US to launch Fallujah-style attack in Afghanistan

As US and British troops prepare to attack the town of Marjah in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, military commanders and the media are openly comparing the operation to the November 2004 siege of Fallujah, one of the bloodiest war crimes of the Iraq war. The operation in central Helmand province, long an area of intense resistance to the US-led occupation, will constitute the largest military offensive since Washington invaded the country in October 2001. At least 15,000 troops are expected to lay siege to the Helmand river valley town, which has 80,000 in

US's strike threat catches China off guard

The United States plans to unveil later this decade a new conventional "Prompt Global Strike" (C-PGS) system. It will enable the US to instantly carry out a massive conventional attack anywhere in the world in an hour or less.

White Cliffs of Dover to be sold to the French to help reduce Government's debt

For generations Dover has stood as an indomitable symbol of Britain’s freedom and independence. The town, with its white cliffs, port and sprawling castle stood at the very edge of the nation’s frontier with the Continent. But now part of that proud history is up for sale and the leading bidder is revealed as the former age-old enemy – France.

Yanukovich claims victory in Ukraine run-off

Ukraine's opposition leader Viktor Yanukovich has claimed victory in the country's presidential run-off vote, while rival Yulia Tymoshenko has refused to concede. With almost 80 percent of votes counted, Yanukovich so far has a narrow lead of nearly four percentage points over Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who is trailing with 45.87 percent of the ballot, the election commission said Monday.

Obama starts new push on trade

The Obama administration is reaching out to business-friendly Democrats to win support for free-trade policies that divide the party. The effort is part of President Barack Obama's push on trade that was launched with his State of the Union address. Obama said he wanted to double exports over the next five years as part of an effort to grow the U.S. economy.

Anthem Blue Cross raises premiums

Anthem Blue Cross customers got a shock this week when the health insurer informed thousands of individual policyholders that their premium rates will jump as much as 39 percent on March 1. "There aren't any other parts of our society where people have no regard for inflation rate and increase their prices this much. I can't imagine anything in the world that's going up 39 percent," said Josh Libresco, 54, of San Rafael, as he grappled with the news that his family premium will go from $858 per month to $1,192 - and that's with a $5,000 deductible. Anthem, which has reportedly sent letters this week to those who buy their coverage individually and are not covered by a group policy, said rising health care costs led to the increase.

Rep. John Murtha of Pa. dies at 77

WASHINGTON – A spokesman says Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a retired Marine Corps officer who became an outspoken critic of the Iraq war, has died. He was 77. He had been suffering complications from gallbladder surgery.

Australian woman detained by Israeli police

The lawyer for an Australian woman who was arrested in the West Bank says her detention is part of a campaign by the Israeli Government to silence pro-Palestinian foreigners. Israeli soldiers arrested 22-year-old Bridgette Chappell in a pre-dawn raid and she is now being held in an immigration jail in Israel. The Government says she overstayed her visa.

U.S. soldier 'waterboarded his own daughter, 4, because she couldn't recite alphabet'

A soldier waterboarded his four-year-old daughter because she was unable to recite her alphabet. Joshua Tabor admitted to police he had used the CIA torture technique because he was so angry. As his daughter 'squirmed' to get away, Tabor said he submerged her face three or four times until the water was lapping around her forehead and jawline. Tabor, 27, who had won custody of his daughter only four weeks earlier, admitted choosing the punishment because the girl was terrified of water.

Return Of the Repressed? Birtherism, Homophobia, Racial Paranoia Rise To Surface At Tea Party Confab

Egypt to seal sea border with Gaza

Egypt is to close its sea border to the Gaza-bound supplies as it reinforces the restrictions against the passage of sustenance into the strip. Cairo has ordered a port to be built at its maritime border with the Gaza Strip, a security official was quoted by AFP as saying. The security boats there would then "prevent all future attempts to smuggle Palestinian contraband," he added.

Palin: War with Iran would help Obama’s re-election

President Barack Obama won't be re-elected in 2012 unless he can "toughen up" on national security, according to Sarah Palin. The former Governor of Alaska believes that declaring war on Iran could help the president get re-elected. "Say he decided to declare war on Iran or decided really to come out and do whatever he could to support Israel, which I would like him to do," Palin told Fox News' Chris Wallace Sunday. "That changes the dynamics in what we can assume is going to happen between now and three years."

