Mar 20, 2012 – It is not possible to dial an Iranian number from an Israeli telephone. It will simply not go through. That lack of communication stems from the government level, where there is no dialogue between the two countries aside from public speeches meant to carry weighty threats of war to each...

Mar 20, 2012 – Home builders are getting ready for a stronger construction season, filing for the most building permits in more than three years, in another sign of recovery in the long-battered housing market. The government reported builders filed for permits at an seasonally adjusted annual rate of 717,000 in February, the strongest reading...

Mar 20, 2012 – Ryan's office has provided Townhall with a preview of the budget, a broad outline of which I will endeavor to construct below. …

Mar 20, 2012 – The family members of Dwight D. Eisenhower are upset over a memorial for the late president that prominently features a small monument showing "Ike" as a child and barefoot rather than giving greater attention to the war hero and world leader he became. Susan Eisenhower, the president's granddaughter, is testifying...

Mar 20, 2012 – A man who police say killed a 15-year-old Utah girl after she refused to have sex with him has been arrested in connection with her death. Daniel Robert Lehi Ferry, 31, was arrested early Monday on suspicion of first-degree felony murder in the death of Anne Kasprzak, whose body was found...

Mar 20, 2012 – Sen. Dick Durbin is fighting his top Democratic colleagues, Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Charles Schumer, who want to move a bill easing regulation of Wall Street. Despite mounting election pressures, Durbin (D-Ill.) is digging in his heels against giving new companies a five-year exemption from accounting and corporate governance...

Mar 20, 2012 – U.S. stocks were headed for a lower open Tuesday as Asian and European markets lost ground and investors digest new data on the housing market. The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures fell about 0.6%. Stock futures indicate the possible direction of the markets...

Mar 20, 2012 – The lawyer for the Army staff sergeant accused of slaughtering 16 Afghan civilians in a nighttime shooting rampage met his client for the first time Monday and said the solider has a sketchy memory of the massacre. Lawyer John Henry Browne said Robert Bales remembers some details from before and after...

Mar 20, 2012 – Federal prosecutors and the FBI have opened an investigation into the killing of an unarmed teen by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida. The death drew protesters Monday to the courthouse in Seminole County, north of Orlando, to demand justice for Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old who was shot and killed last...

Mar 20, 2012 – A 2010 video of an airport screener patting down a 3-year-old boy in a wheelchair has become the latest Rorschach test of the public's attitude towards the TSA, pitting agency defenders against those who say the video shows the child being treated like a terrorist. Posted on YouTube Saturday night by...

Mar 20, 2012 – China says it has had "a frank, in-depth talk" with North Korea about the situation on the Korean Peninsula after Pyongyang's announcement of a planned satellite launch provoked an international outcry. Wu Dawei, China's special representative for the Korean Peninsula, met with Ri Yong Ho, a senior North Korean nuclear negotiator,...

Mar 19, 2012 – After a year filled with uncertainty, 2012 has so far been a strong one for stocks. Stronger economic data has helped push the Dow up more than 8% since January. But it's not so easy for some investors to forget last year's pain. Many retail players are hanging on the sidelines,...

Mar 19, 2012 – An associate pastor at a Florida church is questioning the washing away of a blessing placed upon a local highway by a religious group, saying the organization is "desperate for a little attention" for its cause. Glen Copple, an associate pastor at Northside Christian Church in Lakeland, said Saturday's symbolic cleanup...

Mar 19, 2012 – Free agent quarterback Peyton Manning will reportedly join the Denver Broncos barring an "unexpected snag" in contract talks. ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen reported Monday that Manning, 35, called former Broncos quarterback John Elway to "tell him he's looking forward to coming to play for him." Manning's contract will likely be...

Mar 19, 2012 – The Federal Aviation Administration may be looking to reverse its ban on electronic devices during airplane takeoffs and landings, according to a new report. Amid growing evidence that portable devices such as smartphones, tablets, and notebook computers pose no real threat to aviation safety, a spokesman from the F.A.A. told the...

Mar 19, 2012 – The leadership of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops this week issued a statement reiterating the conviction of the Catholic Church in the United States that President Barack Obama's mandate that all insurance plans--including those that are purchased by and provided by Catholics and Catholic institutions--must provide free coverage for...

Mar 19, 2012 – He is accused of a horrific and brutal massacre -- the slaughter of innocent civilians, including women and children, in their homes in two Afghan villages. The accusations are met with bewilderment from those who know U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales -- a man who, despite bearing scars from wounds...

Mar 19, 2012 – Two years after President Barack Obama signed health care reform legislation -- and with the U.S. Supreme Court about to consider a challenge from several states trying to overturn it -- supporters and opponents of the controversial law are gearing up for a message war like it's 2009. At that time,...

Mar 19, 2012 – entitled -- cough -- "man of principles," which features an extra special surrogate:   I wrote a cover story for Townhall…

Mar 19, 2012 – The Republican National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee both refocused their attention on healthcare Monday morning: The DCCC announced robocalls against vulnerable House Republicans on Medicare, while the RNC put out a memo sardonically titled "Happy Birthday, ObamaCare." Healthcare is likely to reemerge as a major issue in the coming...

Mar 19, 2012 – Several Senate Democrats up for reelection tell The Hill they haven't ruled out bucking President Obama by voting to repeal the health law's cost-control board. The House is expected to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board next week, putting pressure on the Senate to follow suit. While the bill has broad...

Mar 19, 2012 – Mitt Romney escalated Republican attacks on President Barack Obama's energy policies Sunday, calling for the firing or resignations of what he labeled the "gas hike trio" of top energy and environment officials in the administration. The Republican presidential hopeful's remarks on "Fox News Sunday" illustrated a GOP strategy to target Obama...

Mar 19, 2012 – A gunman opened fire on a Jewish school in southern France Monday, killing four people -- the third shooting of ethnic minority people in the region in the past 10 days. The gunman pulled up in front of Ozar Hatorah school in Toulouse just before 8 a.m. and started shooting, authorities...

Mar 19, 2012 – United Parcel Service is expanding its global reach by agreeing to acquire rival delivery service company TNT Express in a $6.8 billion deal. Atlanta-based UPS (UPS, Fortune 500) will pay about $12.50 in cash per share for the Dutch company, an increase of more than 50% since negotiations were first...

Mar 17, 2012 – In an attempt to educate the world at-large about the dangers of Anonymous, Rose Collins reached out to Townhall Finance and spoke…