Recordings
Reveal Qaddafi Foretold Rise Of Radical Islam, Euro Invasion
Doomed Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi delivered a prophetic warning
in 2011, saying Islamic terror would spread across North Africa and hit
Europe if he was removed from power, newly released phone transcripts revealed
Thursday. Speaking to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Qaddafi
said "[jihadists] want to control the Mediterranean and then they will
attack Europe," British media reported. A British foreign affairs committee
investigating the Qaddafi ouster released the transcripts of two phone
calls to Blair, both of which reportedly took place on February 25, 2011.
Qaddafi fled the Libyan capital city of Tripoli that summer, and rebels
killed him in October. Fox News
VOA VIEW: The Arab nations have a dificulty
in living in real democracy;.
Alabama
Sues Federal Government Over Syrian Refugees
Alabama officials sued the U.S. government on Thursday to force the
Obama administration to provide more information on the settlement of refugees
from Syria and other countries in the state. The lawsuit, filed in U.S.
district court in Birmingham, accused the Obama administration of failing
to consult state officials about any refugees to be settled in the state,
in violation of the federal Refugee Act of 1980. Republican Governor Robert
Bentley is among more than two dozen U.S. governors who have sought to
block Syrian refugees from the state after the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris
for which the group Islamic State claimed responsibility. Reuters
Public
School Recruits Students To Work For Hillary Clinton Campaign
A public high school in Maine was caught red-handed trying to recruit
students to work on Hillary Clintons presidential campaign as a community
service opportunity without the knowledge or consent of parents. Could
you imagine the national media firestorm had the school been recruiting
for Donald Trumps campaign? Students at Marshwood High School in South
Berwick received an email from the Clinton campaign urging them to sign
up for positions as unpaid fellows. Fox News
VOA VIEW: Democrats have no sense of ethics.
Trump
Unleashes Video Attacking Clintons On 'Women's Rights'
Donald Trump again assailed Bill and Hillary Clinton Thursday for the
former president's sexual indiscretions. An Instagram video posted by Trump's
campaign features images of intern Monica Lewinsky, disgraced former congressman
Anthony Weiner - a onetime political ally of the Clintons who resigned
from Congress amid a sexting scandal - and criminally charged comedian
Bill Cosby. Donald Trump again assailed Bill and Hillary Clinton Thursday
for the former president's sexual indiscretions. MSNBC
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TransCanada
Sues Over Keystone Rejection; Accuses Obama of Exceeding His Powers As
President
The Canadian company that proposed the Keystone XL oil pipeline filed
a lawsuit over the U.S. government's rejection of the project and announced
it plans to file a second legal challenge that will seek more than $15
billion in damages. TransCanada filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday in Houston
alleging President Barack Obama's decision in November to kill the pipeline
exceeded his power under the U.S. Constitution. The company also announced
the same day that it will submit a separate petition seeking the billions
in damages, alleging the U.S. breached its obligations under the North
American Free Trade Agreement. CNS News
NY
Mayor Pressures Police Pension Fund To Dump Gunmaker Stocks
Mayor Bill de Blasio has submitted a resolution urging the New York
City Police Pension Fund to consider exiting investments in companies that
manufacture assault weapons for civilians, the mayor's office said on Thursday.
The resolution was submitted on Wednesday, the mayor's office said. It
requests the fund's administrators to carry out an analysis on divesting
from stocks such as Smith & Wesson Holding Corp and Sturm Ruger &
Co. The mayor, a trustee on the police pension fund's 12-member board,
pledged after the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, in November,
to push all five funds in the city's $155 billion public pension system
to dump their investments in gun stocks. Reuters
VOA VIEW: Blasio is a liberal punk.
U.S.
Tech Giants Warn U.K.'s Proposed Spying Bill Would Weaken Encryption
Major U.S. Internet companies have urged the British government to
reconsider a plan to make telecommunications firms help spies hack into
computers and phones. The draft Investigatory Powers Bill would require
telecoms companies to keep records of customers' Web histories for up to
a year, and to help security services gain access to suspects' electronic
devices. In a joint submission to a committee of British lawmakers, Facebook,
Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo said that "to the extent this could
involve the introduction of risks or vulnerabilities into products or services,
it would be a very dangerous precedent to set." They urged the government
to reconsider, and warned against changes that would weaken online encryption,
which they called a "fundamental security tool."
MSNBC
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House
Democrat Vows Lawsuit Contesting Cruz Bid On Citizenship Grounds
A Democratic member of the U.S. House vowed Thursday to file a lawsuit
challenging Sen. Ted Cruzs Constitutional eligibility to become president.
