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(CNSNews.com) – NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith would not say whether the NFL had treated talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh fairly when racist quotes were falsely attributed to Limbaugh shortly after word leaked that he was involved in a potential bid to buy a stake in the St. Louis Rams.

EAST ST. LOUIS — City officials seeking a new police chief passed up the former director of the Florida Highway Patrol, who formerly was a top commander of the Illinois State Police, because he is white, two former members of a city board claim. Wyatt Frazer and Della Murphy allege in a federal lawsuit that they were forced off the Police, Fire and Civil Service Board for their advocacy of a white candidate when the chief's job was open in 2007. Their lawyer said Tuesday the spurned candidate was Ronald Grimming, a Metro East resident who rose to be deputy...

Bring on the war of words. In a frank conversation with MSN writer Lawrence Ulrich, Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen has said that the Chevy Volt will fail and that anybody who buys the car is an idiot. Not only that, de Nysschen has lumped proponents of any type of electric car into a category of "intellectual elite who want to show what enlightened souls they are." I'm guessing that means a fair amount of the people reading this would be considered idiots and pompous intellectual elites in Mr. de Nysschen's book. Funny that. Hearing an Audi executive...

Rochester likely will have a greater police presence on city streets soon, but they will be uniformed community service officers, not sworn police officers. At a community meeting Tuesday during which some residents called for more police in the city's neighborhoods, Police Chief Roger Peterson said he will try to accommodate such requests. But given the tough economic times, he said the department will have to shift resources rather than hire additional officers. He said community service officers likely will patrol neighborhoods rather than writing property crime reports. Citizens would be encouraged to file those reports online or via telephone....

WASHINGTON - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has written a searing critique of government efforts at “strategic communication” with the Muslim world, saying that no amount of public relations will establish credibility if American behavior overseas is perceived as arrogant, uncaring or insulting. The critique by the chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, comes as the United States is widely believed to be losing ground in the war of ideas against extremist Islamist ideology.

FDIC Chief: Parts of Obama Plan Won't FlySheila Bair Says Congress Won't Approve Two Major Parts of Administration's Financial Overhaul WASHINGTON, Aug. 14, 2009 (AP) Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair is pushing back against key elements of the Obama administration's financial overhaul plan, saying they wouldn't survive in Congress and calling her own alternatives more viable. In an interview with The Associated Press, Bair said Congress won't approve two major parts of the package: Expanding the Federal Reserve's authority to regulate the largest financial companies and giving a proposed new consumer protection agency examination and enforcement powers over...

WASHINGTON (AP) - A senior administration official says billions of dollars to raise fees for doctors treating Medicare patients are not covered by President Barack Obama's pledge to pay for health care legislation. Budget Director Peter Orszag said Tuesday that's because the administration always assumed the money would be spent to prevent a cut of more than 20 percent in doctor fees.

The leader of Taliban militants in Pakistan's Swat district has been critically wounded and is close to death, the BBC has learned. The information about Maulana Fazlullah confirms statements from senior government and security officials. A former village cleric, he founded the branch of the Taliban movement which eventually took over the Swat valley. After a recent offensive, Pakistan's army says it has almost defeated rebels in that sector of the north-west. It has been battling Taliban militants there for about two months and the government says it has regained control of the region. 'No medicine' The information about Maulana...

U.S. stocks retreated as concern the government will replace the chief executive officers of some banks snuffed out an early rally spurred by reports signaling the contraction in manufacturing is abating.

Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem said that the Lebanese militant group has been actively supporting Hamas in the Gaza Strip. "It is one of the secrets of the resistance that we don't talk about the details of our support, but suffice to say that we are giving them every type of support that could help the Palestinian resistance. Every type that is possible," Qassem said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Tuesday

Well before his 30th birthday, Tulsa native Jamie McDonald will have worked for one White House administration and in two branches of the federal government. Last year, he was working in the White House counsel's office. This summer, he will return to Washington, D.C., for the opportunity of a lifetime — being a clerk for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

WASHINGTON — Even though President Barack Obama has repeatedly pledged to ban congressional earmarks, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has 16 such projects, worth about $8.5 million, in the bill the Senate is scheduled to begin debating Tuesday. The earmarks include funds for a Chicago planetarium and a Chicago suburb. Obama has been relentless in criticizing the use of earmarks; in his address to a joint session of Congress last week, he boasted how the economic stimulus package was "free of earmarks."

