From the Show

NSA, FBI Detail How Snooping Programs Prevented 'Over 50 Potential Terrorist Events'

2013-06-19T02:30:00Z

On Tuesday, during a House Intelligence Committee hearing into the revelations surrounding the National Security Agency’s monitoring of American communications, members of the intelligence community testified about the success of these programs in thwarting potential terror events. Those officials detailed the plots that were thwarted because of the programs revealed by NSA leaker Edward Snowden to The Guardian newspaper.

“The information gathered from these programs provided the U.S. government with critical leads to help prevent over 50 potential terrorist events in more than 20 countries around the world,” said NSA Director Gen. Keith Alexander, “at least 10 of these events including homeland-based threats.”

“In the fall of 2009, NSA – using 702 authority [the PRISM program] – intercepted an email from a terrorist located in Pakistan,” said FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce. “That individual was talking with the individual located inside the United States talking about perfecting a recipe for explosives.”

The 9 most important quotes from Obama's Charlie Rose interview

2013-06-19T02:28:00Z

President Obama sat down for a 45-minute interview with Charlie Rose, which aired Monday night.

Below are the highlights, pulled from a transcript of the interview provided to Post Politics:

1. On NSA surveillance programs:

Obama and Charlie Rose: The N.S.A.'s Road to Nowhere

2013-06-19T02:27:00Z

Making a phone call or sending an e-mail could, President Obama said, in an interview last night on Charlie Rose, be compared to getting on a plane or driving down a highway. He remembered how it used to be—“five minutes to get to the plane, you’re running on”—and, though it had been a while since a plane hadn’t waited for him, “I gather the experience is not the same.” That, he said, is “a tradeoff we make, the same way we make a tradeoff about drunk driving. We say, ‘Occasionally, there are going to be checkpoints. They may be intrusive.’ ”

Obama was speaking in defense of two National Security Agency programs revealed in leaks by Edward Snowden: one in which the N.S.A. collects metadata for every phone call in the country, but doesn’t listen to voices; and another, known as Prism, in which it looks into e-mail and other content it gets from tech companies—“the Yahoos or the Googles, what have you,” as Obama put it. He said, over and over, that Prism would only “target” non-Americans:

L.A. City Council OKs ban on plastic grocery and carryout bags

2013-06-19T02:25:00Z

Los Angeles on Tuesday became the largest city in the nation to move toward a ban on plastic grocery bags, with the City Council barring them in supermarkets, convenience stores and any big retailer that sells groceries.

Nearly three weeks after a similar measure was defeated in the California Legislature, the City Council voted 11-1 to prohibit the so-called "single use" plastic bags in pharmacies, food markets and any large store -- including Target and Wal-Mart -- that has a grocery section.

Councilman Paul Koretz described the ban as one of several environmental initiatives that have been embraced by the city, including a clean-truck program at the Port of Los Angeles and a push to build new rail lines. “Today we're taking another big step forward," he said.

Added Councilman Paul Krekorian: "Enough waiting for the Legislature to act on this."

Health Care Surveillance: HIPAA-The Grand Deception

2013-06-19T02:23:00Z

ST. PAUL, Minn.— Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom(CCHF, www.cchfreedom.org) wants Americans to know of yet another government intrusion into their private health information.

It’s the HIPAA privacy rule—and there’s a grand deception behind it.

“People think that the HIPAA privacy rule protects privacy, but it’s just the opposite,” says Twila Brase, president and co-founder of CCHF. “The rule allows millions of people and organizations to access your private health information. Before HIPAA was implemented, doctors couldn’t share patients’ medical information without a specific law, a court order or written consent. That would have been illegal. But today, because of HIPAA, your personal medical information can be broadly shared without your consent. And it’s only gotten worse with the enactment of HITECH in the stimulus bill and Obamacare.”

The HIPAA law (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) was enacted in 1996 and the HIPAA Privacy Rule became effective April 14, 2003. In 2009, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) was enacted with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As a direct result of HIPAA and HITECH:

2.2 million entities can access your personal medical records
Patient control of information has been all but eliminated
The government now has broad access to private medical records
Interoperable computerized medical records are essentially mandated, allowing data to be shared by insurance companies and the government
State Health Insurance Exchanges (HIEs) are created to share personal medical records statewide
HIEs are becoming interconnected to share health information nationally through “eHealth Exchanges,” and there are now 40 partners nationwide in this system.

Some L.A. County bus drivers say pesticides are making them ill

2013-06-19T02:21:00Z

Los Angeles County bus drivers say they are regularly becoming ill — sometimes while behind the wheel — from pesticides sprayed inside their vehicles by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

At least 14 Metro drivers are pursuing workers' compensation claims, and more than 110 have signed a petition that demands a halt to the spraying, according to their attorney. Some operators are on medical leave, and a few say they have left Metro because of repeated exposure.

Ariel Castro's home an oasis of calm on chaotic block, police records show

2013-06-18T01:31:00Z

During the more than a decade that Ariel Castro allegedly held kidnapped teenagers and young women captive in his home at 2207 Seymour Ave., police officers were within shouting distance of the house more than a thousand times, according to Cleveland Police Department records analyzed by NBC News.

From the time the first kidnap victim vanished in August 2002 until the three women and a 6-year-old girl emerged from the Castro house on May 6, 2013, police responded to calls on that block 1,099 times — or about once every three and a half days. Castro pleaded not guilty last week to 329 charges, including kidnapping and rape.

