– Interviews with Donald Trump and related stories about him and his policies are in full supply two days before he takes office. A sampling: The Washington Post has a feature on Trump's life in Trump Tower: He "rarely leaves, not even for a breath of fresh air," and generally stays surrounded by a close circle of family and advisers. Despite his regular tweets, Trump doesn't use email and almost never surfs the internet, but he does have one unusual access point: He answers his own cellphone, "something that acquaintances and colleagues speak of in almost reverential terms." Read the profile here. Axios has an interview with Trump, and the interviewers write that the president-elect "seemed moved" by his intel briefings. "I've had a lot of briefings that are very … I don't want to say 'scary,' because I'll solve the problems. But … we have some big enemies out there." Read it in full here. The Wall Street Journal also interviewed Trump, and it had real-world implications: "The dollar tumbled to its lowest level in a month after Donald Trump suggested ... he favored a weaker dollar, breaking with decades of tradition and intensifying investor concern over the incoming administration’s capacity to surprise." Read it here. In a wide-ranging interview with the New York Times Magazine, Joe Biden sounds worried about Trump's shifting foreign policy pronouncements. "It's like a Rubik's cube trying to figure this guy out," he says. "We have no freakin' idea what he's going to do." Read it in full here. Trump will enter office with only about half of his Cabinet in place. Politico takes a look here. Trump also will enter office as the most unpopular president in at least 40 years (see ABC News), while President Obama exits with his approval ratings at an all-time high (see CNN). The Hill looks ahead and sees five areas where Trump and Democrats can make progress, including a possible boost in minimum wage. The list is here. See Friday's inauguration schedule here.

Expand this summary.

A rehearsal for the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump take place at the US Capitol in Washington, DC (AFP Photo/SAUL LOEB)

 Washington (AFP) - The inauguration of Donald Trump as America's 45th president is the highlight of several days of pomp and circumstance in the US capital. Here's a look at the timeline of events.

 Thursday, January 19

 10:35 am - Performances begin at Lincoln Memorial. "Voices of the People," the first act of a day-long public concert, will feature groups such as the DC Fire Department Emerald Society Pipes and Drums, the Republican Hindu Coalition, high school marching bands, choirs and baton twirlers.

 3:30 pm to 4 pm - Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in honor of the nation's veterans.

 4 pm to 6 pm - Trump will deliver remarks during the second act of the concert at Lincoln Memorial, dubbed the "Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration." The event, broadcast live nationally, will be headlined by country stars Toby Keith and Lee Greenwood and feature a fireworks finale.

 Trump is expected to spend Thursday night at Blair House, the presidential guest residence across the street from the White House.

 Friday, January 20

 Morning - Trump, Pence and their families are expected to attend services at St. John's Episcopal Church, just steps from the White House.

 Afterward, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama welcome Trump and his wife Melania to the White House for morning tea. The two couples will then travel together to the Capitol by motorcade.

 9:30 am - Inauguration ceremony begins on the west front of the Capitol with musical performances.

 Attendees will include members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, diplomats and the public. Former presidents Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will attend, as will Trump's election opponent Hillary Clinton.

 Former president George H.W. Bush is in frail health and will not be present.

 Sixteen-year-old soprano Jackie Evancho will sing the national anthem. The Rockettes dance troupe will also be performing, at a time yet to be announced.

 11:30 am - Opening remarks. Religious leaders will offer the invocation and readings.

 Pence will be sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

 Noon - Trump will recite the oath of office, administered by US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. He will use president Abraham Lincoln's inauguration Bible, as well as the Bible that Trump's mother gave to him at his Sunday school graduation in 1955. Afterward, Trump will deliver his inaugural address.

 12:30 Ceremony ends.

 Afterward, in keeping with tradition, Trump and Pence will attend the Congressional Lunch in the Capitol.

 3 pm to 5 pm - Inaugural parade. The newly minted president and vice-president make their way 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) along Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House, trailed by some 8,000 parade participants. They will include members of all US military branches, as well as high school and university marching bands, equestrian corps, first responders, veteran groups and even a tractor brigade.

 7 pm to 11 pm - Trump, Pence and their wives will make appearances at three official inaugural balls, two of which will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and the other at the National Building Museum. A number of semi-official and unofficial balls also will take place throughout the city.

 Saturday, Jan 21

 10 am to 11 am - Trump and Pence attend the interfaith National Prayer Service, held at the Washington National Cathedral. ||||| Why it matters: A funding freeze could be seen as a slap against the organization — which the U.S. and Israel consider to be biased against Israel and too politicized — and an attempt to pressure the Palestinians to return to peace talks with Israel. But a State Department official said that the fact the money wasn't transferred on Jan. 1 doesn't mean it was frozen. "There are still deliberations taking place, and we have until mid January to decide what we are going to do,” the official said.

 The Trump administration has frozen $125 million in funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which provides aid to Palestinian refugees, according to three Western diplomats who were informed of the move. They said the funding, one third of the annual U.S. donations to the agency, was supposed to be transferred by Jan. 1 but was withheld.

 The details: The diplomats, who asked to speak on conditions of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the funding was frozen until the Trump administration finishes its review of U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority.

 The move comes after the Palestinian Authority suspended their contacts with the Trump administration in response to its decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. A senior White House official said no decision have been made yet, but confirmed that a review of the U.S. assistance to the Palestinians is underway "in light of the Palestinians' recent conduct."

 The diplomats added that U.S. officials told U.N. officials in the last two days that President Trump is considering totally cutting the part of the funding which was frozen, and is even considering cutting up to $180 million, which amounts to half of the U.S. funding to UNRWA.

 The impact: The Western diplomats said freezing or cutting of such a big part of the U.S. funding would be catastrophic for the organization, would hamper its work and might lead to negative consequences for the Palestinian refugee camps in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan and Lebanon.

 U.N. secretary general António Guterres has spoken with senior U.S. official about the UNRWA funding and also consulted with foreign ministers from other donor countries, according to the diplomats.

 The Israeli security establishment and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories — the Israeli organization that oversees government activities in the West Bank and Gaza — are concerned about possible freezing or cutting of U.S. funding to UNRWA, fearing the escalation of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

 “The humanitarian situation in Gaza is complicated enough and harming UNRWA funding will only make it more complicated," a senior Israeli security official told me.

 What we're hearing: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not enthusiastic about the cutting of U.S. funding to UNRWA, but is politically pressed by conservative ministers in his cabinet and by the fact he can't be more dovish on the Palestinian issue than President Trump.

 Officials in the prime minister's office told diplomats from several western countries that Israel does not object to the cutting of U.S. funding to the Palestinian Authority, but prefers that the U.S. doesn't cut funding to UNRWA due to the fact it also serves Israeli security interests.

 A senior Israeli official told me Netanyahu is in touch with the White House on the UNRWA funding issue, and conveyed the message that Israel prefers “gradual disengagement" with UNRWA by the U.S. and not a big funding cut.

 The prime minister's office said in a statement: "Netanyahu supports President Trump's critical attitude towards UNRWA and believes practical steps need to be taken in order to change the fact that UNRWA is being used to entrench the Palestinian refugee problem instead of solving it." ||||| Instead of being the party of “no,” Democrats could be the party of “maybe” during Donald Trump Donald John TrumpTrump to fundraise for 3 Republicans running for open seats: report Trump to nominate former Monsanto exec to top Interior position White House aides hadn’t heard of Trump's new tax cut: report MORE’s presidency.

 Democrats on Capitol Hill will try to block much of Trump’s agenda during the next four years.

 But there are some areas where the incoming administration and minority Democrats could find room for cooperation, including infrastructure, trade deals, the minimum wage and entitlements.

 Both sides risk a serious backlash from their respective bases if they pursue too close of an alliance, but there are potential upsides, as well.

 For Trump, using the opposing party could help him cobble together the votes needed to push parts of his populist agenda through Congress. And for Democrats, it’s a way to exploit divisions between Trump and Capitol Hill Republicans to achieve some of their policy goals.

