today voiced their frustration with the president's campaign style push to solve the debt crisis by raising taxes on the rich.

The president has invited small-business owners from across the country to meet Tuesday at the White House to discuss the impact of his tax policies on small businesses.

Among the 15 invited are Nikhil Arora, co-founder of Back to the Roots, west Oakland; David Bolotsky, chief executive officer of Uncommon Goods, New York; and Mandy Cabot, co-founder of Dansko, West Grove, Pa.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell signaled the president's shift Monday when he said: "The election is over" and it's time for the president to present a plan that "goes beyond the talking points of the campaign trail."

Republicans are arguing that they are fulfilling their half of the bargain in the fiscal talks by agreeing to change the tax code to generate revenue to reduce the annual trillion-dollar deficits.

The GOP leaders say now Democrats have to keep their end by presenting a plan to cut federal spending through such entitlement programs as Medicare and Social Security, they say.

As you can tell, a lot of work is still to be done. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Tuesday that he is disappointed that there has been "little progress" among Democratic and Republican lawmakers as they try to reach a deal to avoid the year-end "fiscal cliff."

"They talked some happy talk about doing revenues, but we only have a couple weeks to get something done," Reid said about Democrats' negotiations with Republicans. "So we have to get away from the happy talk and start talking about specific things."

Political Theatrics Weigh On Stock Prices

2012-11-28T03:00:00Z

The stock market today all but ignored great news on the U.S. economy, instead investors focused on deep divides among Congressional leaders engaged in budget talks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 89 points. The Nasdaq Composite lost 9 points. The S&P 500 finished the session down 7 points.

The market today reacting to comments from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who reported "little progress" had been made in negotiations to avoid the "fiscal cliff." Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell echoed those remarks.

Investors on Tuesday also balked at a subdued economic forecast from the OECD. The group now says it expects the world economy to grow at an annual pace of 2.9% this year and then 3.4% in 2013. Those projections are considerably lower than the group's prior estimates 3.4% and 4.2%, respectively.

Otherwise great news on the U.S. economy went relatively unnoticed by investors.
The Conference Board's gauge of consumer confidence rose in November to 73.7 from 73.1 in October, topping estimates of 73 and marking the highest level since February 2008.

Orders for long-lasting goods remained flat in October from September. They were expected to fall 0.6%. Excluding the transportation segment, orders were up 1.5%, which also topped estimates.

Home prices in 20 major U.S. metropolitan areas climbed 0.3% in September on a non-seasonally adjusted basis. That marked the sixth straight monthly gain in Case-Shiller's Index of home prices. Prices were up 3% from the year prior, which marked the strongest annual gain since July 2010.

Republicans May Forego Pledge To Save Economy

2012-11-27T05:00:00Z

President Obama and Congressional leaders are back in Washington DC, with all eyes focusing on the negotiations aimed at avoiding the "fiscal cliff."
Seemingly back in campaign mode, President Obama on Monday fired off an open letter to House Republicans, urging them not to ruin Christmas for the middle class.
"Stop holding the middle class and our economy hostage over a disagreement on tax cuts," the letter states.
The president after re-election pledged to immediately sign an extension of the lower Bush-era tax rates, but only for American families bringing in less than $250,000 annually.
The National Retail Federation on Monday took issue with the president's letter to Congress.
"It is encouraging to see the administration's acknowledgment that retailers and their customers will be among the hardest hit if our elected officials fail to address ongoing economic uncertainty," group spokesman Stephen Schatz said. "However ... cherry-picking reforms only serves to reinforce the well-placed fears of American consumers and retailers that the status quo will once again rule the day."
Congressional Republicans are signally their willingness to forego their pledge against higher taxes in order to avert the "fiscal cliff."

The decades-old pledge from the Americans for Tax Reform group was signed by nearly 240 House members and 41 Senators, long seen as a crucial in each members re-election bid.
New York Rep. Peter King and Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday they would break the pledge and accept tax changes, higher revenues in order to reduce the deficit, which has exceeded $1 trillion in each of the past four years.

"A pledge you signed 20 years ago, 18 years ago, is for that Congress. ... The world has changed, and the economic situation is different," King said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

The New York congressman said he was opposed to tax increases but that "everything should be on the table" when President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid try to broker a deal.

"I'm not going to prejudge it, and I'm just saying we should not be taking ironclad positions," King added.

Should Congress and the White House fail to reach an agreement, a $500 billion mix of federal cuts and unrelated tax increases would kick in January 1, 2013.

The across-the-board cuts to the federal budget would equal more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years.

Graham has suggested earlier that he would be open to changes in taxes, but only if Democrats are willing to cut federal spending by scaling back Medicare and Social Security.

"I will violate the pledge, long story short, for the good of the country, only if Democrats will do entitlement reform," he said on ABC's "This Week."

He also said the only pledge that should be made when the country is trillions in debt is to "avoid becoming Greece."

However, Graham said he agrees with Grover Norquist that tax rates should not be increases and instead a result of capping tax deductions.

Indiana Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin recognized that his party needs to "bring entitlement reform into the conversation."

He included Medicare and Medicaid but argued Social Security should be kept off the table because it is a separately funded operation that doesn't add to the deficit.

Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain said Sunday that he wants an approach similar to Graham's -- closing so-called tax "loopholes" to raise revenue but no increases to the marginal tax rates.

Meanwhile the White House on Monday issued a report claiming that if Congress doesn't strike a deal, consumer confidence and retail sales could be hurt.

In a report Monday that coincides with Congress' return after the Thanksgiving holiday, a White House report says that if lawmakers don't halt the automatic increase in taxes for households earning less than $250,000 in the coming days, consumers might even curtail their shopping during the current holiday season.

On its behalf, The White House is asking Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to be its lead negotiator in deficit-reduction talks with Congress.

The Treasury Secretary whose been shying away from the spotlight as of late has about a month to strike a deal before the cuts got into effect on Jan 1, 2013.

The report on Monday by President Barack Obama's National Economic Council and his Council of Economic Advisers says a sudden increase in taxes for middle-income taxpayers would reduce consumer spending in 2013 by nearly $200 billion, and would significantly slow what's already been a sluggish economic recovery.

