Obama girls receive thousands in foreign gifts

President Obama's daughters Sasha And Malia Obama reportedly have received thousands of dollars’ worth of gifts from foreign diplomats. The girls don’t get to keep the gifts.

Ousted regimes

Egyptian protesters celebrated in the streets when President Hosni Mubarak decided to step down after 30 years in power. Get the latest news about his departure. Who is in control now? In honor of this historic moment, we take a look at other regimes that have been toppled.

President Zine el Abidine ben Ali
Country: Tunisia
Time in power: 1987-2011

Ben Ali was appointed to lead the tiny nation of Tunisia after another leader was declared unfit to fulfill his presidential duties. Under Ben Ali’s leadership, Tunisia had several controversies, including the high-profile arrest of a journalist and riots over unemployment that led to his ouster. The small country’s uprising is said to have sparked Egyptians to take a stand for their rights.

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Country: Iran
Time in power: 1941-1979

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s ouster was led by the Iranian Revolution. His reign was often criticized for his relationship with the United States and economic shortages. The overthrow allowed an infamous dictator to return to Iran after years in exile. How old was the Shah when he died?

Saddam Hussein
Country: Iraq
Time in power: 1979-2003

Hussein served as president during several crises, including the Iran-Iraq war and the Persian Gulf War. His reign came to an end 2003 after George W. Bush claimed that Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction. The United States invaded Iraq and Hussein was captured. Three years later, he was executed.

Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh
Country: Iran
Time in power: 1951-53

Mossadegh was overthrown in a rift with Britain. His biggest claim to fame was the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry. A dispute over oil led to protests in 1952 and heightened tensions with Britain. It also fueled other fears. What happened to Mossadegh?Who succeeded him?

Jacobo Arbenz Guzman
Country: Guatemala
Time in power: 1951-54

Arbenz was overthrown in the 1954 Guatemalan coup d’etat , which was organized by the CIA as fears of Communism heightened.  Arbenz ultimately resigned and the CIA launched another operation to get proof that Guatemala was a rising Soviet state.  Who replaced him?


Prime Minister Pol Pot
Country: Cambodia
Time in power: 1976-79

The infamous dictator  was responsible for the deaths of nearly 2 million people. The number of deaths led to Cambodia being tainted with a gruesome nickname. His high-profile conflict with a neighboring country ultimately led to his ouster. Pol Pot died under house arrest, but rumors persist about the nature of his death.


Czar Nicholas II
Country: Russia
Time in power: 1894-1917

Czar Nicholas II was overthrown in the February Revolution, although it happened in March. He received a gruesome nickname because of the Khodynka Tragedy and Bloody Sunday. His removal prompted the end of an empire, the beginning of another and the start of a war

Prime Minister Benito Mussolini
Country: Italy
Time in power: 1922-43

Mussolini is known as one of the fathers of fascism  His official title was not modest. He often had a contentious relationship with another dictator, but later joined forces against Britain and France in World War II. Ironically, it was his former colleagues who overthrew him. What happened to him?

Prime Minister Ion Antonescu
Country: Romania
Time in power: 1940-44

Antonescu created a fascist dictatorship, which also supported the Axis Powers. While he won support for domestic reforms, he was known as the mastermind behind a brutal massacre. He was overthrown in 1944 and later executed for war crimes. What was one of his famous last quotes?

President Idi Amin
Country: Uganda
Time in power: 1971-79

Amin was known as one of the most brutal dictators that Africa has ever seen. The number of people killed under his rule ranges from 100,000 to 500,000. The arrogant leader dubbed himself this royal nickname . On April 11, 1979, he fled the Ugandan capital as liberation forces moved in. He died in 2003 in Saudi Arabia.


President Slobodan Milosevic
Country: Yugoslavia
Time in power: 1997-2000

Milosevic, who earned this dubious honor, resigned after demonstrators protested the 2000 presidential election. Shortly after his resignation, he was arrested for embezzlement and later ordered to stand trial for war crimes. Who represented him at his trial? The trial ended without a verdict.

