The Obama administration turns its hipster quotient up to 11.

Stock photo of "hipsters."

FotoimperiyA/FotoimperiyA

WASHINGTON — President Obama will host scores of DIYers at the White House this month when he attends the first-ever Maker Faire on the grounds of the executive mansion.

The band OK Go — legendary for its DIY music videos — will promote the event ahead for the Faire on June 18. A White House official told BuzzFeed Wednesday that the president will attend.

But the administration hopes the home-brew inventors will be the stars of the event, and is creating a social media campaign to spur people from across the country to share their creations under the hashtag #NationOfMakers during what the administration is calling a Day of Making.

The Maker Faire is a nationwide series of DIY festivals produced by the publishers of MAKE magazine. The White House first announced its intention to host one of the events in February. In an upcoming post on the White House blog announcing the details of the June 18 event, the administration says the event ties into Obama's broader goal of prompting more students to enter the so-called STEM fields.

"Making can inspire and empower more young people to excel in design and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and to pursue careers making things in manufacturing," reads the blog post.

Obama has been particularly fond of youth inventors, interacting with them at the annual White House science fair and hosting one — a 16-year-old inventor of an "extreme marshmallow cannon" — as his guest at this year's State of the Union address.

An administration official said the State of the Union guest led to the June 18 event.

"Inspired by 'Joey Marshmallow' and the millions of citizen-makers driving the next era of American innovation, we decided to host the first-ever White House Maker Faire," the official said. "It will be an opportunity to highlight both the remarkable stories of Makers like Joey and commitments by leading organizations to help more students and entrepreneurs get involved in making things."

OK Go officially announced the June 18 date for the White House Maker Faire in a video shared with BuzzFeed. Band member Damian Kulash says in the video that the reasoning behind the June 18 event is pretty straightforward.

"Why are they having a Maker Faire?" he said. "Because the president likes it when you make stuff."

Watch the video:

U.S. officials and members of Hamas have been meeting in Jordan, Egypt, and Qatar, sources say.

Senior Fatah and Hamas officials celebrate the new unity government.

Suhaib Salem / Reuters / Reuters

JERUSALEM — United States officials have been holding secret back-channel talks with Hamas over the last six months to discuss their role in the newly formed unity government, according to two senior diplomatic sources with direct knowledge of the talks.

The meetings were held between U.S. intermediaries and Hamas' leadership, which lives outside the Gaza Strip in third-party countries ranging from Egypt to Qatar and Jordan. Topics included the ceasefire agreement with Israel and the recently formed unity government between Hamas and Fatah.

During the talks, Hamas gave assurances that allowed the U.S. to support the unity government, despite heavy pressure by the Israeli government for them to condemn it, the diplomatic officials — one American and one Palestinian — said. They said those assurances including a commitment to maintaining a ceasefire with Israel.

"Our administration needed to hear from them that this unity government would move toward democratic elections, and toward a more peaceful resolution with the entire region," said one U.S. official familiar with the talks. He spoke on condition of anonymity, as the U.S, government's official stance is that it has not, and will not, talk to Hamas until certain preconditions are met. "It was important to have that line of communication," the U.S. official said.

State Department deputy spokesman Marie Harf denied the talks. "These assertions are completely untrue," Harf told BuzzFeed. "There is no such back channel. Our position on Hamas has not changed."

Harf said she told a press briefing yesterday: "As you all know, Hamas is a designated foreign terrorist organization. The United States does not and will not provide it assistance. Per longstanding U.S. policy, we do not have any contact with Hamas. No members of Hamas and no ministers affiliated with Hamas, as I said, are part of this government."

The U.S. government has categorically denied it was speaking to Hamas for years. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland said in 2012 while she was still State Department spokesperson that claims that the U.S. and Hamas had a back channel were "bizarre."

"I want to say here that these assertions are completely untrue. There is no such back channel. And our position on Hamas has not changed," Nuland said in a press briefing. A State Department spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed that the U.S. would work with the new Palestinian government as needed.

"We are going to be watching (the government) very closely, as we said from day one, to absolutely ensure that it upholds each of those things it has talked about, that it doesn't cross the line," Kerry said. The U.S. has said that the new transitional government, led by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and with ministries run mostly by technocrats, represents a significant step toward ending a seven-year feud between the Palestinian political factions Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and Fatah, which controls the West Bank.

