Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York was speaking at the House Judiciary Committee mark-up of the USA Freedom Act which would end the bulk collection of Americans’ communications records, when he commented on metadata being able to show calls to a “mistress if I had one.” “You can learn a lot from metadata about a person and invade his privacy tremendously.”

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Cruz goes after Obama on executive actions.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

Mike Theiler / Reuters

WASHINGTON — Sen. Ted Cruz attacked the Obama administration's record with executive actions, comparing President Obama to King George III, whose reign ultimately prompted the American Revolution, in a Wednesday speech.

Speaking at the Federalist Society Executive branch Review Conference, Cruz outlined his latest report on executive branch over reach by the Obama administration.

"The Declaration of Independence had, I believe, 26 abuses that King George had committed against Englishmen. Well, this particular report lists 76," Cruz said.

Cruz went on to argue the administration has engaged in "lawlessness that threatens the basic underpinnings of our society" on a variety of issues ranging from drug policy to IRS investigations of political groups. "The rest of us don't have the ability to disregard courts, and yet some how this administration thinks they do."

For instance, Cruz pointed to drug-sentencing laws, where "on the policy area we could find real bipartisan agreement … and we could have a sensible policy discussion." But rather than waiting for congressional action, Attorney General "Eric Holder simply announced the following drug crimes weren't being prosecuted … If you want to change the criminal laws, there's a process for it. You can go to Congress."

"These are criminal laws … it is extraordinary," Cruz said.

Similarly, Cruz criticized the administration's position on marriage equality, saying, "the administration announced it's going to disregard the Supreme Court stay and recognize and enforce marriages," while on immigration the Whiter House is "universally granting [millions of undocumented persons] amnesty."

Cruz also paraphrased law professor Jonathan Turley's congressional testimony on executive overreach, arguing that "President Obama has become the embodiment of the imperial presidency. Barack Obama has become the President Richard Nixon always wanted to be."

Cruz said the "abuse of presidential power" has also bled into foreign policy, particularly the current confrontation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "How exactly do we go to Putin and say you have to be bound by law when our administration is saying never mind our laws?"

"These concerns should be bipartisan. Listen, I recognize there is a poisonous, even toxic atmosphere in Washington … but this shouldn't be partisan," Cruz argued. "Anyone who cares about rule of law, anyone who care about liberty and the constitution should be dismayed by a admin and executive that is disregarding the law."

Incumbent Texas lieutenant governor David Dewhurst is in a run off with state Sen. Dan Patrick. Dewhurst just released an ad attacking Patrick’s past as a disc jockey. The ad is set to the tune of “Let It Go” from Disney’s Frozen .

Please watch to ruin this song forever.

youtube.com

NOPE.

Via reactionface.info

Daniel Squadron, a New York state senator who represents parts of Brooklyn and lower Manhattan used a variety of song lyrics from artists like Billy Joel, Bon Jovi, Kanye West, and Bruce Springsteen in a speech making the case for a bill that would stop the reselling of tickets to charitable events for profit. (h/t New York Observer )

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Emails obtained by BuzzFeed show a Russian diplomat disparaging Russian dissidents, praising Stalin and talking about America’s “homosexual authoritarianism.”

Nadya Tolokonnikova, center, and Maria Alyokhina, center left, of Pussy Riot.

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

WASHINGTON — A senior diplomat at the Russian embassy in Washington made sexist statements about Pussy Riot in 2012 emails, suggesting that the all-female protest group "just need a good fuck."

In emails to a U.S. government official working on Russian human rights issues obtained by BuzzFeed on the stipulation of anonymity for both parties, the Russian official mused about Pussy Riot, who were at the time about to go on trial for an anti-Putin protest inside Moscow's main Orthodox church. BuzzFeed has viewed the emails and agreed not to publish the names to protect the anonymity of the correspondents.

"Life is strange — kill 12 people in a movie theater, and you are a psyco boy, maniac; show your ass in a nation biggest cathedral — and they will call you a prisoner of conscience," the official wrote, referring to the mass shooting in an Aurora, Colorado movie theater that summer.

The U.S. official responded: "It's hard to be a prisoner of conscience without being in prison, not saying their performance wasn't offensive or even illegal, but fines for trespassing would be a little more 'European' than the SIZO… and I don't understand your point on the Aurora shootings." "SIZO" is a Russian pre-trial detention center.

The Russian diplomat responded that the women of Pussy Riot "are simply not happy in their sexual lives."

