Intel committee chairman poised to recall ex-CIA chief Morell over Benghazi testimony, weighing same for Petraeus

Republican allegations that former CIA Acting Director Mike Morell misled Congress over the White House's role in crafting the flawed Benghazi “talking points” took a dramatic turn Thursday, with the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee telling Fox News it's likely Morell will be recalled to testify. Investigators also are reviewing the testimony of former CIA Director David Petraeus, Morell’s old boss, to assess whether he should be recalled as well.

Increased domestic spending may be behind proposed military cuts, CBO report suggests

 As the Obama administration announces proposed sweeping defense cuts, a Congressional Budget Office report documents how increases in other areas of domestic spending may be forcing the White House to reduce money for the military.

The CBO report finds that mandatory spending, which includes Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, is projected to rise $85 billion, or 4 percent, to $2.1 trillion this year.

ObamaCare may increase premiums for 11 million workers, report says

Republicans renewed their fight against ObamaCare on Monday in response to a new report in which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services concludes that 11 million small business employees may see their premiums rise under the law.

The report, released Friday, says the higher rates are partly due to the health law's requirement that premiums can no longer be based on a person's age. That has sent premiums higher for younger workers, and lower for older ones.

Arizona bill letting businesses deny service for religious reasons sparks heated debate

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is facing pressure from both sides of a heated debate over religious rights, as she weighs whether to sign a bill that would legally protect businesses that deny services to customers for religious reasons.

The bill cleared the Arizona Legislature last week. Opponents are calling the measure “state-sanctioned discrimination” and raising such scenarios as gays being denied restaurant service or medical treatment when a business owner’s religion doesn’t condone homosexuality.

Ukraine's new leaders order arrest of President Yanukovych

Ukraine's acting interior minister announced Monday that an arrest warrant had been issued for that country's president, Viktor Yanukovych.

In a statement on his official Facebook page, Arsen Avakhov wrote that Yanukovych and several other officials were wanted on charges of "mass killing of civilians" in violence that engulfed Ukraine's capital city, Kiev, earlier this week. At least 82 people, most of them protesters, were killed in clashes with members of the police and security forces. Some of the dead were shot by snipers in strategic positions overlooking the main protest camp in Kiev's Independence Square.

Americans grapple with income inequality, share little consensus on how to address it

The wealthiest county in America is settled deep in 4 a.m. slumber when Neal Breen threads the mini-mansion subdivisions and snow-blanketed fairways on his way to open shop.
There's two hours yet before the business day begins, but Breen, who is 21, has plenty to do after flipping on the lights. Donning a green apron without taking off his tweed cap, he boils the first of more than 500 bagels, then shovels them into a waiting...http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/02/23/americans-grapple-with-income-inequality-share-little-consensus-on-how-to/

House GOP set to target Obama admin on regulations, executive power

House Republicans are plotting a broad effort to push the Obama administration to rein in federal regulations and reform a key part of the health care law in a bid to curb what lawmakers see as abuse of executive power by an "imperial presidency."
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., on Friday..http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/22/gop-lawmakers-push-to-rein-in-obama-administration-regulations/

Gulf Coast set for Bakken-like boom with liquefied natural gas

The energy boom that has North Dakota boasting the country’s lowest unemployment rate — and skyrocketing real estate prices — could soon do the same for the Gulf Coast.
Dozens of facilities are set to sprout up along the Louisiana and Texas coasts to liquefy..http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/02/20/gulf-coast-set-for-bakken-like-boom-with-liquefied-natural-gas/

FCC official, others warn agency study could stifle freedom of the press

An Obama administration plan that would get researchers into newsrooms across the country is sparking concern among congressional Republicans and conservative groups.
The purpose of the proposed Federal Communications Commission study is to..http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/20/fcc-official-others-warn-agency-study-would-squash-news-media-1st-amendment/

Congressional Budget Office: Wage hike would lift pay but cost jobs

A plan by President Obama and fellow Democrats to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour would cost roughly 500,000 jobs but increase wages for roughly 16.5 million Americans, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday.
The report was immediately met with sharp Republican criticism..http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/18/hill-budget-office-wage-hike-would-lift-pay-but-cost-jobs/

Iranian hacking of Navy computers reportedly more extensive than first thought

An Iranian hack of the Navy's largest unclassified computer network reportedly took more than four months to resolve, raising concern among some lawmakers about security gaps exposed by the attack.

