Pat Buchanan, Eleanor Clift, Mort Zuckerman and Tom Rogan debate Obama’s grab in ANWR, U.S.-India relations, Yemen, and the eurozone.
Pat Buchanan, Eleanor Clift, Mort Zuckerman and
The late Whitney Houston, left, with daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, right.
ATLANTA – The daughter of the late and great singer Whitney Houston was found unresponsive, face down in a bathtub Saturday and taken t a hospital in the north Atlanta suburbs. Police said Bobbi Kristina Brown was found by her husband, Nick Gordon, and a friend, who called 911 while her husband performed CPR on Brown.
They did not believe she was breathing nor did they believe she had a pulse, according to Officer Lisa Holland, a spokeswoman for the Roswell Police Department.
When police arrived, they gave Brown additional first aid care until she was taken alive to North Fulton Hospital, who did not return repeated requests for a comment regarding Brown’s condition.
“Right now she’s still alive at the hospital,” Holland said.
Detectives were at the home Saturday afternoon investigating the incident. Police said they responded to a call at the home on Jan. 23 reporting a fight, Holland said. When officers arrived, they found no one at the residence.
Brown, 21, is the only child of Whitney Houston and R&B singer Bobby Brown. Whitney Houston, who by all accounts had a particularly close relationship with her daughter, was found dead in a hotel bathtub on Feb. 11, 2012, in Beverly Hills, California. The 48-year-old Houston had struggled for years with cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her behavior had become erratic.
Authorities examining Houston’s death found a dozen prescription drug bottles in the hotel suite. They concluded that Houston accidentally drowned. Heart disease and cocaine use were listed as contributing factors in Houston’s death.
Over her career, Houston sold more than 50 million records in the United States alone, and made classics out of songs like “Saving All My Love For You,” “I Will Always Love You,” “The Greatest Love of All” and “I’m Every Woman.”
She took six Grammys, to begin with, and they represent a small number of her many awards throughout her career.
Houston left her entire estate to her daughter.
The daughter of the late and great
BREAKING: An online ISIS video released Saturday appears to show an Islamic State executioner beheading Japanese hostage Kenji Goto, in what is an apparent end to a several day-long attempt by Japanese officials to negotiate the journalist’s release.
The video, called “A Message to the Government of Japan,” featured a militant who looked and sounded like a militant with a British accent who has taken part in other beheading videos released by ISIS. Goto, kneeling in an orange prison jumpsuit, didn’t say a word in the roughly one-minute-long video.
“Abe,” the militant says in the video, referring to the Japanese prime minister, “because of your reckless decision to take part in an un-winnable war, this knife will not only slaughter Kenji, but will also carry on and cause carnage wherever your people are found. So, let the nightmare for Japan begin.”
Officials in Japan and the U.S. said they were trying to confirm the authenticity of the video.
“We have seen the video purporting to show that Japanese citizen Kenji Goto has been murdered by the terrorist group ISIL,” said Bernadette Meehan, a spokeswoman for the White House’s National Security Council, using an alternate acronym for the extremist group. “The United States strongly condemns ISIL’s actions and we call for the immediate release of all the remaining hostages. We stand in solidarity with our ally Japan.”
The hostage situation began to surface publicly last week after ISIS threatened to kill Goto and fellow Japanese hostage Haruna Yukawa, a 42-year old widower, in 72 hours unless Japan paid $200 million. A purported audio message from the Islamic terror group released on Jan. 24 claimed Yukawa had been executed.
The Islamic State later demanded the release of Sajida al-Rishawi, a female al-Qaida prisoner convicted and sentenced to death for her involvement in a 2005 terrorist attack on hotels in Amman, Jordan that killed 60 people. But within hours, the terror group said it instead wanted al-Rishawi, 44, released in exchange for the life of hostage Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, a Jordanian fighter pilot.
The Jordanian government initially agreed, but then demanded proof of life.
The video released Saturday, via militant websites, bore the symbols of previous Islamic State group videos in which three American separately appear to have been executed.
“To the Japanese government,” the man dubbed “Johnny Jihad” said in the video. “You, like your foolish allies in the Satanic coalition, have yet to understand that we, by Allah’s grace, are an Islamic Caliphate with authority and power, an entire army thirsty for your blood.”
The White House’s National Security Council issued a statement minutes after the release of the video stating intelligence officials are trying to verify its authenticity.
“We have seen the video,” said council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan. “We are working to confirm its authenticity. The United States strongly condemns ISIL’s actions and we call for the immediate release of all remaining hostages.”
Late Friday, after the deadline for a deal had passed, Japan’s deputy foreign minister, Yasuhide Nakayama, said that efforts to free Goto were “in a state of deadlock.”
