305 Hillary Clinton emails flagged for possibly classified information

The State Department, which is reviewing Hillary Clinton's emails from her tenure as secretary of state, has flagged 305 emails for further review to determine if they contain classified information.

In a court document filed Monday, the State Department said it would be able to meet a schedule for publicly releasing the Clinton emails, since just 305 -- or about 5 percent of the emails reviewed so far -- need further examination.

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The agency is in the process of reviewing 30,000 emails for public release in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The flagged emails will be sent to the intelligence agencies from which the information in question originated for further review.

Meanwhile, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter on Friday to David Kendall, Clinton's private attorney, asking about his security clearance and his handling of Clinton's emails. Kendall was previously in possession of a thumb drive that held Clinton's emails.

Following the revelation that at least four of Clinton's emails should have been marked asclassified, Grassley wrote, "it appears the FBI has determined that your clearance is not sufficient to allow you to maintain custody of the emails."

Grassley asked Kendall to respond to a series of questions, such as, "Which government entity granted you and your associates a security clearance to be a custodian of Secretary Clinton's emails?

Via: CBS News

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Rasmussen: Most Americans Want Feds to Punish Sanctuary Cities

Nearly two-thirds of likely U.S. voters want the Department of Justice to take legal action against so-called sanctuary cities that do not enforce most national immigration laws, according to a new survey.

Rasmussen Reports polled voters and found that 62 percent of them want the government to step in and punish cities for essentially providing safe haven for illegal immigrants. That amounts to 79 percent of Republicans, 65 percent of unaffiliated voters, and 43 percent of Democrats.

Fifty-eight percent of those voters would like to see the federal government cut off funding to more than 200 such cities across the nation, a figure that includes 79 percent of Republicans.

Sanctuary cities have been in the news after a San Francisco woman was allegedly shot and killed by an illegal immigrant who was taking refuge in the city. He had been deported five times, and the shooting appears to be a random murder.

Presidential candidates, including Republicans Jeb Bush and Rand Paul, along with Democrat Hillary Clinton, criticized sanctuary cities this week. 

"The city made a mistake, not to deport someone that the federal government strongly felt should be deported," Clinton said, according to CBS News.

Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican, introduced legislation this week aimed at repealing sanctuary laws.

The discussion on sanctuary cities is just another rung on the national immigration debate that has raged for months, ever since President Barack Obama took executive action last fall that would grant amnesty to as many as 5 million illegal immigrants currently living in the U.S. The order is currently held up in the court system. 

Real estate mogul Donald Trump, a Republican candidate for president, injected new life into the debate when he criticized both the policy and the illegals crossing the border.

"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems to us," said Trump, who clarified his remarks in an op-ed for Newsmax this week. "They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people!

Via: Newsmax

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[VIDEO] CBS NEW: CHINESE HACK IS REALLY BAD, CAN’T PUT LIPSTICK ON THIS PIG

CBS News reported on the hack by the Chinese government, saying it’s an embarrassment for an administration that has made cyber security a top priority. One official told CBS News that the hack is really bad and there is no way to put lipstick on this pig.

Watch:

Via: The Right Scoop

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‘She Was Targeted’: The Five Clashes Over Lara Logan Suspension

The hosts of The Five debated Wednesday whether CBS News was right to suspend Lara Loganfollowing an internal investigation into the botched 60 Minutes Benghazi report. Brian Kilmeade was convinced that Logan was “targeted” for her outspokenness on the Benghazi attacks, while Andrea Tantaros admitted that despite Logan’s reputation and reporting chops, CBS News made the right decision in suspending her.

Kilmeade highlighted how Logan previously spoke out in favor of going after the perpetrators of the Benghazi attack, calling it “the entire reason she’s paying the price right now.” Bob Beckel, however, wondered if her passion and emotions “colored her 60 Minutes piece” and so she was desperate enough to believe a liar and “didn’t use her normally good journalistic judgment.”

Eric Bolling defended 60 Minutes, urging caution and saying, “We can’t make the leap and say 60 Minutes rushed to judgment and gave her time off because she made a mistake.”

Andrea Tantaros brought up the fact that CBS News head/60 Minutes executive producer Jeff Fager did not get in trouble, and in the internal report released he “acts as judge and jury on this matter, rather than a co-defendant.” Kilmeade found it discouraging CBS didn’t stand behind Logan, but Tantaros said, “They’re making an example of her.” And because of the journalistic reputation 60 Minutes need to uphold, the suspension makes sense from their point of view.

