“I’m not gonna denigrate you because of your faith and you shouldn’t denigrate me for mine.”

Sean Rayford / Getty Images

Ben Carson on Tuesday defended past comments in which he called the big bang theory "fairy tales," saying people who believe in the scientific theory should not "denigrate" him for his faith.

"Here's the key, I then say to them look, 'I'm not gonna criticize you, you have a lot more faith then I have.' I couldn't, I don't have enough faith to believe that," Carson said in a speech at Cedarville University, after explaining why he didn't believe in the theory.

"I give you credit, for that," continued Carson. "But I'm not gonna denigrate you because of your faith and you shouldn't denigrate me for mine. And that's the kind of attitude, ya know -- that's the kind of attitude that I think is very important in the society in which we live today."

BuzzFeed News reported Tuesday that Carson said in a 2012 speech the big bang theory was part of "fairy tales" from high-faluting scientists and that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution was encouraged by the devil.

Watch the clip below:

View Video ›

The former secretary of state made the announcement at a forum in Des Moines, Iowa, Tuesday.

Darren Mccollester / Getty Images

Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that she opposes the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, calling it "a distraction" that "interferes" with other climate efforts.

"I think it is imperative that we look at the Keystone XL pipeline as what I believe it is -- a distraction from the important work we have to do to combat climate change and, unfortunately from my perspective, one that interferes with our ability to move forward and deal with other issues," Clinton said in response to a question at a Des Moines, Iowa forum on Tuesday.

"Therefore, I oppose it. I oppose it because I don't think it's in the best interest of what we need to do to combat climate change."

The White House was briefed on Clinton's opposition to the pipeline before she made the comments today, according to a Clinton aide.

Last week, Clinton put the White House "on notice," expressing concern that the process had taken this long. She noted she could not "wait too much longer" to take a stance on the issue.

The former secretary of state has been evasive all year, even as a candidate, on the issue that has now animated environmentalists — both grassroots activists and influential donors — within the Democratic Party for years.

She has cited her previous role in the administration as a reason for her refusal to take a position previously, and, in July, said she didn't want to "second guess" President Obama.

"If it is undecided when I become president, I will answer your question," she said in July, when asked whether she would take a yes or no position on the pipeline.

As secretary of state in 2010, Clinton said the State Department was "inclined" to sign off on the pipeline, saying the only choices the U.S. had at the time were to get "dirty oil from the Gulf or dirty oil from Canada."

Opposition to the pipeline, which would originate in Canada, also includes many in the labor movement. Clinton, according to an aide, privately let labor officials know in recent weeks of her position.

View Entire List ›

As the Human Rights Campaign ramps up its 2016 campaign efforts, the former secretary of state will speak to its board on Oct. 3, the group announced on Tuesday.

Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Images

WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton will be addressing the staff, board, and volunteer leaders of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBT group, on Oct. 3.

Calling Clinton a "visionary leader," HRC President Chad Griffin said in a statement announcing the address that the former secretary of state "is a tremendous advocate for equality and has been a tireless champion for the advancement of LGBT rights as human rights around the globe."

Griffin said that Clinton will be joining the group at its fall board meeting "to discuss the challenges ahead in the fight for full federal equality" for LGBT people. Clinton's address will come the morning of its national dinner.

The group is yet to endorse a presidential candidate. In the 2012 race, HRC endorsed President Obama's re-election nearly 18 months before the election, in May 2011. HRC did not endorse Obama in his first run, however, until June 2008—after it was clear Clinton would not be able to secure the Democratic nomination.

Griffin, however, has a long history with the Clintons, having started his political career working on former President Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign and, later, in the White House. His former political consulting partner, Kristina Schake, had worked for First Lady Michelle Obama, but was brought aboard the Clinton campaign early on to work on Clinton's image.

In July, Griffin told BuzzFeed News that HRC would be launching its most aggressive campaign effort yet, saying that the LGBT community "needs to be more recognized, more sought after and feared" by candidates.

Nearly three months later, the group appears to be ready to start that effort. JoDee Winterhof, HRC's vice president for policy and political affairs told BuzzFeed News, "HRC will soon be putting staff and resources on the ground in early states, starting with Iowa and New Hampshire, in order to begin organizing and mobilizing members, supporters and pro-equality voters."

In explaining their efforts — and why, as Griffin put it, the LGBT community should be "sought after and feared" by candidates — HRC staffers point to the numbers.

According to data provided by HRC through analysis of exit polls, while 58 percent of the eligible voters cast a ballot in 2012, that number was more than 20 percent higher among self-identified LGB voters at 81 percent. HRC also asserts that the self-identification required in exit polling means that those numbers "certainly undercounted LGBT people." Despite that, HRC notes that the data, extrapolated, would mean that "roughly six million LGBT voters cast a ballot in an election where President Barack Obama won by just under 5 million votes."

In a sign of the group's 2016 plans, HRC points to swing states in the presidential race specifically, asserting that the LGBT vote could be key in this analysis provided to BuzzFeed News:

HRC

“It is time — and Mr. Trump has said this, time and time again — to put Americans first.”

Steve Pope / Getty Images

Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said Tuesday that the United States "should take in zero" Syrian refugees.

