IT'S RARE to see Congress agree on anything, so it was heartening to see a 398-0 vote Wednesday in the House of Representatives in support of a bill to help parents whose children were abducted by a spouse or other family member to live in another country. - There are existing laws that are supposed to help parents engaged in an international custody battle, such as the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. But the reality is that they aren't very effective. Rep... Read more

Written by Malia Rulon Herman, Gannett News Service -- The House voted unanimously on Wednesday to pass legislation from Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey that aims to crack down on countries that harbor children abducted by a parent. The bill was named for David Goldman of Tinton Falls, whose five-year fight to get his son back from Brazil drew international attention. Goldman’s son Sean was returned to him on Christmas Eve almost exactly four years ago. “Today, we have hope,” Goldman told reporte... Read more

FOX NEWS - The wife of an American pastor imprisoned for his faith in Iran said she was shocked to learn the U.S. government had been conducting secret negotiations with Iran even as State Department officials told her they could do little to free her husband because the nations have no diplomatic relations. Naghmeh Abedini, whose husband, Saeed Abedini, is serving an eight-year prison term in Iran after being arrested more than a year ago while visiting his homeland, told FoxNews.com she felt b... Read more

By Darryl Isherwood/NJ.com The Star-Ledger - While traveling in the Philippines with a congressional delegation, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith's plane was diverted to aid in a helicopter rescue, the representative's spokesman said today. Smith was traveling in the Philippines, ravaged earlier this month by Typhoon Haiyan, to meet with victims, emergency workers, and U.S. and Filipino government officials. During the trip, the U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules Smith was traveling in was diverted to pick up t... Read more

By Megan Goldschmidt, The Trentonian -- U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) is set to come home Wednesday from the Philippines, where he has been meeting with victims of the devastating typhoon since Saturday. Smith, who serves Hamilton and Robbinsville, traveled to the region impacted by Super Typhoon Haiyan, according to a release on Tuesday. “Its mind numbing and heart numbing,” Smith said, “I’ve been to many places around the world when there have been catastrophic typhoons hurricanes, earthquakes... Read more

Typhoon Haiyan — perhaps the strongest tropical storm ever to make landfall — has shifted the international humanitarian-assistance machine into high gear. On Nov. 22, I led a bipartisan fact-finding congressional delegation that included Reps. Al Green, Texas Democrat, and Trent Franks, Arizona Republican, and senior staff to the Philippines. We visited storm-ravaged areas, including Tacloban and Ormoc. In Manila, we visited government officials, church representatives and leaders of numerous ... Read more

By Christopher Robbins/NJ.com The Star-Ledger -- After witnessing Hurricane Sandy’s impact on his own district, a New Jersey congressman is surveying a devastating typhoon’s damage half way around the world. Congressman Chris Smith (R-4th) and his bipartisan congressional delegation traveled to the region impacted by Typhoon Haiyan to meet with victims of the typhoon, emergency workers and U.S. and Filipino government officials. “You listen to the victims and talk directly to the people who are ... Read more

By DEB RIECHMANN - Associated Press - Lawmakers who had long pushed for U.S. action against Nigerian Islamic extremists welcomed the State Department's decision on Wednesday to designate two militant groups as foreign terrorist organizations blamed for the deaths of thousands of people in Africa's most populous nation. Ansaru and Boko Haram, which have links to al-Qaida, are waging a brutal campaign against military, government and civilian targets, including Christians like Habila Adamu, who de... Read more

The United States on Wednesday designated Nigeria's radical Islamist Boko Haram network and an offshoot known as Ansaru as terror groups, bowing to months of pressure to act. Both groups have spread terror in northeastern and central Nigeria and are blamed for thousands of deaths as they battle to set up an Islamic state. "These designations are an important and appropriate step, but only one tool in what must be a comprehensive approach by the Nigerian government to counter these groups ... to ... Read more

By The Associated Press WAYNE PARRY (AP) -- Wider beaches are on the way for some Jersey shore towns whose coast took a pounding during Superstorm Sandy as a $25 million beach replenishment project led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers begins Friday in Manasquan. "Right after Superstorm Sandy, I remember seeing the devastation," said U.S Rep. Christopher Smith, a Republican who represents some of the affected towns. "We've got to replenish, we've got to rebuild the dunes because they did mitig... Read more