The Wall Street Journal, citing current and former U.S. officials, reported late Monday that the cyberattack targeted the Navy Marine Corps Internet, which...http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/18/iranian-hacking-navy-computers-reportedly-more-extensive-than-first-thought/

Five-year anniversary of Obama’s stimulus renews partisan fight over jobs, economy

The five-year anniversary Monday of President Obama’s stimulus package has prompted Democrats and Republicans to spar again over the economy and whether the roughly $800 billion in spending...http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/18/five-year-anniversary-obamas-stimulus-renews-partisan-fight-over-jobs-economy/

Lawmakers look at universal savings accounts for children at federal, state and local levels

An Oregon Democrat says he wants to create federal legislation that would set up each child born in the United States with a savings account as part of a major revamping of the country’s tax code.
Sen. Ron Wyden, on track to become the Senate’s top Democrat on tax policy, says he wants to draft legislation that would provide each child with a $500 savings account as a way to curb poverty.
Speaking earlier this month at the University of Southern California School of Law and the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, Wyden said universal savings accounts for newborns would “really put a dent in the poverty rate.”
He described the country’s current tax code as a “dysfunctional, rotten mess of a carcass.”
While he has yet to write the legislation, Wyden cited a 2009 proposal by Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, as a possible blueprint for a future plan that would give all children born in the U.S. $500 toward the cost of college, buying a home or to be used toward retirement.
Although Wyden’s proposal would be on a federal level, there are several similar initiatives in play on state and local levels.
City officials in San Francisco offer college savings accounts to every kindergartner in the city school district. Each student receives $50 deposited into a trust fund under the city’s name. Some low-income children qualify for more - up to $100 in the trust fund.
The San Francisco plan allows families to add money into the account over the years but they can only withdraw funds for educational purposes, such as books or tuition, once the child is enrolled in college. If a child chooses not to go to college or to pursue secondary education, the account dissolves when the recipient turns 25, with any personal savings returning to the account holder and matching funds going back into the city program.
So far, about 7,500 children have city-sponsored college savings accounts.
Later this year, state officials in Hawaii are expected to take up the topic. A state Senate proposal establishes and appropriates funds into the Universal Children’s Savings Account Trust Fund.

House Dems to use longshot tactic to force votes, tarnish GOP in midterms

House Democrats are vowing to try a rarely used tactic to force votes in the GOP-led chamber on the minimum wage and immigration reform, a strategy that will likely fail but might hurt Republicans with voters in this year’s elections.
The tactic is known as a “discharge petition." It would require the minority party, in this case Democrats, to persuade roughly two dozen Republicans to defy their leadership and join Democrats in forcing a vote on setting the federal minimum wage at $10.10 an hour.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said fellow chamber Democrats will push the issue when Congress returns from its break Feb. 24.
The attempt to force a vote on a comprehensive overhaul of immigration laws could occur in a few months.
Democrats think that a majority of Americans support both issues and that attempting to use the discharge petition will at least portray House Republicans as the obstacle to their success.
However, the discharge petition rarely works.
That was never more evident than last fall in the midst of the 16-day partial government shutdown. Though several Republicans said they wanted to vote on a spending bill with no strings attached, they ultimately rejected the idea that they would join forces with the Democrats.
However, the petition worked in 1986, forcing a vote on a gun rights bill, and in 2002, ensuring a vote on campaign finance legislation.
On the larger issue of using the petition to retake control of the House, Republicans now have a 234-201 majority, and Democrats would need a net gain of 17 seats to win back the majority. The current projections show Democrats gaining at most four seats, according to the non-partisan Rothenberg Political Report.
In addition, signing the petition would be a breach of loyalty for Republicans, certain to draw the wrath of the caucus and rebuke of Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
Republicans largely oppose any increase in the minimum wage. They say it's an issue left to the states and that it could slow hiring in a struggling economy.
Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 House Democrat, acknowledged that Democrats are unlikely to sway Republicans. Yet he also provided a preview of one of his party's arguments on this issue.
"I don't think we're ever confident that we're going to get 18 Republicans to sign a discharge petition, but we apparently have 30 or 40 that are known over here," he said last week. "Our expectation is if they want to make sure that working people have an incentive to work, they will pay them to do so a wage that does not leave them in poverty."
On the issue of immigration, a number of House Republicans back a comprehensive approach but would likely be unwilling to break ranks with the party and Boehner.

