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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A police union official says the suburban St. Louis officer who fatally shot Michael Brown does not expect to face criminal charges.

On behalf of myself and my family I hope that this Christmas Season continues to be full of peace and joy for you and your loved ones. The greatest honor of my lifetime has been the opportunity to serve my Iowa neighbors in the United States House of Representatives. And, as I travel around the state I take great pride and joy in the many accomplishments that you and I have worked to achieve on behalf of our great state. As I noted earlier this year, my service to Iowa has never been motivated by titles, accolades or a drive...

WATERLOO | Gail Boliver is a Republican who doesn't go to tea parties. But he wants to go to Washington as northeastern Iowa's next member of Congress. He's the latest of a host of individuals, nine in all, seeking to succeed U.S. 1st Dist. Rep. Bruce Braley, who's running for the Senate. Boliver, a Marshalltown attorney, wants the federal government to get its financial house in order, let business create jobs and stay out of people's bedrooms. "As a Republican I stand for government that's not intrusive in business or in my personal life. Or in anyone's personal life," he...

EVANSDALE, Iowa --- Authorities today said hunters found two bodies in a wooded area. While they did not say they were the missing girls from Evansdale, law officers said it was not the end they had hoped. Capt. Rick Abben said the two bodies were found in an undisclosed wooded area about 12:45 p.m. Wednesday. The bodies have been taken to the state medical examiner's office for an autopsy and to get a positive identification. Elizabeth Collins, now 9, of Evansdale, and Lyric Cook-Morrissey, now 11, of Waterloo, who are cousins, have been missing from Evansdale since July 13 --...

Take note, veep watchers: Earlier today, a charter plane took off in Boston, stopped in Chicago, then flew to the tiny airport in Janesville, Wis. Janesville, of course, is the hometown of Representative Paul Ryan, a top vice-presidential contender. According to a source on the ground, the plane is still in Wisconsin. Tomorrow morning, Mitt Romney will visit the U.S.S. Wisconsin in Norfolk, Va. For what it’s worth, Ryan is scheduled to be on vacation in Colorado. --snip--

Link only per FR rules.

When Governor Terry Branstad appoints State Senator Swati Dandekar to the Iowa Utilities Board this afternoon, he not only appointed Dandekar to a well-paid full time position, but in doing so, he created an opportunity for Republicans to claim partial control of the Iowa Senate. In order to take the position Dandekar will resign from her State Senate seat immediately, which means a special election looms. It is not out of the realm of possibility that when the legislature reconvenes next January, the chamber could be divided evenly with 25 Democrats and 25 Republicans. Democrats currently hold 26 of the...

From Simon Conway's Facebook page: "SOURCES CLOSE TO THE CAMP..... As predicted on my show nine days ago, Sarah Palin to announce for the Presidency tomorrow (Friday) - the day Constitution Day is observed. We'll be talking about it on 540 WFLA from 6am Eastern...."

A complicated attack involving multiple gunmen and apparent suicide bombers was underway in the heart of the Afghan capital Tuesday morning, and it appeared to be focused near the U.S. Embassy. CBS News staff in Kabul reported hearing heavy gunfire and at least seven explosions, some of them large. The situation was described as "chaotic", and it remained unclear how many people were wounded. A Taliban spokesman claimed there were several militants inside at least one building near the embassy district in Kabul, and that the targets of the attack were Afghan government ministries and the intelligence services. The Taliban's...

WATERLOO, Iowa --- Texas Gov. Rick Perry will be making his first appearance in the Cedar Valley Sunday at the Black Hawk County Republicans' Lincoln Day dinner. Both Mac McDonald, the county GOP chairman, and Mark Miner, a Perry spokesman, confirmed his appearance today. This will also Perry's first visit after the Iowa Straw Poll in Ames on Saturday. Perry has not officially announced his intentions to run, but he's widely rumored to be considering a bid. Perry will be speaking at a fundraiser in South Carolina, the first Southern primary, according to the Associated Press. Black Hawk County officials...

A recent survey of likely Republican caucus goers shows that support of federal subsidies for the ethanol industry has waned significantly in recent years. The poll, which was commissioned by TheIowaRepublican.com, finds that Iowa Republicans view a candidate who supports ending federal ethanol subsidies more favorably than a candidate who doesn’t. The survey asked, “Some of the candidates have proposed to end federal subsidies for ethanol. Do you have a very positive, somewhat positive, somewhat negative, or very negative reaction to candidates taking this position?” Forty-seven percent responded by answering very or somewhat positive. Only 24 percent of respondents said...

