Rep. Peter Roskam

Alex Wong / Getty Images

WASHINGTON — A new resolution being introduced in the House and Senate on Tuesday seeks to support individual states' ability to maintain their own sanctions against Iran, despite Iran getting sanctions relief as part of the nuclear deal.

Many states have their own sanctions against Iran separate from the federal government's sanctions. The Iran deal, which was reached in Vienna in July, unwinds nuclear-related sanctions in exchange for Iran rolling back its nuclear program. The deal doesn't affect U.S. sanctions related to Iran's support for terrorism and human rights abuses. The fact that many U.S. states maintain their own sanctions against Iran could prove a complicating factor to the deal.

The resolution is being introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Peter Roskam alongside Reps. Brad Sherman, Mike Pompeo, Ted Deutch, Lee Zeldin and Dan Lipinski. The group includes Democrats and Republicans. A Senate version is being introduced by Sens. Mark Kirk, Joe Manchin, and presidential candidate Marco Rubio; Kirk has been one of the most vociferous critics of the Obama administration's Iran policy.

"State-level sanctions, which were authorized under bipartisan legislation signed into law by President Obama in 2010 and target Iran's illicit non-nuclear activities, in no way contradict the agreement reached by the P5+1 earlier this year," Roskam said in a statement. "Nevertheless, we must take precautionary action to clarify Congress's legislative intent to ensure state pension funds and contracts are not used to fund terrorism and atrocities against the Iranian people."

Though opponents of the deal have tried several different tactics, the Obama administration has successfully fended off congressional opposition to the Iran deal. Opponents of the deal failed to amass enough support to block the deal when it came up for a vote on a resolution of disapproval earlier this fall. This new effort is being introduced as a resolution instead of binding legislation because "Since states already have legal authority under CISADA to impose sanctions against Iran, there is no need to enact a new law. However, in light [sic] any potential confusion caused by the JCPOA, there is a need to clarify the right of states to maintain these sanctions," according to a FAQ being released with the resolution.

A copy of the resolution, provided to BuzzFeed News in advance of its release:

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In an episode of "Biography" that originally aired in 1994, Donald Trump said that he had "more respect for a great homemaker as a wife" than for a woman who is "a good wife and a good businessperson."

The comment came during the documentary's section on Trump's second marriage, to Marla Maples, whom he would later divorce in 1999. The narrator noted that, to some, Trump's marriage to Maples seemed different than his business-like relationship with ex-wife Ivana Trump. "There's no doubt," the narrator said, "that Donald Trump would rather see his second wife stay at home with their new daughter, Tiffany."

"I have more respect for a great homemaker as a wife than I do as a wife who’s a good wife and a good businessperson," Trump said in the episode, which aired on A&E. "I have far more respect for a homemaker because in many respects I think it’s tougher. I think it’s a lot harder to beautifully bring up a family."

"Most women would agree with me," Trump said.

“He basically takes all incoming, from blogs or whatever else he checks, and just repeats it out, and his views on Syria have changed four times in the last month and a half. It’s not a serious candidacy.”

Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty Images

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said on Tuesday that Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump "doesn't have the intellectual curiosity" necessary to have a "serious foreign policy."

After Brian Kilmeade of Kilmeade and Friends played a clip of David Ignatius praising Bush for his foreign policy and for taking on Trump, Bush reacted by saying, "People are going to want to know who's going to sit behind the big desk, who has the ability to make tough decisions, who has the steady hand. And whether it's Hillary Clinton, who has a failed foreign policy, or Donald Trump, who's not a serious candidate as it relates to foreign policy – he doesn't have the intellectual curiosity."

"He basically takes all incoming, from blogs or whatever else he checks, and just repeats it out, and his views on Syria have changed four times in the last month and a half. It's not a serious candidacy," Bush said. "He's an effective politician, for sure, but he's not giving the people a sense that he could be commander in chief, and be president of the United States, as it relates to a serious foreign policy."

"So, I think as we get closer to the election," Bush said, "people are going to be more focused on who has the leadership skills to actually be president."

Here's the audio:

Kilmeade and Friends

Scott Olson / Getty Images

WASHINGTON — As Donald Trump continues to target Muslims in his speeches and comments, Muslim-oriented political groups are gearing up to make sure their response is heard loud and clear in the 2016 election cycle — one in which they say Muslims have faced unprecedented attacks from politicians.

In the days after the Paris attacks, Ben Carson compared screening Syrian refugees to keeping out "rabid dogs," and Trump has expressed support for a national Muslim registry, closing mosques, and greater surveillance of Muslim-Americans, and also insisted that thousands of Arab-Americans celebrated in New Jersey as the Twin Towers fell on 9/11.