Morsi Power Grab Draws Reaction On Capitol Hill

2012-11-27T04:00:00Z

Less than a week after praising Egyptian President Morsi's brokered cease-fire between Hamas back militants and Israel, the White House is concerned about the newly elected president's power grab.

One day after Arizona Sen. John McCain called on Obama to renounce the decree by Morsi putting himself above the law, White House spokesman Jay Carney repeated the State Department's call for Egyptians to work out their "internal" problems.

"We call for calm and for all parties to work together to resolve their differences peacefully," Carney said.

"We've raised concerns about it," Carney added later. "We are constantly monitoring developments in Egypt and working with the Egyptians, with whom we have a very close relationship."

But asked point blank if the White House "condemned" Morsi's move, Carney stopped short.

"We are concerned about it and have raised those concerns." Carney added, "Our interest in the development and transition to democracy in Egypt is one that reflects what the people of Egypt demanded and continue to demand."

Morsi's power grab puts him above any kind of oversight, including that of the courts. The judiciary council is in charge of the courts.

The opposition denounced the decrees as dictatorial, some saying Morsi's trying to make himself out to be pharoh, and vowed to maintain protests until Morsi rescinds them.

On Sunday, Arizona Sen. John McCain called on President Obama to renounce Morsi's move to seize full control of the country.

"First we must condemn it," the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee told "Fox News Sunday." "Then we can outline what actions might be taken."

Morsi announced his package of decrees last week, just one day after helping to broker a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas backed militants in the Gaza strip.

"This kind of power is not acceptable to the United States," McCain said. "Renounce the statement and the move that [Morsi] just made."

The Obama administration on Friday asked Egypt to adopt a constitution complete with checks and balances, a request that Morsi is seemingly ignoring on the heels of his rising stature among the Middle East power brokers.

"We call for calm and encourage all parties to work together and call for all Egyptians to resolve their differences over these important issues peacefully and through democratic dialogue," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.

The move by the Muslim Brotherhood-backed Morsi sparked violent street protests, largely in Cairo.

The protests are expected to continue; unraveling the stability achieved after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak and the ascendance of Morsi this past summer.

Get the latest developments on this unfolding story on FoxNews.com.

Fical Cliff Concerns Cast Shadow Over Banner "Black Friday" Sales

2012-11-27T03:00:00Z

Wall Street investors on Monday began the week on a cautious note. The market reacted to rising rhetoric regarding the "fiscal cliff," overshadowing great news on the unofficial start to the Christmas shopping season.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 42 points, closing back below 13,000. The S&P 500 slid 3 points, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 10 points.

The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all tacked on more than 3% last week in the best weekly rally since June.

But concerns over negotiations to strike a deal that will help the economy avoid the "fiscal cliff" dampened market enthusiasm at the dawn of a new week.

"Unfortunately since Congress can hold American business hostage...rather than leading, they end up impeding," said Sam Stovall, chief market strategist at McGraw-Hill's S&P Capital IQ.

Technology stocks turned out to be the darlings of the market today thanks to analyst upgrades to well known technology companies.

Apple finished the session up 3.15% Citigroup initiated coverage of the tech giant with a buy rating and a $675 price target.

Facebook continues its resurgence, up 8% on the day. Bernstein upgraded the social-networking company to "outperform" and raised its price target to $33 from $23. Facebook's stock is up 40% over the past three months, but is still down 31% from its IPO price of $38 a share.

Research In Motion gained just about 2.75% after CIBC World Markets upgraded the Blackberry maker to "sector outperformer" from "sector underperformer." The brokerage also lifted its price target on Research in Motion to $17 from $8 ahead of the release of its new Blackberry 10 mobile operating system due out early next year.

Europe's debt crisis also proved to be a headwind on Wall Street today. Eurozone finance ministers met Monday to discuss the next aid tranche for Greece. The country needs the international rescue to avoid defaulting on its debt. However, there has been considerable disagreement among public lenders on how to set Greece on a sustainable fiscal path.

On the corporate front, the holiday shopping season got off to a strong start. The National Retail Federation said 247 million shoppers hit stores during Black Friday weekend, up from 226 million last year. Taking advantage of deep discounts, the average shopper spent $423 this weekend, up from $398 a year ago, while total spending reached an estimated $59.1 billion

U.S. retail e-commerce spending this Black Friday reached $1.042 billion, making it the biggest online spending day to date in 2012 and marking a 26% increase from the 2011 period, according to data from comScore.

Israel and Hamas Agree To Cease-Fire

2012-11-22T05:00:00Z

Ending a deadly eight-day conflict, Israel and Hamas backed militants in Gaza announce a cease-fire.

The truce was announced by the Egyptian foreign minister Mohammed Kamel Amr on Wednesday.

The foreign minister, made the announcement of the Egyptian brokered truce from Cairo alongside U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"Egypt is assuming the responsibility and leadership that has long made this country a cornerstone of international peace," Clinton said.

However Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that more action may be taken if the truce fails to end the rocket fire on Israel from militants in Gaza.

'I know there are citizens that expected a wider military operation and it could be that it will be needed. But at this time, the right thing for the state of Israel is to take this opportunity to reach a lasting ceasefire.'

President Obama called Netanyahu and commended the decision. Obama also reiterated his commitment to Israel's security. Obama also spoke with Egypt's president, Mohamed Morsi, and thanked the leader for his efforts in achieving the agreement.

However, a dozen rockets hit southern Israel an hour after the cease-fire went into effect at 2 p.m. EST. Authorities said schools in the region planned to stay shut Thursday as a precaution in case rockets continue to be launched.

Read about the terms of the cease-fire on FoxNews.com

Stocks Go Into The Thanksgiving Holiday With a Win

2012-11-22T04:00:00Z

U.S. investors head into the Thanksgiving holiday with a win on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 48-points on the day. The Nasdaq Composite rose 10-points. The S&P 500 finished up 3-points.

Trading was fairly light ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, but that didn't diminish mostly upbeat news on the economy.

New claims for unemployment fell a steeper than expected 41,000 to 410,000. The Labor Department said Hurricane Sandy is still distorting the weekly readings.
A final reading on consumer sentiment for the month of November fell to 82.7, which was weaker than expectations expecting a reading of 84.5. Still, the final November reading is the highest in more than four years.