"How can you know it wasn't offensive?" the Russian diplomat wrote. "Novaya gazeta is saying that, or you guys held hearing on it?," he asked, referring to Novaya Gazeta, Russia's only investigative newspaper. "Imagine someone did that somewhere in Saudi Arabia, one of the greatest democracies on Earth and the US ally. By the way, Russia is a orthodox (predominantly) country, so they had rather think twice before doing it. Now they have to be held accountable, as you put it.
Generally, I am of the opinion that those pussies are simply not happy in their sexual life. And that makes them riot. They simply need a good f..k, not SIZO. Unfortunately, we don't have such a capital punishment in our criminal law."

Nadya Tolokonnikova and Masha Alyokhina of Pussy Riot are in the United States this week, where they attended several White House Correspondents Dinner events and lobbied lawmakers on Capitol Hill to push for more additions to the Magnitsky List of Russians banned from traveling to or keeping money in the U.S. Both were found guilty of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" after the group's church protest and sentenced to two years in prison. They were pardoned by Vladimir Putin in December and released three months early.

The diplomat in question has sent other offensive emails, including one from this year warning of "homosexual authoritarianism" threatening the U.S. and one from last year describing his nostalgia for Stalin, who "fucked" a "feminine" Russia.

"One thing about Stalin is that with him Russian state was at its highest," the diplomat wrote in 2013. "I am convinced without this guy we would never launch Gagarin in outer space, though it happened a bit later," he wrote, referring to Yury Gagarin, the first man in space and a Soviet hero. "Yes he kinda fucked Russia, but Russian soul is feminine by it's nature. So I believe we need to step back and look at him in a longer perspective, like the French did with Napoleon. It's complicated like so many things in Russian history."

In an email titled "gay SOS," the diplomat writes: "In Russia when someone does studies of a foreign country, he or she is most probably trUly in love with it. I am myself was deeply in love with France. Now it doesn't work here in the States. Why most of Russia watchers in Washington DC are indeed Russia haters? Probably because this is a Cold War legacy. You studied USSR to know your enemy. Now the only way to make Russia a living is to help hating it - be it Vladimir Putin or human rights. Actually I was thinking about homosexual authoritarism [sic] threatening America. Here is a good piece on Arizona buzz. Why don't anyone write something similar about Russian anti-propaganda law? The answer my friend is blowing with the wind....
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/02/jan-brewers-foolish-veto-104014.html?hp=l1s"

In another email from this year about a PSA produced by a group called the Fair Games Project protesting Russia's anti-gay law in light of the Sochi Olympics, the diplomat questioned why Russia is being criticized when other countries can "legally kill fags."

"Of note, not a single face there I could recognize as Russian. But anyway we are clearly losers by their own standards: they claim only a minor penalty for being gay in Russia (which is not true), while others can legally kill fags or send them in prison. Rossija vpered!" ("Russia Forward!").

A spokesperson for the Russian Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the emails.

Sen. Cory Booker and Rep. Rosa DeLauro are hosting the film Fed Up in the Capitol on Wednesday. The movie is not kind to the First Lady.

Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press / MCT

WASHINGTON — Two close Democratic allies of Michelle Obama's push to reduce childhood obesity are hosting the screening of a new film Wednesday on Capitol Hill that casts the "Let's Move" efforts as largely toothless and a gift to the processed food industry.

Filmmakers behind the film Fed Up have directly criticized Obama, saying she "got co-opted by politics" when it comes to obesity.

The project is a highly touted new documentary about childhood obesity narrated by Katie Couric and directed by Stephanie Soechtig. In reviews, the movie has been cast as a Michael-Moore-like exploration of the obesity crisis, directing most of its ire at the processed food and sugar industries, as well as at a U.S. government that has for decades helped to expand their presence in the American diet. The film features interviews with a number of well-known food experts like writer Michael Pollan, as well as interviews with top Democrats like Bill Clinton and Sen. Tom Harkin. Filmmakers have said Obama declined to participate in the film, a decision Soechtig told reporters had "not surprised" the director.

Wednesday night, the film will get even more support from Democratic lawmakers as New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro host a screening in the Capitol complex.

While the politicians in the film steer away from even a glancing criticism of the First Lady's "Let's Move" campaign, experts interviewed are tough on Obama's efforts to fight obesity with public-private partnerships, lobbying in Congress, and use of the bully pulpit.

One of the experts involved in the making of the film, Dr. Mark Hyman, told reporters at a discussion about the film this week that "Let's Move" had fallen victim to lobbyists.