Israeli officials slammed the announcement by Kerry, saying the U.S. was sanctioning terrorism.

"If the U.S. administration wants to advance peace, it should be calling on [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas to end his pact with Hamas and return to peace talks with Israel. Instead it is enabling Abbas to believe that it is acceptable to form a government with a terrorist organization," Israeli officials said in a statement.

When Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, the Quartet on the Middle East peacemakers set out three conditions that the Islamist group would have to meet before it received international diplomatic recognition. Those conditions included recognizing the state of Israel, abiding by previous diplomatic agreements, and renouncing violence. Israeli officials point to statements made by Hamas current leadership as proof of their intent to continue an armed struggle against the Jewish state.

"We understand Israel's concerns, but this was a way of ensuring that Hamas kept its more extreme elements at bay so that the U.S. could support a unity government," said the American official. "These talks were very much to ensure that our concerns, and those of the Israeli government, were being met as the Palestinians move forward in the coming months."

He said that talks had ensured that the new unity government would "toe the line" to ensure ongoing U.S. aid. He stressed that the U.S. continues to not formally recognize Hamas, and would not do so until they formally renounced violence.

"We have imparted on them, very strongly, the fact that until they meet the criteria set forth by the Quartet there will be no official ties between us and Hamas," said the U.S. official.

The meetings that were held included an exchange of letters, with Hamas officials in Gaza as well as those in exile viewing the text of the letters before they were exchanged, a senior Palestinian official said.

"It must be very clear they were not just speaking to Hamas in exile, but to our entire leadership," said the official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity as "the Americans made it clear these meetings should not be made public."

He added, "It should be of no great surprise that an American team was speaking to Hamas, there is dialogue with Hamas through most of the Western world."

Over the last year, Hamas has revealed that they have been holding talks with at least five EU countries.

"I can say it's an important level (of officials), without defining whether it's junior or senior, and the channels are working," Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, said about the EU talksin an interview with AP last year in Beirut. "It's not just a contact. It's channels of talking."

Reports have claimed that Israeli officials have also spoken to Hamas through back channels over the years, as have United Nations officials.

Hey, good for the president for working out on a trip. Also, what kind of jerk takes photos of people at the gym?

Someone secretly taped the president of the United States while he was working out in a Polish gym.

And captured Obama on an elliptical and doing various exercises with free weights.

Lots of free weights.

But, like, does this even do anything?

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The National Organization for Marriage tried to get the Supreme Court to stop same-sex couples from marrying while it appeals a decision not allowing it to intervene in the case. The Supreme Court denied the request without comment Tuesday.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court denied the National Organization for Marriage's attempt to stop same-sex couples from marrying in Oregon.

NOM has appealed the trial judge's decision not to let the group, which is opposed to same-sex couples' marriage rights, to intervene in the lawsuit challenging Oregon's ban on such marriages.

The appeal of the intervention denial now continues at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, but same-sex couples will continue to be able to marry during the time that is happening.

The 9th Circuit, which is hearing that appeal, denied NOM's request to stop the trial court decision striking down the ban from going into effect during the appeal. NOM then went to Justice Anthony Kennedy to ask him to stop the marriages while that appeal is pending before the 9th Circuit.

Kennedy, who hears procedural matters brought to the court from the 9th Circuit, referred the request to the full court, which denied the request without comment on Tuesday.

NOM's appeal of the denial to intervene is the only matter left pending in the case because Oregon state officials had not fought the lawsuit, having agreed with the plaintiffs that the ban is unconstitutional. They had said that they would not appeal the decision if U.S. District Court Judge Michael McShane struck down the ban.

In another case, that challenging Utah's ban on same-sex couples' marriages, the Supreme Court issued a stay in January, which has led most judges hearing marriage cases since to issue a stay during any appeal. Here, however, the argument was not about whether there should be a stay of marriages during an active appeal from state officials, but instead whether NOM was likely to succeed in its attempt to intervene in the lawsuit in the first place.

“I’m tired of this crap,” Rep. Aaron Schock says.

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Republican Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock had harsh words for the Obama administration over the Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl deal, in an interview with WTAD AM 930 in Illinois Wednesday.

"I'm tired of this crap," Schock says late in the interview. "I'm tired of the Obama administration walking out when there's a crisis and there's a scandal and saying, 'Oh, we just learned about this. We just learned about this on the news.' Hogwash. I'm tired of them walking out when he can't defend what they just did and saying, 'Well, okay there's maybe more to the story, don't rush to judgement.'"

Schock said he didn't need to know anymore information about Bergdahl and said it didn't matter if his health was at risk.

"I don't need to know more to this story. The guy deserted his post. He put his comrades in harm and people died trying to get his butt back, okay? That is a court-martial-able offense. It's a crime, it's against the oath that he takes when he's sworn-in as a member of our armed forces and he needs to be held accountable. His bad behavior does not need to be reward and quite frankly I don't need to know more information about whether his health might have been in jeopardy or not."

Here's the full video of the interview:

youtube.com

“I came out of there with more questions than I have answers,” said Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.

Vice Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral James Winnefeld arrives at a closed door briefing June 4.

Alex Wong / Getty Images

WASHINGTON — At a closed door classified briefing Wedneday, senators viewed the "proof of life" video taken of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in captivity and questioned Obama administration officials about the prisoner swap that led to Bergdahl's release.

But the senators were split leaving the meeting: Some felt satisfied that the administration had done the right thing by trading five high-level Taliban prisoners for Bergdahl, and many others said they walked away with more questions than answers.

Senators were also conflicted about the physical state of Bergdahl shown in the video, which was taken sometime last December shortly after Nelson Mandela's death, according to Republican Sen. Mark Kirk.

"He didn't look good. I understand the emotional power of that video, what it had on the president," Kirk, a critic of the deal, said.

Kirk said the officials could not conclusively answer a question of his, one that focused on the deaths of soldiers who died looking for Bergdahl.

"I asked a direct question: Did six Americans die in Bergdahl-related searches? They said they were running that down," he said.

Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, described Bergdahl as possibly "drugged" in the proof of life video but that "his health was not the critical factor." Manchin was deeply concerned about the claims that Bergdahl deserted the base on his own and had become disillusioned with the war. Manchin said the officials promised to release to the senators a classified report on Bergdahl's disappearance. But he called the prisoner swap "extremely disturbing" and said he still "came out of there with more questions than I have answers."

"I think every soldier needs to be brought back, and then do what we're going to do here," he said. "I'm hoping they will follow through with that."

Sen. Dick Durbin, the second highest ranking Democrat in the Senate, described Bergdahl's condition in the video as "not good" and called the president's decision to go in difficult, but said the "premise is sound."

Durbin said he was concerned that the released Taliban prisoners may one day return to the battlefield.

"I know more now, I feel more confident now in the decision that was made," he said. "I go back to the beginning: The premise was sound. Bring home our troops. If they are captured, bring them home. I think we've got to keep returning to that.

"There are many who want to dismiss this and say, 'We have suspicions about this man, here, there, and the other place.' Believe me, those questions will be ultimately answered, but the premise was sound. Bring our troops home."

Republican senators who have been critical of the Obama administration's deal for days said the briefing didn't do much to assuage their concerns.

"I don't feel assured that these five Taliban detainees who are high level will not get back into the fight against us and our allies," said Sen. Kelly Ayotte.

There's been bipartisan anger at the Obama administration for not alerting members of Congress in advance of the prisoner swap. Federal law requires the president to give 30 days notice before transferring prisoners out of Guantanamo, but the administration has argued because of Bergdahl's health they needed to move quickly.

Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, said the administration made the right call in doing so.

"It made me more confident it was the right decision to go and get this guy," Murphy said. "There's clearly still an outstanding question as to what were the circumstances of his capture, but we were totally right to go get him."

“As John Kerry threw his medals over the White House fence and turned his back on all of his Vietnam brothers and sisters, that’s what Bergdahl did.”

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California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter compared Secretary of State John Kerry to Bergdahl, saying Kerry "turned his back" on his fellow soldiers like Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the recently released prisoner of war, who some have claimed was a deserter.

"As John Kerry threw his medals over the White House fence and turned his back on all of his Vietnam brothers and sisters, that's what Bergdahl did," Hunter said in an interview with Fox News. "Bergdahl walked away from his men and he left them in a bad spot. People lost their lives or got hurt trying to find him."

