PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Portland Police Bureau said Wednesday they have made the decision to re-open the case of sex abuse allegations against former Vice President Al Gore. The massage therapist who accused former Gore of sexual assault at a Portland hotel is going public -- and Gore denied the allegations Wednesday.
"Consistent with our policy regarding open investigations, the Police Bureau will not be commenting on any additional specifics regarding this case at this time," a statement read Wednesday. Molly Hagerty, 54, makes new claims about her encounter with Gore in the latest issue of the National Enquirer.She says she has evidence of the attack, including DNA from a pair of pants she was wearing that night four years ago.
Don't worry, Team Obama has been on it from day one...
Jefferson Parish Councilman John Young lashed out at the federal response to the Gulf oil disaster...Listen to this long list of obstruction from the Federal Government he gives in this interview
Coming out of the dentist office, David DeVore decided he would take out his flip phone and record his son. He uploaded the 1:59 video on YouTube, that decision ended up making him 150 thousand dollars...
Young 7-year old David DeVore just came out of dental surgery and was sitting in the backseat of his father's car.
The existential question was one of many posed by David in a state of delirium, and his father happened to be recording it all on a Flip camera.
Today, the DeVores are asking themselves that same question after raking in close to $150,000 since January 30, 2009 – when young David's father, also named David, uploaded the video of his son onto YouTube.
"I'd say about $100,000 of that (is from YouTube)," the elder David DeVore tells us over the phone. "The rest is licensing and merchandise."
Former oil clean-up worker Candi Warren says she signed up to make a difference, but soon found out the work of cleaning the beaches was all cosmetic. That’s what she was told, she says.
Warren says she knew that when crews worked during the day, the tide and surf buried oil overnight. But they were forbidden to dig it up. She quit in disgust three weeks ago despite the $18 per hour pay.
She said she was told to only clean the surface of the sand, that this is all cosmetic. She was on a crew at Gulf State Park where tourists go. She says it has priority so as to make it look like the beaches are clean.
Warren says she believes money is being wasted on the crews and says “At some point the real clean-up will have to begin, but I’m afraid the money will be gone.” She used a shovel and dug down six, eight, maybe twelve inches into the sand to show us the layers of oil close to the shoreline
"They're the ones who are out of touch with what the American people expect of Washington," he said of the administration. "The American people want us to deal with the economy and jobs. And what have they dealt with? They've dealt with health care. They've dealt with cap and trade. And then they've gone overboard with financial regulatory bill. Growing the size of government, taking more from the American people at a time when Americans want them to focus in on the economy.
Boehner said his reference to an ant "was not a judgment of the financial crisis. It was how to fix it"
Obama wasn't done, after going after future Speaker of the House John Boehner, he then went after Republican Joe Barton:
Fox News talks exclusively to the DOJ attorney who quit: "It was the easiest case I've ever had at the Justice Dept...If this doesn't constitute voter intimidation nothing will"...(FULL INTERVIEW) Adams says "We were ordered to dismiss the case"
Story behind the voter intimidation case
J. Christian Adams left his job at the Department of Justice and says a top DOJ official made false statements under oath about why the case was dropped
The U.S. Senate race in Kentucky is little changed from earlier this month, with Republican Rand Paul continuing to hold a modest lead over Democrat Jack Conway.
The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows Paul picking up 49% support to Conway’s 42%. Three percent (3%) would vote for some other candidate and six percent (6%) more are undecided.
Support for both nominees is virtually identical to results found earlier this month. Just after Paul’s big primary win in May, he bounced to a short-lived 25-point lead over Conway
It is truly extraordinary that Democrats this week, after abdicating their responsibility to create a federal budget through the ordinary process of committee drafting and floor consideration, now expect the American people to accept some effort to ‘deem’ a budget.
House Republicans advice to the American people is that when it comes to a Democrat budget, don’t blink. The reality is that you can’t deem a federal budget that you never passed. For the first time in the history of this institution, since the Budget Act, Democrats will actually ‘deem’ a budget that never went through the ordinary process of choosing and deciding on the priorities of the American people.