Some top Republicans have rejected Trump’s rhetoric — Jeb Bush, for example, called Trump’s comments about closing mosques and registering Muslims “just wrong” — but the Republican National Committee and others have not yet stepped into denounce the comments, during an election cycle in which the RNC had once hoped to portray the party as more inclusive. That lack of a strong response has angered Muslim-Americans, along with other well-funded minority groups, and encouraged them to use the 2016 election to show the strength of their voting bloc.

“The silence is deafening,” said Robert McCaw, government affairs manager for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Although Trump and Carson don’t represent views of most Republican candidates, said Randa Fahmy Hudome — a Muslim-American political consultant who worked in the Bush administration — the Republican Party is hurting itself by not standing up for Muslim-Americans.

"My advice to my party would be: Reach out to the Muslim community and be more tolerant," she said. "Certainly, these [Muslim] groups, their work is going to be so much more stepped up because they are so much more motivated."

Several Muslim groups including the Council on American-Islamic Relations are now doubling down on their efforts to register and mobilize Muslim-Americans to vote, especially in places like Florida, Virginia, and Ohio — swing-states with large Muslim populations. The comments may ultimately serve as inspiration for turnout efforts and new advocacy — that would likely benefit Democrats. Pew Research estimates there are about 2.75 million Muslims in the country, and 70% of them are Democrats or lean Democratic. Most of the groups are 501c(3) nonprofits and haven’t been engaged in electoral politics, but given the comments in recent weeks, there’s now some discussion in the community of how to best use their resources to push back against the attacks.

"Now more than ever American Muslims realize the importance of civic engagement and having a voice in these conversations,” said Rabiah Ahmed of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, an advocacy group that works on civil rights and national security issues on behalf of Muslim-Americans. It’s another one of the groups — along with the American Muslim Alliance, Emerge USA, MPOWER Change, Universal Muslim Association of America and a dozen more — registering Muslim-Americans.

Even before the Paris attacks, Muslim-American leaders were growing increasingly concerned about repeated anti-Islamic comments on the campaign trail.

In September — around the time Carson said Muslims could not be president — dozens of groups partnered with mostly progressive civil rights, minority, and Christian organizations in sending a letter to the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee, urging the party committees to “categorically reject this type of bigotry and state on the record that it is incompatible with this country’s founding principles.” The groups that signed on to the letter include the American Civil Liberties Union, American Baptist Churches USA, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, Human Rights Campaign, NAACP, Islamic Networks Group, Muslim Advocates, The Sikh Coalition and United Church of Christ.

“This rhetoric is not just ugly, but it is also dangerous, for our country’s future as it almost always is followed by an uptick in hate crimes and violence,” they wrote in a letter dated Sept. 29 that was obtained by BuzzFeed News. "We also see these statements as a harbinger of what may be increasing attacks on communities based on faith, ethnicity or race in order to achieve political gain.”

A week later, the groups received a response from DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, ensuring them that Democrats were “deeply committed to the values of diversity and inclusion.” RNC Chairman Reince Priebus has yet to respond, even as the comments from presidential candidates from his own party have become more frequent.

The RNC also did not respond to requests for comment on why Priebus had not written back to the groups.

The larger political effort may take time, however. In the early 2000s, after the Sept. 11 attacks, Muslim-Americans formed a few political action committees that made some contributions to campaigns. But those were terminated over the years, as the community started focusing more on fighting racial profiling and hate crimes through nonprofits.

The bulk of the work will likely carry on in 2016 through nonprofits as well, with many launching social media campaigns over ads to more effectively get out their message. After Trump said he supported registering Muslim, for example, Muslim-Americans created “#Muslim ID” on Twitter that went viral. They tweeted pictures of their workplace and student IDs — from hospitals, law firms, to Ivy League schools and the military.

But Trump’s support for national Muslim registry has also elicited a strong response from some Jewish groups. The Anti-Defamation League condemned his comments, for instance.

“For the Jewish community, it touches a raw nerve,” said Hadar Susskind, director of the Bend the Arc Jewish Action.

Bend the Arc was one of the groups that signed on to the letter. It’s funded in part by Alex Soros, son of major Democratic donor and billionaire George Soros. The group has been airing an ad criticizing the rhetoric on immigration from presidential candidates.

Rabiah Ahmed of the Muslim Public Affairs Council delivers Ben Carson an invitation to the group's forum.

courtesy of Rabiah Ahmed/MPAC

Muslim groups say they’ve also made an effort to directly reach out to campaigns, but they’ve been largely ignored by the GOP contenders.

Ahmed’s group, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, invited all presidential candidates to its Nov. 10 public policy forum in Washington, D.C. Ahmed said she personally hand-delivered an invitation to Carson while he was in D.C. for an event. Ultimately, none of the candidates attended.

“For some of the Republican candidates,” Ahmed said of why she thinks the outreach isn’t working, “we suspect that their anti-Muslim rhetoric is working in their favor.”

Marla Maples donated to a pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC last year.

(AP Photo/Steve Freeman)

Marla Maples, who was married to Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump for a period of time in the 90s, donated three installments of $20.16 to a pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC late last year, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Maples, who is described on her donations to the now defunct Ready For Hillary as an "actor, TV & radio host, and humanitarian," made the donations in October, November, and December of 2014 (before Trump announced his own bid).

An email to Maples asking if she still supported Clinton's candidacy was not immediately returned. Maples' only daughter with Trump, Tiffany, supports her father's candidacy.

Maples, Trump's second wife, has been mostly silent on her ex-husband's presidential bid, but shared a tweet in September in which she wrote that she was "proud" of Trump and attached a link with a screenshot of Trump talking about vaccines and autism during a Republican debate.

Records also show that Maples previously donated $2,000 to Clinton's failed 2008 presidential campaign.

The New York Post's Page Six, reported in 2007 that Maples was actively supporting Clinton's candidacy, sending a mass email to friend's "gushing" over Clinton.

"I really have enjoyed the time I have spent with Hillary," Maples wrote according to the Post. She is very clear, very focused, and I feel we will at last have a voice and be received with a welcoming and open ear."

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“You could’ve at least let Rosa sit at the front of the logo.”

Tuesday marks 60 years since Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat for a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama — a potent symbol of defiance and a landmark moment in the struggle for civil rights.

Gene Herrick / AP

To mark the day, her campaign also changed the Clinton "H" logo to include an image of Parks.

Twitter: @HillaryClinton

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“The biggest problem with the intelligence community now is it has been demoralized by a president and certain members of Congress like Senator Paul and Senator Cruz who have worked against the intelligence community to make us less safe.”

Darren Mccollester / Getty Images

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In a local New Hampshire radio interview on Monday, Republican presidential candidate and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said his opponents Sens. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz have "worked against the intelligence community to make us less safe."

"The intelligence community has the opportunity to be just as strong if not stronger than it ever was, but it needs leadership," Christie said. "And the biggest problem with the intelligence community now is it has been demoralized by a president and certain members of Congress like Senator Paul and Senator Cruz who have worked against the intelligence community to make us less safe."

Cruz supported the USA Freedom Act, which ended the NSA practice of bulk data collection on Americans. Paul has said the bill didn't go far enough in curtailing U.S. surveillance programs.

"So first they need a president who is going to give them the tools they need and support them," said Christie. "And we haven't had that with this president and we haven't had this with certain members of Congress either. And so it can get much better than it is now."

Christie noted intelligence community efforts under President George W. Bush in preventing attacks from occurring in the years after Sept. 11, 2001.

"And lets remember something, in the seven years after 9/11, during the Bush administration, we had no attacks on American soil after 9/11," Christie said. "And a large contributor to that success, was the intelligence community because it was empowered and supported by a strong president of the United States, who knew exactly what do to prevent terrorist attacks on the homeland, which has got to be the first priority that an American president is to protect the safety and security of the American people."

Eric Bolling says there were reports Muslims had prior knowledge of 9/11. And that I’m a “juvenile hack” for calling him on it.

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Fox News host Eric Bolling made the startling claim on Tuesday that there were reports of Muslims in New Jersey being given advance notice of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks so they could watch the attacks from their rooftops.

The claim is a new spin on Donald Trump's — false — insistence that New Jersey Muslims celebrated the attacks.

"I remember specifically the news reports about Jersey City. They said people were on the roofs watching the planes fly in. They were tipped off prior to the thing," Bolling said. "And this was a narrative that was going on. I remember video. I don't remember if it was Pakistan or Paterson."

Bolling, a former commodities trader, said it is ultimately inconsequential whether "thousands" of American Muslims cheered the attacks or whether "a handful" did.

"There were claims that his group, his whole mosque, was cheering the planes actually, finally, doing what he tried to do in 1993. Whether or not it was a thousand, thousands, a few hundred, a handful. Who cares, there were Muslims," he added before being cut off to cries of "I care" from his co-hosts.

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First came Marc Anthony, now Ricky Martin.

Hillary Clinton is once again securing the endorsement of a Puerto Rican artist to coincide with a Florida organizing event aimed at the Latino community, this time in Orlando, targeting the rapidly growing Puerto Rican presence in the state.

While Anthony pulled Clinton up on stage during a Miami concert, "The Cup of Life" singer is expected to announce his support on Facebook and Twitter ahead of the Wednesday event.

"Our community has been continuously attacked by Donald Trump and other Republican presidential candidates," Ricky Martin told BuzzFeed News. "A few months ago I raised my voice against Trump's hateful rhetoric and standing with me was Hillary Clinton. Time after time, Hillary has shown her commitment to the Latino community and that is why I'm proud to support her and to stand with her because ella está con nosotros y nuestras familias."

"He's not just an icon for Puerto Ricans and for Latinos, but for young Americans and millennials too," said Democratic strategist Maria Cardona, who supports Clinton. "He is seen as a heavyweight on issues like civil rights and LGBT issues and was one of the first ones to call out Donald Trump for his comments about Mexican immigrants."

Clinton has sought to position herself as the champion for Latinos, and Martin has repeatedly been critical of Trump stemming from his now infamous remarks about Mexican immigrants entering the country. He tweeted that Trump has a lot of hate and ignorance in his heart just days after the blustery businessman announced his campaign, pulled his charity golf tournament from Trump's golf club in Puerto Rico a week later and wrote a blistering op-ed for Univision in August.

Clinton's recently announced $275 billion infrastructure plan to build new roads, bridges, rail systems and airports is central to the event too, campaign officials said, because the plan would widely benefit the Latino community. One of the pillars of the plan is to expand affordable public transportation options for low-income communities and communities of color.

But with Puerto RIco in the midst of a financial and health care crisis, and facing deadlines to make payments to avoid default (Clinton called for bankruptcy protections to be extended), there is a clear urgency as well in speaking to an established and growing Puerto Rican community in central Florida, with deep ties to the island.

A Pew October Census analysis found that Florida's Puerto Rican population has more than doubled over the past 14 years — presenting a significant opportunity for Democrats. A July report found that the major growth among Puerto Rican voters in the state has been those registering as Democrats or with no party affiliation, while Republican growth has been far slower.

While Puerto Rico does hold primary delegates, candidates visit the island with an eye towards Puerto Ricans on the mainland. Clinton visited the island in September for a health care roundtable, arguing there is a “legacy of inconsistent, incoherent, and inequitable treatment in health care in Puerto Rico.”

There is also the issue of statehood for the island, which Clinton has said she would support if Puerto Ricans vote for it. In 2012, 61% of Puerto Ricans chose statehood in a nonbinding resolution.

This is a source of frustration for some Puerto Ricans who feel their issues are only raised during election season, and even then, not much is done. Phillip Arroyo, a Puerto Rican activist in Orlando, wrote on his Facebook page that he had been invited to speak at the event, but had declined.

"I have nothing against her — any Democrat, whether it's her or Bernie, would do a better job than any Republican," he told BuzzFeed News, noting that he had campaigned for Clinton in 2008. "But I'm tired of the timidness and silence to speak up and do what is right."

He said he wants to hear Clinton acknowledge that Puerto Rico’s status is colonial in nature and he wants her to call out companies that use the island as a tax haven, which he says is harmful to residents. He wants equality so that Puerto Ricans can take advantage of federal programs and have the right to vote, which Clinton said she supported in 2008, when she beat Obama with 68% of the vote in the island's primary.

Campaign officials maintained that equality was the thrust of Clinton's September event, with U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico facing unequal treatment in Medicaid and Medicare programs that "fail to meet human needs," burdening the local government and health care providers, and forcing many Puerto Ricans to move to the mainland to receive affordable care.

Kenneth McClintock, former lieutenant governor of Puerto Rico, has talked to Clinton's national political director Amanda Renteria about issues affecting the island, he said.

"We’ve given her our ideas as to how the campaign should develop with regards to Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico and in the rest of the nation," he said, adding that he reminded the campaign that more than 60% support statehood and that many would like to see another star added to the American flag. Unlike the liberal/conservative binary on the mainland, "Puerto Ricans associate politically with the status sentiment," he said.

Domestically, the Hispanic celebrity endorsement efforts, led by the campaign's Latino outreach director Lorella Praeli, are seen as a way to reach the increasingly young Latino community. And there is crossover — in the case of Martin the campaign sees him as someone who engages not just Latinos, but also the gay and progressive communities.

Clinton also uses events like these for long-range voter contact efforts. As was the case with Anthony and HUD Secretary Julian Castro, the campaign will once again use a high-profile voice to get Latinos signed up for their SMS texting program.

Martin will use his Facebook and Twitter pages to get Latinos to sign up for the program which already reaches tens of thousands of Hispanic voters and will figure into get out the vote plans for the primary and serve as a trial run for the general election, should Clinton win the nomination.

And if she does that, the shifting Latino demographics of Florida may be significant next fall. Democratic pollster Fernand Amandi said a simplified way of looking at the voting bloc is as one-third Puerto Rican, one-third Cuban, and one-third other Latino groups.

Cardona said Puerto Ricans vote at a much higher rate than other Latinos, especially those who have recently arrived from the island.

"The participatory voting rate of Puerto Ricans on the island is astronomical," she said. "They have a passion for issues that have to do with Puerto Rico and that doesn’t change when they come stateside."

The Clinton Campaign Wants To Win The Latino Vote One Text At A Time

“Well I have great respect for President Obama. I think that he sets the right tone, he’s an intelligent guy, it’s about time we have an intelligent guy in that office.”

Ty Wright / Getty Images

In an interview for CNBC's "I Am" series conducted in the months following the 2008 financial downturn, Donald Trump revealed he was a fan of sex, steak, pasta, cars, and, in a more extensive interview, President Obama's tone on the economy.

