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The Obama administration overturned a ban preventing a wealthy, politically connected Ecuadorean woman from entering the United States after her family gave tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic campaigns, according to finance records and government officials. The woman, Estefanía Isaías, had been barred from coming to the United States after being caught fraudulently obtaining visas for her maids. But the ban was lifted at the request of the State Department under former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton so that Ms. Isaías could work for an Obama fund-raiser with close ties to the administration.

WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed three Texans Tuesday night for lifetime judicial appointments, capping an effort to fill vacancies in the state that have languished for years. The nominees — U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman of San Antonio, Texarkana lawyer Robert Schroeder III and Sherman Magistrate Judge Amos Mazzant III — were approved by a voice vote on Congress’ final night this year. Pitman, the first openly gay U.S. attorney in Texas history, will be the state’s first openly gay federal judge.

Vladimir Putin is suddenly feeling the squeeze. The Russian president, earlier this year a swashbuckling land-grabber who seemed to confound the West, finds himself in a three-way economic vise — tumbling oil prices, punishing sanctions and now a collapse in his country's currency. "He really is going to be hit by a perfect storm," said Andrew Kuchins, director of the Russia program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies. "Although much of it is his own making." The value of the Russian ruble plunged by as much as 20 percent on Tuesday despite a desperate attempt by the central...

Earlier tonight, Curtis Houck at NewsBusters observed that the Tuesday evening network news shows failed to report on an opinion issued today by a federal judge in Western Pennsylvania in connection with President Obama's illegal immigration-related executive actions last month. Several blogs and center-right outlets noted Judge Arthur Schwab's 38-page "Memorandum Opinion" this afternoon. Not that this excuses the networks, but a search at the Associated Press's national site just before 8 p.m. on Schwab's last name (unfortunately not saved) returned nothing relevant. But shortly after 8 p.m. a story with a time stamp of 5:08 p.m. with Schwab's name...

The dramatic fall in Russia's ruble slowed on Wednesday, with the government selling foreign currency to prop it up after a 50 percent fall against the dollar this year. Losses were partly contained by exporters selling dollars in preparation for paying their monthly tax bills but the slide was less precipitous than in the past two days when it fell about 20 percent against the dollar. At 0508 ET, the ruble was down around 1.6 percent against the dollar at 68.58 rubles per dollar and was 0.3 percent weaker versus the euro at 85.40.

A fight over a bill at a popular South Florida restaurant spiraled into a brawl Sunday, as angry patrons hurled glass mugs, chairs and Christmas ornaments in a melee that left a waiter hospitalized, police say. ---- snip When police arrived, the party that had started the fight left the restaurant and were outside in the parking lot. Multiple witnesses identified several of the patrons as being involved in the brawl, including 29-year-old Roosevelt LaGuerre, 29-year-old Claude Galland, 25-year-old Eurasha Fonseca and 19-year-old Abby Gay Thompson.

Russians are watching their country suffer another avoidable economic calamity. The blame for this rests largely with the disastrous policies of President Vladimir Putin, who has consistently put his ego, his territorial ambitions and the financial interests of his cronies ahead of the needs of his country. ........................................................ Long before he annexed the Crimean peninsula and began backing pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, Mr. Putin created an economic system that allowed a coterie of insiders to grow wealthy on Russia’s vast oil and gas reserves. He did little to diversify the economy or to make it more resilient. Now Russian...

In the wake of a New York grand jury deciding not to indict police officer Daniel Pantaleo for the chokehold death of Eric Garner, racially diverse protests instantly erupted across the nation. White faces could be seen in swelling crowds from NYC and D.C., to Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit and Denver. Their mouths covered with masking tape with the words "I can't breathe" scrawled over it. The righteousness of racial solidarity burning in their eyes as they joined in chanting, "Black lives matter! Black lives matter! Black lives matter!" This is not to say that there were not White allies...

The New York Daily News blasted Howard Stern and called him an “idiot” Tuesday after the radio host compared the Sony hacking assault, in which embarrassing emails and other papers were released, to the terrorist attack on 9/11 that left almost 3,000 people dead. The front page newspaper headline declared the self-described “King of all Media” as the “Cringe of all Media” and on the inside pages it published a photo of Stern next to a picture of the World Trade Center towers on fire. “Hey Howard… this is 9/11, idiot,” the copy blared.

Just when President Obama thought it was safe to show his face in an American courtroom again, in walks John Wayne in a black robe to deliver one of the greatest legal beatdowns ever suffered by a sitting president. Except for all the other beatings President Obama has already endured in federal court and from Supreme Court justices, including the ones he himself picked. And this guy still sells himself as some kind of constitutional law expert? Already, the Supreme Court has ruled against Mr. Obama some thirteen times. And that’s just counting the instances where the Supreme Court ruled...