THE mastermind of Hamas’s long-range rocket attacks on Israel was killed yesterday in an airstrike, according to Israeli military sources. Amir Mansi, an engineer who commanded cells responsible for firing Grad rockets supplied by Iran, died after coming under attack from a helicopter. The Israeli army said he had been trying to fire mortar shells at their troops when he was targeted. Mansi headed the Hamas military wing’s Gaza Strip rocket division and “played a big role in Grad rocket attacks on Israeli communities”, a military spokesman said. He was killed after a Grad struck the Israeli town of Gedera,...

Here is another excerpt from Al Seedman's book Chief! Chief! is a semi-autobiographical tale of Seedman's work as a New York City Police Department Detective. He was Chief of Detectives when the Weathermen's bombs exploded in the townhouse on 11th Street in Manhattan on March 6, 1970. Prior to that explosion, the NYPD spent months chasing Sam Melville and Jane Alpert for a series of bombings in 1969. They detonated at least eight bombs in New York City, possibly more in the midwest. The New York Police formed an Arson/Explosvies Squad to deal with Melville, so the squad was in...

Barack Obama still claims little or no connection to Bill Ayers and Kathy Boudin, despite launching one of his capmaigns in their home. Ayers and Boudin say they were just protesting and they never meant to hurt anyone. Many of us know this to be a lie. I suggested a source, a book title Chief! written by Albert Seedman and Peter Hellman. Seedman was the Chief of New York City Detectives on Friday, March 6th, 1970, when the townhouse at 18 West 11th Street exploded. These accounts of the explosion and the investigation come from those directly involved. The book...

Backing Obama gets top cop in hot water October 31, 2008 BY FRANK MAIN, FRAN SPIELMAN AND LISA DONOVAN Staff Reporters A Chicago alderman wants police Supt. Jody Weis to be disciplined for making a statement in a TV interview earlier this month that seemed to support Barack Obama's candidacy. Earlier this year, the department reprimanded a detective who campaigned for Ald. Tom Allen (38th) in his failed race for Cook County state's attorney. The department found the detective had violated a rule barring officers from engaging in partisan activity while wearing the uniform or identifying themselves as officers. »...

The July firing of Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan by Gov. Sarah Palin, who was announced as John McCain's running mate on Friday, has unearthed a stream of soap-opera-like details about Palin, her husband, her family and top state appointees. The controversy has also cut against Palin's reputation for holding an ethical line and standing up to colleagues in the Republican Party over matters of principle. Monegan, 57, a respected former chief of the Anchorage Police Department, said in an interview with The Washington Post's James V. Grimaldi on Friday that the governor repeatedly brought up the topic of...

ISLAMABAD (AFP) — Saudi Arabia's intelligence chief dashed to Pakistan for talks with the government over its plans to impeach President Pervez Musharraf, a senior official in Islamabad said Saturday. The visit of Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz came as a minister from the ruling coalition pressed Musharraf to stand down within two days and avoid putting the country through a destabilising impeachment battle. "Yes, Saudi intelligence chief Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz did visit Pakistan on Friday and met senior government officials," a senior coalition official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

PARIS - French judges filed preliminary insider trading charges Friday against Noel Forgeard, a former co-chief executive of Airbus parent EADS, his lawyer said. The investigating judges ordered Forgeard freed after two days in the custody of financial police pending the investigation, lawyer Jean-Alain Michel said. Investigators are looking into the sale of EADS shares by top executives and shareholders before a June 2006 announcement of delays for the A380 superjumbo that made EADS shares crash 26 percent in one day. Forgeard has denied wrongdoing. Forgeard told judges Xaviere Simeoni and Cecile Pendaries during questioning "that he had not committed...

Al-Jazeera chief 'fired for being white Christian' By Duncan Gardham Last Updated: 10:55PM BST 01/05/2008 A television executive has demanded more than £1 million in compensation from the Arabic station al-Jazeera claiming that she was fired because she was not a Muslim. Jo Burgin, the former head of planning for the English language service of the news channel, is also claiming sexual discrimination because she was sacked while her husband was kept on in a senior post. Mrs Burgin, 49, claimed that she was dismissed in April 2007 because she was a “white, Christian, British woman”. Jonathan Cohen, her solicitor,...

Obama would consider Gore for major post By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer 12 minutes ago Democrat Barack Obama says as president he would consider putting Al Gore in a Cabinet-level position — or higher. A woman at a town hall asked the Illinois senator if elected president would he consider tapping the former vice president for his Cabinet, or an even higher level office, to address global warming. "I would," Obama said. "Not only will I, but I will make a commitment that Al Gore will be at the table and play a central part in us figuring out...

