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Eric Holder Jr., the nation's first black U.S. attorney general, is preparing to announce his resignation Thursday after a tumultuous tenure marked by civil rights advances, national security threats, reforms to the criminal justice system and five and a half years of fights with Republicans in Congress. Two sources familiar with the decision tell NPR that Holder, 63, intends to leave the Justice Department as soon as his successor is confirmed, a process that could run through 2014 and even into next year. A former U.S. government official says Holder has been increasingly "adamant" about his desire to leave soon...

Law360, Los Angeles (September 24, 2014, 8:44 PM ET) -- The Seventh Circuit ruled Wednesday that it is up to Wisconsin state courts to decide whether an investigation into potential campaign finance violations involving Gov. Scott Walker and a host of conservative groups should proceed, overturning a lower court injunction that halted the probe on First Amendment grounds. A three-judge panel called the injunction issued in May by U.S. District Judge Rudolph T. Randa an "abuse of discretion," saying that "this case does not present a situation in which state proceedings may be displaced." The panel directed the lower court...

President Obama announced a series of executive actions to fight climate change on Tuesday, during a speech to the United Nations Climate Summit in New York City. Obama ordered all federal agencies to begin factoring “climate resilience” into all of their international development programs and investments. The action is expected to complement efforts by the federal government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to the White House.

Conservative writer/filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza was spared prison time today when a federal judge sentenced him to five years probation for violating campaign finance laws....

...Obama will make a statement this morning at 10:00 am ET on the South Lawn. I will live stream it here.

No link now, they are just announcing it now.

The Talk Shows September 21st, 2014 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Reps. Peter King, R-N.Y., and Adam Schiff, D-Calif.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn.; Michael Mullen, former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich.THIS WEEK (ABC): Samantha Power, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Alex Salmond this afternoon dramatically quit as Scotland's First Minister after voters rejected independence in yesterday's referendum. The First Minister said he would stand down in November to let the next generation take over the fight to lead Scotland out of the Union. Mr Salmond announced his departure at a press conference this afternoon. He said his 'party, Parliament and country' would benefit from 'new leadership'. But he fired a warning shot at David Cameron not to go back on his promise to transfer sweeping new powers to Holyrood within six months.

All peninsula schools will be ransacked for the extremist literature. In the self-proclaimed Ministry of Education of Crimea stated that the local education departments in the cities and regions of the peninsula are authorized to conduct an inspection visits with respect to keeping of extremist matter and banned literature, Censor.NET reports citing Hromadske Radio. The list consists of 2,442 items, including books, articles, pamphlets, and even texts of some songs. The law enforcement officials together with experts from the Department of Education shall hold the upcoming revision at schools. In case of banned literature detection, members of the inspection will...

The first results are coming in for the referendum to decide whether Scotland should stay in the UK or become an independent country.

BELL, Fla. - A mass shooting has been reported in a small town near Gainesville on Thursday night.The shooting was reported in the town of Bell in Gilchrest County, which is about 140 miles from downtown Orlando.It's not clear how many victims were shot, but there are reports that children were among the victims.A news conference is set for 8 p.m. Local 6 has a crew on its way to the scene.Check back for more on this developing story.

Congressman Jason Chaffetz broke this shocking news Wednesday that four known terrorists were apprehended at the US border in Texas on September 10 – the day before the 13th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. Chaffetz questioned Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on whether he is “aware of any apprehensions of suspected or known terrorists.” Johnson dodged the question.

The House Select Committee on Benghazi hears testimony from Homeland Security and Secret Service officials on the implementation of the Accountability Board’s recommendations following the 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi.

The suspect in the killing of a trooper and the critical wounding of another outside a rural barracks is a survivalist... Eric Matthew Frein, 31, of Canadensis, Pa., is still armed with the .308-caliber rifle that he used to open fire on the barracks late Friday, State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan said at a news conference where he revealed the suspect's name. Noonan called Frein "extremely dangerous." "

We’re returning human spaceflight launches to America. Learn who will take crews to the #ISS. Watch NASA TV at 4pm ET http://youtu.be/ceQycm1uCFI

A new government report confirms what pro-life advocates have long feared: President Obama's health care reform law allows for taxpayer-funded abortions. In a report to Congress, the Government Accountability Office found 28 states with no laws restricting qualified health plans that limit abortion coverage. In Massachusetts, only two of the 111 state-approved plans comply with the historic Hyde Amendment, which prohibits abortion funding except in cases of rape or incest. Five states (Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont) don't offer any qualified plans that follow Hyde's precedent, in place since 1977. That directly contradicts the president's 2010 executive...

The United States government is sending thousands of military troops to the west African nation of Liberia as part of the Obama administration's Ebola virus-response strategy, the White House said late Monday night. ....'A general from U.S. Army Africa, the Army component of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), will lead this effort, which will involve an estimated 3,000 U.S. forces.'

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warning hospitals and doctors that “now is the time to prepare,” has issued a six-page Ebola “checklist” to help healthcare workers quickly determine if patients are infected.While the CDC does not believe that there are new cases of Ebola in the United States, the assumption in the checklist is that it is only a matter of time before the virus hits home.

p>The Talk Shows September 14th, 2014 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): White House chief of staff Denis McDonough; Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C; Michael Hayden, a former CIA and National Security Agency director.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): McDonough; former Secretary of State James Baker; Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.FACE THE NATION (CBS): McDonough; Secretary of State John Kerry; Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas.THIS WEEK (ABC): McDonough; Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa; Education Secretary Arne Duncan.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): McDonough; Harkin; Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; Rep. John...

<p>BLOOMING GROVE TOWNSHIP — State police have confirmed there has been a shooting at the Pennsylvania State Police Blooming Grove barracks in Pike County. There is no one in custody at this time. Newswatch 16 has a crew on the scene and we will have more information as it becomes available.</p>