"Michelle Obama came out all guns blazing," he said, "then got co-opted by politics."

The cut of the film hitting theaters this weekend and obtained by BuzzFeed Wednesday is different from the one screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January. The new version features footage of Obama announcing new food labeling guidelines on Feb. 27, nearly a month after the film's Sundance screening.

Improved food labels — along with a ban on fast food in schools and a suggestion that every celebrity who does an ad for soda also do one for vegetables — are among the prescriptions to the obesity crisis suggested in the film. The expert interviews in the cut still include criticisms of Obama's "Let's Move" campaign.

"The name 'Let's Move' was not meant to evoke exercise, it was meant to evoke action on the issue," Pollan says at one point in the movie. He said industry took "Let's Move" to mean an attack on the sedentary lifestyle and "not the food."

"That was a very unfortunate message for the White House to put out," he says in the film. "Because it is the food."

Pollan rejects the deal reached between industry and Obama to cut "1.5 trillion calories out of the marketplace by 2015. "It's nothing," he says, noting that 1.5 trillion calories represents around 14 calories per day for "the average adult or child."

Another expert says Obama has been too beholden to industry.

"When Michelle Obama launched her 'Let's Move' campaign she said, 'This isn't about demonizing any food industry,'" the expert says. "Which is a very politically sensible thing to do, but the problem is if you want to cure obesity you have to demonize some food industries."

A third expert praises Obama as "a wonderful force in the nation's attempt to address childhood obesity," but says she and others in the administration "have to be aware of the lobbying might of the food industry and have to go easier on them than they may want to."

The First Lady's office did not respond to a request for comment on the film or the screening hosted by Booker and DeLauro.

DeLauro attended the kick-off of the "Let's Move" campaign and has been a close ally of Obama's program since it began. She praised the campaign again in a statement hours ahead of the screening.

"The First Lady has made fighting obesity her signature issue. She has launched a national movement to create a healthier future for kids and families that has gained a great deal of traction," DeLauro said. "She has focused the public on this issue and expanded the space for Congress to act. Now it is time for Congress to be part of the solution instead of being part of the problem."

For Booker, the screening is doubly awkward. Not only is the freshman New Jersey Senator a top ally of the administration, he's an honorary vice chair of Partnership For A Healthier America, a "Let's Move"-aligned public-private partnership that embodies the efforts criticized by the experts in the film.

In a statement, Booker defended his involvement in "Let's Move" while also saying the program was only part of the solution to obesity.

"Tonight's film broadens the conversation America must have about our food and our health. There is no one answer to this crisis. I am proud of my affiliation to Partnership for a Healthier America as they are part of the solution. We all should be grateful to the leadership and tireless work by our First Lady and her Let's Move campaign," he said. "It is important to recognize the Let's Move initiative and its important work to end childhood obesity. One important action born out of the passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 was the ban of all junk food from being sold in schools and implementing significantly higher school lunch standards."

Today, the House of Representatives approved a commission to study the possibility of building a women’s history museum on the National Mall by a vote of 383-33. Out of the 33 ‘no’ votes, only two were women.

Reps. Michele Bachmann and Vicky Hartzler were the only women to vote against the bill's passage.

“I do not believe that there is any reason for it to continue in this way.”

Andrew Kelly / Reuters

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she is "absolutely" satisfied with the information that has already been released on the 2012 terrorist attack in Libya.

Clinton joined ABC morning host Robin Roberts for a "conversation" about philanthropy on Wednesday in New York. But when the event at the Ford Foundation started, Roberts asked Clinton to weigh in on the "hot-topic" issue first.

"Benghazi," said Roberts. "The new investigation — are you satisfied with what the answers are, and are you content with what you know what happened?"

"Absolutely," Clinton said, addressing for the first time the select committee investigation into the attack at the U.S. compound in Benghazi.

Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives called last week for a second investigation into the White House and State Department's response to the strike that killed four Americans, including U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens.

Documents published last week by the website Judicial Watch included a newly declassified email between administration officials discussing the response to the attack. Republicans have questioned why the email was not included in the trove of documents released during a 2013 subpoena for information related to Benghazi.

"There are a lot of reasons why — despite all the hearings, all of the information that's been provided — some choose not to be satisfied and choose to continue to move forward," Clinton said at the Philanthropy New York event.

"That's their choice, and I do not believe that there is any reason for it to continue in this way, but they get to call the shots in Congress," she said.