Italian Couple Accused of Using Butter as Murder Weapon

While butter sometimes gets a bad rap for its effects on cardiovascular health, it isn't often that the creamy spread is accused of being an accessory to murder. However, a stick of butter was allegedly the weapon of choice for a Sicilian couple looking to bump off the woman's ex-husband. The Italian paper Corriere della Sera reports that the lovers used the butter to suffocate Calogero Lo Cocco, 40, thinking that the dairy product would melt in the man's esophagus before his death was investigated. According to the AFP, the pair told the police that Lo Cocco arrived drunk at their house and attacked them. When they tied him up in self-defense, he unexpectedly collapsed and died.

Lawmakers says she learned a lot at Hooters

Rep. Julia Hurley, newly elected to the Tennessee House, credits her work at Hooters with helping her win her seat in what’s regarded as a conservative district.

WikiLeaks nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Both Julian Assange and his website, WikiLeaks, have been nominated for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize.  A member of the Norwegian Nobel committee says the site promotes human rights, democracy and freedom of speech.  

New smuggling ploy – catapults

Two alleged narcotics traffickers aligned with a right-wing paramilitary terrorist organization in Colombia have been convicted of conspiring to import multi-ton quantities of cocaine into the United States.

Christian Fernando Borda and Alvaro Alvaran-Velez were extradited from Colombia a year ago and were convicted by a federal jury Thursday.

The Justice Department said Borda led an organization that obtained cocaine from paramilitary groups and smuggled in more than 1,500 tons in drums of palm oil from Colombia in 2005, with additional shipments in 2005 and 2006. The department said Alvaran-Velez, an associate of Borda, facilitated cocaine shipments.

They were allied with Autodefenses Unidas de Colombia, an umbrella group for far-right paramilitary groups that has been designated by the State Department as a foreign terrorist organization.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/12/09/colombians-convicted-cocaine-smuggling-plot/#ixzz1CQSRV2p5

From Inside Tunisia's Cabinet, An Online Revolution Emerges

Police officers celebrate 

as they demonstrate in Tunis on Saturday. Tunisia's once-feared police who carried out the repressive policies of their now exiled president are joining hands with protesters who brought down the dictator.

TUNIS — Tunisia’s interim government was holding its first meeting since the ouster of former dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali.

Moufida Tlatli, an internationally known Tunisian filmmaker, took her seat as culture minister. Two opposition leaders stepped aside to confer privately. The prime minister confided that he was still in touch with his old boss, Mr. Ben Ali, who had in fact left hoping to return again after a brief hiatus.

And then came the first policy dispute with the holdover members of the old ruling party, known as the R.C.D.: they objected that the new minister of youth and sports, the dissident blogger Slim Amamou, was not wearing a tie.

Fuious Coach Loses Temper, Hockey Sticks

Fuious Coach Loses Temper, Hockey Sticks

Biggest Political Lies of 2010

Obama's Promises

Presidents and promises have been comrades since the birth of our nation. Sometimes, the vows have been bold: Lyndon B. Johnson pledged to eliminate poverty in his 1964 State of the Union Address. Obviously, that didn't happen. Other times, the promises have been mostly fulfilled, as when Roosevelt announced his historic New Deal. Throughout his campaign, President Obama made more than 500 promises to our nation, according to PolitiFact, a service from the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times that assesses the truth behind politicians' statements. Here is how PoliFact says the president is doing.

