Obama to proceed with court nominee despite Republican defiance
Obama carries a binder containing material on potential Supreme Court nominees WASHINGTON — A day after Senate Republicans ruled out taking action on any Supreme Court nominee he puts forward, President Obama on Wednesday vowed to move ahead with a selection who will possess an "independent mind" and grasp how laws impact people's...San Bernardino victims want shooter’s iPhone unlocked
Some victims of the San Bernardino attack will file a legal brief in support of the U.S. government's attempt to force Apple Inc to unlock the encrypted iPhone belonging to one of the shooters, a lawyer representing the victims said on Sunday.Stephen Larson, a former federal judge who is now in private practice, told Reuters that the...Minnesota revokes anti-Muslim license plate following firestorm
"FMUSLMS"MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota’s governor ordered the state to take back a license plate he called offensive this week.The plate had the letter "F" before an apparent abbreviation for "Muslims."The person who obtained the license plate has had it since last June. The Department of Public Safety said it never should have issued the...Tech, business leaders protest ‘discriminatory’ U.S. visa waiver changes
More than 30 U.S. business leaders urged Congress on Tuesday to undo visa restrictions that make it harder for citizens of some countries to visit, saying they were discriminatory and made U.S. companies less competitive.A law passed after last year's Paris attacks by Islamic State requires citizens of 38 countries to obtain a visa to...Sanders gets endorsement from first Muslim congressman
MINNESOTA — After defending Democratic presidential hopeful Barnie Sanders on several occasions, Representative Keith Ellison, the first Muslim Congressman, has endorsed the Vermont senator for the 2016 presidential race. "This is not a ‘no you can’t’ campaign. This is not a diminish your dreams kind of campaign. This is a...Pope says Trump ‘not Christian’, Trump calls comment ‘disgraceful’
NEWBERRY, S.C. — Pope Francis assailed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's views on U.S. immigration as "not Christian" on Thursday, prompting the billionaire businessman to reprimand the religious leader as "disgraceful" for questioning his faith.No stranger to controversy, Trump, the longtime party front-runner in...U.S. Rights groups sue over ‘Muslim-free’ Oklahoma gun range
OKLAHOMA CITY - Two U.S. activists groups filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday against a rural Oklahoma gun range, arguing that it violated U.S. civil rights laws by posting a sign that said the business was "Muslim free" and barring a Muslim from shooting there.The lawsuit by the Council on American-Islamic...Trump: I’ll be neutral on Palestinian-Israeli conflict
WASHINGTON - Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he'll give solving the conflict between Israel and Palestine "one hell of a shot." During an MSNBC town hall, the Republican presidential candidate said that he had some doubt that he could settle the complex, decades-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. But he said that he...Ted Cruz would declare Jerusalem ‘eternal capital of Israel’ first day in office
Washington- While his opponent Donald Trump said he would take a neutral stance on the Palestine-Israeli conflict, Republican Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz only recognizes one side. On Cruz’s website, one of nine main platform issues is ‘Stand with Israel," where he says on the first day of office, his administration would...Apple opposes order to help FBI unlock San Bernardino shooter’s I-phone
CALIFORNIA - In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a U.S. magistrate has ordered Apple to assist the government in unlocking the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook. The FBI is seeking information that may be on Farook's employer-issued phone as it investigates the Dec. 2 shootings that left 14 people dead. At the time...Man pleads not guilty for planned mass shooting in Milwaukee
Samy Mohamed HamzehMILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man who authorities say planned to kill dozens of people in a mass shooting at a local Masonic temple pleaded not guilty to weapons charges in federal court on Tuesday. Samy Mohamed Hamzeh, 23, appeared in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, where he is...Justice Dept. sues Ferguson, Missouri, to force police reforms
FERGUSON, MO./WASHINGTON - The U.S. Justice Department sued Ferguson, Missouri, on Wednesday to force the city to change its police department and court system after the federal government found both to be biased against minorities.The St. Louis suburb, a symbol of problems with policing and race in the United States, earlier...Trump, Sanders win in New Hampshire: networks
NEW HAMPSHERE - Billionaire businessman Donald Trump won New Hampshire's Republican presidential nominating contest on Tuesday, while U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont won the Democratic primary over Hillary Clinton, U.S. television networks said after early results. Trump's win solidifies his front-runner status in the...U.S. judge deports Qatari military officer accused of enslaving servants
Hassan al-Homoud and his wifeSAN ANTONIO — A U.S. judge ordered on Tuesday the immediate deportation of a Qatari military officer and his wife after they were accused of holding two female servants in slave-like conditions in their upscale San Antonio home.Hassan al-Homoud, 46, who received military training at San Antonio's Camp...U.S. intelligence chief warns of ‘homegrown’ security threat
In his annual assessment of threats to the United States, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper warned that fast-moving cyber and technological advances "could lead to widespread vulnerabilities in civilian infrastructures and U.S. government systems."Terrorism remains a top concern in President Barack Obama's last year in......
