Obama Set To Release Report To Congress On Alleged Russian Hacking

President Barack Obama said his administration will provide lawmakers a detailed analysis regarding allegations of Russian "efforts to interfere in our election" in addition to accusations of "malicious cyberactivity."
Congress is not currently in session and lawmakers will not return to Washington DC until after January 1, but it is expected that legislators will receive the report in a matter of days.

Obama previously ordered White House teams to prepare a report on allegations of Russian interference with US elections before his term concludes on January 20.

Trump's transition team studying new sanctions to implement on Iran

Trump Names General James Mattis as Secretary of Defense Nominee

(Reuters) - Donald Trump's transition team is examining proposals for new non-nuclear sanctions on Iran, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing congressional sources who have been in contact with the president-elect's team.

Officials with Trump's team have been in touch with fellow Republicans in Congress, where they hold the majority, to discuss possible sanctions separate from last year's Iran nuclear deal that could focus on its ballistic missile program or human rights, the sources told the FT.

"They (Trump team members) are already looking closely at their options - and that very much includes non-nuclear sanctions," a congressional official told the media outlet.

President Obama itches for Trump fight

President Barack Obama

Obama can’t wait to take on Donald Trump.

President Barack Obama has been largely sidelined in the presidential contest, a last-year officeholder with high approval ratings who has repeatedly shown he likes to spar with political foes.

With Bernie Sanders continuing to slug it out with likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Obama largely has to choose his openings to talk 2016.

So on Friday, when the White House announced Obama would make a statement about the economy, the president knew he’d get asked about Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.

And when he did, Obama was ready.

live-tweets - CIA re-creates Osama bin Laden killing in Abbottabad

Using the hashtag #UBLRaid, the CIA blasted out updates of the May 2011 strike as if it was unfolding in real time -- in a highly unusual move for the secretive spy agency.

Join us beginning at 1:25 p.m. EDT today as we tweet the #UBLRaid as if it were happening today. pic.twitter.com/x8EBpW571f

— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016

"To mark the 5th anniversary of the Usama Bin Ladin operation in Abbottabad we will tweet the raid as if it were happening today. ," @CIA said in announcing its social media blitz.

Success of mission was culmination of years of complex, thorough & highly advanced intel ops & analyses led by CIA w support of IC.#UBLRaid

— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016

US Barack Obama 'set to release' secret 28 pages of 9/11 report, There is speculation that Saudi officials may likely support the attacks

The US government appears set to release at least part of a 28-page classified chapter from the 9/11 report that may point the finger of Saudi collusion into the attacks that struck New York and Washington.

The former head of a bi-partisan committee that investigated the attacks that left more than 3,000 people dead and published its findings, said he believed the Obama administration would make a decision on the issue by June.

The unreleased documents, kept in a secure room in the basement of the Capitol building in Washington DC, contain information from the joint congressional inquiry into “specific sources of foreign support for some of the September 11 hijackers while they were in the United States”.

Mr Graham, a former Democratic senator, said a government official told him that intelligence officials will decide in the next several weeks whether to release at least parts of the documents. The disclosure would come at a time of strained US relations with Saudi Arabia, a long-time American ally.

Barack Obama PRAISES Merkel for handling of migrant crisis but Germans want her OUT

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA has praised Angela Merkel for her handling of the escalating EU migrant crisis despite growing cracks in the German chancellor’s power base as her approval ratings plummet over her immigration stance.

During a visit to Hannover, the US president said: “She is on the right side of history on this.

"In this globalised world, it is very difficult for us to simply build walls.”

His remarks come amid an increasingly fractious debate over radical Islamism in Germany, sparked by Mrs Merkel's ill-fated open door asylum policy.

Shocking opinion polls delivered a crushing blow to the German Chancellor as it was revealed Mrs Merkel's conservatives lost in two out of three state elections.

Germans appear to be punishing her accommodative refugee policy.

More than 1.1 million migrants entered Germany last year, with most coming from Middle Eastern and North African countries.

But Mrs Merkel's grip on power is growing ever weaker, with rebellion growing across the country against her controversial immigration policies.