Hunter also took issue with the characterization from White House aides that soldiers who served with Bergdahl and have been critical are "swift boating" him. Hunter described the move as "pathetic allegations put out there to hide a botched foreign policy move."

Lawmakers have also criticized the Obama administration for not notifying Congress in advance of the prisoner swap 30 days prior, as required by law. The administration has argued because of Bergdahl's health they needed to move quickly.

Republicans and others have criticized the deal in which five Taliban captives were traded for Bergdahl saying it sets a precedent for the exchange of prisoners of war in the future.

The president says he makes “no apologies” for the way Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl left Afghanistan.

Pool photo by Drew Angerer/SIPA/Abaca Press / MCT

WASHINGTON — President Obama dismissed criticism of his decision to trade five members of the Taliban for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl as a "controversy whipped up in Washington" Thursday while saying he had no regrets for the way the swap was set up and made.

"We had an opportunity and we took it," Obama said at a press conference in Europe. "I make no apologies for that."

Obama once again said it was his obligation as commander-in-chief to bring home American service members from conflict. Bergdahl is "someone's child," Obama said. He was "making sure that we get a young man back to his parents."

On Capitol Hill, Obama has faced criticisms from both sides of the aisle over his administration's decision to make the prisoner swap and not tell Congress about it. Obama brushed off those concerns, saying his administration had to act fast and is now going about the process of informing Congress about the decision through briefings like the closed session in the Senate last night.

"We had discussed with Congress the possibility that something like this might occur," Obama said. "But because of the nature of the folks that we were dealing with and the fragile nature of these negotiations, we felt it was important to go ahead and do what we did. And we're now explaining to Congress the details of how we moved forward."

Homeland is a television show.

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CNN did a segment Thursday asking if the situation surrounding the capture and return of American prisoner-of-war Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was similar to the hit show Homeland.

"I'm a little uncomfortable taking about a guy who was just released from real life captivity and the Taliban and a show that's on TV," said CNN host John Berman to contributor Sally Kohn. "However, a lot are talking about this fans of the show...including you."

Kohn said she saw similarities between Bergdahl and the show.

"There's interesting parallels certainly," Kohn said. "One, no doubt is that the show originated in Israel and Israel had real-life experience with these prisoner swaps."

"It's like a Hollywood version of a story like this," said fellow CNN host Michaela Pereira. "But it is so very important, speaking to your point, it's so important to separate fact from fiction. Especially when you think that this is a real-life story that's happening to this young man."

“The whole deal, is it Friday or Saturday? What difference does it make? What difference does it make?”

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Democratic Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid said it doesn't matter when the Obama administration informed Congress of the deal to swap five Taliban captives for American prisoner-of-war Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

Some lawmakers have criticized the Obama administration in recent days for not notifying Congress in advance of the prisoner swap 30 days before, as required by law.

"This is making a big deal over nothing," Reid said. "The whole deal, is it Friday or Saturday? What difference does it make? What difference does it make?"

The administration has argued because of Bergdahl's health they needed to move quickly while the Associated Press reported Thursday, citing officials, that Congress was not told because the Taliban threatened to kill Bergdahl if the news leaked.

Republicans and others have also criticized the deal, saying it sets a precedent for the exchange of prisoners of war in the future.

“Do your goddamned job.” NSFW.

mountaindweller/mountaindweller

Comment submissions spiked after John Oliver mentioned the issue on his show.

At the time of this post, there are more than 43,000 submitted comments. The next closest issue open for comment has just over 1,900.

A large majority of the comments are thoughtful and well-argued. But some are not. And here are the 20 angriest:

"Do not Fuck With Us."

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“Are you saying that you know for a fact that Thad Cochran is not a minion of Slender Man?” Beck asked on a segment of his radio program on Wednesday.

"What are your thoughts about Thad Cochran being in with Slender Man?" Beck asked state senator Chris McDaniel.

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The question was followed by laughter from some on the segment.

McDaniel and Cochran will now campaign in a runoff election following Tuesday's primary.

Via glennbeck.com

A federal appeals court is considering Virginia’s automatic placement of death-row inmates in solitary confinement.

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring

AP Photo/Steve Helber, File

Sussex I State Prison

vadoc.virginia.gov

WASHINGTON — Nine former senior prison officials joined together Thursday to fight a Virginia policy that automatically places death-row inmates in solitary confinement.

The former officials, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, argued before the 4th Circuit of Appeals that the policy has "no support in sound correctional practice, research, or the record." The federal appeals court is currently considering whether Alfredo Prieto, a Virginia serial killer, can be automatically held in solitary confinement for his entire time in prison.

"No human being should be treated that way, subjected to the kind of solitary where they are deprived of access to daylight, where they only get to shower three days a week — without a solid basis based on behavior," said Martin Horn, who served as Pennsylvania's secretary of corrections from 1995 to 2000, in an interview with BuzzFeed.

He called the practice of solitary confinement something that "needs to be changed," and described his involvement in the case as a "civic duty."

"In light of what we know today about the debilitating effects of this sort of extreme social isolation, I felt that it was really my civic duty, if you will, that it was a principled position, to align myself with the Civil Liberties Union on this issue," Horn said.

The case has been moving since 2012; last fall, a federal trial judge ordered Virginia's Department of Corrections (VDOC) to evaluate Prieto in a way similar to other inmates, or to change Prieto's conditions so they do not "impose and atypical and significant hardship" on him compared to other inmates. Virginia officials appealed.

The appeal has continued despite a significant shift: Conservative Republican Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli was replaced by a Democrat, Mark Herring, who has taken a different position than Cuccinelli on several hot-button issues — but not this one.

The state has argued that federal courts — when it comes to the conditions for inmates — are required to give "substantial deference to the judgment of prison officials," as lawyers for Virginia wrote in a March court filing, who have decided such prisoners are particularly dangerous because, as the director of the Virginia Department of Corrections has said, they have "nothing to lose."

Lawyers for Prieto counter that the inmate is entitled to the same process as other inmates — rather that the prison system's automatic decision to, the lawyers say, "impose an atypical and significant hardship."

In the brief filed Wednesday, ACLU lawyers for the former prison officials advance two key points: First, that "the conditions of solitary confinement on Virginia's death row are a uniquely mentally and physically debilitating form of incarceration." And second that "safe, effective alternatives to automatic solitary confinement for death-sentenced prisoners exist."

Among the former prison officials on the brief is Toni Bair, who previously supervised Virginia's death row as Warden of Mecklenburg Correctional Center, as well as officials who oversaw prisons or prison systems in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.

Horn, who has more than 40 years of experience in corrections and parole, believes that Virginia's policy is wrong, as a principle and in practice.

"This notion that prisoners who are facing the death sentence have 'nothing to lose,'" he said, referring to the director's argument, "on the contrary, they have a great deal to lose."

"Most of these prisoners are appealing these cases, and most of these prisoners are hoping for a reprieve or a pardon from the governor. And the one thing that will cause a governor to deny you a reprieve or a pardon is misbehavior," he said.

And, he argued, this is even more apparent to an inmate with a life sentence. "This is their life, this is their world. They know that even if they're not executed, they're probably going to spend the rest of their lives in prison. This is their home, they have to live here."

Stepping back, Horn also talked Thursday about the wider possibilities with any inmate — even death-row inmates.

"Every one of these prisoners … there's a chance they're going to come back," he said. "I always felt, until the moment they were executed, there was always that chance that their case would be overturned, that they would receive a pardon, and when they did, they're returning to our community — and so it seems to me we have a selfish interest in their condition when they're returned."

Virginia officials will have a chance now to respond to the arguments made by the ACLU and former prison officials before the court moves forward with considering the appeal. A spokesman from Herring's office only referred BuzzFeed to a copy of the state's opening brief when asked for comment on the former prison officials' claims.

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Twenty minutes after a campaign staffer got busted for fluffy edits on McDaniel’s page, one of the men arrested in the nursing home case appears to have created an account and started editing.

Via Facebook: senatormcdaniel

One of the alleged conspirators in the case surrounding the break-in and photographing of incumbent Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran's bedridden wife in her nursing home appears to have coordinated with a member of Cochran-challenger Chris McDaniel's staff to airbrush his Wikipedia page in early April.

Keith Plunkett, who serves as the policy director for McDaniel's campaign, was caught making extensive edits to McDaniel's Wikipedia page, drawing a rebuke from administrators of the online encyclopedia.

Less than 20 minutes after Wikipedia administrators told Plunkett not to edit McDaniel's page or share his Wikipedia account, another account was created that also edited McDaniel's page. The second account appeared to belong to Richard Sager, who was later arrested in connection with the nursing home case. Sager was arrested and charged with felony tampering with evidence last month.

Sager is a Laurel elementary school P.E. teacher and high school soccer coach whose apparent username "Soccercoachlhs" matched his Twitter account handle.

Plunkett, the campaign official, went by the username "Sippydog," which also serves as Plunkett's username on Instagram as well as Flickr. He also goes by the username "SippyDawg" on YouTube.

Plunkett's extensive edits to Wikipedia were caught by two Wikipedia administrators, with Plunkett admitting after a Wikipedia administrator Googled his username to find his ties McDaniel campaign, "I am certainly not unbiased."

An administrator of Wikipedia then told Plunkett not to share his Wikipedia account, saying it was against the site's rules after Plunkett said, "We are merely updating Senator McDaniel's bio material here."

Less than 20 minutes after Plunkett was told not to share his account, Sager's apparent account "Soccercoachlhs" was created and began editing McDaniel's page.

BuzzFeed reached out to Sager, Plunkett, and to the McDaniel campaign. Sager and Plunkett were not immediately available for comment, while a McDaniel spokesman was dismissive of BuzzFeed's inquiries, asking if BuzzFeed was looking for "guys in their underwear" in reference to Wikipedia editors.

Between April 6 and April 9 of this year, Wikipedia user "Sippydog" attempted to make 37 edits to Chris McDaniel's Wikipedia. Sippydog's edits were extensive and either added fluffy information about McDaniel or deleted unflattering text.

Via en.wikipedia.org

Here's an example of one edit by Sippydog, adding McDaniel's "legislative successes" to his page.

Via en.wikipedia.org

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Brandon Friedman, a decorated war veteran and Obama administration official, called for caution before making judgements on Bowe Bergdahl. “I unfortunately used my own poor judgment in choosing inappropriate language that many view as disparaging to U.S. service members.”

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — An official at the department of Housing And Urban Development apologized Thursday to service members and the Obama administration after his tweets suggesting there could be questions about the military records of former platoon mates of Bowe Bergdahl came under criticism.

"While I just wanted to make the point that the public should wait before passing judgment, I unfortunately used my own poor judgment in choosing inappropriate language that many view as disparaging to U.S. service members," said Brandon Friedman, deputy assistant secretary of public affairs at HUD. "That was certainly not my intent and I regret making the comments on my personal account in such a way. I apologize to those with whom I work in the administration, at HUD, and, most importantly, to any service members who took offense."

In a series of tweets Wednesday night, Friedman called growing dismissal of Bergdahl as a "traitor" by some administration critics as "premature." He then went on to suggest that some who served with Bergdahl and are now criticizing him in the media could be trying to cover up their own failings.

"Here's the thing about Bergdahl and the Jump-to-Conclusions mats," Friedman tweeted. "What if his platoon was long on psychopaths and short on leadership?"

Friedman said that kind of wording was inappropriate Thursday and did not reflect the views of the administration.

"I'd like to clarify tweets I wrote last night on my personal Twitter account concerning the return of Bowe Bergdahl. First, I do not speak for the administration on national security issues in any capacity — public or personal," he said. "As a former infantry officer and combat veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, I have only the highest regard for our servicemen and women. They are my friends, my colleagues, my mentors, my brothers, and sisters."

Friedman has a long and decorated military history as well as years as an expert on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and an advocate for veterans. He served as a platoon leader in the Army's 101st Airborne on combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. A source familiar with his background noted he received two bronze stars for his combat service.

Before joining HUD, Friedman was a top official at VoteVets, a veterans' organization that has supported President Obama in the past. Friedman also served as a high-ranking official in the Veteran's Affairs administration in Obama's first term. He is the author of The War I Always Wanted, a well-received memoir that drew praise in military circles.

All the way to the top!

Getty Images

Before a deal was made to ensure New York's leading progressive party endorsed Gov. Andrew Cuomo's reelection bid, negotiators were in touch with one of the top labor leaders in the country.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said Thursday in an interview with BuzzFeed that he "spoke to some people" as the deal was being forged, though he wouldn't say to what extent he participated in the negotiations.

The deal between Cuomo and the Working Families Party was arranged by party leaders, which include top state labor leaders and activists, though many of those who attended the nominating convention opposed putting Cuomo on the ballot line. Many in the party, including those who worked the deal, remain skeptical that Cuomo will uphold his end of the bargain.

When asked if he trusted Cuomo, Trumka replied, "We'll let his record decide."

He praised New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's "very, very constructive" role in the deal. De Blasio secured a commitment from Cuomo to work to gain Democratic control of the state Senate, and a promise to raise the state's minimum wage.

A leaked Working Families Party memo said they were "mere minutes" from endorsing Cuomo's challenger, Zephyr Teachout, until the deal was worked out.

John Podesta tells reporters the Rose Garden ceremony was the right move and keeping Congress in the dark was a necessity.

Kevin Lamarque / Reuters / Reuters

WASHINGTON — Senior White House adviser John Podesta defended White House moves surrounding the prisoner swap that led to the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl last week.

Not telling Congress ahead of time was an operational necessity, Podesta said at a breakfast meeting sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. And the Rose Garden ceremony when the president announced Bergdhal's return was set up in full understanding that "the decision would be controversial," Podesta said.

Podesta also said fears over a national security threat posed by the release of the five Guantanamo Bay detainees will be mitigated by America's surveillance powers.

The White House has taken more than one stance regarding the decision not to tell Congress about the Bergdahl swap ahead of Saturday's public announcement. After lawmakers balked at the lack of notification that prisoners would be transferred out of Gitmo — which is required by law — top White House officials apologized.

But asked if there would be an internal White House review into why the notification never occurred, Podesta said Congress will "hear why" the decision was made, adding Congress was not told about the swap told out of fears the plan would leak and jeopardize Bergdahl.

"There was evidence that, or at least there was an analysis that, premature disclosure could result in the loss of his life," Podesta said.

White House allies have said that the Rose Garden ceremony with Bergdahl's parents was designed "to tell a story about who Bowe is, what he's endured, and what his family's endured" before the return was politicized. Podesta said the ceremony was aimed at explaining what the White House knew would be a political hot button.

"The president knew this would be a controversial decision," Podesta said. "This was a decision, and he's spoken to this, that he's taken ownership of. That he went out in the Rose Garden because it was important to explain to the American people that this was about an actual human being who's under great stress being held by the Taliban and that, while controversial, he needed to explain that to the American people. He makes no apologies about that, as he said yesterday in Europe, and I think it was the right decision."

Critics of the prisoner swap maintain the United States paid too high a price for Bergdahl, directly warning that the five Taliban prisoners released from Gitmo pose a threat to American national security. Podesta said the men will be leaving Gitmo, but will be under watch by U.S. security officials.

"We have a lot of ways of knowing what people are doing," he said. "It's fair to say we'll keep an eye on them."

Friday marked the 70th anniversary of the Allied invasion of France. Here’s how local newspapers covered the invasion at the time.

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Google News Archive

Google News Archive

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Phil Berger is running for North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District.

The tweet was in reference Michelle Obama's tweet and Instagram post in which she joined the campaign "#BringBackOurGirls", for the hundreds of schoolgirls kidnapped by the Islamist group Boko Haram in Nigeria.

instagram.com

The photoshop comes from a New York Times story about Taliban supporters protesting Osama Bin Laden's death.

Via nytimes.com

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But they’re already following you.

Via cia.gov

This week, the CIA expanded its social media presence with the launch of official social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook.

Follow us on Twitter @CIA and on Facebook for the latest CIA updates, #tbt (Throwback Thursday) photos, reflections on intelligence history, and fun facts from the CIA World Factbook. You'll also receive updates on CIA career postings and get the latest glimpse into CIA's Museum—the best museum most people never get to see. Our social media expansion will put CIA.gov content right at your fingertips.

The launch expands CIA's online presence, which already includes the Agency's public website, CIA.gov and CIA.gov mobile, and official Flickr and YouTube accounts. In the coming weeks, look out for other CIA.gov enhancements, including live streaming capabilities via Ustream.

And their Facebook has yet to post besides uploading a cover photo:

Via Facebook: Central.Intelligence.Agency

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