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Definitive Proof That Shaq Is The Ultimate Salesman

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Witness the first and last time Nicki Minaj was the least interesting part of a freestyle cipher.

Even if you don't watch a lot of sports, you probably know who Shaq is:

Even if you don't watch a lot of sports, you probably know who Shaq is:

Via totalprosports.com

The spotlight-loving basketball legend who won many NBA titles and lots of awards over a lucrative 19-year career.

The spotlight-loving basketball legend who won many NBA titles and lots of awards over a lucrative 19-year career.

AFP / HECTOR MATA / Getty Images

The platinum-selling rapper.

The platinum-selling rapper.

Jive Records

The extremely GIFable celebrity pitchman.

The extremely GIFable celebrity pitchman.

Via youtu.be


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New York Congressman Michael Grimm Pleads Guilty To Tax Evasion, Won't Step Down

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Grimm faces up to three years in prison. He’ll be sentenced June 8.

New York Republican Rep. Michael Grimm pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion Tuesday, casting doubt on his ability to continue to serve in Congress.

New York Republican Rep. Michael Grimm pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion Tuesday, casting doubt on his ability to continue to serve in Congress.

Eduardo Munoz / Reuters

In April, Grimm was charged on 20 federal counts that included misreporting $1 million of income and wages in relation to a restaurant he co-owned called Healthalicious. He was also charged with hiring undocumented immigrants and mail fraud.

Grimm faces up to three years in prison, and as part of his guilty plea, agreed to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, and the New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF).

Grimm had initially pleaded not guilty to all counts.


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FDA Recommends Relaxing Ban On Gay Men Donating Blood — With A Big Caveat

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The Food and Drug Administration recommends a policy that would allow blood donations from men who have abstained from sex with another man for one year. LGBT advocates say the recommendation doesn’t go far enough.

BIGGORIDER/BIGGORIDER

The Food and Drug Administration today moved toward relaxing the country's widely criticized policy that bans gay men from ever donating blood. The federal department will recommend reforming the policy, limiting the ban to those who have had sex with men in the previous year.

"We would not recommend such a policy change if we didn't think the safety of the blood supply would be maintained," Peter Marks, deputy director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a conference call with reporters.

The FDA will will submit the proposal to the Federal Register in 2015 to receive public comment, Marks said. He did not provide a timeline for codifying a final policy.

But the new recommendation has drawn criticism for not going far enough. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, while applauding the move as a step in the right direction, criticized the proposal as unscientific and singling out gay men. "Our goal is to replace this discriminatory, lifetime ban on blood donations by healthy gay and bisexual men with a policy based on individual risk," she said in a statement.

"While this announcement represents needed progress, I remain concerned that it does not achieve our goal of putting in place a policy that is based on sound science and allows all healthy individuals to donate," she added.

Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) issued a statement calling the proposal "offensive and harmful."

"This new policy does not require heterosexual blood donors to be celibate for one year," the group said in a statement. "Some may believe this is a step forward, but in reality, requiring celibacy for a year is a de facto lifetime ban. ... While the FDA is right to revisit the outdated lifetime ban, GMHC calls on the FDA and HHS Secretary [Sylvia Mathews ] Burwell to implement a risk-based blood donation policy, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, and to stop perpetuating the stigma and discrimination driving the HIV/AIDS epidemic."

Current policy bans all men who have had sex with men since 1977 from donating blood. Critics have described the 1983 policy, approved at the height of the AIDS epidemic, as an archaic and scientifically unjustified barrier to getting blood to those who need it.

"Half of the men who are unable to donate under the existing deferral would be able to donate under the revised policy," said FDA's Marks.

However, Ian Thompson, American Civil Liberties Union's legislative representative, said in a statement that a one-year deferral would still block many potential donors.

"The reality for most gay and bisexual men — including those in committed, monogamous relationships — is that this proposal will continue to function as a de facto lifetime ban," Thompson said.

The ACLU, he said, will keep advocating for a risk-based screening process, not an across-the-board deferral policy based on sexual orientation and today's proposal "must be seen as part of an ongoing process and not an end point."

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) similarly argued that the recommended policy would still "stigmatize gay and bisexual men, preventing them from donating life-saving blood based solely on their sexual orientation, rather than a policy based on actual risk to the blood supply," according to a statement from David Stacy, HRC's government affairs director. "This new policy cannot be justified in light of current scientific research and updated blood screening technology. We will continue to work towards an eventual outcome that both minimizes risk to the blood supply and treats gay and bisexual men with the respect they deserve."

On the call with reporters, Marks added that "compelling scientific evidence" does not support a deferral period less than one year for gay men "while still maintaining the safety of the blood supply." The FDA is implementing a national blood surveillance system, which may provide additional safeguards that prevent disease transmission. He said data collected under the system will allow the FDA to gauge whether the one-year deferral policy should be modified to include more potential blood donors.

Scott Schoettes, Lambda Legal senior attorney and director of the HIV Project, however criticized the policy change proposal as not being based on science.

