Video: Obama Hits Donald Trump At the WH Correspondents Dinner

Trump could have done himself a favor by laughing along with some of the jokes tonight, Obama took a few swipes at Trump and Seth Meyers blasted him. Trump seemed bothered by the jokes (especially the ones by Seth Meyers). Here's Obama's clip on Trump. I'll have Seth Meyer's video later hopefully

NATO Airstrike Kills Qaddafi's Son Seif **Update** Video Report

Seif Qaddafi along with 3 grandchildren killed in the strike

Associated Press

TRIPOLI, Libya – A NATO missile struck a house in Tripoli where Moammar Gadhafi and his wife were staying on Saturday, missing the Libyan leader but killing his youngest son and three grandchildren, a government spokesman said.

Seif al-Arab Gadhafi was the sixth son of Gadhafi and brother of the better known Seif al-Islam Gadhafi. The younger Gadhafi had spent much of his time in Germany in recent years.

Moammar Gadhafi and his wife were in the Tripoli house of his 29-year-old son, Seif al-Arab Gadhafi, when it was hit by at least one bomb dropped from a NATO warplane, according to Libyan spokesman Moussa Ibrahim.

"The leader himself is in good health," Ibrahim said. "He was not harmed. The wife is also in good health."

On Tuesday, British Defense Minister Liam Fox and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters at the Pentagon that that NATO planes were not targeting Gadhafi specifically but would continue to attack his command centers.

Ibrahim said Seif al-Arab had studied at a German university but had not yet completed his studies.

"The attack resulted in the martyrdom of brother Seif al-Arab Gadhafi, 29, and three of the leader's grandchildren," Ibrahim said.

CNN's Fredrick Plietgen reports from Tripoli


I'm thinking ABC News could have found a different picture of Qaddafi for a headline announcing his son was killed in an airstrike

Mitt Romney Clarifies Comment Suggesting He Would 'Hang' President Obama With ‘Misery Index’

"It is not what the governor meant and that was very clear in what he actually said," a Romney spokesman told ABC News

abcnews.com

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney stumbled into controversial territory Friday night at a forum for potential presidential candidates here, suggesting that Republicans “hang” President Obama with a so-called “Misery Index.”

Romney, an all-but-declared presidential contender, was answering a question at an Americans For Prosperity event about what he would do to curb rising gas prices when he suddenly found his way into -- and then quickly out of -- the verbal gaffe.

“We’re going to hang the Obama Misery Index around his neck,” Romney told a crowd of conservative activists, before saying: “We’re going to hang him with that, so to speak.”

Apparently realizing his choice of words, Romney paused, and added “metaphorically.”

“You have to be careful these days,” he said.Romney's reference to the “Misery Index,” was, as he acknowledged, a throwback to a term that then-presidential candidate Ronald Reagan used to describe public discontent about economic conditions during debates with incumbent President Jimmy Carter during the 1980 election.

"It is not what the governor meant and that was very clear in what he actually said," Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul told ABC News

Obviously he did not mean hang Obama literally. Here's the video of Romney

ROMNEY: "Ronald Reagan came up with this great thing about the Misery Index? And he hung that around Jimmy Carter's neck and that had a lot to do with Jimmy Carter losing. Well we're going to have to hang the Obama Misery Index around his neck.

And I'll tell you, the fact that you've got people in this country really squeezed with gasoline getting so expensive, with commodities getting so expensive, families are having a hard time making ends meet. So we're going to have to do talk about that, and housing foreclosures and bankruptcies and and hire taxation. We're going to hang him with that so to speak, metaphorically, with, uh, you have to be careful"

Fox News: No Doubt Obama's Birth Certificate Is Legit Says Expert

foxnews.com

The doubters have latched onto the idea that Adobe Illustrator — the premier program for computer graphic artists — “reveals” evidence of document manipulation in the Obama birth certificate. They note Illustrator reveals nine separate layers of the document, and claim it’s “proof” the file has been altered.

But that’s not so, says Jean-Claude Tremblay, a leading software trainer and Adobe-certified expert, who has years of experience working with and teaching Adobe Illustrator.

“You should not be so suspicious about this,” Tremblay told FoxNews.com, dismissing the allegations.

He said the layers cited by doubters are evidence of the use of common, off-the-shelf scanning software — not evidence of a forgery. “I have seen a lot of illustrator documents that come from photos and contain those kind of clippings—and it looks exactly like this,” he said.

“When you open it in Illustrator it looks like layers, but it doesn’t look like someone built it from scratch. If someone made a fake it wouldn’t look like this,” he said.“Some scanning software is trying to separate the background and the text and splitting element into layers and parts of layers.”

Skepticism abounds! This is one lengthy video getting viral traction via theblaze

Krauthammer on Donald Trump 'Sad Fool' Comment (Video)

"He's completely wrong, I'm a very happy guy"

Tensions Flare During Protest By Terry Jones on Steps of City Hall in Dearborn (Video)

Protesters broke through barricades and ran across the street and started throwing objects at Pastor Terry Jones. Police in riot gear show up. Jones supporters are across the street. This is in Dearborn Friday. He's at City Hall because it is a 'permit free' zone. Here's video


nytimes

Tensions flared Friday as Terry Jones, the Florida pastor whose burning of a Koran sparked violence in Afghanistan, demonstrated Friday on the steps of City Hall in Dearborn, home to one of the largest Muslim communities in the nation.

In rambling remarks over three hours, he mostly spoke against what he called "extremist Muslim influences" in the United States. Dearborn police made three arrests for misdemeanors.

The department estimated the crowd at 700 people. Mr. Jones’s comments were often drowned out by the horns of passing cars and the boos and chants of protesters, some of whom carried signs saying, “Terrorist Go Home” and “Leave Us Alone.”

Libyan Government Threatens To Sink Any Ships Heading For The Besieged Port City of Misrata

That would include humanitarian aid ships

cnn.com

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- The Libyan government vowed Friday to sink any ship approaching the besieged port city of Misrata, essentially threatening NATO patrols and humanitarian aid ships that have been bringing in food and medical supplies and ferrying out refugees and the wounded

Libya's threat came hours after NATO said it intercepted Libyan government forces laying mines in Misrata's harbor, which has been a lifeline for humanitarian aid in the months-long conflict between troops loyal to Moammar Gadhafi and rebels demanding an end to the dictator's four-decade rule.