Chief scientist revolts over biofuel legislation 29 March 2008 From New Scientist Print Edition. Could biofuels do more damage to the climate than the fossil fuels they replace? That's the fear casting doubt on the wisdom of a law that from next month will require a certain proportion of vehicle fuel to come from biological sources. On Monday, Bob Watson, chief scientist at the UK's Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs, called into question the idea of switching to biofuels. This follows the publication of studies showing that more carbon is emitted in producing some biofuels than is saved...

Pakistan army chief ends role in politics By Isambard Wilkinson in Lahore Last Updated: 1:12am GMT 18/02/2008 The new head of Pakistan's army has ordered the military to end its involvement in the country's politics. The Pakistan army's popularity has been mauled by its meddling in politics Gen Ashfaq Kiani's decree, issued on the eve of today's parliamentary election, reversed President Pervez Musharraf's policy of including the military in politics and removes a key pillar of support from him. A senior military source told The Daily Telegraph that "the move includes plans to overhaul the role of the military intelligence...

NEW YORK - He is a man on a climate-changing mission. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday his No. 1 priority is persuading the world — and most problematically, its biggest polluter, the United States — to agree to new controls on global-warming gases before the end of 2009. "First priority will be addressing this climate change," he said in an interview with Associated Press editors. "We will have to work very hard to be able to agree on a universal, global agreement before the end of 2009." Ban did not hesitate when asked to name the biggest obstacle to...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2007 – Ask Master Chief Petty Officer Bruce “Skip” Binda why he joined the Navy nearly three decades ago and he’ll tell you it was a matter of pride. At 19, Binda had spent all of his tuition money on beer and eight-track music cassettes and was too proud to ask his father for the $200 he needed to return to college. Along came a Navy commercial proffering $1,500 to join, and Binda took the bait “hook, line and sinker,” he said. Since joining in 1980, he has served on one submarine and 10 ships and served...

Arrest warrants have been issued charging the police chief of the small west Georgia town of Luthersville with rape, false imprisonment, violation of oath of office and false imprisonment under color of legal process. A second officer in the Meriwether County town also has been charged in connection with the case. Late last month, the Meriwether sheriff's office requested the GBI's assistance in investigating allegations of sexual assault by Chief David Yates against a Luthersville woman Aug. 24, according to GBI spokesman John Bankhead. The charge of false imprisonment under color of legal process stems from an Aug. 17 incident...

Nuclear watchdog chief warns of 'last chance' for Iran International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei gives a press conference in July 2007. If Iran fails to resolve its nuclear dispute by the end of the year, it may be passing by its last chance to do so, the UN atomic energy agency head said in an interview due out Monday. BERLIN (AFP) — If Iran fails to resolve its nuclear dispute by the end of the year, it may be passing by its last chance to do so, the UN atomic energy agency head said in an interview due...

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei named a new head for the elite Revolutionary Guard, an organization Washington is looking to list as a terrorist group, state media announced Saturday. No reason was given for the change and it was not clear if the reshuffle would affect the possible U.S. move to pressure businesses the corps is thought to control, from construction to oil sectors. The United States accuses the Guard of responsibility for terrorist acts abroad and especially violence against American forces in Iraq. Khamenei appointed Mohammed Ali Jafari, described only as a senior figure in...

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - The treaty that will eventually replace the Kyoto Protocol on climate change could be a potpourri of legal obligations, nonbinding commitments and aid arrangements for the developing world, but each nation should choose its own course, the U.N.'s top climate official said Thursday. At the outset of a season of climate negotiations, Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, said countries such as the United States are mistaken if they dismiss the Kyoto process on the grounds it is forcing them into unwanted legal commitments. "Countries themselves are in the best...

Act now to beat young thugs, says police chief By Martin Beckford Last Updated: 2:40am BST 15/08/2007 A senior police officer yesterday issued a devastating critique of the way towns were being blighted by violent, drunken youths who had made people afraid to walk the streets. Garry Newlove was killed after confronting a gang of youths outside his home in Cheshire last week Speaking after the death of a father allegedly at the hands of teenage yobs, Peter Fahy, the Chief Constable of Cheshire, blamed parents for abdicating responsibility for their children and shops that sold cheap alcohol. A "hard...

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Cambodia's international genocide tribunal charged the head of a Khmer Rouge torture center with crimes against humanity on Tuesday, a historic first indictment against a top figure in the communist regime that created Cambodia's infamous killing fields. The suspect, Kaing Guek Eav, has acknowledged heading the S-21 prison, where the Khmer Rouge's suspected enemies were tortured before being taken to killing fields near the capital. An estimated 1.7 million people died from hunger, disease, overwork and execution when the Khmer Rouge was in power in 1975-79. The 62-year-old, also known as Duch, was one of five...