"This is a step in the right direction, but blood donation policy should be based on current scientific knowledge and experience, not unfounded fear, generalizations and stereotypes," he said. "Within 45 days of exposure, currently required blood donation testing detects all known serious blood-borne pathogens, including HIV. Therefore, a deferral of more than two months — for anyone — is not necessary and does not noticeably enhance the safety of the blood supply."

The existing policy is also applied to transgender people. Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, told BuzzFeed News that while some transgender people donate without incident, that is the exception. "We think it is not supposed to hit transgender people, but, in practice, it has been a ban on transgender people donating blood," she said.

"We have transgender people who have tried to donate and been told transgender people are excluded, while other people are told you qualify as a gay man, and it doesn't matter if the person is a transgender man or a transgender woman," Keilsing explained. "It's just the usual ignorance we have to deal with."

Keisling said her group will ask the FDA to clarify its position on blood donations from transgender people under any new policy.

"For the purposes of determining donor eligibility, FDA believes that genetic males be considered males even after gender-altering surgery," an FDA spokesperson told Vox earlier this month.

The FDA has not yet supplied answers to a Tuesday inquiry from BuzzFeed News about how the current policy applies to transgender people — including transgender people who were born female — and how that would change under the new proposed policy.

An FDA panel convened on Dec 2. to hear from scientists and blood-donation groups, including the American Red Cross, but closed its meeting without voting on a recommendation.

Instead, the FDA's recommendation today reflects advice from a committee of the Health and Human Services Department, which suggested relaxing the ban in November. That committee said a national blood surveillance system should be required before changing the rules, a requirement that drew criticism this month from 80 members of Congress who said in a letter to Secretary Burwell that it would create an arbitrary delay.

Asked if the FDA would require the surveillance system be in place before the deferral could be shifted to one year, FDA spokesperson Jennifer Rodriguez told BuzzFeed News, "I can't speculate on the details of the draft guidance." But, she said, a blood surveillance system will be developed regardless of any changes to the donation deferral policy.


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Former President George H.W. Bush Rushed To Hospital For Shortness Of Breath

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The 90-year-old former president was taken to the hospital by ambulance after experiencing shortness of breath and will be held for observation.

Former President George H. W. Bush in 2014.

Pool / Reuters

The 41st president of the United States was taken by ambulance to the Methodist Hospital in Houston Tuesday. Spokesman Jim McGrath said in a statement that the former president was transported "as a precaution" after experiencing shortness of breath earlier in the evening.

Bush will be held at the hospital for observation, the statement said.

George H.W. Bush served as president from 1989 to 1993.

AP Photo/Charles Tasnadi, File

In 1991, Bush went to the hospital for health problems related to his irregular heartbeat. Doctors diagnosed the condition as Graves Disease, which is an autoimmune disorder that impacts the thyroid.

He again went to the hospital in February 2000 for a recurrence of the irregular heartbeat. He was released after one night.

Two years ago, the former president spent two months in Methodist Hospital in Houston for bronchitis and a chronic cough. The hospital discharged him in January 2013.

His family revealed publicly that he is no longer able to walk unassisted, which has been a great frustration for him, as he loved outdoor activities.

In June, he celebrated his 90th birthday by jumping out of a plane with a red-white-and-blue parachute near his summer home in Maine.


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Bachmann: Obama Supports The Agenda Of Islamic Jihad "At Every Turn"

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“And I have been very surprised, to answer your question, to see the president of the United States, at every turn, cut the legs off of our ally, Israel, and in fact embrace and lift up the agenda of Islamic jihad.”

w.soundcloud.com

Former Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann says President Obama has supported the agenda of Islamic jihad "at every turn."

"And I have been very surprised, to answer your question, to see the president of the United States, at every turn, cut the legs off of our ally, Israel, and in fact embrace and lift up the agenda of Islamic jihad," Bachmann said on the show Washington Watch hosted by Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council.

Bachmann was referring to a report in the Wall Street Journal that stated President Obama wrote secret letters to the Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei about having a shared interest in fighting the Islamic State and reaching an agreement on Iran's nuclear program.

"Now when in the world — and by that, I mean the goals of the Islamic State, the fact that they want their own state. Our president, we know now, is writing secret notes to the Ayatollah in Iran; there's a recent report that the president is trying to have private meetings with the Ayatollah in Iran. Iran is very clear about their goal — their goal is to have a nuclear weapon. They've said, unequivocally, they will use it against the United States and against Israel."

Bachmann said she used time at the White House Christmas party earlier in December when members of Congress take photos with the president to tell him to "please end their nuclear program."

"I used that time to talk to him about a nuclear Iran, and I asked him to please end their nuclear program, because we have the capacity to end it. And I said, 'Mr. President, this will be on your watch.'"

Bachmann said the president spoke to her condescendingly when he answered.

"And he laughed at me condescendingly, and he said: 'Well, Michele, it isn't that easy. But that's okay.' Like patting me on the head, like I didn't know what I was talking about. And I looked back at him, and I said: 'Mister President, if Iran has a nuclear weapon, it will be on your watch. And the history of the world will change, because of your failure to act.'"

Combat Mission In Afghanistan Declared Over In Formal Ceremony

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The U.S. military’s involvement in the country will continue.

U.S. General John Campbell, commander of NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, folds the coalition flag during the change of mission ceremony in Kabul on December 28.