Misrata, the country's third-largest city, has been hemmed in on three sides for weeks by Gadhafi's forces, leaving the sea as the only escape route.

At least nine people were killed and another 30 were wounded in Friday's attacks in Misrata, said a doctor, who is a member of the medical committee in the city

NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre to Call for Attorney General Eric Holder's Resignation

He's trying to 'destroy the Second Amendment' says LaPierre

cbsnews

The National Rifle Association has Attorney General Eric Holder in its sights.

Sources tell CBS News that NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre is expected to call for Holder's resignation in a speech Saturday morning at the Association's annual meeting in Pittsburgh.

LaPierre has accused Holder of trying to "destroy the Second Amendment" and has been critical of the Department of Justice handling of "Project Gunrunner," a program intended to stop the flow of weapons to Mexican drug cartels.

But as CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reported last month, ATF agents charge the program actually helped get thousands of guns into the hands of criminals.

"When does it stop being law enforcement and start being a criminal enterprise? Innocent people are dying. It makes no sense at all." LaPierre told CBS News last month.

Attorney General Holder has asked the Inspector General to investigate the allegations. In a statement today the Department of Justice told CBS News "We have invited the NRA to join us and other stakeholders from across the spectrum in working to find common sense solutions to keep guns out of the hands of people who are not legally allowed to possess them. They have yet to come to the table with any productive suggestions, but we hope they will reconsider

New Video From the Japan Coast Guard Shows the Devastating Tsunami Hitting the Sendai Airport and Nearby Areas

New Tsunami footage from the Japan Coast Guard

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels to Sign Bill Defunding Planned Parenthood

It will make Indiana the first state to cut off all funding for Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood says it will file an injunction to halt the legislation

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels said Friday he will sign restrictive abortion legislation, making Indiana the first state to cut off all government funding for Planned Parenthood and boosting Daniels' credentials among social conservatives as he considers whether to run for president.

Daniels said he supported the abortion restrictions from the outset and that the provision added to defund abortion providers did not change his mind. He said women's health, family planning and other services will remain available.

"The principle involved commands the support of an overwhelming majority of Hoosiers," Daniels said in a statement announcing his intention to sign the bill when it arrives on his desk in about a week.

Planned Parenthood of Indiana said in a statement it would file an injunction to "try to halt this alarming erosion of public health policy in our state."

Organization president Betty Cockrum said Daniels' decision to sign the bill was unconscionable and unspeakable.

"We will now suffer the consequences of lawmakers who have no regard for fact-based decision making and sound public health policy," she said.

The bill puts Indiana at risk of losing $4 million a year in federal family planning grants likely to be cut off because of the legislation. Daniels, known as a fiscal hawk, did not address the loss in his statement.

The bill wasn't part of Daniels' agenda and he did not publicly advocate for the Planned Parenthood provision, but signing it might help his chances of winning the GOP nomination. Daniels opposes abortion rights, but his call for a Republican "truce" on social issues has drawn the ire of the social conservatives.

Bill sponsor state Rep. Eric Turner, R-Cicero, said social conservatives will be happy with Daniels' decision

PP tweets, notice the wording, abortion is 'health care'

Three Convicted in Terror-Related Cases Later Granted U.S. Citizenship by Obama Administration

It just never stops...

weaselzippers

Three people convicted of crimes as a result of a terrorism-related investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) were later naturalized as U.S. citizens by the Obama administration, according to federal auditors.

The March 2011 audit (released on April 21, 2011) by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), entitled Criminal Alien Statistics:

Information on Incarcerations, Arrests and Costs, shows that three individuals were among “defendants where the investigation involved an identified link to international terrorism but they were charged with violating other statutes [not directly related to terrorism], including fraud, immigration, drugs, false statements, and general conspiracy charges,” referred by DOJ as Category II terrorism-related cases.

The three individuals in question can be found in a DOJ list of unsealed terrorism-related investigations conducted from Sept. 11, 2001 through Mar. 18, 2010. There are 403 defendants on that list of which, according to the GAO, at least 43 percent were aliens — both legal (26 percent) and illegal (17 percent) — at the time they were charged with crimes

“Prosecuting terror-related targets using Category II offenses and others is often an effective method--and sometimes the only available method--of deterring and disrupting potential terrorist planning and support activities,” explained the DOJ in the document that listed the defendants.

Staff members of GAO's Homeland Security and Justice team who worked on the audit told CNSNews.com in an e-mail that the three individuals were naturalized as U.S. citizens under President Barack Obama

Obama: 'I've Never Seen Devastation Like This'

He was not talking about the U.S. economy. Obama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama earlier today

AP: Expressing amazement at the destruction all around him, President Barack Obama on Friday stepped through the wreckage left by rampaging tornadoes and pledged help to those who survived but lost their homes in a terrifying flash

Syrian Forces Kill 15 When They Fire on Thousands of Protesters in the City of Deraa

15 killed, 38 wounded. Around 500 civilians have been killed since the start of the unrest

reuters

Syrian forces killed 15 people when they fired on thousands of protesters trying to enter the southern city of Deraa, the heart of a six week uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, a medical source said on Friday.

The bloodshed occurred as demonstrations again erupted across the country, defying heavy military deployments, mass arrests and a ruthless crackdown on the biggest popular challenge to 48 years of authoritarian Baath Party rule.

The medical source in Tafas, 12 km (8 miles) north-west of Deraa, said the local hospital received 15 bullet-riddled bodies, and 38 wounded villagers after the clash near Deraa.

Assad's violent repression has brought growing condemnation from Western countries which for several years had sought to engage Damascus and loosen its close alliance with Iran and move toward a peace deal with Israel.

Sources in Washington said on Friday the United States would tighten sanctions against Syria, targeting five individuals and entities for human rights violations. The U.N. Human Rights Council also adopted a resolution criticizing Syria.

