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After a somewhat eery silence, Mexican actress Kate del Castillo has finally hit back over Sean Penn's controversial interview with kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. The actress claims she feels "betrayed" and "used" by Sean Penn, after the actor penned his interview with Guzmán for Rolling Stone magazine. Del Castillo's last tweet was on January 13, thanking her followers for their support. With Guzmán back behind bars once again, Penn recently spoke out over his 'vigilante' style of journalism. Castillo denied having been involved in arranging the meeting between the actor and El Chapo. However, Castillo herself now faces questioning...

TOKYO (AP) -- Here's a bit of Super Bowl trivia: North Korea's newest satellite passed almost right over the stadium just an hour after it ended. Whatever motives Pyongyang may have about using its rocket launches to develop nuclear-tipped long-range missiles, it now has two satellites circling the Earth, according to NORAD, the North American Aerospace Command, which monitors all satellites in orbit. Both of the Kwangmyongsong, or "Shining Star," satellites complete their orbits in about 94 minutes and based on data released by international organizations tracking them, the new one passed almost right over Levi's Stadium about an hour...

A day before the New Hampshire primary, presidential hopefuls Jeb Bush and Donald Trump rehashed their ongoing public feud. The latest developments in the back-and-forth took place Monday on "Morning Joe," where Bush was asked about Trump. "I find it remarkable, when you have the chance to talk about his temperament, as Ted Cruz was, and he totally ignored it ... when Marco Rubio had a chance to say that Trump is not a conservative - which he is not - he totally ignored it. I mean, you don't want to bully that way." Bush was later asked to pick...

A conspirator who helped plot the 2008 Mumbai attack in which 164 people were killed, including six Jews and an Israeli citizen, told an Indian court Monday that the 10 gunmen in the attack received assistance from Pakistan's military intelligence agency [ISI], according to The New York Times. David C. Headly, who is of Pakistani-American heritage and is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence for an unrelated conviction, told the Indian court via teleconference that he was in contact with two ISI handlers throughout the planning stages of the attack and was paid to make reconnaissance trips to India.

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — At least two separate GOP presidential campaigns’ internal polling data shows a demonstrable and significant slide for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) after his widely panned debate performance—where New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie targeted him—Breitbart News has learned. A pro-Ohio Gov. John Kasich Super PAC published, via Politico, internal polling numbers showing a drop off for Rubio after Christie exposed him during the debate. In that poll, Rubio fell down to 10 percent and into fourth place. “Most of the polling conducted in the immediate days before the debate showed Rubio in second place,” Politico’s Alex Isenstadt...

Rand Paul is out, so what does this mean for the realistic future of 2016? It means what I've been saying for a while, Senator Ted Cruz will take his campaign all the way. There is now pretending that Ted Cruz is a libertarian, he is as conservative as they come, in the traditional sense. The difference between Cruz and Paul though is this; Cruz never pretended to be something he wasn't, he has much adoration for libertarians, and has stated time and time again that when certain challenges come about, there is a need for a coalition. Senator Rand...

A former Mexican president had some tough words when asked about GOP candidate Donald Trump's much-touted plan to build a border wall that he says will be paid for by Mexico. "We are not going to pay any single cent for such a stupid wall! And it's going to be completely useless," said former Mexican president Felipe Calderón when asked about this at the AmCham Egypt for Business Conference on Sunday. Calderón told CNBC's Hadley Gamble his country will not be funding the construction of the wall, also adding that while Trump blames Mexican migration for the majority of illegal...

Reiterating his belief that homosexuality is 'not a sin,' the Republican governor of New Jersey signed a bill into law on Monday that bans the use of conversion or reparative therapy, or to otherwise help youth who are struggling with homosexual feelings to overcome their temptations. Governor Chris Christie's office released a statement during the day outlining that Assembly Bill 3371 had been signed into law following its passage in both state houses in June. Text of the bill notes that the law bans "the practice of seeking to change a person's sexual orientation, including, but not limited to, efforts...

The bipartisan Open Secrets blog reported that a small number of Americans, led by George Soros, donated $100 million to Presidential Super PACs in the second half of 2015. Federal Election Commission filings of 21 different Super PACs supporting the top 13 major party candidates show "29 individuals or organizations who gave $1 million or more" for a total of $99.4 million collected in a six-month period. Adding in the 13 campaign committees, to total raised in the second half of 2015 was $260 million. Democrat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pocketed the largest individual single Super PAC donation...

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton on Sunday said there is a "double standard" that frowns upon women giving impassioned speeches. "Look, we are still living with a double standard," Clinton said on CNN's "State of the Union." "I know it. Every woman I know knows it." "You know, sometimes I talk soft, sometimes I get passionate, and I get a little bit excited. I don't know any man who doesn't do the same thing, and I find it kind of interesting that this is a big discussion about me once again." Clinton, who has openly campaigned on the historic nature...