And the index of leading economic indicators edged up .2% in October, pointing to modest economic expansion growth in the near term.

Meanwhile, U.S. manufacturing grew at its fastest pace in five months in November, according to financial information firm Markit's U.S. "flash" manufacturing PMI.

Adding to the day's good news, Egypt's foreign minister announced a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel.

That news helped blunt the impact of a surprise decline in crude oil inventories. The January crude contract finished the session up a modest 63-cents, settling at $87.38 a barrel.

DNI Head Clapper Now In the Crosshairs

2012-11-21T05:00:00Z

The saga over the CIA's Benghazi talking points goes on. Fox News' Catherine Herridge reporting that the nation's top intelligence official may face investigation regarding testimony he gave to lawmakers regarding the Benghazi Terrorist attack.

Herridge on Tuesday is reporting Rep. Mike Rogers, Republican Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee is demanding an immediate explanation as to why Rogers, an Obama appointee, gave inconsistent statements to Congress and the public regarding who was behind the changes to the CIA's talking points.

Those talking points that were given to U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice who subsequently told Americans that the terrorist attack that killed four U.S. citizens was born out of protests against an anti-Muslim YouTube video.

Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte says "we have more questions than answers at this point, we need to understand why these talking points did not represent the truth of what we knew at the time."

On Thursday, less than a week ago, Fox News is reporting that Clapper in a classified session was "unequivocal" that the changes were made "outside the intelligence community and he did not know who was responsible."

However, Monday night, a Clapper spokesman confirmed that the intelligence community was solely responsible for substantive changed to the talking points.

Ambassador John Bolton, a former member of the Bush administration says Clapper must now explain why the administration blamed a "spontaneous" attack on an anti-Muslim Internet video.

" I think clapper as to say-and has to say publicly whether he advocated the YouTube video theory... whether he pressed it on the White House and other in the intel community. If so...did he do that at the direction of the White House," Bolton said.

Israel and Gaza Militants Exchange Fire Amid Talk of Cease Fire

2012-11-21T04:00:00Z

As of Tuesday afternoon, Israel's military and Hamas backed militants in Gaza are exchanging rocket fire, that as conflicting reports are emerging regarding a cease-fire that could go into effect as early as 5 p.m. EST.

A senior Hamas official told the AP that a truce was within reach, while Reuters quoted an Israeli spokesman who said that while a cease-fire wasn't finalized, the "ball is still in play."

Moussa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official, said that "we haven't struck the deal yet, but we are progressing and it will most likely be tonight."

Resolving the weeklong conflict, that's resulted in more than one hundred deaths, through diplomacy has ushered in a convergence of international diplomats into the Middle East.

President Obama dispatched Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the region on an emergency mission. A deputy White House national security adviser said U.S. said Clinton would begin her Mideast diplomacy by meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, then she would meet with senior officials of the Palestinian government in the West Bank before heading to Cairo to meet with Egyptian leaders.

From Egypt, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said he came to the region because of the "alarming situation."

"This must stop, immediate steps are needed to avoid further escalation, including a ground operation," Ban said. "Both sides must hold fire immediately ... Further escalation of the situation could put the entire region at risk."

The U.S. considers Hamas, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide and other attacks, to be a terror group and does not meet with its officials. The Obama administration blames Hamas for the latest eruption of violence and says Israel has the right to defend itself.

By Tuesday, civilians accounted for 54 of the 113 Palestinians killed since the operation began. Some 840 people have been wounded, including 225 children, Gaza health officials said.

Early Tuesday, Israeli aircraft targeted another Hamas symbol of power, battering the headquarters of the bank senior Hamas officials set up to sidestep international sanctions on the militant group's rule.

Three Israeli civilians have also been killed and dozens wounded since the fighting began last week, the numbers possibly kept down by a rocket-defense system that Israel developed with U.S. funding.

More than 1,000 rockets have been fired at Israel this week, the military said, including three that struck schools that had been emptied because of the fighting.

Germany's foreign minister was also headed to the region for talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Turkey's foreign minister and a delegation of Arab League foreign ministers were to visit Gaza on Tuesday.

Egypt, the traditional mediator between Israel and the Arab world, has been at the center of recent diplomatic efforts involving the U.S., Turkey, Qatar and other nations.

Read more about the diplomatic efforts to end the tensions on FoxNews.com.

No Follow Through Rally On Wall Street

2012-11-21T02:00:00Z

Wall Street investors traded cautiously for much of today's session, leaving stocks relatively unchanged following yesterday's big rally.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 7.5 points. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.61 point. The S&P 500 rose 0.93 point.

Hewlett-Packard captured investor attention today, revealing an $8.8 billion charge in its fiscal fourth quarter related to its acquisition of software company Autonomy. More than $5 billion of that charge was linked to "serious accounting improprieties, misrepresentation and disclosure failures discovered by an internal investigation by H-P." On an adjusted basis, H-P's quarterly profits came in ahead of expectations. Revenues, however, were shy of Wall Street's view. The shares of Hewlett-Packard tumbled 12%, closing the session at a 10-year low of $11.71 a share.

Best Buy posted a fiscal third-quarter profit of three cents a share, far below estimates of 12 cents. The technology retailer's sales of $10.75 billion came in slightly above expectations of $10.73 billion. Best Buy's stock ended trading down 13%.

On the economic front, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke called on Congress and President Obama to craft a deal that averts the fiscal cliff, saying a failure to do so could cause 'heavier economic and financial costs' than the debt debacle last year that roiled markets. He also said that the Fed doesn't possess the tools needed to offset the economy falling off the "fiscal cliff."

The market did get support from more great news on housing. U.S. housing starts rose 3.6% in October to an 894,000-unit rate, well above estimates of an 840,000-unit rate and marking the highest pace since July 2008.

And hopes for a cease-fire between Israel's military and Hamas back militants in Gaza helped to drive crude oil prices sharply lower. The January crude futures contract fell 2.8%, down $2.53 on the day, settling at $86.75 a barrel.