Rep. Alan Grayson, Florida Democrat, said the issue is not political but
Constitutional and that he will file a suit if and when he becomes the
nominee and tries to qualify for the ballot in November. Mr. Cruz was
born in Canada to a Cuban father and an American mother facts that have
never been in dispute. The Constitution requires that the president be
a natural-born citizen and Mr. Grayson noted that nobody would dispute
the ineligibility of Austrian-born former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Its an open question, Mr. Grayson said in an interview with The Hill,
whether Ted Cruz falls on that side of the (eligibility) line or the other
side of the line. Its a matter for the courts to determine and there are
legitimate arguments either way. Washington Times
Jeb
Bush Rules Out Third-Party Bid If He Loses GOP Nomination
Jeb Bush won't run as a third-party candidate in 2016, even if Donald
Trump wins the Republican nomination. When asked at a New Hampshire campaign
stop if Bush would consider an independent bid if the billionaire real
estate developer -- who Bush has insisted is a "jerk" -- was named the
GOP nominee, the former Florida governor answered in the negative. "No.
I'm not going to run as a third-party candidate, no matter who wins the
nomination," Bush said late Wednesday. "I've been supporting Republicans
since Richard Nixon." Despite his promise to back Trump if the business
mogul does end up on the GOP's general election ticket, Bush did not hesitate
to continue his criticisms of the current Republican front-runner.
CBS
VOA VIEW: Bush would not have the resources
to fund a Third-Parrty Bid.
A
Third Of Adults Don't Get Enough Sleep
One thing most people can use is a good night's sleep. The problem
is, many adults don't get close to what we need. Forty-four-year-old Jackie
Cohen is a busy entrepreneur and single mother of a two-year-old. "I never
get seven hours of sleep in a night, I'm going to say, ever." "It's 3:20
a.m. and I did not go to sleep since 2:00 a.m., so I'm a bit overtired,"
Jackie said in a self-made video. Cohen is not alone. A new report by the
National Center for Health Statistics finds nearly a third of adults don't
get the recommended seven hours of sleep daily. Single moms had the greatest
difficulty. About 40 percent get less than seven hours, compared to 31
percent of married women. CBS
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Pelosi:
GOPs New Years Resolution Should Be To Quit Their Anti-Women Health
Obsession
At a Capitol Hill press conference Thursday, House Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) accused the GOP of obsessing about taking away
life-saving preventative care from millions of women with their vote
Wednesday to defund Planned Parenthood, the nations largest abortion provider.
Republicans should, a New Years resolution would be to quit their anti-women
health obsession for the New Year, Pelosi said. CNS
Hillary
Clinton Assumes Making A Murderer Convicts Are Black
Hillary Clinton reportedly made the flawed assumption Tuesday that
the two convicts featured in the popular Netflix documentary Making a
Murderer are black. Making a Murderer raises questions about the strength
of the cases brought against Steven Avery and his cousin, Brendan Dassey,
both convicted in Wisconsin for the 2005 murder of 25-year-old freelance
photographer Teresa Halbach. The 10-part series has sparked a public outcry
and triggered several petitions that call for the men, who are both white,
to be pardoned. Washington Times
State
Dept. Failing To Respond To Records Requests
The State Department is failing to respond in a timely and accurate
manner to requests for public records filed under the Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA), an internal watchdog investigation released today concludes.
The report, issued by the State Departments Office of Inspector General,
recommends the State Department hire and dedicate more staff for the purpose
of producing records, to which the State Department says it agrees. While
the volume of State Freedom of Information Act requests has tripled since
2008, our resources to respond have not kept pace, State Department John
Kirby said in a statement to ABC News. That said, we know we must continue
to improve our FOIA responsiveness and are taking additional steps to do
so. ABC
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Bisexuality
On The Rise, Says New U.S. Survey
A growing number of women and men say they are bisexual, according
to the latest national survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As awareness about bisexuality has grown over the years, it could be getting
easier for people to label themselves as bisexual, said Debby Herbenick,
associate professor at Indiana University and author of the book "Sex Made
Easy," who was not involved in the study. Researchers asked more than 9,000
people in the United States age 18 to 44 about the types of sexual experiences
they have had, whether they are attracted to the same or opposite sex and
whether they identify as being straight, gay/lesbian or bisexual. Interviews
were conducted between 2011 and 2013 as part of the CDC's National Survey
of Family Growth. CNN
U.S.