BP chief Lord Browne has quit after admitting he lied to the High Court over how he met his gay lover. Following his resignation, Lord Browne said: "In my 41 years with BP I have kept my private life separate from my business life. I have always regarded my sexuality as a personal matter, to be kept private."

THE leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was killed today in an internal fight between insurgents north of Baghdad, the Interior Ministry spokesman said. Brigadier-General Abdul Kareem Khalaf told said "we have definite intelligence reports that al Masri was killed today". Another source in the ministry also said Masri had been killed. Khalaf said the battle happened near a bridge in the small town of al-Nibayi, north of Baghdad. Both Gen Khalaf and the other source in the ministry said the authorities did not have Masri's body. The US military said it could not confirm the reports....

£60k atomic authority chief has 30 other jobs By Andrew Pierce Last Updated: 1:12am BST 23/04/2007 The nuclear industry was embroiled in a potential new crisis yesterday with the businesswoman running the body responsible for the clean-up of the Sellafield site facing ministerial questions over the number of other jobs she holds. Ministers have been urged to intervene after it emerged that Lady Judge, who is paid £60,000 by the Government for a two-day week as chairman of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), has 30 other directorships. Last week the authority announced checks on the medical records of...

To members of the campus community, A decision has been made regarding the Chief Illiniwek tradition. For more information, go to: www.uillinois.edu/chief If you receive any questions or concerns regarding the decision, please feel free to use the following reply. "Thank you for your comments about the recently announced decision on Chief Illiniwek. For more information, please refer to this web page: www.uillinois.edu/chief You can email comments by clicking on Contact/Feedback link [InfoSource@uillinois.edu] in the top section of the web page."

MEXICO CITY - Authorities on Wednesday announced the capture of a purported drug cartel leader, the first major drug arrest under the administration of President Felipe Calderon, who has pledged a nationwide war against the drug trade. Pedro Diaz Parada was arrested in the country's southern state of Oaxaca on Tuesday and taken to Mexico City. He faces charges of organized crime and drug trafficking, the attorney general's office said in a news release. Prosecutors say Diaz Parada founded the cartel named after him in Mexico's southeastern region. Federal police and soldiers stopped the sport utility vehicle in which Diaz...

Israel's military chief resigned over the failures of the Lebanon war, in a second blow to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's unpopular government after a graft probe was launched. In what several newspapers called an "earthquake", Lieutenant General Dan Halutz became the most senior head to roll over last year's war against Lebanon's Hezbollah militia, which has been bitterly criticized in Israel. "I have accomplished the objective that was set for me at the end of the Lebanon war, which was to study and learn the lessons from what transpired," wrote Halutz, 58, in his letter of resignation. "I consider under...

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - An Afghan insurgent leader operating from inside Pakistan sent some 200 ill-equipped fighters, some wearing plastic bags on their feet, into Afghanistan where most were killed in a major battle this week, a top U.S. general said Saturday. Maj. Gen. Benjamin Freakley said that Jalaluddin Haqqani recruited and sent unemployed and untrained men to fight in Afghanistan. U.S. forces killed about 130 fighters moving in two groups in the eastern province of Paktika late Wednesday and early Thursday, one of the largest winter battles in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. "There's Taliban leaders...

Chief of Chaplains Brings Encouragement and Support Chaplain tours Iraq and Afghanistan bringing support and leadership to the region. By Army Sgt. Victoria Willoughby345th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment SALERNO, Afghanistan, Dec. 19, 2006 -- Army Maj. Gen. David H. Hicks, the Army chief of chaplains, visited Salerno Nov. 28, as part of a tour through Afghanistan and Iraq designed to bring support and encouragement to chaplains, chaplain’s assistants and leaders at the battalion and brigade levels. “My objective is to visit with and put my arms around -- I mean that figuratively -- as many soldiers, leaders and unit...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11, 2006 – Winning the global war on terror requires a national consensus, with support demonstrated in actions as well as words, the Army’s chief of staff told hundreds of soldiers and defense industry representatives here yesterday. That means ensuring troops on the front lines have what they need to succeed, Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker told attendees at the Association of the U.S. Army annual meeting. Soldiers have a reasonable expectation that their country will ensure they’re trained, equipped and resourced for the missions they’re called to conduct, the general said. “This resonates loud and clear,” he said....

