The Kingdom Come

House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) formally demanded that retired Ambassador Thomas Pickering, the co-author of the report that blasted the State Department over Benghazi, but failed to interview then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, be deposed by his committee this coming Thursday, May 23, 2013.

In Issa’s letter to Pickering he wrote, “I received your response to my request. While I am very much committed to having you testify publicly and appreciate your newfound willingness to do so, I was disappointed that you are attempting to limit the Committee’s understanding of the Accountability Review Board by refusing to participate in a voluntary transcribed interview prior to testifying publicly.”

Issa also went onto blast Pickering saying that his “refusal to allow staff investigators to interview you is inconsistent with your commitment to be ‘tough and transparent.’”

Chairman Issa hopes that Pickering will reconsider his position in order to assist the Committee in gaining a full and complete understanding of the ARB’s work and help them address concerns that the Benghazi whistleblowers and others have raised.

However, since Pickering, along with former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen, have refused to voluntarily appear for a transcribed interview, Issa issued a subpoena for him to appear on Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 10am to answer questions.

This subpoena follows the testimony of Benghazi whistleblowers who appeared before Congress who indicated that the board Pickering was on “let people off the hook.”

According to Issa, a deposition is the only way to find out exactly who was interviewed by the ARB. We know Hillary Clinton was not interviewed.

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), ranking member of the House Oversight Committee and Socialist, blasted Issa’s subpoena of Pickering saying it was “stark example of extreme Republican overreach and the shameful politicization of this tragedy.”

“Chairman Issa’s accusations keep getting shot down one by one, but he simply resorts to even more extreme measures,” he added in a statement.

“After falsely accusing former Secretary Clinton of lying to Congress, falsely accusing the White House of deliberately misleading the American people, and falsely accusing the military of withholding critical assistance on the night of the attacks, the Chairman is now accusing Admiral Mullen, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Ambassador Pickering, a seven-time U.S. ambassador, of being complicit in a cover-up.”

Except that the emails provided earlier this week indicate that Rep. Cummings is in denial or he is just openly lying. Perhaps he is engaging in both.

H/T The Hill

The post Benghazi Auditor Thomas Pickering Subpoenaed By House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa appeared first on Freedom Outpost.

Nate Silver: [B]ased on some simple math that I'll present in a moment, it's likely that hundreds of thousands of Mitt Romney voters were selected for an audit in 2012. However, it's also likely that hundreds of thousands of [President] Obama's supporters were audited. ... The fact that [Peggy] Noonan has identified four conservatives from that group of thousands provides no evidence at all toward her hypothesis. Nor would it tell us very much if dozens or even hundreds of conservative activists disclosed that they had been audited. This is exactly what you would expect in a country where there are 1.5 million audits every year.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, mindful of the weight of Christian voters in September elections, made a quick trip to Rome Saturday for a private meeting with Pope Francis, focusing on how Europe's struggling economy should be at the service of the people.

Former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin addresses the annual NRA Convention May 3, 2013 in Houston, Texas. In speaking about the tobacco restrictions New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to put in place, Palin brought out a tin of smokeless tobacco, much like she did when Bloomberg banned 32-ounce sugary drinks. (Getty Images)

Global warming? Yeah right.

That’s at least what former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was getting at when she posted a photo Saturday of one of her children amid a blanket of snow in mid-May — along with the comment, “Global warming my gluteus maximus.”

“One last blast of Alaska winter today, hopefully?” Palin wrote. “This is what ‘Grad Blast’ means in Alaska! We’ll move our graduation b-b-q indoors and watch the mini-blizzard from ’round the fireplace. (Global warming my gluteus maximus.) Congratulations to this year’s graduates all across America. Job well done. Now the real job begins.”

The gluteus maximus muscle, of course, makes up a large part of one’s posterior.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin posted this photo on Facebook along with the comment, “Global warming my gluteus maximus.”

Palin’s made several eye-catching statements lately, from sipping on a Big Gulp onstage to threatening to chew tobacco during her speech at the National Rifle Association convention.