"Well I have great respect for President Obama," Trump said, according to a transcript still archived on the site. "I think that he sets the right tone, he's an intelligent guy, it's about time we have an intelligent guy in that office. He's an intelligent guy, you look at him, he knows."

The interview itself is not dated, but references in the interview to remarks made by then-Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that day date the interview to February 2009. Trump on several occasions praised President Obama for his handling of the 2008 economic crisis.

"The one problem we have is no matter how smart, there's a certain amount of trial and error. It's never been done before, it's never been attempted before," continued Trump. "What they're trying to do now is breaking new ground, so there's a lot of trial and error, and we'll see what happens. Honestly, it sounds good. People think it's good. You can go to me, you can go to great businessmen, they think it's good, or some think it's not good."

Trump said the banks should pay a penalty for their role in the run up to the financial crisis, but added that they couldn't be allowed to fail.

"I mean, there are a lot of people that say we should do nothing. I don't agree with that cause I think every bank would be out of business, there would be a run on every single bank from the best bank to the worst bank, so I think you have to at least do something with the banks to show up the banks," he stated. "But I also think the banks should pay a penalty what's happening, and at least the banks should be loaning out the money that they're taking in by the hundreds of billions from the government."

Trump again praised the president's tone on the direness of the financial crisis.

"Well sometimes you have to be blunt to really make the point, and in this case, I think the President's being very blunt," said Trump. "He's talking about catastrophe, he's talking about, he's using words, frankly, that haven't been used before in describing a situation, and he's right. Now, you could say he's overselling for a reason, or maybe that's just the way it is. I mean, we would have had a catastrophe if certain things didn't take place six or seven months ago, we would have had an absolute financial panic, we almost had it anyway. And everybody that's really knowledgeable about Wall Street, they said there was panic in the air, so I think he's doing right overselling as opposed to underselling the problem."

In a series of rapid fire questions, Trump revealed what he does for fun and his favorite foods:

What is your favorite food?
Steak. Pasta.

What is your idea of fun?
Sex.

LINK: Read the rest of the interview here

“This is typical left-wing tactics. Demonize the messenger because you can’t handle the message.”

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Responding to criticism from the left that rhetoric from some Republicans on Planned Parenthood is partly to blame for last week's shooting in Colorado, Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina said on Wednesday that she doesn't recall "the left-wing being concerned about tone" when the heated rhetoric was coming from protestors or President Obama.

"I don't recall President Obama or anyone in the left wing being concerned about tone, when President Obama compares Republicans who don't like his Iranian deal to the hardline mullahs shouting 'Death to America,'" Fiorina said on the radio show New Hampshire Today. "I don't recall the left-wing being concerned about tone when President Obama from the Philippines says that those of us who say that his Syrian refugee policy is ill-advised are giving terrorists a recruitment tool. And I don't recall anyone on the left-wing being concerned about tone when you have protestors in cities shouting, 'Fry the pigs like bacon.' This is typical left-wing tactics. Demonize the messenger because you can't handle the message."

In the interview, Fiorina stood by her criticisms of Planned Parenthood and pointed to the organization's decision to stop taking reimbursements for fetal tissue donation as an admission of guilt.

"The facts are clear. Planned Parenthood, just a few weeks ago said that they would no longer take compensation for the sale of what they called fetal tissue. If that's not an admission, I don't know what is," Fiorina said. "And by the way, Planned Parenthood, as a taxpayer-funded organization, is a political operation. They give millions of dollars every election cycle to pro-abortion candidates. Why should taxpayers be funding that?"

In the interview, Fiorina also said while answering a question about recent endorsements of New Jersey Gov. and fellow GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie that Christie's "words sound great," but that "people oughta take a good, hard look" at his record.

"Well, look, Chris Christie's a good man," she said. "But he's a governor. Good for him. But I think his words do not match his record."

WASHINGTON — Republican front-runner Donald Trump appeared on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' show on Wednesday in a lengthy display of mutual appreciation.

Appearing on a blurry video connection, Trump talked to Jones about Trump's false claims about Muslims in New Jersey cheering 9/11, Hillary Clinton, and Trump's book, among other topics.

Jones told Trump he had been "vindicated" in his claims.

"I know it happened and I held my line and people wanted me to apologize and I can't do that," Trump told Jones. "People like you and I, we can't do that so easily."

Discussing Clinton with Jones, Trump said he didn't think she should be allowed to run for president because "she's so corrupt."

At one point, Jones trepidatiously brought up the fact that Trump has had contact with the Clintons, though he assured Trump that he doesn't believe Trump is some kind of stalking horse for the Clintons.

"There are certain pundits out there saying you've played golf with Bill Clinton," Jones said. "Promise us that you're not gonna drop out at the key moment, keeping all the other Republicans out of view, and then Hillary races to the head or Jeb Bush does, because as you know folks are claiming you're a Clinton operative."