“Republicans are committed to demanding leadership from this Congress that will get this economy moving again and get spending under control and we’ll be taking that case against this fraud of their so-called ‘deemed’ budget resolution to the American people this week
*13 If the election for US Senator were held today, would you vote for Republican candidate Carly Fiorina or Democratic candidate Barbara Boxer
MEG WHITMAN/JERRY BROWN
*15 If the election for Governor of California were today, would you vote for Republican candidate Meg Whitmanor Democratic candidate Jerry Brown
CALIFORNIA RIGHT TRACK WRONG TRACK...horrible numbers.. * Generally speaking, would you say things in California are heading in the right direction, or are they off on the wrong track
"If he doesn't have the media in his camp this fall and certainly in 2012, he doesn't win reelection"...What he has is an open revolt brewing in the media
Bozell:"Let me put it to you this way Stuart, he would not the President of the United States if it were not for the press, the press gave him his victory, his victory margin...What you saw in the media's coverage in 2008 and we documented it from beginning to end was that they refused to cover anything that was detrimental to his campaign message, they were his spokesman, they were his mouthpieces to America, they were his paid PR staff, if he doesn't have that he loses the most powerful element that he has...To not have that, I don't think he can win"....
Funny how V.P. Biden has plenty of time to fly to Wisconsin for a fundraiser for Russ Feingold, go to the World Cup and watch soccer, come back and play golf with Obama, but he can't seem to find the time to listen to these Parish Presidents who are facing an absolute crisis in Louisiana..
Biden "walked in, took a picture and was on his way"
Nungesser: "I thought we were gonna sit down and have a meeting... I wanted to show him my 5 point plan why the berms were important, why we have to have a long term plan... I said listen, tell the President it's not too late, but if we don't make some serious changes and a sense of urgency does not take hold here we will lose ths war and it will be his fault"
"It's a pretty successful first term and it's only half over"
Maher on Larry King Live says it's his job to push Obama more to the left
Maher: "It's looks tough for Obama right now but...He probably did stave off a depression, when he came into office the economy was heading right over a cliff, he'll make that case, he got health care which no President has been able to accomplish and all have tried in the last 60 years, he got a this financial reform package, it's not perfect but none of this is perfect but politics is the art of the possible. Look, I climb up on his ass everytime I can because that's my job to keep him honest and push him more to the left"
Even as the oil continues to gush from the sea floor, and the networks shuttle their anchors to points along the Gulf coast, NBC Nightly News, ABC World News and the CBS Evening News continue to lose viewers. All three broadcasts were down in Q2 2010 compared to the same period last year.
In numbers released today, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams lost -440,000 viewers (-140k in A25-54 demo) compared to Q2 2009. ABC's World News with Diane Sawyer lost -260,000 viewers (-80k demo), Charlie Gibson was anchor in 2009. The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric lost the most, based on a percentage, losing -340,000 viewers (30k demo) compared to Q2 2009. ABC and CBS were also down when Q2 2008 is compared to Q2 2009.
I think Governor Jindal is tired of the Federal Government's obstruction... Via Bobby Jindal's Twitter
FROM AP: On Day 71, US ACCEPTS INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR GULF SPILL
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States is accepting help from 12 countries and international organizations in dealing with the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico The State Department said in a statement Tuesday that the U.S. is working out the particulars of the help that's been accepted.
The identities of all 12 countries and international organizations were not immediately announced. One country was cited in the State Department statement -- Japan, which is providing two high-speed skimmers and fire containment boom.
More than 30 countries and international organizations have offered to help with the spill. The State Department hasn't indicated why some offers have been accepted and others have not
"Before I start the show tonight, I want to share some personal news with you. 25 years ago, I sat across this table from New York Governor Mario Cuomo for the first broadcast of Larry King Live.
Now, decades later, I talked to the guys here at CNN and I told them I would like to end Larry King Live, the nightly show, this fall and CNN has graciously accepted, giving me more time for my wife and I to get to the kids’ little league games.
I’ll still be a part of the CNN family, hosting several Larry King specials on major national and international subjects.
I’m incredibly proud that we recently made the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest running show with the same host in the same time slot. With this chapter closing I’m looking forward to the future and what my next chapter will bring, but for now it’s time to hang up my nightly suspenders."
Clinton backs Romanoff, Obama backs Bennet in Colorado I think there are a lot of differences below the surface between these two, just yesterday, Clinton was saying (about the Gulf oil spill) that we should plug the hole and assign blame later...(Video below)
In a break with his party’s leaders, former President Bill Clinton has endorsed a former Colorado legislator who is pursuing an uphill battle to unseat incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet in the Democratic primary.
Clinton on Tuesday sent out a fund-raising pitch endorsing Andrew Romanoff, the former speaker of the Colorado House.
President Barack Obama and other Democratic leaders have thrown their weight behind Bennet, a novice politician who was appointed to his seat last year and is running his first-ever election campaign.
But Clinton, in his email to Democratic voters, said he was siding with the challenger, calling Romanoff “one of the best legislative leaders in the United States” and praising him for working “harder than anyone in Colorado to put Democrats in positions of power” in the state legislature.
In public opinion surveys, both Democratic candidates trail the two contenders for the GOP nomination, prosecutor Ken Buck and former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton
Video of Bill Clinton from yesterday, this is a subtle shot on Obama's handling on the Gulf crisis
Hey John, I think everybody got the message the last time you used the informercial in a campaign ad, and didn't Hayworth apologize? BTW, the ad you will see here would never be run against a Democrat, they get the utmost respect from McCain...
This mocking goes on for a few minutes, you think he's done and he continues mocking saying "we'll go down there and you design the wall..We'll start a ladder company"...This is unbelievable
Senator Russ Feingold marginally leads both potential Republican nominees in the Wisconsin Senate election. In both races Feingold received 45% of the vote. Ron Johnson earned 43% of the vote and Dave Westlake, his challenger in the Republican primary, earned 38%.
Wisconsin voters have mixed feelings about Senator Feingold; 42% of Wisconsin voters disapprove of Feingold’s job, while 42% of voters support the Senator. Feingold has some strength amongst moderates, but not enough to secure a win; 54% of moderates give the Senator high marks.
Job approval...
Russ Feingold 45%, Ron Johnson 43% A rasmussenreports pollone week ago showed similiar numbers with Feingold only leading by one, 46% to 45%
"We have to stand up and pay attention to what's going on which is, our country is drowning, drowning in debt and we have to stop"
Cristie: "These are really good foundational steps we've taken to do this, when you think about closing that size of a budget deficit in a state like New Jersey which set 115 tax and fee increases over the last 8 years and to do it without any tax increase at all is a great accomplishment to everyone who participated"
"It's significantly better Joe, this is a 9% cut in spending year over year...It was across the board cutting in every single department, first time that's been done in New Jersey where every department was cut, all 22 departments"
This is the third ad from the DNC using video of Republican Joe Barton saying he 'I apologize,' and it's the second time they've used Mitt Romney recently
Morris on the numbers: "It's not just that he's losing support, he's losing intensity"
Morris: "Obama's percentage of the white vote was the same as John Kerry's, the only difference was within the white vote he got more young and fewer old. But the reason he won is exclusively among blacks and Latinos and he has to sustain that going into the election, that's why he suing over the Arizona immigration law, that's why he's talking about pardoning illegal immigrants, they're doing all that in a hurry up mode to try to get back the Latino vote"
Video from Fox News Greta, Brewer:"Disappointing to say the least"..."Certainly what we heard wasn't what we hoped to hear from them"..."Sad and unfortunate"
PHOENIX — The Texas and Arizona governors criticized the Obama administration's border security plans Monday, saying not enough National Guard troops are being deployed to their states.
"What we heard wasn't anything what we hoped to hear," Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer told reporters after a 90-minue briefing by federal officials sent by President Barack Obama.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican like Brewer, said the deployment to his state was "insufficient to meet the needs of securing the Texas-Mexico border."
A White House statement said plans to deploy 1,200 additional National Guard soldiers along the U.S.-Mexico border would "complement the unprecedented resources and additional efforts already devoted by this administration to securing the Southwest border."
Arizona would get 524 National Guard troops, Texas would get 250, California 224 and New Mexico 72, officials said. Another 130 would be at a national liaison office.
OFFICIALS IN ATTENDANCE: -John Brennan, Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor -Tom Atkin, Special Assistant to the President -Alan Bersin, Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection -John Morton, Assistant Secretary, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement -Brigadier General Brian Bishop, Joint Staff J5, Deputy Director, -Bruce Swartz, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, DOJ -John McShane, National Intelligence Officer for the Western Hemisphere -Jason Mayer, National Security Staff -Dennis Burke, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona
Press play on the video nra.org NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre discusses the Supreme Court's historic decision in McDonald v. City of Chicago. In another landmark victory for firearms owners, the Court ruled that the Second Amendment protects the rights of all Americans throughout the country.