A Syrian rights group said this week at least 500 civilians had been killed since the unrest broke out in Deraa on March 18. Authorities dispute the death toll, saying 78 security forces and 70 civilians died in violence they blame on armed groups.

CNBC: Financial Impact of the Storms in the South (Video)

CNBC's Hampton Pearson on the impact of the storms in the south. Pearson also reports that there is a lack of power at gas stations in the storm area causing long lines in Tennessee where motorists are being told to fill up. Pearson and Larry Kudlow talk about the situation


Pearson: "Alabama, in fact, has been the hardest hit of the seven states, ravaged by tornadoes and severe thunderstorms this week in Alabama alone, 210 people lost their lives. Damage throughout the region expected to be in the billions of dollars. This is the worst U.S. natural disaster since hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Michele Bachman Leads GOP Dark Horse Pack With 27%, Rick Santorum 12%, Herman Cain 9%

rasmussenreports

What if they held a Republican Primary contest and the front-runners didn’t show up? Or what if voters look for anybody but the front-runner? How do primary voters view the dark horses who are possible contenders for the party’s 2012 presidential nomination?

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely GOP Primary Voters finds that Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann earns 27% support when pitted against eight other possible second-tier candidates.

Former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania earns 12% of the vote, while Georgia businessman Herman Cain picks up nine percent (9%).

Texas Governor Rick Perry gets seven percent (7%) of the likely primary vote, followed by Jon Huntsman, former Utah governor and ex-ambassador to China, with three percent (3%) backing. Former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer, retired New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson and Michigan Congressman Thaddeus McCotter each pick up one percent (1%) of the vote.

This is how the poll question was worded via rasmussen
1* If the 2012 Republican Primary for President were held today and you had a choice between Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Michelle Bachman, Herman Cain, Buddy Roemer, Gary Johnson, Thaddeus McCotter or John Huntsman for whom would you vote?

NASA Delays Space Shuttle Endeavour's Last Launch

Delayed for at least 48 hours due to mechanical problems


Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- NASA has called off Friday's launch of space shuttle Endeavour because of a heater failure.

Commander Mark Kelly and his crew were on their way to the launch pad, when NASA halted the countdown. The astronauts' van did a U-turn, and returned the astronauts to crew quarters.

NASA spokesman George Dillard says the next try will be Sunday at the earliest.

NASA reported earlier that two heaters on an auxiliary power unit were not working. Engineers could not understand the problem, and the launch was halted.

Kelly is married to wounded congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. She is already in Cape Canaveral. President Barack Obama planned to watch the launch but had not yet arrived.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE AP.

Well, it looks like Barack Obama has no reason to leave the storm damaged areas in Tuscaloosa (where he is right now) he can stay the rest of the day.

'Tirade of Profanity’: Trump Deploys ‘F-Bomb’ in Speech at Vegas Casino (Video)

Content warning on the language here.

I know the immediate reaction (especially from the crowd) is to give Trump a standing O and I've read the YouTube comments cheering what he said here, but you can't do this. You cannot use the f-bomb during a speech even if your making a good point. If this was Rahm Emanuel or Barack Obama or some other lib saying this, all of us would lay into them...

blaze

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Real estate developer Donald Trump unleashed a tirade of profanity at a boisterous Las Vegas casino as he assured a crowd of adoring supporters Thursday night that he is seriously weighing a presidential run and will make a decision soon.

During a 30-minute stump speech focused mostly on foreign affairs, Trump sprinkled in a number of insults directed toward the nation’s leaders.

“Our leaders are stupid, they are stupid people,” he said. “It’s just very, very sad.”

The setting was fitting for the casino mogul whose moniker is draped across the gold-tinged Trump International Hotel & Tower just off the Las Vegas Strip. An open bar greeted more than 1,000 people, waiters passed hors d’oeuvres and a Trump impersonator entertained the crowd.

At one point, a woman in the lavish reception at the Treasure Island casino on the Las Vegas Strip yelled out that Trump should run for president.

“I think I am going to make you very happy,” the developer said.

But he later said: “There is a really good chance that I won’t win because of one of these blood-sucking politicians.”

Worst Wave of Tornadoes in 4 Decades (Video)

CBS News


The devastation came into focus one day after tornadoes swept across the South, killing hundreds in six states and rendering entire neighborhoods unrecognizable. Dean Reynolds reports from Birmingham

Father Pfleger Supporters Protest Outside Cardinal's Home (Video)

Supporters of the radical Father Pfleger earlier today protesting after the Cardinal suspended Pfleger from ministry duties
 

wgntv.com

Angry parishioners of a South Side Catholic church protested outside the Near North home of Cardinal Francis George Thursday.

They are upset at the Cardinal's suspension of Father Michael Pfleger from ministry duties at St Sabina.

In a letter sent to Pfleger, Francis Cardinal George wrote, "your ministry as pastor of Saint Sabina Parish and your sacramental faculties as priest of the Archdiocese are suspended…this suspension permits you to retain the office of pastor while temporarily without permission to function."

Cardinal Francis George stated in the letter that Pfleger's recent comments in the media about leaving the Catholic Church if he was assigned to a position at Leo High School was the cause for the suspension.

Pfleger has been pastor of St. Sabina for nearly 30 years.Pfleger had told radio show hosts Tavis Smiley and Cornel West that he'd look outside the church if offered no other choice then to become a high school principal.

Flashback: Pfleger

Texas Governor Rick Perry: Obama is Leaving Texas in the Dust

Snub? Sure it is...

Perry: "There is a point in time where you say, 'Hey, what's going on here?" Gov. Perry had requested a federal declaration of emergency for Texas where wildfires rage across the state. He is yet to hear back from the Administration. This doesn't surprise me one bit, how many times did we watch Obama do the same type of thing to Gov. Bobby Jindal during the gulf oil crisis? There's no doubt in my mind this is deliberate

reuters

Texas Governor Rick Perry criticized the Obama administration on Thursday for not responding to a request for a disaster aid for the parched state, where wildfires have scorched nearly 2 million acres.

