Kim Huddles With Ruling Party As New Year Looms; NSA O’Brien Says US ‘Closely’ Watching

Ahead of a much-anticipated New Year speech after months of stalled diplomacy, Kim Jong Un is hosting an unusual multi-day session of his ruling party’s central committee in Pyongyang, and on Sunday stressed the need for “offensive measures for fully ensuring the sovereignty and security of the country as required by the present situation.” Read

Iran-Backed Iraqi Militias Vow to Retaliate After US Military Strikes on Five Bases

In a significant escalation against Iranian regime proxies, U.S. forces carried out military strikes against five locations used by an Iraqi Shi’ite militia – three inside Iraq and two in Syria. Read

North Korea’s UN Envoy Condemns ‘Hostile Forces’ Obsessed With ‘Hatred Against Us’

As an end-of-year deadline for negotiations announced by Kim Jong Un last April approaches, his regime is once again angrily fending off Western criticism of its human rights record. Read

US Judge Refuses to Delay Case Against Turkish Bank Accused of Evading US Sanctions on Iran

In a fresh blow to Turkey’s Islamist government, a federal judge in New York City on Thursday rejected a request by the state-owned Halkbank to delay a case in which the Turkish institution stands accused of a scheme to help Iran to dodge U.S. sanctions. Read

Pakistan Fumes After US Keeps It on Religious Freedom Blacklist

The Trump administration’s decision to keep Pakistan on a blacklist of religious freedom violators is irking the world’s second most-populous Islamic nation, which slammed the move as “unilateral and arbitrary” and complained that its archrival India had not been similarly targeted. Read

Christmas Day Brings No ‘Gift’ From Kim Jong Un – Yet

Under close U.S. military surveillance, Christmas Day came and went in North Korea with no sign – yet – of a “Christmas gift” provocation that the regime had hinted it was planning. Read

Sanctions Targeting Baltic Sea Pipeline Rattle Russia, Benefit Ukraine

Work on a controversial pipeline project in the Baltic Sea came to an abrupt halt at the weekend, under threat from sanctions legislation signed by President Trump on Friday. Read

Pompeo to ICC: ‘We Do Not Believe the Palestinians Qualify as a Sovereign State’

Seven years after the U.N. General Assembly voted to upgrade the status of the Palestinian delegation from “non-member observer entity” to “non-member state,” the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is arguing that as a result of that – purportedly non-binding – decision, the ICC has jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed in the territory in question. Read

Candidates Clash Over High-Dollar Fundraisers, Relative Experience, Ability to Win

Thursday night’s Democrat presidential debate turned heated at times, as candidates attacked each other over campaign donations, relative experience and wealth, while recent comments by President Obama about “old men” in politics also brought some lively responses from the three septuagenarians on the stage. Read

At Islamic Mini-Summit, Leaders Slam US and Security Council, Silent on Uighurs

The U.N. Security Council, dominated by five permanent members, is “way past its expiration date,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday, noting that the council does not represent 1.7 billion Muslims. Read

Citing the ‘Reset’ With Russia, Gohmert Says the President Who Turned His Back on Ukraine Was Obama

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) said during Wednesday’s House impeachment debate that the president who turned his back on Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression – as President Trump’s critics say he did – was President Obama. Read

Pelosi Raises Prospect of Delaying Senate Trial; Wants 'Fair' Process

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) indicated on Wednesday night she would not send the articles of impeachment passed by the House to the U.S. Senate until that chamber announces a process for a trial of President Trump that is “fair.” Read

House Votes to Impeach Trump: 230-197 For ‘Abuse of Power,’ 229-198 For ‘Obstruction of Congress’

The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted 230-197 to impeach President Trump for “abuse of power” over his dealings with Ukraine, and by a vote of 229-198 to impeach him for “obstruction of Congress.” Read

Trump Administration Doesn’t Back ‘Armenian Genocide’ Resolution, But Turkey Has a New Beef

The Trump administration on Tuesday chose not to back a U.S. Senate “Armenian genocide” resolution, but Turkey’s Islamist government was focusing on another grievance – congressional approval of a defense policy bill that bars the transfer of F-35 strike fighters to Turkey. Read

