Obama to Senate Dems: 'I'm going to play offense'  —  The president said he's prepared to veto hostile legislation, including an Iran sanctions package.  —  President Barack Obama made clear Thursday in a closed-door session with Senate Democrats that he's prepared to veto hostile legislation …

At The Oscar Nominations, It's A Good Year To Be An Idiosyncratic Man  —  The Oscar nominations are in (you can see the full list here), and Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel lead with nine nominations each, followed closely by The Imitation Game with eight.

‘Boy Who Came Back From Heaven’ going back to publisher  —  Tyndale House, a major Christian publisher, has announced that it will stop selling “The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven,” by Alex Malarkey and his father, Kevin Malarkey.  —  The best-selling book, first published in 2010 …

Obamacare Has Reversed A Negative Trend.  Researchers Call It ‘Remarkable.’  —  For the first time in a decade, the number of people struggling to pay their medical bills has started to decline, according to a new survey released on Thursday by the Commonwealth Fund.

2 Suspects Killed in Gun Battle in Belgian Antiterror Raid  —  BRUSSELS — As the Belgian authorities unleashed a new campaign against suspected terrorists on Thursday that unfolded across the country with raids and arrests, in one of the raids, near the German border, officers came under …

Democrat condemns ‘shocking’ comments about Muslim lawmaker  —  A top House Democrat on Thursday condemned suggestions from conservative websites that Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.), a Muslim, should not have been appointed to the House Intelligence Committee.  —  It has “come to my attention …

Carly Fiorina ‘seriously’ weighing '16 run  —  Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina says she's “very seriously considering running” for president in 2016, a move that could make her the highest-profile female in the Republican field.  —  “I think we need different experience …

America Will Miss Obama When He's Gone  —  It's 2018, and Barack Obama leans toward the computer in his Chicago townhouse and punches in the title of his memoir.  He enjoys the silence and the solitude.  It's been over a decade since he had time to write.  This is Obama's third memoir and probably not the last.

GOP makes U-turn on net neutrality  —  Republicans in Congress are doing a 180 on net neutrality as the Federal Communications Commission prepares to issue new rules within weeks.  —  For years, GOP lawmakers have adamantly opposed any rules requiring Internet service providers to treat …

All-women's college cancels ‘Vagina Monologues’ because it's not feminist enough  — Mount Holyoke College, an all-women's school, announced in a campus-wide email that the Theatre Board has cancelled its annual production of the “Vagina Monologues.”  — The board has decided to retire …

Nebraska Board Of Education Member Runs Racist, Anti-LGBT Blog  —  Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts started off his first term as governor this week by having to condemn a Republican member the state board of education, Pat McPherson, for running a conservative political blog that repeatedly referred to President Obama as a “half-breed.”

Charles Krauthammer: Obama: Charlie who?  —  On Sunday, at the great Paris rally, the whole world was Charlie.  By Tuesday, the veneer of solidarity was exposed as tissue thin.  It began dissolving as soon as the real, remaining Charlie Hebdo put out its post-massacre issue featuring a Muhammad cover that …

Obama Said to Seek 7% Budget Boost, Setting Up Fight With Congress  —  (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama will ask Congress for as much as $68 billion more than current budget limits in fiscal 2016, according to two people familiar with the administration's proposal.

Secret US cybersecurity report: encryption vital to protect private data  —  Newly uncovered Snowden document contrasts with British PM's vow to crack down on encrypted messaging after Paris attacks  —  A secret US cybersecurity report warned that government and private computers …

Malian who saved lives in Jewish deli attack gets French nationality  —  Reuters 19 hrs ago  —  PARIS (Reuters) - A Malian Muslim who hid shoppers from an Islamist gunman during an attack on a Jewish supermarket in Paris will be given French nationality, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday.

White House Knew Of CIA Snooping on Senate, Report Says  —  WASHINGTON — Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan consulted the White House before directing agency personnel to sift through a walled-off computer drive being used by the Senate Intelligence Committee to construct …

Ron Paul Institute Publishes a Charlie Hebdo ‘False Flag’ Piece  —  Yesterday, the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity made the affirmative decision to republish a piece by Paul Craig Roberts that RPI affixed with the headline: “Charlie Hebdo Shootings: False Flag?”  Here's how it begins: