Today's Breaking News
Around the World
Iran general: US paid Tehran $1.7 billion to release 'spies'
An Iranian general this week claimed that the $400 million debt and $1.3 billion in interest the US has agreed to pay Iran from a pre-revolution international legal tribunal, was actually a ransom to secure the release of dual citizens recently freed by Iran as part of a prisoner swap.
Saudi says US well aware of Iran 'mischief'
Saudi Arabia on Saturday said it does not see a 'coming together' of Iran and the United States, which is well aware of Tehran's regional 'mischief'.
Slain ex-KGB spy accused Putin of pedophilia 4 months before poisoning
Alexander Litvinenko publicly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being a pedophile just four months before he was poisoned in 2006, an inquiry into the ex-KGB spy's death has found.

Israel-Palestinian Conflict
IDF official: Hamas ready for fresh hostilities with Israel
Eighteen months after its last war with Israel in Gaza, Islamist terror group Hamas has rehabilitated itself and is ready for a fresh round of hostilities, a senior defense official said Friday.
Faced with new ISIS threat, Israel readies itself for possible confrontation
As pressure on Islamic state intensifies in Iraq and Syria, the organization is working to establish itself in other countries and construct alternative arenas for its activities and Allen cautioned participants at the annual Institute for National Security Studies conference in Tel Aviv that it is too early to write the obituary for ISIS.
Netanyahu 'hopeful' of normalization of ties with Turkey
Prime Minister tells Turkish news agency on sidelines of World Economic Forum that resuming ties with Ankara 'will be good for both countries.'

Inside the United States
Immigration prosecutions drop 36%, detaining illegals in jail down 2/3rds
Criminal prosecution of immigration offenses over the past five years is down 36 percent, and the once-successful program of detaining illegal immigrants in state and local jails is in free fall, down by two-thirds, according reports from two federal agencies.
Blizzard for record books paralyzes New York and Washington
A blizzard that has paralyzed much of the U.S. East Coast intensified on Saturday, bringing Washington to a standstill and forcing the closure of roads, bridges and tunnels into New York until Sunday morning.
7.1-magnitude earthquake hits Alaska
A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Alaska early Sunday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

U.S. Politics
Michael Bloomberg Considering Independent Presidential Run, Report Says
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is considering a presidential run as an independent candidate, according to a new report.
Trump weighs lawsuit over Cruz citizenship
Businessman Donald Trump hinted Saturday he might decide to sue rival Texas Sen. Ted Cruz over the legality of his U.S. citizenship.
Paul Ryan Goes on Offense
Paul Ryan enters his first full year as speaker of the House with a unified caucus, an ambitious agenda, and an audacious goal: Go on offense against President Obama and the Democratic Party, while laying the predicate for unified Republican control of government in 2017. 'We have no clue who our nominee is going to be,' Ryan tells me over the phone, 'and the last thing we should do is sit around and wait.'

Christian News
Kazakhstan: Christian convert sentenced
A Kazakh court in Astana has increased the severity of the sentence given a Christian convert from Islam.
Algeria: Church looted, vandalized
Last week, vandals who wrote 'Allah Akbar' on a church's walls in Tizi-Ouzou, Algerian, also stole its congregation's cash.
Czech Republic accepts Christian refugees
Thirty-seven Christian families fleeing from the Islamic State are being relocated to the Czech Republic.
Saeed Abedini Arrives Safely at Billy Graham Center to Recover, Reconnect With Family
Pastor Saeed Abedini, who was released last week from an Iranian prison after more than three years, has arrived in the United States, and is resting and meeting with family members at the Billy Graham Training Center in North Carolina.