Brian Banks' accuser ordered to pay $2.6 million in damages to Long Beach School District

2013-06-18T01:30:00Z

Per multiple reports, Wanetta Gibson, the woman who falsely accused linebacker Brian Banks of rape when they were both students at Long Beach (Calif.) Polytechnic High School, has been ordered to repay $2.6 million in damages related to the $1.5 million she received from the Long Beach School District in a 2007 lawsuit, claiming an unsafe environment. Gibson was sued for the money she received, as well as court costs and a possible $1 million in punitive damages. Gibson was not present at the ruling and her whereabouts are unknown, per the Long Beach Press-Telegram, but the court gained authorization to recoup the money through her future wages and property.

It's important to note that Banks receives none of this money. He served five years in prison and another five years on probation as a result of the original verdict, and was released only in 2012 when Banks taped her admitting that the accusation was false.

Pew: Every TV News Outlet Had Coverage Supportive of Same-Sex Marriage

2013-06-18T01:29:00Z

A new survey from Pew’s Project For Excellence in Journalism examines the coverage of gay marriage among the media. The big takeaway: almost every outlet presented more supportive statements in favor of gay marriage than opposing statements against gay marriage, including every TV news outlet.

Pew looked at every segment on gay marriage from March 18-May 12, and classified every statement made on the issue as being supportive of gay marriage, opposed to gay marriage or neutral.

DOCTORS DUMP HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS, CHARGE PATIENTS LESS

2013-06-18T01:27:00Z

WICHITA, Kan., June 14 (UPI) --
A Kansas physician says he makes the same income and offers better quality care to his patients after he dumped all health insurance companies.

Thirty-two-year old family physician Doug Nunamaker of Wichita, Kan., said after five years of dealing with the red tape of health insurance companies and the high overhead for the staff he hired just to deal with paperwork, he switched to a system of charging his patients a monthly fee plus the price of an office visit or test, CNN/Money reported.

For example, under Nunamaker's membership plan -- also known as "concierge" medicine or "direct primary care" practices -- each patient pays a flat monthly fee to have unlimited access to the doctors and any medical service they can provide in the practice, such as stitches or an EKG.

Bruce Jenner: 'Somebody Comes in My House With Gun, I'm Going to Blow His A-- Away'

2013-06-18T01:26:00Z

(CNSNews.com) – On the most recent episode of the reality-TV show “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” patriarch Bruce Jenner announced his intention to get a firearm for protection, saying, “If somebody comes in my house with a gun, I’m going to blow his a-- away, yeah, absolutely.”

Jenner also said, “There’s a lot of wacko people in the world, and that’s why I think I should have a gun in the house to protect myself and my family.”

Sister who shaved head in solidarity told to wear wig at work

2013-06-18T01:23:00Z

Sisters Marisa Lowe and Melanie Strandberg are separated by one year, but not much else.

"My sister and I have been best friends for as long as I can remember,” Strandberg told TODAY. “We’ve done everything together."

That includes fighting cancer.

Last year, at age 23, Lowe battled stage-three ovarian cancer. Big sister Strandberg, who had just beaten cervical cancer, shaved her head as a sign of solidarity for her balding sibling, who was losing her hair from chemotherapy.

“It meant more than, I think, she even knows,” Lowe said in the segment that aired Monday.

Two weeks ago, when the sisters learned that Lowe’s cancer had returned, Strandberg knew what she had to do.

E.D. Hill loses her Fox News show after 'terrorist fist jab' remark.

2013-06-18T01:22:00Z

Last week, Fox News’s E.D. Hill called a fist pound between Barack and Michelle Obama a “terrorist fist jab.” Following Hill’s remark, Media Matters launched a petition calling on Hill to apologize. TVNewser is reporting that Fox News has canceled America’s Pulse, the nightly news show anchored by Hill: “America’s Pulse anchored by E.D. Hill goes away, but Hill stays with the network in a capacity to be determined.” The cancellation comes just four days after Hill’s “terrorist fist jab” remark, although the network would not give the reason for its actions. Hill apologized for her remarks on her show today. Watch it:

CBS NEWS COMPARES IRANIAN CANDIDATES TO TEA PARTY

2013-06-18T01:21:00Z

On Saturday, CBS News reported on the elections in Iran – by comparing the mullahs to the Tea Party. Reporter Elizabeth Palmer said, discussing the new president, Hassan Rahjani, “Well, he was seen as the most reform-minded of all the candidates who ran this time, that being said, they were all very conservative. In US terms it was as if all the candidates for the presidency came from the Tea Party.”

Except for the part about the Iranian regime murdering gays, cracking down on free speech, preventing the free exercise of religion, hating Israel, and despising the United States, the comparison is spot-on.

Judge considers effect of fungus on Calif. inmates

2013-06-18T01:19:00Z

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A lawyer representing inmates at two California state prisons told a federal judge Monday that an airborne fungus occurring in the San Joaquin Valley presents the deadly threat of valley fever and that thousands should be transferred immediately.

Warren George, of the Prison Law Office, said 18 inmates died in 2012 and January 2013 from complications relating to the fungus that causes valley fever and more inmates would die if the court waited any longer.

"It will go on. Delay means more death," George said.

Bank of America former employees: 'We were told to lie'

2013-06-18T01:18:00Z

Bank of America routinely denied qualified borrowers a chance to modify their loans to more affordable terms and paid cash bonuses to bank staffers for pushing homeowners into foreclosure, according to affidavits filed last week in a Massachusetts lawsuit.