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- With the hours counting down until the New Hampshire primary, tensions between the Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush campaigns are intensifying. On Sunday afternoon, Bush campaign manager Danny Diaz convened top aides for an afternoon conference call in which he told them to expect "dirty tricks" from the Rubio campaign in the run-up to voting here, according to one source on the call. The source said Diaz, a hard-charging veteran operative, was not more specific. The conference call came as the Huffington Post reported that a pro-Rubio super PAC had sent out a mailer in the state...

..... The Republican presidential candidate has repeatedly said that "Muslims love him" despite his provocative policies, but has so far failed to name any single individual Muslim supporter. Asked by the Telegraph to elaborate, Mr Trump again ducked the question responding: "Oh, I could give you about 20 of them."... Donald Trump Junior, Mr Trump's son, was also unable to tell the Telegraph who his father's Muslim friends were, saying only that they had "completed a lot of business deals" in the Middle East.

Welcome to the Free Republic CaucusPlease read the rules, and participate according to the guidelines provided.  Thank you. REMEMBER:  To find the Caucus thread for the day, Search "Caucus".       The New Hampshire Primary takes place in one day. Only vote on this thread on: 02/08/2016  another thread will pop up five minutes before: 02/09/2016Wait to vote until 12:00 midnight EST, and don't vote after 12:00 midnight EST at the at the end of the day.  Look for the new thread. Votes outside the 24 hour period, will not be counted.  Give it five minutes or so on...

During her three political campaigns, including an $18 million run for the U.S. Senate in 2014, Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes reported paying $111,831 to Lexington companies owned by her father, former state Democratic Party chairman Jerry Lundergan, and $41,745 more in direct payments to him and other family members, for various services. One Lundergan company purchased and provided Grimes with a 45-foot tour bus she used for her Senate campaign. Another owns The Carrick House on North Limestone, where she held several major events. Grimes and Lundergan also shared Lexington attorney Robert "Coley" Stilz III, who was...

Auto giant Ford is planning a new assembly plant south of the U.S. border, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, and will sharply increase factory output from Mexico just months after signing a labor deal. Citing people familiar with the matter, The Journal reported that Ford will add half a million units of annual capacity from Mexico starting in 2018, which is double the amount it built in 2015. The new assembly complex will be based in An Luis Potosi, and Ford will expand an existing facility near Mexico City, the publication added.

Peterborough, New Hampshire (CNN)Ted Cruz told a New Hampshire audience Sunday that requiring women to sign up for the draft is "nuts," breaking with the views of several Republican presidential rivals. Two days before the New Hampshire primary Cruz veered off his stump speech to blast his GOP competitors on the issue, which came up at the ABC debate Saturday. Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush and Chris Christie all said or suggested they'd support women being required to enroll in Selective Service and be eligible for the draft, since female service members can now serve in combat roles. Cruz was not...

  For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.   Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!   ~ Hall of Heroes ~ Richard D. Winters Info from here.             Major Richard "Dick" D. Winters (January 21, 1918 - January 2, 2011) was a United States Army officer and decorated war veteran. He commanded Company "E", 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, during World War II.Winters parachuted into Normandy in the early hours of D-Day, and fought across France,...

Sen. Ted Cruz holds a narrow lead over Sen. Marco Rubio and Donald Trump among Republican voters in a new Talk Business/Hendrix College poll. Here's the breakdown: 11% Ben Carson 27% Ted Cruz 4% John Kasich 23% Marco Rubio 23% Donald Trump 1% Jeb Bush 1% Gov. Chris Christie 4% Carly Fiorina 6% Don't Know Meanwhile, not surprisingly, Hillary Clinton holds a broad lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders. 57% Hillary Clinton 25% Bernie Sanders 18% Don't Know The poll also asked Republican voters how they felt about Mike Huckabee and Gov. Hutchinson. Both were pretty well liked. Their endorsement of...

Gazan mental health experts are claiming that the Israeli blockade on Gaza is causing more cases of mental health disorders in the populace due to the unemployment rate and the continued degradation of the local economy. The head of the department for the development of health in the Gaza Health Ministry, Hashim al-Mudlal, told the Palestine news paper that statistics are showing a rise in the number of people who are requesting mental health services in the various clinics around Gaza. Among the symptoms that are being described to health workers are hypertension, lack of urinary control, and mental disturbances....

The man who stabbed and lightly wounded an Israeli soldier Sunday morning in the southern coastal city of Ashkelon has been identified as a Sudanese national. The attacker was shot and seriously injured after fleeing the scene of the stabbing; he later died of his wounds at the hospital. Police initially believed the stabbing near the city's central bus station was part of an ongoing wave of Arab terror attacks across Israel. Now, however, the motive for the stabbing is unclear. The Sudanese national, said to be in his 20s, arrived at Ben Gurion Boulevard in Ashkelon shortly before 8:30...