I attended this evening's premiere of The Undefeated in Pella, Iowa with several of my friends. I thought it might be beneficial to provide my firsthand account of the night's events. We arrived in Pella about 3:30pm, which gave us a little time to kill before doors were to open. We decided to visit the famed Jaarsma Bakery, known for their Dutch Letters and other pastries; some of us wanted to purchase goodies to take home. There were quite a few people milling around, and there was a line clear out the door of the bakery; given its reputation we...

Magician and Miss USA judge Penn Jillette says he's happy a pageant queen from Tennessee lost to Miss California USA Alyssa Campanella because her onstage answer to a question about burning Qurans ran afoul of the First Amendment. [snip] Durham responded to a question about whether burning religious items should be afforded the same constitutional protections as flag burning by saying it crossed a line and shouldn't be allowed.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) I will announce the next step in my plans for 2012 during my show on the Fox News Channel. I would like to be able to call you or email you personally and in advance of the announcement, but due to the fact that the decision was not finalized until today and that I committed to Fox that I will absolutely not release it prior to doing so on the channel, that became impractical. [snip] It was this afternoon before I could even get word to all of my own children and even now, the executive producer...

ATLANTA (AP) --- Newt Gingrich, the House speaker who led a national GOP resurgence in the 1990s before facing ethics questions and resigning, is running for president. Gingrich's announcement, made on social networking websites Monday, came after months of public flirting with a bid. He enters a slow-to-form GOP presidential field that has left some Republicans craving more options as they search for a nominee strong enough to credibly challenge President Barack Obama. The former Georgia congressman, well-known to most Republicans, brings to the race a years-in-the-making political machine with ties to early nominating states as well as a network...

Please pardon this brief departure from my normal folderol, but every so often a member of the chattering class issues a nugget of stupidity so egregious that no amount of mockery will suffice. Particularly when the issuer of said stupidity holds a Nobel Prize. [snip] Similarly, The Economist passes on what appears to be the cut-'n'-paste lefty factoid du jour: Only 5 states do not have collective bargaining for educators and have deemed it illegal. Those states and their ranking on ACT/SAT scores are as follows: South Carolina – 50th North Carolina – 49th Georgia – 48th Texas – 47th...

Revolutions everywhere--in the middle east, in the middle west. But there is a difference: in the middle east, the protesters are marching for democracy; in the middle west, they're protesting against it. I mean, Isn't it, well, a bit ironic that the protesters in Madison, blocking the state senate chamber, are chanting "Freedom, Democracy, Union" while trying to prevent a vote? Isn't it ironic that the Democratic Senators have fled the democratic process? Isn't it interesting that some of those who--rightly--protest the assorted Republican efforts to stymie majority rule in the U.S. Senate are celebrating the Democratic efforts to stymie...

Earth to taxpayers! Owning stocks in banks is not nationalization of the banking industry. It´s trying to solve a problem. The unprecedented financial crisis has caused the Treasury of the United States to take unprecedented measures to help solve the problem of frozen credit and cash flow for U.S. businesses. Most of us had dreams of what we wanted to be when we grew up as children. Some of us wanted to grow up and become a fireman, a policeman, a doctor, a nurse, a lawyer, a teacher, an actor, an engineer, a writer, a dancer, a chef or any...

WASHINGTON DC - Elusive Wikileaks founder Julian Assange made a rare public appearance today at the White House to accept his award as Great Satan Infidel of the Year for 2010. The annual prize, bestowed by the Zionist Crusader Club of Washington, honors "exemplary individual achievement in the humiliation of Islam and its holy prophet." Award presenter Israel U.S. Americastein cited Assange for his "tireless efforts in creating and distributing over 15,000 blasphemous cartoon images of Mohammed, as well as single-handedly writing the Stuxnet virus that crippled Iran's nuclear program - all while defiling over 50 Muslim virgins." In accepting...

ALGONA, Iowa --- A Minnesota teenager has been charged with first-degree murder and first-degree robbery in the shooting deaths Monday night of convenience store clerks in Algona and Humboldt. The suspect is identified as Michael Richard Swanson, 17, of St. Louis Park, Minn. Vicky Bowman-Hall, 47, employed by Cenex in Algona, and Sheila Myers, 61, a clerk at the Kum & Go in Humboldt were identified as the two victims of the shootings, said Todd Holmes, Kossuth County Attorney at a news conference at 1 p.m. at Algona City Hall. No hometowns of the victims are yet available. According to...