Omar Sobhani / Reuters

After 13 years and 3,500 international soldiers killed, NATO and President Obama declared an end to combat missions in Afghanistan, a largely symbolic announcement.

Officials of the International Security Assistance Force held a flag-lowering ceremony on Sunday. The next step of the mission, they said, is to train Afghan forces.

Today's ceremony in Kabul marks a milestone for our country. For more than 13 years, ever since nearly 3,000 innocent lives were taken from us on 9/11, our nation has been at war in Afghanistan. Now, thanks to the extraordinary sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, our combat mission in Afghanistan is ending, and the longest war in American history is coming to a responsible conclusion.

On this day we give thanks to our troops and intelligence personnel who have been relentless against the terrorists responsible for 9/11--devastating the core al Qaeda leadership, delivering justice to Osama bin Laden, disrupting terrorist plots and saving countless American lives. We are safer, and our nation is more secure, because of their service. At the same time, our courageous military and diplomatic personnel in Afghanistan--along with our NATO allies and coalition partners--have helped the Afghan people reclaim their communities, take the lead for their own security, hold historic elections and complete the first democratic transfer of power in their country's history.

We honor the profound sacrifices that have made this progress possible. We salute every American--military and civilian, including our dedicated diplomats and development workers--who have served in Afghanistan, many on multiple tours, just as their families have sacrificed at home. We pledge to give our many wounded warriors, with wounds seen and unseen, the world-class care and treatment they have earned. Most of all, we remember the more than 2,200 American patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan, and we pledge to stand with their Gold Star families who need the everlasting love and support of a grateful nation.

Afghanistan remains a dangerous place, and the Afghan people and their security forces continue to make tremendous sacrifices in defense of their country. At the invitation of the Afghan government, and to preserve the gains we have made together, the United States--along with our allies and partners--will maintain a limited military presence in Afghanistan to train, advise and assist Afghan forces and to conduct counterterrorism operations against the remnants of al Qaeda. Our personnel will continue to face risks, but this reflects the enduring commitment of the United States to the Afghan people and to a united, secure and sovereign Afghanistan that is never again used as a source of attacks against our nation.

These past 13 years have tested our nation and our military. But compared to the nearly 180,000 American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan when I took office, we now have fewer than 15,000 in those countries. Some 90 percent of our troops are home. Our military remains the finest in the world, and we will remain vigilant against terrorist attacks and in defense of the freedoms and values we hold dear. And with growing prosperity here at home, we enter a new year with new confidence, indebted to our fellow Americans in uniform who keep us safe and free.

White House Police Task Force To Meet Before State Of The Union

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The task force is expected to meet amid heightened tensions between protesters, politicians, and police officers following the murder of two New York City police officers.

Stephanie Keith / Reuters

WASHINGTON — The special policing task force appointed by the White House is expected to meet before President Obama's State of the Union address as additional officer-involved shootings, including fallout from the assassination of two NYPD officers in Brooklyn, have sparked added tension between police and civilians.

Two events — the shooting of Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos in Brooklyn, and the shooting death of 18-year-old Antonio Martin at a gas station in Berkeley, Mo., — made national headlines after Obama signed an Executive Order to create the Task Force on 21st Century Policing earlier this month.

The task force, which will examine "how to strengthen public trust and foster strong relationships between local law enforcement and the communities that they protect," follows tensions over police tactics and scrutiny of the use of military-grade equipment by local forces.

The recent events serve to sharpen the focus of the task force's goals, an official with knowledge of the proceeding told BuzzFeed News. The official said the NYPD shootings were "an incredible tragedy and reaction on both sides is a reflection on how emotional these issues are on both sides, but especially for the people who are concerned about the deaths of the two policemen."

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on behalf of the task force, said one of the most effective steps the group will take will be looking at how officer-involved shootings are investigated, due to public distrust in how police handle those investigations. The key to strengthening relationships between the police and communities, the official said, is to examine policies and procedure and to create concrete dialogue between police and communities.

"We're going to be looking at what we can see in terms of solutions looking forward," the official said. "It's got to be a path forward that we build in a very constructive way."

The NYPD shootings have also underscored the importance of officer safety and the vital role it plays in criminal justice, the official said.

The official said, more broadly, changes in how police are trained in matters like de-escalation of conflict and dealing with the mentally ill are key factors in making sure that officers are safer on the streets.

Said the official, defending Holder's record on the safety police officers, "It's a balanced approach."

GOP Congressman Michael Grimm Will Resign

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Grimm pleaded guilty to tax evasion last week.

Stephanie Keith / Reuters

New York Republican Rep. Michael Grimm will resign from Congress, two sources confirmed to BuzzFeed News. The news was first reported by the New York Daily News.

The report comes roughly a week after Grimm pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion.

Back in April, Grimm was charged in a 20 count federal indictment that alleged he misreported roughly $1 million in wages and income from a restaurant he co-owned before entering Congress. In his plea, Grimm also admitted to lying under oath. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will need to hold a special election to replace Grimm.

Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, said he could not confirm whether Grimm would resign. An email to Grimm's office was not immediately returned.