Reference http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/17/house-dems-to-use-longshot-tactic-to-force-votes-tarnish-gop-in-midterms/

Kerry accuses Syrian leader of stonewalling peace talks

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on Russia to help bring Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the negotiating table Monday and claimed that the Syrian leader was not making a good faith effort to find a peaceful end to the country's ongoing civil war.

Speaking in Jakarta, where he is meeting with Southeast Asian leaders, Kerry said that the Damascus regime "refused to open up one moment of discussion" and added that Assad was "trying to win this on the battlefield instead of coming to the negotiating table."

"Right now, Bashar al-Assad has not engaged in the discussions along the promised and required standard that both Russia spoke up for and the regime spoke up for," Kerry said during a press conference in Jakarta with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa.

Kerry also had harsh words for Assad's allies in Moscow.
"Russia needs to be a part of the solution and not be contributing so many more weapons and so much more aid that they are in fact enabling Assad to double down," he said.
Russia has told the U.S. it was committed to helping create a transitional government, Kerry said, but has not delivered "the kind of effort to create the kind of dynamic by which that could be achieved."

Kerry's comments came after a second round of peace talks ended over the weekend with little progress. U.N.-Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi apologized to the Syrian people as the talks wound down.
"I am very, very sorry, and I apologize to the Syrian people that their hopes which were very, very high that something will happen here," Brahimi said Sunday.

The talks' modest achievement has been a U.N.-brokered truce in the central city of Homs that has allowed aid workers to deliver some food and medicine for hundreds trapped in the rebel-held areas. More than 1,000 people were also evacuated from the city, which has been under government blockade for more than a year.

On Sunday, an official with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent said its workers have entered the western Damascus suburb of Moadamiyeh to deliver food for the first time in 15 months of government blockade.
Also Sunday, Kerry issued a statement praising the Syrian opposition for having a "mature seriousness of purpose and willingness to discuss all aspects of the conflict."
In contrast, Kerry said, "while [talks] stalled in Geneva, the regime intensified its barbaric assault on its civilian population with barrel bombs and starvation. It has even gone as far as to add some of the opposition delegates at Geneva to a terrorist list and seize their assets. This is reprehensible."
In response, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem accused the United States of trying to "create a very negative climate for dialogue in Geneva."

Syria's conflict started as largely peaceful protests against Assad in March 2011 but later degenerated into a civil war in which more than 140,000 people have been killed, according to activists.

The U.N.'s human rights office said in January it has stopped updating the death toll from the war, confirming that it can no longer verify the sources of information that led to its last count of at least 100,000 in late July.
Millions have been driven out of their homes, seeking shelter in neighboring countries and in safer parts of their homeland.

Washington, its European and Persian Gulf allies are backing the opposition in Syria's conflict. Russia and Iran are supporting Assad's government.