–

​Related:

• Watch Sarah Palin Threaten to Chew Tobacco Onstage at the NRA Convention
• Sarah Palin Steps Out for an NBA Game, Dons Chick-Fil-A T-Shirt

Follow Madeleine Morgenstern on Twitter

Read more stories from TheBlaze

S.E. Cupp vs. Michael Moore on Guns: ‘I Just Happen to Be Informed’

Sarah Palin Posts Pic of Alaska Snow: ‘Global Warming My Gluteus Maximus’

Report: Hofstra Student Was Shot, Killed by Cop Trying To Rescue Her

Charles Krauthammer: IRS Scandal Could Be a ‘Fatal Problem’ for Obama

White House: ‘Irrelevant Fact’ Where Obama Was During Benghazi

U.S. authorities have seized the accounts of a Bitcoin digital currency exchange operator, claiming it was functioning as an "unlicensed money service business," court documents showed Friday. A warrant revealed by the Department of Homeland Security showed a judge signed the seizure order Tuesday for the accounts of Mutum Sigillum LCC, a subsidiary of Japan-based Mt. Gox, the world's biggest Bitcoin exchange. The warrant said the account based on the electronic payments platform Dwolla and held at Veridian Credit Union "was used to move money" as "part of an unlicensed money service" in violation of U.S. law.

IRS officials who tagged conservative political organizations should be sent to prison, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal says.

Prospects for passage of a major immigration bill improved on Thursday when a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives declared they had reached a tentative deal. A goal of such legislation is to provide a path to citizenship for 11 million people now in the United States illegally, which will draw fierce opposition from some Republicans. "The deal is "the first step of a difficult process. But it's a very important step," said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Florida).

Fox News

Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer on Friday said the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative organizations could be “fatal” for the Obama administration if it turns out that anyone in the White House was aware of it.

Appearing on Fox News’ “Hannity,” Krauthammer called the IRS situation “the one scandal that people have a visceral sense about” — it’s the one U.S. institution, besides the military, that can do very serious harm.

Going after conservative groups based on their politics is “a violation that everybody — left or right– understands,” he added.

Krauthammer urged that there’s no suggestion that Obama knew what was happening, “but if there’s any indication that there were people in the White House who knew, who orchestrated, who encouraged or whatever, then it can be a fatal problem.”

Obama ducked a direct question on Thursday about whether he or anyone else in the White House had known what was happening.

Krauthammer said he wasn’t comparing the current situation to Watergate, but pointed out that the second article of impeachment against Richard Nixon was abuse of the IRS.

“The one issue that can fell a presidency is the corruption of the IRS coming from on high,” Krauthammer said.

Watch below, via Mediaite:

–

​Related:

• Obama Suggests IRS, Benghazi, AP Phone Scandal Are Just ‘Politics’
• These Are the 4 Most Important Takeaways from Today’s IRS Hearing
• Obama Dodges Big Question on IRS Scandal

Follow Madeleine Morgenstern on Twitter

Read more stories from TheBlaze

S.E. Cupp vs. Michael Moore on Guns: ‘I Just Happen to Be Informed’

Sarah Palin Posts Pic of Alaska Snow: ‘Global Warming My Gluteus Maximus’

Report: Hofstra Student Was Shot, Killed by Cop Trying To Rescue Her

Charles Krauthammer: IRS Scandal Could Be a ‘Fatal Problem’ for Obama

White House: ‘Irrelevant Fact’ Where Obama Was During Benghazi

Ted Cruz has long been a proponent of sweeping tax reform. In fact, in 2011 he published a 12-point economic plan that originally appeared in The National Review. Among the highlights of the plan were repealing Obamacare, revoking the offshore drilling moratorium, repealing Dodd-Frank and passage of a strong balanced-budget amendment. Imagine that. A balanced budget? Those words are near blasphemy to the ears of liberals. Then again, calling it blasphemy would imply that they had some sort of God other than Obama. Sorry Mr. Obama, you are not a god.

Ted Cruz most recently has been taking to twitter to push the other part of his plan which deals with taxes. He is for abolishing the IRS and moving to a fairer and flatter tax. On Wednesday Cruz first tweeted:

We need to abolish #IRS & make the tax code fairer and flatter. Taxes should fit on a postcard. RT if you agree!

— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) May 15, 2013

On Thursday Cruz called Obama out directly in another tweet:

Mr. President, if your #1 priority is fixing the problem, let’s abolish the #IRS and ensure it NEVER happens again!

— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) May 16, 2013

Ted also put out a video on April 15th of this year in which he reinforced his ideas of a fairer and flatter tax code. In this video he also mentions Americans sending in their taxes on a post card. Senator Cruz, you are speaking my language:

Though Senator Cruz has not gone into specifics in “140 characters or less,” we can gain a general idea from the article he wrote for The National Review, which now resides in the archives of the TedCruz.org website. Two of his twelve points relate specifically to the tax code. Here is an excerpt from that article:

7) Slash Corporate Tax Rates. Right now, U.S. corporations face the highest tax rate in the developed world, and they face double taxation if they invest their profits in America. As a result, American companies are today keeping over $2 trillion overseas. With over 25 million Americans out of a job, a tax policy that punishes new U.S. investments and factories is utterly nonsensical. We should cut corporate tax rates—to 15% immediately—to spur new investment and create new jobs in America.

8) Champion Tax Reform. The tax code is too complicated, the IRS too powerful, and lawyers and accountants too expensive. We should dramatically simplify the tax code and move as close as possible to a flat tax or to the Fair Tax.

Cruz also signed the “Contract from America.” 

The Contract from America, clause 4. Enact Fundamental Tax Reform:

Adopt a simple and fair single-rate tax system by scrapping the internal revenue code and replacing it with one that is no longer than 4,543 words–the length of the original Constitution.

The Contract from America, clause 10. Stop the Tax Hikes:

Permanently repeal all tax hikes, including those to the income, capital gains, and death taxes, currently scheduled to begin in 2011.

Ted Cruz additionally signed the “Taxpayers Protection Pledge”:

I pledge to the taxpayers of my district and to the American people that I will: ONE, oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rate for individuals and business; and TWO, oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.

Ted Cruz has been consistent on this issue. He isn’t jumping on the bandwagon because of the IRS scandal. He was talking about these things long before this controversy came to the public eye.

Maybe now, since these things have come to light, people might start to listen to people like Senator Ted Cruz.

One thing is for certain. Getting a fair shake with the IRS should not depend on how you vote politically.

The post Ted Cruz’s Solution To The IRS: Abolish It appeared first on Freedom Outpost.

Higher-than-expected premiums and the scandal-ridden IRS are casting a shadow over Obamacare, with House Republicans vowing to keep up the fight against President Barack Obama's key agenda item.

Former Presidential Candidate, diplomat, ambassador and Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Alan Keyes say that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) scandal is a ploy to shield Obama’s secret collaboration with terrorists to create chaos and introduce tyrannical government that will destroy America.

“We have allowed these people to build up within our country a cadre of folks who are waiting for the word to carry out domestic terrorism against soft targets with the aim of bringing this country to its knees; bringing it down, introducing it to disorder and chaos on a large scale,” he said on The Talk To Solomon Show LIVE.

Keyes said not to worry about that though, but instead get focused on what that IRS is doing, as if that was the immediate problem. Of course he spoke tongue in cheek.

“Benghazi was part of what would lead us to realize that the people that we have placed in the White House could very well be working a strategy that collaborates with and comports with the very people who are trying to kill us, telling us that we are not at war so that we won’t prepare,” he said. “Telling us that we are not being attacked in a way that is systematic and organized and intentionally aimed at destroying our way of life so that we won’t react to it; in a way that starts to look around and ask why so many things that Obama has advocated and done and is practicing contributes to the disorder and decay and the weakness that has set us up for this defeat.”

The former ambassador then said, “The actions of this Obama faction in consolidating the tools and instruments that would be needed to fasten the structure of martial law and totalitarian tyranny on this country by force ought to be put together with the fact that we’re now experiencing the implementation of a terrorist strategy aimed at producing the very kind of disorder, confusion, fear and anger that would then provide an excuse for that fastening on the country of martial law.”