Tuesday, October 10, 2006 by Staff Writer Israel pleased with new UN Chief Israel has expressed its satisfaction with the nomination of South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon to be the next Secretary General of the United Nations. The UN Security Council has unanimously selected Ki-Moon for the position and is only waiting for the formal approval of the General Assembly. Ki-Moon will start working on January 1, 2007. The great satisfaction in Jerusalem stems from Ki-Moon’s close relations with Israel and his personal relationship with many Israeli officials, including Eitan Haber, who was Yitzhak Rabin’s chief of staff. Sources...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2006 – An Iraqi police chief survived an insurgent ambush Oct. 3, urging his troops to continue the mission, and Iraqi and U.S. soldiers captured three high-value terrorists and 25 others in Baghdad Oct. 3, military officials in Iraq reported today. The Iraqi police chief was wounded when his patrol was ambushed while in pursuit of suspected insurgents in the city of Baghdadi, Iraq. Col. Shaban al Obeidi was evacuated to a nearby U.S. military medical facility by helicopter for treatment and was reported in good condition. One policeman was killed in the attack. When asked if...

Al-Qaeda chief kills Turkish hostage on film By Paul Willis (Filed: 24/09/2006) A video purporting to show the new leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq murdering a Turkish hostage has appeared on the internet. If authentic, the recording would be the first known footage of Abu Ayyoub al-Masri, a Sunni Muslim who is said to have assumed leadership of the organisation after the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in an American airstrike in June. The items were posted on Friday night with a statement identifying Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, as the executioner. Masri appears flanked by two men...

Iran could cut West's oil supplies in event of war, warns American chief in Gulf By Alec Russell in Washington (Filed: 21/09/2006) Iran could trigger a global terrorist campaign and choke the West's oil supplies in the event of war with America, the top US commander in the region has warned. In a rare public discussion of how a war with Iran might unfold, Gen John Abizaid, the chief of the US Central Command, gave a sobering assessment of Iran's military potential. He warned that in a war Iran would rely on unconventional means to challenge America's superiority. "Number one,...

Britain must regain a pride in its identity, Chief Rabbi warns By Jonathan Wynne-Jones (Filed: 17/09/2006) A crisis of national and social identity is undermining Britain's efforts to integrate its immigrant population, according to the Chief Rabbi. Sir Jonathan Sacks told The Sunday Telegraph that multiculturalism had led to segregation and a country that was no longer confident of what it stood for. Sir Jonathan: 'Britain used to know who and what it was' It needed to regain a sense of pride in being British, he said, but must be less afraid to allow ethnic minorities to contribute to society,...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill Wednesday that includes a provision added in the waning days of the legislative session allowing his administration to nearly double the pay of 50 top state bosses. Under Assembly Bill 2936, the workers -- mostly heads of agencies and departments -- could get as much as 125 percent of the governor's salary, although the governor says he intends to extend the raise to only one or two officials. Schwarzenegger doesn't take his pay. But in 2007, the salary assigned to his office is scheduled to increase to $206,500. That would mean the top administrators...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2006 – One result of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, was the establishment of U.S. Northern Command to deal with threats aimed at the United States, the organization’s commander said here today. During an interview at the Pentagon’s Radio Day event, Navy Adm. Timothy Keating spoke his personal experiences during the attack and about his command. Keating, who is also the commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command, was the Navy’s director of operations in the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. “I was in the operations update when the news hit of the first plane...

WASHINGTON, Sep. 3, 2006 – An Iraqi Army unit caught a mid-level leader of an illegal militia group during an early-morning Aug. 31 raid in southeastern Baghdad, according to Multinational Corps Iraq officials. The Iraqi soldiers, accompanied by coalition advisers, were specifically looking for the militia’s chieftain, officials said, noting that he is believed to be responsible for inciting sectarian violence, fear and instability through acts of intimidation and murder. He also was wanted for authorizing the acquisition and use of heavy weapons and improvised explosive devices employed in attacks on Iraqi citizens and coalition troops. No civilians or Iraqi...

'Hezbollah is arming Gaza for a new war on Israel', says Israel's spy chief By Michael Hirst and Clancy Chassay (Filed: 03/09/2006) Israel's spy chief has given a warning that Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip are garnering increasing numbers of weapons and tactical expertise from Hezbollah fighters since the war in southern Lebanon erupted earlier this summer. Yuval Diskin, the director of Shin Bet, Israel's equivalent of MI5, said Egypt's Sinai Peninsula was being used as a terrorist base and fast becoming a haven for arms smugglers preparing to shift their wares into the Gaza Strip. He added that...

Migrants changing Britain, says race chief By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor (Filed: 30/08/2006) Immigration to Britain today is fundamentally different from previous settlements because it is changing the composition of the nation, the head of the Commission for Racial Equality said last night. Trevor Phillips, who provoked controversy last year by challenging the concept of multiculturalism and saying that Britain was "sleepwalking to segregation", said the social significance of the current wave of immigration was being overlooked. More young people were arriving to compete for jobs with settled workers and a growing number of incomers were setting up their...