House Republicans Challenge Possible Rice Nomination

2012-11-20T04:00:00Z

Nearly 100 House members have told President Obama they would oppose his possible nomination of Ambassador Susan Rice as the next secretary of State.

The 97 House Republicans wrote the president in one-page letter Monday expressing their reservations about her selection to fill the position of out-going Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"Ambassador Rice is widely viewed to have either willfully or incompetently misled the American public on the Benghazi matter," says the letter to Obama.

"We believe that making her the face of the U.S. foreign policy ... would greatly undermine your desire to improve U.S. relations with the world," the letter continues.

Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said in TV interviews five days after the fatal Sept. 11 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that the strikes were "spontaneous" and sparked by outrage over an anti-Islamic video.

Three days later, National Counterterrorism Director Matthew Olsen acknowledged the attacks were acts of terror and that Al Qaeda might have played a role.

Democrats have repeatedly defended Rice, saying she was merely using talking points gleamed from unclassified CIA reports on the attacks - in which U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other American were killed.

But now the very legitimacy of those talking points are in questions. That after former CIA Director Gen. David Patraeus on Friday told members of House and Senate intelligence committees that his original talking points, which included references to Al Qaeda involvement, were edited, erasing any mention of a terrorist organization's involvement in the attacks that killed four U.S. citizens.

Israeli Airstrike Kills Top Islamic Jihad Commander As Hamas Ramps Up Rocket Fire

2012-11-20T03:30:00Z

An Israeli airstrike killed a senior militant in Gaza Monday as Hamas fighters fired hundreds of rockets at Israel -- but both sides say its up to the other to end the fighting that has killed at least 100 people and wounded hundreds on both sides of the conflict.

An Israeli missile strike on a high-rise media center in Gaza killed Ramez Harb, a senior figure in Islamic Jihad's military wing, the Al Quds Brigades, the group said in a text message to reporters. Israel has escalated its bombing campaign and began attacking homes of Hamas activists over the weekend.

Meanwhile, Israel's Iron Dome reportedly intercepted 29 rockets Monday alone -- the defense system has intercepted hundreds of rockets since Operation "Pillar of Defense" began six days ago.

Egypt is leading the efforts to mediate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, but both sides are far apart in their demands.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said at a press conference Monday in Egypt that Palestinian weapons had caught Israel "off guard."

"Whoever started the war must end it," Meshaal reportedly said.

An Israeli official said Israel hoped to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis and signaled Egypt was likely to play a key role in enforcing any truce.

"We prefer the diplomatic solution if it's possible. If we see it's not going to bear fruit, we can escalate," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive diplomatic efforts underway.

The official said Israel doesn't want a "quick fix" that will result in renewed fighting months down the road. Instead, Israel wants "international guarantees" that Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza, will not rearm or use Egypt's neighboring Sinai peninsula for militant activity.

Egypt has been trying to broker a cease-fire, with the help of Turkey and Qatar. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and a delegation of Arab foreign ministers were expected in Gaza on Tuesday.

Read more on FoxNews.com.

Investors Enjoy A Rare Monday Rally

2012-11-20T03:00:00Z

The stock market roars back to life as investors welcome news of stronger than expected housing sales and mounting optimism lawmakers will strike a deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average today tallied its best performance in more than two months, jumping 207 points on the day. The Nasdaq Composite gained 63 points. The S&P 500 logged a 27-point gain.

Investors today cheered surprising strength in the housing market. Existing home sales in October increase 2.1 percent, improving to an annual rate of 2.79 million homes.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index rose 5 points to a seasonally adjusted level of 46, the highest point since May 2006.

All 30-Dow stocks ended the day in the winner's column, with strong gains in the financial, industrial and technology sectors. Bank of America led the charge, jumping 4%. Caterpillar, Du Pont, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, JP Morgan Chase, AT&T, and Verizon all up more than 2% on the day.

Cisco Systems closed the session up 1.7% on news its buying Meraki for $1.2 billion in cash. The acquisition further expands Cisco's reach into the expanding cloud computing market.

The technology sector got a big boost from a rebound in the shares of Apple. The iPhone maker's stock jumped 7%, closing back above $565 a share.

In corporate news, Intel President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Otellini will retire in May.

Lowe's stock finished up 6.2% after posting better-than-expected results on the top and bottom lines. HSBC said it was in discussions to sell its stake in Ping An Insurance, China's No. 2 life insurer. Reports put the deal north of $9 billion.

Today's risk-on trading took a toll on the dollar, driving the green back and U.S. debt prices lower.

Dollar weakness combined with concerns about the growing tensions between Israel and Hamas drove crude oil prices sharply higher. The December crude oil finished trading up $2.36, settling at $89.28.

In after hours news, Moody's stripped France of its coveted AAA credit rating by one notch. The ratings agency saying, "France's long-term economic growth outlook is negatively affected by multiple structural challenges, including its gradual, sustained loss of competitiveness and the long-standing rigidities of its labor, goods and service markets."

Krispy Kreme late today topped quarterly earnings and revenue targets. The donut shop's stock jumping more than 10% in electronic trading, posting adjusted earnings of 12 cents a share on revenue of $107.1 million.

"Fiscal Cliff" Negotiations Invoke Renewed Sense of Compromise

2012-11-17T03:00:00Z

The White House and Congress on Friday began the negotiation process needed to arrive at a compromise aimed at averting the "fiscal cliff."

In a surprising display of bipartisanship, four congressional leaders - two Republicans, John A. Boehner, the House speaker, and Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader; and two Democrats, Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, and Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader - spoke with reporters after meeting with President Barack Obama.

Mr. Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), Mr. Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) emerged from the more than hour-long meeting with Mr. Obama committed to begin immediate negotiations

Mr. Boehner said he "outlined a framework that deals with reforming our tax code and reforming our spending" at the meeting, something he said was "consistent with the president's call for a fair and balanced approach."

Mr. McConnell suggested both Democrats and Republicans were prepared to make concessions, particularly over the issues of taxes and entitlement programs like Medicare.

"We fully understand you cannot save the country until you have entitlement programs that fit the demographics of a changing America," said Mr. McConnell.

Adding to the bipartisan tone of the day, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said there is a new sense of urgency on Capital Hill to get a deal done.