"And you get to call the shots right now in talking about philanthropy," said Roberts, moving the conversation on to Clinton's foundation work.

The former secretary of state stressed that responsibility to rescue the girls lay “primarily” with Nigeria.

Samantha Sais / Reuters

Hillary Clinton spoke out on the kidnapping of nearly 300 Nigerian girls for the first time on Wednesday afternoon, calling the attack last month an "act of terrorism."

"The seizure of these young women by this radical extremist group, Boko Haram, is abominable, it's criminal, it's an act of terrorism, and it really merits the fullest response possible, first and foremost from the government of Nigeria," said Clinton.

Boko Haram, a Nigerian Islamist militant group, took the school girls last month. The White House has offering "counterterrorism assistance" to the Nigerian government, and administration officials have increasingly spoken out about the crisis.

Clinton, who appeared at the Ford Foundation in New York on Wednesday for an event hosted by Philanthropy New York, had yet to address the kidnappings.

"The government of Nigeria has been in my view somewhat derelict in its responsibility for protecting boys and girls, men and women," Clinton said at the event, which was moderated by ABC News's Robin Roberts.

"They need to make it a priority to do everything they can to try to bring these girls home safely, and that, I believe, requires assistance from others including the United States," said Clinton, who stressed that responsibility lay "primarily" with Nigeria.

Nigerian troops, Clinton said, "have to be the ones that do what is necessary." But she added that the government there "must accept help, particularly intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance help" from other countries.

“Stories need a hook,” said a spokesperson for UNITE HERE Local 11. The union had been fighting the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Hotel Bel-Air for over a year, but it wasn’t until LGBT activists got on board that their efforts found traction.

Jonathan Alcorn / Reuters

For more than a year before the Beverly Hills Hotel became the target of a boycott, a Los Angeles labor union had been trying to draw attention to the fact that it is owned by the sultan of Brunei, a tiny Southeast Asian nation with laws criminalizing homosexuality. Almost no one cared.

How this went from a failed ploy in a labor dispute to an advocacy campaign involving celebrities including Ellen DeGeneres to Jay Leno is one that could only take place in the age of internet outrage, when relationships between American activists and social media go a long way in determining which human rights causes blow up and which ones go virtually unnoticed in the United States.

UNITE HERE Local 11 spokeswoman Leigh Shelton told BuzzFeed that the union began trying to shine the spotlight on Brunei's LGBT rights record in February 2013, as part of an effort to drive business away from the Hotel Bel-Air and the Beverly Hills Hotel, both owned by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah's Dorchester Collection hotel company. The effort stemmed from a feud stretching back to the 1990s, when the union was shut out from representing the Beverly Hills Hotel after it went through renovations. The union was shut out in similar fashion from the Hotel Bel-Air in 2009. In researching the hotel's ownership, UNITE HERE discovered that Brunei has actually long had a law criminalizing sodomy well before the new Sharia code, dating back to its days under British colonial rule.

The union produced a video urging people to "take a stand against homophobia" and "dump" the Beverly Hills Hotel. "The Beverly Hills Hotel is owned by the nation of Brunei, where it is illegal to be gay," the video proclaimed.

That campaign went nowhere.

"Stories need a hook," Shelton said. "I just don't think it had a hook at the time."

Last month, that changed: National organizations called for boycotts, and personalities including Sharon Osbourne and Richard Branson took to Twitter to urge their followers to join them in staying away from the hotel. On Monday, former Tonight Show host Jay Leno added fuel to the fire when he joined a rally outside the Beverly Hills Hotel, calling for the sultan to either change the law or sell the hotel. Organizations ranging from the Motion Picture & Television Fund to the International Women's Media Foundation to The Hollywood Reporter have canceled events at the hotel as well. DeGeneres tweeted:

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The House of Representatives voted to hold Lois Lerner in contempt because she refused to cooperate with an investigation into IRS targeting of tea party groups.

AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File

The House of Representatives voted 231 to 187 Wednesday to hold former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress.

The vote came after Lerner allegedly refused to cooperate with an investigation into the IRS's targeting of would-be tax exempt groups that included the words "tea party," among other things, in their names. The investigation began in 2012 and according to a report from the House Oversight Committee found Lerner was "extensively involved" in the targeting.

Lerner formerly headed up the IRS's Exempt Organizations division but resigned in September as the controversy continued to swirl.