Going on Infowars is an unusual move for a frontrunner. Though fringier candidates like Ron Paul have gone on the show (and his son Rand did so shortly after winning his Senate seat in Kentucky), Jones' conspiracy theories are simply too out there for mainstream candidates to risk being associated with. Jones believes 9/11 was an inside job, and that the Sandy Hook shooting and Boston Marathon bombing were false flags, among other theories. But on Wednesday, Trump showed absolutely no compunctions about doing the show and heaped praise upon Jones at certain points.

Aside from the line of question on Trump being a Clinton operative, Jones made it clear that he's a fan of Trump's, and said that his 13-year-old son had gotten him to become an even bigger fan.

"I get it," Jones told Trump at one point during the interview. "You are a true maverick." Jones said he estimates that 90 percent of his audience are Trump supporters — an estimate, by the way, that is key to understanding why Trump would do this interview in the first place.

Trump reciprocated.

"Your reputation's amazing," Trump said. "I will not let you down."

In the interview, Trump praised former adviser and longtime GOP political operative Roger Stone, calling him "so loyal and so wonderful." Trump said Stone had been the one who wanted him to do this interview, prompting speculation that Stone might be back on Trump's team. Stone left the Trump campaign in August; he said at the time that he left of his own volition, while the Trump team maintained he had been fired.

Reached by phone, Stone told BuzzFeed News he still "has no formal or informal role with his campaign" but said he remains a strong supporter of Trump's and talks to him from time to time.

Stone confirmed that he had recommended Trump to do the show.

"I recommended it most definitely, because I was in Texas on my own book tour, I was on the Alex Jones show and I thought it went very well, he was very sympathetic to Trump, I recommended a Trump interview with him, end of story," he said.

A spokesperson for Trump didn't respond to an inquiry about what Trump thinks of Jones' advocacy for conspiracy theories such as 9/11 truth.

Donald Trump is citing a 2001 story from a New York CBS affiliate to back up his claim that “thousands and thousands” of Muslims in New Jersey celebrated the 9/11 attacks. Nope, says Guzmán.

Timothy A. Clary / AFP / Getty Images

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump's campaign continues to defend his claim that "thousands and thousands" of Muslims in New Jersey celebrated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but the journalist who reported the story that the Trump campaign cites as evidence says Trump got it wrong.

On Tuesday night, Trump's campaign seized on a 2001 report by a local New Jersey CBS affiliate on allegations of eight people celebrating the attack on a Jersey City rooftop.

"There's another apartment building (in Jersey City), one that an investigator told me, quote 'is swarming with suspects,'" local CBS reporter Pablo Guzmán reported at the time. "Suspects whom I'm told were cheering on the roof when they saw the planes slam into the Trade Center."

"Now police were called to the building by other neighbors and found eight men celebrating — six of them tenants in the building," Guzmán continued. "The FBI and other terrorist task force agencies that arrived and the older investigators on the task force recall that they had been to this building before eight years ago, when the first World Trade Center attack led them to Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, whose Jersey City mosques lies between the two buildings getting attention today."

Here's a video of the report:

youtube.com

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“Oh yeah, I I saw the footage, I think it was just yesterday, or two days ago,” said Palin. “Yeah. And um, again, if that was mocking an individual, if that’s accurate, then, no, you don’t — I — it’s terrible, its terrible.”

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

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Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said if Republican frontrunner Donald Trump had mocked a New York Times reporter with a disability it would be "bad" and "terrible."

Palin stressed, however, on Wednesday she wasn't sure of all the facts of the situation.

"Um, I don't know entirely the context," Palin said on SiriusXM radio. "I mean, if for sure there was mocking of one individual who does have, or any [unclear] individual who has a special need. Um, that's bad, obviously. I've seen others do that. You know we saw the president mocking — while he was sitting as president — mocking those who participate in the Special Olympics."

"And I mean, that's, that's like a gut punch when you hear that kind of thing," she continued. "I don't like it. And, you know, everybody's gotta be a bit better than that."

Trump was slammed by the New York Times for mocking a Times reporter with a disability at a campaign rally. Trump then issued a statement saying he didn't even know who the reporter was. Serge Kovaleski, the reporter in question, who has arthrogryposis, told the Times he's met Trump numerous times and that he and The Donald were on a first-name basis for years.

Palin, again, reiterated she didn't known the context.

"Well again, I haven't known what the whole context is, you know," Palin added. "We've been uh — delved into and dived into — this book tour, so, you know, I haven't really turned on the new in the past couple of days. But again—"

"But respectfully, but respectfully, you've seen the footage, right," interjected radio host Michael Smerconish. Palin responded she had, and if Trump mocked an individual it would be "terrible."