"We feel very comfortable with each other, and this isn't something we're going to wait until the last day of December to get it done," Mr. Reid said. "We feel we understand what the problem is. And we felt very - I feel very good about what we were able to talk about in there. We have the cornerstones of being able to work something out. We're both going to have to give up some of the things that we know are a problem."

The financial markets seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, stocks bounced off their lows of the day, turning positive in afternoon trading.

A key question coming out of the meeting concerns the structure of any agreement. Negotiators could set targets for tax and spending changes and then try and work through the details next year, or they could attempt to complete a more robust package quickly while it has the nation's focus, which would also avoid later backsliding.

The fiscal cliff -- a mixture of spending cuts and tax hikes -- is set to go into effect at the beginning of next year. The cliff is a vestige of the last debt debate in Congress, where lawmakers failed to come to a so-called "grand bargain" to set the country on a more sustainable fiscally responsible path.

Petraeus: Al Qaeda Taken Out Of Talking Points

2012-11-17T02:00:00Z

In a closed door hearing on Capital Hill today, Former CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus told committee members that he suspected Al Qaeda involvement in the Benghazi terrorist attack - and that someone took that point out of the final talking points.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., emerged from the 90 minute hearing to address reporters. King who considers a Gen. Petraeus a friend wants to know who and why the final talking points didn't include the general's assessment of those involved in the attack.

"To me the question right now is who changed those talking points and why. ... I'd say it was somebody in the administration had to have taken it out," King told Fox News. "That, to me, has to be pursued."

A day earlier intelligence officials Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Acting CIA Director Mike Morell said they did not know who changed the talking points

King and other Republicans indicated they still have plenty of questions about the aftermath of the strike.

"No one knows yet exactly who came up with the final version of the talking points," he said.

Petraeus' testimony challenges the Obama administration's numerous claims that the attack was a "spontaneous" protest over an anti-Islam video. His testimony also contradicts his own , briefing to lawmakers on Sept. 14. In that briefing, Petraeus reportedly described the attack as a protest that spun out of control.

"His testimony today was that from the start, he had told us that this was a terrorist attack," King said, adding that he told Petraeus he had a "different recollection."
Still, the claim that the CIA's original talking points were changed is sure to stoke controversy.

"The original talking points were much more specific about Al Qaeda involvement. And yet the final ones just said indications of extremists," King said, adding that the final version was the product of a vague "inter-agency process."

King said a CIA analyst specifically told lawmakers that the Al Qaeda affiliates line "was taken out."

Reports out this week citing unnamed congressional sources claim the language in the CIA talking points about Benghazi was changed from "Al Qaeda-affiliated individuals to extremist organizations."

"It really changed the whole tone of it," King told Fox News.

Democrats, though, suggested Republicans were taking the whole issue out of context.
Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said the discrepancy can be attributed to the classified talking points that some saw versus the unclassified version that others, like U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice, used.

It is Rice's appearances on five separate Sunday news programs that is at the heart of the controversy. Rice she repeatedly claimed the attack was spontaneous -- Rice's defenders have since insisted she was merely basing her statements on the intelligence at the time.

However Fox News is reporting that Rice had access to both classified and unclassified information on Benghazi. King said the administration has "hidden behind" the claim that Rice was only using the intelligence community's best assessment. But he said Petraeus' testimony suggests their best assessment conflicted with what Rice said on Sept. 16.

War Between Israel and Hamas Appears Unavoidable

2012-11-17T01:00:00Z

In a rapid escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza, two rockets struck just outside Jerusalem on Friday.

There are no reports of deaths or injuries, thought the rocket attacks signify a significant escalation in the conflict.

In Gaza, Hamas militants said they had attacked Jerusalem. The attack marks a major escalation, both for its symbolism and its distance from the Palestinian territory. Jerusalem had been thought to be beyond the range of Gaza rocket squads.

"We are sending a short and simple message: There is no security for any Zionist on any single inch of Palestine and we plan more surprises," Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the Hamas militant wing said.

The Israeli military has called 16,000 reservists in anticipation for a possible ground offensive.

Egypt's prime minister rushed to the aid of the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers Friday in the midst of an Israeli offensive there, calling for an end to the operation, as Palestinian rocket squads aimed at Tel Aviv for a second straight day. The visit served as a boost of solidarity for the Hamas militants who have vowed to resist the Israeli offensive.

Hopes of even a brief cease-fire were dashed after both sides accused the other of violating a proposed cease-fire during a visit by the prime minister of Egypt to Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told Egypt that Israel was prepared to suspend its military offensive in the Gaza Strip during Prime Minister Hisham Kandil's three-hour visit there Friday.

However, Israel later said Hamas did not honor the deal, saying rockets fired from Gaza had hit several sites in southern Israel as Kandil was in the enclave.

Egypt's Islamist president delivered his fiercest condemnation yet of Israel's offensive in Gaza on Friday, warning that the blood Israel sheds will be a "curse upon it" and presenting post-revolution Egypt as the new Arab champion for the Palestinians.

"Egyptians love peace ... but they have always been able to fend off aggressors and protect the land, the nation and the Muslim world," he said in his address at a mosque near his home in a Cairo suburb. "We are even more insistent on remaining a protective shield to the Arab and Muslim world."

"We say to the aggressor, peace will never be achieved through aggression ... because war does not build stability or peace," Morsi said. "This blood will be a curse on you," he said as the crowd in the mosque chanted, "God is great" and "With our blood and souls, we sacrifice for Palestine."

Along the border Friday, Israeli tanks, armored vehicles and military bulldozers were parked in neat rows.

Netanyahu said the army was hitting Hamas hard with what he called surgical strikes, and warned of a "significant widening" of the Gaza operation. Israel will "continue to take whatever action is necessary to defend our people," said Netanyahu, who is up for re-election in January.

An Israeli ground offensive could be costly to both sides. In the last Gaza war, Israel devastated large areas of the territory, setting back Hamas' fighting capabilities but also paying the price of increasing diplomatic isolation because of a civilian death toll numbering in the hundreds.

Read more on the escalating conflict at FoxNews.com.