Cruz: Democrats Lowering the Bar for Impeaching Presidents

If the standard set by Democrats in their push to impeach President Trump on the “obstruction of Congress” charge holds, then “every president going forward will be impeached whenever the House is in [the hands of] the opposing party,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) argued on Tuesday. Read

Iran’s Ayatollah Reveres Holocaust Denier: ‘Tireless Courage’ in Fight Against ‘the Zionists’

A month after the outbreak of the most serious anti-regime protests in years, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has a different anniversary in mind this week, finding time to honor a French writer who was convicted in the 1990s for Holocaust denial. Read

Trump: ‘I’d Be Disappointed’ if Kim Plans New Provocations – But ‘We’ll Take Care of It’

President Trump said Monday he would be “disappointed” if North Korea was planning new provocations as Kim Jong Un’s year-end ultimatum nears – but added that if it was, “we’ll take care of it.” Read

In Lopsided Votes, UN Passes Eight Resolutions Targeting US-Backed Israel

While millions were following the impeachment drama on Capitol Hill and the momentous British general election results on Friday, the U.N. General Assembly was focused on its own priorities, adopting eight resolutions condemning or singling out Israel. Read

Trump Berates Fox News Over Poll Showing Small Uptick in Support for Impeachment

At the start of a week that could see the third presidential impeachment in U.S. history, President Trump came out fighting on Sunday, dismissing as “ridiculous” a Fox News poll in which half 50 percent of registered voters said he should be impeached and removed from office. Read

UK Conservatives Trounce Labour, Secure Majority in Convincing Election Win

Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party secured a large majority in the House of Commons overnight, in a decisive election victory expected to ease Britain’s departure from the European Union next month. Read

North Korean Regime, Angered by U.S. Decision, Hints It May Resume Provocations

Pyongyang on Thursday slammed a decision by the U.S. to convene a U.N. Security Council session focused on North Korea, saying the meeting – coming just weeks before Kim Jong Un’s deadline for a decision on the path ahead for deadlocked nuclear diplomacy – had merely “helped us make a definite decision on what way to choose.” Read

UK Exit Polls Point to Conclusive Win for Conservatives, Worst Labour Showing in Decades

The Conservative Party looks in line for a decisive win in Thursday’s British general election – the third in less than five years – with exit polls suggesting it would take 368 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons, 42 more than the minimum needed for a majority government. Read

‘Very Curious and Very Strange’ That Trump Would Meet With a Foreign Minister?

As an MSNBC host and on-air analyst pondered what President Trump and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov could have been talking about in their Oval Office meeting on Tuesday, the analyst – a former State Department official – wanted to know why a president was meeting with a foreign minister at all. Read

Turks Bristle, Warn of Potential Consequences After Senate Committee Approves Sanctions Bill

Turkey’s ambassador to Washington reacted angrily Wednesday to a vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee advancing bipartisan legislation sanctioning the NATO ally for its purchase of a Russian missile defense system and its unilateral military operation in northern Syria. Read

As Kim Jong Un’s Deadline Nears, Regime Resorts to Insulting Trump Again

Sometime in the next 20 or so days North Korea is expected to declare its stance on denuclearization diplomacy with the United States. Ahead of that announcement, officials in the Stalinist regime appear to be reverting to their practice of insulting President Trump. Read

Russia's Lavrov Insists U.S. Has Provided No Proof of 2016 Election Meddling

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said alongside his Russian counterpart Tuesday that he had made clear during their talks that Moscow’s interference in U.S. elections was “unacceptable” and that the Trump administration will “take action in response” in the event “Russia or any foreign actor take steps to undermine our democratic processes.” Read

Company Fighting to Defend Its Dog-Tags After Army Orders Removal of All Biblical References

A Christian company that produces replica dog-tags bearing Bible verses says it has “never fought a more important fight” after the U.S. military – confronted by complaints from an advocacy group – said they could no longer feature both the biblical references and trademarked military branch emblems. Read

In New Poll, Democrats Pick Hillary Clinton As Top Choice for 2020

Registered Democrats in a recent poll picked as their first choice for their party’s 2020 presidential nominee a politician who is not even running – the unsuccessful 2016 White House challenger, Hillary Clinton. Read

Esper on Reports That Saudis Filmed Shooting: ‘People Pull Out Their Phones and Film Everything and Anything …’

Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday reacted cautiously to claims that Saudi officers at a U.S. naval base in Florida had filmed a compatriot shooting Americans, saying it was still unclear whether they began doing so before the deadly attack began, or only once they saw it underway. Read

Kerry Revs Up Biden Campaign Event, As Biden Rambles About Hyde Amendment

Former Secretary of State John Kerry injected some energy into former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign at an event in New Hampshire on Sunday morning, although both men seemed to forget for a moment which state they were in. Read

John Kerry Backs Biden to Put ‘Back Together the World Donald Trump Has Smashed Apart’

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign for the White House secured its most high-profile endorsement yet on Thursday, with former Secretary of State John Kerry describing him as “the candidate with the wisdom and standing to fix what [President] Trump has broken.” Read

State Dep’t: Iran’s IRGC Gunned Down Protesters in Cold Blood

Among messages submitted to the State Department by Iranians during the protests of recent weeks is a video clip showing regime forces using truck-mounted machine guns to mow down protesters in cold blood, killing as many as 100 people, the U.S. Special Envoy for Iran said on Thursday. Read

Pelosi: ‘I Do Pray For [Trump] … It Doesn’t Bother Me What He Thinks About That’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday night insisted that she does pray for President Trump, and said it doesn’t bother her if he doesn’t believe her. Read

Boris Johnson Recalls Trump's Strong Support After Russian Nerve Agent Attack

Fielding reporters’ questions Wednesday focused largely on President Trump, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended both the United States and its current administration, pointing to its robust support for Britain after Russian agents used a deadly nerve agent in an attempt to kill a former Russian spy on British soil. Read

Israeli PM: The Iranian Regime’s ‘Empire is Tottering...Let’s Make it Totter Even Further’

“Iran’s aggression is growing, but its empire is tottering,” Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said alongside Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday. “And I say, let’s make it totter even further.” Read

Trump: We Support Iranian Protestors, But Not Financially; ‘If Somebody Asked, Maybe We Would’

President Trump caused a brief kerfuffle Tuesday when he said in response to a reporter’s question in London that the U.S. does not support protesting Iranians. Read

Hezbollah Agent Given 40-Year Sentence for Helping Terrorists Prepare for Attacks in US

A Lebanese-born man recruited by Hezbollah before becoming a naturalized American citizen was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years’ imprisonment, after being convicted of offenses that included helping the Iranian-backed Shi’ite terror group prepare for potential attacks on U.S. soil. Read

US Military Aid to Lebanon Released, Amid Ongoing Concerns About Hezbollah

An unexplained hold on U.S. military aid to Lebanon has been lifted, amid continuing debates over whether the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) are doing enough to keep the powerful Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah in check. Read

UK’s Nigel Farage Defends Trump’s ‘Muslim Ban’: No One Criticized Obama

Defending President Trump on the British election campaign trail, Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has drawn attention to the fact that the presidential travel proclamation -- which critics call a “Muslim ban” -- was built on security concerns determined under the Obama administration. Read

Biden Says Trump Is Jeopardizing NATO, Even as Allies’ Defense Spending Continues to Climb

Former Vice President and current Democrat presidential hopeful Joe Biden is warning that a second term for President Trump could mean the end of NATO. But as the alliance meets in London this week, it does so with significantly boosted defense spending, thanks largely to Trump’s cajoling. Read

London Attack: Labour’s Corbyn Says Terrorists Should ‘Not Necessarily’ Serve Full Terms

Convicted terrorists should “not necessarily” serve their full prison sentences, British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Sunday, two days after an Islamic terrorist, released halfway through an earlier jail term for terrorism, stabbed two people in death in central London. Read

UK’s Corbyn: ‘Boris Johnson Has Been the World’s Leading Sycophant Towards’ Trump

On the eve of President Trump’s visit to London, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Sunday accused the man he hopes to unseat as Britain’s prime minister of being “the world’s leading sycophant” towards the American president. Read

After Zero Refugee Arrivals in October, November Admissions Set 18-Year Low for That Month

After an unprecedented month of not a single refugee admission into the United States in October, last month saw a total of 1,488 refugees arrive, according to State Department Refugee Processing Center data. Read