 With that in mind, here are several policy areas where Trump and the Democrats could join forces.

 Trade

 Trump can act on his own to begin changing America’s overseas trade agreements, which he derided on the campaign trail.

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 He has vowed to announce that the U.S. is leaving the Trans-Pacific Partnership on his first day in office, and he could also deliver official notice of the country’s plans to leave the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico (NAFTA).

 But he will need Congress’s help to put in place new trade policies, a painstaking process that could take years.

 To do that, he could turn to Democrats, who have traditionally been more averse to free trade than Republicans.

 Trump could attempt to pick up Democratic votes to ratify a rewrite of NAFTA, if he is able to succeed in potential future negotiations with Canada and Mexico.

 He could also pitch them on his proposed tariff on imports, which has been met with crickets from Republicans.

 Some Democrats who are skeptical of free trade have already made overtures to Trump on the issue. Progressive groups have praised his nominee for U.S. Trade Representative.

 But they have also threatened to whack Trump if he veers off course.

 “During the campaign, President-elect Trump promised to reform American trade policy, but a promise is not enough,” Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said earlier this month.

 Minimum wage

 Boosting the federal minimum wage — which currently sits at $7.25 per hour — has long been a major policy goal for Democrats.

 They are hoping they have an ally in the new president.

 Trump sent conflicting signals during the campaign about what he wants to do with the minimum wage, which has not been raised in seven years.

 During a November 2015 GOP primary debate, Trump famously said that wages in the U.S. are “too high.”

 Trump changed his position after facing pressure from workers groups and liberals such as Sens. Bernie Sanders Bernard (Bernie) SandersHarris presses young people to vote early in Iowa trip Dems lower expectations for 'blue wave' Election Countdown: Takeaways from heated Florida governor's debate | DNC chief pushes back on 'blue wave' talk | Manchin faces progressive backlash | Trump heads to Houston rally | Obama in Las Vegas | Signs of huge midterm turnout MORE (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann WarrenWarren wants probe into whether former U.S. soldiers worked as assassins for UAE 'Broad City' stars urge Clinton not to run again Big Dem donors stick to sidelines as 2020 approaches MORE (D-Mass.).

 He has said he supports raising it to as much as $10 per hour.

 “I would leave it and raise it somewhat,” Trump told Fox News host Bill O’Reilly in a July interview. “You need to help people — and I know it’s not very Republican to say.”

 Democrats, many of whom want to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, have been discouraged by Trump’s pick of fast food executive Andrew Puzder to lead the Department of Labor, in part because he opposes a minimum wage increase.

 “Mr. Puzder is the classic example of a millionaire CEO who nickel-and-dimes workers while raking in profits for himself,” Sen. Patty Murray Patricia (Patty) Lynn MurrayOvernight Health Care: House passes funding bill | Congress gets deal on opioids package | 80K people died in US from flu last winter Wilkie vows no 'inappropriate influence' at VA Dems push back on using federal funds to arm teachers MORE (D-Wash.) said last month. “He has spoken out against increasing the minimum wage.”

 Transportation/Infrastructure

 Among Trump's most prominent — and consistent — vows on the campaign trail was to move quickly on a sweeping package designed to improve the nation's roads, bridges and infrastructure.

 It's an idea long-championed by Obama and congressional Democrats, who repeatedly ran into a buzz saw of opposition from Republicans, primarily over the scope of federal spending and how the massive costs would be paid for.

 Trump is attempting to ease those concerns by pushing the Republicans' favored “public-private” strategy, in which Washington would provide financial incentives, largely through tax breaks, to encourage buy-in from private companies. But Elaine Chao, Trump's pick to head the Transportation Department, told a Senate panel last week that Trump's plan will also feature direct federal spending — an idea that may need Democratic support to move through Congress.

 “Private tax breaks … will only aid infrastructure projects that have their own revenue stream,” Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.), senior Democrat on the Commerce Committee's surface transportation subpanel, warned Chao.

 Finding the right balance will be tricky, as Republicans are insisting that any infrastructure package must curtail regulations — a strategy sure to alienate Democrats — while Trump is also promoting so-called Buy American provisions certain to get pushback from Republicans.

 But it's the funding question that will pose the highest hurdle — a dynamic Chao acknowledged.

 “The pay-fors for any infrastructure proposal are all challenging, and all have their particular champions and … detractors,” she said, vowing to work with both parties. “We cannot do this alone.”

 Medicare drug-price negotiations

 Trump's attack on the law barring Medicare from negotiating drug prices breaks with the long-held position of Republicans, who secured the ban when Medicare's prescription drug program was created in 2003.

 But the president-elect has vowed to press on, using last week's press conference to accuse the “disastrous” industry of “getting away with murder.”

 The comments are music to the ears of Democrats, who have pushed for years to undo the negotiation ban.

 “I like what I'm hearing,” said Rep. Peter Welch Peter Francis WelchPoll: GOP Vermont governor has 14-point lead on Dem challenger Dems damp down hopes for climate change agenda Electric carmakers turn to Congress as tax credits dry up MORE (D-Vt.), who introduced legislation this month allowing Medicare to purchase drugs in bulk directly through the companies.

 “If President-elect Trump was serious,” Welch said, “I will work with him to make it happen.”

 Trump would need the Democrats' help.

 Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanElection Countdown: Takeaways from heated Florida governor's debate | DNC chief pushes back on 'blue wave' talk | Manchin faces progressive backlash | Trump heads to Houston rally | Obama in Las Vegas | Signs of huge midterm turnout Will the Federal Reserve make a mistake by shifting to inflation? Sanders: Democrats ‘absolutely’ have chance to win back rural America MORE (R-Wis.) is already taking the president-elect to task, telling Axios on Monday that the Medicare drug law “works extremely well.”

 “I don't speak like that, generally speaking,” Ryan said. “There's a lot more we can do to bring down the price of drugs.”

 The issue could leave Rep. Tom Price in a tough spot. The Georgia Republican, who's been opposed to Medicare drug negotiation, is Trump's pick to lead the Health and Human Services Department.

 Social Security

 Trump's populist campaign message included promises to keep Social Security intact, marking another break with Republicans that puts the president-elect squarely in line with Democrats.

 GOP leaders have proposed for years to scale back benefits under the popular seniors' program, including provisions to hike the eligibility age and lower payments for wealthier seniors. Ryan, a former Budget Committee chairman, has frequently been the face of those provisions.

 Trump has attacked such changes, and Reince Priebus, Trump's soon-to-be chief of staff, said Sunday they'll be off the table in the coming budget debates.

 “There are no plans in President-elect Trump's policies moving forward to touch Medicare and Social Security,” Priebus told ABC's “This Week” program.

 Democrats are not about to let the incoming administration forget the promise.

 Sanders, a liberal icon whose presidential bid has given him a national stage, arrived on the chamber floor this month hauling a poster-sized depiction of a Trump campaign tweet boasting of his plans to preserve the big entitlement programs.

 “I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid,” read Trump's tweet.

 “Millions of people voted for him,” Sanders said, “on the belief that he would keep his word.” ||||| The dollar tumbled to its lowest level in a month after Donald Trump suggested to The Wall Street Journal he favored a weaker dollar, breaking with decades of tradition and intensifying investor concern over the incoming administration’s capacity to surprise.

 The president-elect in an interview published Monday described the dollar as “too strong. ” He dismissed a major tax proposal that would favor U.S. exports over imports— known as a border adjustment—that was expected to further boost the dollar, as “too complicated.”

 ... ||||| Donald Trump enters office as the most unpopular of at least the last seven newly elected presidents, a new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds, with ratings for handling the transition that are also vastly below those of his predecessors.

 Forty percent of Americans in the national survey approve of the way Trump has handled the transition, half as many as the 80 percent who approved of Barack Obama’s preparations to take office. Trump also trails far behind George W. Bush (72 percent transition approval), Bill Clinton (81 percent) and George H.W. Bush (82 percent) on this measure.