"This is very simple, the bottom line is we should take in zero," Lewandowski said when asked by radio host John Fredericks what a President Trump would do about the refugee crisis.

"And the Untied States, to be clear, has a process for bringing refugees into the country, and an individual must qualify as a refugee to begin that process, is how it works. Individuals caught in a civil war do not necessarily qualify as refugees," Lewandowski continued

"If Mr. Trump were the president of the United States we would not be bringing refugees into the country under this criteria," Lewandowski said.

In past interviews, Trump has not completely ruled out taking in refugees from Syria.

On September 8th, Trump told Bill O'Reilly: "I hate the concept of it, but on a humanitarian basis, you have to" accept some refugees.

On September 15th, Trump told Morning Joe that "the answer is possibly yes" to accepting refugees, even though "we have so many problems of our own."

"There's only so much we can do — we have to fix our own country," he explained. "Now, Europe is handling it, Germany has been very generous so far, which is very surprising to me, to be honest with you."

"But it's a huge problem, and we should help as much as possible, but we do have to fix our own country," Trump concluded.

On Tuesday, Lewandowski took this line of argument a step further, arguing that "it is time — and Mr. Trump has said this, time and time again — to put Americans first."

"While I understand our position in the global economy, and how important the United States is in world public affairs, it is time to look at the people who are in our country first who are struggling — the middle class, the bottom class of people who can't survive — and give them opportunities," said Lewandowski. "And this is exactly what the issue is, when it comes to not just bringing in refugees, but illegal immigrants.

"It is time to build a wall, it is time to make sure our borders are secure, it is time to make sure that the people who are at the lowest economic status in this country, their jobs are not being taken away from illegal immigrants who are coming to this country illegally," he continued. "Why don't we let those people — give them the opportunity to do the jobs, give them the opportunity to have a leg up, give them the opportunity to make their lives better, before we worry about the people in other parts of the world who aren't U.S. citizens to begin with?"

w.soundcloud.com

Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Images

The FBI has recovered email from Hillary Clinton's server, according to a Bloomberg News source.

Bloomberg reported on Tuesday evening that, according to a person familiar with the investigation, email that had been deleted Clinton has been recovered on the server.

According to Bloomberg, the FBI is investigating how and why classified information ended up on the server. The FBI has provided little public information about the investigation into the matter, and has not made clear exactly why officials would reconstruct Clinton's server.

During her time at the State Department, Clinton exclusively used a personal email account housed on a private server. Last year, Clinton provided 55,000 pages of email to the State Department; that email was the product of a review conducted by her personal staff, after which emails deemed "personal" (about half of her total email sent) were deleted. Bloomberg was unable to confirm the number of personal emails the FBI has recovered.

Clinton has maintained that the email she deleted pertained to things like yoga classes and wedding planning.

In recent weeks, the Justice Department has argued in court filings on the behalf of the State Department that Clinton had the authority to decide which emails were personal correspondence and which were public record, and to delete the former.

“We want to hear from anyone ready to address this urgent problem and work toward solutions,” Clinton said Tuesday night.

Pool / Getty Images

WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton agreed to meet with leaders from the Campaign Zero movement Tuesday evening, the latest public victory for the platform to end police violence made up of a collection of activists from the Black Lives Matter movement.

Early Monday, DeRay Mckesson requested a meeting with Clinton before the release of her justice platform.

Clinton responded to Mckesson's tweet on Tuesday evening. It would be just the second time Clinton has spoken directly with Black Lives Matter activists since she agreed to meet with them weeks ago after a campaign event in New Hampshire.

View Entire List ›

Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams is teaming up with national groups Three Point Strategies, Power PAC and Inclusv for the launch of the B.L.U.E. Institute, a weeklong workshop organizers say will fortify campaigns and caucuses with staffers of color in an increasingly competitive South.

Kris Connor / Getty Images

WASHINGTON — Next month, Georgia state Rep. Stacey Abrams, Minority Leader of the state legislature, will host the B.L.U.E. Institute (Building Leaders and Uplifting the Electorate), a six-day crash course in electoral politics for close to 40 applicants chosen from all over the South.

Abrams, who was elected minority leader in 2010, is on a campaign to retake the Georgia state legislature for Democrats by 2020 and rebuild the Georgia Democratic Party at large. She is the founder the New Georgia Project, which estimated there were 800,000 eligible voters who were not registered.

The South has not been very kind to Democrats in recent years. In Senate races in Louisiana, Arkansas and North Carolina in 2014, the Democratic incumbents lost one-by-one in embarrassing fashion. And in Georgia, Republican businessman David Perdue easily beat the Democratic candidate, Michelle Nunn, despite months of polls indicating the race would be one of the closest in the country.

Now there is a sense there that several statewide races could be up for grabs, including the general election for president, in which Georgia has emerged as a key swing state.

Abrams, herself a former operative on campaigns, will address the group.

The trainees will participate in a campaign simulation, create field and finance plans, and learn how to target voters using traditional and cutting edge tools, its organizers say. By the end of the institute, trainee will be paired with a campaign or organization via a job fair.

