December 20, 2015 Kerry heads to Middle East for Iraq talks Secretary of State John Kerry is heading to the Mideast this weekend to discuss Iraq's stability as a raging Sunni Muslim insurgency threatens the Shiite-led government. The U.S. is offering limited assistance to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki but wants him to take dramatic steps to soothe Sunnis who say they have been shut out from his government.
December 20, 2015 Biden flies to Central America amid migrant crisis The Obama administration moved Friday to stem a flood of Central American children and families that has overwhelmed the U.S. immigration system, dispatching Vice President Joe Biden to the region to warn against the perils of the trip and announcing that it will start to detain families at the border instead of releasing them on their own recognizance.
December 20, 2015 Lawmakers, allies reportedly press White House to withdraw support for Iraqi PM U.S. lawmakers and allies are pressing the Obama administration to publicly withdraw its support for embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whom Washington increasingly sees as either unable or unwilling to reconcile with Iraq's Sunni minority and stabilize the country politically, according to a published report.Â
December 20, 2015 State Department warned Iran was aiding Iraq militias, now weighs possible alliance The Iranian government, which the White House is now looking to as a possible partner to help counter the insurgency threatening to split Iraq, was cited just months ago by the Obama administration's own State Department as a prime instigator in that country.
December 20, 2015 Lawmakers renew drive to free Marine held in Mexico, on heels of Bergdahl deal The slow-moving case of jailed Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi is generating a renewed push on Capitol Hill for his freedom, as lawmakers press the Obama administration to do more to secure his release on the heels of the Bowe Bergdahl prisoner exchange.
December 20, 2015 Obama, Putin meet; first time since Ukraine crisis The White House says President Barack Obama has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the margins of a lunch for world leaders during D-Day commemorations in France. Â
December 20, 2015 Obama to meet with British, French leaders over Ukraine crisis President Barack Obama is meeting with two of his most important European allies -- Britain and France -- as they navigate shifting conditions in the Ukraine crisis now that a new government is coming to power.
December 20, 2015 Obama calls for more spending on military presence, training in Europe On the first day of a four-day European trip that will include a remembrance of D-Day and much discussion about the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, President Obama called on Congress to approve up to $1 billion in spending on additional U.S. air and ground forces in Europe.Â
December 20, 2015 Hagel, Rice praise Bergdahl recovery mission, soldier's parents speak out The parents of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl -- the American who was released this weekend after being held for five years by the Taliban -- urged their son Sunday to take his time to recover and thanked everybody, from people in their home state of Idaho to American and Qatari officials, for helping return their son.
December 20, 2015 NSA steps up digital image harvesting to feed its facial recognition program The National Security Agency is through its global surveillance program increasingly gathering electronic images for its facial-recognition program, according to documents obtained by The New York Times.