"You have to ask, 'Why are you taking care of Alabama and other states?' I know our letter didn't get lost in the mail," Perry, a Republican and frequent critic of the federal government, said after addressing a Texas emergency management conference.

President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency for Alabama, where storms -- including a tornado that ravaged Tuscaloosa on Wednesday -- killed nearly 200 people this week.

The White House said Obama will visit the state on Friday. "There is a point in time where you say, 'Hey, what's going on here?'" Perry said.

Perry had requested a federal declaration of emergency for Texas as the wildfires began to rage across the large state. The request has not been answered, although several federal agencies are supplying firefighters.

"They watch TV, they know what's going on here, they can recognize that there is going to be a request for assistance, a request for help," Perry said.

Two volunteer firefighters have died battling the Texas wildfires, which have destroyed more than 900 buildings.

A federal major disaster declaration could reimburse Texas and local governments 75 percent of the cost of their response. Local departments and the Texas Forest Service have spent more than $60 million since September 1 responding to wildfires, forest service spokeswoman Linda Moon said.

In the past, Perry has charged that the Obama administration is punishing Texas. The Republican governor has been an outspoken opponent of the federal health reform law, and the state is suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over a proposal to end Texas' independent air quality permitting program for factories and refineries.

**Update** From cbs19tv: Perry's request was on Sat. April 16th, 12 days ago.

Chris Matthews: Trump’s Only Reason To Question Obama’s Grades Is Because He’s Black

Bob Schieffer last night, Chris Matthews tonight. Whatever you think of Trump, I don't think he has a hint of racism in him. If there was, we would probably find out about it since he's been in the public eye for the last 30 years. But here's Obama spokesman Chris Matthews along with his amen corner tonight on MSNBC

Jimmy Carter Accuses U.S. and South Korea of Human Right's Violations (Video)

Carter: "For the South Koreans and the Americans and others to deliberately withhold food aid to the North Korea people...is really indeed a human right's violation"....I wonder what Jimmy thinks of Kim Jong mentally Ill starving his own people for years?. What an idiot...


townhall.com

The Worthless One is at it again. Mr. Jimmah keeps on keepin' it real, this time in Mr. Il's giant concentration camp.

See, hatin' America in foreign--dare I say, evil--countries is not only for our current Democrat President, but for past Democrat presidents too. This is partisanship at its finest!

And what Democrat presidential smack down of America in foreign lands would be complete without the genuine hat tip to said foreign land?

I like this youtube comment:

Stunning Video of Storm Aftermath Shows Nothing Left in One Alabama Town

Video shot in Pleasant Grove, Alabama, the day after massive storms hit the area show scenes of total destruction and devastation

CBS's Lara Logan Breaks Her Silence About Her Assault in Egypt

Logan estimated the attack lasted for about 40 minutes and involved 200 to 300 men

cbsnews/60 Minutes

Lara Logan feared she would die a "torturous death" during a sexual assault and beating she suffered at the hands of a violent mob in Egypt's Tahrir Square. In her first television interview since her ordeal two months ago, the CBS News chief foreign correspondent and "60 Minutes" reporter reveals what happened to her for the first time in an interview conducted by Scott Pelley.

On Feb. 11, Logan was on assignment for "60 Minutes" covering Egypt's mass celebration of its revolution. With her in Tahrir Square in Cairo were her producer, Max McClellan and cameraman Richard Butler. There was also an interpreter and a former member of Britain's elite military special services acting as a bodyguard.

She reported without incident for nearly an hour before her interpreter heard words in the Arabic-speaking crowd that gave him pause. He advised the team to leave, but before they could, a mob of several hundred men encircled Logan, who soon became separated from her team and bodyguard as the crowd swept her up.

Logan lost contact with her colleagues for approximately 25 minutes and endured a sexual assault and beating that she feared she would not survive. "There was no doubt in my mind that I was in the process of dying," she tells Pelley. "I thought not only am I going to die, but it's going to be just a torturous death that's going to go on forever..."

From the nytimes:

Ms. Logan, a CBS News correspondent, was in the square preparing a report for “60 Minutes” on Feb. 11 when the celebratory mood suddenly turned threatening. She was ripped away from her producer and bodyguard by a group of men who tore at her clothes and groped and beat her body. “For an extended period of time, they raped me with their hands,” Ms. Logan said in an interview with The New York Times. She estimated that the attack lasted for about 40 minutes and involved 200 to 300 men.

This is just a short clip from the interview that will air Sunday night on CBS. "This is going to be a torturous death that's gonna go on forever" says Logan

Trump Responds To Krauthammer: "Honestly, Charles is a Fool" (Video)

"O'Reilly Factor" producer Jesse Watters caught up with Donald Trump in New Hampshire on Wednesday and asked him what he thought of Charles Krauthammer's personal attacks, the latest one comparing Trump to a "crackpot" "drunk." Trump shot back at Krauthammer, calling him a "sad fool"

foxnation video

Santorum Slams Obama for Foreign Policy Failure: "The American People Are Bursting at the Seams To Have a Leader Who Believes In Them and Our Country"

Yes they are...

blogs.foxnews

On the same day President Obama is announcing changes to his national security team, potential presidential hopeful and former Senator Rick Santorum slammed the White House for appeasing its enemies and failing to advance U.S. national security interests.

"When a president...apologizes for our country and her immediate policies, we do not advance our security - we diminish our credibility," Santorum says in prepared remarks for a speech in Washington Thursday afternoon.

Best known for his outspoken conservative views on social issues, the Pennsylvania Republican served on the Senate Armed Services Committee and has been amplifying his criticism of the president's foreign policy in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Santorum announced that he was "testing the waters" for a presidential run.

"Nothing has illustrated the failure of President Obama's foreign policy more than how we have dealt with Iran," he writes on Iranian dissidents. "We sided with evil because our president believes our enemies are legitimately aggrieved and thus we have no standing to intervene."

Santorum goes on to criticize the administration for "turn[ing] [its] back" on longtime U.S. ally and deposed Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, for acting too slowly in Libya, and appeasing China's "militant socialism."

And though Santorum has been vocal about Congress' need to cut back on the federal budget, he cautioned against cutting military spending. "Earlier this month the President suggested deep cuts to our military," he said. "Wrong signal, wrong effort and wrong time."