 See PDF with full results, charts and tables here.

 Similarly, just 40 percent in this poll, produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates, approve of most of Trump’s Cabinet choices, trailing his four most recent predecessors by 19 to 26 percentage points.

 Also, only 40 percent see Trump favorably overall. That’s 21 points behind Obama’s departing favorability rating (his best since November 2009) and by far the lowest popularity for an incoming president in polling since 1977. Previous start-of-presidency favorability ratings have ranged from 56 percent for George W. Bush to 79 percent for Obama.

 Consider the flipside: Just 9 to 20 percent saw Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Obama unfavorably as they took office. It was 36 percent for George W. Bush. It’s 54 percent for Trump.

 Expectations

 Even with those weak ratings, Trump garners high expectations on some issues. Six in 10 Americans polled expect him to do an excellent or good job on the economy and on jobs alike, and 56 percent expect him to do well in handling terrorism.

 On the economy, Trump may get tailwinds. Fifty-one percent say it’s in excellent or good shape, the most since October 2006 in ABC/Post polls. Even still, 63 percent say the country’s seriously off on the wrong track — a view on which Democrats and Republicans have essentially swapped positions since the election, with the biggest change for the party that won the White House.

 Positive expectations for Trump drop to about 50 percent on three other issues: helping the middle class, handling the deficit and making Supreme Court appointments. Expectations go negative on four more: handling health care, international crises, race relations and issues of particular concern to women. Expectations of Trump are more negative than positive by 24 points on women’s issues, 37 versus 61 percent, and by 17 points on race relations, 40 versus 57 percent.

 Skeptics/Issues

 More generally, skepticism about Trump is extensive. Sixty-one percent of Americans surveyed lack confidence in him to make the right decisions for the country’s future. Obama was rated as poorly on this measure in the midst of his second term. But he started his presidency with the opposite result, 61 percent confidence.

 Fifty-two percent see Trump as unqualified for office. Still, in a positive trend for him, that’s down from a peak of 64 percent in June.

 Results are informed by opposition to many of the incoming administration’s policy plans. Out of eight such policies tested in this survey, majorities support three: deporting undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes (most popular by far, with 72 percent support), renegotiating NAFTA (57 percent) and punishing companies that move jobs overseas (53 percent).

 Support goes below 50 percent for repealing “Obamacare” (46 percent support versus 47 oppose), building a wall on the border with Mexico (37 percent support), withdrawing from the nuclear deal with Iran (37 percent), barring entry to most Muslims who aren’t U.S. citizens (32 percent) and quitting the Paris climate treaty (31 percent). (On “Obamacare,” two-thirds of those who favor repeal say the law should be replaced with a new one at the same time.)

 It’s notable that large majorities oppose two proposals that have been signatures of Trump’s political rise: barring entry of non-U.S. Muslims (63 percent opposed) and building a wall along the border with Mexico (opposed by 60 percent).

 Opposition peaks, at 66 percent, to another idea, providing tax breaks for privately funded roads, bridges and transportation projects that would then charge tolls for people who use them.

 Another likely policy debate may pose its own risks for Trump. He has proposed an across-the-board tax cut. Seventy-five percent in this survey support a tax cut for middle- and low-income Americans, but support falls to 48 percent for a business tax cut and just 36 percent for cutting taxes paid by higher-income Americans.

 Others

 Among other issues:

 • Just 35 percent approve of the way Trump has handled the issue of campaign email hacking, while 54 percent disapprove. Nearly two-thirds think Russia was behind it, and among them, 7 in 10 think Russia’s goal was to help Trump win the election. Forty-three percent see Trump as “too friendly” toward Russia; about as many say he’s handling this well.

 • Neither the media nor Trump is well rated in their handling of each other, but Trump fares considerably less well. Americans divide essentially evenly on whether the news media are treating Trump fairly or unfairly. But they see Trump’s treatment of the news media as unfair rather than fair by a substantial 57 to 38 percent.

 Groups

 Evaluations of Trump’s proposed policies and expectations for his presidency vary widely, with no division more prominent than the one between political partisans.

 One of the largest rifts by party emerges on Trump’s planned wall along the Mexican border. Seventy-two percent of Republicans support it, most saying they do so strongly, while 87 percent of Democrats are opposed, nearly three-quarters strongly. Partisans split similarly on repealing the Affordable Care Act, with 8 in 10 Republicans in favor and three-quarters of Democrats against.

 In terms of expectations, nearly all Republicans expect Trump to do an excellent or good job handling the economy and job creation alike, while fewer than 3 in 10 Democrats say the same. Democrats are the least optimistic about Trump’s handling of the health care system, with just 9 percent giving him at least a “good” prospective rating. That compares with 87 percent of Republicans.

 Not all of Trump’s plans are welcomed as universally by GOP partisans. Fewer than half of Republicans support the public-private infrastructure plan proposed by his advisers or his previously stated intention to pull out of the Paris climate agreement. (He later said he has an “open mind” about the deal.) Fewer than a quarter of Democrats support either proposal.

 Some divisions echo the election. White men without college degrees, a strongly pro-Trump group, support repealing the 2010 health care law by 65 versus 27 percent, while white women with a college degree — who narrowly backed Clinton — mirror them in opposition, 35 versus 63 percent. The pattern repeats in expectations for Trump’s handling of race relations; nearly two-thirds of non-college white men have high expectations, while as many college-educated white women have low ones.

 Race is a key factor. Compared with whites, nonwhites are 36 points less likely to expect much from Trump in job creation and 30 points less likely to think he’ll do well on race relations. And while support for building the border wall has increased among whites from 42 to 50 percent since September, it remains extremely unpopular among Hispanics, with just 11 percent in support.

 There will be much measurement of Trump’s job approval in the years ahead, and the best stand-in for that gauge now is approval of his handling of the transition. This peaks at 77 percent among Republicans, 68 percent among strong conservatives and 61 percent among evangelical white Protestants. But it’s just 45 percent in the states Trump won in the presidential election, as well as 42 percent among political independents, with 50 percent disapproving.

 Further, whites, a group Trump won by a 20 points in the election (per the exit poll), approve of his work on the transition by a 10 point margin, 52 to 42 percent. That ranges from 64 percent approval among non-college white men to 36 percent among college-educated white women. Seventy-five percent of nonwhites disapprove, including 85 percent of blacks and 76 percent of Hispanics.

 Methodology

 This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by landline and cellular telephone Jan. 12 to 15, 2017, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 1,005 adults. Results have a margin of sampling error of 3.5 points, including the design effect. Partisan divisions are 31-23-37 percent, Democrats-Republicans-independents.

 The survey was produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates of New York City, with sampling, data collection and tabulation by Abt-SRBI of New York City. See details on the survey’s methodology here. ||||| Presidential Transition Trump set to take office without most of his Cabinet Republicans are on track to take longer to fill out his team than for any administration since George H.W. Bush in 1989.

 When Bill Clinton was sworn into office 24 years ago, every single member of his Cabinet but one was confirmed by the Senate within two days. When Donald Trump is sworn in on Friday, he’ll be lucky to have half that many installed.

 With Republicans in control of the White House and the Senate, it wasn’t supposed to be this difficult for Trump to get his team in place posthaste, especially since Democrats did away with the 60-vote requirement for Cabinet nominees. But all signs are pointing to a slog for Trump and the Senate GOP, even if Republicans believe eventually all of Trump's picks will be approved.

 Story Continued Below

 “We were presented with the problem that the Trump administration was basically unprepared for presenting a Cabinet,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.). “They compounded that problem by picking both billionaires with enormously complicated financial situations, and people who have enormous conflicts of interests.”

 Trump made his Cabinet selections in rapid fire after the election, but has been hampered since by ethics complications for some of them, Democratic opposition and an unforgiving calendar. His Cabinet is now on track to take the longest to fill since George H.W. Bush’s in 1989, according to an analysis by POLITICO of the confirmation process of the last five presidents.

 Trump will also likely face by far the most dissenting votes from the Senate minority of any new administration in history.

 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are in negotiations about approving much of Trump’s national security team on Friday, potentially giving him a defense secretary, a CIA chief and homeland security head on Day One. A few of his less controversial nominees may also be approved soon after, including Elaine Chao as transportation secretary and Ben Carson as housing and urban development head.

 But after that, it looks like a major traffic jam. And next week’s congressional retreat and a spate of hearings that were recently postponed could combine to slow the approval process for weeks or longer. What's more, on Tuesday evening Schumer came to the floor to denounce the GOP for limiting questioning of education secretary hopeful Betsy DeVos to five minutes per senator, predicting it could slow the entire confirmation process to a crawl.

 "We feel very strongly there ought to be another hearing [for DeVos]," Schumer said. "This will affect how the rest of the nominees will go forward."

 Several prominent confirmation hearings are scheduled for after Trump’s takes office, including for Rep. Tom Price to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Democrats can use parliamentary tactics to delay Cabinet confirmations for several days apiece, and any one individual senator can force McConnell to jump through procedural hoops and burn the Senate’s time before holding a confirmation vote.

 “Their ultimate goal is to slow this thing down. And we can’t let them,” said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas). “I don’t know what they’re going to do.”

 While Cornyn and other GOP leaders are confident that Republicans will band together and approve Trump's entire Cabinet using their 52-seat majority, the ride looks rocky.

 A Trump transition official said staff members were aggressively calling senators to make the case for Secretary of State designee Rex Tillerson, focusing on Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) "in particular." Democrats are hoping to hobble Price over stock trades he made while in Congress, labor secretary choice Andrew Puzder over domestic abuse allegations and treasury hopeful Steve Mnuchin over his bank's foreclosure practices.

 The senior Trump transition official said all three were ready for a fight, and that rumors that any would drop out were not true. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Puzder and Price are the “most challenging” right now, but predicted they will eventually be confirmed.

 Republicans spent Tuesday rallying around the embattled Price, a conservative House member whom the GOP desperately need to be confirmed to help the party repeal and replace Obamacare. Price is accused of trading stocks whose value was affected by legislation he worked on in Congress.

 “Tom Price’s stock? No. If he’s done something insider, I’d love to hear it,” said Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). “I have not heard anything that disqualifies him.”

 Other confirmation hearings were delayed because the Cabinet picks had not reached agreements to resolve ethical conflicts stemming from their financial holdings. Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub said that’s an aftereffect of Trump not vetting his nominees ahead of time.

 Democrats have used the slow-moving ethics process as justification to criticize some of Trump’s selections. Whitehouse said that just hours before DeVos was set for her confirmation hearing he received a thick stack of her papers, which he had little time to review before. DeVos’ hearing, along with that of billionaire Wilbur Ross’ hearing to be commerce secretary, were both postponed last week.

 But Republicans say Democrats will pay politically if they further draw out the confirmation process.

 “If Sen. Schumer tries to slow down, I think he will regret it,” said Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), one of Trump’s closest allies in Congress.

 In 1989, George H.W. Bush’s Cabinet had no confirmations on Inauguration Day, mainly because the transition was from another GOP administration so there was less pressure to move swiftly. That year, some Cabinet nominees were confirmed as late as March.

 But Trump is not keeping on any of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet secretaries, and the transition between administrations looks sure to be hobbled in the early days by Senate’s infighting. A Trump transition official said his team is hoping to get as many as seven nominees confirmed by voice vote on Friday, but Republican and Democratic sources said there’s little chance of hitting that mark. Trump hasn't even made a choice for his agriculture secretary.

 There were just seven confirmation hearings last week, limiting how many nominees can be confirmed soon. And several, like Jeff Sessions to be attorney general and Tillerson, have no chance of being approved later this week. Sessions’ committee vote won’t occur until after Trump is sworn in and Tillerson’s nomination is “controversial,” said Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), which means a speedy vote should not be expected.

 “I’m for moving as quickly as we can,” Cardin said. “But that one will take a floor debate.”

 Though there are another seven confirmation hearings for Cabinet or Cabinet-level nominees this week, it would be stretch for them to be ready for floor action by Friday. But Republicans are trudging on, with Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) scheduling a Feb. 2 committee hearing for Puzder a day after CNN reported that the labor secretary pick is having “second thoughts" about remaining in the running for the job.

 “I think they all make it through,” said Tom Quinn, a Democratic lobbyist who has met with Trump since the election. But “some of the [nominees] will really get roughed up.”

 If Democrats fight the GOP tooth and nail, it could be more than a month before Trump gets his 15 Cabinet secretaries and six cabinet-level slots filled—- and potentially a lot longer for him to begin installing deputy-level officials that often run the department while the secretary serves as the public face.

 “I haven’t heard anyone say, ‘Let’s drag this out as long as possible,’” said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). Asked how long it could take to process Trump’s Cabinet, Durbin responded: “How long will it take to go through the financial papers of some of these billionaires? I can’t tell you.” |||||


Article:
A merger between terrorist groups spells even more trouble for Syrians caught in the middle. By Jamie Dettmer.

 Syrians battling to oust President Bashar al-Assad shouldn’t settle for democracy as the reward for their sacrifices but should embrace strict Islamic sharia law when the Syrian regime has been finally defeated, says the emir of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.

 In a recorded audio message lasting 20 minutes and released yesterday to jihadi websites, Al-Baghdadi acknowledged that Al Qaeda has been involved in the fighting in Syria, confirming that the Jihadist group Jabhat al-Nusra, which has become one of the most effective and disciplined rebel formations in the civil war, is an extension of Al Qaeda in Iraq, otherwise known as the Islamic State of Iraq.

 Al-Nusra, which has launched more than 40 successful bombing attacks against mainly government military targets, often using suicide bombers, has been tagged a terrorist organization by the Obama administration because of its links with al-Qaeda. It has been enjoying growing cachet among Syrian rebels from recent operational accomplishments on the battlefield and has been in the vanguard of many successful full-scale rebel clashes with Assad forces.

 Al-Baghdadi says that al-Nusra’s ties with Al Qaeda were kept obscure for security reasons and to provide Syrians the opportunity to judge the jihadist fighters through their own eyes as opposed through the filter of a biased international media that would immediately have dismissed them.

 According to the Al Qaeda leader, there were already jihadist cells in Syria before the conflict erupted. These cells were “awaiting the chance” to expand their operations and when the civil war started Abu Muhammad Al-Julani was dispatched along with other Iraqi jihadists to establish al-Nusra and to set strategy. Al Qaeda in Iraq has been splitting its funds with al-Nusra, he says.

 His boast will be seized on by the Assad regime, which has consistently spun the propaganda line that the rebellion is a foreign conspiracy relying on terrorists and foreign Jihadist fighters.

 The evidence on the ground is that al-Nusra has been able to swell its ranks with homegrown fighters as well foreigners drawn from elsewhere in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia and with a sprinkling from Europe.

 The Obama administration, which took major criticism from Syrian rebels for tagging al-Nusra a terrorist organization, will likely highlight al-Baghdadi’s remarks as final justification for its desgination.

 Al-Baghdadi is a highly effective if brutal leader. He has been responsible for directing large-scale operations in Iraq such as the August 28, 2011 attack on the Umm al-Qura mosque in Baghdad that killed prominent Sunni lawmaker Khalid al-Fahdawi. He has had deep experience in setting up jihadist groups and organized the flow of fighters from Syria and elsewhere into Iraq, a recruitment process that strengthened Al Qaeda in Iraq, say U.S. intelligence sources. He became the emir of Al Qaeda in Iraq in 2010.

 On December 2, 2012 Iraqi officials claimed that they had captured him in Baghdad following a two-month-long investigation but later admitted they had lifted a less important jihadist leader. Al Baghdadi became notorious before taking over the Al Qaeda leadership for running Islamic courts to try locals for working with the Iraqi government and coalition forces and would sometimes abduct whole families. Those he found guilty were publicly executed.

