White House OK'd Clinton mission only with caution
WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House approved Bill Clinton's high-stakes rescue mission only with caution, intent that North Korea not benefit on the world stage. Yet officials now suggest it could mark a fresh start with the volatile regime. The freeing of two Americans on the former president's trip came with no strings attached, the Obama administration insisted Wednesday, and any move to break a stalemate over the reclusive dictatorship's nuclear weapons will have to come from Pyongyang....

Laura - Ling 'Thrilled Beyond Words' By Sister's Release: PHOTO
Revered U.S. newswoman Lisa Ling is "thrilled beyond words" following the release of her journalist sister Laura from a detention facility in North Korea. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton persuaded North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to grant Ling and her colleague Euna Lee a special pardon during a trip to North Korea on Tuesday (04Aug09). Ling and Lee spent five months in captivity after reportedly illegally crossing the Chinese border with North Korea, where they were preparing a report about...

White House: 'War on terrorism' is over
The U.S. is no longer engaged in a "war on terrorism." Neither is it fighting "jihadists" or in a "global war." President Obama's top homeland security and counterterrorism official took all three terms off the table of acceptable words inside The White House during a speech Thursday at a Washington think tank.

Bill Clinton Frees US Reporters From Kim Jong-Il's Clutches [Reporters In Peril]
Bill Clinton went on over to North Korea, met the crazy dictator there, and won: North Korea has pardoned Current TV reporters Laura Ling and Euna Lee for their slanders and calumnies.

Steve Bing Flew Bill Clinton To N. Korea
So the former prez could negotiate the release of those two detained U.S. journalists. According to AP, Clinton flew to North Korea on movie producer/director Bing's private jet. Since it's currently illegal for American planes to fly to North Korea, Bing had to iron out details with the U.S. government over several days.

Bill Clinton Used Vast Web of Business Contacts to Secure Journalists' Release
Former president Bill Clinton's central role in the return of two journalists detained by North Korea has once again cast a spotlight on his vast web of financial and political contacts, a network that troubled senators who weighed whether to confirm his wife as secretary of state.

The Wall Street Journal On Clinton's Successful Trip To North Korea: PHOTO
In the wake of Bill Clinton's successful trip to North Korea to secure the release of jailed journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, some Republicans couldn't wait to express their hearty congratulations on a job well done: You get the idea. And perhaps realizing that their rightwing brethren were sounding a little harsh about the safe return of two American citizens who had been imprisoned by a branch of the "Axis of Evil," the Wall Street Journal editorial page decided to be a little more...

US journalists return home from North Korea with Bill Clinton
Euna Lee and Laura Ling, the two US journalists freed after 140 days in captivity in North Korea, have returned home with Bill Clinton to a tearful reunion with their families in Los Angeles.

BILL CLINTON TO BRING IMPRISONED JOURNALISTS HOME FROM NORTH KOREA
Former President Bill Clinton has won the release of Current TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who have been jailed in North Korea since March on charges of entering the country illegally. The state-run Korean Central News Agency announced that the two women had been pardoned by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and would be allowed to leave the country with Clinton. No mention of Clinton's visit to the country was made by either the North Korean or U.S. governments until the former...

Wealthy Hollywood producer paid for Clinton's North Korea flight
WASHINGTON) — A wealthy Hollywood producer paid for the flight that carried former President Bill Clinton and two American journalists home from North Korea, a California businessman confirmed today. Stephen Bing, a close Clinton friend and longtime Democratic fundraiser, is the plane's owner, said Marc Foulkrod of Burbank, Calif., chairman of Avjet Corp., the company that manages the aircraft. Foulkrod said the Federal Aviation Administration "at the highest levels" cleared the flight...

Steve Bing Paid For NKorea Flight: PHOTO
WASHINGTON - A businessman says a wealthy Hollywood producer paid for the flight that carried former President Bill Clinton and two American journalists home from North Korea. Marc Foulkrod, chairman of Avjet Corp., the company that manages the plane, said the aircraft is owned by Stephen Bing, a longtime Democratic donor and fundraiser. Bing raised at least $100,000 for Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, in addition to giving the personal maximum $2,300. The Clinton...