"We were told to lie to customers," said Simone Gordon, who worked in the bank's loss mitigation department until February 2012. "Site leaders regularly told us that the more we delayed the HAMP [loan] modification process, the more fees Bank of America would collect."

Op-Ed Commentaries

2013-06-18T01:17:00Z

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Senate has begun debate on the proposed immigration reform bill. If this bill becomes law, there is one likely outcome for low-skilled West Virginia workers: Disaster.

The assurances of the bill's proponents that the bill will somehow help the economy obscure copious evidence that the bill will wreak enormous damage to the employment prospects of American workers who have already seen their wages and employment rates plummet over the last several years.

Indeed, it is no secret that the employment picture for low-skilled workers is abysmal. The national unemployment rate has been above 7.5 percent for more than four years and millions have dropped out of the workforce entirely. Among those without a high school diploma, the unemployment rate in May reached 11.1 percent, and for blacks without a high school diploma, it is more than 24 percent. The labor-force participation rate is at historic lows and long-term unemployment is the worst since the Great Depression. The workweek is shrinking, as well as wage rates. Barely one in two adult black males has a full-time job. A record 47 million people are on food stamps.

Pelosi on Obamacare: 'I Don't Remember Saying that Everybody in the Country Would Have a Lower Premium'

2013-06-18T01:16:00Z

At a Thursday afternoon press conference, Nancy Pelosi responded to news that, contrary to earlier claims by Barack Obama and Pelosi herself, Obamacare will cause health insurance premiums to rise sharply for many people who purchase their own insurance in the individual market.

"I don't remember saying that everybody in the country would have a lower premium," Pelosi said in response to a question from THE WEEKLY STANDARD. But during last year's presidential campaign, Pelosi said that because of Obamacare "everybody will have lower rates." Pelosi, the House minority leader, made the comment during a July 1, 2012 appearance on Meet the Press:

MISS UTAH'S AWKWARD ANSWER DURING THE MISS USA PAGEANT IS ONE OF THE WORST YOU'LL EVER SEE

2013-06-18T01:15:00Z

“We need to try figure out how to create education better.”

That was part of Miss Utah’s answer during Sunday’s Miss USA pageant. And it only got worse.

The 21-year-old beauty, Marissa Powell, was asked why women breadwinners continue to make less than men.

“I think we can relate this back to education, and how we are continuing to try to strive to [pause] figure out how to create jobs right now, that is the biggest problem,” she began. It was all down hill from there. There were several more awkward pauses and smiles.

77 Cents and the Myth of the Glass Ceiling

2013-06-18T01:13:00Z

“By many metrics, women are doing better than men.” At Friday’s Conservative Women’s Network luncheon, economist Diana Furchtgott-Rott analyzed and exposed the common belief that women make only 77 cents for every dollar men make.

Furchtgott-Roth, author of Women's Figures: An Illustrated Guide to the Economics of Women in America, spoke on Friday at the CWN luncheon held at the Heritage Foundation, hosted by Heritage and the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute. The economic expert pulled points from her book to debunk several falsehoods regarding the wage gap.

When all full-time working men and women and their salaries are compared side-by-side, a gap is indeed apparent. But, certain factors, Furchtgott-Roth explained, significantly narrow this divide. For example, more women major in fields such as English, whereas more men tend to study in the fields of math and physics – areas which typically have higher paying jobs. Also, female employees work on average 10 percent fewer hours than their male counterparts. ‘Full-time’ is considered anything over 35 hours a week. The Labor Department counts no difference, for instance, between a man working 50 hours a week and a woman working 40 hours a week.

Boy, 17, On Life Support After Nearly Drowning In Public Pool With 4 Lifeguards On Duty

2013-06-15T02:16:00Z

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A 17-year-old is on life support and likely brain dead following a near-drowning accident at a public pool.

The incident happened at 4:10 p.m. Wednesday at Jesse Owens County Park in the 9800 block of South Western Avenue while four lifeguards were on duty, according to Katherine Main of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Anandre Thomas was not breathing and had no pulse when he was rescued by lifeguards, who called for help and started CPR.

The victim’s family says he was underwater for more than five minutes before the lifeguards attempted a rescue.

KCAL9′s Brittney Hopper spoke to the victim’s sister, Ceritha Daily.

“My heart is broken because I don’t feel as though he deserved it,” Daily said.

Suspensions handed down for Dodgers-Diamondbacks brawl

2013-06-15T02:15:00Z

Major League Baseball announced the discipline for several members of the Dodgers and Diamondbacks in relation to Tuesday night's two benches-clearing brawls. Five players, both managers -- Kirk Gibson and Don Mattingly -- and one coach were suspended and fined. An additional four players were fined.

MLB took its time in rendering judgment, as it was reviewing the video multiple times. The fights occurred after Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke hit Miguel Montero -- retaliating for Yasiel Puig getting hit in the face -- and then when D-Backs starter hit Greinke in the left shoulder.

And now, we have our ruling from the commissioner's office.

Directly from the MLB press release:

Bryan Stow Out of Rehab, Home With Parents

2013-06-15T02:14:00Z

A recent post on Bryan Stow's blog gave the surprising news that he is out of rehab and at his parents home in Santa Cruz County, though the news isn't all that heartening - his condition seems to be deteriorating.

His parents are blaming their woes on insurance.

"After a long two years of being away from home, the insurance company has ceased payment for CNS (rehab), so Bryan has come home," the blog post reads.

The family said while they are glad to have him home, he has physically experienced a big setback from a lack of physical therapy.

Stow, a major San Francisco Giants fan and a paramedic from Santa Clara, grabbed national headlines on March 31, 2011 when he was attacked at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

He suffered permanent brain damage and has been confined to a wheelchair; a shell of the man he used to be. His alleged attackers, Louie Sanchez, 30, and Marvin Norwood, 30, pleaded not guilty to multiple counts in November.

Teacher fired over ex-husband's 'threatening and menacing' behavior

2013-06-15T02:13:00Z

An elementary school teacher fired by a private San Diego-area school following a domestic violence incident involving her ex-husband is speaking out about her ordeal.

Carie Charlesworth, who taught second grade at Holy Trinity School in El Cajon, Calif., told the San Diego NBC affiliate that the incident with her ex-husband occurred back in January.

“Basically, we’d had a very bad weekend with him," Charlesworth, a mother of four, said. “We'd called the Sheriff’s Department three times on [that] Sunday."

The following morning, Charlesworth said, she informed the school of the incident and told the principal to be on the lookout for her ex-husband. When he was spotted in the parking lot, the school went into lockdown.

Support 4 Stow

2013-06-14T01:50:00Z

Welcome

From our family:

On behalf of Bryan, we, his family, would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of love, prayers and support. This is what helps us get through this difficult time. We can't wait for Bryan to wake up so he can see for himself just how much people love him, whether they are family, friends or strangers.

This website was created for all of his supporters to be updated directly by his family on his progress, upcoming fundraisers and their outcome, and photos.

Keep the prayers coming and again....thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.

~Dave, Ann, Erin & Bonnie

Bryan Stow home after 2 years

2013-06-14T01:49:00Z

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- A San Francisco Giants fan who suffered brain damage after a beating at Dodger Stadium has returned home after two years in hospitals and rehabilitation centers.

Bryan Stow's family said on its website Wednesday that Stow will now live with them in the Santa Cruz area after spending about a year at the Centre for Neuroskills in Bakersfield, a live-in rehab facility.

The family said Stow could have used more time at the center, but their insurance no longer will pay for it, so Stow's parents and home nurses will give him the around-the-clock care he needs.

Stow, a paramedic, was beaten in a parking lot after the 2011 Opening-Day game between the Giants and Dodgers in Los Angeles. Two Dodgers fans are awaiting trial on charges in the beating, which sparked outrage and brought stadium security changes around the state and country.

Stow's family said the transition home has been hard.

"Bryan requires 24-hour nursing care, but this is not covered by insurance," they wrote. "So we had to hire caregivers in order to help Bryan to get up and showered in the morning, and get dressed and in bed in the evening."

James Clapper: I Gave 'Least Untruthful' Answer Possible On NSA Surveillance (VIDEO)

2013-06-14T01:48:00Z

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper sought to clarify his claim that the National Security Agency does not collect information on millions of Americans, telling NBC News' Andrea Mitchell that he gave the "least untruthful" answer possible on the agency's surveillance program.

During a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on March 12, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) asked the intelligence czar if the NSA gathers "any type of data at all on millions of Americans.”

"No, sir," Clapper responded. "Not wittingly. There are cases where they could inadvertently perhaps collect, but not wittingly."

Clapper's response appears to contradict recent revelations about the agency's large scale phone records collection program, first reported on by the Guardian last week. However, during the NBC interview, Clapper said Wyden's question did not have a straightforward answer.ˇ

Sebastian De La Cruz Responds To Racist Comments [Video]

2013-06-14T01:47:00Z

Sebastian De La Cruz from America’s Got Talent responded to racist Twitter comments with what sources are saying “100 percent class.”

During Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Heat and the Spurs, 11-year-old De La Cruz sang the national anthem, and, while many where blown away by his voice, there were many that didn’t feel like De La Cruz should have been the one singing it.

Steven Spielberg Predicts 'Implosion' of Film Industry

2013-06-14T01:46:00Z

Steven Spielberg on Wednesday predicted an "implosion" in the film industry is inevitable, whereby a half dozen or so $250 million movies flop at the box office and alter the industry forever. What comes next -- or even before then -- will be price variances at movie theaters, where "you're gonna have to pay $25 for the next Iron Man, you're probably only going to have to pay $7 to see Lincoln." He also said that Lincoln came "this close" to being an HBO movie instead of a theatrical release.

Serial killer Richard Ramirez, Los Angeles's "Night Stalker," dies at 53

2013-06-14T01:45:00Z

Richard Ramirez, the serial killer known as “the Night Stalker” who terrorized Los Angeles County and was convicted in 1989 of 13 murders, died Friday, California corrections officials said. He was 53.

Mr. Ramirez died of natural causes at a hospital in Marin County, the department said in a statement. No details were released.

Richard Ramirez, RIP (Rot In Purgatory)

2013-06-14T01:43:00Z

Justice: You'd think turnover in a place still called "Death Row" would be fairly brisk. But as last week's passing of Richard Ramirez reminded us, that's far from the case in California.

Ramirez was better known as "The Night Stalker" — the fiend who raped, tortured and butchered his way through Southern California in the long, hot summer of 1985.

He was the crack-smoking, devil-worshipping drifter who gained entrance to suburban homes through windows and sliding glass doors left open to beat the 100-degree heat to terrorize the innocents inside for no reason other than he knew he was "evil" since he was nine.