Palin tells 'tea party': It's revolution time

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Sarah Palin declared "America is ready for another revolution" and repeatedly assailed President Barack Obama on Saturday before adoring "tea party" activists. They make up a seemingly natural constituency should she run for president.

Obama Channels Reagan as Democrats Approach Election

Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama’s politics may be drawing inspiration from an unlikely source: Ronald Reagan. The late Republican president may become Democrat Obama’s most relevant role model as the U.S. economic and political climate mirrors Reagan’s first term, which began in 1981.

G7 reassures on Greece, talks tough on banks

IQALUIT, Canada (Reuters) - Reassurances about debt-strapped Greece and agreement that banks should pay for future rescue funds capped an international meeting in Canada's Arctic, as European policymakers sought to convince jittery markets that they have things under control.

[British] Ministry of Justice lists eco-activists alongside terrorists

Government officials have labelled environmental campaigners extremists and listed them alongside dissident Irish republican groups and terrorists inspired by al-Qaida in internal documents seen by the Guardian. The guidance on extremism, produced by the Ministry of Justice, says: "The United Kingdom like many other countries faces a continuing threat from extremists who believe they can advance their aims by committing acts of terrorism."

Government’s DNA-mining is out of control, California stores genetic profile samples indefinitely

All newborns in the United States have their DNA collected, analyzed, tested and stored in state labs. The state of New York is allowed to keep those samples for 27 years, while California keeps them indefinitely. Since insurance pays for the testing, positive results for any disease or genetic predisposition become part of the baby’s medical file. In Minnesota and Texas, the states are required to destroy the baby’s DNA sample if the parents request it. In most states, however, the parents don’t seem to have any recourse. Since the testing is mandated by the government, parental consent is not needed to obtain the DNA.

In Texas, a Trial and Possible Prison Time for Reporting a Doctor

KERMIT, Tex. — It occurred to Anne Mitchell as she was writing the letter that she might lose her job, which is why she chose not to sign it. But it was beyond her conception that she would be indicted and threatened with 10 years in prison for doing what she knew a nurse must: inform state regulators that a doctor at her rural hospital was practicing bad medicine.

Internet's unique user losers turn to the paywall game
As web newspapers search for engaged users, some should ask whether they will find them among the masses

Simple logic makes complex things easy. Thus, as paywalls go up around editorial content online, so the number of "unique users" clicking through to a site every month goes down. In turn, monthly unique user counts become a less accepted way of assessing site reach for advertisers. Mr Murdoch builds paywalls. Unique usage loses big numbers and credence. The Telegraph finds itself almost 7 million users behind the Guardian in December. Perhaps that helps prompt it to leave the unique race, as well, singing more meaningful hymns at the new altar of "engagement" – clubs, subscription services, regular visitors – that ad men can measure. It's almost two years since increasing user figures meant increasing ad gain, says its digital supremo: the old model's bust.

Beginning Of The End: Sarah Palin Hijacks The Tea Party Movement

The tea party movement is dead. The one I was familiar with anyway. Judson Phillips held it down and Sarah Palin drove a stake right through its heart live last night on C-Span in front of an unsuspecting audience.

Pat Robertson is a Horrid, Horrid Person

If you think that Pat Robertson is merely a crackpot who blames 9/11 on sodomites and members of the ACLU; who thinks that the Haitian earthquake was the devil's retribution for reneging on a pact to expel French colonizers; who recommends that the American government assassinate Hugo Chavez; who sees wisdom in the works of Nesta Webster; and who gets all sorts of bum information from God, Foreign Policy provides a few new details of the televangelist's business arrangements with former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor:

FBI’s Most Wanted: Your Browsing Activity

FBI Director Robert Mueller wants ISPs to track “origin and destination information” about their customers’ browsing habits and store them for authorities’ use for two years, according to a CNET report. That would mean monitoring the IP addresses, domains and exact websites users visit, and then storing that information for months. If officials who support this measure get their way, federal, state and local law enforcement would be able to access the information via search warrant or subpoena.

