Top White House Official Says US Strategy to Beat ISIS is Working; General Disagrees

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By Fox News. Secretary of State John Kerry and a top White House official claimed Sunday that the U.S. strategy to defeat the Islamic State is working – despite warnings from other corners of the Obama administration that the terror network is in fact spreading.

Following the purported deaths last week of two ISIS hostages and concerns about the U.S. needing to do more, Kerry told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the U.S.-led coalition was “on the road” to defeating the Islamic extremist group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, in Iraq and Syria.

He argued that coalition forces have recaptured 22 percent of the populated areas that ISIS once held in the region “without launching what we would call a major offensive.”

The claim came just days after Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, delivered a grim assessment of the group’s evolution in testimony to the House Armed Services Committee. He described how the group was surfacing in North Africa.

“With affiliates in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, the group is beginning to assemble a growing international footprint that includes ungoverned and under governed areas,” Stewart testified. (Read more about the claims that the strategy to beat ISIS is working HERE)

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ISIS ‘Sentenced’ US Hostage to Death Last Year, Activist Says

By The Jerusalem Post. The young American hostage who Islamic State says was was killed in a Jordanian air strike was condemned to death by the militant group last year, according to an American Muslim activist.

Islamic State seized aid worker Kayla Mueller in 2013 in northern Syria and initially gave her a “life sentence” in retaliation for the jailing in Texas of a Pakistani woman whose case is a well-known cause among Islamist militants, said activist Mauri Saalakhan, who leads a US campaign to free the Pakistani.

The militant group said on Friday that Mueller, a 26-year-old from Prescott, Arizona, was killed when Jordanian fighter jets bombed a building where she was being held. Jordan expressed doubt about the claim and US authorities said they could not confirm it. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Snapchat Selfie Solves Teenage Murder in Pennsylvania

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Photo Credit: Tribune-Review A selfie photograph led police to charge a teenager in connection with the Wednesday shooting death of another teen in Jeannette, according to authorities.

Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck confirmed late Friday night that Maxwell Morton, 16, was charged as an adult in the shooting death of Ryan Mangan.

The alleged selfie obtained by police showed Morton posing in front of Mangan’s body. A woman contacted police Thursday after her son received the Snapchat photo from Morton, police said . . .

The selfie “depicted the victim sitting in the chair with a gunshot wound to the face,” according to a police affidavit. “It also depicts a black male taking the selfie with his face facing the camera and the victim behind the actor. The photo had the name ‘Maxwell’ across the top” . . .

Morton is charged with criminal homicide and murder in the first degree, in addition to one count of possession of a firearm by a minor, according to court documents. He was denied bail Friday night. (Read more about the teenage murder in Pennsylvania HERE)

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Obama Admin. Rewarding Illegal Aliens with Tens of Thousands in Earned Income Tax Credits

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By Daniel Halper. President Barack Obama has promoted his recent executive action on immigration by arguing that he’s only deferring action – holding off on enforcement of the current immigration laws until an immigration reform he approves of passes Congress. But that’s not really true; in fact there’s a way for illegal immigrants immediately to receive “amnesty bonuses,” as Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska terms it.

Here’s how. A recent Homeland Security Committee hearing on immigration revealed an alarming consequence of President Obama’s executive amnesty—that illegal immigrants with deferred status may be able to receive the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Moreover, this person, who is here in the U.S. unlawfully, could be able to file an amended tax return for up to the last three tax years, possibly receiving upwards of $24,000 in tax credits.

The discovery was made by Eileen J. O’Connor, a tax lawyer and the former head of the tax division of the United States Department of Justice, who used her congressional testimony in front of the Senate Homeland Security Committee to explain it. “The law makes a social security number a requirement of eligibility to receive the earned income credit,” O’Connor explained.

“But in 1999, the Chief Counsel’s office of IRS ruled (in a non-binding, non-precedential way, but no one but the IRS pays attention to those disclaimers) that when a person receives a social security number, he can file amended returns to claim the credit for the three preceding years during which he did not. The logic is puzzling: the credit is not available if you don’t have a social security number, but you can receive it retroactively for years during which you did not qualify for it because you didn’t have a social security number.”

Senator Sasse, who along with Senator Ron Johnson has written a letter addressed to the inspector general of the U.S. Treasury Department, has released a statement commenting on the “amnesty bonuses.” (Read more about Obama rewarding illegal aliens HERE)

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As Employment Increases For Foreign-Workers, it Decreases For Native-Born Americans

By Caroline May. In the months and years since the recession began in December 2007, foreign-born workers have experienced a net increase in employment, while native-born Americans have experienced a net loss.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released updated employment data Friday.

The new BLS figures reveal that since the start of the recession in 2007 — which is said to have ended in June 2009 — the number of foreign workers employed in the United States rose by 1.7 million.

In December 2007 the number of foreign-born workers was 22,810,000 by January 2009 the number has increased to 24,553,000.

