Edward Snowden speaks via video link during a conference. Photo: Reuters

The campaign to persuade Barack Obama to allow the NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden to return home to the US without facing prolonged prison time has received powerful new backing from some of the most experienced intelligence experts in the country. Fifteen former staff members of the Church committee, the 1970s congressional investigation into illegal activity by the CIA and other intelligence agencies, have written jointly to Obama calling on him to end Snowden's "untenable exile in Russia, which benefits nobody".

GOP Could Repeal, Before Replacing, Obamacare

Congress may vote to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law before coming up with a replacement, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday. The approach could allow congressional Republicans to take swift action on one of President-elect Donald Trump's campaign promises, while putting off the hard part.

Jon Huntsman For Senate?

Jon Huntsman, who served as Governor of Utah and U.S. Ambassador to China, and ran for President in 2012, is mulling a bid for the U.S. Senate in 2018: Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman said he's weighing a run for the U.S. Senate in 2018, depending in part on whether fellow Republican Orrin Hatch decides to seek an eighth term. "I've always said that I've got one more run left in our bones.

The Senate will vote on renewing Iran sanctions this week

The Senate will vote this week on a bill that would renew sanctions on Iran for 10 years, Senator Mitch McConnell, the chamber's Republican leader, said on Tuesday in remarks as he opened the daily session. If the extension of the Iran Sanctions Act is passed as expected, it would be sent to the White House, where President Barack Obama is expected to sign it into law.

Obama signs bill letting Gold Star families tell their stories

WASHINGTON -- The Library of Congress' veterans history project will include stories from Gold Star families under legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama. Under the measure sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith , the Library of Congress, which now collects interviews with veterans, also would seek stories of from family members of those killed or missing in action while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Huntsman Sees – Wild Ride’ Ahead as Trump Talks Tough on China an hour ago

China relations are headed for a "wild ride" if President-elect Donald Trump fulfills a campaign promise to designate China as a currency manipulator and the Republican-led Congress imposes trade sanctions, said Jon Huntsman, who served as U.S. ambassador in Beijing under President Barack Obama. podcast  co-hosts Scott Lanman and Daniel Moss on Monday in Washington.

Trump’s planned rollbacks not easy

Once sworn into office, Donald Trump will be in a strong position to dismantle some of President Barack Obama's efforts to reduce planet-warming carbon emissions. But experts say delivering on campaign pledges to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency and bring back tens of thousands of long-gone coal mining jobs will likely prove far more difficult for the new president.

Still looking at Romney for State Dept. post

Donald Trump's hunt for a secretary of state is veering into dramatic terrain, with the president-elect summoning Mitt Romney back for a second look as a top aide leads a public pressure campaign against the pick. Trump has a follow-up meeting Tuesday with the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, who has become a symbol of the internal divisions agitating the transition team.

Trump summons Romney for 2nd look as staffers squabble

Donald Trump's hunt for a secretary of state is veering into dramatic terrain, with the president-elect summoning Mitt Romney back for a second look as a top aide leads a public pressure campaign against the pick. Trump has a follow-up meeting Tuesday with the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, who has become a symbol of the internal divisions agitating the transition team.

Trump rollback of Obama climate agenda may prove challenging

Once sworn into office, Donald Trump will be in a strong position to dismantle some of President Barack Obama's efforts to reduce planet-warming carbon emissions. But experts say delivering on campaign pledges to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency and bring back tens of thousands of long-gone coal mining jobs will likely prove far more difficult for the new president.

White House warns President-elect Donald Trump over reversing detente policy with Cuba

The White House was quick to warn that there are costs involved for cancelling such an agreement with Cuba, under which the two countries not only reestablished their diplomatic relationship after decades. As President-elect Donald Trump threatened to "terminate" the detente policy with Cuba, the White House Tuesday warned that reversing historic rapprochement would have "significant" diplomatic, economic and cultural costs.

Protecting Journalism from Donald Trump

The abbreviated holiday week brought with it a full measure of developments in the moral quandary in which the press has found itself since Donald Trump became a candidate, and, more acutely, since he won the Presidency, three weeks ago. Nothing in Trump's combative meeting with television-news journalists and executives, last Monday, or his decision to cancel, then un-cancel, a meeting with the Times, on Tuesday, departs from what sixteen months of campaigning indicated about his personality, outlook, and inclinations.

Notable & Quotable: Trump and Muslims

'The president-elect has a long personal record of dealing with Muslim people and there isn't any racial stance documented against him.' Abdulrahman al-Rashed, writing in a Nov. 10 op-ed titled "Don't Fear Trump," which appeared on the website of the Al Arabiya News Channel and in the London-based Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat: When Barack Obama won the presidential elections eight years ago, it was met by a torrent of cheerful statements and writings.