Earlier this year she was called to testify before a committee investigating the scandal, but invoked her Fifth Amendment right to not answer questions. House Republicans say she waived her constitutional right to plead the Fifth by making an opening statement in which she proclaimed her innocence.

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The National Guard spent $88 million over three years on NASCAR sponsorships that may not have recruited any new soldiers.

Mike Dinovo/Usa Today Sports

It was either a costly and failed experiment or a pricey branding exercise. But one thing is clear: The National Guard has dumped a fortune into car racing over the last few years.

Between 2011 and 2013, the Guard spent $88 million on NASCAR sponsorships and $38 million on Indy car. The Guard told USA Today the combined $126 million was a branding effort, which "helps create a fundamental awareness of the National Guard as a career option." The money let the Guard put its logo on race cars and set up recruiting booths, among other things.

But if the goal was to actually produce new recruits, the effort was a failure, the newspaper reported.

John Harrelson / Getty Images

In 2012 alone, for example, the Guard spent $26.5 million on NASCAR sponsorships, which generated 24,800 potential recruits. However, of those people only 20 actually met the Guard's qualifications — and none of them chose to enlist.

Results worsened in 2013, with only 7,500 prospective recruits coming out of the NASCAR sponsorship.

The Guard is supposed to recruit 50,000 new soldiers a year, and needs 1 million new leads to do that, USA Today reported.

Sen. Claire McCaskill questioned the spending, calling it a waste of money and wondering if it was actually for the benefit of the Guard's leadership. She plans to hold a hearing Thursday on the NASCAR sponsorship program.

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And why the government hasn’t rescued them.

For nearly five years, militant Islamist group Boko Haram has been waging a violent insurgency in northeast Nigeria. The fighting has killed more than 4,000 people, displaced 500,000 more, and destroyed hundreds of schools and homes.

PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP / Getty Images

Nigeria, an oil-rich country in West Africa, gained independence from the British in 1960. Under colonial rule, development was centered primarily in Nigeria's south. The legacy of neglect in the north continues to affect lives today.

Map locating Chibok in northeast Nigeria's Borno State, site of the abduction of more than 300 schoolgirls.

J-M.Cornu / J. Jacobsen/AFP

AFP/AFP / Getty Images

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While Democratic leaders have indicated they may sit out the select committee investigation into the 2012 Benghazi attacks, some members say it’s in their best interest to show up.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leadership.

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A number of Democrats are arguing the caucus should appoint members to the soon-to-be formed Select Committee investigating the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, saying not participating will give Republicans an open forum to launch political attacks on the administration.

While virtually all Democrats are united in opposing the formation of the committee, which will investigate the deaths of four Americans including ambassador Chris Stevens, rank-and-file Democrats argued during a closed-door meeting Wednesday leadership's inclination to boycott the committee would be a mistake. As more members are starting to lean in favor of participating in the committee, the caucus will have another Friday morning meeting to debate the issue again before a final decision is made, sources said.

"I think it would be very valuable for people to see us fighting, particularly a fight I know we can win. The other side on this is clearly acting politically and they do not have a leg to stand on and I say that as someone who has spent hearing after hearing on Benghazi," Rep. Jim Himes, a member of the House Intelligence committee, told BuzzFeed. "I think if we had a talented team of thoughtful, articulate members, we could draw a huge contrast between a nakedly political, fact-less other side," added Himes, who is one of several members who has raised the issue during recent meetings with leadership.

One of Pelosi's strongest allies, Rep. Henry Waxman, also reportedly spoke in favor of appointing members to the panel during Wednesday's meeting.

House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday that the committee would not be a "sideshow" or "circus" and only recently decided to move forward with the committee's creation after new emails were released that had previously been withheld from congressional investigators. Rep. Trey Gowdy, a South Carolina prosecutor, was tapped to chair the panel. Gowdy said on MSNBC Wednesday that the investigation would be serious and cautioned fellow Republicans to not fundraise off of Benghazi. But the fundraising arm of the House, the National Republican Congressional Committee, had already been asking for contributions.

"This is going to be a serious investigation. Our system of government depends on transparency and accountability," Boehner told reporters.

Democrats have roundly rejected that characterization. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Whip Steny Hoyer have called for the panel to be split evenly between Democrats and Republicans to be fair, but Boehner and the GOP leadership set the panel at seven Republicans and five Democrats.

Even without an even split, Rep. Alcee Hastings agreed that showing up would be in their best interest, though he acknowledged that the ultimate decision would be left up to the leadership.

