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CNN Poll: Obama’s Approval Rating Unchanged Since Scandals Hit

Dave Urbanski — Sun, 19 May 2013 23:02:31 +0000

Benghazi, the AP phone flap, the IRS targeting conservatives…none of it apparently has affected President Barack Obama’s approval rating.

President Barack Obama speaks during a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) event at the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, Sunday, May 19, 2013, in Atlanta. (Credit: AP)

The poll via CNN and ORC International reveals that 53% of Americans approve of Obama’s job performance; 45% disapprove. The poll was taken May 17 and 18 with a 3% margin of error.

Before the trio of scandals, an early April CNN poll had Obama’s approval rating at 51%; an early May Gallup poll had his approval rating at 50%.

The poll also determined that while 71% of Americans said the IRS actions against conservatives are inappropriate, 6 in 10 respondents said they trusted Obama’s explanations about it.

Check out the “Not So Bad Week” for Obama below, via CNN:

Featured image credit: AP

(H/T: HuffPo)

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‘Unconstitutional’: AP CEO Blasts ‘Abusive’ Justice Dept. in First TV Interview Since Scandal Broke

Erica Ritz — Sun, 19 May 2013 22:00:23 +0000

In this Sunday, May 19, 2013, photo provided by CBS News, Gary Pruitt, the President and CEO of the Associated Press, discusses the Justice Department’s seizure of AP reporters’ phone records on CBS’s “Face the Nation” in Washington. (Photo: AP)

WASHINGTON (TheBlaze/AP) — The president and chief executive officer of The Associated Press on Sunday called the government’s secret seizure of two months of reporters’ phone records “unconstitutional” and said the news cooperative has not ruled out legal action against the Justice Department.

Gary Pruitt, in his first television interviews since it was revealed the Justice Department subpoenaed phone records of AP reporters and editors, said the move already has had a chilling effect on journalism. Pruitt said the seizure has made sources less willing to talk to AP journalists and, in the long term, could limit Americans’ information from all news outlets.

Pruitt told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the government has no business monitoring the AP’s newsgathering activities.

“And if they restrict that apparatus … the people of the United States will only know what the government wants them to know and that’s not what the framers of the Constitution had in mind when they wrote the First Amendment,” he said.

In a separate interview with the AP, Pruitt said the news cooperative had not decided its next move but has not ruled out legal action against the government. He said the Justice Department’s investigation is out of control and that President Barack Obama should rein it in, apparently believing that the White House had no knowledge of the decision to seize the records.

“It’s too early to know if we’ll take legal action but I can tell you we are positively displeased and we do feel that our constitutional rights have been violated,” Pruitt said.

“They’ve been secretive, they’ve been overbroad and abusive – so much so that taken together, they are unconstitutional because they violate our First Amendment rights,” he added.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Judiciary Committee, said on “Face the Nation” that the scandal is only part of a “culture of cover-ups and intimidation that is giving the administration so much trouble.”

The Texas senator also renewed his call for Attorney General Eric Holder to resign, citing the contempt citation the House of Representatives voted against him last year for refusing to turn over documents in a failed government gun smuggling sting known as Operation Fast and Furious.

Watch the entire segment on the AP phone records scandal below:

But White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that President Obama “has complete faith in Attorney General Holder.” He also said the White House was not involved in the decision to seek AP phone records.

Although the Justice Department has not explained why it sought phone records from the AP, Pruitt pointed to a May 7, 2012, story that disclosed details of a successful CIA operation in Yemen to stop an airliner bomb plot around the one-year anniversary of the May 2, 2011, killing of Osama bin Laden.

The AP delayed publication of that story at the request of government officials who said it would jeopardize national security.

“We respected that, we acted responsibly, we held the story,” Pruitt said.

Pruitt said that only after officials from two government entities said the threat had passed did the AP publish the story. He said the administration still asked that the story be held until an official announcement the next day, a request the AP rejected.

The news service viewed the story as important because White House and Department of Homeland Security officials were saying publicly there was no credible evidence of a terrorist threat to the U.S. around the one-year anniversary of bin Laden’s death.

“So that was misleading to the American public. We felt the American public needed to know this story,” Pruitt said.

The AP has seen an effect on its newsgathering since the disclosure of the Justice Department’s subpoena, he said.

“Officials that would normally talk to us and people we talk to in the normal course of newsgathering are already saying to us that they’re a little reluctant to talk to us,” Pruitt said. “They fear that they will be monitored by the government.”

The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of personal and work telephone records for several reporters and editors, as well as general AP office numbers in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn., and for the main number for the AP in the House of Representatives press gallery.

“It was sweeping and broad and beyond what they needed to do,” Pruitt said.

He objected to the “Justice Department acting on its own being the judge, jury and executioner in secret,” saying the AP would not back down.

“We’re not going to be intimidated by the abusive tactics of the Justice Department,” he said.

–

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‘Twilight’s…First Gleaming?’: Watch Canadian Butcher ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ and Bravely Plow Ahead, Making Up Words

Dave Urbanski — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:02:22 +0000

Sometimes they start crying. Sometimes they dart from the spotlight in embarrassment. (Of course, if you’re Roseanne, you spit in glorious defiance.)

But when Alexis Normand of Canada began forgetting the words to the “Star-Spangled Banner” before the 2013 Memorial Cup game between the Portland Winterhawks and the Halifax Mooseheads yesterday, your heart had to go out.

(Credit: YouTube)

Many Americans forget their own country’s national anthem in a pinch; she’s Canadian, so she gets a bit of a pass.

(Credit: YouTube)

But instead of wimping out in the face of thousands of singing critics in the stands, Normand soldiered on, keeping the melody, and making up words just to get through the ordeal.

(Credit: YouTube)

And by the end, the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, crowd is clearly behind her valiant effort.

(Credit: YouTube)

Check out the heart-tugging hilarity below:

Featured image credit: YouTube

(H/T: Deadspin)

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Bob Woodward: Some in Obama Admin Lying About Benghazi, Acting ‘Nixonian’

Dave Urbanski — Sun, 19 May 2013 20:01:14 +0000

Bob Woodward of the Washington Post took to task some in the Obama administration today, saying they’re not telling the truth about the Benghazi attacks. From his appearance on Meet the Press:

“…On the whole Benghazi thing, you look at those talking points, and the initial draft by the CIA very explicitly said we know that activists who have ties to al-Qaeda were involved in the attack. And then you see what comes out a couple of days later and there is no reference to this. This is a business where you have to tell the truth, and that did not happen here.”

The legendary Watergate reporter was responding to a question from host David Gregory on the scandals hitting the Obama camp in general and how he thinks they’re handling them.

Woodward, while acknowledging that the scandals are “not Watergate,” said that “some people in the administration…have acted as if they want to be Nixonian, and that’s a very big problem. I think…”

What do you think?

Featured image credit: AP

(H/T: Gateway Pundit)

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‘So Sick of No Answers’: Blaze Readers Respond to Obama’s IRS Dodge

Madeleine Morgenstern — Sun, 19 May 2013 19:00:15 +0000

President Barack Obama skirted a reporter’s question Thursday about whether he or anyone else at the White House had known about the Internal Revenue Service’s deliberately targeting conservative organizations that applied for tax-exempt status.

Instead of answering directly, Obama responded, “I can assure you that I certainly did not know anything about the IG report before the IG report had been leaked through the press” — referring to an inspector general’s report, which he wasn’t asked about. Obama senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer subsequently said that no one in the White House, including the president, had been aware of what was happening.

Here’s what some of you had to say about Obama’s answer:

AvengerK

I believe this is the first hint we have that Obama is hiding white house complicity in this debacle. Notice he didn’t answer the question? The question was: “Can you assure the American people that nobody in the White House knew about the agency’s actions before your counsel’s office found out on April 22nd?”….Notice the answer? Obama says he didn’t know about the IG report until it was leaked. This is not an answer as to whether anyone in the white house knew about the IRS targetting before April 22nd. The question wasn’t “did you know about the IG report before April 22nd”. In fact he should have known the IG was investigating reports of abuses at the IRS. We need to get people under oath, this goes much, much further than some “rogue IRS agents” in Philly.

Love the kids

What’s even more concerning to me is that it is bad enough that he knew and let it happen, But I am even MORE WORRIED that an agency and under control of the White House can do something like this for years, report after report came out about it, and the MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE WORLD isn’t even informed by people what is going on. It makes you wonder who is REALLY running this country.

Believe-Receive

Mr. Obama, you are the President of the United States. It’s your “job” to know what’s going on in the Government.

OniKaze

LOVE IT:

On Benghazi: “I was not told…” (I don’t know) On Fast and Furious: “I was not involved, and it was started by Bush…” (I don’t know..) On IRS Scandle: “I just found out a few days ago…” ( I didn’t know) On ANY Issue: “I don’t know…”

Ok… So the “smartest” president we have ever had, apparently knows NOTHING about all this stuff that he SHOULD know about… So my question to Obama is this….

If you know nothing about ANY of this, What exactly DO YOU KNOW, Mr. President?? Because from this perspective it doesn’t seem like you will admit to knowing ANYTHING.???

If you don’t know ANYTHING, how exactly are you qualified to be POTUS?

JrFoyt44

Let me see if I understand this. The self-proclaimed Emperor knew nothing about “Fast and Furious,” except to blame George W. Bush for (which he had nothing to do with). He also knew nothing about Benghazi where 4 American heroes died unnecessarily. As the father of two American soldiers, I find this beyond appalling. He also claims not to know about the IRS criminal acts, or the Associated Press violations. However, he does know about the Georgetown student who wants me to pay for her contraception and even has time to call her on the phone. And he also knows about the gay NBA basketball player and has time to call him on the phone. My question is, what the hell does this guy do all day?

Theglockguy007

Odumba was NOT asked about the I report, he was asked if anyone at the WH knew about the IRS selectively targeting conservative groups. If the answer is clearly NO, then he would have said NO, nobody at the WH had any knowledge of that activity. But he did not answer the question, instead he focused on the IG report and said he didn’t know anything about the IG report. A clear dodging of the question because he didn’t want to answer it and be on record when the truth comes out.

Toomuchgovt

So again, yet another “we will look into it”. So sick of this, so sick of the senate rinos kissing his butt, so sick of no answers. If this was a republican pres. I would be just as outraged. Please stop comparing this Watergate or this president to Nixon or Bush, at least those president loved this country. I may not have agreed with either of them, but I don’t ever recall having this sick feeling. I refuse to watch anything, unless it is the impeachment hearing.