Senate Passes AIPAC's Iran Sanctions Bill In 5 Minutes

Leaks spotlight aging nuclear plants

MONTPELIER, Vt. - Radioactive tritium, a carcinogen discovered in potentially dangerous levels in groundwater at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, now taints at least 27 of the nation's 104 nuclear reactors — raising concerns about how it is escaping from the aging nuclear plants. The leaks — many from deteriorating underground pipes — come as the nuclear industry is seeking and obtaining federal license renewals, casting itself as a clean-green alternative to power plants that burn fossil fuels.

'Nobel Peace Prize-winner Barack Obama ups spending on nuclear weapons to even more than George Bush'

President Obama is planning to increase spending on America's nuclear weapons stockpile just days after pledging to try to rid the world of them. In his budget to be announced on Monday, Mr Obama has allocated £4.3billion to  maintain the U.S. arsenal - £370million more than George Bush spent on nuclear weapons in his final year. The Obama administration also plans to spend a further £3.1billion over the next five years on nuclear security.

NY sues Bank of America alleging fraud in Merrill deal

NEW YORK (AFP) – New York state officials Thursday sued Bank of America and its former top executives alleging fraud and deception to obtain billions in taxpayer bailout funds to acquire brokerage Merrill Lynch. Andrew Cuomo, the New York state attorney general, announced the lawsuit against the bank, former chief executive Kenneth Lewis and former chief financial officer Joseph Price "for duping shareholders and the federal government in order to complete a merger with Merrill Lynch."

Mafia investment 'gave Silvio Berlusconi his big break'

The Mafia invested heavily in a 1970s housing project which gave Silvio Berlusconi his big break in business, an Italian court heard. The allegation that Sicily's Cosa Nostra helped finance the project was made in a Palermo court by Massimo Ciancimino, the son of a Mafia don who was close to the head of the Sicilian mafia's "boss of bosses", Bernardo Provenzano. He claimed in court his father, Vito Ciancimino, along with two Mafiosi connected to the building industry, invested "dirty money" through front companies into Mr Berlusconi's sprawling housing estate on the edge of Milan.

Israel threatens to 'use force' against Iran

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon says Israel might use force to prevent Iran from developing "nuclear weapons", a claim Iran vehemently rejects. "Iran's plan will probably be stopped by a regime change or, if there is no other choice, by recourse to force to deprive Iran of its nuclear arms production capabilities," Yaalon told a security conference in Herzliya.
Romania approves US missile deployment

Romania has given the go-ahead to a revamped Washington plan to deploy medium-range ballistic missile interceptors in the Black Sea state. Romania's President Traian Basescu announced on Thursday that the country's Supreme Defense Council has approved a Washington proposal to include Romania in a defense system against "potential attacks with ballistic missiles or medium-range rockets."

Israel threatens Syria's Assad with collapse

sraeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman threatens to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad if Damascus enters into a war with the Israeli regime. "When there is another war, you will not just lose it, but you and your family will lose power," Lieberman told a business conference at Bar-Ilan University on Thursday.

Syria summons foreign envoys over Israeli war rhetoric

Damascus summoned foreign envoys to Syria on Thursday to discuss Israel's recent military threats against the Arab country. The meeting was hosted by the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and headed by Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmad Arnous, a Press TV correspondent reported. "Israel is trying to drag Syria and the rest of the Middle East into other wars. The recent remarks by extremist Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman are part of an attempt by Tel Aviv to extract itself from big crises it is currently facing…Damascus is, however, fully prepared for any surprise from Israel," Arnous said during the meeting.

Army may patrol [UK]  streets to confront terror threat

Britain's armed forces could be used on a regular basis on the streets

of Britain to confront the threat of terrorism, under the terms of a strategic defence review announced yesterday.

Vatican blamed for 'bogus dirt' that ousted Catholic editor

Family Research Council Calls for Criminalization of Gay Sex

In an astounding exchange last night on MSNBC’s “Hardball” about the proposed repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy for LGBT service members, Family Research Council fellow Peter Sprigg called for the criminalization of all gay sex, whether in the military or not.