* Bush-appointed jurist rules the White House 'amnesty' plan is an example of legislation – something only Congress can do * Democratic U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Richard Blumenthal sniped to MailOnline that Schwab is 'wrong' and made 'an incorrect decision' * Judge dismissed administration's claim that it is using 'prosecutorial discretion' to decide which illegal immigrants it will stop deporting * 'President Obama's unilateral legislative action violates the separation of powers provided for in the U.S. Constitution,' judge Arthur Schwab ruled * GOP Senator John Thune said Obama hadn't yet 'got the message' about his party's stinging November election...

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson issued a series of memorandums on the same day the President Barack Obama announced he would take executive action to protect millions of illegal aliens from being deported, including ending Secure Communities, the partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement to facilitate the enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws. “The Secure Communities program, as we know it, will be discontinued,” the first line of Johnson’s Nov. 20 memo reads. […] “The goal of Secure Communities was to more effectively identify and facilitate the removal of criminal aliens in the custody of state a local...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Springfield Police responded to shots fired in the 1100 block of North Oak Park Drive shortly after 8 p.m. Saturday night. Derek Palmer, who lives just down the street from where police were investigating, witnessed the episode and explained what he heard to KY3 on Saturday night. "I heard a couple gun shots go off, came outside to check it out, and you had a guy and somebody in a car arguing for a little bit, you heard a few more gunshots go off and then the car sped off," says Palmer. Police confirmed that several shots...

Southwest Ohio authorities said Friday they arrested a man with a loaded handgun painted red to resemble a toy. The arrest came just four days after legislation was introduced in the state to require that lookalike guns be brightly colored or otherwise marked. Ohio lawmakers took up the bill following two police fatal shootings of young people carrying lookalike guns in recent months. Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil said it's "a scary thought" that guns would be painted to mislead police. Police responding to a call about a man with a gun said they found Orlando Lowery, 23, with a...

TRENTON — Bail has been lowered for a southern New Jersey man facing a gun possession count, a charge his lawyer calls "shocking" because he has no use of his arms due to a spinal condition. The Times of Trenton says 28-year-old Marcus Hubbard, of Salem, has been jailed since his arrest in Trenton in August. Authorities say he was in a car with three other men where a stolen 9mm handgun and a prescription bottle of codeine were found. All four men were eventually charged after none of them took responsibility for the items.

LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles prosecutors on Tuesday declined to file any charges against Bill Cosby after a woman recently claimed the comedian molested her around 1974. The rejection of a child sexual abuse charge by prosecutors came roughly 10 days after the woman, Judy Huth, met with Los Angeles police detectives for 90 minutes. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office rejected filing a misdemeanor charge of annoying or molesting a child under the age of 18 because the statute of limitations had passed.

New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez interceded on behalf of an Ecuadorian woman who was banned from traveling to the U.S. because of allegations she had engaged in visa fraud. The woman, Estafania Isaias, is the daughter of a fugitive from Ecuador convicted in absentia for bank fraud and whose relatives in Florida made significant campaign donations to the New Jersey Democrat's 2012 campaign and the Democratic Party. Current and former U.S. government officials tell NBC 4 New York that Estefania Isaias was barred from traveling to the U.S. in 2007 because she allegedly lied on visa applications to bring immigrant...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)CORDOVA, AL - A 15-year-old is recovering from surgery after he was reportedly attacked in his high school's restroom. His parents say he is the victim of what's been called the "knockout game." We understand Cordova police are investigating the attack that happened last Thursday, but the chief has not confirmed that yet. Matthew Cooper says he was hit with a surprise sucker punch by a friend. Now, the teenager has a break and a fracture in his jaw. He can barely open his mouth but that didn't stop him from telling Alabama's 13 News what happened to him, he...

Despite a 2007 court record claiming she lived in the same Waukesha County home she currently lives in, voting records for the executive director of the union front group Wisconsin Jobs Now shows Jennifer Epps-Addison voted in the City of Milwaukee a dozen times between 2007 and 2012. Wisconsin election records show Epps-Addison is currently registered to vote at her $369,000 Waukesha County home. While changing her voting address from the City of Milwaukee to Waukesha County’s Village of Menomonee Falls in 2012 may not seem unusual, a signed Waukesha County court document indicates Epps-Addison lived in her Waukesha County...

Before leaving Washington for more than two weeks in the Hawaiian sun, President Obama was briefed Tuesday on the possibility of terrorist threats during the holiday season. The president met with his national security team on Tuesday to discuss possible dangers, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said. Fears of a terror attack have intensified in recent days following the release of a Senate report detailing the CIA's harsh interrogation practices during the Bush administration. Those anxieties intensified after an a gunman took hostages at a downtown Sydney cafe. Two people and the gunman, and Iranian refugee, died as Australian...