Already, we have seen this administration’s tactics of targeting their political opponents. This is not new for the Obama administration of course. However, we have seen the demoralization by this administration of our country, our troops, and our veterans. We have seen him and his administration target evangelical Christians, support his Muslim brothers, and install the enemies of America (Islamists) in key positions in his administration, the latest being John Brennan to head the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

However, it does go further than the Islamists. Our own government has been complicit in destroying our way of life in how they respond to the terrorist attacks. Instead of doing something that would actually deal with the real culprits in these matters, they seek to restrict the freedoms of Americans. Instead of follow the law they seek to skirt it and yes this happens on both sides of the aisle. They do it with the PATRIOT Act, NDAA, attempts to pass cybersecurity and various other methods.

Keyes is right on about this. It is a strategy. While officials in his administration claim incompetence and idiocy concerning what happened in Benghazi, I believe it is strategic. The man knows exactly what he’s doing in these matters. The only thing I disagree on is that the IRS issue is a real issue of targeting Americans that needs to be addressed as a criminal matter.

The post Alan Keyes: Obama Is Working With Terrorists To Introduce Tyrannical Government appeared first on Freedom Outpost.

NBC

Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney made his first appearance on late-night TV since losing to President Barack Obama in November, going on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”

Here’s a roundup of some of his funnier moments:

• After a tough news week for the Obama White House, Leno asked, “Can you be objective about this?”

“No!”

• On the Republican primary process, Leno said he thought it was funny to see Newt Gingrich attacking someone else for being wealthy and successful.

“It wasn’t funny to me!”

• Leno asked who Romney likes for 2016.

“Who looks good to you?”

“Republicans.”

• Romney said wife Ann is doing well and riding her horse to deal with the effects of her multiple sclerosis. But for people running for president in 2016 –

“Sell the horse, if you have one.”

​Watch Romney’s interview below, via NBC:

Follow Madeleine Morgenstern on Twitter

Read more stories from TheBlaze

S.E. Cupp vs. Michael Moore on Guns: ‘I Just Happen to Be Informed’

Sarah Palin Posts Pic of Alaska Snow: ‘Global Warming My Gluteus Maximus’

Report: Hofstra Student Was Shot, Killed by Cop Trying To Rescue Her

Charles Krauthammer: IRS Scandal Could Be a ‘Fatal Problem’ for Obama

White House: ‘Irrelevant Fact’ Where Obama Was During Benghazi

Ronan Farrow: As a former State Department official who worked with Ambassador Chris Stevens in the months before his murder in Benghazi, I feel that inquiry's urgency. But the congressional hearings that have dominated the last week of headlines -- with more promised by House Republicans -- are not that inquiry.

Congress could have focused on three time periods during their investigation: before, during, and after the attack. In all but exclusively focusing on what Administration officials said after Stevens's death, Congress isn't just wasting America's time -- it's squandering a chance to save lives in the future.

Now this is one story no reporter anywhere will even consider much less write about it. But we as a nation must and should question why in the world do we elect people whose very ideology does not fit the very Constitution they took an oath to “…preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States”, yet the “Progressive Caucus, Socialist, and very Anti-United States”, hold 9 positions on the House Oversight Committee out of the 17 total positions and the “Ranking” member, Rep. Ellijah Cummings, is also a proud member of the “Socialist Party of America. What is the Democratic Socialist Party of the United States and just what do they believe in? Check out how they explain their position below.

“Democratic Socialists believe that both the economy and society should be run democratically to meet human needs, not to make profits for a few. We are a political and activist organization, not a party; through campus and community-based chapters DSA members use a variety of tactics, from legislative to direct action, to fight for reforms that empower working people.”

Just how can a “Free” society operate if no one can make money or make a profit due to the ideology of the Socialist? Here we can clearly see just what this group has on their mind and if any individual begin to make profits from other people, than they will be “targeted” to return their profits to those who do not and probably never work for the money, much better placed, it would take from those whom work very hard to make money and give to those who just do not care to work at all and their only purpose is to get a free ride any way they can. This is not what the United States was based upon, it was based upon the facts that if one man could make money he was free to do so, yet the Socialists that are now in fairly high positions in our government do not want this to happen. This is not a Socialistic Society; the United States is a republic society.

Below is a list of very proud members of “The Socialist Party of America”. The entire list shows some 70 members of the House of Representatives that are members of “The Socialist Party of America”. We have tried to find out how many members are in the Senate but none of the Senators are brave enough to show they are really “Socialists”. The House members below are people that support the “Socialist” view of creating a different United States than those over 50 now know. The “Socialists” use the young people to promote their ideology and help them “change” the United States into a Socialist regime. They do this by “teaching” the young people that they are “owed” everything and they do not have to work to get everything they want.

• Rep. Elijah Cummings (MD-7)Ranking Member
• Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY-14)
• Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.)
• Rep. John Tierney (MA-6)
• Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay (MO-1)
• Rep. Charles Rangel
• Rep. Danny K. Davis (IL-7)
• Rep. Peter Welch (VT)
• Rep. Jim McDermott

With these members sitting on Committees that have oversight on Government one has to wonder why they were even elected since they do not share the same ideas that most United States Citizens over 50 believe in. Now we look at just what is the Socialist doing working in our Democratic government? Below is the list of what is called the Progressive Caucus, which is a code word for “Socialist”. This list comes from: http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/caucus-members/

Caucus Members

 
 

Co-Chairs

Keith Ellison

Raúl Grijalva

Vice Chairs

Judy Chu

David Cicilline

Michael Honda

Sheila Jackson-Lee

Jan Schakowsky

 
 

Whip

Barbara Lee

Senate Member

Bernie Sanders

House Members

Karen Bass

Xavier Becerra

Earl Blumenauer

Suzanne Bonamici

Corrine Brown

Michael Capuano

Andre Carson

Matt Cartwright

Donna Christensen

Yvette Clarke

William “Lacy” Clay

Emanuel Cleaver

Steve Cohen

John Conyers

Elijah Cummings

Danny Davis

Peter DeFazio

Rosa DeLauro

Donna Edwards

Sam Farr

Chaka Fattah

Lois Frankel

Marcia Fudge

Alan Grayson

Luis Gutierrez

Janice Hahn

Rush Holt

Michael Honda

Steven Horsford

Jared Huffman

Sheila Jackson-Lee

Hakeem Jeffries

Eddie Bernice Johnson

Hank Johnson

Marcy Kaptur

Joe Kennedy III

Ann McLane Kuster

Barbara Lee

John Lewis

David Loebsack

Ben Ray Lujan

Carolyn Maloney

Ed Markey

Jim McDermott

James McGovern

George Miller

Gwen Moore

Jim Moran

Jerrold Nadler

Rick Nolan

Eleanor Holmes Norton

Frank Pallone

Ed Pastor

Chellie Pingree

Mark Pocan

Jared Polis

Charles Rangel

Lucille Roybal-Allard

Linda Sanchez

Jose Serrano

Louise Slaughter

Mark Takano

Bennie Thompson

John Tierney

Nydia Velazquez

Maxine Waters

Mel Watt

Peter Welch

Most if not all of the people listed here are also very proud members of the Socialist Democratic Party of America. Compare the list below with the one above and see just how many of these “Progressive Caucus” members are also members of the Socialist Party of America! The Gateway Pundit listed the members of the Socialist Party of America.

U S Daily Review reported about the Progressives:

“The four, core principles of the Progressive Promise:

1. Fighting for economic justice and security for all;
2. Protecting and preserving our civil rights and civil liberties;
3. Promoting global peace and security; and
4. Advancing environmental protection and energy independence”

“Economic justice” as an expression common among liberals in general and is a softer expression of the communist’s belief in economic equality for all. The promotion of “global peace and security” is typically done through appeasement to the enemies of the United States. In fact, when one does an inventory of all of the Progressive’s agenda, it looks remarkably similar to the beliefs of the Communist Party USA.  The site reads, “Founded in 1919, the Communist Party USA has championed the struggles for democracy, labor rights, women’s equality, racial justice and peace for ninety years. The Communist Party has an unparalleled history in the progressive movement of the United States…” (emphasis added)” 

The Socialist Party of America
announced in their October 2009 newsletter that 70 Congressional democrats currently belong to their caucus.
This admission was then posted on Scribd.com (See pages 2-4):

DSA-Members: American Socialist Voter – Democratic Socialists of America – 10-1-09 by ObamaRelease YourRecords

Here we must ask just where our nation is headed if we elect the very people that wish to destroy our nation. We, as a “free” people, must eliminate these people from office and replace them with people that will support the Constitution instead of trying to destroy it! This is up to each of you that read this and maybe see the representative that is in your area. Do all you can to replace them with an individual that will truly support the Constitution, not one that has a hidden agenda that sets out to “change” the Constitution into a totally different document! Pass this on to everyone you know and wish to inform.