"We want to create a more inclusive pipeline of staffers that can secure the range of political posts available in campaigns," Abrams told BuzzFeed News in a phone interview. Too often, she said, blacks and Latinos "are assigned primarily to outreach and field in campaigns, but are less often in finance, data, communications or management."

The institute's program, which will be held on the campus of Georgia Tech in Atlanta, will teach how to write a complete campaign plan with a strategy outlining the candidate's path to victory. It will also cover the basics of an issue-based campaign, GOTV efforts via the DNC's Vote Builder tool and Catalist. The fellows will learn the ins-and-outs of managing a volunteer database.

"Applicants are often told they need experience to get a job, but they require a job to get relevant experience," Abrams said. "We are providing the experience and training they need for the jobs that will be available in 2016 and beyond."

Jessica Byrd, the principal with Three Point Strategies who will teach workshops next month along with Alida Garcia, of Inclusv, agreed that the hope is that the institute creates a pipeline of non-traditional roles for black and Latino staffers, like campaign manager and finance.

Abrams said that Hillary Clinton's campaign is an example of putting capable people of color like Maya Harris and Karen Finney in senior positions. Abrams said she wants to see Clinton's example replicated on the state level. "I think that there is a good effort being made in the Democratic side, but more can be done."

National groups like DCCC and DSCC have been hesitant to pour resources into races in the South, often leaving many Democratic candidates floundering.

"There's a huge population of people of color living in the South and by it not being considered as a battleground, there's not an investment in creating a long term culture of getting them out to the polls," Byrd said.

Byrd added the numbers "haven't historically reflected that it should be a battleground for Democrats but we know that is changing and organizing works best with people who are from the kinds of communities we're trying to engage, especially when we're building trust with people that have complicated relationship to political power."

At the end of the session, attendees with attend a job fair with the SEIU, Planned Parenthood, AFL-CIO and the DCCC. The progressive training organization Wellstone Action is also a partner.

"It's not just about 2016, but for when we're trying to staff up for state legislators, key Senate and House races," Abrams said. "This is about the future."

“The year Bernie first arrived in Washington there was only one Starbucks in the entire world.” Missed it by that much (20 years).

J. Pat Carter / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee made a weird claim in attacking socialist Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, arguing that he was a Washington-insider and that the Vermont senator had been in Congress longer than Starbucks had existed.

The claim does not hold up to scrutiny.

"Right now, the most unlikely idol of American youth is Bernie Sanders a 74-year-old self-avowed socialist who's such a Washington outsider he's been in Congress for nearly quarter of a century," Huckabee said on his "Huckabee Exclusive" podcast on Monday.

"To help you Bernie maniacs grasp how long that is, the year Bernie first arrived in Washington there was only one Starbucks in the entire world, and it opened five months after Bernie entered Congress," he added.

The first Starbucks opened in 1971, a decade before Bernie Sanders was even elected to office. Sanders didn't join Congress until 1991, after serving as mayor of Burlington, Vermont for nearly a decade in the 1980s.

Similarly, Starbucks didn't have just one store in 1991, they had 116. Starbucks did, however, open its first licensed airport store that year.

Take a listen to the audio:

w.soundcloud.com

Fiorina added that the HP subsidiary responsible for sales to Iran was named “Wholesaler of the Year” after she left the company. It earned the title in 2003. She was fired in 2005.

Sean Rayford / Getty Images

Republican presidential candidate and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina told an Iowa radio host Tuesday that saying that she should have known and done something about a European subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard making sales to Iran was like saying the same about the host "if one of your listeners does something wrong out there in your name."

"We sell products to a customer," Fiorina said to Iowa radio host Simon Conway. "And that customer was then doing business with another company. Both of those customers were doing something wrong. It would be a little bit like saying if one of your listeners does something wrong out there in your name, you should know about it and you should do something about it."

The Republican presidential candidate was elaborating on comments she made on Sunday, when she told Fox News that HP had "a larger budget than any one of our 50 states" and that it was "impossible to ensure that nothing wrong ever happens."

She said then that "neither I nor anyone else in management knew about it and the facts of the matter were the European subsidiary apparently was doing business with another company in the Middle East. That company was doing business with another company that was doing business with Iran. And when the company discovered this three years after I left, they cut off all ties with those companies."

On Tuesday, Fiorina bristled when Conway said her answer reminded him of President Obama "talking about various issues, saying, 'Yeah, I found out about it when I saw it in the newspaper just like you."

"No, no, no, Simon, that is a completely unfair comparison," Fiorina responded, adding that the subsidiary, which is called Redington Gulf, was "like a customer" and that blaming her for its wrongdoing would be like blaming the host for the wrongdoing of a listener.

She went on to argue that comparing her claims of ignorance to those of President Obama made her "disappointed" in Conway.

"President Obama, on the other hand, has an Attorney General running a Fast and Furious gun-running program and he'd darn well better know about it," Fiorina said. "These are very different comparisons and frankly I'm disappointed in you, that you would make that comparison."

Conway went on to ask about the subsidiary being named "Wholesaler of the Year."

"That was after my time," Fiorina said. "So I actually am not aware of that. I mean, apparently they were named that, but I don't know that. You know, it was after my time there. I can't speak to that."