Statement from LaPierre: "Today marks a great moment in American history. This is a landmark decision. It is a vindication for the great majority of American citizens who have always believed the Second Amendment was an individual right and freedom worth defending.
The Supreme Court said what a majority of the American public believes. The people who wrote the Second Amendment said it was an individual right, and the Court has now confirmed what our founding fathers wrote and intended. The Second Amendment -- as every citizen’s constitutional right -- is now a real part of American Constitutional law.
But, Supreme Court decisions have to lead to actual consequences or the whole premise of American constitutional authority collapses. Individual freedom must mean you can actually experience it. An incorporated freedom has to be a real freedom.
The intent of the founding fathers -- and the Supreme Court -- was to provide access. Words must have meaning.
The Supreme Court has now said the Second Amendment is an individual freedom for all. And that must have meaning. This decision must provide relief to law-abiding citizens who are deprived of their Second Amendment rights.
We are practical guys. We don’t want to win on philosophy and lose on freedom. The end question is, can law-abiding men and women go out and buy and own a firearm? Today the Supreme Court said yes – anywhere they live!"
The aim of the network was to infiltrate U.S. policy making circles. The spies were allegedly highly-trained in Russia before beginning secret lives inside the U.S
Federal agents arrested 10 people, including three in New York and two in New Jersey, accusing them of working undercover as secret agents for the Russian Federation in the United States, CBS 2 has learned.
The multi-year investigation by the FBI led to the major sweep Sunday when agents took the suspects into custody in Manhattan; Yonkers; Montclair, N.J.; Boston; and Arlington, Va.
The FBI said the aim of the network was to infiltrate U.S. policy making circles. The spies were allegedly highly-trained in Russia before beginning secret lives inside the U.S., and that the spies used laptops designed to communicate with each other inside their own private wireless network.
Under arrest in Manhattan was Anna Chapman. In Montclair, a couple known as "Richard Murphy" and "Cynthia Murphy" were taken into custody. And in Yonkers, Vicky Pelaez and a suspect identified as "Juan Lazaro" were taken into custody at their home.
The Justice Department said eight of the suspects carried out long-term, "deep-cover" assignments in the United States on behalf of the Russian Federation. Two others are accused of participating in the same Russian intelligence program within the United States
Marco Rubio on Fox News Cavuto with Stuart Varney, Rubio responds to a clip of Obama saying he's gonna call the bluff of Republicans on cutting spending
Florida Chamber of Commerce poll released last week had Crist at 42%, Rubio at 31%
Sessions opens up with some comments about Senator Byrd then starting at 1:34 lays into Kagans record for the remainder of the video..h/t to Jeff Sessions
**Update**Lindsey Graham takes a far different tone, he has some questions about her nomination but not before giving us a big long list of everybody that thinks she's qualified for the Supreme Court...At the very end of this video Graham tells Kagan "It's O.K. to disagree with us up here"
Vice President Joe Biden is in Kentucky and he spoke at GE's Appliance Park about the federal stimulus program.While Biden was speaking, CEO of Jim Campbell GE Applicances and Lighting CEO collapsed.
Campbell was sitting on risers to the right of the stage and as Biden was speaking, Campbell fell to the ground. The crowd gasped as Campbell fell to the ground.
Biden then called for doctors, which were in the building. Campbell was able to walk away with assistance after falling. WHAS11 News has learned that Campbell is being treated at an on-site clinic at GE
Robert C. Byrd Academic and Technology Center Robert C. Byrd addition to the lodge at Oglebay Park, Wheeling Byrd Aerospace Technology Center Robert C. Byrd Bridge between Huntington and Chesapeake, Ohio Robert C. Byrd Cancer Research Center Robert C. Byrd Clinical Addition to the veteran’s hospital in Huntington Robert C. Byrd Community Center, Pine Grove Robert C. Byrd Community Center in the naval station, Sugar Grove Robert C. Byrd Drive, from Beckley to Sophia (Byrd’s hometown) Robert C. Byrd Expressway, U.S. 22 near Weirton Robert C. Byrd Building Robert C. Byrd Federal Courthouse Robert C. Byrd Freeway Robert C. Byrd Hardwood Technologies Center, near Princeton Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center of West Virginia Robert C. Byrd High school in Bridgeport Robert C. Byrd Highway Robert C. Byrd Hilltop Office Complex, Mineral County Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarships Robert C. Byrd Industrial Park, Hardy County Robert C. Byrd Institute in Charleston Robert C. Byrd Library and Robert C. Byrd Learning Resource Center Robert C. Byrd Locks and Dam Robert C. Byrd National Technology Transfer Center Robert C. Byrd Rural Health Center Robert C. Byrd Technology Center at Alderson-Broaddus College Robert C. Byrd United Technical Center Robert C. Byrd Visitor Center at Harpers Ferry National Historic Park
State Representative Nikki Haley is now officially the Republican nominee for governor of South Carolina, and with the formal kickoff of the general election race, she holds a double-digit lead over Democrat Vincent Sheheen.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in South Carolina shows Haley, the winner of a GOP Primary runoff last Tuesday, with 52% support. Sheheen, a state senator, earns 40% of the vote. Three percent (3%) like some other candidate in the race, and five percent (5%) are still undecided
Bret Baier: With Byrd's passing and Senator Scott Brown leaning no, Harry Reid would not have 60 votes needed to move financial regulation reform forward
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court held Monday that the Constitution's Second Amendment restrains government's ability to significantly limit "the right to keep and bear arms," advancing a recent trend by the John Roberts-led bench to embrace gun rights.