Seawulf

Interesting that what he said was that he was not aware of the IG’s report. His subsequent assertions of action almost sounded like he is going to find out who kept it from him that the IRS was being investigated and how it was hidden from him, and take actions to make sure that can never happen again. Not that the IRS actions cannot happen again, that he cannot be blind-sided again. If he was serious about this whole thing he would out Sarah Hall Ingram and address not only the current leaders of the IRS, but the ones that were in charge at the time of the incidents.

GeoInSD

You can be pretty sure that when a politician replies to your question in a way that ignores or distorts the meaning of your original question that he/she is trying to mislead you. So from Obama’s answer to the question of whether anyone in the White House knew about the IRS’s actions before 4/22, I am very confident that they knew. The question was not whether they knew about the IG report, yet Obama made pretended the question about the IG report. HE KNEW before 4/22!!!! Come on people, including so-called liberals, you know it is a huge stretch of the imagination to believe he didn’t particularly in light of his answer to that question and how he answered it.

Even though politicians lie, they still try to avoid lying, when possible, to save their *sses.

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Report: Obama Administration Apologizes for Another National Security Leak

Sharona Schwartz — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:14:09 +0000

Israel Channel 2 broadcast this satellite image showing a Damascus airport warehouse before and after the airstrike (Screenshot: Channel 2 News)

The Justice Department’s seizure of Associated Press reporters’ phone records was reportedly one element of a “sweeping” federal investigation to find out who leaked classified information about a failed Al-Qaeda plot to bomb an American airliner.

Now, the Obama administration has reportedly apologized to Israel for another leak of classified information to the media, one that occurred earlier this month and which Israeli officials are concerned could place Israeli lives at risk.

Israel Radio’s diplomatic correspondent Chico Menashe reported Sunday morning (via the Jerusalem Post):

American officials apologized to their Israeli counterparts for confirming that Israel was behind the airstrikes on the Damascus airport earlier this month, Israel Radio reported on Sunday.

The confirmation reportedly came from the lower ranks at the Pentagon, and the reasons for the leak are being investigated.

Menashe tweeted: “The U.S. has apologized to Israel for leaking details of the attack in Syria. Senior administration officials said to their [Israeli] counterparts that they are examining the issue and that low-level [officials] were responsible for the leak.”

Menashe also wrote, “US officials told that they [will] review the matter. The leak forced Assad to react harshly.”

U.S. apologized for leaking details of Israel. US officials told that they review the matter.The leak forced assad to react harshly.

May 19, 2013 1:44am via TweetCaster for Android ReplyRetweetFavorite

@chicomenashe

chico menashe

The New York Times attributed its report about the bombing on May 3 to an Obama administration official: “Israel aircraft bombed a target in Syria overnight Thursday, an Obama administration official said Friday night, as United States officials said they were considering military options, including carrying out their own airstrikes.”

CNN, which broke the story first on May 3, quoted two unnamed U.S. officials:

The United States believes Israel has conducted an airstrike into Syria, two U.S. officials first told CNN.

U.S. and Western intelligence agencies are reviewing classified data showing Israel most likely conducted a strike in the Thursday-Friday time frame, according to both officials. This is the same time frame that the U.S. collected additional data showing Israel was flying a high number of warplanes over Lebanon.

One official said the United States had limited information so far and could not yet confirm those are the specific warplanes that conducted a strike. Based on initial indications, the U.S. does not believe Israeli warplanes entered Syrian airspace to conduct the strikes.

Two weeks later, Israel still has not officially taken responsibility for the bombings, which allegedly targeted Iranian Fateh-110 missiles intended to bolster Hezbollah’s arsenal.

Israeli security analysts suggest that confirmation of Israel Defense Forces involvement – even if leaked via American sources – not only could potentially endanger any agents still on the ground in Syria, but would also put pressure on embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad to retaliate against the Jewish state.

Barry Rubin, director of the Global Research in International Affairs Center, told TheBlaze, “It requires the Syrians to react officially rather than deny that it happened or that it was an accident. It forces Syria and Hezbollah and Iran to react officially and say they want to seek revenge, which makes things more dangerous for Israel.”

“Can you imagine if things were reversed and somebody did that to the U.S.?” he added.

Assad may already be responding. Britain’s Sunday Times reported that the Syrian military has placed advanced weapons on standby to strike Israel, in the event Israel strikes targets again in Syria.

The report said that reconnaissance satellite images show Syria has surface-to-surface Tishreen missiles ready for use and aimed at Tel Aviv. Each can carry a half ton payload, according to the paper.

In an interview with CNN shortly after the airstrikes, Syria’s Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al Mekdad called the attack a “declaration of war,” adding that Syria would retaliate in its own time and way.

At the opening of the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the tumult facing the Middle East, calling it “one of its most sensitive periods in decades with the escalating upheaval in Syria at its center.”

“We are closely monitoring the developments and changes there and we are prepared for any scenario. The government of Israel is working responsibly and with determination and sagacity, in order to ensure the supreme interest of the state of Israel – the security of Israeli citizens in keeping with the policy that we have set, to – as much as possible – prevent the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah and to [other] terrorist elements,” he said.

“We will work to ensure Israelis’ security interest in the future as well,” Netanyahu added.

Last week, Russia said it would move forward with a sale of S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to Syria, after Netanyahu made a visit to Moscow in person to try to convince the Russians to halt the deal. Once deployed, the advanced system will make future Israeli sorties over Syria more difficult, as well as rendering any notion of a U.S. or European-led no-fly zone much more complicated to implement.

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Watch Anderson Cooper Get Knocked Out on ‘SNL’

Madeleine Morgenstern — Sun, 19 May 2013 17:31:33 +0000

NBC

Watch out, Anderson Cooper. Seth Meyers will fight you.

Saturday marked the final show for departing “SNL” cast member Bill Hader, and with it the end of his beloved fictional city correspondent Stefon. His goodbye had everything: Smurfs, human traffic cones, Alf…

Some background for the uninitiated: the flamboyant Stefon popped up from time to time on the show’s “Weekend Update” segment to offer his take on “New York’s hottest club” — always describing lavish, ultra-bizarre scenes that caused Hader to break character and crack up.

And Stefon, perpetually in love with “Weekend Update” host Meyers, always had his advances rebuffed — until Saturday. But by then, Meyers had to race to beat the clock — and Cooper — to make everything right.

Watch the sketch below, via NBC:

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White House Insists: Obama Knew Nothing About IRS Scandal

Madeleine Morgenstern — Sun, 19 May 2013 16:24:44 +0000

WASHINGTON (TheBlaze/AP) — A top White House adviser insisted Sunday that President Barack Obama learned the Internal Revenue Service had targeted tea party groups only “when it came out in the news” while Republicans continued to press the administration for more answers.

Trying to move past a challenging week that put the White House on the defensive, senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer was scheduled to appear on five Sunday news shows to repeat the administration’s position that no senior officials were involved in the decision to give tea party groups extra scrutiny. Pfeiffer’s appearances were unlike to quiet GOP critics, who have seized on the revelations as proof that Obama used the IRS to go after his political enemies.

“The deputy secretary of the treasury was made aware of just the fact that the investigation was beginning last year,” Pfeiffer said. “But no one in the White House was aware.”

Pfeiffer’s assertion comes after Obama skirted a direct question last week on whether anyone in the White House knew anything about the agency’s actions.

Meanwhile, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., suggested there was a written policy to target conservative groups opposing the president, but when pressed could not provide details.

“I haven’t seen a policy statement, but I think we need to see that,” Paul said. “And when that comes forward, we need to know who wrote the policy and who approved the policy.”

Regardless of when the president first learned of the investigations, Pfeiffer said the president wanted to ensure such activities were not repeated.

“The activity was outrageous and inexcusable, and it was stopped and it needs to be fixed to ensure it never happens again,” Pfeiffer said.

A Treasury Department inspector’s report said this week that conservative and small-government tea party groups that were critical of Obama received extra scrutiny. IRS agents did not flag similar progressive or liberal groups, according to the watchdog.

The report concluded that a regional IRS office in Ohio improperly singled out tea party and other conservative groups for more than 18 months and took no action on many of their applications for tax-exempt status for long periods of time – hindering their fundraising for the 2010 and 2012 elections.

The new acting IRS commissioner is in the midst of a 30-day top-to-bottom review while Republicans continue to demand answers of Obama and his allies in government.

That’s not sufficient, said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.

“I think a special counsel is going to wind up being necessary,” he added said.

That move is not needed, said Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J.

“I don’t see the point,” he said of a special counsel to investigate the scandal.

Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., said the IRS had stepped so far over its mandate that it asked book groups for reading lists and church groups about their prayers before granting them tax-exempt standing. It’s government over-reach, he said, and a reason why Republicans need to have their own investigation into the agency.

“This is about trust,” Price said.

But he stopped short of calling for a special counsel.

Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., said Republicans were using the incidents to embarrass the president.

“There is no Republican agenda other than to stop the president of the United States,” he said.

Pfeiffer was appearing Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” NBC’s “Meet the Press,” CBS’ “Face the Nation,” CNN’s “State of the Union” and “Fox News Sunday.” Portman, Menendez, Price and Rangel were on ABC. Paul was on CNN.

–

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White House: ‘Irrelevant Fact’ Where Obama Was During Benghazi

Madeleine Morgenstern — Sun, 19 May 2013 15:21:26 +0000

During a joint news conference with visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron, President Barack Obama defends his administration’s actions in the wake of the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, last year. (AP)

Senior White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer said Sunday it’s an “irrelevant fact” where exactly President Barack Obama was while the Benghazi attack was unfolding.

Pfeiffer told “Fox News Sunday” that Obama was “kept up to date on this as it was happening” last September, “from the moment it started until the very end.”

But host Chris Wallace, who had asked what specifically Obama did during the night of the deadly assault, said Pfeiffer didn’t answer his question.

Pfeiffer said Obama “was in constant touch that night with his national security team” and repeated that he “was kept up to date with the events that were happening.”

Wallace asked whether Obama was in the White House Situation Room.

“I don’t remember what room the president was in on that night. That’s a largely an irrelevant fact,” Pfeiffer replied. “The premise of your question is that somehow there was something that could have been done differently and would have changed the outcome here. The accountability review board has looked at this, people have looked at it. It’s a horrible tragedy what happened and what we have to do is make sure it never happens again.”

Continuing to press the point, Wallace said “no one knows where he was or how he was involved.”

“The suggestion of your question that somehow the president — ” Pfeiffer began.

“I just want to know what the answer is,” Wallace said.

“The assertions from Republicans here that somehow the president allowed this to happen or didn’t take action is offensive,” Pfeiffer said. “It is absolutely offensive. And there’s no evidence to support it.”

“I’m simply asking a question,” Wallace said. “Where was he? What did he do? How did he respond — who told him you can’t deploy forces and what was his response to that?”

Pfeiffer repeated, “The president was in the White House that day, he was kept up to date by his national security team, he spoke to the secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs earlier, and as events unfolded he was kept up to date.”

–

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Michelle Obama Jokes About Her Husband’s ‘Failures’ in Graduation Speech

Madeleine Morgenstern — Sun, 19 May 2013 14:30:41 +0000

First lady Michelle Obama delivers the commencement address to graduates of Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Magnet High School on May 18, 2013, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP)

First lady Michelle Obama told graduating high school seniors in Nashville, Tenn. that in order to succeed, they must be willing to risk failure — and jokingly used her husband as a prime example.

“When something doesn’t go your way, you’ve just got to adjust. You’ve got to dig deep and work like crazy. And that’s when you’ll find out what you’re really made of, during those hard times,” Obama said at the graduation ceremony for Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High School on Saturday. “But you can only do that if you’re willing to put yourself in a position where you might fail. And that’s why so often, failure is the key to success for so many great people.”

She mentioned Steve Jobs, “fired from Apple early in his career” and Oprah, “demoted from her first job as a news anchor, now she doesn’t even need a last name.”

“And then there’s this guy, Barack Obama…I could take up a whole afternoon talking about his failures…he lost his first race for Congress, and now he gets to call himself my husband,” she said.

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Kanye West Drops the N-Word While Performing ‘New Slaves’ and ‘Black Skinhead’ on ‘SNL’

Madeleine Morgenstern — Sun, 19 May 2013 13:37:00 +0000

NBC

Rarely inconspicuous rapper Kanye West did it again Saturday night, debuting tracks “New Slaves” and “Black Skinhead” on “Saturday Night Live” — and getting around the audio sensors.

According to the Huffington Post, West was clearly heard using the N-word during both racially-charged songs. “Black Skinhead” featured West uttering primal screams against imagery of snarling dogs, while in “New Slaves” he performed in front of a projection of a close-up of his face.

Filmmaker Michael Moore was impressed:

Wow. Kanye! Did that just air on TV? Amazing. "We da new slave." #SNL (CCA = Correction Corporation of America - the private prison system)

May 19, 2013 12:48am via Twitter for BlackBerry®ReplyRetweetFavorite

@MMFlint

Michael Moore

Watch both performances below, via NBC:

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There’s a $590 Million Powerball Winner Somewhere in Florida Right Now

Madeleine Morgenstern — Sun, 19 May 2013 12:25:23 +0000

A woman prepares to choose her numbers on a lottery ticket Saturday, May 18, 2013, in the Chinatown district in Oakland, Calif. A record Powerball jackpot has climbed to nearly $600 million, and lottery officials speculated the jackpot would continue to soar in the run-up to Saturday s drawing. (AP)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — It’s all about the odds, and one lone ticket in Florida has beaten them all by matching each of the numbers drawn for the highest Powerball jackpot in history at an estimated $590.5 million, lottery officials said Sunday.

The single winner was sold at a supermarket in Zephyrhills, Fla., according to Florida Lottery executive Cindy O’Connell. She told The Associated Press by telephone that more details would be released later.

“This would be the sixth Florida Powerball winner and right now, it’s the sole winner of the largest ever Powerball jackpot,” O’Connell told AP. “We’re delighted right now that we have the sole winner.”

She said Florida has had more Powerball winners than any other state.

The winner was not immediately identified publicly and O’Connell did not give any indication just hours after Saturday’s drawing whether anyone had already stepped forward with that winning ticket.

Brianwa Flores, left, and Katie Cosentino from Illinois State Lottery greet hockey fans before Game 2 of an NHL hockey playoff Western Conference semifinal between the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago, Saturday, May 18, 2013. (AP)

With four out of every five possible combinations of Powerball numbers in play, lottery executives said earlier that someone was almost certain to win the game’s highest jackpot, a windfall of hundreds of millions of dollars – and that’s after taxes.

Saturday night’s winning numbers were 10, 13, 14, 22 and 52, with a Powerball of 11.

Estimates had earlier put the jackpot at around $600 million. But Powerball’s online site said Sunday that the jackpot had reached an estimated $590.5 million.

Terry Rich, CEO of the Iowa Lottery, initially confirmed that one Florida winning ticket had been sold. He told AP that following the Florida winner, the Powerball grand prize was being reset at an estimated jackpot of $40 million, or about $25.1 million cash value.

The chances of winning the prize were astronomically low: 1 in 175.2 million. That’s how many different ways you can combine the numbers when you play. But lottery officials estimated that about 80 percent of those possible combinations had been purchased recently.

While the odds are low for any one individual or individuals, O’Connell said, the chance that one hits paydirt is what makes Powerball an “exciting game to play.”

“There is just the chance that you will have the opportunity and Florida is a huge Powerball state. We have had more winners than any other state that participates in Powerball.”

Joe Fajardo poses holding his Powerball lottery ticket after buying it at a store Saturday, May 18, 2013, in the Barrio Logan neighborhood of San Diego. (AP)

Such longshot odds didn’t deter people across Powerball-playing states – 43 plus Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands – from lining up at gas stations and convenience stores Saturday for their chance at striking it filthy rich.

Calls by AP to the Publix supermarket outlet in Florida where the winning ticket was sold were not answered Sunday.

Elsewhere, Rich said, lottery officials reported 33 winning tickets for a $1,000,000 prize each were sold around 17 states, led by six tickets in New York. He said lotteries reported 2 winning tickets each for the $2,000,000 PowerPlay, one in New York and the other in South Carolina.

Before the drawing, there was a rush for tickets around the country.

At a mini market in the heart of Los Angeles’ Chinatown, employees broke the steady stream of customers into two lines: One for Powerball ticket buyers and one for everybody else. Some people appeared to be looking for a little karma.

“We’ve had two winners over $10 million here over the years, so people in the neighborhood think this is the lucky store,” employee Gordon Chan said as he replenished a stack of lottery tickets on a counter.

The world’s largest jackpot was a $656 million Mega Millions jackpot in March 2012. If $600 million, the jackpot would currently include a $376.9 million cash option.

Clyde Barrow, a public policy professor at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, specializes in the gaming industry. He said one of the key factors behind the ticket-buying frenzy is the size of the jackpot – people are interested in the easy investment.

“Even though the odds are very low, the investment is very small,” he said. “Two dollars gets you a chance.”

That may be why Ed McCuen has a Powerball habit that’s as regular as clockwork. The 57-year-old electrical contractor from Savannah, Ga., buys one ticket a week, regardless of the possible loot. It’s a habit he didn’t alter Saturday.

“You’ve got one shot in a gazillion or whatever,” McCuen said, tucking his ticket in his pocket as he left a local convenience store. “You can’t win unless you buy a ticket. But whether you buy one or 10 or 20, it’s insignificant.”

Seema Sharma doesn’t seem to think so. The newsstand employee in Manhattan’s Penn Station purchased $80 worth of tickets for herself. She also was selling tickets all morning at a steady pace, instructing buyers where to stand if they wanted machine-picked tickets or to choose their own numbers.

“I work very hard – too hard – and I want to get the money so I can finally relax,” she said. “You never know.”

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‘SNL’ Spoofs Al Sharpton Again in IRS Sketch

Madeleine Morgenstern — Sun, 19 May 2013 11:59:46 +0000

NBC

“Saturday Night Live” brought back its Al Sharpton routine, this time as the MSNBC host tried to puzzle his way through the “Uhrs” (that’s IRS) scandal.

“Republicans are mad because the Tea Party has been targeted by the ‘Uhrs’ — excuse me, the IRS,” introduced “Sharpton,” played by Keenan Thompson. “What they fail to realize is that this has been happening to us for 50 years.”

Moving on to Republican “conspiracy the-o-ryes” (theories) about the situation, Shaprton brought in Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank, played by Jason Sudeikis, to explain what was going on.

“Once again, Republicans are taking a real problem and attaching unreal political motives,” Milbank said

But Sharpton didn’t trust Milbank’s analysis — because he’s a man whose name is “Dana.”

“I’m going to call you Dan. A.,” Sharpton said.

Sharpton went on to show a clip of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — that was really actor Matthew McConaughey. Sharpton wondered why all Republicans can’t be as laid back as “Senate Minority Leader Matthew McConnell.”

Milbank pointed out that the Tea Party does actually have a case, because there is evidence that the IRS was excessive. Sharpton pointed out that he’s had his own run-ins with the IRS.

“I’ll tell you about excessive, I owed the IRS $2.6 million dollars — due to all my mail being accidentally forwarded to Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem,” he said. “Don’t worry, I took care of it — they ain’t going to Wesley Snipes me!”

Sharpton then interviewed a Tea Party activist, dressed in colonial garb. Sharpton couldn’t understand his clothing, and asked if the man made horseshoes.

To close, Sharpton shared this nonsensical pearl of wisdom: “Like my grandmother always said, if there’s a frog in a bucket, someboy’s having waffles on Sunday.”

Watch below via NBC:

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C’est La Vie! Thousands of Wealthy French Taxed More Than They Earned

Dave Urbanski — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:38:41 +0000

More than 8,000 French households were hit with tax bills that eclipsed their total income last year, according to Reuters.

Les Echos, citing Finance Ministry data, reported that the culprit was a single levy last year on 2011 incomes of more than 1.3 million euros ($1.67 million).

President Francois Hollande’s Socialist government imposed the tax surcharge last year to mitigate the impact of a rebate created by its conservative predecessor to cap individual taxation at 50 percent.