Meanwhile the number of American-born workers employed decreased by 1.5 million, from 123,524,000 to 121,999,000. (Read more from this story HERE)

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These Experts Will Tell You Where Oil Prices are Headed

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By Bloomberg Business. The outlook on oil prices is clear: Oil will crash. Unless prices surge. Definitely one or the other.

Crude just had the biggest two-week gain in 17 years, but it’s still about 50 percent cheaper than it was in June. The situation is volatile, and forecasts are all over the place — from $30 a barrel predicted by the president of Goldman Sachs to as high as $200 a barrel seen by the head of OPEC . . .

What’s an investor to think? In 2015, the average price is likely to be anywhere from $35 to $80, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence survey of 86 investment specialists. That’s a pretty big range. (Read more about the increasing oil prices HERE)

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Oil Prices Post Biggest One-Week Gain Since 2011

By Nicole Friedman and Georgi Kantchev. Oil prices posted their largest weekly percentage gain in almost four years as traders looked past the current world-wide glut of crude to focus on signals of future production cuts.

Some market participants said oil prices, which have fallen 52% in the past seven months, could be bottoming out as producers have reacted to the low prices by cutting expenditures and reducing drilling activity. But many analysts caution that the global oil market still is oversupplied and there are few signs of a major uptick in demand, so prices could slip yet again.

The market was volatile this past week, posting a one-month high Tuesday before falling Wednesday and then regaining those losses by week’s end. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Poll: See Who Was Voted the Least Effective Secretary of State in 50 Years

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John Kerry has been named by American academics as the least effective secretary of state in the past 50 years, a new survey finds.

The survey, conducted by Foreign Policy Magazine, polled professors at the top 25 foreign policy schools across the country.

Henry Kissinger, who served in the role under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, topped the list, scoring 32.21 percent, which is “extraordinary in such a large field,” according to Washington Post political bloggers Al Kamen and Colby Itkowitz . . .

After Baker come Madeleine Albright and Hillary Clinton (8.70 percent); George Shultz (5.65 percent); Dean Rusk, who served in the Kennedy-Johnson years, and came in seventh at 3.51 percent; Warren Christopher and Cyrus Vance (1.53 percent); Colin Powell (1.07 percent); Condoleezza Rice (0.46 percent); and Lawrence Eagleburger with only 0.31 percent.

Kerry is “dead last” on this list, Kamen and Itkowitz wrote. He got a total of two votes of the 660 scholars who responded and actually tied with Eagleburger’s 0.31 percent, the magazine lists him at 13th. (Read more about the least effective secretary of state HERE)

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More Students Post Photos of Disgusting School Lunches From Michelle Obama

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She has come under fire for the ‘shortcomings’ of her Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act scheme.

Now, more students and parents have posted photos of Michelle Obama’s ‘measly’ school lunches.

The images, which were all posted on Twitter with the hashtag #ThanksMichelleObama, range from a slice of moldy salami in a wrap and a green hotdog to a small portion of salad with a side of cheese.

Photo Credit: Twitter

They come as the School Nutrition Association has called on Congress to amend the First Lady’s school meal restrictions, which have led to ‘1.4million fewer children choosing school lunch each day’ . . .

In the recent batch of photos, one female student tweeted a photo of a slice of moldy salami and another piece of meat in a wrap, with the caption: ‘Had a yummy lunch today guys! Salami and mold. (Read more about the disgusting school lunches HERE)

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IRS Knowingly Hired, Rehired Tax Cheats, Employees With ‘Performance’ Issues

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Photo Credit: Washington Times By Stephen Dinan. The IRS rehired hundreds of employees who had prior records of bad performance at the agency, including 141 former workers who had botched their own tax returns and others who had used their positions to peek at private tax information, the agency’s inspector general said in a report released Thursday.

Five IRS employees were rehired even though the agency knew they had intentionally failed to file their taxes within the last two years, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George said. Of the employees with prior problems, nearly 20 percent of them had more problems after they were rehired.

In another instance, an employee who has taken eight weeks of unauthorized vacation and whose previous manager had written a note explicitly stating “do not rehire,” was nonetheless rehired.

“Rehiring prior employees with known conduct and performance issues presents increased risk to the IRS and taxpayers,” Mr. George said.

Most rehired employees don’t have any problems, and the IRS does a good job of weeding out those with criminal records or history of drug use, but the agency doesn’t give much credence to the workers’ rule-breaking during their previous stints at the IRS. (Read more about how the IRS rehired tax cheats HERE)

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IRS Took Cash, Asked Questions Later

By Robert O’ Harrow Jr. The Internal Revenue Service has routinely seized bank accounts from individuals in recent years without proof of criminal wrongdoing — and only then asked the account owners about allegations of suspicious activity.

From 2005 to 2012, the IRS took almost a quarter-billion dollars in more than 2,500 cases, using authorities under federal asset forfeiture law. That’s the finding of a new study by the Institute for Justice, a libertarian-leaning civil liberties group. The group’s study, “Seize First, Question Later,” focuses on IRS enforcement of a law that prohibits “structuring,” a type of banking activity intended to launder ill-gotten money or hide the source of funds.

Civil asset forfeiture efforts by local, state and federal authorities have come under fire in recent months. Critics across the political spectrum say that civil seizures are often unfair and an abuse of police power. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Totalitarian Push for Universal Vaccinations Developing, Dems Leading the Way

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Less than one day after a prominent doctor warned that a totalitarian push for universal vaccination might be developing, California Democrat Sens. Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein began calling for exactly what the medical expert feared.

At the same time, California lawmakers are moving to force parents to vaccinate their children – even if the families object to immunizations on religious grounds. A bill taken up by the state’s senate would allow parents to decline the vaccines only if immunizations pose a medical threat to children with conditions such as allergic responses or weak immune systems.

“While a small number of children cannot be vaccinated due to an underlying medical condition, we believe there should be no such thing as a philosophical or personal belief exemption, since everyone uses public spaces,” California’s Democrat senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, wrote in a letter to state Health and Human Services Secretary Diana Dooley Wednesday.

“As we have learned in the past month, parents who refuse to vaccinate their children not only put their own family at risk, but they also endanger other families who choose to vaccinate.”

Meanwhile, California state Sen. Ben Allen announced he is co-sponsoring legislation with fellow Democrat Richard Pan to end parents’ rights to exempt their children. Gov. Jerry Brown has signaled his support for the legislation, even though he preserved religious exemptions to state vaccination requirements in 2012. (Read more about the push for universal vaccinations HERE)

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After State University Hired Terrorists Three Times, Legislators Finally Had Enough

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Photo Credit: FlickrAfter the University of Illinois hired convicted terrorists – three times – State Rep. Charles Meier authored House Bill 150 to order public university decision-makers to stop using taxpayer funds to hire convicted terrorists.

So far, the University system has hired, then fired, then rehired, convicted terrorist killer and kidnapper James Kilgore of Symbionese Liberation Army infamy.

After kidnapping heiress Patty Hearst, helping to kill an Oakland, California, school superintendent and taking part in a bank robbery that left a mother of four dead, Kilgore changed his name and got out of the country . . .

UI also hired Bill Ayers, who admitted leading a band of Weather Underground terrorists responsible for the 1970s bombings of the U.S. Capitol, the NYPD, and the Pentagon.

Ayers and the Weather Underground inspired a bomb making spree, which caused the deaths of three of his co-conspirators, who had planned to use their homemade nail bombs to attack a dance for soldiers at Fort Dix, New Jersey. He’s now retired from the University. (Read more from “University Hired Terrorists” HERE)

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This Open Letter By Hollywood Leftists Should Worry Hillary Clinton

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By Norvell Rose. If Hillary Clinton is thinking she’ll collect a lot of Hollywood cash for her 2016 campaign coffers, she may want to think again…and start some serious outreach to left-coast lefties who are already looking beyond the former first lady to another potential female candidate.

As writer Robert Laurie points out on Herman Cain’s website, a whole lot of movie and TV stars and entertainment industry luminaries have signed an open letter to Elizabeth Warren, virtually begging the Massachusetts senator to enter the race for president.

Calling themselves “Artists for Warren,” these 90 celebs put their names to the plea for the ultra-liberal lawmaker to “stand up for working families and take on the Wall Street banks and special interests that broke our economy.”

The open letter with the heading “Run Warren Run” refers time and again to “big corporations,” “corporate interests” and the “big banks” aligned with greedy Wall Street fat cats — pleading for a champion “who stands up for the people.”

Of course, one might find it more than a tad ironic that these Hollywood types — many of whom make many times the average wage of the average American — see fit to slam the system that has made them part of the “wealthiest 1%” they so harshly criticize. It would seem these stars want to bring down the kind of capitalism in which they, themselves, thrive. (Read more about the signatures from the Hollywood leftists HERE)

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Top White House Official to Leave to Join Hillary Clinton’s Possible 2016 Run

By Peter Nicholas and Carol E. Lee. Another top aide to President Barack Obama will be leaving the White House to join Hillary Clinton ’s would-be presidential campaign, people familiar with the matter say, the latest example of the two major camps within the Democratic Party coalescing behind the former Secretary of State’s likely candidacy.

Jennifer Palmieri will leave her job as White House communications director for a comparable role with Mrs. Clinton, these people said.

The move locks in place another top position on Mrs. Clinton’s campaign team, should she choose to run.

Ms. Palmieri has connections to both the Obama and Clinton worlds, having worked in Bill Clinton ’s White House in the 1990s. She is also close to another figure who bridges both the Obama and Clinton worlds: John Podesta.

Mr. Podesta is currently a senior adviser to the president. He is due to leave the White House this month and to later join the Clinton team, perhaps in the role of campaign chairman, people familiar with events have said. (Read more from this story HERE)

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