Avoiding the mistake of overconfidence

For weeks, Iraqi officials have sounded optimistic about the battle for Mosul, which is Iraq’s second-largest city. On Monday, they came very close to their own But by Tuesday, those troops were retreating in disorder.

Donald Trump says he has ‘total’ confidence in Jeff Sessions; no need to recuse from Russia probe

Update: President Donald Trump says he “wasn’t aware” that his attorney general — former Sen. Jeff Sessions — had contact with the Russian ambassador during last year’s White House campaign. A growing number of Republicans joined Democratic leaders Thursday in calling for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to step aside from an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 White House election.

Critics: Delay shows travel ban isn’t urgent after all

Critics are seizing on the Trump administration’s decision to delay the issuance of a revised travel ban, saying it undermines the ban’s national security rationale. The new executive order was slated for a mid-week release, but a senior administration official told CNN after Trump’s speech to a joint address of Congress that the timeline was being pushed back in order to keep the spotlight on the positive reaction to his address.

Stop picking Tulsi

I’m getting really tired of US House Rep. Tulsi Gabbard being targeted. She’s one of the few members of Congress actually attempting to do her job, When Liza Featherstone started her nonsense on Tulsi, I stopped going to Featherstone’s Twitter feed.

US: Trump ‘unbelievably disappointed’ in Australia deal

The White House deepened its condemnation of an Obama administration refugee deal with Australia Thursday, saying President Donald Trump was “unbelievably disappointed” in the agreement. The agreement to allow mostly Muslim refugees to resettle in the United States was a source of friction during a recent phone call between Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, according to an administration official.

Correction: India-US-Tech Visas story

In a story Jan. 31 about H-1B visas, The Associated Press reported erroneously that proposed legislation could require more companies to prove that they have tried to hire U.S. workers before hiring foreign workers on H-1B visas. The change would actually force more companies to make a good faith effort to hire U.S. workers before considering foreign workers.

Senate Democrats boycotting HHS, Treasury nominees

In a surprise turn of events, Senate Democrats announced Tuesday morning that they are boycotting a committee vote on two of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees, drawing fury from Republicans across the aisle. The Senate Finance Committee was set to vote on the nominations of Rep. Tom Price to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and Steve Mnuchin for Treasury Secretary.

Senate Democrats boycotting HHS, Treasury nominees

In a surprise turn of events, Senate Democrats announced Tuesday morning that they are boycotting a committee vote on two of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees, drawing fury from Republicans across the aisle. The Senate Finance Committee was set to vote on the nominations of Rep. Tom Price to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and Steve Mnuchin for Treasury Secretary.

Nation-Now 54 mins ago 9:13 p.m.Court grants emergency stay of Trump’s immigration ban

Protesters gather at JFK International Airport’s Terminal 4 on Jan. 28, 2017, to demonstrate against President Trump’s executive order to suspend refugee arrivals. President Trump’s ban on immigration by citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries ran into at least a temporary roadblock Saturday night, after a U.S. District judge in Brooklyn granted an emergency stay sought by immigrants’ rights lawyers.

With Trump’s swearing-in, Israel pushes ahead on settlements

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton says he’s been diagnosed with prostate cancer but will finish the final two years of his term Stark contrasts in U.S. cancer death rates were found in an exhaustive new analysis that suggests where you live contributes to your fate One black bear cub has been rescued by Virginia wildlife officials after it was discovered in a den without its mother Dippin’ Dots has apparently found a way to begin thawing out its relationship with President Donald Trump’s press secretary, Sean Spicer, who has been sending critical tweets about the company since 2010 The wife of the founder of a ramshackle Oakland artists’ colony where dozens of people burned to death in a fire last month says she’s sorry about what happened but is angry about what she called “pretty terrible”… The partner of the founder of an Oakland artists’ colony where dozens of people burned to death in a … (more)

With Trump’s swearing-in, Israel pushes ahead on settlements

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton says he’s been diagnosed with prostate cancer but will finish the final two years of his term Stark contrasts in U.S. cancer death rates were found in an exhaustive new analysis that suggests where you live contributes to your fate One black bear cub has been rescued by Virginia wildlife officials after it was discovered in a den without its mother Dippin’ Dots has apparently found a way to begin thawing out its relationship with President Donald Trump’s press secretary, Sean Spicer, who has been sending critical tweets about the company since 2010 The wife of the founder of a ramshackle Oakland artists’ colony where dozens of people burned to death in a fire last month says she’s sorry about what happened but is angry about what she called “pretty terrible”… The partner of the founder of an Oakland artists’ colony where dozens of people burned to death in a … (more)