The 25-year-old monster beat a 16-year-old girl with a tire iron, shot a woman's fiance and then made her swear allegiance to Satan, used another victim's lipstick to draw a pentagram on her thigh, gouged the eyes out of a 44-year-old woman after stabbing her and her husband to death, and sodomized an 8-year-old boy who witnessed the shooting death of his father and the rape of his mother at gun point.

Ralph Nader: 'Has There Been a Bigger Con Man in the White House Than Barack Obama?'

2013-06-14T01:42:00Z

Ralph Nader last week had some harsh words for the current President of the United States.

Appearing on Democracy Now!, Nader asked host Amy Goodman, "Has there been a bigger con man in the White House than Barack Obama?" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

AMY GOODMAN: Let’s go to President Obama in February in his State of the Union address calling on Congress to raise the minimum wage to $9.00 an hour from $7.25 and to automatically adjust it with inflation.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Tonight, let’s declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal minimum wage to $9.00 an hour. We should be able to get that done. This single step would raise the incomes of millions of working families. It could mean the difference between groceries or the food bank, rent or eviction, scraping by or finally getting ahead. For businesses across the country, it would mean customers with more money in their pockets. And a whole lot of folks out there would probably need less help from government. In fact, working folks shouldn’t have to wait year after year for the minimum wage to go up, while CEO pay has never been higher. So here’s an idea that Governor Romney and I actually agreed on last year: Let’s tie the minimum wage to the cost of living, so that it finally becomes a wage you can live on.

Ex-Simi Valley teacher accused of sexual relationship with male student

2013-06-14T01:41:00Z

A 32-year-old woman described as an "exemplary teacher" at Garden Grove Impact Academy in Simi Valley pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that she had a sexual relationship with a male student at the elementary school, officials said.

Malia Jen Brooks surrendered to authorities about 4 p.m. Tuesday following a four-month investigation into an "inappropriate relationship" she had with the unidentified boy, police said. She was jailed in lieu of $2 million bail, a high amount requested by police who feared she was a flight risk.

"She was an adult figure in a position of authority which she used to build and groom a relationship with this victim," Simi Valley police Detective Sgt. Randy Foushee said in an interview.

Baseball can no longer accept that fighting is a part of the game

2013-06-14T01:39:00Z

In the wake of Tuesday night's street fight at Chavez Ravine, longtime fan Janet Ochoa sent theDodgers an email.

"You should be ashamed of yourself for your bench-clearing brawls," it read. "Thanks for ruining what used to be fun family time."

Her message was given a prompt response from Brett A. Searson, Dodgers coordinator of fan services....

Strained shoulder forces Dodgers' Yasiel Puig to sit out

2013-06-14T01:37:00Z

Outfielder Yasiel Puig was scratched from the lineup Wednesday with what the Dodgers described as a strained right shoulder, becoming the first casualty of the brawl involving the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night.

Puig is listed as day to day, meaning he could be ready to play when the Dodgers open a three-game series in Pittsburgh on Friday. But the rookie outfielder could be sidelined for more games, as he figures to be disciplined by the league office for his role in the fracas....

U.S. Fears Edward Snowden May Defect to China: Sources

2013-06-14T01:36:00Z

U.S. intelligence officials on the trail of rogue contractor Edward Snowden are now treating the National Security Agency leak case as a possible foreign espionage matter, raising fears that the 29-year-old computer whiz may be attempting to defect to China with a trove of America's most sensitive secrets, according to U.S. officials.

"I think there is a real concern about that," a senior official familiar with the case told ABC News on Thursday. Another law enforcement official said it was a "very legitimate" worry.

In an interview Wednesday with Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, Snowden said his country "had been hacking into computers in Hong Kong and [in China] for years."

Those remarks alarmed intelligence officials, who considered those statements as much of a betrayal as his alleged leaking of highly classified files on the NSA's vast surveillance program to two newspapers last week, the senior official said.

Santa Monica shooter's rifle appears to have been pieced together

2013-06-14T01:35:00Z

The semiautomatic weapon used in the Santa Monica shooting rampage appears to have been put together from various parts, possibly in an attempt to circumvent the state's restrictions on such guns, law enforcement sources said Wednesday.

While certain types of AR-15-style rifles are banned in California, it's legal to purchase parts that can be used to assemble and customize the guns. Santa Monica police have said John Zawahri, 23, used an AR-15-style gun during the attack and was also carrying a .44-caliber handgun.

The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing, said detectives are still trying to figure out how the gun was put together and whether Zawahri obtained it whole or assembled it himself.

Zawahri killed five people last Friday in an attack that started at his father's home and ended at Santa Monica College, where police fatally wounded him in the school's library.

White House: Syria crosses 'red line' with use of chemical weapons on its people

2013-06-14T01:34:00Z

Washington (CNN) -- Syria has crossed a "red line" with its use of chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin gas, against rebels, a move that is prompting the United States to increase the "scale and scope" of its support for the opposition, the White House said Thursday.

The acknowledgment is the first time President Barack Obama's administration has definitively said what it has long suspected -- that President Bashar al-Assad's forces have used chemical weapons in the ongoing civil war.

"The intelligence community estimates that 100 to 150 people have died from detected chemical weapons attacks in Syria to date; however, casualty data is likely incomplete," Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, said in a statement released by the White House.

"While the lethality of these attacks make up only a small portion of the catastrophic loss of life in Syria, which now stands at more than 90,000 deaths, the use of chemical weapons violates international norms and crosses clear red lines that have existed within the international community for decades," Rhodes added.

Obama Demonstrates the Evil of Big Government

2013-06-13T17:37:00Z

The scandals surrounding the Obama administration come down to one common theme -- that the ever-growing size and scope of our federal government gives it enormous power over virtually every aspect of our lives, power that in the wrong hands can be used to reward supporters, exact revenge and punish enemies. In education, health care, transportation, energy, disaster relief, welfare, commerce, work and salary rules, and on and on, the federal government plays an outsized role completely inconsistent with the Founding Fathers’ notion of a limited government that allows maximum personal liberty.

In 1900, government at all three levels -- federal, state and local -- took about 10 percent of the people’s money. It now takes nearly 50 percent.

On what basis should Americans -- especially those who did not vote for Barack Obama -- feel that the President will guard their interests, especially when apparently vindictive actions have been taken under his watch?

The IRS admits to, and has apologized for, targeting conservative groups. The second article of impeachment against Richard Nixon accused him of using the IRS to go after political enemies. Incredibly, the IRS commissioner of the office in charge of tax-exempt organizations from 2009 to 2012 -- when the conservative groups were targeted -- is now the director of the IRS Affordable Care Act office, responsible for ObamaCare tax compliance.

The Justice Department, in apparent violation of policy, subpoenaed the phone records of as many as 100 reporters without notifying their employer, The Associated Press. And the DOJ subpoenaed the phone records of a Fox reporter, as well as the phone records of his parents.

Now every president fights with the media, whose job description supposedly requires them to serve as watchdog over government. It is why the First Amendment protects “freedom of the press.” But how many administrations have openly and repeatedly stated contempt for a particular news channel, the way Obama and his aides have publicly attacked the Fox News Channel?

Early in his administration, Obama complained, “I've got one television station entirely devoted to attacking my administration.” He told Rolling Stone: "The golden age of an objective press was a pretty narrow span of time in our history. Before that, you had folks like William Randolph Hearst who used their newspapers very intentionally to promote their viewpoints. I think Fox is part of that tradition -- it is part of the tradition that has a very clear, undeniable point of view. It's a point of view that I disagree with. It's a point of view that I think is ultimately destructive for the long-term growth of a country that has a vibrant middle class and is competitive in the world.”

Fox News is “ultimately destructive”?

Then-White House senior adviser David Axelrod said that the Fox News Channel was "not really a news station" and that much of the programming is "not really news." Similarly, former White House Communications Director Anita Dunn said about Fox: “We don’t need to pretend that this is the way that legitimate news organizations behave.”

A few days later, calling Fox “a wing of the Republican Party," Dunn said: "They take their talking points, put them on the air; take their opposition research, put them on the air. And that's fine. But let's not pretend they're a news network the way CNN is." Dunn also said, “I mean the reality of it is that Fox News often operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party,” and told Time Magazine: “It's opinion journalism masquerading as news. They are boosting their audience, but that doesn't mean we are going to sit back."

How despicable do Democrats find Republicans? A recent CNN poll found 76 percent of Democrats still believe President Bush “deliberately misled” the country into the Iraq War. And Obama defenders say Bush “used” the IRS to “target” the NAACP. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., even offered up this Bush/Hurricane Katrina conspiracy: The President, you see, dragged his feet during Katrina so that black New Orleanians would leave the state and take their Democratic votes with them. Frank called this alleged Bush scheme “ethnic cleansing by inaction.”

What’s the answer? Tone down the rhetoric? Elect morally superior human beings? Vote for “common sense” moderates?

No. Let’s agree that neither side trusts “the other side.” Let’s agree that neither side thinks much of the goals and motives of their political opponents. Let’s agree that the bigger the government, the more money and power it takes from its citizens. So where does this leave us? It takes us back to a founding principle of this country: limited government. By reducing the size of government, we limit the amount of damage “the other side” can do when in charge.

It isn’t that smaller government is more trustworthy or transparent. Among other attributes, a smaller government allows the commander in chief to focus on job one -- that of protecting the American people against enemies. For both Obama-haters and Bush-haters, a smaller government reduces the amount of influence and control the “wrong side” has over the other. A win-win.

AAA: Hands-free texting and calling are not risk-free

2013-06-13T01:38:00Z

The increasingly popular voice-activated, in-car technologies that allow drivers to text, talk on the phone or even use Facebook while driving still allow for dangerous mental distraction, according to a study.

In the most comprehensive study of its kind to look at drivers' mental distraction, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that as mental workload and distractions increase, reaction time slows, brain function is compromised, and drivers scan the road less and miss visual clues, researchers say. This could potentially result in drivers being unable to see items right in front of them, such as stop signs or pedestrians.

The study sought to measure the impact of cognitive or mental distraction on driving. The other two types of driver distraction, visual and manual, which involve the eyes and the hands doing something like looking at a cellphone while sending a text have been studied much more extensively.

EXCLUSIVE: Jailed filmmaker vows to finish film wrongly blamed for Benghazi attack

2013-06-13T01:37:00Z

EXCLUSIVE: The controversial filmmaker whose crude Internet trailer was wrongly blamed by the White House for sparking last year's deadly Benghazi attack vowed to finish his movie, which he said is aimed at fighting terrorism, not denigrating Islam.

Breaking his silence from inside a facility under the authority of the federal Bureau of Prisons in southern California, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula told FoxNews.com in a series of phone interviews that his film "Innocence of Muslims" has been widely misunderstood, and not just in being singled out as causing the Sept. 11, 2012, attack that left U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans dead.