Meanwhile, the family of 26-year old Lt. al-Kaseasbeh said late Friday there has been no word of the young pilot’s fate. The Jordanian pilot’s plane went down in late December over an Islamic State-controlled area of northeastern Syria, making him the first foreign pilot to be captured by the group since a U.S.-led military coalition began carrying out limited airstrikes to supposedly “degrade and ultimately destroy” the extremists in September.
Goto was captured in October, after he traveled to Syria to try to win the release of Yukawa. Jordan and Japan were reportedly conducting indirect negotiations with the militants through Iraqi tribal leaders.
An ISIS video released Saturday appears to
Analysts will be looking at the economic calendar this week to corporate earnings, manufacturing data and the latest jobs report from the Labor Department.
The February jobs report will top off a busy economic calendar next week that will also see data from the ISM on the state of the manufacturing sector and earnings from corporate giants Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), which will be out on Monday, and General Motors (NYSE:GM) that is due out on Wednesday.
First, a report on personal income is due out on Monday, which will give analysts another piece of the consumer puzzle after consumer sentiment data showed January readings were flat, though at their highest level since ’04.
Auto industry data will come next on Tuesday, and economists expect another healthy report following the close of the best year seen by automakers since the Great Recession ended. However, a number of public surveys still don’t jive with official industry data, as car-buying still isn’t on Americans’ to-do lists. These surveys stand in direct contrast to December data, which found lower gas prices fueling auto sales.
A report on international trade will be due out on Thursday, which will add to several different economic discussions. First, the report will give more insight to the strength of headwinds facing the U.S. economy from Europe, but will also impact the discussion on trade making its way through the U.S. Congress.
The biggest trade deal of Obama’s term — the U.S.-Korea trade pact modeled on NAFTA — has been a job-killer for American workers, according to the liberal group Public Citizen.
“Since the Obama administration used Fast Track to push a trade agreement with Korea, the U.S. trade deficit with Korea has grown 50 percent — which equates to 50,000 more American jobs lost,” the group’s recent report stated. “The U.S. had a $3 billion monthly trade deficit with Korea in October 2014 — the highest monthly U.S. goods trade deficit with the country on record.”
The ISM Manufacturing Index, which is due out Friday, will be closely scrutinized to observe sentiment among purchasing managers relating to production, the status of new orders, the amount of order backlogs, business inventories, customer inventories and supplier shipments. On the heels of a report showing the estimated slowdown in U.S. GDP, which was fueled by trade gap data, both exports and imports will also tell the economic tale.
But the data on U.S. labor markets will make the most headlines, for better or worse.
The January jobs report due out Friday will be used by the Federal Reserve to craft future monetary policy, particularly the timing and trajectory of interest rate hikes expected to come in mid-2015, or specifically June. Analysts are anticipating another month of job creation above 200,000, while forecasts say the unemployment rate will fall slightly lower than its current 5.6 percent.
However, what the Labor Department report says regarding wage growth is more important to everyday working Americans and the Federal Reserve. Higher wages, which would then push inflation higher toward the Fed’s 2 percent target, would be viewed as a sign of a truly healthy economic condition.
That has clearly not been the case, despite the fact roughly 3 million Americans found jobs in 2014 and the unemployment rate fell significantly. The fact remains that the majority of jobs created are low-paying, part-time jobs that cannot sustain American families. Further, while any number above 200,000 is generally celebrated, the American economy must create an average of 250,000 jobs monthly in order to simply keep pace with population growth.
With the labor participation rate hovering down at a 36-year low, the unemployment number may slip further into irrelevance in reality, while the importance of the employment-to-population ratio grows.
Analysts will be looking at the economic
In his weekly address, President Obama introduced a plan he claims will give “hardworking families the support they need to make ends meet,” advocating policies that allegedly benefit the middle class and “those working to reach the middle class.”
The president reiterated his free community college program, which has been thoroughly criticized by economists and commentators, as well as a plan to close loopholes that benefit the wealthy. Republicans have long-advocated for tax reform, and there is bipartisan support for lowering taxes across the board and simplifying the tax code.
“Through common-sense proposals like closing loopholes that benefit the wealthy and providing tax relief to the middle class, making two years of community college free for responsible students, strengthening paid leave policies and access to quality child care for working families, and raising the minimum wage, we can ensure that everyone benefits from, and contributes to, America’s success,” said David Hudson, associate director of content for the Office of Digital Strategy.
However, because the president insists on adding a slew of new taxes on the wealthy, as well as the middle class, the proposal has little chance of passing the new Republican Congress.