Coming out of court last week, Grimm said he wouldn't resign as long as he was "able to serve."


Churches Now Providing Sanctuary Protection For Undocumented Immigrants

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“I cannot visit my friends and do things I would usually do. But on the other hand, my family will come here to visit me … it’s harder to live in fear with a deportation order.”

Rosa Robles Loreto

Lamp Left Media

WASHINGTON — For the first time in years, Rosa Robles Loreto and her family didn't celebrate Christmas in their Tucson home. Nor had they decorated their tree, shopped for presents, or engaged in any of the traditional holiday traditions most Christians in the United States were enjoying.

Instead, Robles, her husband, and their two children opened presents and ate Christmas dinner in the Southside Presbyterian Church, the place Robles has called home since she fled her home Aug. 7 after the Obama administration had ordered her deportation.

"It is very difficult," Robles says of her months long separation from her family. Although her children spend weekends at the church, they remain at home with their father on weekdays.

Robles came to Arizona 15 years ago from the neighboring Mexican state of Sonora, a poor part of the country that for decades has been wracked by drug cartel violence. Working as a maid and nanny in Tucson, she and her husband Gerardo had two children and became active in the church.

In September 2010, Robles was pulled over by a sheriff for failing to obey traffic signs in a highway construction zone. Although she had a Mexican driver's license, Robles had no U.S. identification, and she was arrested and turned over to federal immigration authorities. After spending 60 days in detention, she was released on a bond.

Although the Obama administration has for years claimed it was not targeting undocumented immigrants with minor traffic offenses — and instead focusing on violent criminals in immigrant communities — in July, Robles received her final deportation notice, known as a removal order, from the Department of Homeland Security.

Unwilling to be separated from her family, Robles decided to seek out sanctuary in her church. "Before I went (into sanctuary) we were very close. We would eat together, I would help them with their homework," Robles said, adding, "It is very difficult being here for Christmas."

Aidan Un

Thousands of miles away in north Philadelphia, Angela Navarro was preparing for her Christmas celebration.

Like Robles, Navarro has been given sanctuary, in the West Kensington Ministry, where she and her family are now living. A native of Honduras, Navarro left the country 12 years ago, eventually settling in Philadelphia. But unlike Robles, Navarro has lived under the threat of deportation for a decade, and has seen her uncle and other family members deported in recent years. "Immigration has been looking for me. They showed up at my mother's house looking for me," she said, explaining that she went to the church "to stop living in fear."

Christmastime is particularly difficult, she said, because "I cannot visit my friends and do things I would usually do. But on the other hand, my family will come here to visit me … it's harder to live in fear with a deportation order."

Robles and Navarro are part of a handful of undocumented immigrants who, facing mandatory deportation orders, have sought out sanctuary inside churches across the country. The movement, which has taken hold in a number of states including Arizona, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Colorado, is part of a broader push by religious groups including the Church World Service to pressure the Obama administration on the issue of undocumented immigrants.

"I understand this is something I have to do … to be in the struggle," Robles said of her decision. "Especially given the season we're in, I hope the hearts of those in power … will be filled with Jesus. Jesus is walking with (us)," she said.

While churches providing sanctuary are keenly focused on the individuals, people with the group acknowledge the wider class of people in similar situations.

"There are 900,000 people with deportation orders," said Rev. Allison Harrington, the pastor at Southside Presbyterian in Tucson. "When [Robles] speaks, she speaks for thousands of others just like her. Millions really."


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Eric Garner Case Prosecutor May Run For Congress

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Daniel Donovan’s campaign could reopen the debate over the grand jury proceedings for Daniel Pantaleo. A police union offers early support.

Via youtube.com

The Staten Island prosecutor who didn't win an indictment against a police officer who killed a cigarette vendor is considering running for U.S. Congress — a move that could open a new front in New York's heated debates over its police department.

District Attorney Daniel Donovan said in a statement Tuesday morning that he is "flattered" by the "enthusiastic expressions of support" he's received since Staten Island Rep. Michael Grimm announced Monday he would resign after pleading guilty to tax evasion.

"I will make an announcement after the due deliberation such an important decision deserves," Donovan said.

He also won early support from a police union official.

"Dan Donovan is a terrific public servant who dedicated himself to the borough of Richmond. We would encourage him to run to lend his voice on a national level," Roy Richter, the president of the Captain's Endowment Association, told BuzzFeed News.

Vincent Ignizio, a Republican city councilman from Staten Island, also threw his support in for Donovan.

"I think Dan Donovan is the most competent and qualified candidate we could ask for, and I am actively encouraging him to run," Ignizio told BuzzFeed News. "He has an exemplary record of public service for Staten Island and New York City that spans four decades, and is a proven Island-wide vote getter. He is the right person at the right time to help this borough and this district move forward."

Donovan, a Republican, was criticized from left and right for not giving a grand jury a lower charge, reckless endangerment, to consider, along with homicide and manslaughter charges against Daniel Pantaleo, who was shown on video choking Garner. The jury on Staten Island — home to many police officers — declined to indict Pantaleo.

The announcement of the grand jury's decision not to indict the police officers involved in the incident ignited large-scale protests in New York and other cities. One New York observer, Baruch College political scientist Doug Muzzio, said Donovan's run could become the focus of more tension.