France’s President Francois Hollande prior a meeting at the Elysee palace on May 17, 2013 in Paris. (Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

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Report: Hofstra Student Was Shot, Killed by Cop Trying To Rescue Her

Dave Urbanski — Sun, 19 May 2013 01:47:56 +0000

MINEOLA, N.Y. (TheBlaze/AP) — Authorities say a police officer’s bullet killed a New York college student during the response to a home invasion at an off-campus home.

Nassau County homicide squad Lt. John Azzata said Saturday night that Andrea Rebello was killed by a police officer as she was being held in a headlock by a masked intruder.

Andrea Rubello, a junior at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., was shot and killed Friday, May 17, 2013, during a break-in near the college campus. (AP Photo/Sleepy Hollow High School)

Azzata says the police officer opened fire as Dalton Smith made a motion to fire at the officer early Friday morning.

Azzata says the officer fired eight shots, hitting Smith seven times and Rebello once in the head, killing her.

Earlier Saturday, police said Smith had an extensive criminal history dating back nearly 15 years and was wanted on a parole violation related to a first-degree robbery conviction.

Dalton Smith of Hempstead, N.Y. On Saturday, May 18, 2013, police identified Smith the alleged home invader involved in the fatal slaying of a New York college student early Friday morning. Police say that Smith, who was currently on parole for robbery in the first degree, was the person attempting to rob the off-campus home where Andrea Rebello was shot and killed. (Credit: AP)

Smith was identified using fingerprints just hours after funeral arrangement were made for Rebello, 21, a popular public relations major who was with her twin sister Jessica and several other students in an off-campus house at the time of the break-in. The other students were unharmed.

Smith, of Hempstead, Long Island, had been arrested for robbery in the first degree in 1999, promoting prison contraband in the second degree in 2000, robbery in the first degree in 2003, assault in the second degree in 2003 and robbery in the second degree in 2003, police said.

Azzata said in a statement that a warrant was issued for Smith on April 25 for absconding from parole.

The campus has been shaken by the incident.

“Today is the last day of finals and this should be a happy day on campus; but it’s not,” said Hofstra freshman Scott Aharoni of Great Neck, as he passed through the area rife with yellow crime-scene tape Friday. “It’s really sad.”

Hofstra University students gather near the house where fellow student Andrea Rebello and an armed intruder were killed during an overnight house break-in next to the campus, Friday, May 17, 2013, in Uniondale, N.Y. (Credit: AP)

Rebello’s father, Fernando, was too distraught to discuss the incident in detail outside the family’s Tarrytown, N.Y., home Friday.

“It’s my daughter, my baby daughter,” he told the Journal News through tears. “She was so beautiful. I’m so confused.

“I don’t know what to do,” he said.

The Journal News reported that Wednesday’s funeral Mass for Rebello at Teresa of Avila Church in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., will be in Portuguese.

Hofstra’s commencement ceremonies will go on as planned on Sunday despite the tragedy. University spokeswoman Karla Schuster said she expects school President Stuart Rabinowitz to acknowledge the shooting in his remarks.

The two sisters, another woman and another man were inside the two-story rental house when the gunman, wearing a ski mask, forced his way in, according to Nassau County Inspector Kenneth Lack. The intruder allowed the third unidentified woman to leave, and she called 911.

A law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press the woman called 911 from near an ATM. The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

Victoria Dehel, who lives four houses away, said she heard what sounded like fighting. At first she ignored it, figuring it was from rowdy students coming home from a bar.

Suddenly, “this girl was shrieking,” followed by loud bangs just seconds later.

“It didn’t sound good at all,” Dehel said. “I turned to my boyfriend and I said, `I think someone just got murdered.’ It was awful.”

Rebello and her sister were 2010 graduates of Sleepy Hollow High School, according to principal Carol Conklin-Spillane.

“They were smart happy beautiful young women,” Conklin-Spillane said. “I speak about them together because they were very much a matched pair. They were best friends by choice.”

Andrea Rebello quoted Benjamin Franklin and Bob Marley in a yearbook photo from the school.

“Believe some of what you hear and only half of what you see” was attributed to the founding father and “Love the life you live, live the life you love” was the citation for the reggae legend.

Chilling police radio clips from the crime scene start at 1:18 in this ABC7 TV news segment (other information in the report predates the news that Rebello was shot by police):

This is a breaking news story. Updates will be added.

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Wild Video: Mugger Hit by Bus Moments After Snatching Purse…And Victim Runs to Help!

Erica Ritz — Sun, 19 May 2013 01:02:17 +0000

A CCTV camera in Colombia captured a brazen midday mugging at a Bogota bus station, the U.K. Telegraph reports, but that’s only one aspect of a pretty shocking video.

After the apparent thief struggles with a female traveler for her phone, he makes a run for it and promptly gets hit by a bus.

In yet another startling twist, video shows the woman who had been robbed just minutes prior going to help the beleaguered alleged criminal.

The identities of the individuals have not been released, but it was reported that the man received medical treatment and was promptly arrested.

Watch the entire video via ITN, below:

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Triple Crown Foiled: Kentucky Derby Winner Won’t Make History After Preakness Upset

Dave Urbanski — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:09:42 +0000

BALTIMORE (TheBlaze/AP) — Oxbow upset Kentucky Derby winner Orb in the Preakness Stakes today, dashing Orb’s hopes for a Triple Crown run.

The last horse to sweep the Derby, Preakness, and Belmont races was Affirmed in 1978.

Oxbow, ridden by jockey Gary Stevens, wins the 138th Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course, Saturday, May 18, 2013, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Orb was unable to find his rhythm after breaking from the rail, and never challenged in finishing fourth.

BALTIMORE, MD – MAY 18: Oxbow #6, ridden by Gary Stevens, leads the field to the finish line to win the 138th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 18, 2013 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Credit: Getty Images)

Orb’s trainer Shug McGaughey, so confident in the two weeks leading up to the race, was disappointed.

“It was a great opportunity,” the Hall of Famer said. “We were 3-5 and we finished fourth. We’ll pack it up and go home. Hats off to Wayne.”

That would be D. Wayne Lukas, Oxbow’s Hall of Fame trainer, who claimed his 14th win in a Triple Crown race.

“I get paid to spoil dreams,” the 77-year-old Lukas said. “Unfortunately we go over here and you can’t mail `em in. It’s a different surface and a different time. You gotta line `em up and win `em.”

BALTIMORE, MD – MAY 18: (L-R) Jockey Gary Stevens hugs his daughter Madison in the Winner’s Circle after riding Oxbow #6 to win the 138th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 18, 2013 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Credit: Getty Images)

Lukas won his sixth Preakness to move one behind Robert Wyndham Walden for most wins in the second leg of the Triple Crown.

Lukas was tied with “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons for most Triple Crown wins before Saturday.

“I shared that record with a very special name,” Lukas said. “If I never broke it, I was proud of that. But I’m also proud to have it.”

NBC has the full race video here:

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They Jumped Off a Wing: All 130 Passengers of Russian Airliner Safe After Fire During Landing

Dave Urbanski — Sat, 18 May 2013 23:11:36 +0000

MOSCOW (TheBlaze/AP) — Part of an airliner carrying more than 130 people caught fire as it was landing in Moscow, and passengers evacuated the plane by jumping off one of its wings and shooting down an evacuation slide.

The Emergencies Ministry says none of the passengers and crew members were injured by the fire on the landing gear of the Boeing 737 at Vnukovo Airport on Saturday.

(Credit: RT)

A ministry statement said the plane belonging to Russian carrier UTair (YOOT-air) was flying to Moscow from the southern city of Stavropol.

The ministry said it was carrying 136 passengers and six crew members, but Russian news agencies quoted the airline as saying there were 129 passengers.

CBS News has the footage:

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‘He Was Hitting Hikers’: 50-60 Injured as Car Plows Into Va. Crowd

Dave Urbanski — Sat, 18 May 2013 22:00:18 +0000

DAMASCUS, Va. (TheBlaze/AP) — About 50 to 60 people were injured Saturday when a driver described by witnesses as an elderly man drove his car into a group of hikers marching in a parade in a small Virginia mountain town.

Emergency personnel respond to one of the people hit by a car, at right, during the beginning of the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival in Damascus, Va., Saturday, May 18, 2013. Witnesses said the car drove into a crowd at the parade and hurt several people. (AP Photo/Bristol Herald Courier, Earl Neikirk)

Washington County director of emergency management Pokey Harris said Saturday that no fatalities have been reported.

The injuries ranged from critical to superficial. Three of the victims were flown by helicopter to regional hospitals. Another 12 to 15 were taken by ambulance. The rest were treated at the scene in Damascus, about a half-hour east of Bristol.

A boy describes the scene he witnessed in the below video from Hot News Port:

The status of the driver wasn’t released. Multiple witnesses described him as an elderly man.

Authorities are still investigating, but Harris says they believe the man might have suffered a medical emergency before the accident.

The incident happened around 2:30 p.m. during the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival, an annual celebration of the Appalachian Trail in Damascus, near the Tennessee state line about a half-hour drive east of Bristol.

Witnesses said the car had a handicapped parking sticker and it went more than 100 feet before coming to a stop.

“He was hitting hikers,” said Vickie Harmon, a witness from Damascus. “I saw hikers just go everywhere.”

Damascus resident Amanda Puckett, who was watching the parade with her children, ran to the car, where she and others lifted the car off those pinned underneath.

“Everybody just threw our hands up on the car and we just lifted the car up,” she said.

There were ambulances in the parade ahead of the hikers and paramedics on board immediately responded to the crash.

This is a breaking news story. Updates will be added.

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‘Go to Jail’: Bobby Jindal Says IRS Officials Deserve Prison for Targeting Conservatives

Dave Urbanski — Sat, 18 May 2013 21:44:00 +0000

“You cannot take the freedom of law-abiding Americans, whether you disagree with them or not, and keep your own freedom,” Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will tell delegates at the Virginia GOP convention today, according to remarks shared with Politico.

“When you do that, you go to jail.”

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal speaks at a Republican fundraiser on May 10, in Manchester, N.H. (Credit: AP)

Jindal, a 2016 presidential hopeful, is slated to speak to about 10,000 Republican in Richmond and say that a probe should “go from the top down.”

Of President Obama, Jindal will assert that “when you grow government this big, these kinds of scandals are inevitable, and he bears the responsibility for that.”

“The President of the United States must have the moral authority to go around the globe and call out tyranny when he sees it. He must be able to be freedom’s evangelist. He cannot do that if he tolerates basic constitutional violations right under his own nose.”