Redington Gulf was named "Wholesaler of the Year" in 2003. Fiorina was fired from her post at HP in 2005.

w.soundcloud.com

The ad attacks Jeb Bush, and takes a harsh tone on illegal immigration before pivoting to veterans. The man who made the ad, which BuzzFeed News obtained through a Vimeo search, says he is working with the campaign, and “sent it to them for approval.” A Trump spokeswoman, however, denied any affiliation.

On Tuesday morning, the rough cut of an ad supporting Donald Trump appeared on the video-sharing service Vimeo.

Cinapse Digital Media

Produced by a man named Philip Gatch, whose company is called Cinapse Digital Media, Gatch told BuzzFeed News that the ad was accidentally posted to Vimeo.

"I sent it to them for approval — it's a rough cut," Gatch said, referring to the Trump campaign.

When asked if he is working for the Trump campaign, Gatch replied, "Well, technically right now."

"It says rough cut on it — they're not supposed to post it," he continued. "It says rough cut, because I need to get approval on it. It's not supposed to go out."

When asked whether the campaign had solicited the ad, Gatch said he had no comment.

"I'm not commenting on this right now. I have to go talk to them," Gatch said. The video was set to private – and password-locked – minutes later.

The Trump campaign denied any knowledge of the ad.

"That's not ours, and it's not affiliated with the campaign," Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks told BuzzFeed News.

"I can only speak for us," she said, when asked why Gatch said otherwise. "It's not affiliated with the Trump campaign."

The ad opens with horror-movie music playing under a distorted version of the now-infamous of clip of Jeb Bush saying that illegal immigration is “an act of love.”

Via vimeo.com

Then it cuts to a graphic counting up the number of “Americans killed everyday by illegal immigrants.”

Via vimeo.com

View Entire List ›

Delaware Sen. Chris Coons is ridin’ with Biden.

w.soundcloud.com

Delaware Democratic Sen. Chris Coons says the scandal surrounding former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's exclusive use of a private email account during her tenure as the nation's top diplomat has led to a big loss of support for Clinton from her natural supporters.

In an interview earlier this week with WHYY, Coons, who later said that he liked the idea of a "Biden-Kaine" ticket — that is, Vice President Joe Biden and Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine — said Clinton hasn't been open with her answers about the scandal.

"I think the email scandal has raised questions in a very broad range of Americans of all different backgrounds and perspectives," he said earlier this week. "It's persisted a lot longer than I initially thought it would. Her answers to it have been less open and artful than I'd expected they would be and I think it's duration has led to a real loss of support by some of the folks who I had expected would be just diehard, enthusiastic Clinton fans, in part because it's a reminder of the Clinton era, when there seemed to always be some scandal going on about something."

Still, Coons said he didn't think the issue would be a deciding factor in the election.

"One of the things I try and help remind friends of is that many of [the scandals] like the so called "White Water scandal" never actually produced any evidence, after years, that the Clintons had done anything wrong," Coons continued. "But there was years of a steady drip of stories in the press and negativity. I do think that for the average American they don't really know what this is all about, they just know that there's some problem. That there was something she did that was somehow bad."

Coons said that, like the Sept. 11, 2012 terror attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, the email scandal will not amount to much.

"At the end of the day, I don't think this will amount to much, much like the Benghazi issue. There were dozens of hearings in front of Congress about the Benghazi incident in which four Americans tragically lost their life, but I've never seen credible evidence that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was directly involved in some cover up or in doing things that contributed to their loss of life, in fact the opposite," Coons said.

"There were a number of efforts in Congress to try and increase funding for embassy security that were blocked, frankly by Republicans. So I don't think this email scandal, in the end, will be decisive in the presidential election."

“Whether it’s about capitalism or global warming or immigration and they ignore when he says more traditional things on marriage or on being pro-life and on the sanctity of life and on religious liberty, you know — I’d be curious to see how the mainstream media whether they’ll mention those things that he talks about.”

Pool / Getty Images

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a devout Catholic who has written publicly about faith, offered a critique of Pope Francis on Wednesday, saying that he disagrees with the Holy Father's comments on capitalism and the U.S.-Cuban relationship — and that the media downplays the pope's adherence to more conservative Catholic teachings.

"Two things about the pope and one, you know, the liberal media loves to find when he does say things that they view as being less than conservative," Jindal told radio host Glenn Beck. "Whether it's about capitalism or global warming or immigration and they ignore when he says more traditional things on marriage or on being pro-life and on the sanctity of life and on religious liberty, you know — I'd be curious to see how the mainstream media whether they'll mention those things that he talks about."

The Louisiana governor said didn't agree with the pope's comments on capitalism and Cuba.

"I'll say this: As a Catholic, I respect him. I admire him. I encourage every religious leader to weigh in on important political and social issues," stated Jindal. "I don't think their voices should be excluded. I don't always agree with him and the reality is I'm not required to always agree with him. You know, in the church, certainly when the church teaches on faith and morals, like things about being pro-life or the sanctity of marriage between a man and a women those things we are required, you know, as Christians, as Catholics to hold those truths."

"But when he gives his opinion on capitalism, when he gives his opinion on the relationship between American and Cuba, I'm not obligated, I don't agree with that," Jindal continued. "And I don't think that for example, he played a critical role in the negotiations between the Castros and this president. I think that was a mistake for America and I think it was a mistake for people who are fighting for human rights in Cuba. So look, I'm glad he's coming, I'm glad he's going to challenge folks."