Watch the video below, via Fox News:

Via: Mediaite.com

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Poll: Obamacare support, Obama approval sink to new lows

President Obama's job approval rating has plunged to the lowest of his presidency, according to a new CBS News poll released Wednesday, and Americans' approval of the Affordable Care Act has dropped it's lowest since CBS News started polling on the law.

Thirty-seven percent now approve of the job Mr. Obama is doing as president, down from 46 percent in October -- a nine point drop in just a month. Mr. Obama's disapproval rating is 57 percent -- the highest level for this president in CBS News Polls.

A rocky beginning to the opening of the new health insurance exchanges has also taken its toll on how Americans perceive the Affordable Care Act. Now, approval of the law has dropped to 31 percent - the lowest number yet recorded in CBS News Polls, and a drop of 12 points since last month. Sixty-one percent disapprove (a high for this poll), including 46 percent who say they disapprove strongly.

Republicans are nearly unanimous in their disapproval of the law, and now more than two-thirds of independents agree. Almost six in ten Democrats continue to support the law, but their support has dropped 16 points from last month - from 74 percent in October to 58 percent today. Support has dropped 11 points among independents and five points among Republicans.

Via: CBS News

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[VIDEO] CBS News: Early Tests of ObamaCare Website Were All Unsuccessful Shortly Before Launch

BY: Washington Free Beacon Staff
October 30, 2013 7:26 pm

The testing phase of the Obamacare website failed with a test pool of 200-300 employees from insurance companies and the government Sheryl Attkison reported Wednesday on CBS Evening News.

Attkison cited sources who claimed that the testing encountered extensive problems even late into September, offering ample evidence that the Obamacare website was not ready to launch.

The report contradicts testimony from CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner whotestified the technical glitches did not show up in testing and her agency was unaware of the issues until after October 1:

Via: WFB

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Pols push 'Keep Your Health Plan Act' as files show gov't knew millions could lose coverage

House Republicans are pushing a new bill to let Americans keep their health insurance plans following revelations that the Obama administration knew millions could lose their current coverage due to changes from the Affordable Care Act. 

Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., was introducing the "Keep Your Health Plan Act" in a bid to address widespread reports of people losing their current plans. CBS News reported Monday that more than 2 million Americans have already been told they can't renew their policies. 

"This legislation is about providing folks the peace of mind that they will be allowed to keep their current coverage if they so choose," Upton said in a statement. The bill would allow plans sold on the market today to continue to be available. 

Fox News confirmed on Monday that despite assurances from President Obama that anybody who likes their health insurance can keep it, a 2010 IRS document predicted a huge swath of customers could lose their coverage. 

The document addressed a rule in the law that states individual policies purchased on or before March 23, 2010 would be "grandfathered" -- or exempt from changes required under ObamaCare. However, the provision was changed so that plans that undergo "significant changes" could lose that special status. 

Via: Fox News Politics

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[VIDEO] HealthCare.gov pricing feature can be off the mark Reports CBS

IS THIS RIGHT?? CBS IS REPORTING A PROBLEM WITH OBAMACARE????  

(CBS News) CBS News has uncovered a serious pricing problem with HealthCare.gov. It stems from the Obama administration's efforts to improve its health care website. A new online feature can dramatically underestimate the cost of insurance.

The administration announced it would provide a new "shop and browse" feature Sunday, but it's not giving consumers the real picture. In some cases, people could end up paying double of what they see on the website, CBS News' Jan Crawford reported Wednesday on "CBS This Morning."

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As President Obama promises to fix HealthCare.gov, his administration is touting what it calls "improvements" in design, specifically a feature that allows you to "See Plans Now." White House press secretary Jay Carney has said, "Americans across the country can type in their zip code and shop and browse."

But CBS News has learned the new "shop and browse" feature often comes with the wrong price tags.

(Watch at left Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' recent comments on the website's problems)

Industry analysts, such as Jonathan Wu, point to how the website lumps people only into two broad categories: "49 or under" and "50 or older."

Wu said it's "incredibly misleading for people that are trying to get a sense of what they're paying."

Via: CBS News

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Deadly drug cartel shootout with Mexico police linked to "grenade-walking" scandal

(CBS News) CBS News has learned of a shocking link between a deadly drug cartel shootout with Mexican police last week and a controversial case in the U.S. The link is one of the grenades used in the violent fight, which killed three policemen and four cartel members and was captured on video by residents in the area.

According to a Justice Department "Significant Incident Report" filed Tuesday and obtained by CBS News, evidence connects one of the grenades to Jean Baptiste Kingery, an alleged firearms trafficker U.S. officials allowed to operate for years without arresting despite significant evidence that he was moving massive amounts of grenade parts and ammunition to Mexico's ruthless drug cartels.