By a narrow, 5-4 vote, the justices signaled, however, that less severe restrictions could survive legal challenges.
Writing for the court in a case involving restrictive laws in Chicago and one of its suburbs, Justice Samuel Alito said that the Second Amendment right "applies equally to the federal government and the states."
The court was split along familiar ideological lines, with five conservative-moderate justices in favor of gun rights and four liberals opposed. Chief Justice Roberts voted with the majority.
Two years ago, the court declared that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess guns, at least for purposes of self-defense in the home.
Justices voting in the majority: Samuel Alito, John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas
Dissenting Justices: Stephen Breyer, John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and oh, and what a big shock--Sonia Sotomayor
Democratic Representative Raul Grijalva supports the boycott of his own state of Arizona
Approximately 200 people turned out in protest of Congressman Raul Grijalva demands of boycotts of Arizona business at his Tucson office located at 810 E 22nd Street.
In an interview with MSNBC Grijalva said, “I think Arizona deserves, da –um-ah national organizations, conventions, ah, superbowls, they need to not be part of doing business with Arizona.”
His constituents in Congressional District 7 took offense that the representative for Arizona is destroying the business climate of his own district. Tony Fairless of Tucson said ‘He is a traitor for boycotting his own state.”
This is no different than watching stand-up comedy, that man who tripled the deficit in his first year in office is talking about the steps they are taking for defict reduction
Obama: "For some reason people keep being surprised when I do what I said I was going to do. So, I say I’m going to reform our HCR, and people say well gosh that’s not smart politics maybe we should hold off. Or I say we’re going to move forward on DADT and somehow people say well why are you doing that, I’m not sure that’s good politics.
I’m doing it because I said I was going to do it, and I think it’s the right thing to do. And people should learn that lesson about me, because next year when I start presenting some very difficult choices to the country I hope some of these folks who are hollering about deficit and debt step up cause I’m calling their bluff"
Deficit projections for the next 10 years, $533 Billion is the low end of the projection....
CHICAGO (CBS) First it was President Barack Obama, then White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, now U.S. Senate Candidate Alexi Giannoulias is joining the Rod Blagojevich corruption trial subpoena list.
Giannoulias is in the middle of a hard fought campaign against Congressman Mark Kirk for the right to fill the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Obama.
So there's no doubt that being dragged into the Blagojevich trial is not welcome news for the Democratic candidate's campaign.
The first term state treasurer was walking in Sunday's Gay Pride Parade when CBS 2 caught up with him. When asked what he'll be testifying about, Giannoulias said he probably won't be testifying. Why not?
"They subpoenaed any and everybody to try and get everyone involved from the president down to the dog catcher, so I think this shouldn't be surprising," Giannoulias said. Giannoulias went on to say he has minimal involvement in the case and "everyone knows it"
Fox News: "A massive oil slick...A government official telling me that it is 32 miles long and several miles wide...A massive stain of thick crude that stretches in several directions with long fingers of oil both on the surface and below the surface as well"
Rick Leventhal: It's expected to his Grande Isle and the Louisiana Coast in the next 24-48 hours, the slick is 20 miles from the coast
Panetta: “I think the estimate on the number of Al Qaeda is actually relatively small, at most, we’re looking at 50 to 100, maybe less"...What evidence does Leon Panetta have to make a statement like this?