Freed journalists home in US after NKorea pardon: PHOTO
Two American journalists jubilantly reunited with family and friends early Wednesday upon returning to the United States with former President Bill Clinton , whose diplomatic trip to North Korea secured their release nearly five months after their arrests. The jet carrying Euna Lee and Laura Ling , reporters for Al Gore 's San Francisco -based Current TV, and Clinton arrived at Burbank 's Bob Hope Airport at dawn. Clinton met with communist leader Kim Jong Il on Tuesday to secure the women's...

RELEASED JOURNALISTS: “WE STAND HERE HOME AND FREE”: PHOTO
Two American journalists freed from North Korea after a visit by former president Bill Clinton arrived in California around 8:30 am ET today (August 5) aboard Clinton’s private plane. Details of the surprise mission are beginning to emerge. Among them: the deal began when the journalists, in phone calls to their families, said North Korea would accept Clinton as a mediator. Although The White House calls the Clinton visit a “private humanitarian” act, the former president met...

Stephen Bing & Elizabeth Hurley: Bing fathered Hurley's son (photos)
Stephen Bing is a billionaire and Hollywood producer. Bing has been a staunch supporter of Bill Clinton, the Democratic Party and the Clinton Foundation. Bing supplied his private jet for Clinton to fly to North Korea. Clinton helped to bring home the jailed journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee. Stephen Bing was named by Elizabeth Hurley as the father of her son, Damian Charles. Hurley was pregnant with Damian in 2001. A DNA test has proven beyond doubt that Bing is the father of Damien Charles....

Republican leader attacks 'fishy' White House request
A leading Republican US Senator on Wednesday sharply assailed a White House request for supporters to help track "fishy" claims about President Barack Obama's plans to overhaul US Health Care. "I am not aware of any precedent for a president asking American citizens to report their fellow citizens to The White House for pure political speech that is deemed ?fishy? or otherwise inimical to The White House?s political interests," John Cornyn of Texas wrote US President Barack Obama. "As Congress...

Lisa Ling on Sister Laura: Shes 'Really Anxious' to Eat Fresh Food: PHOTO
TV journalist Lisa Ling , along with the husband of her newly freed sister Laura Ling , spoke candidly Wednesday about the condition of the journalists on their first day back home from North Korea. Lisa Ling described her sister as being "exhausted," revealing what she's looking forward to: "She said she's really, really anxious to eat fresh fruit and fresh food. She was telling us how there were rocks in her rice…she's just anxious to eat fresh food. I know that there will be a sushi...

Kim Jong Platform Shoes (Photo!)
Kim Jong Platform Shoes - Now that Bill Clinton has met with North Korean ruler Kim Jong Il, successfully convincing him to release US reporters Laura Ling and Euna Lee, we can all talk about Kim Jong's platform shoes. Kim Jong Il, an insecure leader who feels the need to puff his hair up in order to appear taller and less unintimidating, wears platform shoes. In case you didn't know it already (We've known this for a while, folks), Kim Jong is insecure and needs to wear shoes that add up to 6...

Hollywood Radio & Television Society Books Bill Clinton
Annual Network Presidents Luncheon Remains in Question

Gibbs: Ahmadinejad 'elected leader' of Iran
WASHINGTON (AP) - White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is "the elected leader" of the Islamic republic. Gibbs was asked Tuesday if The White House recognized Ahmadinejad as the country's legitimate president. "He's the elected leader," Gibbs responded. Iranian opposition to Ahmadinejad's re-election claimed he stole the vote, and there have been massive street demonstrations that have shaken the religious leadership of the country. Ahmadinejad reports to...

Panetta at CIA: 'Clean break from past'
by Rebecca Cole The Senate Intelligence Committee has taken up the nomination of Leon Panetta, former congressman from California and onetime chief of staff to former President Bill Clinton, for director of the Central Intelligence Agency. While Panetta's confirmation is expected, new questions have arisen this week surrounding the work he has done in the private sector -- collecting speaking fees from firm troubled banks and a company that does business with the Defense...

Bill Clinton went to N. Korea and laid his mack down: VIDEO
Embedded video from CNN Video The second black President couldn’t get it done, so they had to call up the O.G. How gangsta is that? Yo, there is nobody else in the United States government (that isn’t military) that coulda got those journalists any smoother. It so reminds me of the Jaime Foxx stand up when he was jokin about Bill talkin to Osama: