U.S. Confirms Liberian Leader Worked for CIA

Former Liberian president Charles Taylor worked for the CIA.

U.S. officials have confirmed long-held suspicions former Liberian president Charles Taylor worked for the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies. Taylor helped raise speculation after claiming U.S. officials had helped him escape a maximum security prison in Boston in 1985. According to the Boston Globe, the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency has now acknowledged Taylor served as a CIA informant during his emergence as a warlord in the 1980s. Taylor is currently awaiting a verdict at The Hague on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and violations of international humanitarian law during Sierra Leone’s civil war.


Libyans Reject ‘Hijacked’ Revolution?
Violent clashes between supporters of the new and old regimes have been seen in cities across Libya. The successful regrouping and attacks by former regime loyalists has raised fears that another civil war might take place in the country. ­Fighters loyal to late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi have clashed with revolutionary forces in the former regime stronghold of Bani Walid on Monday, taking control of the city in the process. At least five NTC troops were killed and 30 others injured in the violence. There is a lot of disquiet in every corner of Libya at the moment, as investigative journalist Simon Assaf told RT. "There is extreme discontent with what some people are describing as the “hijacked revolution,” Assaf says. And the process of hijacking was very “messy and brutal,” leaving many people seeking revenge, he added. “There was the total annihilation of Sirte, the attacks on areas considered to be loyal to the old regime,” Assaf explained. “So I think there is no question that there are many people who died under NATO bombs. I think there are quite a lot of acts of revenge taking place.”


Gingrich Win Aided by $5 Million Donation, "Southern Strategy"
Newt Gingrich surged to victory in South Carolina in part thanks to billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson, who gave $5 million to a pro-Gingrich super PAC. Much of the money was used to buy airtime to attack Romney. Gingrich was also widely accused of employing the so-called "Southern strategy" to appeal to the prejudices of White voters in the South. Last week former President Jimmy Carter said there is a "subtlety of racism" to Gingrich’s comments about food stamps and welfare. House Assistant Minority Leader James Clyburn of South Carolina repeated a similar charge on Sunday.

Rep. James Clyburn: "He’s appealing to an element in his party that will see President Obama as different from all the other presidents that we have had."

Also, Republican officials in Iowa are announcing the result of a recount that has put Mitt Romney’s initial victory in doubt. A new tally now shows former Pennsylvania Rick Santorum in the lead with a 34-vote advantage.


Raj Patel: In Attacks on Obama, Food Stamps, Newt Gingrich is "Racially Coding Poverty"
The new documentary "Finding North" premiering here at the Sundance Film Festival exposes how one in every four American children suffers from hunger, despite living in the wealthiest nation in the world, and nearly 30 percent of American families, more than 49 million people, often go without meals. While Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich decries President Obama as "the food stamp president," author Raj Patel says what is really needed is a conversation about poverty and why the need for food stamps is so high. "It’s true that disproportionately people of color are affected by food insecurity. But what Gingrich is doing, of course, is racially coding poverty by calling President Obama 'the food stamp president,'" Patel said. "He’s invoking these ideas of racialized poverty. Of course, if you look at the people who are on the food stamp program, you see that the majority of them are white and poor." Patel is author of the popular book, "Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System."


Romney Paid Low Rate on Millions in Investment Income Mitt Romney has released tax forms showing he payed an effective tax rate of 15.4 percent last year and an even lower rate of 13.9 percent the year before—substantially lower than the rate of most working Americans. Overall, Romney reported income of $43.6 million for 2010 and 2011, virtually all of it from investments. Romney’s charitable contributions included $4.1 million to the Mormon Church.

Also, ABC News has revealed Romney has hidden tens of millions of dollars in offshore tax havens in the Cayman Islands. Romney is said to have invested more than $33 million in more than a dozen funds listed in the Caymans, while his former company, Bain Capital, holds 138 accounts there. Although Romney would still pay U.S. taxes on any investment income, the use of the tax havens would grant him other financial benefits including greater foreign investment.


Video Emerges of Ron Paul Speaking in Front of Confederate Flag
Archival video has been posted online showing Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul speaking in front of a giant Confederate flag. In the undated video, the Texas congressman argues the South was on the right side of the Civil War.

Rep. Ron Paul: "The country was led to believe, and every one of our public schools since then have preached and harped and pounded it into our kids, that the only issue that was involved was slavery. And yet, that was—that was the excuse, and that was the rabble-rousing issue. And it was; you can’t deny that it was an important issue. That really wasn’t the issue of why the war was fought, in my estimation."


Connecticut Police Officers Charged with Targeting, Assaulting Hispanics
The FBI has arrested four police officers in East Haven, Connecticut, on allegations of assaulting Hispanics and then covering up their actions. The officers are accused of deliberately targeting Hispanics and subjecting them to abuses including beatings while handcuffed and unlawful searches. The officers also allegedly harassed and intimidated witnesses and fellow officers to avoid getting caught. The indictment also lists an unnamed co-conspirator believed to be the town’s police chief, Leonard Gallo. The charges follow a recent Justice Department probe that found East Haven police engaged in "biased policing, unconstitutional searches and seizures, and the use of excessive force."


Supreme Court Rules Warrants Required for GPS Tracking
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled police must obtain a search warrant in order to track a suspect’s movements with GPS. On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled for the first time that police monitoring through attaching a GPS to a suspect’s vehicle is a constitutionally protected search. The ruling marked a defeat for the Obama administration, which had fought to overturn an appeals court ruling that warrants are required. In a statement, the American Civil Liberties Union called the decision "an important victory for privacy," adding: "The Court acknowledged that advancing technology, like cell phone tracking, gives the government unprecedented ability to collect, store and analyze an enormous amount of information about our private lives."

Also, privacy advocates are raising concern over new changes announced by the online giant Google. On Jan. 24, Google said it will now track the web activities of its users across its email, search, and YouTube services to better tailor advertisements to users’ interests.


Historic Effort to Recall Wisconsin Gov. Walker Reveals "People Power" After 1 Million Sign Petition
Opponents of Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker have submitted more than a million signatures seeking his recall in a statewide vote. The million-plus signatures amount to nearly double the required number of 540,000 and may mark the largest recall effort in U.S. history. Walker is being challenged for pushing through a controversial law ending collective bargaining rights for most public workers. The million signatures "represent almost half of the electorate in the last election, in 2010, and what you might reasonably presume to be the electorate that would participate in a recall election," says John Nichols of The Nation magazine. "[Walker] will be forced to face a new election, because he adopted the austerity agenda of the Republican and conservative leadership in Washington and tried to balance budgets on the backs of public employees, tried to destroy their unions, tried to cut school funding, and succeeded in cutting funding. And we’re going to have a referendum on the most fundamental of economic issues."


Vermont Barred from Shuttering Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant
A federal judge has blocked Vermont from forcing the closure of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant when its license expires in March. The Vermont Senate voted to deny the company a new operating license in 2010, but the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission extended the plant’s license in the days following last year’s Fukushima nuclear crisis. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge J. Garvan Murtha overruled Vermont’s effort, saying only federal authorities can regulate nuclear safety. The Vermont Yankee plant is one of the oldest in the country and has had a series of radioactive tritium leaks. Vermont officials are expected to appeal the ruling.


Protests Held Across Nation Against Citizens United Ruling
Scores of protests were held across the country on Friday to protest the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, which ruled corporations have a right to spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns. Twelve people were arrested outside the U.S. Supreme Court. The actions were dubbed "Occupy the Courts."

Tony, protester from Austin, Texas: "Today we’re here to protest the Citizens United decision and any decisions that support unlimited money being used to buy our elections."

Paul King, from Brick, New Jersey: "I feel like corporate money is invading our politics and taking voices away from the common people. So I felt it’s important to kind of come out and be seen and possibly be heard."

Vic, protester from Charlotte, North Carolina: "This is an unstoppable force, whether people want to recognize it as such or not. We’re up against a lot of odds, but like I said, there’s power in numbers. And if we get those numbers, you can’t stop it."


Hawaiian Teachers Reject Obama’s "Race to the Top" Contract
In education news, the Obama administration’s "Race to the Top" education initiative has been dealt a setback after public school teachers in Hawaii rejected a contract that called for a move to a performance-based evaluation and compensation system. The vote came shortly after the U.S. Department of Education threatened to sanction the state for not implementing enough educational reforms.


EPA to Deliver Fresh Water to Homes Impacted by Fracking
The Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to begin delivering fresh water to four homes in northeastern Pennsylvania where water wells have been contaminated by the natural gas drilling technique known as fracking. Some of the water was found to be polluted with cancer-causing arsenic and synthetic chemicals. Meanwhile, a New York man named Patrick McElligott has entered his eighth day on a hunger strike against fracking. McElligott is expected to speak today at the Hydrofracking Day of Action in Albany, New York.


Report: Obama Considering Summers for World Bank Helm
President Obama is reportedly considering nominating his former top economic adviser, Lawrence Summers, to head the World Bank. Bloomberg News reports Summers has expressed interest in replacing Robert Zoellick when Zoellick’s term expires next year. Summers resigned as director of the White House National Economic Council in 2010. His key role under President Obama drew controversy because of Summers’s close ties to Wall Street and his backing of deregulatory polices during his previous White House stint with the Clinton administration.


Groups: Slow Response from West Led to Thousands of Deaths in Africa Famine
Aid groups says thousands of people have needlessly died in East Africa because of a slow international response to early signs of famine. In a new report, organizations including Oxfam and Save the Children say rich nations waited until a food shortage reached crisis levels despite warnings as early as August 2010. Up to 100,000 people are said to have died in the famine, mostly Somalis. Aid officials say they are now gearing up for a looming hunger crisis in West Africa.


U.S. Drone Strike Kills London Man in Somalia
A U.S. drone strike in Somalia has killed a man from London accused of being a commander of the militant group al-Shabab. Bilal al-Barjawi was assassinated just hours after his wife gave birth to a child in a London hospital. The Guardian newspaper reports the timing has raised suspicion that Barjawi’s location in Somalia was pinpointed as a result of a telephone conversation between the couple. The drone strike occurred about eight miles south of the Somali capital, Mogadishu. Meanwhile, the United States has carried out another deadly drone strike in Pakistan. Four alleged militants were reportedly killed.


178 Killed in Nigeria Raising Specter of Civil War
In news from Nigeria, at least 178 people died Friday in a coordinated series of bombings and shootings in Kano, Nigeria’s second largest city. The militant Islamic group Boko Haram claimed responsibility. Earlier this month, three of Nigeria’s most famous writers—Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, and J.P. Clark—released a statement warning that the country could be descending into civil war. Nigeria’s 160 million people are roughly divided between a mostly Muslim north and a predominantly Christian south.


Muslim Brotherhood Heads New Egyptian Parliament
Egypt’s parliament opened today for the first time since a historic free election put the Muslim Brotherhood in a leadership role after years of repression under deposed former president Hosni Mubarak. In the recent elections, the once-banned Brotherhood won 47 percent of the seats in the lower house of parliament. The Islamist Nur party won an additional 29 percent of the seats. The new parliament is meeting today just two days ahead of the first anniversary of the Jan. 25 protests in Tahrir Square that sparked the Egyptian revolution.


R&B Singer Etta James Dies at 73
The Grammy-award winning R&B singer Etta James has died at the age of 73.


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