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WSAZ) -- U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd has been admitted to a Washington area hospital and his doctors have described his condition as "seriously ill," according to his office.
Byrd, D-W.Va., was admitted to the hospital late last week after suffering from what appeared to be heat exhaustion and severe dehydration. According to a spokesperson for Byrd, he was not expected to be in the hospital for more than a few days.
Now, Byrd's office says other serious conditions have developed, and doctors have described his condition as "serious."
Byrd holds the record as the longest-serving member of Congress. He is 92-years-old
Obama and Cameron at the G-20 President Barack Obama holds a bottle of 312 beer from Chicago as he and British Prime Minister David Cameron exchange beers during a bilteral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Toronto, Saturday, June 26, 2010 (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, holds a bottle of 312 beer from Chicago, given to him by U.S. President Barack Obama
Here's the photoI like, look at P.M. Cameron with a confused look on his face while Obama speaks to the media, Hey Dave, we know the feeling... Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, watches as U.S. President Barack Obama, not seen, talks to media during their bilateral meeting on the sidelinesof the G20 summit in Toronto, Saturday, June 26, 2010(AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Gregory: "Do you think the President steps up and has political capital to face down members of congress like you, his liberal base, saying you need to stick with me here?
Barbara Lee: "Quite frankly, there are many members of congress now questioning this policy. This debate is just beginning. This debate should have occurred nine years ago David, I think many of us, not only in the country in the American people but many of us recognize that our military occupation of Afghanistan really provides for a prime recruiting tool, as a prime recruiting tool for Al Qaeda. And when you look at what our primary mission is there, of course, that's our national security. We have to ask the question does remaining in Afghanistan as occupiers in a Muslim country, does that create more terrorists? does that create more danger for our country or less danger? remember again our primary mission and goal is our own national security. So I question this policy.
Next week is likely to be a big one for Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano if the Obama administration moves ahead with its threatened legal challenge of Arizona’s popular new immigration law.
Right now, Rasmussen Reports national telephone surveying finds that just 32% of U.S. voters have at least somewhat favorable opinions of the two top Cabinet players. In Holder’s case, this includes 12% with a Very Favorable opinion, while 11% have a Very Favorable view of Napolitano.
Forty-two percent (42%) regard the attorney general unfavorably, with 26% who have a Very Unfavorable opinion. One-in-four voters (26%) still don’t know enough about Holder to venture any kind of opinion of him
TORONTO – President Barack Obama has invited Chinese President Hu Jintao for a state visit, a U.S. official said Saturday, as the two powers seek to narrow economic and political differences.
The date of the state visit, which will be only the third hosted by Obama since he took office in January 2009, has not been set, White House adviser Jeffrey Bader told reporters on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Toronto. Hu accepted the invitation, Bader added.
The announcement came a week after China began to address one of the disputes that has bedeviled their relationship this year, ending the yuan's da facto peg to the dollar that had been in place since mid-2008.
The United States wants China to allow the yuan to rise more rapidly to help shrink Washington's trade deficit. U.S. lawmakers accuse China of keeping its exports artificially cheap and stealing U.S. jobs.
Obama told Hu he welcomed China's move toward greater currency flexibility and noted that Beijing's "implementation of it was very important," Bader said.
Greta e-mail from Fox News Mike Emanuel gretawire.foxnews Message from the Office of Former Vice President Cheney:
"Former Vice President Cheney was admitted to George Washington University Hospital yesterday and was not feeling well. This was the result of a progressive retention of fluid related to his coronary artery disease. After receiving IV medication, the former Vice President is markedly improved. His physicians plan to discharge him in a day or so."
NBC: "Some locals said they still wouldn't dare go in that water because of what went through here a couple days ago"....Video shows oil blobs underneath the sand...Crews clean the beach and a little while later, the oil returns....
NBC's Mark Potter: "The cleanup efforts are underway, the beach is looking pretty clean right now, people are allowed to go back in the water, the truth, the sad truth is there are hardly any tourists on the beach and even fewer going in the water. Some locals said they still wouldn't dare go in that water because of what went through here a couple days ago, all that oil. about a mile down the way here, there is still a lot of tar on the surface. And then there is even more it appears under the sand washed up by the high tide. and that's a big problem.