 Al-Baghdadi’s remarks are likely to complicate the arming of Syrian rebels by Gulf powers. Since January, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have increased significantly weapon supplies to brigades affiliated with the Free Syrian Army in the hope that the weapons would shift the balance of the war decisively and quickly in favor of the rebels. But videos posted by al-Nusra last month show their fighters using Croatian anti-tank weapons the Gulf powers are thought to have earmarked for the FSA.

 The British and French governments have been pushing to increase the flow of weapons to the Syrian rebels and for a European Union arms embargo to be lifted, but other European nations have resisted, arguing the equipment would fall into the hands of jihadist groups such as al-Nusra. European critics of the Anglo-French position say the intended recipients of the weapons, the FSA rebel units, work too closely with al-Nusra to keep the weapons to themselves, say German diplomats involved in EU negotiations.

 “We are concerned that the FSA isn’t really a cohesive force with a single command-and-control structure,” says a German diplomat based in Brussels. “The FSA can’t stop weaponry from being shared with al-Nusra and other jihadists,” he says.

 According to al-Baghdadi al-Nusra will now be officially merged with Al Qaeda in Iraq and the two groups will operate under the name Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham. The name change is significant and highlights Al Qaeda’s ambitions to use the Syrian conflict for greater regional goals. Al-Sham refers to Greater Syria, a pan-Arab geographical definition of a hypothetical united Arab state that corresponds to a medieval Arab province encompassing the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the Levant as well as Western Mesopotamia.

 In recent weeks al-Nusra fighters have come closer to Lebanon and the likelihood has increased of a confrontation along the border between Lebanon’s Shiite armed movement Hezbollah and Sunni jihadists with al-Nusra, who have been moving into Shiite villages on the Syrian side of the border along a 30-mile stretch in the mountainous al-Nabk area about 50 miles north of Damascus, say Lebanese intelligence sources.

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 In his audio message al-Baghdadi says the new merged group will not abide by geographical borders or be constrained by ethnic affiliations. That echoes what al-Nusra has said in recent months to other smaller Jihadist groups fighting in Syria.

 In January al-Nusra issued a call to arms after a meeting in the Syrian province of Deir al-Zour with nine other jihadist groups. Al-Nusra urged all jihadist brigades to “unite in the cause of Allah, organize the efforts and the attacks against the soldiers of disbelief and apostasy, and distinguish the ranks of truth from falsehood.” The statement continued: “We call upon our sincere mujahedin brothers all over the strong Levant to unite their ranks in groups, pure of the filth of suspicious groups and the infiltration of people who have no qualities or faith, in order to clarify their banner and purify their path.”

 As well as being at the forefront of major battles with Syrian government forces, al-Nusra has unleashed a bombing campaign. Its first suicide bombing came nine months after the uprising against Assad began with a two-car bomb attack on December 23, 2011—targeting the regime’s intelligence offices, killing at least 44 people, and wounding more than 160. According to the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, it is likely that two female suicide bombers from Iraq carried out that attack. Since then the pace of al-Nusra bombings has increased from one a month in the first three months of 2012 to four to six a month now.

 The group has been careful in the past to limit its jihadi messages when interacting with locals in rebel-held territory and has talked more in terms of assisting the poor. It has basked in growing popularity in the rebel areas of Idlib and Aleppo provinces tucked under the border with Turkey. Civilians contrast the discipline and honesty of al-Nusra fighters with some FSA fighters and argue the jihadists share war spoils with civilians unlike FSA units. ||||| In this Friday, Jan. 11, 2013 file citizen journalism image provided by Edlib News Network, ENN, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows rebels from al-Qaida affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra waving their brigade flag as they step on the top of a Syrian air force helicopter, at Taftanaz air base that was captured by the rebels, in Idlib province, northern Syria. (AP Photo/Edlib News Network ENN, File) | AP

 BEIRUT — Tensions emerged Wednesday in a newly announced alliance between al-Qaida's franchise in Iraq and the most powerful Syrian rebel faction, which said it was not consulted before the Iraqi group announced their merger and only heard about it through the media.

 Al-Qaida in Iraq said Tuesday that it had joined forces with Jabhat al-Nusra or the Nusra Front – the most effective force among the mosaic of rebel brigades fighting to topple President Bashar Assad in Syria's civil war. It said they had formed a new alliance called the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.

 The Syrian government seized upon the purported merger to back its assertion that it is not facing a true popular movement for change but rather a foreign-backed terrorist plot. The state news agency said Wednesday that the union "proves that this opposition was never anything other than a tool used by the West and by terrorists to destroy the Syrian people."

 Talk of an alliance between Jabhat al-Nusra and al-Qaida in Iraq has raised fears in Baghdad, where intelligence officials said increased cooperation was already evident in a number of deadly attacks.

 And in Syria, a stronger Jabhat al-Nusra would only further complicate the battlefield where Western powers have been covertly trying to funnel weapons, training and aid toward more secular rebel groups and army defectors.

 Washington has designated Jabhat al-Nusra a terrorist organization over its links with al-Qaida, and the Syrian group's now public ties with the terrorist network are unlikely to prompt a shift in international support for the broader Syrian opposition.

 Earlier this year, the U.S. announced a $60 million non-lethal assistance package for Syria that includes meals and medical supplies for the armed opposition. It was greeted unenthusiastically by some rebel leaders, who said it does far too little.

 Washington's next step is expected to be a broader package of non-lethal assistance, expanding from food and medical supplies to body armor and night-vision goggles. However, President Barack Obama has not given final approval on any new package and an announcement is not imminent, a senior administration official said.

 Secretary of State John Kerry, who met with Syrian opposition leaders in London on Wednesday, hinted at the new non-lethal aid package this week, saying the administration had been holding intense talks on how to boost assistance to the rebels.

 The U.S. opposes directly arming Syrian opposition fighters, in part out of fear that the weapons could fall into the hands of Islamic extremists such as Jabhat al-Nusra.

 The apparent tensions between Jabhat al-Nusra and al-Qaida in Iraq emerged on Wednesday, when Nusra leader Abu Mohammad al-Golani appeared to distance himself from claims the two groups had merged. Instead, he pledged allegiance to al-Qaida's leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

 Al-Golani said he was not consulted about the merger and only heard about it through the media. He did not deny the two groups had united, but remained vague, saying the announcement was premature and that his group will continue to use Jabhat al-Nusra as its name.

 "The banner of the Front will remain unchanged despite our pride in the banner of the State and those who carried it and sacrificed and shed their blood for it," he said in a reference to al-Qaida in Iraq, formally known as the Islamic State in Iraq.

 The message appeared to be, at least in part, an effort by Jabhat al-Nusra to reassure Syrians that the group remains dedicated to the uprising to oust Assad and is not beholden to non-Syrian interests despite its pledge of fealty to al-Qaida.

 "What you saw from the Front of its defense of your religion, honors, and blood, and its good qualities with you and the fighting groups, will remain as you experienced it," al-Golani said in remarks addressed to the Syrian people. "The announcement of the pledge of allegiance will not change anything in its (Nusra's) policy."

 Al-Golani's message was first reported by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist websites.

 Earlier this week, al-Zawahiri urged Islamic fighters in Syria to unite in their efforts to oust Assad. That may have provided at least part of the impetus for the announced merger with al-Qaida in Iraq.

 The purported unification was announced by ISI leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a 21-minute audio message posted on militant websites late Monday.

 In the recording, al-Golani confirmed his group's long-standing, close ties with al-Qaida's Iraqi franchise, and expressed gratitude for the money and manpower it provided to help get Jabhat al-Nusra off the ground.

 The Syrian group has made little secret of its links across the Iraqi border, but until now it has not officially declared itself to be part of al-Qaida.