Jindal said that he hoped people heard the pope's message on faith and that the other issues weren't used to bash Republicans.

"What I really hope is folks hear him challenging on matters of faith, especially on Jesus Christ, on the Gospels," Jindal said, "I just hope that really hear his Gospel message, but you're exactly right that the mainstream media loves to take his visit and turn it into an excuse to try to hit Republicans and conservatives."

In a speech Tuesday at Rhodes College, the conservative Supreme Court justice said that four of his colleagues think that the penalty is unconstitutional, The Commercial Appeal reported.

Justice Antonin Scalia

Kevin Wolf / AP

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia told attendees of a speech given Tuesday that four of his colleagues believe the death penalty is unconstitutional and that "he wouldn't be surprised" if the court ends the penalty, according to reports from the event.

Speaking at Rhodes College, the conservative justice bristled at the concept, believing the penalty to be constitutional and telling attendees that death penalty opponents should go to the states if they want to end it, Jennifer Pignolet of The Commercial Appeal tweeted.

According to Pignolet's report, Scalia said that "he 'wouldn't be surprised' if his court ruled it unconstitutional, despite his belief that the Constitution allows for it with the establishment of protections like a fair trial."

Specifically, Scalia said that "he now has 4 colleagues who believe it's unconstitutional," Pignolet tweeted.

The statements provide new insight into the court's internal discussions—or at least Scalia's take on his colleagues—as his comments go further than Scalia's colleagues have gone themselves.

In dissenting from the court's June decision upholding Oklahoma's use of the drug midazolam in its lethal injection protocol, Justice Stephen Breyer, joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, wrote, "I believe it highly likely that the death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment. At the very least, the Court should call for full briefing on the basic question."

While close to declaring a view that the penalty is unconstitutional, the opinion reached no definitive conclusion—and neither justice has voiced opposition to decisions refusing stays of execution in multiple cases brought to the court since then.

Although Scalia did not, from available reporting on the speech, name the justices of whom he was speaking, the other two justices who dissented from the Glossip v. Gross decision—Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan—did not even go as far as Breyer did in his dissent. Sotomayor, in her dissenting opinion, focused primarily on the midazolam issue directly before the court and the question of whether those challenging a method of execution must propose an alternative method. Kagan joined that dissenting opinion.

And, while Justice Anthony Kennedy has written about "enforc[ing] the Constitution's protection of human dignity" in the course of addressing limits to the death penalty, the justice has not publicly stated any unambiguous opposition to the penalty itself.

A spokesperson for Rhodes College told BuzzFeed News that the Supreme Court's public information office informed the school that no recordings of the speech would be allowed. An official with the court's public information office told BuzzFeed News that there would not be a text of Scalia's speech made available.

Sean Rayford / Getty Images

COLUMBIA, South Carolina — Donald Trump picked Wednesday’s campaign swing through South Carolina to place a new candidate firmly in his crosshairs: Marco Rubio.

At two stops, the first in North Charleston and the second in Columbia, Trump lobbed insult after insult at Rubio, indicating that Rubio has become enough of a threat to merit the full Trump insult comic routine. Trump has cycled through periods of antagonizing others, most notably Rand Paul, Jeb Bush, and Carly Fiorina. Now that the last debate left Rubio rising, Trump appears eager to neutralize him.

At various points over the course of the day, Trump mocked Rubio as a “lightweight,” sweaty, and financially unsuccessful.

“I get these lightweights like Marco Rubio, he gets up and says, ‘Oh, Donald Trump didn’t talk about foreign policy,’” Trump said at a townhall event with Sen. Tim Scott in Columbia on Wednesday evening. “Well, I don’t want to tell too much.”

“These guys sit in the Senate — even though he misses most of the votes, by the way — but he sits in the Senate and listens to this stuff all the time,” Trump said. “I’m out working, producing jobs all over the place and building a great company.”

Rubio “has got the number one worst attendance record, and they want him to be president, right?” Trump said earlier at his earlier event in North Charleston. That event was billed as a speech to the South Carolina African-American Chamber of Commerce's conference. “Rubio, I’ve never seen a young guy sweat that much. I’ve never seen — he’s drinking water, water, water, I never saw anything like this with him and the water.”

“Marco Rubio, as an example, he’s got no money, zero,” Trump continued. “I think that’s fine, that’s OK, maybe it’s good politically to say you owe money because you overborrowed on your credit cards. He’s got nothing. I mean, he’s got nothing.”

Trump also criticized Rubio for running against his friend and political mentor Jeb Bush, which he described as “disloyal,” and described Rubio as “overly ambitious, too young, and I have better hair than he does.”

Rubio has so far mostly avoided talking about Trump, save a couple comments about his vagueness on foreign policy.

Trump continues to be the frontrunner, though recent polling shows that he is possibly not shooting up in the polls at the same rate he once did. Regardless, the room at his speech in North Charleston was only about half full. Although the speech was tied to the South Carolina African-American Chamber of Commerce event, it was open to others, and most of the crowd appeared to be composed of white supporters.