"[M]y sense from traveling the country is that...the American people...are bursting at the seams to have a leader who believes in them and our country again," he says

From the souixcityjournal: Rick Santorum hires 2 staffers to aid caucus planning in Iowa

President Obama to Visit Alabama Tornado Zone Friday

Obama will stop in Alabama before going to Cape Cavaral, Florida for the shuttle launch. So he really won't have to go out of his way that much.

reuters

President Barack Obama will visit Alabama on Friday to view the damage from deadly tornadoes, the White House said.

Obama received an update on the disaster from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and other officials. Obama has already declared that an emergency exists in Alabama, the hardest-hit of Southern states ravaged by storms this week.

Obama is to stop in Alabama on his way to Cape Canaveral, Florida, to view the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour. He will meet the Alabama governor as well as local officials.

249 dead across 5 states, video

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Nevada GOP 2012: Romney 24%, Trump 16%, Gingrich 11%, Nevada Senate: Sharron Angle Trails Dean Heller By 76 Points

publicpolicypolling

Mitt Romney continues to be the early favorite to win the Republican race in Nevada next year, as he did in 2008. But his support in the state is on the decline, suggesting he may not be able to take a repeat victory for granted.

Romney's at 24% to 16% for Donald Trump, 11% for Newt Gingrich, 10% for Mike Huckabee, 8% for Sarah Palin and Tim Pawlenty, 7% for Michele Bachmann, and 5% for Ron Paul

Just for the heck of it we tested to see how Angle, less than a year removed from winning the Nevada Republican primary for Senate, would do if she changed her mind and decided to challenge Dean Heller next year. In one of the most lopsided head to head match ups in the history of PPP Heller leads Angle by 76 points at 84-8. Angle trails Heller 81-12 even with the Tea Party members who fueled her success last year.

Keep in mind Angle ran against Heller in a House primary in 2006 and lost just 36-35. Combine this poll finding with the one in January where 68% of Republicans in the state said they regretted her winning the nomination last year and it doesn't look like Angle's future political prospects are good even in a Republican primary.

Nevada Republicans generally seem to have learned their lesson after Angle's nomination quite possibly cost them a Senate seat last year. Only 17% of primary voters prefer a generic 'more conservative' alternative to Heller, compared to 69% who are content for Heller to be the nominee. It does not appear likely that Tea Party problems are in his future.

Republican primary Nevada 2012


Sharron Angle vs. Dean Heller

Rand Paul: "I Want To See The Original Long-Form Certificate of Donald Trump’s Republican Registration"

Rand Paul in New Hampshire takes a swipe at Trump

bostonglobe

CONCORD, N.H. -- The contrast could not have been clearer. Where Donald Trump flew into this first-in-the-nation primary state yesterday on his personal helicopter, Senator Rand Paul flew in on Southwest – and had coffee spilled on him, to boot.

Where Trump was greeted by a horde of reporters, only a handful came to hear Paul speak before the Merrimack County Republican Committee at a Holiday Inn here. And where Trump is heavy on the style and oftentimes light on the substance, Paul delivered a policy-rich speech in a dry tone.

But not without tweaking Trump for his insistence that President Obama release his complete birth certificate.

“I’ve come to New Hampshire today because I’m very concerned,” Paul said. “I want to see the original long-form certificate, with embossed seal, of Donald Trump’s Republican registration.”

“Seriously don’t you think we need to see that?” he said, adding that Trump had donated to Democrats such as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Paul, a Kentucky Republican and favorite of the Tea Party movement, is in New Hampshire as part of a book tour. He had flirted in recent months with jumping into the presidential race, but told reporters after his speech that he would likely opt out because his father – Representative Ron Paul, of Texas – had formed an exploratory committee.

"Get Her Out of Here, Get Her Off This Show" Lawrence O'Donnell Goes Nuclear on Birther Queen Orly Taitz (Video)

"She's crazy, I invited a crazy person on the show to see if a crazy person...could say something responsive." From tonight's 'Last Word' which Lawrence got because he tossed her off his show


'Kinda reminds me of this, remember when Lawrence O'Donnell appeared with John O'Neil on MSNBC in 2004? He absolutely blew a gasket. I remember watching this one. From the archive

Allen West Says He Would Consider Being a Running Mate If His Constituents In Florida Would Allow It (Video)

Allen West on Fox News Hannity talks about being heckled at his town hall by leftists and following that segment of the interview, Sean asks him if "Donald Trump or anybody else asks you to run with them, your answer?" West says "I would consider it possibly if the constituents in Fl-22 sought that as a possibility" (At 4:25)

Go West!

Video: Deadly Tuscaloosa Tornado Caught on Tape

You can hear the intensity in the person recording here. 15 dead in Tuscaloosa, well over 100 injured. The Mayor says parts of the town have been 'obliterated' (via Fox News Channel) Here's video

A large, violent tornado has come through Tuscaloosa. It was reported to be a mile wide, and came from the southwest.

Mayor Walt Maddox has now confirmed 15 fatalities and "well over 100" injured, Jason Morton is reporting. The mayor has also said Gov. Robert Bentley has pledged the full resources of the state, including use of Alabama National Guard.

Various reports from around the city indicate there is massive damage to 15th Street and McFarland Boulevard. Sports writer Aaron Suttles reports via Twitter that the CVS at 15th Street and MacFarland has been destroyed, among many other businesses and apartment buildings.

Other reports state complete devastation along 15h Street heading to MacFarland.