Read the Significant Incident Report

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The gun battle took place last week in Guadalajara. Authorities say five members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel used at least nine firearms and ten hand grenades against Mexican police. If one of the grenades was supplied with the help of Kingery, as believed, it adds to the toll of lives taken with weapons trafficked by suspects U.S. officials watched but did not stop.

The Kingery case was overseen by the same Arizona U.S. Attorney and ATF office that let suspects traffic thousands of weapons to Mexican drug cartels in the operation dubbed Fast and Furious. The strategy was to try to get to the cartel kingpins, but it was halted after CBS News reported that Fast and Furious weapons were used by cartel thugs in the murder of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry on December 15, 2010. Weapons trafficked by other ATF suspects under surveillance were used two months later in the cartel murder of Immigration and Customs AgentJaime Zapata in Mexico on February 15, 2011.

On Wednesday, ATF told CBS News it has "no information" about the Kingery connection to last week's gun battle in Mexico.

As CBS News previously reported, documents show ATF began watching Kingery in "2004 related to AK47 purchases" he was believed to be trafficking to Mexico.

Via: CBS News

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CBS News Blasts ObamaCare: 'The Website’s Launch Has Been Nothing Short of Disastrous'

The folks at CBS News are clearly unhappy with how ObamaCare is going.

After reporting on a Dallas man that tried for a week to sign up without any success on Tuesday's Evening News, CBS This Morning Wednesday featured a segment tearing the program apart with Jan Crawford saying "the website’s launch has been nothing short of disastrous" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

NORAH O’DONNELL, HOST: And Congress gets a status report this morning on the Affordable Care Act. The Healthcare.gov website opened more than a week ago. While millions of Americans have tried to sign up, but only a handful have been able to register for insurance because of problems with the website. It keeps shutting down. Well the House Oversight committee wants to know why. Jan Crawford is on Capitol Hill. Jan, good morning.

JAN CRAWFORD: Good morning, Norah. Good morning, Charlie. You know, administration officials who are in charge of implementing and enforcing all of this are going to be on the hot seat here on Capitol Hill this morning. I talked to chairman Darrell Issa last night, and he told me he plans to ask how and why this chaos could have happened, and he’s not the only one talking about the disarray.

A number of late night comedians were then shown making jokes about ObamaCare’s implementation.

Via: Newsbusters

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Democrats won't win a 'blame the GOP' game on the shutdown and debt ceiling

Even after the 2011 debt ceiling crisis was resolved, President Obama's approval rating tanked. Photograph: AP Photo/Jim Watson

So, people currently blame the Republicans more than anyone else for the government shutdown, but predicting the long-term political fallout is not as easy as that suggests. For one thing, the latest CBS News pollshows that while slightly more people believe the Republicans are at fault, a majority of them are upset with both sides for the inability to avert this crisis.

The real story is not revealed by people's view of the politicians; it's contained in the indices of economic sentiment. Gallup finds thatAmericans' confidence in the economy has dropped like a rock, from -20pt just before the shutdown, to -35pt now. And it would not be surprising to see that measure continue to fall over coming days, with the deadline for raising the debt ceiling looming in ten days' time.

What we're seeing is a time-lag in consequences for the politicians. Gallup has President Obama's approval rating still within its normal range of 45%, plus or minus a few points.

But remember the debt ceiling battle of April to July 2011: the politicians solved that crisis without the US actually defaulting, yet the mere idea of a default hurt tremendously. S&P downgraded the United States' credit rating, while Gallup's economic confidence rating fellby 30pt, to -55.

Via: The Guardian

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Obama Campaign Says Polls Showing Romney Surging Is A “Bluff”…

DENVER - Obama campaign senior adviser David Plouffe sought to knock down claims by the Romney camp that they are gaining momentum and steaming toward victory on Wednesday. Plouffe called those claims "more bluff than reality" and contended that the Romney camp is "overstating their Electoral College situation."

"We think we maintain a lot more plausible pathways to 270 than Governor Romney, who we think essentially has to pull an inside straight in terms of the Electoral College," Plouffe said during a bus ride through Iowa, noting that the President is leading or essentially tied in polls of most battleground states. "Governor Romney's campaign likes to talk about how well they're doing in North Carolina, but we think we're doing a lot better in Ohio and Iowa and Nevada than they're doing in North Carolina."