Law enforcement officials tighten security at Super bowl following Paris, San Bernardino
SAN FRANSICO — Law enforcement officials preparing for Super Bowl 50 have worked with their French counterparts to learn from last year's deadly attacks in Paris, as they plan safety for Sunday's big game, the Secretary of Homeland Security said on Wednesday. Secretary Jeh Johnson said he and his team have been "constantly" in...
Obama urges Americans to fight Islamophobia during first mosque visit
February 3rd, 20160 CATONSVILLE, Md. — President Obama sought Wednesday to correct what he called a "hugely distorted impression" of Muslim-Americans as he made his first visit to a U.S. mosque. He said those who demonize all Muslims for the acts of a few are playing into extremists' hands. Inserting himself into a debate that has ricocheted......
First U.S. Zika virus transmission reported, attributed to sex
A government worker fumigates against mosquito breeding to protect against Zika, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Feb. 2AUSTIN, Texas — The first known case of Zika virus transmission in the United States was reported in Texas on Tuesday by local health officials, who said it likely was contracted through sex and not a mosquito bite, a day...Ted Cruz calls Iowa victory a win for Judeo-Christian values
Ted Cruz, with his wife Heidi Cruz, at a night rally in Des Moines, Iowa, Feb. 1. Photo: ReutersDES MOINES, Iowa — Relishing victory in the first Republican nominating contest of the U.S. presidential election, Sen. Ted Cruz called his defeat of Donald Trump in the Iowa caucuses a win for "Judeo-Christian values."Cruz also said the...ISIS-linked hacker makes first appearance in federal court
VIRGINIA — A Kosovar citizen accused of hacking the personal data of more than a thousand U.S. officials and sending it to Islamic State militants in Syria appeared in federal court in Virginia on Wednesday. It was the first time Ardit Ferizi, 20, had publicly appeared in the United States since being extradited from Malaysia, where...Freed U.S. student: Now is not the time to go to Iran
Matthew TrevithickWASHINGTON — An American student detained in Iran who was freed this month under a prisoner swap said on Thursday he was accused of trying to overthrow the Iranian government and held for nearly a month in solitary confinement.Matthew Trevithick, who had traveled to Iran to study Farsi, told CNN that interrogators at......
Sanders and Clinton battle for youth vote with college plans
MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE — Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are fighting to be best in class on an issue that resonates loudly with young Americans - runaway student debt. Days ahead of the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary election that kick off the party nomination process, the White...Trump overshadows Republican debate even as he sits out
Republican front-runner Donald Trump skipped a presidential debate in Iowa on Thursday after a flurry of last-minute negotiations with host Fox News, holding his own rally a few miles away four days before the first nominating contest of the 2016 race.Fox News (FOXA.O) Chairman Roger Ailes had three phone conversations with the......
Clinton slams Trump and Islamophobia at Iowa town hall
January 26th, 20160 A Muslim veteran asks presidential front-runner Hilary Clinton about IslamophobiaDES MOINES, IOWA ― Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton slammed Donald Trump at Monday's Democratic town hall meeting in Iowa, calling the Islamophobic rhetoric many Republican candidates spew "distressing" and "shameful."Asked by a Muslim American Air...Two New York teens charged for beating Muslim man
The Bronx — Two New York City teenagers have been arrested for viciously attacking a man while shouting “ISIS, ISIS."Mujibur Rahman, 43, a Bangladeshi Muslim, who was wearing traditional Muslim attire, was picking up his 9-year-old niece from school around 5:30 p.m. Friday, when the......