Alabama Power reported at 8 p.m. there are 375,000 Alabama residents without power. As of 6 p.m. in the city of Tuscaloosa, 50,295 customers are without power. via Tuscaloosanews

CBS's Bob Schieffer: Trump Saying We Need To Look At Obama's Grades "Is Just Code For Saying He Got Into Law School Because He's Black" (Video)

Are you ready for this one? Fasten your seatbelts. Asking about Obama's grades and how he got into Ivy League schools is "code" as Bob Schieffer explains. He says "it's just an ugly strain of racism." I think it might be time for Bob to retire. Here's Schieffer on tonight's CBS Evening News

Trump: "I Have Done a Great Service to the American People" (Video)

Trump interview on tonight's John King USA. He says 'I got him to do something that nobody else could get him to do"

Oprah Asks Obama Why He Waited So Long To Release His Birth Certificate **Update** Video

Obama jokes that he remembers being born in Hawaii

suntimes lynn sweet

WASHINGTON--Oprah Winfrey interviewed President Obama and First Lady Michelle in Chicago on Wednesday a few hours after he released the "long form" of his birth certificate in an attempt to quash questions about his U.S. birth. Joked Obama to Winfrey, "I was there, so I knew-- that --I knew I had been born. I remembered it."
Excerpts from the Oprah interview:

Clip 1
OPRAH: And before you came today you had a press conference.

PRES. OBAMA: I did. OPRAH: By the time this airs, it will be all over the world that you outed the birth certificate. You let us see the birth certificate. (Laughter.) MRS. OBAMA: He was born here.OPRAH: Yes. And it's confirmed again that you are born -- PRES. OBAMA: Once again. OPRAH: -- once again in the United States. Why did -- why did you wait so long, though? PRES. OBAMA: You know, keep in mind what had happened. This came up about two -- OPRAH: Two and a half years ago. PRES. OBAMA: Two and a half years ago. And so we called up the folks in Hawaii and the Department of Health. OPRAH: When it first came up were you thinking, I hope I was born here. PRES. OBAMA: Can I just say? I was there, so I knew -- (laughter) -- that -- I knew I had been born. I remembered it. (Laughter.) OPRAH: Of course you did.

Clip 2
PRES. OBAMA: The bottom line is this, though. Two weeks ago a huge debate was initiated around where our budget needs to go. We've got some serious decisions to make about how do we bring our deficit down and our debt down but do it in a way that preserves what makes America great:

OPRAH: The birth certificate.

PRES. OBAMA: And so at that point I said to my team, look, even though this is not usually what the State of Hawaii does. Even though the Republican Governor of Hawaii, the Democratic Governors of Hawaii, all the various officials had confirmed that I was born here, let's ask them for a special dispensation where they will go ahead and provide us with the original to see if we can put this to rest. And my general point is this. We are living in a very serious time. And America has huge potential and opportunity to seize the 21st century. We're only gonna get there, though, if we have a serious conversation about the things that matter to people.

OPRAH: Yeah.

PRES. OBAMA: Jobs and gas prices and how do we bring down the deficit? And how do we deal with all the changes going on around the world? And we can't be distracted by sideshows and, as I said at my press conference, carnival barkers who are going around trying to get attention instead of actually solving the problems

UPDATE: Here's the video of Obama on the Oprah Show earlier today

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Another New Low For The Obama Presidency: Voters Who Say Country is Heading in the Right Direction Down To 21%

Record breaker-in-chief

I remember 2006, 2007 and 2008 when the lib media would use this number to hammer George W. Bush constantly and try to show how out of touch he was with the rest of the country. But this new low from Obama will not get a mention anywhere on the nightly news.

rasmussenreports

Twenty-one percent (21%) of Likely U.S. Voters say the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken the week ending Sunday, April 24. It's the fourth week in a row that the measurement has gone down, with confidence in the nation's course now reaching the lowest point of the Obama presidency.

Prior to this past week, the number saying the country is headed in the right direction has ranged from a low of 22% to a high of 35% since President Obama's inauguration in January 2009.

Seventy-one percent (71%) of voters now say the country is heading down the wrong track. Since January 2009, pessimism about the country's direction has ranged from 57% to 72%.

Leading up to Obama's inauguration, the number of voters who felt the country was heading in the right direction remained below 20%. The week of his inauguration, voter confidence rose to 27% and climbed into the low to mid-30s until mid-May of that year. Since then, belief that the country is heading in the right direction has been trending lower

Ann Coulter On The Other Obama Rumor: He’s Not Muslim, ‘He’s An Atheist’ (Video)

He's not a Christian or a Muslim. Coulter asked why Obama recognized all of the Muslim holidays but failed to issue a statement on Easter

9 Americans Dead After Afghan Officer Opens Fire at Kabul Airport

8 American troops and a civilian contractor dead

Afghan soldiers stand guard outside an airport gate in Kabul, after a shooting incident in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 27, 2011. (AP photo)

Military pilot opens fire at Kabul airport in deadliest episode to date of an Afghan turning against coalition partners

cbsnews

KABUL, Afghanistan - Eight American troops and a U.S. contractor died Wednesday after an Afghan military pilot opened fire during a meeting at Kabul airport — the deadliest episode to date of an Afghan turning against his coalition partners, officials said.

The Afghan officer, who was a veteran military pilot, fired on the Americans after an argument, the Afghan Defense Ministry said.

All nine killed were American, according to a senior U.S. defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information has not yet been made public.

The shooting occurred in an operations room of the Afghan Air Corps at Kabul airport."Suddenly, in the middle of the meeting, shooting started," said Afghan Air Corps spokesman Col. Bahader, who uses only one name. "After the shooting started, we saw a number of Afghan army officers and soldiers running out of the building. Some were even throwing themselves out of the windows to get away."

Five Afghan soldiers were injured. At least one Afghan soldier was shot — in the wrist — but most of the soldiers suffered broken bones and cuts, Bahader said.

An Afghan pilot who spoke on condition of anonymity, identified the gunman as Ahmad Gul from Tarakhail district of Kabul province.

Dr. Mohammad Hassan Sahibi, the brother of the shooter, who was killed in the incident, had been battling financial troubles. Sahibi said his brother had no ties to insurgents.

Video report from Fox News

Video: George W. Bush Talks To Stephanopoulos About the 'Warrior 100,' a 3 Day, 100km Mountain Bike Ride Across Texas With Wounded Service Members

From ABC News GMA


abcnews

STEPHY: "I had some fun with former President George W. Bush this morning. He came on to talk about the Warrior 100, a three day, 100km mountain bike ride across the Texas desert with wounded servicemen and women – and brought along Sergeant Major Chris Self, who despite losing a leg in Iraq was on the president’s "back wheel for 30 miles," Bush told me.