Bush and Blair did strike Iraq deal, says Welsh MP

A SENIOR Welsh MP said last night he knew “for certain” Tony Blair and George Bush struck a deal to invade Iraq at their notorious Crawford Ranch meeting in 2002 – a year before war was declared. Elfyn Llwyd, Plaid Cymru’s parliamentary leader, said he had seen a confidential memo to that effect, although he would not divulge its exact contents.

IRAN THWARTS ISRAELI AND U.S. PLANS FOR FINAL CONFRONTATION

To many observers in the West it may seem that Iran’s decision to comply with the United Nations requirements for Iran to send its Uranium abroad for enrichment is a victory for Israel and the US who will no doubt claim that Iran’s leaders have succumbed to US and Western pressure and threats of further sanctions. It is, however, not the outcome that the Israelis and the neocon-influenced Obama administration really want.

Fresh outrage as AIG reveals $100mln in bonuses

WASHINGTON (AFP) – AIG was set to begin paying 100 million dollars in bonuses Wednesday, prompting fresh outrage a year after similar payments by the bailed-out insurance giant ignited a political firestorm. The government's pay czar in charge of compensation at bailed-out companies, said the payments were part of legally binding contracts that must be paid despite the outrageous nature of the bonuses. "These are old grandfather contracts that have the legal force of law," Feinberg told the ABC television program Good Morning America.

U.S. pledges early review of air security "blacklist"

ACCRA (Reuters) - The United States will review soon a list of countries whose air travellers are subject to tighter screening and could remove nations like Nigeria if they are no longer deemed to be security threats, a U.S. official said. Nigeria and other key allies such as Saudi Arabia and Algeria have voiced their displeasure at being included in the 14-country list, which Washington unveiled last month after a botched Christmas Day attempt to blow up a U.S. airliner.

Police want backdoor to Web users' private data

Anyone with an e-mail account likely knows that police can peek inside it if they have a paper search warrant. But cybercrime investigators are frustrated by the speed of traditional methods of faxing, mailing, or e-mailing companies these documents. They're pushing for the creation of a national Web interface linking police computers with those of Internet and e-mail providers so requests can be sent and received electronically.

Why U.S. Makes Wars

America is “a nation that seeks war” and if it doesn’t change it could end up destroying itself, a law school dean warns. Given all the wars the United States has waged, “It is preposterous but true that we do not see ourselves as a nation that seeks war,” writes Lawrence Velvel, dean of the Massachusetts School of Law at Andover. “We see ourselves as a peace loving nation” and that message is constantly drummed into the public by government and media. Since World War Two, an indisputably necessary conflict, Velvel points out the U.S. has fought the Korean War, the Viet Nam War, secret wars in Laos and Cambodia, the First Gulf War, Afghanistan, and the Second Gulf War in Iraq. It has also invaded, bombed or “quarantined” Panama, Grenada, Cuba, Haiti, Somalia, the Sudan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Serbia and Libya, and has “declared” a global war on terrorists.

Fear of peace will be the death of Israel

SHEIKH JARRAH, Jerusalem - As the grandson of anarchists, I've always had a soft spot in my heart for fanatics. Expressions of extremism, and passionately reasoned, exquisitely twisted world views make me feel, how shall I put this, at home. So it was with a certain relish that I approached the cover story of a recent issue of Commentary, "The Deadly Price of Pursuing Peace," written as it was by a talented colleague and friend, Evelyn Gordon.

Does Biased News Have a ‘Time Bomb’ Effect?
A European study shows that, over time, even the most sophisticated readers can be manipulated.

Only 12 percent of Europeans claim to trust the media, compared to 15 percent of North Americans, 29 percent of Pacific Asians and 48 percent of Africans, the BBC has found. Yet new research out of the London School of Economics and Political Science suggests that even the most hardened Europeans may succumb to media manipulation and change their political views if they are bombarded long enough with biased news.

Coats registered to vote in Virginia, not Indiana

Pentagon’s Black Budget Tops $56 Billion

The Defense Department just released its king-sized, $708 billion budget for the next fiscal year. Much of the proposed spending is fairly detailed — noting exactly how many helicopters the Pentagon plans to buy and how many troops it plans on playing. But about $56 billion goes simply to “classified programs,” or to projects known only by their code names, like “Chalk Eagle” and “Link Plumeria.” That’s the Pentagon’s black budget.