President Barack Obama,First lady greeted by Prince William,Kate Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry

US President Barack Obama and First lady greeted by Prince William & Kate Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. US President and First lady also met Britain's Prince George at Kensington Palace, London. #PHOTONEW:

I will die soon, Fidel Castro bids farewell to Cuba's Congress

Fidel Castro has made what is likely to be his final speech to Cuba's Congress, telling the assembled politicians that he would die soon but that the revolution's ideals would live on.

The 89-year-old spoke after his brother Raul, 84, was re-elected as head of the Communist party - a position the younger Castro has said he will hold until retiring in 2018.

And Fidel Castro said the time was approaching for a younger generation to take over. His declaration appeared to be less of an announcement that he was dying - he has been suffering from intestinal problems since the early 2000s - than a statement of obvious fact.

"I'll be 90 years old soon," he said. "Soon I'll be like all the others."

US President Barack Obama arrives in Saudi Arabia to take part in GCC summit

President Barack Obama of United States arrived on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia to meet with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and participate on Thursday in the Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, summit.

A number of Saudi officials, including Riyadh governor, Prince Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, received the U.S. president upon his arrival in Riyadh, according to officials from the U.S. delegation.

Why Angrily Obama Calls For Action As 10 Dead In School Massacre,Blasted Congress For Failure To Act In The Face Of Killings

A visibly angry President Barack Obama has made an impassioned plea for gun control after a shooting at an Oregon college left 10 dead and seven wounded, saying such tragedies had become "routine".

In the close-knit community of Roseburg, large crowds turned out for a candlelight vigil for the victims of Thursday's killing spree at Umpqua Community College, which ended with the assailant dying during a shootout with police. "Somehow this has become routine," Obama said of the attack, as he blasted Congress for its failure to act in the face of such killings.

"We've become numb to this... It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun." "Prayers are not enough," the stony-faced president said. "We can actually do something about it, but we're going to have to change our laws."

Artillery fire kills civilians in Ukraine's Donetsk

Obama: Russia triggering 'dangerous escalation' in region; NATO: Russian artillery units operate in Ukraine

Two civilians were killed Saturday, apparently by artillery fire in Donetsk, the main separatist stronghold in eastern Ukraine, an AFP reporter witnessed. Their bodies were seen covered with bloodied sheets in a street of central Donetsk after artillery explosions rocked the city around 6:00 am (0300 GMT).

U S President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Friday that Russia was triggering a "dangerous escalation" of the conflict in Ukraine due to its military presence and shelling there.

In a telephone call with Merkel, Obama said the conflict "has continued to deteriorate" since a Malaysian airliner was downed last month over rebel-held territory in Ukraine. The West accuses Russian-backed separatists of shooting down the plane, while Moscow blames Ukraine.

Why Iran rejects U.S. action in Iraq as militants push east

Fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)
 stand guard at a checkpoint in the northern Iraq city of Mosul

(Reuters) - Iran's supreme leader accused the United States on Sunday of trying to retake control of Iraq by exploiting sectarian rivalries, as Sunni insurgents drove toward Baghdad from new strongholds along the Syrian border.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's condemnation of U.S. action in Iraq came three days after President Barack Obama offered to send 300 military advisers in response to pleas from Iraq's government. It ran counter to speculation that old enemies Washington and Tehran might cooperate to defend their mutual ally in Baghdad after two weeks of swift territorial gains by Sunni Islamists.

On Sunday, militants overran a second frontier post on the Syrian border as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) pursues the goal of its own caliphate straddling both countries.

ISIS Militants Seize Iraq-Syria Border Post, Kill 30 Troops

AP reports that thousands of Shiite militiamen have paraded in Baghdad and several other cities in southern Iraq with heavy weaponry, signaling their readiness to take on Sunni militants who seized much of the country's north.

In Baghdad, about 20,000 men, many in combat gear, marched through the Sadr City district on Saturday with assault rifles, machine-guns, multiple rocket launchers and missiles. Similar parades were held in the southern cities of Amarah and Basra, with the militants in Basra displaying field artillery pieces hauled by heavy trucks.