Tigerair to resume flights between Australia and Bali

‘Help, we are dying of the cold’: Desperate guests trapped in Italian ski hotel send texts to loved-ones after huge avalanche hits the building killing up to 30 people The wedge salads are on me! Trump pays one fan’s $1,000 dinner bill as he’s mobbed while stopping by his DC hotel for a meal after ditching press pool 36 hours before inauguration Aaron Rodgers’ family doesn’t ‘trust’ Olivia Munn: More details of NFL star’s rift with relatives emerge ‘after he chose model over her’ Overweight and rather whiffy, the REAL young Queen Victoria: New book claims Lord Melbourne dropped hints to the monarch about her personal hygiene and gave her slimming tips ‘Nope’: The last word of cold-blooded killer as he is executed for invading family’s home and murdering two young girls and their parents who had left the door open while preparing New Year’s party Poll shows Hillary Clinton would BEAT Bill … (more)

Decades-long clash of ideals, political theater meet again in Hill’s ‘Pig Painting,’

There was Pussy Riot, the female punk music act jailed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and condemned as sacrilegious by the Russian Orthodox Church after an unauthorized performance inside a Moscow cathedral. Pablo Picasso’s massive mural “Guernica” depicts the horrors of the German Luftwaffe bombing a tiny, Basque village at the request of Spanish nationalists.

U.S. intelligence agencies: Putin ordered intervention in…

Russia carried out a comprehensive cybercampaign to upend the U.S. presidential election, an operation that was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin and “aspired to help” elect Donald Trump by discrediting his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, U.S. intelligence agencies concluded in a report released Friday. The report depicts Russian interference as unprecedented in scale, saying that Moscow’s assault represented “a significant escalation in directness, level of activity, and scope of effort” beyond previous election-related espionage.

Water crisis in Syrian capital as government attacks valley

This frame grab from video provided By Yomyat Kzefeh Hawen Fi Dimashq , a Damascus-based media outlet that is consistent with independent AP reporting, shows Syrian re… , via AP). This frame grab from video provided By Yomyat Kzefeh Hawen Fi Dimashq , a Damascus-based media outlet that is consistent with independent AP reporting, shows Syrian re… , via AP).

Garbage trucks part of Times Square security

Heavily armed counterterrorism officers take shelter from the rain beneath an overhang in Times Square on Thursday in New York, as the New York Police department began ramping up security for the city’s massive New Year’s Eve celebration. Heavily armed counterterrorism officers take shelter from the rain as they stand against the front of a watch store in Times Square on Thursday in New York.

Chuck Schumer tears into John Kerry over Israel speech that ’emboldened extremists on both sides’

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s admonishment of Israeli settlements on Wednesday did not sit well with a key member of his own party: incoming Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer. The Obama administration’s decision to harangue Israel for allegedly complicating the Middle East peace process angered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but the 70-minute speech also irked the powerful senator from New York.

Reaction to US Vote at UN Security Council is Swift, Mixed

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement in the Jewish settlement known to Israelis as Har Homa and to Palestinians as Jabal Abu Ghneim, in an area of the West Bank that Israel captured in 1967. The United States abstained from voting Friday at the U.N. Security Council on a resolution calling for Israel to stop its “settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.”

Reaction to US Vote at UN Security Council is Swift, Mixed

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement in the Jewish settlement known to Israelis as Har Homa and to Palestinians as Jabal Abu Ghneim, in an area of the West Bank that Israel captured in 1967. The United States abstained from voting Friday at the U.N. Security Council on a resolution calling for Israel to stop its “settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.”

‘Saturday Night Live’ Pokes Fun at Trump’s Misspelled Tweets,…

A three-year-old Arkansas boy was fatally shot in a road rage incident Saturday night while on a shopping trip with his grandmother, police said.The gunman… — A new royal portrait to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday year has been released. Photographed by British fashion photographer Nick Knight, the Queen si… This week, former ASA Governing Committee member and Wisconsin farmer Kevin Hoyer provided public comments on behalf of the American Soybean Association in front of an Environ… Dubuque, Ia.

‘Saturday Night Live’ Pokes Fun at Trump’s Misspelled Tweets,…

A three-year-old Arkansas boy was fatally shot in a road rage incident Saturday night while on a shopping trip with his grandmother, police said.The gunman… — A new royal portrait to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday year has been released. Photographed by British fashion photographer Nick Knight, the Queen si… This week, former ASA Governing Committee member and Wisconsin farmer Kevin Hoyer provided public comments on behalf of the American Soybean Association in front of an Environ… Dubuque, Ia.