Benghazi Hearings Underway On Capital Hill

2012-11-16T03:00:00Z

More than two months after the Benghazi terrorist attacks, the House and Senate intelligence committees held closed-door hearings on the attacks. Republicans and Democrats are looking for information as to why four Americans were seemingly left to die in Benghazi, Libya.

In separate hearings in the House, lawmakers sparred early and often. Democrats accused Republicans of turning a tragedy into a "political football" and Republicans accused the administration of hiding the truth.

"This administration has lied to the American people about this tragedy," Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., said. "The arrogance and dishonesty in all of this is breathtaking. Let's not stonewall this issue and cover up mistakes, which seems to be what is going on today."

The House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing included analysts, though none would be considered key figures in the administration's Benghazi attack response.

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., announced that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will testify next month.

Lawmakers continue to express concerns on several fronts -- on whether warnings in the months preceding Sept. 11 were ignored, and on why the administration first insisted the attack was a "spontaneous" act.

Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., also suggested the U.S. was ill-prepared for the threat posed in eastern Libya on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. "Somebody forgot to circle the calendar on 9/11," he said.

While lawmakers sparred on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the House and Senate intelligence committees were both holding closed hearings Thursday where a roster of top-ranking intelligence and other officials were set to testify. These include Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and CIA Acting Director Michael Morell, who was tapped to replace David Petraeus after he resigned last Friday.

Petraeus, though, has agreed to speak to the intelligence committees about Libya, with back-to-back appearances before the House and Senate panels scheduled for Friday morning. Those, too, will be closed to the public.

While the round of closed hearings is a start, other lawmakers are calling for a more robust inquiry into what happened before, during and after the Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi, which left four Americans dead.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and two other Republican colleagues on Wednesday called for the creation of a "select committee" to investigate Benghazi.

"Let me be clear: There is no credibility among most of us concerning the administration and the numerous controversies and contradictions that have been involved in their handling of this issue," McCain said, at a lengthy news conference on Capitol Hill.

McCain was joined by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., in calling for a temporary Senate committee established specifically to investigate Libya. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid later said he would not support their proposal.

Though the administration has urged lawmakers to wait until an internal review is completed, lawmakers have raised a litany of questions about the attack.

Fmr. CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus whose extramarital affair has grabbed headlines in the recent week, is expected to speak to the Benghazi attack on Friday behind closed-doors.

Lawmakers want to know, among other things; about a trip Petraeus took to Libya the week of Oct. 31. They are curious about a report that was put together summarizing his meetings and which may include details of his personal interviews with the CIA station chief in Benghazi about the attack.

Fiscal Cliff: Dems and Reps Digging In

2012-11-16T02:00:00Z

And the baseline for negotiations on averting the fiscal cliff shift yet again.

House Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito put tax hikes on the rich on the table, while Senate Democrats are pushing for more taxes to pay for more stimulus.

Pressed on whether lawmakers can make a deal, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., strayed from the party line in an interview on FoxNews.com's "Power Play." She predicted a short-term deal to avoid the fiscal cliff and suggested tax rate hikes could be on the table next year.

In a draft letter obtained by Fox News, Senate Democrats urged the president to go further than simply eliminating the Bush-era tax cuts.

The letter was signed by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, argued that for every dollar cut from the government's bloated budget, lawmakers should impose an additional dollar in tax hikes.

"Any deal must include a one-to-one ratio of revenues to spending cuts," the senators write.

But that's a heavy hit for taxpayers. For a deficit-reduction deal worth $4 trillion that would mean $2 trillion in new taxes over the next 10 years.

The developments underscored how the terms of the debate continue to shift, as pressure on lawmakers to make a deal only increases. They are facing an end-of-year deadline to strike a deficit-reduction deal -- or set the stage for one next year -- and in doing so, avert a potentially crippling combo of spending cuts and tax increases come January.

The tax hikes alone would cost a family of four making roughly $75,000 another $3,200 next year, according to the Tax Foundation.

Republican leaders -- those who will attend talks with President Obama and congressional Democrats on Friday -- have insisted that tax rates should not rise for anybody, though they're open to closing loopholes and deductions.

Obama, meanwhile, has demanded that taxes go up for the top 2 percent of earners.

Israel & Hamas Nearing War

2012-11-16T01:00:00Z

Israeli planes, tanks and gunboats on Thursday pounded suspected militant positions in Gaza in retaliation for Hamas rocket attacks that killed three Israelis.

Israel began moving troops toward the Gaza Strip and authorized the call-up of reservists for a possible ground invasion of the Palestinian territory.

Fox News is reporting that at least a dozen trucks carrying tanks and armored vehicles were seen moving toward the border area, while buses ferried soldiers.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak authorized the army to draft as many as 30,000 reserve forces for possible ground attack in Gaza. The army said as many as 30,000 troops could be drafted.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters on Thursday that Israel could no longer stand repeated attacks on its southern towns.

Earlier, Netanyahu declared, "If there is a need, the military is prepared to expand the operation. We will continue to do everything to protect our citizens."

Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi president is sending his prime minister to lead a senior delegation to Gaza in a show of support for Hamas.

Earlier on Thursday, Morsi vowed to work to stop Israel's campaign against Hamas, calling the Jewish state's actions "unacceptable."

Today's casualties were the first since Israel launched its operation on Wednesday that killed Hamas' top military commander.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said two Israeli men and a woman died after a rocket struck their four-story apartment building.

Since the Israeli operation started, a total of 15 Palestinians, including four civilians, have been killed and more than 100 people wounded, according to Palestinian medical officials.

The operation, launched after days of rocket fire from the coastal territory, was Israel's most intense attack on Gaza since its full-scale war there four years ago.
The Israeli military said the some 20 airstrikes were part of a major offensive dubbed "Operation Pillar of Defense," according to a Reuters report.

Read more on FoxNews.com

Obama To Republicans: Come After Me On Benghazi

2012-11-15T02:00:00Z

President Obama on Wednesday took a tough and defensive tone regarding criticism over U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice's evaluation that the Benghazi terrorist attack was actually a spontaneous uprising over a YouTube video.

Responding to a question from Fox News' Ed Henry regarding Benghazi and Rice's comments, the president said if members of Congress have a problem with what she said, they should 'go after me.'