The parades were staged by followers of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and came after the al-Qaida breakaway Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and allied Sunni militants, captured a crossing on the Syria-Iraq border the day before. Sunni militants have seized an Iraqi crossing on the border with Syria after a daylong battle in which they killed some 30 Iraqi troops, security officials said Saturday.

BREAKING: US soldier released in controversial swap with Taliban arrives home in Texas

The American soldier released in a controversial swap with Afghan insurgents has arrived back in the United States, the Pentagon says.

SERGEANT Bowe Bergdahl arrived on Friday on a flight from Germany to San Antonio, Texas where he will continue treatment at Brooke Army Medical Center after spending five years as a prisoner in Afghanistan, the Defense Department said on its web site.

Bergdahl was captured in Afghanistan in June 2009 and released by the Taliban on May 31 in a deal struck by the Obama administration in which five Taliban officials were released from detention.

UPDATES ON CHIBOK GIRLS: OBAMA DEPLOYS MORE TROOPS

The United States has deployed troops to join the search for the over 200  schoolgirls abducted by the extremist Boko Haram sect in Chibok, Borno State on April 15. President Barack Obama has notified the Congress of the deployment of 80 military personnel, who  will be based in Chad, Nigeria’s northern neighbour. Their mission is to help locate the kidnapped girls.

Obama has sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and to the Senate, notifying lawmakers about the steps underway to assist in the return of the abducted girls.

How President Obama, Beyonce, Omojuwa top the List of 100 Most Influential Black People On Digital/Social Media

The Top 100 Most Influential Black People On Digital/Social Media has the United State President Barack Obama, Beyonce and The Nigerian activist Brand Omojuwa on the list.

Six Nigerians made the list but the top ten include US President Barack Obama, Beyonce Knowles, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Oprah Winfrey, Will.i.am, Serena and Venus Williams, Michelle Obama, Usain Bolt, Farrah Gray and Pete Dalton.

Part of the criteria used for the selections of the first 100 include blogging, tweeting, Facebook, videos on YouTube and vine, posting on Instagram, Pinterest, Google+ and answering questions on Quora etc to build their profile, promote their business interests and most importantly, engage and build their communities."


See The Full List HERE

Crimea Updates: Kerry, Lavrov meet in Paris today

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry changed course after a week of travel in the Mideast and arrived in Paris Saturday for talks with his Russian counterpart, Lavrov  on the Ukraine crisis. From Saudi Arabia, Kerry landed in Shannon, Ireland for a refueling stop, when he decided to turn his plane around and head to Paris. 

President Obama and Pope Francis exchange gifts (Photos)

Pope Francis and President Barack Obama smile as they exchange gifts, at the Vatican Thursday, March 27, 2014. President Barack Obama called himself a "great admirer" of Pope Francis as he sat down at the Vatican Thursday with the pontiff he considers a kindred spirit on issues of economic inequality. Their historic first meeting comes as Obama's administration and the church remain deeply split on issues of abortion and contraception. (AP Photo/Gabriel Bouys, Pool)

US President Barack Obama was once the biggest superstar on the international stage. On Thursday, he headed here to benefit from the popularity of his replacement: Pope Francis.

BREAKING: Ukraine's defense ministry has been given orders to withdraw Ukrainian forces from Crimea: acting presiden

Ukraine’s Defence Ministry has been given orders to withdraw Ukrainian forces from Crimea – acting President (Reuters)

WHAT PUTIN AND OBAMA HAVE IN COMMON BY FANI-KAYODE

President Barack Obama's paternal grandfather, Hussein Onyango Obama, was a cook to a British army officer. President Vladimer Putin's paternal grandfather, Spiridon Ivanovitch Putin, was a cook in Lenin's country home and later became a cook to Josef Stalin.

Who would have ever thought that the grandson's of two mere cooks and men from such a humble lineage could ever become the Presidents of the two most powerful countries on the planet at more or less the same time. As the bible says, ''the Lord exalts the humble and resists the proud''.