“It won’t do to have a few lower-level staffers in the Tucson field office lose their executive washroom privileges,” he’s reportedly planning on saying. “This is much bigger than that.”

Jindal is looking to couple the IRS scandal with the Benghazi terror attack, the Associated Press phone records flap, and Obamacare.

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Bill Maher Mocks Tea Party Victims With Fake IRS Questions: State the ‘Approximate Location of Your Trailer Park’

Erica Ritz — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:45:49 +0000

HBO “Real Time” host Bill Maher discussed the Internal Revenue Service scandal on Friday, making fun of the conservative groups who were unfairly targeted for years by the IRS.

“I try to play it fair and I said before, I think there is an actual scandal with the IRS,” Maher began. “We got a hold of some of the forms [that] the IRS was making the applicants fill out, and it really does look like they were trying to search out and expose Tea Party people…”

Maher then proceeded to list a number of fake questions his team concocted, beginning: “List your name, age, and approximate location of your trailer park.”

“When did you first realize that you shouldn’t have to pay taxes?” the fake questionnaire continued. The allowed responses were either “moments after black guy was elected” or “seconds after black guy was elected.”

Another question asked: “To which of these do you currently cling?” The possible multiple-choice responses were: “Gun; Bible; False memories of a simpler time, probably from television; All of the above.”

“F***ing immigrants, am I right?” the spoof form concluded, the possible responses being either “yes” or “hell yes.”

Watch the entire segment below:

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Will Retired Olympic Swimming Legend Michael Phelps Part the Waters Again?

Dave Urbanski — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:01:32 +0000

(TheBlaze/AP) – Michael Phelps will return to swimming with an eye toward competing at the 2016 Rio Olympics, according to a report from WBBH, an NBC television affiliate in Fort Myers, Fla.

The three-paragraph story on the station’s Web site was posted by news anchor Peter Busch, who is the son of Frank Busch, director of the U.S. national swim team.

“The greatest Olympian of all time isn’t hanging up his swimsuit, after all,” yesterday’s report said, without citing any sources.

Michael Phelps of the United States competes in the Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay Final on Day 8 of the London 2012 Olympic Games on August 4, 2012 in London, England. (Credit: Getty Images)

Phelps went on Twitter to downplay the report, but he didn’t specifically deny it either.

“Why do I keep getting texts about coming back?” he wrote. “Do (people) really believe everything they hear or read? There are (too) many (people) in the world that think they have a ‘story.’”

Busch followed with a tweet that said he felt “very confident with my info. Guess we’ll see.”

Phelps has said repeatedly his swimming career was over after winning 18 gold medals and 22 medals overall, both totals far more than any other Olympian. He retired at the age of 27 immediately after last summer’s London Games.

There was no other immediate comment from the Phelps camp. A message was left with one of his longtime agents, Drew Johnson.

Officials at USA Swimming also didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Gold medallists (L-R) Brendan Hansen, Matthew Grevers, Michael Phelps and Nathan Adrian of the United States pose following the medal ceremony for the Men’s 4x100m Meldey Relay Final on Day 8 of the London 2012 Olympic Games August 4, 2012 in London, England. (Credit: Getty Images)

Just last weekend, longtime rival Ryan Lochte was clearly skeptical that Phelps would stick with his decision to retire from a sport he dominated for the past decade, especially when so many swimmers are competing well into their 30s.”I can’t really talk about it,” Lochte said, breaking into a sly grin during a Grand Prix meet in Charlotte, N.C. “Who knows?”

In an interview last December with The Associated Press, after beating out LeBron James for male athlete of the year, Phelps stressed repeatedly that he had no plans to return to competitive swimming.

He said London, where he captured four gold medals and two silvers, was the perfect way to close his career.

“I wanted to leave that way,” he said. “I’m sure I could come back in another four years, but why? I’ve done everything I wanted to do. There’s no point in me coming back. Everybody is like, ‘You’re going to come back.’ And I’m like, ‘No, I’m not.’ I’ve done everything I wanted to do in this sport. I don’t know a lot of people who can say that.”

Michael Phelps celebrates with a special award presented by FINA for his career achievements on Day 8 of the London 2012 Olympic Games on August 4, 2012 in London, England. (Credit: Getty Images)

After the Olympics, Phelps turned his attention to golf, filming a show with famed instructor Hank Haney for the Golf Channel, signing an endorsement deal with Ping and indicating a desire to see how far he could progress with a new sport. He even joked that the only way he would compete in Rio would be if he qualified in golf, which is rejoining the Olympic program in 2016.

Phelps apparently spent Friday swimming at the Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn. Lifeguard Stephen Timmes posted a picture on Instagram that showed Phelps, looking extremely fit if not in top condition, smiling and posing poolside.”Lifeguarded for and swam with Michael Phelps at work today,” Timmes wrote. “I love my job.”

If Phelps does come back, he would have to wait at least nine months to swim in a sanctioned event under the world anti-doping policy, meaning there’s no chance of competing at this summer’s world championships in Barcelona even if he could somehow get into condition.

That would peg his return to competition at sometime early next year, leaving plenty of time to get in peak shape and begin gearing up for the 2015 worlds in Russia and, of course, the next Olympics.

The timing of the report was intriguing. Phelps’ coach, Bob Bowman, took a sabbatical from the deck after London but was set to work with a group including three-time Olympic gold medalist Allison Schmitt during high-altitude workouts at the national training center in Colorado Springs, leading up to the national championships in Indianapolis next month. Bowman also is coaching the U.S. men’s team in Barcelona.

There was no word on whether Phelps might be among the swimmers taking part in the Colorado workouts.

Check out Phelps’ victory in the Men’s 100 Meter Butterfly Final in the 2012 London Olympics:

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IRS Claims Release of Conservative Groups’ Confidential Info to Soros-Affiliated Media Outlet ‘Inadvertent and Unintentional’

Madeleine Morgenstern — Sat, 18 May 2013 18:58:48 +0000

The Internal Revenue Service claims the disclosure of conservative groups’ confidential information to investigative journalism outfit ProPublica was “inadvertent and unintentional.”

After the IRS admitted to deliberately targeting conservative organizations that applied for tax-exempt status, ProPublica reported it had received nine still-pending applications as part of its request for information about 67 nonprofits last year. The pending applications should have remained confidential.

“When these two issues were previously raised concerning the potential unauthorized disclosures of 501(c)(4) application information, we immediately referred these cases to TIGTA [Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration] for a comprehensive review. In both instances, TIGTA found these instances to be inadvertent and unintentional disclosures by the employees involved,” read an IRS statement to ProPublica sent Friday.

ProPublica bills itself as an independent nonprofit investigative journalism outlet, but has been described as liberal by its detractors and is supported in part by George Soros’ Open Society Foundations.

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Report: Hofstra Student Was Shot, Killed by Cop Trying To Rescue Her

Charles Krauthammer: IRS Scandal Could Be a ‘Fatal Problem’ for Obama

White House: ‘Irrelevant Fact’ Where Obama Was During Benghazi

Sarah Palin Posts Pic of Alaska Snow: ‘Global Warming My Gluteus Maximus’

Madeleine Morgenstern — Sat, 18 May 2013 17:51:41 +0000

Former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin addresses the annual NRA Convention May 3, 2013 in Houston, Texas. In speaking about the tobacco restrictions New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to put in place, Palin brought out a tin of smokeless tobacco, much like she did when Bloomberg banned 32-ounce sugary drinks. (Getty Images)

Global warming? Yeah right.

That’s at least what former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was getting at when she posted a photo Saturday of one of her children amid a blanket of snow in mid-May — along with the comment, “Global warming my gluteus maximus.”

“One last blast of Alaska winter today, hopefully?” Palin wrote. “This is what ‘Grad Blast’ means in Alaska! We’ll move our graduation b-b-q indoors and watch the mini-blizzard from ’round the fireplace. (Global warming my gluteus maximus.) Congratulations to this year’s graduates all across America. Job well done. Now the real job begins.”

The gluteus maximus muscle, of course, makes up a large part of one’s posterior.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin posted this photo on Facebook along with the comment, “Global warming my gluteus maximus.”

Palin’s made several eye-catching statements lately, from sipping on a Big Gulp onstage to threatening to chew tobacco during her speech at the National Rifle Association convention.

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Charles Krauthammer: IRS Scandal Could Be a ‘Fatal Problem’ for Obama

Madeleine Morgenstern — Sat, 18 May 2013 16:46:49 +0000

Fox News

Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer on Friday said the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative organizations could be “fatal” for the Obama administration if it turns out that anyone in the White House was aware of it.

Appearing on Fox News’ “Hannity,” Krauthammer called the IRS situation “the one scandal that people have a visceral sense about” — it’s the one U.S. institution, besides the military, that can do very serious harm.

Going after conservative groups based on their politics is “a violation that everybody — left or right– understands,” he added.

Krauthammer urged that there’s no suggestion that Obama knew what was happening, “but if there’s any indication that there were people in the White House who knew, who orchestrated, who encouraged or whatever, then it can be a fatal problem.”

Obama ducked a direct question on Thursday about whether he or anyone else in the White House had known what was happening.

Krauthammer said he wasn’t comparing the current situation to Watergate, but pointed out that the second article of impeachment against Richard Nixon was abuse of the IRS.

“The one issue that can fell a presidency is the corruption of the IRS coming from on high,” Krauthammer said.

Watch below, via Mediaite:

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Mitt Romney’s Jokey Advice for 2016 Contenders: ‘Sell the Horse’

Madeleine Morgenstern — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:40:24 +0000

NBC

Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney made his first appearance on late-night TV since losing to President Barack Obama in November, going on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”

Here’s a roundup of some of his funnier moments:

• After a tough news week for the Obama White House, Leno asked, “Can you be objective about this?”

“No!”

• On the Republican primary process, Leno said he thought it was funny to see Newt Gingrich attacking someone else for being wealthy and successful.

“It wasn’t funny to me!”

• Leno asked who Romney likes for 2016.

“Who looks good to you?”

“Republicans.”

• Romney said wife Ann is doing well and riding her horse to deal with the effects of her multiple sclerosis. But for people running for president in 2016 –

“Sell the horse, if you have one.”