Reference http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/17/kerry-accuses-syrian-leader-stonewalling-syria-peace-talks/

Workers at Tennessee Volkswagen factory reject United Auto Workers union

Workers at a Volkswagen factory in Tennessee have voted against union representation in a devastating defeat for the United Auto Workers union's effort to make inroads in the South.
The 712-626 vote released late Friday was surprising for many labor experts and union supporters who expected a UAW win because Volkswagen tacitly endorsed the union and even allowed organizers into the Chattanooga factory to make sales pitches.
"This is like an alternate universe where everything is turned upside down," Cliff Hammond, a labor lawyer at in Detroit, told The Wall Street Journal, noting that companies usually fight union drives.
"This vote was essentially gift-wrapped for the union by Volkswagen," said Hammond, who previously worked at the Service Employees International Union.
The setback is a major defeat for the UAW's effort to expand in the growing South, where foreign automakers have 14 assembly plants, eight built in the past decade, said Kristin Dziczek, director of the labor and industry group at the Center for Automotive Research, an industry think tank in Michigan.
"If this was going to work anywhere, this is where it was going to work," she said of Chattanooga.
Organizing a Southern plant is so crucial to the union that UAW President Bob King told workers in a speech that the union has no long-term future without it.
"If the union can't win [in Chattanooga], it can't win anywhere," Steve Silvia, a economics and trade professor at American University who has studied labor unions, told the Journal.
But the loss likely means the union will remain quarantined with the Detroit Three, largely in the Midwest and Northeast.
Many viewed VW as the union's only chance to gain a crucial foothold in the South because other automakers have not been as welcoming as Volkswagen. Labor interests make up half of the supervisory board at VW in Germany, and they questioned why the Chattanooga plant is the only one without formal worker representation. VW wanted a German-style "works council" in Chattanooga to give employees a say over working conditions. The company says U.S. law won't allow it without an independent union.
In Chattanooga, the union faced stern opposition from Republican politicians who warned that a UAW victory would chase away other automakers who might come to the region.
Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee was the most vocal opponent, saying that he was told that VW would build a new midsized SUV in Chattanooga if workers rejected the union. That was later denied by a VW executive. Other politicians threatened to cut off state incentives for the plant to expand if the union was approved.
“I’m thrilled for the employees and thrilled for our community,” Corker said in a telephone interview with The Wall Street Journal. “I’m sincerely overwhelmed.”
"The UAW had all the advantages," the Republican senator told the newspaper. "Everybody but the UAW had both hands tied behind their backs. I’m just thankful the employees made the decision they made."
After 53 percent of the workers voted against his union, King said he was outraged at what he called "outside interference" in the election. He wouldn't rule out challenging the outcome with the National Labor Relations Board.  "It's never happened in this country before that the U.S. senator, the governor, the leader of the House, the legislature here, threatened the company with no incentives, threatened workers with a loss of product," King said. "We'll look at all our options in the next few days."
The union could contend that Corker and other local politicians were in collusion with VW and tried to frighten workers into thinking the SUV would be built in Mexico if they voted for the union, said Gary Chaison, a labor relations professor at Clark University in Worcester, Mass.
But Chaison said it will be difficult to tie the politicians to the company, which remained neutral throughout the voting process. "It's the employer that has real power," he said.
The loss put a spotlight on the union's major difficulty in the South: signing up people who have no history with organized labor and are fearful of being the first in the area to join, Chaison said.
Dziczek said the union may have to change its tactics in future organizing efforts, because King's strategy of the union and company working together to help each other did not work.
But she does not expect the well-funded union to give up on organizing Southern factories. "I think they will continue to push everywhere they were pushing and see if they get more traction," she said.
Republican Gov. Bill Haslam said through a spokesman that he was pleased with the vote and "looks forward to working with the company on future growth in Tennessee."

For more information please visit http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/15/workers-at-tennessee-volkswagen-factory-reject-united-auto-workers-union