"It is not [a] religion movie,” he said. “I have a lot of Muslim friends and not all the Muslims believe in the terrorism culture. Some of them believe in this culture. That’s why we need to fight [against] the culture, not the Muslims. My enemy is the terrorism culture; this is my enemy.

Leno: 'Now That Tebow's Associated With the Word "Patriot" He's Being Audited by the IRS'

2013-06-13T01:34:00Z

Jay Leno continued his humorous attacks on Barack Obama Tuesday.

During a series of opening monologue jokes about the various scandals plaguing the White House, the NBC Tonight Show host said of quarterback Tim Tebow, “Now that he's associated with the word 'Patriot' he's being audited by the IRS” (video follows with transcript and absolutely no need for additional commentary):

JAY LENO: Some exciting news from the world of sports. Listen to this. It seems Tim Tebow has signed with the New England Patriots. How about that? Yeah. [Cheers and applause] Apparently, Tebow sat down and told Bill Belichick about his friend, Jesus, and Belichick told Tim about his friend, Satan, and they came to an agreement. They came to an agreement. [Applause]

72-year-old grandma fires handgun at alleged would-be burglar

2013-06-13T01:33:00Z

A 72-year-old grandmother who fired her .357 magnum revolver at a man allegedly trying to break into her Orange County home said Tuesday that she was trying to defend herself and her 85-year-old husband.

Jan Cooper said at a news conference that she fired one shot from her high-powered handgun, according to a report in KTLA-TV Channel 5.

Cooper and husband, a disabled World War II veteran, were alone at the home Sunday when she loaded her gun and dialed 911 as the man allegedly tried to force his way in.

On the 911 tape, Cooper can be heard telling the man to leave.

"Get the hell out of here," she said. She told the dispatcher that she was going to shoot at the man. "I'm firing!" she said, as sound of the gunshot broke out.

The suspect, identified by authorities as Brandon Alexander Perez, 31, was not hit. He was arrested a short while later.

Chris Hayes Apologizes for Tagging George Wallace As Republican: A 'Stupid, Inexcusable, Historically Illiterate Mistake'

2013-06-13T01:32:00Z

The lack of journalistic integrity from the folks at NBC News has reached a new low for their sister network MSNBC. On Tuesday June 11, All In w/ Chris Hayes featured an on-screen graphic labeling arch-segregationist Governor George Wallace (D-Ala.) as a Republican. Alerted to the error via Twitter, Hayes apologized this morning.

In a segment marking the 50^th anniversary of Governor Wallace personally attempting to block two black students from enrolling at the University of Alabama, host Chris Hayes showed 50-year-old video of Wallace opposing integration, his name appearing onscreen tagged with (R) denoting him as a Republican. Hayes’ analysis of Wallace was correct, labeling him “obviously the villain in this story” but the sloppiness at the “Lean Forward” network minimizes his important point by falsely allowing his already liberal audience to believe Gov. Wallace was a Republican, when in fact he was a Democrat. [See video after jump. MP3 audio here.]

To be fair, Hayes probably does not oversee every on-screen graphic decision made and might have been unaware of the error made. To his credit, Hayes issued the following apology via Twitter, responding to a Mediaite story:

Voicemail Accident Hilarious

2013-06-13T01:31:00Z

This guy is leaving a voicemail for his boss when he witnesses a minor traffic accident. Not fake actually happen. In late February, several stations broadcast interviews with a man named Michael Childs, who said that he was the one who left the voicemail message, that the clip was genuine, and that the accident described took place about six years ago in Athens, Texas, while he was working as a construction manager for Jack in the Box.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BEGINNING TOY GUN TURN-IN PROGRAM

2013-06-12T01:37:00Z

Really.

Hill believes that children who play with toy guns may not think real guns are dangerous. “Playing with toy guns, saying ‘I’m going to shoot you,’ desensitizes them, so as they get older, it’s easier for them to use a real gun,” he claims.

Hill was inspired by a school photographer, Horace Gibson, who was upset about the number of police shootings of young people in Oakland.

At Strobridge Elementary Safety Day, a local policeman will demonstrate bicycle and gun safety, (does he get to use a real gun?), while the Alameda County Fire Department will speak about fire safety. Just to show that local governments can do surveillance too, there will be opportunities for the children to be fingerprinted and photographed, with that information transferred to CD’s if it is ever needed for a missing child case.

Hill, defending his take-away program, asserted that police are justifiably afraid when they face armed suspects, and toy guns have been mistaken for real ones.

L.A. porn actor's conviction for working with syphilis is rare, but civil courts are filled with STD cases

2013-06-12T01:36:00Z

The prosecution of an adult film actor who was sentenced to jail last week for exposing two co-stars to syphilis is rare both within the porn industry and the city of Los Angeles, but not in civil courts across the nation, legal experts said.

And while criminal prosecution has been in place for more than 20 years for those with HIV, some are calling on efforts to repeal those laws.

In April, a lawsuit was filed by a woman in New York against Arnold Simon, a former Calvin Klein CEO and major donor to Bill Clinton, claiming that he gave the woman herpes after the two met through an online dating service.

Attorney Matthew Blit, who specializes in discrimination suits and sexually transmitted disease law, said his firm Levine & Blit represented the woman, who was awarded $5 million, he said.

"The law in most states is that a person with an STD must disclose that to their partner before engaging (in sexual activity)," said Blit, whose law offices are in Beverly Hills and New York.

"Most of our clients go the civil route," he said. "But it's a very tricky area because it has to do with the disclosure of medical records and we can face a very big challenge. They are very difficult to win. The facts need to align perfectly."