Plouffe argued that the Obama campaign is "already sitting at a win number" in some of the battleground states, though he declined to say which ones. "I'm not going to call states, but we'd win the election if it were held today,"  he said. Obama campaign officials have sought to downplay the significance of Romney's rise in the polls following his strong performance in the first of three presidential debates.

Today, Plouffe argued that the bump Romney received was a natural and inevitable tightening in a race that widened artificially in September. "Governor Romney was not going to get 44 or 45 percent in battleground states," he said. "He's a major party nominee in a divided country in a tough economy. He's going to get 47, 48, 49 in a bunch of these states. So that's all that's happened is Governor Romney picked up some of what he lost. We don't consider that momentum."

Via: CBS News

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US ‘too slow’ to act as drone’s cam captured Libya horror

The United States had an unmanned Predator drone over its consulate in Benghazi during the attack that slaughtered four Americans — which should have led to a quicker military response, it was revealed yesterday.

“They stood, and they watched, and our people died,” former CIA commander Gary Berntsen told CBS News.

The network reported that the drone and other reconnaissance aircraft observed the final hours of the hours-long siege on Sept. 11 — obtaining information that should have spurred swift action.

But as Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three colleagues were killed by terrorists armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, Defense Department officials were too slow to send in the troops, Berntsen said.

EPA

VIEW TO A KILL: As terrorists attacked the consulate in Benghazi, a US Predator drone was reportedly observing from above.

“They made zero adjustments in this. You find a way to make this happen,” he fumed.

“There isn’t a plan for every single engagement. Sometimes you have to be able to make adjustments.”

The Pentagon said it moved a team of special operators from Central Europe to Sigonella, Italy — about an hour flight from Libya — but gave no other details.

Fighter jets and Specter AC-130 gunships — which could have been used to help disperse the bloodthirsty mob — were also stationed at three nearby bases, sources told the network.

When the attack began, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Martin Dempsey and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta “looked at available options, and the ones we exercised had our military forces arrive in less than 24 hours, well ahead of timelines laid out in established policies,” a White House official told the network.

Even as the administration continues to vow that the perpetrators will be brought to justice, the man identified by witnesses as a ringleader in the attack continues to walk the streets of Libya without fear of arrest.

Via: New York Post

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Ouch: Ann Romney Compares Obama To A Petulant Child For His Post-Debate Temper Tantrum…

Mitt Romney's wife, Ann, equated President Obama's campaign to a petulant child during an interview Tuesday after being asked about charges from the president's campaign that her husband had "lied" during last week's debate.

“I mean, lied about what? This is something he’s been saying all along. This is what he believes.  This is his policy, these are his statements," Ann Romney said in an interview set to air Wednesday on Fox News. "I mean, lie — it’s sort of like someone that’s, you know, in the sandbox that like lost the game and they’re just going to kick sand in someone’s face and say, ‘you liar.’ I mean, it’s like they lost, and so now they just are going to say, OK, the game, we didn’t like the game. So to me, it’s poor sportsmanship.”

In an interview Sunday with CBS News, Obama adviser David Axelrod said Romney's debate positions were "uprooted" from what he had said on the campaign trail.

"I think [the president] was a little taken aback at the brazenness with which Gov. Romney walked away from so many of the positions on which he's run, walked away from his record,” Axelrod said.

Ann Romney said she "knew right away" that her husband was winning the first presidential debate.

"I knew after the first question," she said. "I turned to my son after 50 minutes, and I gave him a nudge, and I said it’s 100 to zero right now. "

She added that she hoped his performance would attract the support of more female voters, a crucial demographic headed into Election Day and one that the president has thus far dominated.

"I had been waiting for a very, very long time for people to see my husband how I see him. And I think that people got a chance to do that at the debate," Ann Romney said.

Via: The Hill

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Secret Service gun inadvertently left in Romney plane lavatory

(CBS News) A gun belonging to a member of Mitt Romney's U.S. Secret Service detail was found unattended in the bathroom of the candidate's charter plane Wednesday afternoon. The Republican nominee was traveling from Tampa, Fla., site of his party's convention, to Indianapolis, Ind., for a speech.

The weapon, presumably left behind in the bathroom by accident, was discovered by a CBS News/National Journal reporter, who alerted a flight attendant about the gun. A member of the Secret Service on board the plane was informed and retrieved the gun.

Romney has traveled with Secret Service protection since early February and has an armed detail assigned to him at all times. His wife, Ann, was just assigned her own detail - albeit a smaller one - last Friday.

Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan told CBS News/National Journal in a statement: "We are aware of the incident. We take the care and custody of our equipment, especially firearms, very seriously. We will deal with this matter internally and in an appropriate manner."

Via: CBS News

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