Urged To Cut Sugar Equal To A Half-Can Of Coke A Day
Americans need to cut back on sugars found in sodas and snacks to curb
obesity, according to dietary guidelines issued by the U.S. government
Thursday that include, for the first time, specific targets for sweetener
consumption. Less than 10 percent of daily calories for adults should come
from sugars added to packaged foods and sodas, according to the departments
of Agriculture and Health and Human Services which jointly released the
guidelines. Americans currently get more than 13 percent of their calories
from such sources. Cutting the equivalent of half a 12-ounce non-diet soda
each day would reach the new goal. Bloomberg
Bill
Would Make Videotaping Police A Crime If Too Close
An Arizona lawmaker wants to bar the public from videotaping law enforcement
officers from close-range. Republican state Sen. John Kavanagh's bill would
bar videotaping police from 20 feet or closer. The proposed legislation
would make it a petty offense to violate the law, or a misdemeanor if the
person keeps taping after being warned or has a previous conviction. Kavanagh
says Senate Bill 1064 is needed to keep police from being endangered while
investigating crimes by people rushing in to film. Attorney Dan Pochoda
of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona calls the proposal unconstitutional.
He says courts have ruled people have a First Amendment right to videotape
police. Las Vegas Sun
Armed
Protesters To Descend On Obama Town Hall Gun Meeting
Gun-rights activists, some carrying firearms, plan to be out in force
at George Mason University on Thursday night as President Barack Obama
pitches his controversial gun legislation during a televised invitation-only
town hall meeting, an event panned by critics as a public relations spectacle.
Obama will sit with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper before a live audience at
the university in Fairfax, Va. CNN said it was the network's idea to host
the hour-long discussion, with audience members who both support and oppose
Obama's executive actions on gun control. The National Rifle Association,
the nation's most powerful gun lobby, declined an invitation to the event,
calling it "a public relations spectacle orchestrated by the White House."
UPI
VOA VIEW: A CNN liberal stunt.
Court
Rejects Appeal Of Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin
A federal appeals court has rejected an appeal by former New Orleans
mayor Ray Nagin, who was convicted in 2014 on corruption charges. Nagin,
a Democrat who served from 2002 to 2010, was convicted on charges of wire
fraud, bribery, money laundering and filing false tax returns. Prosecutors
say graft in his administration began before Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005
and flourished afterward. Bribes included money, free vacations and truckloads
of free granite for his family business. The former mayor had argued in
his appeal that a judge gave erroneous instructions to the jury that convicted
him. Las Vegas Sun
Researchers
Think 'Window Of Recovery' After Stroke Can Reopen
Scientists think the window of recovery for stroke patients to regain
motor skills could be open longer than previously thought, based on a new
study with mice. The experiments suggest the brain is more "plastic" beyond
the period immediately after a stroke and that, if this period of time
when the brain is in a recover-and-rebuild mode can somehow be extended,
patients could regain more of their previous abilities. In experiments
with mice that had strokes, scientists induced a second stroke in the same
area of their brains, which showed recovery after the first stroke could
be improved -- though they note inducing strokes in human patients is not
and should not be a treatment option. UPI
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How
The 'Male Pill' Could Actually Work
"The Pill" -- two words synonymous with birth control. But more than
50 years after oral contraceptives became commonplace, they remain an option
only available to women. In the United States, 17.5% of women aged 15-44
using birth control are taking oral contraceptives, according to the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC). For men, the options remain as they
have done for centuries -- condoms and vasectomies. There is no pill in
sight. Yet. "Even if just 5-10% of men used this (an oral contraceptive),
it would limit population growth," says Ilpo Huhtaniemi, emeritus professor
of Reproductive Endocrinology at Imperial College London.
CNN
Seattle
Tunnel Machine Begins Drilling After 2-Year Break
Seattle's tunnel-boring machine has moved past the concrete walls that
make up a repair pit and has started digging into soil about 80 feet below
street-level along the city's waterfront. After being out of commission
for about two years, the machine called Bertha has tunneled about 73 feet
and installed 12 concrete tunnel rings since it started moving again on
Dec. 22, Chris Dixon, program manager for the contractor Seattle Tunnel
Partners, told reporters on a conference call on Thursday. "Things are
going really well according to plan," Dixon said. "The repairs were successful
and the machine is performing to our expectations." ABC
U.S.
Jobs Data Take On Added Importance With Markets In Turmoil
With Federal Reserve policy makers having already moved forward with
their first interest-rate increase in almost a decade, Fridays U.S. jobs
report takes on elevated importance for a different reason. In the face
of crumbling financial markets centered around a slowdown in China, plunging
commodity prices and the global effects of a stronger dollar, the December
employment data will help signal the sturdiness of the economy. Payroll
gains at or near 200,000 would probably provide some reassurance about
growth prospects, even though the governments survey period was weeks
before the recent turmoil. Conversely, a lackluster report will almost
certainly add to the wall of worry thats washed over financial markets
this week. Bloomberg
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Fatah,
Hamas Pledge More Violence Against Israel In 2016
After failing to offer their people any hope for the future, Fatah
and Hamas are now telling Palestinians that they should expect more violence
and bloodshed during in 2016. In separate messages to the Palestinians
on New Year's Eve, the two rival Palestinian parties pledged to pursue,
and even step up, "resistance" attacks against Israel. Needless to say,
the messages did not make any reference to peace, coexistence or tolerance.