Watch Romney’s interview below, via NBC:

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North Korea Fires 3 Short-Range Guided Missiles, South Says

Madeleine Morgenstern — Sat, 18 May 2013 14:35:11 +0000

A South Korean man watches a TV news reporting missile launch conducted by North Korea, at a Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, May 18, 2013. North Korea fired three short-range guided missiles into its eastern waters on Saturday, a South Korean official said. It routinely tests such missiles, but the latest launches came during a period of tentative diplomacy aimed at easing tensions. (AP)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired three short-range guided missiles into its eastern waters on Saturday, a South Korean official said. It routinely tests such missiles, but the latest launches came during a period of tentative diplomacy aimed at easing tensions.

The North fired two missiles Saturday morning and another in the afternoon, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said by phone. He said the North’s intent was unclear. His ministry said it is watching North Korea carefully in case it conducts a provocation against South Korea.

In March, North Korea launched what appeared to be two KN-02 missiles off its east coast. Experts believe the country is trying to improve the range and accuracy of its arsenal.

North Korea recently withdrew two mid-range “Musudan” missiles believed to be capable of reaching Guam after moving them to its east coast earlier this year, U.S. officials said. The North is banned from testing ballistic missiles under U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Earlier this year, North Korea threatened nuclear strikes on Seoul and Washington because of annual U.S.-South Korean military drills and U.N. sanctions imposed over its third nuclear test in February. The drills ended late last month. This past month, the U.S. and South Korea ended another round of naval drills involving a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier off the east coast. North Korea calls such drills preparation to invade the North.

Analysts say the recent North Korean threats were partly an attempt to push Washington to agree to disarmament-for-aid talks.

This past week, Glyn Davies, the top U.S. envoy on North Korea, ended trips to South Korea, China and Japan. On Friday, an adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe returned from North Korea but didn’t immediately give details of his talks with officials there.

On Monday, North Korean state media showed that the country’s hard-line defense minister had been replaced by a little-known army general. Outside analysts said it was part of leader Kim Jong Un’s efforts to tighten his grip on the powerful military after his father Kim Jong Il died in December 2011.

The United States and Japan are participants in six-nation nuclear disarmament talks along with the Koreas, Russia and Japan. North Korea walked out of the talks in 2009 after the United Nations condemned it for a long-range rocket launch.

North Korea possesses an array of missiles. U.S. and South Korean officials do not believe the North’s claim that it has developed nuclear warheads small enough to place on a missile. Last week in Washington, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and President Barack Obama warned North Korea against further nuclear provocations.

Tension between the two Koreas remains high after both sides pulled out their workers from a jointly run factory complex earlier this year. The countries remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce instead of a peace treaty.

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The Amazing Moment When a 9-Year-Old Girl Threw Out the First Baseball Pitch…and the Catcher Was Her Dad Home From Afghanistan

Madeleine Morgenstern — Sat, 18 May 2013 14:10:00 +0000

Lt. Col. Will Adams surprised his daughter, 9-year-old Alayna, at home plate. (Image source: Tampa Bay Times)

Nine-year-old Alayna Adams got a big surprise when she was told she would be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Thursday’s Tampa Bay Rays game. She had no idea the even bigger shock she was in for.

It started when her dad, Lt. Col. Will Adams, appeared on the video screen to say hello and that he would be home soon. Alayna didn’t know how true that was; she threw the ball right down the center and watched it bounce. The man in the Ray’s uniform and catcher’s gear reached up to snag it — then pulled his mask off, revealing himself as her father.

Alayna ran to her dad, home from Afghanistan after a one-year deployment, and the two embraced before the roaring crowd.

“I thought it was a dream,” she told a TV interviewer a few innings later.

The surprise was orchestrated by the United Service Organizations and the Rays. Dana Adams, Will’s wife and Alayna’s mom, didn’t know anything either.

Adams, 40, had actually arrived Wednesday, but stayed in a hotel room that night to wait for the surprise.

“That was the hardest part,” he told the Tampa Bay Times. “Being back home and not being able to see them.”

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(h/t Yahoo! Sports)

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Obama Suggests IRS, Benghazi, AP Phone Scandal Are Just ‘Politics’

Madeleine Morgenstern — Sat, 18 May 2013 12:59:01 +0000

Coming off one of the most turbulent weeks of his administration, President Barack Obama implied that the trifecta of controversies — the Internal Revenue Service, Benghazi and the Associated Press phone records — are just “politics.”

In his weekly address, Obama touted his proposals to reinvigorate the economy and expand the middle class, referencing his recent travel to Baltimore and Austin, Texas to push his ideas.

“That’s why I like getting out of the Washington echo chamber whenever I can – because too often, our politics aren’t focused on the same things you are. Working hard. Supporting your family and your community. Making sure your kids have every chance in life,” Obama said.

While he didn’t make explicit reference to any of the controversies, the White House was on defense much of the week, particularly as details about the IRS giving extra scrutiny to conservative groups, and the Justice Department obtaining two months of phone records from AP journalists, came to light.

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S.E. Cupp vs. Michael Moore on Guns: ‘I Just Happen to Be Informed’

Madeleine Morgenstern — Sat, 18 May 2013 12:18:39 +0000

HBO

TheBlaze’s S.E. Cupp battled liberal filmmaker Michael Moore on the gun issue Friday, arguing against gun restrictions and schooling him on basic statistics on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.”

Cupp, contending with boos from the “Real Time” audience, said the problem with a gun registry is that “it treats law-abiding citizens as if they are guilty until proven innocent.”

She went on, “The problem with background checks, five-day waiting periods, they assume that I have criminal intent to use my gun to pursue my Second Amendment rights…I go to get a background check, ‘Prove to me you’re not a criminal.’ I go to get a gun, ‘Prove to me you don’t want to use it in the heat of passion right now, wait five days, you need to cool off.’ That’s not fair — the government is not in the business of intimidating me away from my Second Amendment rights. It’s an abuse of power, and it seeps into the culture — it’s why newspapers think they can publish gun owners’ addresses, as if they are pariahs. It’s not appropriate.”

Moore countered, “You have a dangerous device that can kill 20 schoolchildren, I want to know where that device is. You can have it — ”

“You do not have that right,” Cupp said.

Moore then said he wanted the Second Amendment altered to spell out the Founding Fathers’ intention: that it covers muskets.

Maher pointed out that he is a gun owner himself and would never give his guns up. He said he goes to the shooting range a few times a year, which Moore said wasn’t enough — he wouldn’t be effective against an intruder if he were just coming out of a deep sleep.

“As opposed to what, just getting mowed down?” Maher asked.

The conversation shifted to crime statistics, with Maher raising the question: Why have gun homicides gone down in an age of less gun control?

Moore made the point that all crime has gone down, and Cupp said mass shootings are also down — causing Moore to throw up his hands in laughter.

“Less school shootings since Columbine, let me ponder that for a second,” he said sarcastically.

“There have been fewer mass shootings over the past 30 years, that’s just a fact,” Cupp said. “It’s an inconvenient truth I know, but it’s a fact.”

Moore referenced “the bubble” that gun owners live in.

“There’s no bubble. I am a gun owner, I have lived and breathed this issue personally for a decade,” Cupp shot back. “It’s not a bubble, I just happen to be informed on gun issues, unlike those people who talk about them.”

Watch the discussion:

S.E. Cupp vs. Michael Moore on Guns: ‘I Just Happen to Be Informed’

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Could a Lawsuit Against the IRS Derail Obamacare?

Christopher Santarelli — Sat, 18 May 2013 11:12:20 +0000

Beyond the scandal that rocked Washington this week involving targeting organizations based on their political leanings, the Internal Revenue Service faces additional troubles, as an unnamed healthcare provider in California is suing the IRS and 15 unnamed agents, alleging they improperly seized 60 million records of 10 million Americans — including the medical records of all of California’s state judges.

“This is an action involving the corruption and abuse of power by several Internal Revenue Service agents,” the complaint reads.

“No search warrant authorized the seizure of these records; no subpoena authorized the seizure of these records; none of the 10,000,000 Americans were under any kind of known criminal or civil investigation and their medical records had no relevance whatsoever to the IRS search.”

This lawsuit is expected to present an issue for President Barack Obama’s health care law, which relies on the IRS to enforce the individual mandate and administer tax credits. Republicans are using this lawsuit as an example as to why we need to repeal the mandate and dismantle Obamacare as it puts too much importance on the relationship between healthcare and the IRS.

ABC News reports that Sen. John Cornyn of Texas has introduced a bill called the “Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act of 2013,” which would prohibit the Secretary of the Treasury, or any delegate, including the IRS, from enforcing the Affordable Care Act.

“Now more than ever, we need to prevent the IRS from having any role in Americans’ health care,” Cornyn said. “I do not support Obamacare, and after the events of last week, I cannot support giving the IRS any more responsibility or taxpayer dollars to implement a broken law.”

Former New York Lt. Governor Betsy McCaughey joined ‘Wilkow!’ Friday to discuss recent scandals and the connections between the IRS and ObamaCare.

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This Map Shows the ‘Riskiest’ Places in the World

Becket Adams — Sat, 18 May 2013 06:09:58 +0000

So the good news is that threat of domestic political violence in the U.S. is extremely low, according to the latest Terrorism and Political Violence risk map from Aon, a risk management firm and insurance broker.

The bad news is that terrorism is still a real threat to America.

In Europe, “the overall risk levels in France and Spain are actually equivalent to China and Russia, presumably on the basis of the former countries’ recent, heated demonstrations protesting austerity,” Business Insider’s Rob Wile notes.

Meanwhile, as the following map clearly indicates, the safest havens in the world are Denmark, Finland, Japan, Australia, Iceland, Uruguay, and Botswana:

Aon (Click to enlarge)

Aon.

Personally, the map doesn’t concern us one way or the other. After watching that video of a bear mauling a camera, we weren’t planning on leaving the house anyway. Ever.

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Krauthammer’s Impressed With Obama’s IRS Answers: He Makes Bill Clinton’s Parsing Look Unsophisticated

Becket Adams — Sat, 18 May 2013 05:35:45 +0000

President Barack Obama during a press conference on Thursday addressed the recent scandal involving the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups.

But his remarks left much to be desired.

“Can you assure the American people that nobody in the White House knew about the agency’s actions before your Counsel’s Office found out on April 22nd?” a reporter asked the president.

“I can assure you that I certainly did not know anything about the IG report before the IG report had been leaked through the press,” the president said.