"For them to go after a U.N. ambassador who had nothing to do with Benghazi and was simply making a presentation based on intelligence that she had received, and to besmirch her reputation, is outrageous," he said.

The president made a bit of news in that statement, confirming what many had thought all along, that Rice was put out on the Sunday talk show circuit at the direction of the White House.

However, his response is also raising a very direct question; If Rice had nothing to do with Benghazi, then why would she be put out to the American people as an informed, authoritative voice on what transpired in Libya?

At issue is Rice's claim, on five Sunday shows five days after the attack, that the assault was "spontaneous."

The president's challenge to go after him did not go unanswered.

Sen. Lindsey Graham firing back: "Mr. President, don't think for one minute I don't hold you ultimately responsible for Benghazi. I think you failed as commander in chief before, during and after the attack."

The president's full-throated defense of Rice follows weeks of criticism from Republicans about Rice's TV appearances. In those interviews, she insisted the Benghazi attack was sparked by outrage over an anti-Islam film -- despite evidence that it was a coordinated terror attack.

Amid speculation that Rice could be tapped to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and others vowed to do "whatever is necessary" to block such a nomination.

But Obama said Wednesday that Rice has done "exemplary work" -- while at the same time, defending her by stressing how removed she was from the situation.

The president said he would nominate Rice if he thinks she is the best person for the job, but he added, "that's not a determination that I've made yet."

The appearance marked the first scheduled solo news conference for President Obama in eight months.

Obama's $1.6 Trillion Tax Hike

2012-11-15T01:00:00Z

In his first news conference since being re-elected, President Obama on Wednesday discussed his desire to raise taxes on the rich in order to address the approaching "fiscal cliff."

The president is now looking to raise revenue to the federal government by $1.6 trillion over the next ten years.

Mr. Obama reiterated that he wants to see tax rates for income over $250,000 a year return to Clinton-era, higher rates.

"If we right away say 98 percent of Americans are not going to see their taxes go up - 97 percent of small businesses are not going to see their taxes go up," he said. "If we get that in place, we're actually removing half of the fiscal cliff."

But asked if that was the only solution he would accept, the president left himself some room to negotiate with members of Congress.

"I am open to new ideas. If the Republican counterparts or some Democrats have a great idea for us to raise revenue, maintain progressivity, make sure the middle class isn't getting hit, reduces our deficit, encourages growth, I'm not going to just slam the door in their face," he said.

He said his concern is with extending the Bush-era rates for everyone, including the wealthiest, with only a "vague" promise to "sort of, kind of raise revenue" by closing unidentified loopholes.

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and other senior Democrats on Tuesday said Obama would not be willing to maintain the Bush tax rates in exchange for a cap on deductions for households earning more than $250,000 a year, a leading Republican alternative.

"I don't see how you do this without higher rates. I don't think there's any feasible, realistic way to do it," Geithner said at a conference in Washington. "When you take a cold, hard look at the amount of resources you can raise from that top 2 percent of Americans through limiting deductions, you will find yourself disappointed relative to the magnitude of the revenue increases that we need."

Obama is likely to maintain a tough stance Friday, when Boehner and other congressional leaders are due to gather at the White House for their first face-to-face discussions about how to avoid the fiscal cliff.

Post-Election Selloff Continues

2012-11-15T00:00:00Z

The post-election selloff continued on Wall Street on Wednesday. Stocks fall more than 1% on growing concerns about the 'fiscal cliff."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 185 points, closing at the lowest level since June. The Nasdaq Composite lost 37 points, slipping into correction territory. The S&P 500 ended the session down 19 points.

Every S&P 500 sector ended to the downside. Bank, industrial and material stocks were among the biggest losers on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Alcoa, Bank Of America, Boeing, Caterpillar, General Electric and Home Depot all finished the session down more than 2%.

Cisco Systems proved to the only Dow component to end the day higher. Cisco's stock jumped 4.8% on the day after topping both quarterly earnings and revenue targets.
The Nasdaq fell into correction territory, down 11% from an intraday high of 3196 on September 21.

Still, there were a handful of bright spots. Facebook's stock jumped 12.5 percent despite the expiration of a lock-up on 777 million shares. Teavana Holdings skyrocketed 52% on news Starbucks is buying the tea company, paying $620 million in cash.
Investors today reacted to a number of economic headlines.

Members of the Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee considered methods of tying interest rate moves to quantitative and qualitative economic targets as opposed to the current date-based forward guidance, minutes from the FOMC's last meeting show.

The Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales fell 0.3% in October from September, more than the expected 0.2% decline. Hurricane Sandy had a negative and positive impact on sales, according to the Commerce Department.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed producer prices fell 0.2% in October from September, surprising economists who were expecting a 0.2% gain. Excluding the food and energy components, prices were down 0.2%, the biggest drop since October 2010.

And business inventories rose 0.7% in September, slightly stronger than the 0.5% gain expected.

Market participants also paid close attention to President Barack Obama's first news conference since winning re-election. President Obama called on Congress to take action to get America's fiscal house in order. However, he demanded tax hikes on the country's highest earners as part of the deal. The president asserting that sheltering middle class Americans from tax hikes will solve half the 'fiscal cliff.'

And news that Israel fired several rockets into Gaza, killing a top Hamas military commander rattled the crude oil market. Concerns that tensions in the Middle East could present supply disruptions pushed crude oil prices 1% higher, settling at $86.32 a barrel.

The Petraeus Email/Sex Scandal Widens

2012-11-14T02:00:00Z

The federal investigation into threatening emails to a Jill Kelley from Gen. Petraeus' mistress Paula Broadwell is now drawing scrutiny onto Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.

Emails sent from Petraeus' biographer, Paula Broadwell, to Kelley led to the FBI's discovery that Broadwell and Petraeus were having an affair.

But in the latest revelations, federal authorities are now reviewing between 20,000 and 30,000 pages of "potentially inappropriate" emails and other communications between Kelley and Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.

The nature of those emails is unclear. A senior defense official said that some of the documents and emails, many of which are emails sent from 2010 through 2012, were "flirtatious."

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta revealed that the Pentagon had begun an internal investigation into thousands of pages of emails from Gen. John Allen to a second woman involved in the Petraeus case.

Allen succeeded Petraeus as the top American commander in Afghanistan in July 2011, and his nomination to become the next commander of the U.S. European Command and the commander of NATO forces in Europe has been put on hold.

In a White House statement early Tuesday, National Security spokesman Tommy Vietor said President Barack Obama has held Allen's nomination at Panetta's request. Obama, the statement said, "remains focused on fully supporting our extraordinary troops and coalition partners in Afghanistan, who Gen. Allen continues to lead as he has so ably done for over a year."

Kelley, meanwhile, has hired high-profile attorney Abbe Lowell, who previously represented disgraced Democratic presidential nominee John Edwards.

Three Key Questions On The Benghazi Scandal

2012-11-14T01:00:00Z

Historian Arthur Herman and author of "Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II writes a great article for FoxNews.com that isn't distracted with the salacious details of the Gen. Petraeus sex scandal, but rather keeps focus on what happened in Benghazi.

Washington is still reeling from the resignation of General David Petraeus as head of the CIA just days before he was supposed to testify on Capitol Hill about what the CIA knew about the deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans in Benghazi on September 11, and when it knew it.

The many questions surrounding that scandal-including why the FBI was reading the CIA director's emails and Petraeus's mistress's bizarre claims about a secret prison in the Benghazi CIA annex -- just add to the picture of an Obama administration out of control on national security-and the conclusion that someone knowingly put an American ambassador at risk to his life; left him there to die; and then lied about it afterwards.

As Congressional hearings on Benghazi start up again this week, three key issues demand answers.

First, why did the Obama administration ignore repeated pleas to strengthen security for our people in Libya, not only from State Department security chief Andrew Wood and the man on the ground in charge of security, Greg Nordstrom; but from Ambassador Christopher Stevens himself, who sent a memo on June 25 headlined "fragile security deteriorating, " noting the rise of pro-Al Qaeda sentiment across Libya-and why it refuse Stevens additional security for his trip to Benghazi, knowing it might cost him his life?

Second, when did the president and/or his national security staff become aware that an attack was underway at the Benghazi compound, and why was their response so lax? We now know that warning of an imminent attack reached the compound a full hour before it happened.

We also have the compound's email calling for help reaching the State Department and White House Situation Room just twenty-five minutes after the attack began-an attack that would go on for the next seven and a half hours while jet fighters, armed drones, and Specter AC 130 gunships could have been over Benghazi in matter of minutes, and a Special Ops team in Italy in less than two hours.

We know from Fox News's Jennifer Griffin that the security staff at the Benghazi CIA annex, including ex-Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods, offered twice to go to the ambassador's aid, but were twice ordered to do nothing (orders they finally disobeyed). We also know that at 5:15 Washington time, less than an hour and a half into the attack, an unmanned drone was providing live video feed of the scene, including to the White House Situation Room. A NSC official has said the president never saw it. If not, why not?

The president has said on October 25 that the minute he heard what was happening he ordered the CIA and military to "make sure we are securing our personnel and doing whatever we need to do." Yet the general in charge of Africa Command has said he received no such directive.

Indeed, it was not until the attack spread to the CIA annex Defense Secretary that Leon Panetta finally stirred into action at 8 pm Washington time (4 am Benghazi time)-four hours into the fight. Panetta, however, ordered deployments for a hostage rescue mission only, rather than using missile-equipped drones or C-130 gunships to clear out the attackers. Yet Tyrone Woods died painting the attackers' mortar position with a laser for guiding precisely that kind of armed response, while radioing target coordinates. Why would he deliberately expose his position this way, if he didn't believe air support was on its way?

Third, who first concocted "the spontaneous reaction" to a YouTube video explanation for the attack, ignoring both the Libya CIA station chief's assessment and that of State's Bureau of Intelligence and Research in the first 24 hours, that this was a planned and coordinated terrorist operation-and claims on Facebook and Twitter by an Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist cell that it was responsible? Was it the same person or persons who decided to stick to that explanation and have UN ambassador Susan Rice repeat the same lie on national television and six times in the president's speech at the United Nations-even, most chillingly of all, have Secretary of State Hillary Clinton repeat it to Tyrone Woods' parents over the coffin of their dead son at Andrews Air Force Base, saying she would "make sure the person who made the film is arrested."

Mitt Romney chose not to shine the light of truth on this sordid, tragic mess. That might have cost him the election. Now it's up to Congress. If they do their job, they will earn the gratitude not just of the families of the dead, but the entire nation.

Gen. Davide Petraeus Not Off The Hook With Congress

2012-11-13T01:00:00Z

U.S. Congressional leaders may compel disgraced former CIA Direction General David Petraeus to testify about what actions he took to rescue Americans who were ultimately murdered by terrorists operating in Benghazi, Libya.

Gen. Patraeus, who resigned his post last Thursday, was schedule to appear in closed Congressional hearings this week regarding the attack on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. However, following his abrupt resignation, he is no longer expected to appear before the House and Senate intelligence committees. Instead, Acting Director Mike Morrell will testify as to the CIA's involvement in the fateful evening.

Petraeus though, may not be able to skirt Congress that easily. Officials now say they may seek Petraeus' testimony in the future.

Former CIA Director Michael Hayden, who served under the George W. Bush administration, told Fox News it's "important" for Petraeus to answer questions on this matter.

"Petraeus will have a personal insight into this because he did visit Libya after the attack. ... I think he owes it to the committees to share those insights with them," Hayden said.

Lawmakers for the time being are giving Petraeus his space, but some have made clear they will pursue Petraeus' testimony going forward.

"He's going to have to (testify)," Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., told Fox News shortly after the resignation was announced. "There's no way we can get to the bottom of Benghazi without David Petraeus. So while he may not be around next week because he's got personal matters, the week after that and the week after that and the week after that, this excuse will run stale."

Petraeus is considered important as part of Congress' examination into Libya for a number reasons. The annex building as it is commonly know as, was a CIA outpost staffed by CIA personnel. Lawmakers are still unclear as to what was the CIA's mission in Benghazi, and why Petraeus immediately following the attack seemed to be wedded to the idea that it was carried out by a flash mob as opposed to terrorists knowingly operation in the area.