Instead of wishing Palestinians a happy and prosperous New Year, both Fatah
and Hamas are asking their people in the Gaza Strip and West Bank to prepare
for increased violence and "resistance" attacks against Israel. The two
parties have nothing to offer the Palestinians besides more bloodshed and
despair. Jerusalem Post
Assailants
Attack UK Jews: 'Hitler Is On The Way To You!'
Local activist said that members of the Jewish community in northern
London were pelted with gas canisters and were verbally assaulted by men
who said "Hitler is on the way," according to English daily The Guardian
on Thursday. The Metropolitan police said they received a complaint concerning
the incident which occurred in the Tottenham Hale area on Wednesday. According
to the Stamford Hill based watchdog organization, Shomrim, three men in
a pickup truck hurled the steel canisters at two men and a woman shopping
in the area. Hitler is on the way to you, Heil Hitler, Heil Hitler,
Heil Hitler, was shouted at the group before being pelted by the objects,
the organization added. Jerusalem Post
Syrian
Government 'To Let Aid Into Besieged Madaya'
The Syrian government has agreed to allow aid into the besieged rebel-held
village of Madaya, the UN says, amid reports of residents starving to death.
The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) said that if access were secured, trucks
could begin to arrive by Monday. Aid agencies say conditions in Madaya,
near Damascus, are "extremely dire". The UN said it also had government
permission for access to Kefraya and Foah in the north but, unlike Madaya,
these are besieged by rebel forces. Up to 4.5 million people in Syria live
in hard-to-reach areas, including nearly 400,000 people in 15 besieged
locations who do not have access to the life-saving aid they urgently need.
BBC
Oil
Price Tumbles To Below $33
The oil price tumbled to $32.62 a barrel on Thursday morning as a result
of rising US energy stockpiles and China's weakening currency, before recovering
later in the day. Brent crude fell 4.7%, hitting fresh 11-year lows, while
US crude was down 3.9% at its lowest level since 2008. Brent recovered
to $33.95, down less than 1% on the day, while US crude climbed back to
$33.42, down 1.6%. Oversupply has hit oil prices, which are now 70% lower
than in June 2014. Companies and governments that rely heavily on oil revenues
have been suffering as a result. BBC
Revealed:
White House Seeks To Enlist Silicon Valley To 'Disrupt Radicalization'
The White House will attempt to enlist Silicon Valleys major technology
firms in its efforts to combat terrorism on Friday when a delegation of
the most senior intelligence officials fly to California to meet with executives
from companies including Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Microsoft, YouTube and
others. A copy of the agenda obtained by the Guardian indicates the White
House seeks more or less to channel Silicon Valleys talent into its war
against Islamic State and other extremist groups. It states: In what ways
can we use technology to help disrupt paths to radicalization to violence,
identify recruitment patterns, and provide metrics to help measure our
efforts to counter radicalization to violence? Guardian
John
Kerry Tells China To Halt Business With North Korea After Nuclear Test
The United States has called on China to end business as usual with
its ally North Korea after Pyongyang defied world powers by announcing
it had tested a hydrogen bomb. US secretary of state John Kerry said he
made clear in a phone call with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi that Chinas
approach to North Korea has not succeeded. China had a particular approach
that it wanted to make, that we agreed and respected to give them space
to implement that, Kerry told reporters. Today in my conversation with
the Chinese I made it very clear that has not worked and we cannot continue
business as usual. Guardian
Ban
Condemns Expulsion Of UN Rights Official
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today condemned the Government of Yemens
decision to expel the United Nations Human Rights representative in the
war-torn country, voicing extreme concern for the safety of the remaining
national and international staff. The Secretary-General stresses that
United Nations staff must never be threatened or sanctioned for doing their
work, which is based on the United Nations Charter, a statement issued
by his spokesman said. According to media reports, the Yemeni foreign ministry
said the head of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) office
in Yemen had not been impartial in assessing the human rights situation
in the country. UN News
Libya
Cannot Afford To Remain Divided, Says UN Envoy, Deploring Latest Deadly
Terrorist Attack
Condemning the reprehensible deadly terrorist attack on a security
training centre today in Libyas coastal city of Zliten, the top United
Nations official in the country said the incident again shows the urgent
need for all stakeholders to press ahead with forming a recently-agreed
unity government. In a statement, the Special Representative for Libya
and head of the UN Support Mission there (UNSMIL), Martin Kobler, strongly
condemned the deadly attack, which, according to media reports, left nearly
50 people dead and wounded many others this morning as police recruits
gathered at the training centre in Zliten, a coastal town between the capital,
Tripoli, and the port of Misrata. UN News
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