“Middle-class economics is working, and we have laid a new foundation,” Hudson added. “But there is still progress to be made, and the president said he is eager to get to work.”
In his weekly address, President Barack Obama
Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, left, and Jordanian pilot Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, right. (Photos: AP)
AMMAN, Jordan – With the deadline passed, the families of two ISIS hostages have received no word on the fate of their loved ones the group threatened to kill earlier this week.
The Islamic State group threatened to kill Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, a Jordanian pilot captured in late Dec., by Thursday unless Jordan released a female al-Qaida prisoner convicted and sentenced to death for her involvement in a 2005 terrorist attack on hotels in Amman, Jordan that killed 60 people.
Jordanian officials had initially agreed to release Sajida al-Rishawi from death row amid growing domestic pressure, but said it cannot release her without proof Lt. al-Kaseasbeh is still alive.
Meanwhile, Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Yasuhide Nakayama said late Friday that efforts to free Japanese journalist Kenji Goto are “in a state of deadlock.”
“The deadline has passed, and it is a reality that several hours have passed since then, so we are doing our utmost to gain more information,” he said.
Even though the fate of the 26-year-old airman is believed to be linked to that of Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, in their recorded audio ultimatum the terror group did not say what would happen to Goto if al-Rishawi is not released.
“We are waiting,” Jawad al-Kaseasbeh, the brother of the pilot said Saturday. “We received nothing new, neither from the government nor from informal sources.”
Al-Kaseasbeh’s plane went down over an Islamic State-controlled area of northeastern Syria in late Dec., making him the first foreign pilot to be captured by the group since a U.S.-led military coalition began carrying out limited airstrikes to supposedly “degrade and ultimately destroy” the extremists in September.
Jordan is part of the coalition.
Goto was captured by ISIS in October, after he traveled to Syria to try to win the release of Haruna Yukawa, a 42-year-old widower and defense contractor who reportedly has already been executed.
The hostage situation began last week after militants threatened to kill Goto and Yukawa in 72 hours unless Japan paid $200 million.
Jordan and Japan are reportedly conducting indirect negotiations with the terrorists through Iraqi tribal leaders.
With the deadline passed, the families of
U.S. consumer sentiment was relatively flat in January, but still hit its highest level in 11 years, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey. The final January reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment hit 98.1, which is its best showing on a final basis since January 2004.
The report is the latest show of gains in consumer sentiment since August.
“Consumers judged prospects for the national economy as the best in a decade, with half of all consumers expecting the economic expansion will continue for another five years,” said Richard Curtin, the survey’s director.
The reading was up from 93.6 the month before but slightly under the preliminary reading of 98.2, which was also the median forecast of among economists polled by Reuters. The survey’s barometer of current economic conditions rose to 109.3 from 104.8 in December, compared to a forecast of 108 and a preliminary reading of 108.3.
“While renewed strength in consumer spending will boost the pace of economic growth in 2015, most consumers are counting only on modest income gains during the years ahead. Without sufficient wage gains, consumers will be forced to demand large price discounts to complete their purchases, adding to disinflationary pressures.”
The survey’s gauge of consumer expectations increased to 91 from December’s reading of 86.4, but it was below the preliminary January of 91.6. Economists’ expectations were for a reading of 91.5. The survey’s one-year inflation expectation was 2.5 percent, compared with 2.8 percent in December.
U.S. consumer sentiment was relatively flat in
July 2, 2014: In this file photo, Mitt Romney, the former Republican presidential nominee, addresses a crowd of supporters while introducing New Hampshire Senate candidate Scott Brown at a farm in Stratham, N.H. (Photo: AP)
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney announced Friday he has officially decided not to run for president in 2016. While the 2012 Republican nominee said he believes he had the best chance at winning the nomination and beating likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Romney said it is time to pass the torch to younger leaders.
“I’ve decided it is best to give other leaders in our party the opportunity to become our nominee,” Mitt Romney said in a statement.
Romney told supporters in a conference call Friday that he thought the contest would be a slog, but that he could emerge victorious. He even mentioned the latest FOX Poll showing him comfortably ahead of his closest rival for the nomination and head-to-head with Hillary Clinton.
“I feel that it is critical that America elect a conservative leader to become our next president,” Romney said. “You know that I have wanted to be that president. But I do not want to make it more difficult for someone else to emerge who may have a better chance of becoming that president. You can’t imagine how hard it is for Ann and me to step aside, especially knowing of your support and the support of so many people across the country. But we believe it is for the best of the Party and the nation.”