"Oh yeah, I I saw the footage, I think it was just yesterday, or two days ago," said Palin. "Yeah. And um, again, if that was mocking an individual, if that's accurate, then, no, you don't — I — it's terrible, its terrible."

Still, Palin said, she wouldn't accept Trump had mocked the reporter without understanding the situation fully, saying she didn't trust everything he sees in the news.

"But um, again, I'm not gonna buy into the narrative without knowing all the facts that he purposefully was talking about, um, a New York Times reporter or editor who had the special needs — yeah, I won't buy into it until I know the facts, but I apply that to every issue. I'm not gonna just buy into what I'm seeing on TV because I don't trust everything that I see on TV and hear on the news."

Palin's young son, Trig, has Down syndrome.

“It’s one thing what’s happening on the streets – it’s a whole other thing keeping those videotapes, you know, private for fourteen months, or whatever it was, without action.”

Scott Olson / Getty Images

As questions swirl around Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's actions in the wake of the shooting death of 17 year old Laquan McDonald, Democratic Congressman Mike Capuano said on the radio Wednesday that it wouldn't have taken him 14 months to act if he had seen the video of the shooting.

Chicago officials released dash cam video last week showing the 2014 shooting of the black teenager at the hands of a white police officer after a judge ordered it to be made public. Emanuel asked for the Chicago police superintendent's resignation, and now some critics are calling on Emanuel himself to step down.

Asked about news that Emanuel had tapped former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to advise a task force investigating the practices of the Chicago PD, Capuano, a congressman from Massachusetts, said "it's hard" to comment "from a distance," but what he sees in the media "raises serious questions."

"It's one thing what's happening on the streets," Capuano told Boston Herald Radio. "It's a whole other thing keeping those videotapes, you know, private for 14 months, or whatever it was, without action."

"I'm a former mayor, and I will tell you: Had I seen a videotape like that, it wouldn't have taken me fourteen months to act," he continued. "And that doesn't mean you have to act the next day, but there is a time period to do your due diligence, to do your review, and then take action."

"Chicago's a major city, it's a great city in many ways," Capuano added. "They clearly have some problems, and they need to do something to clean it up."

"I hope Deval can help them," Capuano concluded, "but honestly, when it comes to those kind of things, when everything's said and done the people of Chicago are going to be the ones who have to make the final decision."

Here's the audio:

Boston Herald Radio

Democrats called for gun control on both days. Some Republicans were a little less forthcoming with responses to the Colorado shooting at a Planned Parenthood, but others have responded, gave statements, or commented on neither shooting.

The shooting in San Bernardino comes less than a week after a single shooter entered a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado, killed three, and wounded nine more.

That shooting, fraught with abortion- and gun-rights politics, led to quick responses from Democratic presidential candidates. But many Republican candidates stayed silent or were limited in their responses.

The response was somewhat different on Wednesday, when Republican candidates were quick to respond to news of the San Bernardino shooting as reports of it spilled out.

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“[W]e have reached an impasse and will now let the courts decide,” Texas official tells BuzzFeed News.

Erich Schlegel / Getty Images

Texas officials sued the Obama administration and a refugee resettlement nonprofit organization on Wednesday afternoon, two days before a Syrian refugee family is due to arrive in the state.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has asked U.S. District Court David C. Godbey to issue an immediate temporary order stopping the federal government from resettling refugees in Texas through December 9 and hold a hearing so Texas officials can make their case for a further order preventing resettlement of Syrian refugees until certain conditions are met.

"We have been working diligently with the International Rescue Committee to find a solution that ensures the safety and security for all Texans, but we have reached an impasse and will now let the courts decide," Texas Health and Human Services Commission spokesperson Bryan Black told BuzzFeed News in a statement.

The filing in federal court followed a series of behind-the-scenes moves over the past day regarding the potential resettlement of a Syrian refugee family of six in Texas, BuzzFeed News has learned.

"In a phone call between the staff for the [International Rescue] Committee and the [Texas Health and Human Services] Commission, the Committee informed the Commission that it intends to resettle six Syrian refugees in Dallas, Texas on Friday, December 4."

A day earlier, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, a national resettlement organization, in consultation with Refugee Services of Texas, had initially made the decision that resettling a family of six Syrian refugees in Texas would not be in their best interests due to Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas HHS Commission officials' statements opposing the resettlement of additional Syrian refugees in the state in the wake of the November terror attacks in Paris.

Chris Traylor, the executive commissioner of the Texas HHS Commission, told resettlement organizations in letters: "If you have any active plans to resettle Syrian refugees in Texas, please discontinue those plans immediately."

In a letter dated Nov. 25, Traylor went further with Donna Duvin, the executive director of the Texas branch of IRC, writing, "Failure by your organization to cooperate with the State of Texas as required by federal law may result in the termination of your contract with the state and other legal action."

BuzzFeed News learned that the family of six was rescheduled to be resettled to Pennsylvania. On Tuesday night, however, an official with Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service told BuzzFeed News that they intended to go through resettling the family in Texas.