US missionaries may face Haiti kidnap charges

PORT-AU-PRINCE (AFP) – Ten members of a US Christian group could be charged with kidnapping minors and child-trafficking over an attempt to smuggle a group of children out of quake-hit Haiti, officials said. Amid growing concern over the safety of hundreds of thousands of women and children left vulnerable after the January 12 quake, the 10 could be put on trial in a US court.

Florida feels heat of NASA cutbacks
The loss of at least 7,000 jobs at NASA leaves the Space Coast with a sense of betrayal by President Barack Obama.

President Barack Obama wants to make dramatic changes in how NASA functions, jettisoning plans to return to the moon, letting private companies handle human transport into lower orbit and focusing the nation's space agency on new rocket technology. But Obama's failure to extend the space shuttle program, which is expected to end by early 2011, and his decision to cancel the moon program launched by George W. Bush in 2004, means the imminent loss of at least 7,000 jobs in Florida and a sense of betrayal along the Space Coast.

Researchers warn of drilling dangers at symposium

Seismic testing associated with offshore oil and gas drilling could harm Florida's $6 billion commercial and recreational fishing industry, a Florida State University researcher warned on Monday. Game fish make noises to attract mates and scare away enemies, and that communication could be drowned out by the explosions of giant air guns that the drilling industry uses for acoustic mapping, said Felicia Coleman, director of FSU's Coastal and Marine Laboratory.

Water Heist: Corporations Are Targeting Cash-Strapped Cities for Control of Their Public Water

Corporate interests are eyeing our water. From wastewater to drinking water, big business is looking to cash in on public water systems and they've got a new tactic: They're using desperate economic times to convince city officials that they should place a corporation between families and their ability to eat, drink, and clean.

Apple Founder: Toyota Problem is Software

The day after Toyota insisted problems with random acceleration in its cars had been fixed by a recall that will replace gas-pedal assemblies, Apple computers co-founder Steve Wozniak told ABC's Brian Ross that he believes the problem with his Toyota was not gas pedals, but software. Wozniak also said he been trying to get the attention of Toyota and the government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for several months without success.

Ex-minister slams Blair argument for Iraq war

LONDON — Clare Short, a former British minister who resigned over the 2003 Iraq war, on Tuesday dismissed then premier Tony Blair's claim that Saddam Hussein's ouster had made the world safer. Short told a public inquiry the US-led invasion had made Iraq more dangerous and that the chaotic aftermath had allowed Al-Qaeda to take root there. The outspoken former international development minister branded as nonsense Blair's claim -- repeated to the inquiry last week -- that the need to take action against Saddam increased as a result of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Lloyds boss who quit after disastrous HBOS takeover to advise government

A FINANCE chief at the centre of the near-collapse of the banking system has landed a top job with the UK government, prompting an accusation of "a serious error of judgment" by Business Secretary Lord Mandelson. Former Lloyds chairman Sir Victor Blank has been appointed as the government's chief adviser on bringing in investment from overseas. In his previous role, he attracted criticism from some in the financial sector when he oversaw the takeover of HBOS – then had to ask the government to bail out his bank with billions of pounds of taxpayers' money to save it from collapse. The new Lloyds Banking Group, which received £17 billion from the Exchequer, ended up majority-owned by the government. Sir Victor stepped down as chairman after the crisis.

Jeb Bush is back, and some think he's looking presidential

When Jeb Bush left office four years ago, his public appearances were as scarce as bi-partisan man hugs. He didn't want to upstage his successor in the governor's mansion nor his brother in the White House. Instead, he quietly cashed in by joining corporate boards and an elite speakers bureau, penned policy essays and gave infrequent interviews to conservative media. But in recent months, as the Republican Party of Florida has grappled with a leadership vacuum, Bush's political profile has grown as fast as the national deficit.

States to Government: Hands Off Education

Plan to oust Saddam drawn up two years before the invasion

A secret plan to foster an internal coup against Saddam Hussein was drawn up by the Government two years before the invasion of Iraq, The Independent can reveal. Whitehall officials drafted the "contract with the Iraqi people" as a way of signalling to dissenters in Iraq that an overthrow of Saddam would be supported by Britain. It promised aid, oil contracts, debt cancellations and trade deals once the dictator had been removed. Tony Blair's team saw it as a way of creating regime change in Iraq even before the 9/11 attack on New York.