Here's a guy on YouTube that has been doing a daily video blog, this is today's report from Pensacola
AP: Protesters have taken to the streets of Toronto, smashing windows with bats and hammers as they demonstrate against the Group of Twenty global economic summit
RT Video: Car set on fire appears to be a police cruiser
PHOENIX - Gov. Jan Brewer said Friday that most illegal immigrants entering Arizona are being used to transport drugs across the border, an assertion that critics slammed as exaggerated and racist.
Brewer said the motivation of "a lot" of the illegal immigrants is to enter the United States to look for work, but that drug rings press them into duty as drug "mules."
"I believe today, under the circumstances that we're facing, that the majority of the illegal trespassers that are coming into the state of Arizona are under the direction and control of organized drug cartels and they are bringing drugs in," Brewer said.
"There's strong information to us that they come as illegal people wanting to come to work. Then they are accosted and they become subjects of the drug cartel," she said.
Brewer's office later issued a statement in response to media reports of her comments. It said most human smuggling into Arizona is under the direction of drug cartels, which "are by definition smuggling drugs"
Fox News' Bill O'Reilly is warning that if President Barack Obama ever bypasses Congress and uses his pardon power to make millions of illegal aliens citizens, he could face serious calls for his impeachment
“If President Obama were to sign an executive order giving illegal aliens amnesty, his career would be over and an impeachment movement would explode,” O'Reilly said Friday night on his “Talking Points” segment during his top-rated Fox show
At the same time, O'Reilly said he did not believe reports that the Obama administration would grant such a blanket amnesty. Fox News, however, reported this week: “The Obama administration has been holding behind-the-scenes talks to determine whether the Department of Homeland Security can unilaterally grant legal status on a mass basis to illegal immigrants, a former Bush administration official who spoke with at least three people involved in those talks told FoxNews.com
Weather Channel: "We're gonna have to be very watchful over the early part of next week about potentially having a strong tropical storm somewhere in the western half of the Gulf of Mexico"
With this budget failure – a first in the modern era – Democrats are missing a critical opportunity to provide the fiscal discipline economists say is needed to create private-sector jobs and boost our economy This unprecedented budget collapse also sends a clear signal to American families struggling to meet their own budgets that Washington still doesn’t recognize the severity of its spending problem.
Democrats say their decision is about what’s best for the future of our country. It’s not. With the political season upon us, Democratic leaders believe it’s better to take a pass than to pass a budget. While Americans ask ‘where are the jobs?,’ they seem content to simply run out the clock and let their borrowing binge continue to drain resources from our economy.
The debt is on track to exceed the size of our entire economy in the next 18 months. We have run out of road to kick the can down"
Brewer: "We will not surrender any part of Arizona"
securetheborderAZ
Earlier this month, Governor Jan Brewer sat in the Oval Office with President Barack Obama to discuss the critical issue of border security. The Governor personally related to the President the concerns of millions of Arizonans over the lack of security on Arizona's southern border. During their visit, President Obama committed to present details, within two weeks of their meeting, regarding his plans to commit National Guard troops to the Arizona border and commit to spend $500 million in additional funds on border security.
Governor Brewer remains eager to receive the specific details of President Obama's border security plans. She continues to extend an invitation to the President to visit with families living along the southwestern border and see the situation firsthand
PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Portland woman who accused former Vice President Al Gore of sexually assaulting can now tell her story in her own words.
Portland police have released the audio recording which involves explosive details accusing Gore of groping, kissing, and unwanted contact could be released as early as Friday, said Police Spokesperson Greg Stewart.
The alleged abuse took place at the Hotel Lucia in Gore's room in October 2006, according to police reports. The woman told police she was "repeatedly subjected to unwanted sexual touching," according to the police report
The parents of Army soldier Benjamin Osborn said Thursday that U.S. Bill and Beverly Osborn say that new military rules of engagement are making soldiers on the ground more vulnerable to attack, including they say, in the final battle that took their son’s life.
“They were ambushed they were under attack and they couldn’t fire until they were ordered to do so,” Ben’s father Bill Osborn said.
Wearing black armbands, a gold star pin, and grief fresh from burying their son, Bill and Beverly Osborn are speaking out about the circumstances of their son’s death.
“Ben said that the tactics were wrong. There’s one long road to bring supplies in. The Taliban’s up there shooting down at them and they have to shoot up,” Beverly Osborn said.
It comes as the family welcomed friends to a celebration of Ben’s life, with his wife of only five months comforted at the event.