"Just what city needs in this time of troubles and division," Muzzio said. "The prosecutor who couldn't/wouldn't get an indictment of something more than a ham sandwich."

But Hank Sheinkopf, a New York Democratic consultant, said the Garner case won't be a factor in the race at all.

"The borough in which the mayor of the City of New York is held in least repute is in Staten Island," Sheinkopf said. "What does that mean for a Democrat running for office? It probably has a significant impact."

Rep. Peter King: Cops Shouldn't Create Sympathy For De Blasio By Turning Their Backs

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“I think they’ve made their points, and I understand why they did it, but I don’t want it to be creating sympathy for de Blasio either.”

w.soundcloud.com

Republican Rep. Peter King, a staunch and outspoken supporter of the New York Police Department, says cops shouldn't be turning their backs to Mayor de Blasio because it could create sympathy for the embattled New York City mayor.

"I wouldn't have done it," the Long Island congressman told WABC radio on Tuesday. "My father was a cop, I've known cops my whole life. I've never seen such anger among cops. You really have not just anger but also a sense of betrayal. But I think they've made their points, and I understand why they did it, but I don't want it to be creating sympathy for de Blasio either."

During de Blasio's speech, some police officers watching the service on screens outside the church turned their backs on the mayor as he spoke at the funeral for NYPD Officer Rafael Ramos.

"I think it's important right now for him to sit down with the unions, with the police commissioner, and try to resolve this," King added, saying de Blasio should show he stands by police.

Here's the video of cops turning their backs on the mayor:

youtube.com

GOP Congressman: Scalise Blamed For Speaking To Racists, But Obama Gets Pass On Jeremiah Wright

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“You want to talk about double standards, there’s the double standard.”

w.soundcloud.com

Republican Rep. Tom McClintock says there is a media double standard when it comes to the amount of scrutiny his fellow congressman Steve Scalise of Louisiana has received for admitting he spoke to a white supremacist organization in 2002.

"With respect to Steve Scalise, I know him, he is no racist. Apparently twelve years ago, he was invited to speak to a local group of—uh—he came there to talk about taxes, the group was it turns out was affiliated with a white racist named David Duke, who by the way, Scalise had repeatedly publicly denounced during that period of time and somehow this is a major scandal," said the California Republican in a radio interview Wednesday.

McClintock cited President Obama's ties to pastor Jeremiah Wright as an example of what he called the double standard.

"But then you have Barack Obama who attends many, many years of sermons by black racist Jeremiah Wright, whom he never denounced, who he often lauded, and that's perfectly okay," McClintock said. "You want to talk about double standards, there's the double standard."

"I think this thing is being blown way out of proportion and again you want to speak about double standards, look at some of the outrageous statements made by leading democrats that are clearly racist."

Scalise admitted to speaking at a gathering of the white supremacist group European-American Unity and Rights Organization in 2002.

"It was a mistake I regret, and I emphatically oppose the divisive racial and religious views groups like these hold," Scalise has said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to former EURO and KKK leader David Duke, Scalise was invited to the conference by his political advisor Kenny Knight.

Knight, however, has told Slate Scalise wasn't aware it was a gathering of a white supremacists and that he actually spoke at a pre-gathering before the EURO conference that was hosted by a civic association.

Marco Rubio: Jeb Bush Won't Stop Me From Running For President

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“If I decide it’s as president, then that’s what I’m going to do irrespective of who else might be running.”

w.soundcloud.com

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio says former Florida Governor Jeb Bush's potential presidential candidacy won't prevent him from entering the 2016 race.

The Florida Senator said a decision to run for president in 2016 would be based on if he thought he could best serve the country, despite the fact he and Bush are from the same state and would potentially have many of the same backers and donors.

"As far as, you know, speculating about whether two people from the same state can run, it's not unprecedented. We certainly know a lot of the same people, we also know some different people," Rubio told NPR's Morning Edition in an interview that aired Thursday. "The decision I have to make is: Where is the best place for me to serve America to carry out this agenda that I have to restore the American dream given the dramatic economic changes we've had in the 21st century? Where is the best place for me to achieve that? Is it in the Republican majority in the Senate or is it as a candidate, and ultimately as president of the United States? If I decide it's as president, then that's what I'm going to do irrespective of who else might be running."

Bush announced he was exploring the possibility of a presidential run in December. Rubio praised him in the interview as a "very credible candidate."

"First, let me say I have tremendous respect for Gov. Bush, and I've said repeatedly if he runs he'll be a very credible candidate," Rubio said. "Potentially the front-runner, at least in the early stages, because of all the strengths and advantages that he brings to the process."

Rubio added a decision to run would come "certainly soon."

"This is not a gut decision, this is one that one needs to make obviously on the basis of facts and reality. And so I haven't made a decision yet on it; I don't have a date in mind or a time frame in mind, but certainly soon. We're closer to a decision than we were a month ago."

NYC Labor May Break With Police Union

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Labor has been silent so far about Patrick Lynch, the police union leader who is publicly campaigning against Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Getty Images Andrew Theodorakis

New York City's top progressives have backed away from any direct confrontation with the city's largest police union, even as union leaders continue to criticize the mayor following the shooting of two officers.