Foreclosure prevention fund
'The Fund will not help speculators, people who bought vacation homes or people who falsely represented their incomes.'
PolitiFact rating: Compromise

Repeal the Bush-era tax cuts for those making more than $250,000 (couple) or $200,000 (single)
'At a time when Americans are working harder than ever, we are taxing income from work at nearly twice the level that we're taxing gains for investors,' Obama said. 'We've lost the balance between work and wealth.'
PolitiFact rating: Stalled

Require health-insurance
coverage for all children
'Barack Obama and Joe Biden will require that all children have health-care coverage … [and] expand the number of options for young adults to get coverage by allowing young people up to age 25 to continue coverage through their parents' plans.'
PolitiFact rating: Promise Kept

Build an electronic health
information system
'Barack Obama and Joe Biden will invest $10 billion a year over the next five years to move the U.S. health-care system to broad adoption of standards-based electronic health-information systems, including electronic health records. They will also phase in requirements for full implementation of health IT and commit the necessary federal resources to make it happen.'
PolitiFact rating: In the Works

Assure that the Veterans Administration budget is prepared as 'must-pass' legislation
'Obama will meet early in the budgeting process each year with congressional leaders and the nation's leading Veterans' Service Organizations (VSOs) to ensure the VA budget is always given 'must-pass' status.'
PolitiFact Rating: Promise Kept

Begin drawing down combat
troops from Iraq
'Barack Obama will work with military commanders on the ground in Iraq and in consultation with the Iraqi government to end the war safely and responsibly within six months.'
PolitiFact Rating: Promise Kept

Deploy additional troops to Afghanistan
'As Obama removes our combat brigades from Iraq, he will send at least two additional brigades to Afghanistan, where the Taliban is resurgent. He will also provide our armed forces with the reset capability that they need. He will replace essential equipment, and he will ensure that our men and women in uniform get the care and support they have earned.'
PolitiFact Rating: Promise Kept

Close Guantanamo Bay
'As president, Barack Obama will close the detention facility at Guantanamo. He will reject the Military Commissions Act, which allowed the U.S. to circumvent Geneva Conventions in the handling of detainees. He will develop a fair and thorough process based on the Uniform Code of Military Justice to distinguish between those prisoners who should be prosecuted for their crimes, those who can't be prosecuted but who can be held in a manner consistent with the laws of war and those who should be released or transferred to their home countries.'
PolitiFact Rating: Stalled

End the use of torture
'Barack Obama will end the use torture without exception. He also will eliminate the practice of extreme rendition, where we outsource our torture to other countries.'
PolitiFact Rating: In the Works

New rules barring paid lobbyists from serving as administration officials
'No political appointees in an Obama-Biden administration will be permitted to work on regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to their prior employer for two years. And no political appointee will be able to lobby the executive branch after leaving government service during the remainder of the administration.'
PolitiFact Rating: Promise Broken

Require full disclosure and a waiting period for budget earmarks
'The Transparency and Integrity in Earmarks Act will shed light on all earmarks, disclosing the name of the legislator who asked for each earmark, along with written justification, 72 hours before they can be approved by the full Senate.'
PolitiFact Rating: Compromise

Create tough new financial regulations
'I'll put in place the common-sense regulations and rules of the road I've been calling for since March--rules that will keep our market free, fair and honest; rules that will restore accountability and responsibility in our corporate boardrooms.'
PolitiFact Rating: Promise Kept

Provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants
'Obama and Biden support a system that requires undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens.'
PolitiFact Rating: Stalled

Create 5 million new 'green industry' jobs
'Obama and Biden will invest $150 billion over 10 years to advance the next generation of biofuels and fuel infrastructure, accelerate the commercialization of plug-in hybrids, promote development of commercial-scale renewable energy, invest in low-emissions coal plants and begin transition to a new digital electricity grid. A principal focus of this fund will be devoted to ensuring that technologies that are developed in the U.S. are rapidly commercialized in the U.S. and deployed around the globe.'
Politifact Rating: In the Works

Create a cap-and-trade system to control global-warming emissions
'As president, I will set a hard cap on all carbon emissions at a level that scientists say is necessary to curb global warming--an 80 percent reduction by 2050 … These reductions will start immediately, and we'll continue to follow the recommendations of top scientists to ensure that our targets are strong enough to meet the challenge we face.'
PolitiFact Rating: Promise Broken

Increase funding for national parks
and forests
'As president, he and Joe Biden will repair the damage done to our national parks by inadequate funding and emphasize the protection and restoration of our National Forests.'
PolitiFact Rating: Promise Kept