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As Sen. Mitt Romney touted his federal infrastructure bill Thursday, he also took a moment to recognize the deaths of U.S. military members in suicide bombings in Afghanistan, saying it was “wrong” to withdraw troops from the country. “We were wrong, both President [Donald] Trump and President [Joe] Biden, to take our troops out of Afghanistan,” Romney said. “... A tragedy occurred today. I hope there are no more.” The Utah Republican’s remarks came shortly after Biden gave a speech vowing to retaliate for the attack. ISIS-K, an offshoot of the Islamic State group, has been blamed for the bombing....

In fairness to Trump, he heard that directly from China’s president (or so he says). What was he supposed to do, be skeptical of Chinese nationalist propaganda?If you can’t trust Xi Jinping to shoot straight with you about a western-allied country within China’s sphere of influence, who can you trust? In an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week, Trump said Xi told him during a recent summit that “Korea actually used to be a part of China.” The comments sparked outrage in Seoul and became an issue in South Korea’s presidential race, prompting the foreign ministry to...

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz arrived Jan. 4 at the first stop on a six-day tour of Iowa. The Republican presidential candidate was set to visit 28 counties by bus. (Photo by Patrick Svitek) WASHINGTON — In the more than 200 events he's held since launching his campaign for the White House 10 months ago, Ted Cruz has tested out an unorthodox strategy, one that could rewrite the rules of Republican presidential politics.Since the Texas senator declared his candidacy in March, 40 percent of his public events have taken place in Iowa, according to a Texas Tribune analysis of his travel schedule as of Saturday. But...

Ted Cruz has assembled an impressive presidential campaign structure in Iowa, veteran political observers here say, with one going so far as to describe Cruz’s campaign as perhaps "the most sophisticated" the first in the nation caucus state has ever witnessed. Because of that grass roots organization, Cruz is primed to maintain his recent surge in the polls and win the Iowa Republican caucuses in five weeks, those observers say. Cruz, the Tea Party firebrand and first term U.S. Sen. from Texas, was the first Republican candidate to enter the presidential race, on March 23. Nine months later, he has...

DES MOINES | Ted Cruz has assembled an impressive presidential campaign structure in Iowa, veteran political observers here say, with one going so far as to describe Cruz's campaign as perhaps "the most sophisticated" the first-in-the-nation caucus state has ever witnessed.Because of that grassroots organization, Cruz is primed to maintain his recent surge in the polls and win the Iowa Republican caucuses in five weeks, those observers say.Cruz, a tea party firebrand and first-term U.S. senator from Texas, was the first Republican candidate to enter the presidential race, on March 23. Nine months later, he has overtaken longtime front-runner Donald...

During a weekend campaign stop in south Alabama, Republican senator and presidential hopeful Ted Cruz said he had "three words" for people questioning whether the southern border can be secured: "Secretary Jeff Sessions." "We are going to deport criminal illegal aliens, we are going to pass Kate's Law [mandatory minimum sentences for illegal immigrants who are deported but later return to the U.S.], we are going to end welfare benefits for those here illegally," Cruz told a raucous crowd of over 1,300 Alabamians. "For anyone who wonders, 'Can we really secure the border?' I've got three words for you: Secretary...