Well, she didn’t actually ask about the inspector general’s report. Come to think of it, he didn’t even answer for the White House. He only answered for himself.

And we’re not the only ones who think the president’s answer was overly cautious and lacking in substance.

Conservative columnist and commentator Charles Krauthammer thinks the president’s rhetorical handling of the IRS scandal makes even Bill Clinton (the same man who famously said “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is”) look unsophisticated:

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Mass. Reservoir Trespassers Cleared of Terrorist Suspicions

Becket Adams — Sat, 18 May 2013 04:31:38 +0000

Getty Images.

Seven alleged chemical engineers from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore were arrested Wednesday morning trespassing at the Quabbin Reservoir in Massachusetts, TheBlaze reported.

Given that the Quabbin Reservoir, located about 65 miles east of Boston, is one of the largest man-made public water supplies in the county, and the fact that the seven individuals cited their backgrounds as “chemical engineers” and “recent college graduates” as reason for trespassing, some were a little nervous about the news.

Was this really just a simple case of trespassing or was this something more sinister?

As it turns out, it was just a case of trespassing, according to the FBI and Massachusetts police.

“David Procopio, spokesman for the Massachusetts State Police, said that following an extensive investigation, officials believe the seven people, recent college graduates who were originally from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore, were not engaged in any criminal activity, other than trespassing after dark at the reservoir,” masslive.com reports.

FBI added that there was never any threat to the water supply.

“Following a thorough investigation into the seven people who were observed Tuesday in a restricted area of the Quabbin Reservoir in Ware, the Massachusetts State Police and the FBI have determined that the subjects have no connection to any other criminal activity or groups,” said Procopio.

The only crime the seven individuals, five men and two women, committed was trespassing.

“The original incident triggered a terrorism alert across the state of Massachusetts. State police notified the FBI office in Springfield and the Commonwealth Fusion Center, the state’s central hub for collecting and analyzing data related to terror threats,” the masslive.com report notes.

“State police also increased patrols at the Quabbin and other water supply regions across the state,” the report adds. “An FBI official said earlier the agency conducted background checks on the seven people and found nothing suspicious.”

Law enforcement officials have not yet released the trespassers’ names to the public.

Procopio said the state police probably won’t release the names unless the court “determines the evidence against them warrants proceeding with a trial.”

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RELATED:

Mass. Police Catch 7 ‘Chemical Engineers’ from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, & Singapore Trespassing Major Reservoir

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Congressman: IRS Demanded to Know Content of Pro-Life Group’s Prayers

Becket Adams — Sat, 18 May 2013 03:50:10 +0000

Illinois Congressman Aaron Schock during the House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the IRS scandal on Friday made a shocking claim: the IRS once asked an Iowa-based pro-life group to reveal the content of their prayers.

“Their question, specifically asked from the IRS to the Coalition for Life of Iowa: ‘Please detail the content of the members of your organization’s prayers,’” Rep. Schock said while grilling ousted IRS interim chief Steven Miller, .

“Would that be an inappropriate question to a 501(c)3 applicant?” the Republican congressman asked. “The content of one’s prayers?”

“It pains me to say I can’t speak to that one either,” Miller answered, adding later that her would be “surprised” if a question of that sort was asked of any conservative group.

The report Schock is referring to comes from Thomas More Society, a not-for-profit organization committed to fighting for religious liberties:

Coalition for Life of Iowa found itself in the IRS’s crosshairs when the group applied for tax exempt status in October 2008. Nearly ten months of interrogation about the group’s opposition to Planned Parenthood included a demand by a Ms. Richards from the IRS’ Cincinnati office unlawfully insisted that all board members sign a sworn declaration promising not to picket/protest Planned Parenthood. Further questioning by the IRS requested detailed information about the content of the group’s prayer meetings, educational seminars, and signs their members hold outside Planned Parenthood.

Here’s a complete copy of the Thomas More Society’s case:

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(H/T: Washington Examiner).

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Head of Pro-Israel Organization Targeted By IRS Speaks Out

Tiffany Gabbay — Sat, 18 May 2013 03:18:53 +0000

Details are unfolding about the Internal Revenue Source’s targeting of conservative and pro-Israel organizations. Earlier this week, TheBlaze reported that the pro-Israel educational group Z STREET was among those targeted.

Z STREET filed a lawsuit in 2010, claiming the organization’s attorney was told by an IRS agent that their tax exempt status application had to undergo additional scrutiny since their organization was “connected to Israel.”

The Z STREET attorney was also informed that groups supportive of Israel and that filed for tax exempt status were assigned to “a special unit in the D.C. office to determine whether the organization’s activities contradict the Administration’s public policies.”

Lori Lowenthal Marcus, president of the pro-Israel group, appeared on the Glenn Beck Program to discuss her experience with the IRS.

“They asked a lot of questions about the board members and their affiliations,” Marcus said before adding that the IRS agents asked the questions repeatedly.

According to Marcus, the IRS agent assigned to their case in 2010 told Z STREET’s lawyer that they had to scrutinize their organization more carefully due to its ties with Israel.

The Jewish Press reported that at least one other Jewish religious organization claims it also endured a bizarre string of questioning by the IRS, saying it was asked “whether [it] supports the existence of the land of Israel” and for the organization to “describe [its] religious belief system toward the land of Israel.”

Z STREET’s first hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for July 2 in Washington, D.C..

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Burglars Force Homeowner Into Closet – And it Turns out Very, Very Poorly for Them

Liz Klimas — Sat, 18 May 2013 03:15:10 +0000

Police outside the home Tuesday after a homeowner defended himself against intruders with a firearm. (Image: KTRK video screenshot)

Three suspected burglars on Tuesday broke into Texas man’s home, beat him, and then forced him into an upstairs closet.

Luckily for the homeowner, his assailants made a huge mistake: they put him into same closet where he keeps his guns.

Houston Police Department Sgt. Jerry Brandon told an ABC affiliate the homeowner thought the three men had left his home after a few minutes and headed downstairs, firearm in hand.

This is where he confronted one of the burglars and exchanged fire, wounding the intruder. The two other men escaped, according to authorities, while their compatriot has been hospitalized.

Here’s the KTRK’s report:

“Guess what? The owner had a gun,” neighbor Craig Gaddis told KTRK. “He did exactly what he was supposed to do — with the gun, that’s what they’re made for — protect his home.”

(Image: KTRK video screenshot)

The Houston Chronicle reported Gaddis saying a similar robbery occurred a couple weeks ago in the same area and neighbors believe they are connected.

Charges are expected to be brought against the wounded intruder, but not the homeowner, according to the report.

–

(H/T: Gawker)

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Bob Woodward: There Sure Are Some Similarities Between Benghazi & Watergate

Becket Adams — Sat, 18 May 2013 02:47:01 +0000

The scandals involving the Internal Revenue Service targeting conservative groups, the DOJ snooping on the Associated Press’ phone records, and White House’s response to the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi have prompted some in the press to draw comparisons between the Obama and Nixon administrations.

Commenting on the IRS scandal, Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward said Friday during an interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe: “It’s a big mess.”

“I know there have been these comparisons to Watergate. I would say not yet,” he added, “you’ve got to investigate all of these things.”

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough later said that the only really scandalous issue for President Obama is the one involving the IRS. The other two scandals (i.e. Benghazi and the DOJ), he added, are a little less serious.

Woodward disagreed with Scarborough’s characterization the Benghazi issue. That, the noted journalist explained, could turn out to be very serious indeed.

“If you read through all these emails, you see that everyone in the government is saying, ‘Oh, let’s not tell the public that terrorists were involved, people connected to al Qaeda. Let’s not tell the public that there were warnings,’” he said.

“And I have to go back 40 years to Watergate when Nixon put out his edited transcripts to the conversations, and he personally went through them and said, ‘Oh, let’s not tell this, let’s not show this.’ I would not dismiss Benghazi. It’s a very serious issue,” he added.

Watch the discussion here:

–

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Conn. Commuter Trains Collide, 60 Hospitalized

Becket Adams — Sat, 18 May 2013 02:07:28 +0000

Associated Press.

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (TheBlaze/AP) — Two commuter trains serving New York City collided in Connecticut during Friday’s evening rush hour, injuring about 50 people, authorities said.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy says a total of 60 people have been taken to hospitals with injuries from a collision between two New York-area commuter trains.

The governor said from the scene of the accident Friday night that most people were not seriously hurt but five were critically injured, including one very critically injured.

The trains on the Metro-North Railroad commuter line, which serves New York City, collided shortly after 6 p.m. when one train derailed and smashed into the other.

The governor said there was extensive damage to the train cars and the track, and that the accident will have a “big impact” on the Northeast Corridor. He said it could take until Monday for normal service to be restored. He said the area where the accident happened was down to two tracks because of repair work.

Bill Kaempffer, a spokesman for Bridgeport public safety, told The Associated Press approximately 49 people were injured, including four with serious injuries. About 250 people were on board the two trains, he said.

Photos taken at the scene showed a train car askew on the rails, with its end smashed up and brushing against another train. Amtrak suspended service indefinitely between New York and Boston.

“At this stage, we don’t know if this is a mechanical failure, an accident or something deliberate,” Fairfield police spokesman Lt. James Perez told the Connecticut Post.

The railroad said a train that departed New York City’s Grand Central station en route to New Haven derailed. A westbound train on an adjacent track then struck the derailed train. Some cars on the second train also derailed as a result of the collision.

Bridgeport Police Chief Joseph Gaudett said everybody who needed treatment had been attended to, and authorities were beginning to turn their attention to investigating the cause.

Associated Press.

“Everybody seemed pretty calm,” he said. “Everybody was thankful they didn’t get seriously hurt. They were anxious to get home to their families.”

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority operates the Metro-North Railroad, the second-largest commuter railroad in the nation.

The Metro-North main lines – the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven – run northward from New York City’s Grand Central Terminal into suburban New York and Connecticut.

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Woman Who Lost All Limbs to Flesh-Eating Bacteria Gets $200K Bionic Arms

Liz Klimas — Sat, 18 May 2013 01:53:03 +0000

Aimee Copeland made national headlines last year after she contracted a flesh-eating virus that required both of her arms and legs to be amputated.

Copeland, 24, who has been getting used to her new life since the zip-lining accident last summer, is getting a little help from a new pair of prosthetic hands, becoming the first woman in the world with both upper limbs amputated to use iLimb technology, according to WXIA-TV.