While Refugee Services of Texas nonetheless told BuzzFeed News on Wednesday that they had no planned Syrian refugee resettlements "booked for arrival to Texas at this time," statements in Texas's complaint suggest that International Rescue Committee either took over the local plans to resettle the family in Texas or has another six-person resettlement scheduled for the same time frame.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement, "While Texans are compassionate to our core, and take in more refugees than any other state, significant security concerns have been raised about President Obama's plans to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees this fiscal year, nationwide."

Saying that those concerns "put[] all Texans at risk," Paxton said, "Under the law, the federal government has a responsibility to consult with states in advance when relocating refugees, and has not fulfilled that burden here. The point of this lawsuit is not about specific refugees, it is about protecting Texans by ensuring that the federal government fulfills its obligation to properly vet the refugees and cooperate and consult with the state."

Godbey, who will hear the case, was nominated to the federal bench in 2002 by President George W. Bush.

In a statement responding to the lawsuit, the International Rescue Committee, noting it has worked with Texas officials for forty years resettling refugees, said "the IRC acts within the spirit and letter of the law, and we are hopeful that this matter is resolved soon."

"Refugees are victims of terror, not terrorists, and the families we help have always been welcomed by the people of Texas," the statement read.

The State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Abbott is one of 31 governors who said they would stop or otherwise oppose the resettlement of Syrian refugees in their states after the terrorist attacks in Paris. In November, a family was diverted from Indiana to Connecticut after Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said his state would not accept Syrian refugees.

The ACLU, representing a resettlement agency in the state, followed up by suing Pence, alleging the move violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution and federal law.

Read the lawsuit:

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“Obviously it’s a very unique and unusual presidential election cycle. We’ve never had one like this so no one can accurately predict it,” he said, noting, he was focused on his message.

Scott Olson / Getty Images

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio says the uniqueness of this presidential election, with real estate mogul Donald Trump leading the Republican field, makes it impossible to know when or if Trump's rise will subside.

"I don't know, I'm not a political analyst, I can only tell you I'm candidate, and I go out everyday and I visit, like I am here today in New Hampshire and tell people who I am and what I'll do if they give me their vote and I'm elected president," Rubio said on Concord News Radio this week, when asked how Trump's success would end.

"And I'm confident if we continue to do that in a consistent and steady way it will continue to mean more progress in our campaign and I'm confident about where that ends up in February," he added. "I don't know when or how that's going in terms of the timing but I feel very comfortable with the way we're running our race and our message."

Still, Rubio said, the oddness of race made it impossible to predict.

"Obviously it's a very unique and unusual presidential election cycle. We've never had one like this so no one can accurately predict it," he said, noting, he was focused on his message.

Take a listen:

w.soundcloud.com

The Republican presidential candidate says that President Obama and Hillary Clinton think SUVs are a greater security threat than ISIS.

Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Images

w.soundcloud.com

Ted Cruz said on Wednesday that President Obama and Hillary Clinton's stance on climate climate as a national security threat is "nutty, fruitcake stuff."

The Texas senator made the comment while objecting to Obama's characterization of the climate conference in Paris as a "powerful rebuke to the terrorists."

"What nonsense. I mean, President Obama and Hillary Clinton believe that the SUV in your driveway is a greater threat to our safety and security than are radical Islamic terrorists who are crucifying Christians and beheading children and pledging to wage jihad on the United States of America," he said, repeating an attack line he has used before.

"I mean, that's nutty, fruitcake stuff," he added.

“It has become incredibly clear that he feels that America’s strength over the past 200 years, especially over the past 100 years, has caused us to be brutish.”

Darren Hauck / Reuters

Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Wednesday that President Obama "can't understand" the "extraordinary things" accomplished by the U.S., such as liberating concentration camps during World War II and creating lifesaving technology.

In response to a comment about Obama's inability to grasp the concept of "peace through strength," Huckabee told Dan Celia of Financial Issues in a radio interview that Obama "believes American strength is really a liability, rather than an asset."

"It has become incredibly clear that he feels that America's strength over the past 200 years, especially over the past 100 years, has caused us to be brutish," Huckabee said.

"What he can't understand is that we were the ones who helped liberate the death camps of Auschwitz and Dachau, we were the ones who ended World War II," Huckabee said. "And stopped what would have been millions and millions more dying and being slaughtered."

Huckabee said American innovations have helped fight cancer and heart disease, and eliminate polio and smallpox.

Huckabee went on to say that Obama's "worldview" differs form every president in U.S history.

"Somehow he doesn't appreciate the extraordinary things that we have achieved. He only believes that maybe we went to places where we shouldn't have gone, and we intervened militarily and we shouldn't have," Huckabee said. "I'm not sure what his worldview is, but it certainly is different than any American president, Democrat or Republican that we've ever seen, ever."

Here's the interview:

youtube.com