Secret CIA-Mossad meeting, preparation for new war?

A secret meeting between the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Leon Panetta and Israeli officials has reportedly centered on Iran's nuclear program. In a secret flying visit to Israel on Thursday, the head of the CIA reportedly discussed Iran's nuclear issue in a sit-down with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Mossad Chief Meir Dagan. The trip, which was originally scheduled to take place in May, follows a recent wave of developments in the Middle East that strongly imply preparations for a possible new military conflict in the region.

Israel admits dropping phosphorous bombs on Gaza

In an official report to the United Nations, Israel acknowledged that its military had "endangered human life" through the use of phosphorous munitions against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. In Israel's response to the Goldstone report on war crimes in Gaza, the regime admitted that its military forces fired white phosphorous bombs at a heavily populated area on January 15, 2009 in Gaza, Reuters reported. The shells that damaged a UN Relief and Works Agency compound contained incendiary white phosphorus, the use of which is condemned by human rights groups.

'Peace Prize' President Submits Largest War Budget Ever
Obama Seeks Record $708 Billion in Defense Budget

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Monday asked Congress to approve a record $708 billion in defense spending for fiscal year 2011, including a 3.4 percent increase in the Pentagon's base budget and $159 billion to fund U.S. military missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The White House budget request also included $33 billion in additional funding for fiscal 2010 to pay for increasing military and intelligence operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and drawing down U.S. forces in Iraq. That comes on top of $129.6 billion already provided for the current fiscal year, which ends September 30.

Swiss warn UBS bank could collapse

GENEVA — Switzerland's justice minister warned in an interview on Sunday that top bank UBS could collapse if sensitive talks with the United States over a high-profile tax fraud investigation fall through.

Pope condemns gay equality laws ahead of first UK visit

Pope Benedict XVI has condemned British equality legislation for running contrary to "natural law" as he confirmed his first visit to the UK later this year. In a letter addressed to the Catholic bishops of England and Wales, the pope praised Britain's "firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all".However he criticised UK legislation for creating "limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs".It is thought his comments relate to laws that came in last year preventing adoption agencies from discriminating against gay couples.

SENATE BURGLARY: CIA DOMESTIC BLACK-OP TEAM ARRESTED
ALL 4 INVOLVED IN SENATE HOMELAND SECURITY BREAKIN CIA “N-O-C” AGENTS

CIA PROGRAM MAY HAVE TRAINED DOMESTIC “DEATH SQUADS”

Last week’s breakin at Senator Mary Landrieu’s office in the New Orleans Federal Building was more than it seemed, much more.  All of the 4 arrested had been trained by the CIA and, possibly, Israel.  One arrested, Stan Dai, is listed as an Operations Officer of the Department of Defense Irregular Warfare Program and  a known expert and lecturer on, not only surveillance but explosives training, assassinations and “false flag operations.”  If you wanted a plane to crash, an enemy to get sick and die or a building to blow up, Dai would be the man to know how to make it happen.  Problem is, his skills were being used as part of a criminal conspiracy inside the United States against members of our own government.

Louisiana Suspect's Academic Program Was Designed to Attract and Recruit Potential Female Spies

The Washington academic program that Louisiana telephone-tampering suspect Stanley Dai helped to manage was part of an "affirmative action" initiative by U.S. intelligence agencies to recruit more female and minority spies—an irony in light of the strong "movement conservative" views that Dai and his codefendants in the bizarre New Orleans criminal investigation have espoused.

Cops: TSA Worker Molested 12-Year-Old
Authorities Haven't Yet Disclosed Where Alleged Sex Crime Happened

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A federal Transportation Security Administration employee has been arrested in connection with the molestation of a girl, Orange County sheriff's deputies said. After a 15-year-old girl came forward claiming Charles Henry Bennett, 57, touched her inappropriately when she was 12, deputies said he was arrested early Friday and booked into the Orange County Jail. The arrest report says man told investigators he planned to make her his "sex slave."

Watchdog to Obama: Stay away from ’shadowy’ group’s prayer meet