 It was unclear what impact the apparent tensions might have on relations between the groups, although they have shown increasing cooperation in recent months, according to intelligence officials in the region.

 Jabhat al-Nusra, which wants to oust Assad and replace his regime with an Islamic state, first emerged in a video posted online in January 2012. Since then, it has demonstrated its prowess – and ruthlessness – on the battlefield.

 It has claimed responsibility for many of the deadliest suicide bombings against Syrian government institutions and military facilities. The group's success helped fuel a surge in its popularity among rebel fighters, although it has also emerged as a source of friction with more moderate and secular brigades in Syria.

 Iraqi officials say the groups are sharing three military training compounds, logistics, intelligence and weapons, and are growing in strength around the Syria-Iraq border.

 One of the most dramatic attacks by the group – and at the time the clearest indication of cross-border cooperation with al-Qaida in Iraq – came on March 4, when 51 Syrian soldiers were killed in a well-coordinated ambush. The Syrians had crossed into Iraq to seek refuge following clashes with rebels on the Syrian side of the border.

 Inside Syria, the news of Jabhat al-Nusra's fealty to al-Qaida mattered little to some activists, for whom the fight against the regime is paramount.

 Abu Raed, an activist in Aleppo province, said the merger "is of no interest to anyone here."

 "The rebels in Syria have one common goal, which is toppling the regime of Bashar Assad and anything that comes from the outside is of no interest to us," Abu Raed said, giving only an alias because of security concerns. "There is room for different opinions in the revolution and the important thing is the common goal."

 Also Wednesday, activists said at least 42 people were killed in clashes between regime forces and rebels in the villages of Sanamein and Ghebgha in the southern province of Daraa, including 16 fighters and three soldiers.

 Fighting in the province has escalated in recent weeks as fighters capitalize on an influx of weapons to advance in the strategically important region along the border with Jordan.

 ___

 Associated Press writers Barbara Surk and Zeina Karam in Beirut contributed to this report. ||||| Story highlights Peter Bergen: The announcement of links between Syrian insurgents, al Qaeda is worrying

 He says it gives al Qaeda an opportunity to demonstrate that it is still relevant

 The insurgent group, al-Nusra, is the most effective of the rebel groups in Syria, he says

 Bergen: The Obama administration has been right to move deliberately on aid to rebels

 On Tuesday, al Qaeda's affiliate in Iraq announced that it had merged with the Syrian opposition group Jabhat al-Nusra to form the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant."

 The announcement came in the form of an audio message from the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Sheikh Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, that was distributed to key jihadist websites.

 The merger was first reported by SITE, a Washington-based group that tracks jihadist material online. The authors were able to confirm the announcement by monitoring the jihadist site, Ansar al Mujahideen, which frequently posts material from al Qaeda, including Tuesday's news of the merger of the Syrian and Iraqi wings of al Qaeda. Complicating matters, on Wednesday al Nusra claimed it wasn't merging with al Qaeda's affiliate in Iraq, but instead was pledging its allegiance to al Qaeda's overall leadership.

 The news that there is some kind of connection between al Qaeda in Iraq and the Syrian Jabhat al-Nusra (in English "the Victory Front") is not entirely surprising. U.S. officials have long suspected that al-Nusra was really, in part, a front for Iraqi jihadists who had crossed the Syrian border to join the fight against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The State Department added Jabhat al-Nusra to its list of designated foreign terrorist organizations in December.

 Peter Bergen

 The fact that al-Nusra has publicly aligned itself with central al Qaeda is worrisome. A long-term safe haven for this group in Syria could be the prelude for the formation of an organization with the wherewithal to attack the West, just as al Qaeda's sojourn in Afghanistan when it was controlled by the Taliban prepared the group for the 9/11 attacks.

 Second, al-Nusra is widely regarded as the most effective fighting force in Syria, and its thousands of fighters are the most disciplined of the forces opposing Assad.

 Al-Nusra is also the first al Qaeda affiliate to take a page out of Hezbollah's book and operate not only as an effective fighting force but also as a large-scale provider of services , for instance, distributing enormous quantities of desperately needed bread in the areas of Syria that the group controls.

 Finally, al-Nusra is the first jihadist group for many years that has chosen to merge with al Qaeda at a time when it is having significant success on the battlefield. Al Qaeda's North African franchise, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, as well as the Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, both announced their affiliation with al Qaeda only when they were struggling for resources and exposure.

 While al-Nusra is enjoying real battlefield success in Syria, it is formally allying itself to al Qaeda at a time of great weakness for the global terrorist organization. The announcement of the merger with al-Nusra provides al Qaeda's leaders, now headed by the Egyptian Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the chance to prove they are still relevant.

 Al Qaeda has received severe blows in recent years: a contingent of U.S. Navy SEALs killed the group's leader, Osama bin Laden, two years ago, while CIA drone strikes have decimated al Qaeda's ranks in Pakistan's tribal regions, and the group hasn't pulled off an attack in the West since the suicide bombings on the London transportation system in 2005.

 JUST WATCHED Report ties Syrian rebels to al Qaeda Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Report ties Syrian rebels to al Qaeda 03:22

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 Sheikh al-Baghdadi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, said that he had delayed the announcement of the formal merger with al-Nusra because he wanted to allow Syrians time to get to know al-Nusra on its own terms, without the inherent negative bias that would be caused by an early announcement of its ties to al Qaeda.

 This was prudent. Had al-Nusra voiced its links to al Qaeda during the rebellion's nascent stages, al-Assad would have had an easier time blaming the uprising on "terrorists" as he has done since violence first broke out in Syria in March 2011.

 Syria is in its third year of a bitter civil war that has claimed the lives of more than 70,000 people, and wide swaths of the population support the opposition. In these circumstances, if al-Nusra continues to fight effectively against al-Assad, Syrians are not, at least for the moment, likely to care too much about what the group's broader ideological leanings are.

 For al-Nusra the gains of a public announcement of its alliance with al Qaeda are far from clear. In fact, it is likely to be quite counterproductive.

 According to Leila Hilal, a Syrian-American who meets regularly with the Syrian opposition and is the head of the Middle East Task Force at the New America Foundation, the merger announcement may "confirm the suspicions of much of the Syrian public that al-Nusra is not fighting for a free Syria, but for the establishment of an ultra-fundamentalist state."

 That might explain why the head of al-Nusra, Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, claimed in an audio message released on Wednesday that he wasn't "consulted" on the announcement of the merger of the Syrian and Iraqi wings of al Qaeda. Jawlani then stepped on his effort at damage control by announcing his pledge of allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is, of course, the overall head of al Qaeda worldwide.

 For al Qaeda, the advantages of commanding an effective, large-scale fighting force in Syria, which is in the heart of the Arab world and borders on Israel, are all too obvious. The people of Syria, however, should have good reason to worry about this ominous development.

 Finally, the announcement that al Nusra has pledged allegiance to al Qaeda underlines that the Obama administration's seeming dithering about how exactly to aid the Syrian opposition makes more sense than it has done hitherto. There clearly are unintended consequences and risks in supporting the Syrian opposition, which is fractured into hundreds of local groups, some elements of which are hardly supportive of the United States.

 The Obama administration decision, reported by CNN Tuesday , to sign off on a new tranche of nonlethal aid to the rebels in Syria is best understood as an effort to bolster the Syrian opposition groups that are separate from al-Nusra and to give them a better fighting chance in what everyone agrees is likely a long Syrian war in which al-Assad is eventually removed from power -- but only then, unfortunately, does the real fighting for lasting power begin. |||||Summary:

– The head of Jabhat al-Nusra, a jihadist group at the forefront of Syria's civil war, has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda honcho Ayman al-Zawahiri. What that means isn't exactly crystal clear at this point. While Al-Qaeda in Iraq says the groups have merged under the snappy title of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, al-Nusra chief Abu Mohammed al-Jawalani denies his group will be ordering new letterhead just yet, the BBC reports. "The banner of the Front will remain unchanged despite our pride in the banner of the State and those who carried it and sacrificed and shed their blood for it," he said in an audio message, the AP reports. Al-Nusra is among the most effective of the rebel groups fighting the Syrian government. It has committed more than 40 successful bombing attacks and has been on the frontline of clashes against Assad forces, adds the Daily Beast. The alliance is not a surprise (Obama labeled it a terrorist organization last year), but it is concerning, says CNN. Al-Nusra's success on the battlefield and reputation for distributing free bread makes it popular with everyday Syrians. With a powerful army in Syria, al-Qaeda would gain a strong strategic position in the Middle East, and a safe haven for long-term scheming.