But the silence of non-police unions may not last long into the new year.

That will depend on the actions of Patrick Lynch, the president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, and whether he continues his public campaign against Mayor Bill de Blasio, sources with knowledge of union thinking say. Unions were instrumental in getting de Blasio elected and are considered among his closest allies.

"Those that are closer to traditional institutional players will probably, hopefully, be more willing to shun those who are using an inappropriate tone," one senior union official told BuzzFeed News.

While labor's silence regarding Lynch has been, in part, out of respect to the families of the two murdered NYPD officers — de Blasio also called for a moratorium on political rhetoric and demonstrations in the weeks surrounding the funerals — sources said it was also an act of "solidarity" to avoid union-on-union warfare.

"There is a reluctancy for unions to weigh in against each other," a source with close ties to the city's progressives and unions told BuzzFeed News. "Though certainly that is less true when you talk about the progressive unions and the police unions."

The city's police unions are not members of the AFL-CIO, unlike many of New York City's largest unions.

Though top labor officials and other citywide progressives have refrained from addressing Lynch, many have vocally supported the large protests after a grand jury did not indict the police officer involved in Eric Garner's death.

Since officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were killed in Brooklyn, Lynch has targeted de Blasio. He went as far as to blame the mayor for their deaths and has since encouraged officers to turn their back on him at public events, including at Ramos' funeral.

After a meeting between the mayor and city police unions, a de Blasio spokesman said in a statement the meeting "focused on building a productive dialogue and identifying ways to move forward together."

Conversely, Lynch was less optimistic after the meeting. "There was no resolve and our thought here today is that actions speak louder than words and time will tell," he said.

While conversations about what to do next have mostly remained internal, others have publicly called for a repudiation of Lynch. In an op-ed for the New York Daily News, former labor official Jonathan Tasini called on unions to fight back against Lynch's "poisonous rhetoric."

If some were to speak out, according to two people familiar with progressive thinking in the city, the ultimate goal would not be to wage and win a political battle against Lynch, but to reign in the discourse and create a "respectful, appropriate dialogue" on the issue of policing.

"We reached a dangerous point in this city a couple of weeks ago," said Nathan Smith, a Democratic consultant in New York. "Folks believe that we were brought to the brink of a very dangerous and explosive situation, and folks want a much more productive path to find a solution in the future."

Mario Cuomo, Former New York Governor, Dead At 82

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A giant of New York politics and frequently considered a presidential front-runner, Cuomo died of heart failure on the same day his son, Andrew Cuomo, was sworn in for a second term as governor of New York.

Mario Cuomo, the 52nd governor of New York state and father of current governor Andrew Cuomo, died on Thursday at the age of 82.

Mario Cuomo, the 52nd governor of New York state and father of current governor Andrew Cuomo, died on Thursday at the age of 82.

Getty Images/Neilson Barnard

The office of Mario Cuomo released a statement saying "the Governor passed away from natural causes due to heart failure this evening at home with his loving family at his side."

The office of Mario Cuomo released a statement saying "the Governor passed away from natural causes due to heart failure this evening at home with his loving family at his side."

Andrew Cuomo celebrates with his father, former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, and mother Matilda Cuomo on election night, November 2, 2010 in New York City.

Getty Images Michael Nagle

"We're missing one family member. My father is not with us today. We had hoped that he was going to be able to come; he is at home and he is not well enough to come. We spent last night with him, changed the tradition a little bit. We weren't in Albany last night; we stayed at my father's house to ring in the New Year with him. I went through the speech with him. He said it was good, especially for a second-termer. See, my father is a third-termer. But he sends his regards to all of you. He couldn't be here physically today, my father. But my father is in this room. He is in the heart and mind of every person who is here. He is here and he is here, and his inspiration and his legacy and his experience is what has brought this state to this point. So let's give him a round of applause."


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Ben Carson: Presidential Announcement Coming In "Few Months," In Spring

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“I will announce before March, before May 1st.”

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Dr. Ben Carson said a decision about whether he will seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 will be coming in spring. Carson, an author and retired neurosurgeon, added he was studying the issues that a candidate for president would need to know.

"I will announce before March, before May 1st," Carson said on NewsMaxTV's America's Forum on Friday. "I would just say that I am listening extremely carefully. I don't want to do something that the American people do not want me to do."

Earlier in the interview Carson said he was "thinking very seriously, listening to people, and will make a decision in a few months," adding he was "acquiring" the knowledge needed to run for president.

Carson had previously said "the chances are reasonably good" of him running for president.

"I think the chances are reasonably good of that happening. I'm waiting obviously for a few more months. I want to make sure that it is clearly something my fellow Americans want me to do and I'm also waiting to see what the results are in November," Carson told conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt on his program in September."If the people do indicate that they truly do want a nation that is for, of, and by the people then I along with what I hope will be many other people will be willing to give it everything we possibly have," Carson added.

Harry Reid Hospitalized With Broken Ribs And Face Bones

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He injured himself while exercising in his Nevada home on Thursday.

Senator Harry Reid on December 2, 2014.

Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid is recovering in a Las Vegas hospital after he fell and injured himself while exercising, according to a statement issued by his office on Friday.

Doctors expect the 75-year-old senator to make a "full recovery."

"A piece of equipment Senator Reid was using to exercise broke, causing him to fall and break a number of ribs and bones in his face," according to the statement.

"Senator Reid will return to Washington this weekend and be in the office Tuesday as the Senate prepares to reconvene."

Representatives for Reid did not immediately return BuzzFeed News' request for comment. A spokesperson for the senator, Adam Jentleson, told the Associated Press that an elastic exercise band snapped and hit Reid the face, leading him to fall over. During the tumble, he hit a piece of exercise equipment, breaking several bones near his right eye, and breaking several ribs.

He is recovering in the University Medical Center in Las Vegas, where he will receive further testing. He's expected to be released on Friday afternoon or night.

This isn't the senator's first trip to the hospital for broken ribs. In Oct. 2012, Reid was involved in a chain-reaction car crash, and suffered rib and hip contusions.

White House spokesman Eric Schultz said President Obama called Reid from his vacation in Hawaii and wished the senator a "full and speedy recovery."

"The president was glad to hear the leader is doing well, and will be back in Washington this weekend," said Schultz.

Federal Judge In Florida Says “Constitution Requires” Same-Sex Marriages Beginning Jan. 6

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Judge puts clerks on notice that if they don’t start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples next week he is prepared to order them to do so.

Patrick Gibbons, left, and Aaron Vargas attend a rally to show support in in Wilton Manors, Fla., for a judge's ruling allowing gay people to marry on Thursday, July 17, 2014.

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The federal judge overseeing the challenge to Florida's marriage equality ban ruled on Thursday that his current injunction applies only to the couples who sued to be able to marry — but noted that any other couples who are refused licenses beginning on Jan. 6 could ask to be added to the case.

The "clarification" order came about when the clerk of Washington County asked U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle whether the current injunction requires licenses be issued to all same-sex couples who seek them or just the plaintiffs in the case.

"[N]o plaintiff now in this case has standing to seek a preliminary injunction requiring the Clerk to issue other licenses. The preliminary injunction now in effect thus does not require the Clerk to issue licenses to other applicants," Hinkle wrote. "But as set out in the order that announced issuance of the preliminary injunction, the Constitution requires the Clerk to issue such licenses."

Such a ruling would leave things very much in the air when the stay on Hinkle's injunction ends Jan. 5, but the judge went further, writing, "a clerk who chooses not to follow the ruling should take note: the governing statutes and rules of procedure allow individuals to intervene as plaintiffs in pending actions, allow certification of plaintiff and defendant classes, allow issuance of successive preliminary injunctions, and allow successful plaintiffs to recover costs and attorney's fees."

In other words, if a clerk refuses to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Jan. 6, Hinkle has put them on notice that he is ready, willing, and able to order them to issue licenses.

LGBT legal groups who argued to Hinkle that the ruling should apply statewide to all same-sex couples are declaring victory.

"Today's ruling confirms that all Florida county clerks must comply with the federal Constitution by issuing marriage licenses to qualified same-sex couples beginning on January 6, 2015," Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said in a statement.

Attorney General Pam Bondi's Statement Regarding Judge Hinkle's Order

TALLAHASSEE, Fla— Following significant public confusion about the federal-court injunction, the court today granted the clerk of court's request for clarification. In the order, the court specified that the injunction does not require a clerk to issue licenses to same-sex couples other than the plaintiffs, but the court stated that "a clerk of court may follow the ruling, even for marriage-license applicants who are not parties to this case." Attorney General Bondi's statement is as follows:

"This office has sought to minimize confusion and uncertainty, and we are glad the Court has provided additional guidance. My office will not stand in the way as clerks of court determine how to proceed."

Via myfloridalegal.com

The Greenberg Traurig statement:

"We are pleased that Judge Hinkle has clarified his original order and the responsibilities of the clerks around the state," said Hilarie Bass, Greenberg Traurig's co-president. "Although Judge Hinkle recognizes that only the Washington County clerk is compelled to issue a marriage license to the plaintiff in the case before him, the order states that the Constitution requires all clerks to issue marriage licenses to all applicants, regardless of gender.

"Judge Hinkle's order states that any clerk refusing to issue a license could be subject to civil damages and liability for the plaintiffs' fees and costs," Bass said. "Greenberg Traurig has advised the Florida Association of Court Clerks and Comptrollers that clerks should follow the judge's ruling for all marriage-license applications or face the consequences identified by Judge Hinkle."


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Mario Cuomo's Shadow

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He was nearly invisible in the decades after his defeat. But Mario’s politics are around to this day.

Lucas Jackson / Reuters

A few years ago, a top New York political operative challenged me to a guessing game: Whose endorsement, he asked, was the most sought-after for candidates trying to reach the liberal voters who dominate New York City Democratic politics?

I guessed Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Ed Koch, David Dinkins, Chuck Schumer, and the other obvious big names.

The answer, which hadn't occurred to me: Mario Cuomo.