The post The Socialists/Communists on the Oversight Committee and House of Representatives appeared first on Freedom Outpost.

A South Korean man watches a TV news reporting missile launch conducted by North Korea, at a Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, May 18, 2013. North Korea fired three short-range guided missiles into its eastern waters on Saturday, a South Korean official said. It routinely tests such missiles, but the latest launches came during a period of tentative diplomacy aimed at easing tensions. (AP)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired three short-range guided missiles into its eastern waters on Saturday, a South Korean official said. It routinely tests such missiles, but the latest launches came during a period of tentative diplomacy aimed at easing tensions.

The North fired two missiles Saturday morning and another in the afternoon, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said by phone. He said the North’s intent was unclear. His ministry said it is watching North Korea carefully in case it conducts a provocation against South Korea.

In March, North Korea launched what appeared to be two KN-02 missiles off its east coast. Experts believe the country is trying to improve the range and accuracy of its arsenal.

North Korea recently withdrew two mid-range “Musudan” missiles believed to be capable of reaching Guam after moving them to its east coast earlier this year, U.S. officials said. The North is banned from testing ballistic missiles under U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Earlier this year, North Korea threatened nuclear strikes on Seoul and Washington because of annual U.S.-South Korean military drills and U.N. sanctions imposed over its third nuclear test in February. The drills ended late last month. This past month, the U.S. and South Korea ended another round of naval drills involving a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier off the east coast. North Korea calls such drills preparation to invade the North.

Analysts say the recent North Korean threats were partly an attempt to push Washington to agree to disarmament-for-aid talks.

This past week, Glyn Davies, the top U.S. envoy on North Korea, ended trips to South Korea, China and Japan. On Friday, an adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe returned from North Korea but didn’t immediately give details of his talks with officials there.

On Monday, North Korean state media showed that the country’s hard-line defense minister had been replaced by a little-known army general. Outside analysts said it was part of leader Kim Jong Un’s efforts to tighten his grip on the powerful military after his father Kim Jong Il died in December 2011.

The United States and Japan are participants in six-nation nuclear disarmament talks along with the Koreas, Russia and Japan. North Korea walked out of the talks in 2009 after the United Nations condemned it for a long-range rocket launch.

North Korea possesses an array of missiles. U.S. and South Korean officials do not believe the North’s claim that it has developed nuclear warheads small enough to place on a missile. Last week in Washington, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and President Barack Obama warned North Korea against further nuclear provocations.

Tension between the two Koreas remains high after both sides pulled out their workers from a jointly run factory complex earlier this year. The countries remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce instead of a peace treaty.

Follow Madeleine Morgenstern on Twitter

Read more stories from TheBlaze

S.E. Cupp vs. Michael Moore on Guns: ‘I Just Happen to Be Informed’

Sarah Palin Posts Pic of Alaska Snow: ‘Global Warming My Gluteus Maximus’

Report: Hofstra Student Was Shot, Killed by Cop Trying To Rescue Her

Charles Krauthammer: IRS Scandal Could Be a ‘Fatal Problem’ for Obama

White House: ‘Irrelevant Fact’ Where Obama Was During Benghazi

A Johnston County, N.C., teen who was arrested and suspended after bringing two unloaded shotguns to school said Thursday that he lied to the principal about forgetting the guns were in his vehicle. "I was not truthful ... I did in fact know that the two shotguns were in my truck on school property," said Cole Withrow, 18. "I did not mean to hurt anyone by my actions."

Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said Thursday that the rationale behind the Bush v. Gore decision that decided the 2000 presidential election "was really quite unacceptable" because it differentiated between hanging chads and dimpled chads. That distinction "violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution," he said a gala event for the liberal watchdog group Public Citizen. All votes should have been considered the same way, he said.

Senior Treasury officials were made aware in June 2012 that investigators were looking into complaints from tea party groups that they were being harassed by the Internal Revenue Service, a Treasury inspector general.