Here is a news article: Alleged cop-killer Christopher Dorner has vanished.

 More than 24 hours after Dorner allegedly shot and killed one police officer and injured two others, police say they have no idea where the former cop with a vendetta against police has gone.

 "He could be anywhere at this point," Sheriff John McMahon of the San Bernadino County Sheriff's Department said today.

 Police are also trying to determine whether Dorner left his burning car on the side of Big Bear Mountain and earlier dropped his badge in San Diego as diversionary tactics to distract police.

 Wherever Dorner is, law enforcement officials fear that he may be heavily armed, possibly with a powerful .50 caliber rifle, which shoots five-inch long bullets that can pierce bullet proof vests and vehicles, as well as a shoulder-fired missile launcher.

 Dorner, 33, a former Los Angeles police officer and Navy reservist, sparked a region-wide dragnet after allegedly killing two civilians on Sunday and releasing an angry "manifesto" airing grievances against the LAPD and warning of coming violence toward cops.

 In the manifesto Dorner published online, he threatened at least 12 people by name, along with their families.

 "Your lack of ethics and conspiring to wrong a just individual are over. Suppressing the truth will lead to deadly consequences for you and your family," Dorner wrote in his manifesto.

 The last clue to Dorner's possible whereabouts was when cops found his burning car on hillside of Big Bear Mountain Thursday, but the trail of footsteps in the snow quickly went cold.

 "We followed the tracks around through the forest. We haven't found any new information to suggest that the tracks are going to any specific area. They did lead around in that wooded area where the truck was found, and we continued to follow them until we lost them where the ground got frozen," Sheriff John McMahon of the San Bernadino County Sheriff's Department said today.

 Dozens of law enforcement officers searched Dorner's home in La Palma, Calif., for clues to his whereabouts today.

 Overnight, more than 100 heavily armed SWAT team members and police officers combed Big Bear Mountain in armored vehicles and snow cats and searched homes in the area without any sign of Dorner.

 Cops are currently searching more than 200 empty cabins on the mountain to ensure that Dorner is not hiding out in them.

 "We're going to continue searching until either we discover that he left the mountain or we find him, one of the two," McMahon said.

 The Sheriff's office was forced to ground its helicopters, which are equipped with thermal imaging and could help pinpoint someone on the mountain, because of the snowy weather.

 How the Manhunt Started: The Search for Alleged Cop-Killer Chris Dorner

 Chris Dorner's Manifesto: Read His Allegations Against the LAPD

 Law enforcement officials are "deeply concerned" about Dorner's knowledge of police tactics that he learned while working for the LAPD from 2005 to 2008, sources tell ABC News.

 In his lengthy, rage-filled "manifesto," Dorner said he would use his knowledge of police tactics to wage "unconventional and asymetrical warfare to those in the LAPD uniform whether on or off duty."

 Dorner claimed to have a list of all LAPD undercover vehicles as well as extensive knowledge of procedures for hunting down suspects. Police are worried Dorner could use both to avoid capture and continue his violence against law enforcement.

 Dorner allegedly began his killing spree over the weekend, when a popular assistant women's college basketball coach, Monica Quan, 28, and her fiancé, Keith Lawrence, 27, were found dead in their car in Irvine, Calif., Sunday.

 Police say Dorner bore a grudge against Quan's father, retired LAPD Capt. Randy Quan, for his firing from the department. The deaths launched a manhunt for Dorner as police discovered his online manifesto.

 Suspect Cop Killer Is Believed to Have Very Powerful Weapons

 On Wednesday night, around 10 p.m., Dorner attempted to hijack a yacht at a San Diego harbor to flee to Mexico, according to police. But he aborted the attempt, tied up the yacht owner, and fled. His wallet and LAPD badge were found in San Diego, police said.

 PHOTOS: Former LAPD Officer Suspected in Shootings

 After the aborting hijacking, Dorner was spotted by LAPD officers in Riverside, Calif., around 1:25 a.m. on Thursday as they were guarding at a home of one of his named targets in their patrol vehicle. They chased Dorner and exchanged gunfire with him. Dorner injured one officer.

 Around 20 minutes later, Dorner pulled up across from a Riverside police department patrol car at a stop light and fired his rifle at them, killing one officer and injuring another before fleeing.

 The shootings initiated a widespread response from southern California law enforcement agencies who stationed heavily armed guards outside of police departments and the homes of Dorner's possible targets, stopped answering low level 911 calls, and pulled motorcycle officers off of their bikes in order to protect them.

 Dorner just finished his military career as a lieutenant last Friday. His only overseas deployment was to a Navy base in Bahrain. He received a Rifle Marksman Ribbon and Pistol Expert Medal, meaning he received superior scores when he tested at the range.

 Police described Dorner as black, 6-feet tall and weighing 270 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. ||||| The bustling winter resort of Big Bear took on the appearance of a ghost town Thursday as surveillance aircraft buzzed overhead and police in tactical gear and carrying rifles patrolled mountain roads in convoys of SUVs, while others stood guard along major intersections.

 Even before authorities had confirmed that the torched pickup truck discovered on a quiet forest road belonged to suspected gunman Christopher Dorner, 33, officials had ordered an emergency lockdown of local businesses, homes and the town's popular ski resorts. Parents were told to pick up their children from school, as rolling yellow buses might pose a target to an unpredictable fugitive on the run.

 By nightfall, many residents had barricaded their doors as they prepared for a long, anxious evening.

 PHOTOS: A tense manhunt amid tragic deaths

 "We're all just stressed," said Andrea Burtons as she stocked up on provisions at a convenience store. "I have to go pick up my brother and get him home where we're safe."

 Police ordered the lockdown about 9:30 a.m. as authorities throughout Southern California launched an immense manhunt for the former lawman, who is accused of killing three people as part of a long-standing grudge against the LAPD. Dorner is believed to have penned a long, angry manifesto on Facebook saying that he was unfairly fired from the force and was now seeking vengeance.

 Big Bear manhunt: In the Feb. 8 LATExtra section, an article about the manhunt for ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner said that Big Bear has roughly 400 homes, and that authorities guessed that only 40% are occupied year-round. In fact, authorities planned to search 400 homes, of which 40% are vacation homes not occupied year-round. Big Bear Lake, where the search is taking place, has about 9,000 homes, according to the 2010 Census

 Forest lands surrounding Big Bear Lake are cross-hatched with fire roads and trails leading in all directions, and the snow-capped mountains can provide both cover and extreme challenges to a fugitive on foot. It was unclear whether Dorner was prepared for such rugged terrain.

 Footprints were found leading from Dorner's burned pickup truck into the snow off Forest Road 2N10 and Club View Drive in Big Bear Lake.

 San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said that although authorities had deployed 125 officers for tracking and door-to-door searches, officers had to be mindful that the suspect may have set a trap.

 "Certainly. There's always that concern and we're extremely careful and we're worried about this individual," McMahon said. "We're taking every precaution we can."

 PHOTOS: A fugitive's life on Facebook

 Big Bear has roughly 400 homes, but authorities guessed that only 40% are occupied year-round.

 The search will probably play out with the backdrop of a winter storm that is expected to hit the area after midnight.

 Up to 6 inches of snow could blanket local mountains, the National Weather Service said.