His name hadn't occurred to me because, by the time I started covering New York City Hall full time in 2001, Cuomo was gone. He died Thursday, and three of the great New York reporters who covered him, Adam Nagourney, Ken Auletta, and Elizabeth Kolbert, have written beautifully about his talents and his flaws. Much of what they wrote was new to me.

Mario (big enough to lose the last name) had been a man known for his moral scruples and his fine words. He had dominated New York's Democratic politics until less than a decade before I started covering it. But he had somehow failed to leave a clear mark on the body politic. The three-term governor who succeeded him, George Pataki, had won by repudiating his legacy. New York City politics, under Rudy Giuliani and Mike Bloomberg, had taken on a tough-talking, pragmatic feel. The governor whom people like Giuliani and Bloomberg invoked was Hugh Carey, Cuomo's less eloquent predecessor, who saved the city from its financial crisis.

There were icons, of course, but somehow Cuomo wasn't in the pantheon. If you talked about the failed promise of urban liberalism, you talked about John Lindsay. The missed opportunity that city Democrats lamented wasn't Cuomo's ill-starred 1994 re-election campaign, but David Dinkins' defeat in 1993. Mario's place in his son's political life was something of a secret — they wouldn't talk about one another much — but when a wild glimpse emerged in a legendary 2002 Nagourney story, the interest was psychological, not political.

And as for the political day-to-day — he just wasn't there. Cuomo had a quiet dignity. He'd never been a flashy, natural pol, unlike his old rival Ed Koch, who was always there, ready with a quip on deadline or a long monologue for his own obituary. Cuomo was, of course, exactly the person you'd want for a certain kind of profile or political analysis piece, and he had a desk at Willkie Farr and an assistant named Mary who would, once in a while, get a hold of him. He'd talk forever, witty and charming, but also you were on deadline, and he hadn't given you anything that quite fit your story. He could, like his son, be hard to get off the line.

Cuomo was a giant of the 1980s, in some sense the truest leader of the opposition. It would have been natural to imagine then that when the pendulum swung back to the Democratic Party, Cuomo and his policies would be elevated. Instead came Bill Clinton, who ran against his own party's left and promised something new, something a little more respectful of Ronald Reagan than you would have expected, and something divorced from the party whose hero Cuomo had been.

Clinton would have run against Cuomo, of course, had Cuomo run. But Cuomo's son went to work for Clinton, and Andrew Cuomo — sworn in for his own second term in Albany the day his father died — has governed like a man who learned from his father what not to do. Andrew is an expert in the raw and unapologetic use of power, and a master of triangulation.

The only people who hadn't forgotten Cuomo were the people who elected him three times. To a generation of New York liberals shaped by their loathing for Reagan, Cuomo represented the kind of humane, literate, reflective politics that they hadn't found since — whether in Washington, Albany, or New York City Hall. That's why his endorsement kept mattering to voters long after the press stopped paying any attention to it.

His political heirs may not include his son, but they are almost everywhere else in the Democratic Party these days: New York Mayor Bill de Blasio ran on a "tale of two cities" whose origins are in Cuomo's 1984 convention speech. And Barack Obama, whose own political coming of age was in Cuomo's New York, seems intent on spending the last years of his term pulling the party back toward Mario's outspoken, principled liberalism.

Mike Huckabee Quits Fox News Show To Consider 2016 Bid

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“The honorable thing to do at this point is to end my tenure here at Fox so I can openly talk with potential donors and supporters and gauge support.”

Brian Frank / Reuters

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Saturday night's episode of his Fox News show would be his last, as he decides whether to run for president in 2016.

"As much as I have loved doing the show, I love my country more, and feel that it may be time for me to leave a zone of comfort to engage in the conflicts that have almost destroyed the bedrock foundations of America," Huckabee wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday night. "I feel compelled to ascertain if the support exists strongly enough for another presidential run."

Huckabee, who ran for the Republican nomination in 2008 but not 2012, remains deeply popular with social conservatives and an effective communicator on issues that part of the Republican base values. In his previous presidential effort, however, Huckabee struggled to raise money.

In recent months, there has been some speculation he would run again, particularly as he and Sen. Ted Cruz both privately addressed groups of influential social conservatives in September.

This evening I wanted to share with you some news that is very personal to me. Because you have been such a good friend and a strong supporter of all my efforts, I wanted you to know first that tonight I will do more than just say goodnight on my Fox show. I will say goodbye.

This is the last edition of Huckabee on the Fox News Channel. It has been the ride of a lifetime, and I have never had so much fun in my life. But I also realize that God hasn't put me on earth just to have a good time or to make a good living, but rather has put me on earth to try to make a good life.

There has been a great deal of speculation as to whether I would run for President. I won't make a decision about running until late in the spring of 2015, but the continued chatter has put Fox News into a position that is not fair to them. The honorable thing to do at this point is to end my tenure here at Fox so I can openly talk with potential donors and supporters and gauge support. As much as I have loved doing the show, I love my country more, and feel that it may be time for me to leave a zone of comfort to engage in the conflicts that have almost destroyed the bedrock foundations of America. I feel compelled to ascertain if the support exists strongly enough for another Presidential run. So as we say in television, stay tuned!

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