However, in the three weeks it has been to the day since he announced he was thinking of a third bid, GOP power-brokers have been moving toward former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the son of former President George H.W. Bush and brother to G. W. Bush. Even Romney’s top advisor in Iowa, Dave Kochel, signed on with Jeb in the lead-off caucus state.
“He was testing the waters,” said Larry Sabato of the Center for Politics at UVA. “And he found the waters chilly.”
Ultimately, Romney said it was time for others to take the lead.
“I believe that one of our next generation of Republican leaders, one who may not be as well known as I am today, one who has not yet taken their message across the country, one who is just getting started, may well emerge as being better able to defeat the Democrat nominee,” Romney added. “In fact, I expect and hope that to be the case.”
In truth, recent polling may have reflected name recognition only, as is the case with Jeb Bush.
A slew of recent polls show that a majority of voters – including Republicans – think the 2016 GOP president field should be filled with fresh faces, not old ones. A new Rasmussen Reports survey finds that 64 percent of likely voters say Republicans should “look for a fresh face to run for president in 2016,” while just 10 percent say they should get behind a candidate who has run in the past.
“While Republicans have a certain lingering affinity for Mitt Romney, the truth is that GOP voters want someone new,” says PPD’s senior political analyst Richard Baris. “He only had one way to go — down — and while Bush is helped by Romney’s decision, it may be likely he has found his ceiling, as well. The real winner is Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.”
Behind the scenes, those in the Romney camp said he believed Bush was a weak candidate. Further, he hasn’t run since 2002 and definitely conflicts with the party base on immigration and education. Walker, on the other hand, took activists and donors by storm when he spoke Saturday in Iowa. With Romney out of the race, Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will vie for the establishment money and vote, leaving a candidate like Walker an enormous opportunity.
Gov. Bush did not attend the event.
“To all my supporters, friends and family who worked both tirelessly and loyally to support my campaigns in the past, I will always be deeply appreciative,” Romney said. “What you have already done is a tribute to your patriotism. We are overwhelmed and humbled by your loyalty to us, by your generosity of spirit, and by your friendship. God bless you all.”
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has announced
File photo: Cushing, Oklahoma, where the Keystone pipeline was just approved by the high court.
A group of Senate Democrats are urging President Obama to sign the bill approving the Keystone XL pipeline after the bill passed the Senate on Thursday.
After weeks of debate and dozens of votes on amendments, totaling more amendments than the upper chamber considered during the entire tenure of Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the Senate passed its first major legislation under the new Republican majority.
The vote passed 62-36, just shy of a veto-proof majority, with nine Democrats joining all Senate Republicans in supporting the measure. However, the legislation only needed a simple majority to pass after a cloture vote to end debate succeeded with the same number of yes votes earlier in the afternoon.
The House passed a similar bill approving the Keystone pipeline earlier this month with nearly 30 House Democrats joining with the GOP, but President Obama has promised to veto any bill that reaches his desk.
“We’re hoping the president, upon reflection, will agree to sign on to a bill that his State Department says could create up to 42,000 jobs – [that] his State Department says creates little or no impact on the environment,” Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, calling the Keystone bill “an important accomplishment for the country.”
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., applauded the Republican majority and called on the president to sign the bill.
“I am so pleased that bipartisan legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline has finally passed in the Senate, especially after we had the opportunity to extensively debate this issue and add dozens of amendments,” Sen. Manchin said in a statement. “It is my hope that the bill will swiftly pass through the House and that the President will defer to multiple State Department studies which have all concluded the project will have no significant impact on our environment.”
Sen. Manchin was echoed by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-MO, who is now adamantly pointing out she has been a longtime supporter of the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline.
“I’ve long supported Keystone, because it was never a choice of whether the pipeline would be built—it was a question of where. Getting this pipeline built in the United States means creating jobs and business opportunities, and boosting America’s energy security,” Sen. McCaskill said. “Those are goals we should all be able to get behind, and while this process has taken far longer than it should have, I’m glad to see the Senate finally approve this project.”
The Missouri Democrat, who pushed then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to expedite the now-released report, also renewed her call to President Obama to sign the bill.
However, not all in Democratic minority were entirely happy with the process, and even some GOPers are scratching their heads at some of the amendments that failed to get in the bill.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said at a press conference after the cloture vote Thursday that Democrats were “grateful we had the opportunity to offer and vote on amendments, but those amendments don’t do any good for the middle class if Republicans vote them down.”
Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., put forward an amendment that would have required U.S. steel, iron and manufactured goods be used in the construction of the pipeline amendment, while another would have required oil transported in the pipeline be used to in the United States to reduce dependence on oil from the Middle East.