 FULL COVERAGE: Sweeping manhunt for rampaging ex-cop

 Gusts up to 50 mph could hit the region, said National Weather Service meteorologist Mark Moede, creating a wind-chill factor of 15 to 20 degrees.

 Extra patrols were brought in to check vehicles coming and going from Big Bear, McMahon said, but no vehicles had been reported stolen. ||||| On the day Christopher Dorner was fired from the Los Angeles Police Department, officials took the unusual step of summoning armed guards to stand watch at his disciplinary hearing downtown.

 Those present were nervous that Dorner might do something rash when he learned that he was being stripped of his badge. He was a hulking, muscled man and his body language left no doubt about the anger seething out of him.

 "It was clear… that he was wound way too tight," said a police official who attended Dorner's termination hearing and requested anonymity because of safety concerns.

 PHOTOS: A tense manhunt amid tragic deaths

 That day four years ago, authorities now allege, was the start of a free fall into despair and deadly violence for Dorner. Police say the 33-year-old ex-cop killed three people and injured others on a campaign to exact revenge against those he blamed for his downfall.

 Friends and acquaintances who knew Dorner before he became a police officer struggled to reconcile the person they remembered with the image of the deeply disturbed man that emerged Thursday from a rambling manifesto that authorities said was published on what they believe is Dorner's Facebook page. The manifesto portrays Dorner as having no choice but to kill in order to reclaim his destroyed reputation.

 "I am a man who has lost complete faith in the system, when the system betrayed, slandered and libeled me," the manifesto states.

 PHOTOS: A fugitive's life on Facebook

 Born in New York state, Dorner grew up in Southern California with his mother and at least one sister, according to public records and claims in the manifesto.

 Dorner felt isolated growing up as one of the few African American children in the neighborhoods where he lived and was the victim of racism, according to the manifesto. "My first recollection of racism was in the first grade," Dorner allegedly wrote, recalling a fellow student at Norwalk Christian School who called him a racial slur. Dorner said he responded "fast and hard," punching and kicking the student.

 It was an early, telling illustration of a notion Dorner returned to repeatedly throughout his life — that he was a victim, often wronged by others, records show.

 As a teenager in La Palma, Dorner joined the Police Department's youth program, and decided to pursue a career in law enforcement.

 Dorner went on to enroll at Southern Utah University, where he joined the school's football team and was befriended by a teammate, Jamie Usera.

 Usera, who grew up in Alaska, said he and Dorner bonded over the feelings of culture shock that came with being outsiders on the predominantly white, Mormon campus.

 Usera said he introduced Dorner to hunting and other outdoor sports. "He was a typical guy," he said. "I liked him an awful lot. Nothing about him struck me as violent or irrational in any way. He was opinionated, but always seemed level-headed."

 Dorner often brought up race issues and the two had heated, but respectful arguments about the extent of racism in the country, Usera said. "Of all the people I hung out with in college, he is the last guy I would have expected to be in this kind of situation."

 Neil Gardner, an assistant athletic director, knew Dorner through football and echoed Usera, saying Dorner was "never a disgruntled guy."

 Dorner graduated in 2001 with a degree in political science and, soon after, enlisted in the Navy. Over the next several years, military records indicate Dorner received extensive combat and counter-terrorism training and earned commendations for his marksmanship with rifles and pistols.

 In 2005, while still enlisted in the military, Dorner applied to the LAPD and earned a spot in one of the department's training academy classes. An officer in Dorner's class who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to discuss the case, recalled Dorner as "one of our problem children" who frequently pushed the bounds of authority .

 A few days into training, the recruits were explicitly told to only wear white or black shoes for a conditioning run, the officer said. Dorner, however, showed up in bright neon sneakers. "He thought he knew it all, that rules just kind of didn't apply to him," the officer said. "He was not a team player."

 According to the officer, Dorner was kicked out of his academy class at least one time, when he accidentally shot himself in the hand. Internal disciplinary records show that Dorner was suspended for two days for an accidental discharge in 2005. He finished his training with another academy class, the officer said, and joined the force as an officer in February 2006, police records show.

 Months later, the Navy called him back into service and he departed for a 13-month deployment in Bahrain. When Dorner returned to the LAPD in July 2007, he had not yet completed his mandatory probation year and was partnered with Teresa Evans, a training officer in the San Pedro area.

 Evans would later tell internal affairs investigators that Dorner confessed to her on the first day they worked together that he was unhappy with the way the LAPD handled a complaint he made against some of his classmates in the academy, according to police records. He believed the LAPD was a racist organization and told Evans he planned to sue the department at the end of his probation period, Evans reported.

 Dorner repeatedly made mistakes in the field, Evans said. Shortly after becoming partners, they responded to a report of an armed man and Dorner stood in the middle of the street to confront the suspect without any cover, she said. Evans said she told Dorner that she was going to recommend that he be removed from the field unless he improved his performance, according to the internal affairs records.

 Dorner, she said, repeatedly asked to return to the academy for more training after his return from military service and was upset that the department had not granted the request. On one occasion, Dorner cried in the patrol car with Evans and demanded the additional training, she said.

 The struggling officer's ultimate undoing began on the morning of July 28, when he and Evans were dispatched to a report of a man who had refused to leave a local hotel.

 The officers found the mentally ill man seated on a bench. When he refused a command to stand up, Dorner took the man's wrist and pulled him up, records show. A struggle ensued and Evans had to grab Dorner's Taser stun gun from his belt to subdue the man.

 Nearly two weeks later, Evans criticized Dorner harshly in an evaluation report that included a long list of areas in which he needed improvement, including using common sense and good judgment. About the same time, Dorner called an LAPD sergeant whom he knew from the Navy and claimed he had witnessed Evans kick the man while he was being handcuffed. The sergeant told Dorner to report the incident to higher-ups or said he would do so himself. Dorner reported the misconduct, records show.

 The department's internal affairs unit launched a probe into Dorner's allegations. Three hotel employees who witnessed much of the incident said they never saw Evans kick the man. And when the man arrived at the police station, he did not mention being kicked in the face when a physician treated him for his facial injuries. Investigators concluded there was no truth to Dorner's claim.

 The witnesses' statements and Dorner's delay in coming forward "irreparably destroy Dorner's credibility," the department concluded in disciplinary records. Dorner was charged with making false statements and a false personnel complaint.

 At Dorner's discipline hearing, the father of the man the partners arrested testified that his son had told him he had been kicked by an officer. Nonetheless the discipline board, found that Dorner had lied about the incident and fired him.

 Dorner spent the next couple of years unsuccessfully appealing his termination. Then, this week, police say, Dorner made good on his threat to seek revenge when he fatally shot the daughter of an ex-LAPD captain who represented him at his discipline hearing. He also allegedly shot her fiance. Dorner went on to fatally shoot one officer and injure two others, police say.

 "When the truth comes out," the manifesto states, "the killing stops."

 joel.rubin@latimes.com

 jack.leonard@latimes.com

 kate.linthicum@latimes.com

 Times staff writer Hailey Branson-Potts contributed to this report. |||||
A summary of this is?

– The California resort town of Big Bear Lake has had a rough night. Los Angeles police officers have visited more than half the area's homes as they search for ex-cop Christopher Dorner; they're telling locals not to answer their doors unless they're sure who's knocking, ABC News reports. Meanwhile, surveillance aircraft are patrolling the skies and fleets of SUVs are keeping watch on the roads as the town is in lockdown, the Los Angeles Times reports. Police say they found Dorner's pickup truck torched on a forest road, with footprints trailing away through the snow. That snow could help hide Dorner, but could also make any movements on foot difficult, the Times notes. More details about Dorner's past are emerging: While longtime acquaintances recalled a "typical guy" who was "never disgruntled," police had long been concerned about him. Four years ago, when he faced a disciplinary hearing the day he was fired from the department, armed guards were on hand, the Times adds. "It was clear ... that he was wound way too tight," an officer says. Click to read about the bizarre package Dorner reportedly sent Anderson Cooper.