Self’s story – he returned to serve two tours in Iraq after losing his right leg – is inspiring, and President Bush told me that riding with Chris and other wounded service members will help him honor “groups that have helped these wounded warriors recover,” and “it gives me a chance to, in my retirement to get some exercise.”

I also tried to get the president to weigh in on today’s news. Though Bush is pretty determined to stay out of the political fray, I did manage to have him weigh in on the breaking news that CIA Director, Leon Panetta, will move to the Pentagon, replaced by General David Petraeus"

Video: Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Boards Plane in Houston That Will Head To Kennedy Space Center

New video: This is Giffords walking up the step into the plane

White House Releases Obama's Long-Form Birth Certificate, Obama Responds (Video)

Saying he has long been “bemused” and “puzzled” over the fascination the controversy surrounding his birth certificate, President Obama on Wednesday released a copy of the long-form version of the document, saying the country does not have time for the "distraction" and "silliness" of the issue.

Obama noted that during a recent stretch where he and Republicans were laying out their budget visions for the future, the primary news story has been about the so-called “birther” controversy.

“We’ve got some enormous challenges out there,” Obama said. He said he was “confident” about the ability to meet those challenges but added, “we’re not going to be able to do it if we are distracted

A somewhat angry Obama responds: "This issue has been going on for 2 1/2 years...We do not have time for this kind of silliness" Well, there's no one to blame here but Barack Obama himself. He could have and should have done this January 10, 2007 when he announced his candidacy for president. However, I'm glad he did this so everybody can move on. Here's Obama a short time ago

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Tavis Smiley: This Presidential Race Will Be Most Racist in History Due to Tea Party and Trump

Tavis Smiley on Tuesday said the upcoming presidential race is "going to be the ugliest, the nastiest, the most divisive, and the most racist in the history of this republic."

When MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell asked his guest on "The Last Word" why he thought so, the PBS host predictably blamed it all on the Tea Party and Donald Trump. Translation: Criticism of Obama is racist. Here's the video

newsbusters video

Krauthammer on Trump: "He is Like Al Sharpton In The Sense That He's Slick, Smooth and Spouts Provacative Nonsense" (Video)

"Seizing Libyan oil and seizing Iraqi oil and demanding $1.2 trillion worth of oil. That is a nutty idea, that's what makes you unserious. Look Bill, that kinda talk is the stuff you expect from a guy at a bar with slurred speech." This might be a little much from Krauthammer and I'm one of his biggest fans. From the O'Reilly Factor

Bill O’Reilly & Panel Have Fiery Debate About Obama’s ‘Easter Pastor’

O'Reilly points out that after the Rev. Wright incidents that were all over the news a few years ago, Obama and his team have a responsibility to know whether or not a pastor (like this one) has said racist statements in the past. Alan Colmes and O'Reilly get into a heated debate in this clip. From Fox News tonight

As Deadly Tornados and Floods Batter the Midwest, Obama Will Travel To Chicago Tomorrow To Tape 'Oprah' And Then Head To New York For 3 Fundraisers

10 dead in Arkansas. Tornado survivor: "It's just all gone"

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Associated Press

The National Weather Services issued a high-risk storm warning for Arkansas, where severe flooding and a tornado have already claimed at least 10 lives.

The warning, issued Tuesday by the service's Storm Prediction Center, covers a stretch from northeast of Memphis to just northeast of Dallas through Wednesday. Most of that territory is in Arkansas, where residents can expect severe storms and tornadoes.

The warning comes after a tornado tore through this small town, killing four people. That left Arkansas' governor wondering Tuesday how so many others managed to survive.

Despite Reports of Brutality Toward Civilians, Syria to Join U.N.'s Human Rights Council

This is the upside down world we live in. The 'reformer' who has slaughtered hundreds in the streets of Syria and is now going house to house rounding up protesters will become the newest member of the U.N. Human Rights Council

foxnews.com

The brutal crackdown by Syrian President Bashar Assad may finally be getting the attention of world leaders -- but apparently not enough to stop Syria from becoming the newest member of the U.N. Human Rights Council.

And despite calling for an independent investigation into the crackdown, which has left hundreds dead, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon apparently won’t do much about blocking Syria’s path to the human rights group.

"That's not really for the secretary general to suggest to a member state," said Martin Nesirky, a spokesman for the secretary-general, when asked if the U.N. chief would ask Syria to drop out of the running for the post. When asked if Ban had brought up the point during his telephone conversation April 9 with Assad, Nesirsky told Fox News, "that's not really something the secretary general would raise specifically, because it's for other member states to decide on the membership of the Human Rights Council."

Ammar Abdulhamid, a Syrian human rights activist based in Washington, called on the secretary-general "to have a greater sense of decency and courage, and to realize that his position gives him a certain moral authority and puts him exactly in the position to tell the Assads that their candidacy at this stage is unwelcome"

Republican Daniel Webster Faces Hostile Crowd at Orlando Town Hall (2 Videos)

Guy yells out "you're a damn liar"


wftv.com

Freshman Republican congressman Dan Webster faced repeated heckling, boos and shouting matches between supporters and opponents during a town hall meeting in Orlando.

Webster was just over a minute into his prepared remarks Tuesday when the first heckler shouted out his doubts about the Florida congressman's promise to do what is right in Washington. From there, the hour-long meeting attended by about 300 people was filled with a constant stream of boos and questioners shouting over each other.

Armed with graphs and pie charts, Webster defended a Republican budget plan that would restructure Medicare and cut some social safety net programs.

Many of the Democratic activists in the crowd wore stickers that said "Hands of Social Security."

Another video here

**Update** Another video here, this starts to spiral out of control with people in the crowd shouting. Watch at 1:50 mark where 2 in the crowd start yelling at each other
 

Video: Iraq War Vet Run Down by Car on Texas Highway

You have to wonder how someone survives something like this

As if surviving bombs and bullets while serving in Iraq weren't enough, one war vet had to fight for his life after being run down by a car while riding his motorcycle on a Texas highway. Check out this crazy video of the collision. video from FNI

kxan.com

DALLAS (CNN/KTVT/NORTH TEXAS TOLLWAY) - Biker is back on his feet after he was sent flying through the air last month.