But amid their grief, his parents also questioned whether new military rules of engagement put their son’s unit at risk, by restricting use of firepower and the ability to call for backup, a strategy designed to minimize civilian casualties
NewsCore - Former Vice President Dick Cheney was Friday admitted to George Washington University hospital after suffering discomfort, his spokesman said.
"Former Vice President Cheney was not feeling well and was seen this afternoon by his doctors in their offices at George Washington University," the spokesman said in a statement to the Fox News Channel.
"On the advice of his physicians, he was admitted to the hospital for further testing. He is expected to remain in the hospital over the weekend." In February, Cheney, 69, suffered a minor heart attack and spent three days in the same hospital.
He has had five heart attacks since 1978 and had a pacemaker installed in his chest in 2001. During his third heart attack, Cheney underwent quadruple bypass surgery. His fourth came in 2000, the year he and former President George W. Bush entered the White House.
A tropical depression off the Honduran coastline could become a tropical storm and there are multiple possibilities as to where it could end up including the Gulf of Mexico.
Ron Blackwell, the Chief Economist for the AFL-CIO tries to use the "saved or created" argument and Cavuto calls him on it, the guy ends up calling Cavuto an "a**hole"...
NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. -- Gen. David Petraeus has paid tribute to more than 400 veterans in upstate New York, including 100 recipients of the Purple Heart.
The Army general picked by President Barack Obama to replace the U.S. military's top commander in Afghanistan was the keynote speaker at the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor Tribute in New Windsor.
In the video above, you see General Petraeus with a lot of medals, here's what they are [click to enlarge]
BP Plc's struggle to contain the Gulf of Mexico oil spill was nearing a potentially important stage on Friday even as worries about the soaring costs of the clean-up sent its shares nosediving to a 14-year-low
Any slowdown in clean-up efforts could place more pressure on President Barack Obama, who has faced criticism over his handling of the crisis, and BP, which has seen $100 billion wiped off its market value since the start of the disaster.
In London, its stock plunged more than 6 percent on Friday, trading at its lowest levels since 1996, on talk it needs extra cash to fund the clean-up and worries about the bad weather.
Its U.S.-listed shares also hit a 14-year low after falling 6.1 percent to $26.99 in afternoon trading in New York BP said it has paid out $2.35 billion so far in clean-up and compensation costs for the ecological disaster caused by the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) welcomed Tuesday's U.S. District Court ruling that overturned the six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling imposed by President Obama. The moratorium would cause additional economic havoc and devastation to the residents of the Gulf Coast and the local economy.
Estimates show that the six-month moratorium would have resulted in lost wages ranging from $165 million to $330 million and cost tens of thousands of additional jobs.
Manufacturers throughout the country who make and supply equipment, services, engines, boats and materials such as steel and concrete would suffer massive economic consequences as a result of the overly broad and ill-conceived moratorium. These are losses the people of the Gulf and America cannot afford at any point, and certainly not during these challenging economic times.
Republican Brian Sandoval continues to hold a lead of more than 20 points over Democrat Rory Reid in Nevada’s race for governor.
A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the state shows Sandoval with 55% support, while Reid earns 33% of the vote. Eight percent (8%) favor some other candidate in the race, and four percent (4%) are undecided.
The numbers in this race have scarcely moved since February. Two weeks ago, just after Sandoval’s GOP Primary win, he held a 54% to 31% lead over Reid, currently chairman of the Clark County Board of Commissioners.
In the four surveys prior to that, Reid’s support has remained in the 33% to 35% range. Sandoval earned 45% in February but has captured 53% to 55% of the vote since then.
A military source close to Gen. David Petraeus told Fox News that one of the first things the general will do when he takes over in Afghanistan is to modify the controversial rules of engagement to make it easier for U.S. troops to engage in combat with the enemy.
Troops on the ground and some military commanders have said the strict rules -- aimed at preventing civilian casualties -- have effectively forced the troops to fight with one hand tied behind their backs.
Petraeus spokesman Col. Eric Gunhus pushed back on the claim Friday, telling Fox News it's too soon to tell whether Petraeus would change the current rules. But he said it is one of many issues he'll take under consideration during his assessment after he's confirmed and after he takes over command in Afghanistan.
Any adjustment to the rules of engagement does not mean the counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan will change. President Obama stressed Wednesday -- after he accepted Gen. Stanley McChrystal's resignation in the wake of a magazine article in which he and his staff were critical of the administration -- that the change-up does not represent a shift in war policy.