Aimee Copeland is fitted with iLimb, a new bionic hand. (Image: WXIA-TV)

The iLimb hands by Touch Bionics based in Ohio are now allowing Copeland, who lives in Georgia, to perform everyday tasks like wiping tables, hanging cloths and straightening her hair, the report adds.

(Image: WXIA-TV)

Watch Copeland test out the hands in this report from WXIA-TV:

Copeland said she is eager to use the new hands for cooking or perhaps even a little knitting.

Georgia Tech’s Robert Kistenberg is working with Copeland and her new prosthetics and said they cost $100,000 per hand. Touch Bionic though gave Copeland the hands free of charge when health insurance wouldn’t cover the cost.

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Does Empowering the Military for Local Law Enforcement in Crisis Erode Civil Liberties?

Christopher Santarelli — Sat, 18 May 2013 01:47:46 +0000

While in search of the second Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, law enforcement locked down the City of Boston, raising eyebrows in some civil libertarian circles.

A few subtle changes made this Monday to a regulation in the U.S. Code titled “Defense Support of Civilian Law Enforcement Agencies” again has some criticizing the government for a growing trend to militarize local law enforcement.

The update gives federal military commanders the authority to engage in “activities that are necessary to quell large-scale, unexpected, civil disturbances” temporarily during “extraordinary emergency circumstances.”

Civil liberties attorney and law professor Bruce Afran calls the rule, “a wanton power grab by the military,” and says, “It’s quite shocking actually because it violates the long-standing presumption that the military is under civilian control.”

Last March, before the Boston Marathon attack, the American Civil Liberties Union announced the launch of a nationwide investigation into the militarization of local law enforcement.

“Equipping state and local law enforcement with military weapons and vehicles, military tactical training, and actual military assistance to conduct traditional law enforcement erodes civil liberties and encourages increasingly aggressive policing, particularly in poor neighborhoods and communities of color,” Kara Dansky, senior counsel for the ACLU’s Center for Justice, said in a statement at the announcement.

“The militarization of local police is a threat to Americans’ right to live without fear of military-style intervention in their daily lives, and we need to make sure these resources and tactics are deployed only with rigorous oversight and strong legal protections,” Allie Bohm, ACLU advocacy and policy strategist, also said.

On “Real News” Friday the panel discussed the possible dangers in expanding the role and power of the military over domestic law enforcement. Watch a clip below below with guest Col. Morris Davis:

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America off Limits: Soviet Tourists Were Banned from Visiting These Areas During the Cold War

Becket Adams — Sat, 18 May 2013 01:24:28 +0000

Very few Russians were allowed to venture outside the Iron Curtain during the Soviet Union’s post-WWII rise to power.

But to every rule, there’s an exception.

Some Soviets were allowed to visit other countries. Some were even allowed to visit the United States — but only if they complied with the U.S.’ rules. (Come on, this was the beginning of the Cold War! What, you think U.S. lawmakers would be silly enough to let citizens from a hostile country freely enter America? Don’t be ridiculous!).

“If you were one of select few private Soviet citizens granted permission to visit the United States in 1955, you could take in a Cubs game or ski Jackson Hole, but if you wanted to sample Memphis barbecue or check out the factories in Youngstown, Ohio, you’d be out of luck,” Audra J. Wolfe writes for Slate’s The Vault.

“That’s because a National Security Council directive had, on Jan. 3, 1955, allowed some ‘Soviet citizens in possession of valid Soviet passports’ into the country, while extending controls previously placed on visiting Soviet diplomats and official representatives to apply to their travel,” Wolfe adds.

The following map details which areas traveling Soviets (in possession of extremely detailed itineraries) could and couldn’t visit in 1955. As you can see, ports, coastlines, and weapons facilities were — for all the obvious reasons — off-limits [no-go zones shaded in green]:

Of course, there were similar rules in place in the Soviet Union for American tourists, but we’re going to go out on a limb and assume only a small minority of U.S. citizens were just dying to visit Mother Russia (as opposed to Soviets who wanted to permanently “visit” the U.S.).

“The Soviets’ decision to relax their controls after Joseph Stalin’s death in March 1953 left the U.S. open to charges that it, not the USSR, was operating behind an Iron Curtain,” Wolfe notes.

“President Eisenhower and his foreign policy advisers decided to mimic Soviet policy as closely as possible: As of early 1955, citizens of either nation could enter approximately 70 percent of the other’s territory, including 70 percent of cities with populations greater than 100,000,” Wolfe adds.

It continues:

Travel restrictions on Soviet private citizens stayed in place, enforced by the Departments of State and Justice, until the Kennedy administration unilaterally lifted them in 1962 as a symbol of the openness of American society. Controls on visits from journalists and government officials, by contrast, lingered until the end of the Cold War.

And there’s your fascinating history lesson for the day.

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These Are the 4 Most Important Takeaways from Today’s IRS Hearing

Becket Adams — Sat, 18 May 2013 00:16:05 +0000

Ousted Internal Revenue Service’s interim head Steven Miller appeared before the House Ways and Means Committee Friday to testify on his agency’s targeting of conservative groups.

And although a slightly bored-looking Miller spent most of the four-hour interrogation doing his best U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder impersonation (i.e. playing the “I don’t know” game), some important facts came to light today.

Here are the top four most important takeaways from Friday’s hearing [in no particular order]:

4. Plant Confirmation

Lois Lerner, head of the IRS’ tax-exempt organizations division.

The question that prompted IRS official Lois Lerner to apologize last week for IRS misconduct was planted, National Review Online’s Kevin Williamson theorized Tuesday.

He explains:

The question at the ABA conference came from Washington-based tax lawyer Celia Roady, a lobbyist in the firm of Morgan Lewis.

Roady is certainly well-versed in the issue at hand: She was named to the influential Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities in 2010 by Douglas Shulman, at that time commissioner of the IRS. Lerner is the director for tax-exempt organizations at the IRS.

Roady was serving on the Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities while tea-party groups and other conservative organizations were being targeted by the IRS. Not exactly a question out of the blue — Capitol Hill sources described the question as “planted” and say the IRS has informally admitted as much.

It would appear, according to Miller himself, that Williamson’s suspicions were spot-on and that the question was indeed from a planted audience member:

It’s a good thing Miller answered the way he did (being under oath and all that), because in a statement obtained by Talking Points Memo, Roady said she was most absolutely a plant:

On May 9, I received a call from Lois Lerner, who told me that she wanted to address an issue after her prepared remarks at the ABA Tax Section’s Exempt Organizations Committee Meeting, and asked if I would pose a question to her after her remarks.

I agreed to do so, and she then gave me the question that I asked at the meeting the next day. We had no discussion thereafter on the topic of the question, nor had we spoken about any of this before I received her call. She did not tell me, and I did not know, how she would answer the question.

Obviously, the fact that this was all started with by a rehearsed question from an audience member raises some serious questions.

“The planted question reveals coordination at high levels of the IRS with regard to the disclosure of the sensitive information,” NRO notes.

“Lerner and Miller testified before Congress two days before Lerner addressed the ABA, but said nothing about the IRS’s scrutiny of tea-party groups.”

3. Treasury Knew About the Audit During the 2012 Election

J. Russell George (l) and Steven Miller (r). (Associated Press)

Treasury officials were informed in June 2012 that the Treasury Department’s inspector general was looking into the Internal Revenue Service’s process for screening “politically active” groups applying for tax exemptions.

This means that top Obama officials knew something was up during the 2012 presidential election.

However, some important clarifications need to be made. From the New York Times:

At the first Congressional hearing into the I.R.S. scandal, J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, told members of the House Ways and Means Committee that he informed the Treasury’s general counsel of his audit on June 4, and Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin “shortly thereafter.”

[…]

Mr. George told Treasury officials about the allegation as part of a routine briefing about ongoing audits he would be conducting in the coming year, and he did not tell the officials of his conclusions that the targeting had been improper, he said.

Audits are not that uncommon and, as George stressed, he did not reveal the results of the IG’s audit to Treasury officials. He merely informed them that his office was conducting an audit.

Watch for yourself [relevant comments at the 01:27:40 mark]

Still, the “revelation nonetheless raised a fresh set of questions about who was aware of the problem within the Obama administration,” the Wall Street Journal notes.

2. More Investigations Are on the Way

Getty Images.

If IRS officials think the IG report is all they have to deal with, they may be grossly mistaken.

“There are additional investigations coming down the pipeline that potentially could uncover [partisan behavior within the IRS], isn’t that correct?” asked Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY).

“That is an accurate statement, sir,” George replied.

Later, while Rep. Tim Griffin (R-Ark.) was speaking, George was asked whether his office is performing additional investigations into the IRS’ behavior.

“I’m not in a position, sir, to discuss whether or not –”

“That means you are!” Rep. Griffin interjected.

Watch here [relevant comments at 01:29:17 and 01:43:50]

On a side note, if the IG is conducting additional investigations into the IRS’ partisan behavior and had planned on keeping it quiet, well, that was all undone today.

1. Why Didn’t IRS Officials Say Anything About This Earlier?

George & Miller. (Getty Images)

Miller, who was appointed interim head on Nov. 9, 2012, knew of the conservative targeting in May of the same year.

However, during a congressional hearing in July 2012, he made no mention of the scandal.

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) was unimpressed with the disgraced IRS official’s non-disclosure.

“The law … requires you to not only tell the truth, but to tell the whole truth,” an annoyed Ryan said. “You ‘cannot conceal or cover up, by any trick scheme or device, any material fact.’ How was that not misleading this committee?” Rep. Ryan asked.

“You knew the targeting was taking place. You know the terms ‘Tea Party’ [and] ‘Patriots’ were being used. You just acknowledged a minute ago they were outrageous. And then when you were asked about this after you were briefed about this, that was the answer you gave us? How can we not conclude that you mislead this committee?” he added.

“I did not mislead the committee. I stand by my answer then, I stand by my answer now. Harassment discussion that was part of that question implies political motivation,” Miller responded. “Um, there is a discussion going on. There is no political motivation.”

“I answered the question truthfully,” he answered.

Miller’s “answer” is reminiscent of the excuse offered by Lerner when she was asked last week why the IRS decided now (of all times) to apologize for its behavior: No one ever asked.

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Featured image Getty Images. This post has been updated.