Video of the accident was recently released by the North Texas Tollway Authority.

Twenty-five-year-old Zach Perez was rear-ended while slowing down in traffic. The Iraq war veteran broke a rib and four vertebrae, suffered a hernia and had his spleen removed.

"I survived Iraq and I come back home and almost die on the Tollway. I think it should be the other way around," said Perez.

Perez says the at-fault driver had no driver's license or insurance and wasn't arrested. But the driver did receive three tickets.

RNC Chairman Dismisses Birther Talk As a Distraction

'My position is that the president was born in the United States'

politicalticker

Washington (CNN) - Donald Trump has spent weeks raising questions about President Barack Obama's birth certificate, but Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said Tuesday that so-called "birther" claims are a distraction from more pressing issues facing the nation.

"Trump and the candidates can talk about it all they want, but my position is that the president was born in the United States," Priebus told reporters at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.

Priebus said his main priority as party chairman is winning elections.

"I don't think it's an issue that moves voters," he said of the birth certificate chatter. "It's an issue in my opinion that I don't personally get too excited about, because I think the more important question is what's going on in this country in regards to jobs, to debt, and the deficit and spending. Those are the things that people are worried about. People aren't worried about these other issues."

Rush Limbaugh Rails Against Trump Detractors (Audio)

Caller: 'The Republican party is starving with somebody with backbone to stand up and say what he thinks'...Rush responds
"He's got the guts to take it to the Democrats"

Barbour Dropped Out of the Race Because He Didn't Think He Could Beat Obama in The General Election -Advisers

Well, if this is the reason then I'm glad Haley Barbour dropped out. The last thing we need is a candidate who doesn't think he can beat Obama. But it's not the reason, if the voters decided he couldn't beat Obama then he would never get the nomination in the first place. It was his wife who said she was 'horrified' at the thought of Haley running for president.

msnbc.com

WASHINGTON — Haley Barbour ultimately decided not to run for president after concluding that Barack Obama will be too tough to beat in a general election race, according to two advisers familiar with the Mississippi governor’s decision making.

Barbour "wanted to run, he would have loved it,” said one of the advisers (who both asked for anonymity). But while he saw a path to winning the Republican nomination, the governor and his inner circle became gun-shy when they considered Barbour’s prospects of prevailing against Obama and a likely united Democratic party behind him in the general election, the advisers said.

“It would have required an inside straight,” said one adviser.

Barbour and his team were convinced that he could emerge as the conservative alternative to presumptive front-runner Mitt Romney in the GOP primary contest and ultimately win the party’s nomination. But beating Obama looked far more problematic.

The only two incumbents to lose the presidency since Herbert Hoover were Jimmy Carter in 1980 and George H.W. Bush in 1992. In both instances, one of the Barbour advisers noted, there were common circumstances: both men faced ideologically-motivated primary challenges from within their own party and popular third party candidates snagged critical votes in the general election

Haley Barbour, I like you but please don't ever walk into the octagon talking about the other guy's strengths..

Poll: Prices at the Pump Threaten Obama at the Ballot Box

People claiming “serious” hardship from pump prices, only 39 percent approve of Obama, 53% say they will not vote for him

Rising gasoline prices are taking a political toll on President Obama, a new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds.

It shows that among people claiming “serious” hardship from pump prices, only 39 percent approve of Obama. Among those who say there is no serious hardship or no hardship, 50 percent and 56 percent approve of the president, respectively.

What's more, among those claiming “serious” hardship, 53 percent say they will not vote for Obama. That number dips to 40 percent among people who say the financial burden is not serious and 39 percent among people who do not report hardship.

“Political support usually rests heavily on economic performance, and there the sharply rising price of gas is taking its expected toll,” a summary of the poll states. The poll also finds that people reporting serious hardship from gas prices are far more likely to believe the economy is getting worse.

Overall, the poll of 1,001 adults finds that 71 percent claim that the rise in gasoline prices is causing financial hardship for them or others in their household. Forty-three percent called the hardship serious; 29 percent say it isn’t.

Those numbers are similar to polling in the summer of 2008, when gasoline prices reached record highs and the share of people reporting hardship peaked at 77 percent. via thehill.com

New Black Panther Party Teaches Children About ‘Crackers’ and Black Power

"We need to be worried about the liberation and salvation of our people. We got to take the fight to the enemy...It is racist white folks and the government...Black power, black power"

breitbart.tv

New Phase of the Crackdown: Syrian Army Storms the City of Dara’a with Tanks and Soldiers Going House to House Rounding Up Suspected Protesters

"They have snipers firing on everybody who is moving"

Associated Press

BEIRUT – Thousands of soldiers backed by tanks and snipers moved in before dawn to the city where Syria's anti-government uprising began, causing panic in the streets when they opened fire indiscriminately on civilians and went house-to-house rounding up suspected protesters.

At least 11 people were killed and 14 others lay in the streets — either dead or gravely wounded, witnesses said.

The military raids on the southern city of Daraa and at least two other areas suggested Syria is trying to impose military control on the centers of protests against President Bashar Assad, whose family has ruled Syria for four decades. Residents and human rights activists said the regime wants to terrify opponents and intimidate them from staging any more demonstrations.

The offensive was meticulously planned: Electricity, water and mobile phone services were cut. Security agents armed with guns and knives conducted house-to-house sweeps, neighborhoods were sectioned off and checkpoints were erected before the sun rose.

"They have snipers firing on everybody who is moving," a witness told The Associated Press by telephone. "They aren't discriminating. There are snipers on the mosque. They are firing at everybody," he added, asking that his name not be used for fear of retribution.

Dick Morris: 'As of Right Now We've Got 5 Good Republican Candidates Who Could Defeat Obama'

MORRIS: "Obama has thrown away any move to the center and has gone hard left...I don't think it's gonna work, I think it's going to paint him into a corner on the left where only about 40% of the voters live...You can't run for reelection for president as a highly partisan, highly ideological point of view, but that's what he's trying"