The North Charleston event

Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed News

Some of the chamber of commerce attendees did come to watch out of curiosity.

“It was right after our workshop, and I said, ‘Let’s stay around and hear it,’” said Bobby T., 30, of Charleston, who works in construction and who didn’t want to give his last name. “I’m a Bernie fan either way, so.”

“He said some crazy number, 25%?” Bobby said, referring to a poll Trump cited which showed him getting 25% of the black vote in a hypothetical general election scenario. “I don’t believe that. Where did he get that from? He got that from the comics section this morning.”

“It’s entertaining to me, I like it,” he said of Trump. “I’ll listen to him speak. Doesn’t bother me.”

“I’ll listen to him, but I’m a Democrat and voting Democratic,” said Shom Shamapande, 42, a former Democratic staffer who lives in D.C., before Trump spoke. “I figured I’d poke my head in here and watch.”

Shamapande said he thought it was good for Republicans to be talking to black audiences, because, “There’s certain parts of their messaging that definitely work in the black community. Particularly around business and job creation, that’s a big deal.”

As for Trump, “He has this awkwardness around black people already. ‘Blacks love me!’ All right, let’s see. So I expect it to be a little bit awkward, if you ask me.”

Republican Rep. Mark Sanford, South Carolina’s former governor who is now in Congress, also attended the speech because he had spoken to the South Carolina African-American Chamber conference earlier.

“It’s fascinating,” Sanford said. “As someone who’s been part of the political process for a while in South Carolina, to see the different faces that are not normally drawn to political events, I think it’s fascinating — to see the mix of demographics, the different ages and backgrounds — it’s fascinating as a political phenomenon.”

Sanford said he wasn’t there for any particular reason other than “spectating.” He said he has no plans to endorse in the presidential race soon.

Fuller house in Columbia for Trump later in the day

Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed News

Though Trump’s later event was much more crowded and arguably more enthusiastic, there were some skeptics there as well.

Pam Lamb, 62, of Charleston, said she tries to go to as many candidate events as possible in order to make an informed decision. She is not a fan of Trump.

“He doesn’t give you any real plans,” she said. “He’s not really giving us any specifics.”

In fact, Lamb contrasted Trump with Rubio, who she had seen at an event a couple weeks back: “At that point I had always thought that Rubio was cute as pie, but that he was young, that he should be sitting at the kids table. But in that setting you were really able to see how knowledgeable he is on foreign policy.”

“We came up here today for the entertainment value and [Trump] certainly didn’t disappoint on that,” she said. “I can’t imagine him at a state dinner. Can’t you see him telling Putin he’s fired?”

Asked if she would vote for Trump if he became the nominee, Lamb said, “I don’t know. I really don’t know. I’d say not, but in the special election a couple years ago I had to vote for Mark Sanford, and that just about killed me.”

“He had a really bad debate performance last week.”

Sean Rayford / Getty Images

Marco Rubio struck back at Donald Trump on Thursday, labeling Trump as a "touchy and insecure guy" who's not informed on the issues.

"First of all, he takes shots at everybody that gets anywhere close to him, in terms of a poll, or anytime he hits a rough spot that's what he does," the Florida senator said of Trump on Kentucky Sports Radio.

"He had a really bad debate performance last week," continued Rubio. "He's not well informed on the issues. He really never talks about issues and can't have more than a 10-second soundbite on any key issue. And I think he's kind of been exposed a little bit over the last seven days, and he's a very touchy and insecure guy and so that's how he reacts, and people can see through it."

Trump singled out Rubio in two campaign stops in South Carolina this week, labeling him a "lightweight," sweaty, and financially unsuccessful.

Rubio said he was the only candidate speaking about embracing new policies for the 21st century.

"I just feel like in this race I'm the only one that's talking about it this way and most certainly when in comparison to the individual you just mentioned (Trump), that's true, but in general," said Rubio.

"We're building a campaign that's designed to be successful when the votes actually count," Rubio added. "We feel confident if we continue to do what we need to do we're gonna get there."

w.soundcloud.com

LINK: Donald Trump Has A New Target: Marco Rubio

View Entire List ›

The independent senator from Vermont says he and the pope are on the same page.

Pool / Getty Images

More than any other lawmaker, and certainly more than any other candidate for president, Bernie Sanders — the independent, small-s socialist running for the Democratic nomination — leaned way, way into Pope Francis' visit to the United States.

On Thursday, as Francis addressed a joint session of Congress, Sanders endeavored both before and after the speech to tie his message to the pope's.

Sanders — who is Jewish, but has said he's "not particularly religious" — favorably mentions Pope Francis on the campaign trail constantly, so it was not a huge surprise that he would greet the pope's visit warmly.

But Sanders went a step farther on Thursday after Francis' speech, which focused largely on the economic equality issues that have driven Sanders' political career. Sanders has largely dismissed the pope's opposition to abortion and marriage equality, noting that while they men disagree on those issues, Francis has not made social conservatism a priority.

And as the world's eyes turned toward Francis in Washington, Sanders was right there and ready to claim the role as closest to the pope's vision.