An amendment introduced by Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, includes initiatives that would encourage investment in energy-and cost-saving technologies in homes, commercial buildings, and federal facilities. Another amendment introduced by Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, would require a review of existing programs and financing options to help facilitate energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy retrofitting projects for schools.
Meanwhile, the House can now either consider and pass the Senate version, or to go to conference and merge the two versions into a new bill to be voted on by each chamber. Speaker John Boehner’s office said Friday morning that no decision had been made, but Senate Democrats who supported the bill say the quicker the better, because it keeps the pressure on the president.
“I am pleased the Senate passed this commonsense legislation because this project would help promote economic competitiveness and energy security for our country,” said Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., who supported both the Portman and Collins amendments. “A strong energy economy is vital to both Indiana’s and our country’s economic success and critical to our national security. I hope the House will quickly pass this bill and President Obama will sign this legislation into law to end the long delay and move this important project forward.”
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest reiterated Obama’s promise to veto the bill, but Senate Democrats are lobbying the president to change his mind. They worry public opinion is so overwhelming, they will give Republicans an opportunity to hang the issue around their necks, a price they aren’t willing to pay to appease a small left-wing environmental lobby.
According to a recent PPD Poll of 694 registered voters, 69 percent outright support construction of the pipeline, up from 65 percent measured last year. However, 72 percent support its construction when respondents are told of the administration’s own findings, including the State Department review that stated the environmental impact would be more negative absent the pipeline.
“With a majority of Americans in support of the Keystone XL pipeline’s construction, let’s move this project forward once and for all,” Sen. Manchin added.
Minority Leader Harry Reid and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, were absent for the vote, and though Reid’s office did not respond to a request for a comment, given his past alliance with the president Republicans would likely be four short of overriding a veto.
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., sponsor of the Keystone bill, said that if Obama vetoes it and there aren’t enough votes to override, Republicans could attach approval for the Keystone to other legislation.
Hoeven said the process his legislation went through, with votes on more than 40 amendments over a two-week span, was a positive sign that things can get done under new Senate leadership.
“I’m hopeful, as I said even before we got into the debate on Keystone, that this is about getting that regular order going on other legislation as well,” Hoeven said. “And we’re hopeful that will help break through the gridlock and get more done in the Senate and for the American people.”
A group of Senate Democrats are urging
(Photo: Reuters)
U.S. economic growth slowed sharply in the fourth quarter, as weak business spending and a wider trade deficit offset increased consumer spending. The Commerce Department reported Friday that gross domestic product expanded at a 2.6 percent annual pace in the 4Q following the third quarter’s historically normal 5 percent rate.
The slowdown, which follows two back-to-back quarters of very strong growth, comes even as Americans are spending more due to lower gasoline prices. Still, at least at first glance, growth remained above the 2.5 percent pace, though economists had expected the economy to expand at a 3 percent rate in the 4Q.
For all of 2014, the economy grew 2.4 percent compared to 2.2 percent in 2013, an increase but still below the historical post-World War II average. The report came two days after the Federal Reserve’s FOMC reiterated its position to hold interest at near historic low, and be said it will be “patient” until economic data suggests a more robust U.S. economy.
The U.S. central bank has kept its short-term interest rate near zero since December 2008, a move that has made the investor class even more wealthy while hurting the saving power and wages of everyday Americans, but most economists expect a mid-year increase sometime in June.
Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, increased by a 4.3 percent pace in the fourth quarter, which is the fastest since the first quarter of 2006. That also represented an increase from the third quarter’s 3.2 percent pace.
With gasoline prices falling 43 percent since June, Americans are finding themselves with more money to spend. Further, despite zero wage growth, a modestly improving labor market is delivering more opportunity, albeit low-paying opportunity.
However, the increase consumer spending was erased by a drop in capital expenditures, including business spending on equipment falling by 1.9 percent rate. It was the largest contraction since the 2Q of 2009.
Business spending on equipment had experienced an 11 percent growth rate in the 3Q, but last quarter’s weakness could indicate cuts or delays in undertaking investment projects by companies in the oil industry has had a more adverse effect than previously forecast.
A wider trade deficit — which was fueled by slower global growth in exports and increased domestic demand for imports — sliced 1.02 percent from GDP growth in the 4Q quarter. In the prior quarter, trade had added 0.78 percentage point to third-quarter growth.
Restocking by businesses to meet growing demand added 0.82 percent to 4Q GDP, but the report from there was a mixed bag. A cut to government spending for defense contractors sliced off GDP, while residential construction added to GDP growth only slightly.
A key measure of inflation fell 0.5 percent, as a result of falling gas prices, which was the weakest reading since the first quarter of 2009.
U.S. economic growth slowed sharply in the