"My overall view is they are going to make much of it either way. And if they're going to conduct an investigation, I want to have five of our very sharpest people — who are calm, collected, and good students — who are going to participate. You can't win arguing on the outside with this crowd," he said.

Members caution that no decision has been made yet, and likely won't until after Thursday's vote. To highlight the difficult position Democrats find themselves in, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver said after a whip meeting Thursday he understands both sides of the argument, but was nervous about leaving witnesses without backup.

"You know, I tend to side with [Maryland Rep.] Elijah Cummings, who said you'd make something illegitimate seem fair, but at the same time he knows that if we leave our people in there unprotected they will be bludgeoned," Cleaver said. "I probably lean a little more toward being in the room."

Ah, 1998.

Via en.wikipedia.org

• Google, Inc. was founded.

• Microsoft became biggest company in the world and was valued at $261 billion on the NYSE.

• Microsoft released Windows 98.

• Jerry Yang was running Yahoo.

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They also come in cream.

A man is now selling pink Benghazi footie pajamas that say "Remember Benghazi." They cost $74.50.

Via cafepress.com

The pajamas also come in cream.

He made the design "just because it was on the news." According to Druham, CafePress is selling the design on a lot of different types of clothing. When asked how many pairs of pajamas he had sold, Druham said, "Not very many."

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Matt Connolly is a Republican Congressional candidate for the 17th district in Pennsylvania. Appearing on local news WYLN said of President Obama “we have a guy who doesn’t like this country” saying America was becoming “socialistic” under the Obama administration.

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The 180-day stay agreement follows last week’s botched execution in the state and comes as a review of the execution procedures there are ongoing.

WASHINGTON — The Oklahoma Attorney General's Office on Thursday agreed to a 180-day delay of the pending execution of Charles Warner, the next inmate scheduled to be put to death after last week's botched execution there.

Although the attorneys for the state opposed the broader request of Warner's attorneys for an indefinite stay of his execution, the state agreed not to oppose the six-month stay request.

Previously, when the execution of Clayton Lockett went awry, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin issued a 14-day delay of Warner's execution, which moved the date to May 13.

Fallin has since said the execution would be stayed longer if an ongoing review of the state's execution procedures takes longer. In Thursday's filing, lawyers write, "[I]t is obvious that Warner will not be executed on May 13th because Commissioner [of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Michael] Thompson's investigation will not be completed by that date."

From the Oklahoma Attorney General's filing Thursday:

scribd.com

Domestic-produced array mimics “typical size for the American house.”

WASHINGTON — For the first time since the Carter administration, solar panels are helping provide electricity for the White House.

In a YouTube video released to the public Friday, the Obama administration announced a long-promised installation of solar panels on the White House roof had been completed, giving the executive mansion a renewable source of "6.3 kilowatts of solar generation," according to White House spokesperson Matt Lehrich.

The panels and the system that convert solar energy into electricity are American-made, Lehrich said, and the solar array is part of a larger plan to retrofit the White House for improved energy efficiency.

"The retrofit includes the installation of energy-saving equipment such as updated building controls and variable speed fans," he said.

The completion of the White House solar array is part of a larger solar energy push President Obama is scheduled announce Friday. The announcement is part of the president's larger effort to use executive power and the bully pulpit to take action on climate change without the cooperation of Republicans in Congress, who have generally blocked efforts to combat climate change in recent years.

The panel will be made up of seven Republicans and five Democrats, should Democrats choose to participate.

Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.

AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File

WASHINGTON — The House passed a resolution to establish a select committee charged with investigating Benghazi along mostly partisan lines, by a vote of 232-186.

Seven Democrats joined Republicans in voting for the measure.

Although there have been multiple House and Senate investigations into the 2012 attack in Libya that claimed the lives of four Americans, including ambassador Chris Stevens, Republican leadership announced this week that it would move to create the committee after newly released emails indicated the White House had withheld information from congressional investigators.

The committee will be made up of seven Republicans and five Democrats, should Democrats ultimately choose to participate in the panel. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Whip Steny Hoyer and other members of the leadership have called for an even ratio between Democrats and Republicans, but House Speaker John Boehner called the 7-5 split as "eminently fair." Democrats decried the formation of the committee as a political stunt but quite a few rank and file members believe it's in their best interest to appoint members to the committee.

South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy will chair the proceedings and Republicans are expected to appoint their additional members on Friday. Democrats will decide after a caucus meeting Friday whether they will boycott or not.