From The Washington Post:

"The name Dorothy Day has not been used in the United States Congress terribly often," said Sanders in a short interview. "She was a valiant fighter for workers, was very strong in her belief for social justice, and I think it was extraordinary that he cited her as one of the most important people in recent American history. This would be one of the very, very few times that somebody as radical as Dorothy Day was mentioned."

The Vermont senator was less concerned by Francis's glancing mentions of other issues that animate progressives, such as climate change and gay rights. "He knew where he was speaking," said Sanders. "I think he does not want to be rude, as a guest. But I think his calling out for social justice, his talking about income and wealth inequality, his talking about creating an economy and a culture that works for everybody, not just a few, is a very, very powerful message."

View Entire List ›

The DSCC is already spending five-figures on digital ads on Facebook and Twitter, as senators like New Hampshire’s Kelly Ayotte take to the floor to criticize conservative colleagues who want to defund Planned Parenthood.

Ethan Miller / Getty Images

WASHINGTON — Facing tough re-election battles during an election cycle already favorable to Democrats, a shutdown — or even the threat of a shutdown — is the last thing a group of vulnerable Republican senators wanted.

But with less than a week to go before the government runs out of money and no funding deal yet, Democrats are already attacking Sens. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mark Kirk of Illinois, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Rob Portman of Ohio, and Richard Burr of North Carolina.

A spending measure that includes defunding Planned Parenthood — a priority for conservatives — failed 47-52, as expected, to clear a procedural hurdle in the Senate Thursday afternoon. All but two of the vulnerable senators up for re-election (Ayotte and Kirk) voted in favor of moving the bill forward, knowing it wouldn't ultimately pass the Senate.

Ayotte, who is running to keep her seat in a presidential year in a crucial state — New Hampshire — has criticized her colleagues on the Senate floor for risking a shutdown over an effort that was sure to fail.

Congress has until midnight Wednesday to pass a spending bill to avert a shutdown.

"I'm tired of the people on my side of the aisle who are pushing this strategy even though they know they don't have the votes to have it pass the United States Senate and they certainly don't have the votes to override a presidential veto," Ayotte said. "And so they can't answer the question – what's the end game for success here?"

After voting in favor of the spending bill that would have defunded Planned Parenthood, Portman told BuzzFeed News he was sure Republicans would be able to avert a shutdown this time around, but the threat of the shutdown — which probably wouldn't play well back home in Ohio — wouldn't be over.

"I think the bigger issue is going to be in December," Portman said.

The Senate is expected to take up a bill that funds the government through the fall and does not strip Planned Parenthood of its federal funding next week, but whether the House Republicans will go along with the Senate's plan remains unclear.

In the meantime, eager for Democrats to take back control of the Senate, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is already spending five-figures on digital ads on Facebook and Twitter targeting Senate Republicans up for re-election.

Big-money Democratic outside groups are also jumping in. The opposition research group American Bridge has been circulating a 21-page report with quotes from Republicans promising there wouldn't be a shutdown, and the super PAC that spends on behalf of Senate Democrats, Senate Majority PAC, is using the shutdown to build its list and raise money online.

One recent missive from Senate Majority PAC with a subject line titled "This. Is. Insanity" encouraged recipients to give $5 and sign up as founding members. "We're on the brink," the emails said. "Ted Cruz and his extremist cronies have vowed to SHUT DOWN THE GOVERNMENT unless Congress defunds Planned Parenthood! The GOP is dead set on denying cancer screenings, checkups and contraception to millions of women. DO THEY REALLY HAVE THIS MUCH DISDAIN FOR WOMEN? (Yes, yes they do.)"

The threat of a shutdown, Democrats say, is firing up their donors and voters ahead of an election year that could give the party control of the Senate once again.

"We plan on holding Republicans accountable each day of the week every time they do anything other than avoid a shutdown," said Justin Barasky, spokesman for the DSCC about the group's plans for the coming days.

If Republicans are able to avert a shutdown, Barasky said, the fact the party brought America to the brink of another shutdown will remain part of the Democrats narrative. "It becomes one of many things that show a pattern of irresponsibility."

Toomey and Burr, two of the senators being targeted by the DSCC, said in interviews they weren't too worried about the attacks yet.

"I'm not worried about the Democrats attacks," Toomey said. "I think that's pretty predictable."

Burr, who doesn't yet have a Democratic opponent challenging him in North Carolina, added: "They can run all the ads that they want. I feel confident that the voters of North Carolina are going to judge me on my record."

“[W]e could be inviting some of the most violent and vicious people on Earth to come right in here and live among our families, and I think it’s insane.”

Michael B. Thomas / Getty Images

Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says the U.S. should not admit Syrian refugees because it could be inviting "some of the most violent and vicious people on Earth" to live the country.

"It makes no sense whatsoever," Huckabee told radio host John Fredericks on Thursday. "The British newspaper Daily Mail says the European Union is logging these refugees. Their records show that, out of 213,000 refugees that came to Europe in the spring, only 44,000 were actually from Syria. That's one out of five. Most of them were not real refugees fleeing the war; those folks are going to Jordan or Lebanon. Four out of five of them are from other countries ,and they're going to Europe for economic reasons or who knows what."

Huckabee called for a "vetting process" for refugees.

"If we don't have a vetting process and understand this is not just letting, you know, some hungry children in," continued Huckabee. "This is letting a bunch of military-age-able males that we have no idea who they are, why they're coming, and how ridiculous it would be to just say, 'Open the floodgates.' I mean we could be inviting some of the most violent and vicious people on Earth to come right in here and live among our families, and I think it's insane."

Huckabee also said Middle Eastern countries should be accepting refugees, not the U.S.

"Well I'm not sure the best thing for them is to bring them to the U.S.," he said. "I think we need to say, 'Look, we will help in humanitarian efforts with food and shelter and some basic necessities to get these folks in a transition, but they don't speak our language, they don't have our culture, they're really going to be very much sort out of their water, coming to the United States."

"Let's ask the Saudi Arabians to take them. I mean, they have not offered to take one refugee, and I think it's high time," Huckabee concluded. "They have gotten filthy rich off selling us oil all of these years. Maybe it's time they do more than say, 'We're going to fund some madrasas to teach terrorists. We're going to put a bunch of propaganda in American universities; we're going to fly around on our gold-plated airplanes and just act like kings and princes. Instead we're going to take some responsibility for our own neighborhood and the people who live there.' It's high time that an American president draws a line and says, 'That's what you're going to do, and if not, then we're done with you.'"

w.soundcloud.com

“Here in Manchester, it’s like the UN. Manchester, New Hampshire, is like Epcot Center.”

Steve Pope / Getty Images

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said on Thursday that he didn't want people in the United States to be "hyphenated Americans" but added that the country's diversity should be celebrated.

Graham made the comments when asked by a radio host on New Hampshire Now what he thought Jeb Bush meant when he said that America should not be a multicultural society.

"We should not have a multicultural society," Bush said in Iowa on Tuesday.

"America is so much better than every other country because of the values that people share -- it defines our national identity. Not race or ethnicity, not where you come from. When you create pockets of isolation -- and in some cases the assimilation process is retarded because it's slowed down -- it's wrong. It limits people's' aspirations."

Graham answered that he didn't know what "Jeb was driving at" but said that "celebrating our diversity is a good thing."

"I want us to be all, out of many, one, but we have Cinco (de) Mayo, we have, you know, we have St. Patrick's Day. I mean, I don't know what Jeb was driving at, I don't want us to be hyphenated Americans, we're all in it together, but celebrating our diversity is a good thing. I mean like, you know, you have St. Patrick's Day. You have holidays that celebrate the immigrant heritage of our country. What makes us a cool place is that we have so many different people with different backgrounds," Graham said.

"The goal is to become one America, but you don't have to detach yourself from your heritage. It's okay to be Irish, it's a fun thing to go. You know, I'm a Scottish guy, I like going to St. Patrick's day. Here in Manchester, it's like the UN. Manchester, New Hampshire, is like Epcot Center. When you walk down the street of Manchester, you've got every food known to man. So there's a Syrian guy right by an Afghan guy, it just blew me away," Graham said.

w.soundcloud.com

Good360, which provides charities with goods from businesses, donated $18,022 in goods to an affiliate of the National Network of Abortion Funds, which calls abortion “a fundamental human right.”

Mark J. Terrill / AP

In 2013, a charity whose board is chaired by Carly Fiorina donated $18,022 of goods to an organization that provides financial assistance to women seeking abortions.

Fiorina, the Republican presidential candidate, has served as the chair of Good360 since 2012. The organization facilitates donations from companies to nonprofits by allowing the companies to donate products, and the nonprofits to select the products they need on an online marketplace. Good360 then delivers the products to the nonprofits.

In 2013, the organization donated $18,022 in goods to the Abortion Access Network of Arizona, a member of the National Network of Abortion Funds, according to Good360's tax form from that year. Fiorina is listed on the form as on the board of the organization.

According to the group's website, the Abortion Access Network of Arizona "provides financial assistance to people seeking abortions in the state of Arizona," while the National Network of Abortion Funds calls abortion "a fundamental human right."

Additionally, according to the group's website, the Abortion Access Network of Arizona helps fund Planned Parenthood Arizona.

Fiorina has made her staunch opposition to abortion a major focus of her campaign, delivering one of the most memorable moments of the last Republican presidential debate by challenging President Obama and Hillary Clinton to watch an undercover video of a Planned Parenthood official talking about donating fetal tissue. She has also called on the government to block funding for Planned Parenthood. On Thursday, she observed an ultrasound being conducted at an alternative pregnancy center in South Carolina.

A spokeswoman for Fiorina's presidential campaign said in an email that Good360 is "agnostic on causes," and only requires that an "organization has to be a qualified, legitimate charity."

"The way it works is that an organization has to be a qualified, legitimate charity," spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores wrote. "They are agnostic on causes. An organization can then use the website or the disaster recovery portal."

Selecting which charities to help, Fiorina's spokeswoman said, is "based on an objective system they use that is intended to weed out fraudulent charities. There just isn't a test or requirement related to the cause supported or opposed by the charity."

She did not respond to a follow-up question about whether Fiorina was comfortable chairing Good360 while knowing the group facilitates donations that might go to organizations that provide access to abortion.

The Abortion Access Network of Arizona did not did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the nature of the goods provided by Good360.