ACLU Sues U.S. Over Phone Data Collection

2013-06-12T01:35:00Z

The National Security Agency’s broad collection of U.S. phone customer data received its first significant legal challenge since the disclosure of the program last week.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in federal court Tuesday, alleging that the National Security Agency was violating the ACLU’s constitutional rights. The ACLU said it is a customer of Verizon Communications Inc. VZ -0.69%’s Verizon Business Network Services and it said metadata from the ACLU’s phone calls are being collected.

The Obama administration declassified elements of the NSA program after the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper published a secret court order that authorized the NSA collection of phone records from Verizon customers.

The NSA program is much broader, according to people familiar with the matter, and also includes call data from AT&T T -0.64% and Sprint S +2.37%, encompassing the country’s three largest phone companies. The broadness of the collection means that for every call made by the majority of Americans, the NSA gets a record of the location, the number called, the time of the call and the length of the conversation, according to the people familiar with the matter.

Pope reportedly confirms 'gay lobby' at work at Vatican

2013-06-12T01:34:00Z

VATICAN CITY (AP) — A Latin American church group says Pope Francis lamented in private remarks that a "gay lobby" is at work in the Vatican — a stunning acknowledgment that appears to confirm earlier reports about corruption and dysfunction in the Holy See.

In a synthesis of Francis' remarks after their June 6 audience, the Latin American religious leaders quote him as saying that while there are many holy people in the Vatican: "The 'gay lobby' is mentioned, and it is true, it is there ... We need to see what we can do."

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said Tuesday the audience was private so he had nothing to say.

In the days leading up to Pope Benedict XVI's Feb. 28 resignation, Italian media were rife with reports of a "gay lobby" influencing papal decision-making and Vatican policy through blackmail, and suggestions that the scandal had led in part to Benedict's decision to resign.

Ohio Dept. Of Insurance: Obamacare To Increase Individual-Market Health Premiums By 88 Percent

2013-06-12T01:33:00Z

Democrats continue to try to dismiss the evidence that Obamacare will dramatically increase the cost of insurance for people who buy it on their own. But on Thursday, the Ohio Department of Insuranceannounced that, based on the rates submitted by insurers to date, the average individual-market health insurance premium in 2014 will come in around $420, “representing an increase of 88 percent” relative to 2013. “We have warned of these increases,” said Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor in a statement. “Consumers will have fewer choices and pay much higher premiums for their health insurance starting in 2014.”

The rates that Ohio reported are proposed rates; the Department of Insurance still has to formally approve them. “A total of 14 companies proposed rates for 214 plans to the Department. Projected costs from the companies for providing coverage for the required [by Obamacare] essential health benefits ranged from $282.51 to $577.40 for individual health insurance plans.”

George Zimmerman trial: Day 2 of jury selection for Trayvon Martin shooting

2013-06-12T01:33:00Z

SANFORD — For now, they are nameless people, potential jurors in the George Zimmerman murder trial whose identities are protected by court order.

But if they're chosen, that will change once the trial ends. On Day 2 of jury selection Tuesday, that became a point of discussion.

Two potential jurors, a man who listens to National Public Radio and a retired Oviedo woman, were asked by defense attorney Mark O'Mara:

Would you have a problem reaching a verdict that might be unpopular?

No, said the man, not "as long as my anonymity is preserved."

Senate votes to begin historic immigration reform debate

2013-06-12T01:32:00Z

In an initial victory for proponents of comprehensive immigration reform, the Senate on Tuesday easily passed a procedural vote to begin debate on the broad bipartisan measure, with just 15 senators -- all Republicans -- objecting.

The preliminary 82-15 vote -- which required 60 votes for passage -- offers an initial show of strength for supporters of the legislation, although some Republicans who voted for the initial procedural measure say they will not support the final product unless amendments are added to strengthen the legislation’s requirements to secure the nation’s southern border.

Two LAUSD seniors win new cars -- you read that right, NEW CARS -- for perfect attendance

2013-06-12T01:31:00Z

Graduating senior Vanessa Umana expected to leave last Friday's commencement ceremony at Francis Polytechnic High School with a diploma, a few photos and some wonderful memories.

Imagine her surprise, then, when Principal Ari Bennett announced that Vanessa would also be getting an $18,000 Chevrolet Sonic, one of two grand prizes awarded in a year-long contest to encourage perfect attendance at Los Angeles Unified schools.

"I was so excited," Vanessa said Monday. "I felt like I was dreaming."

Over the last year, LAUSD has awarded monthly prizes to hundreds of kids who answered "here" every time their teacher took attendance. Rewards donated by local companies included bicycles, gift cards to Subway sandwich shops and guest passes to Knott's Berry Farm and Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.

Vanessa will receive her grand prize -- she thinks her car is metallic blue -- during a ceremony Thursday at LAUSD headquarters. The other car was won by Euri Tanaka from San Pedro High School. District officials said Euri is on vacation and will get his prize when he returns.

More Americans quit jobs, a sign of confidence

2013-06-12T01:30:00Z

WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans are quitting their jobs, suggesting many are growing more confident in the job market.

The Labor Department said Tuesday that the number of people who quit their jobs in April jumped 7.2 percent to 2.25 million. That's just below February's level, which was the highest in 4 ½ years.

Overall hiring also picked up in April, though not as dramatically. Employers filled 4.4 million jobs in April, a 5 percent increase from March. Hiring fell in March and April's level was below February's.

The report offered a reminder that the job market is far from healthy. The number of available jobsslipped fell 3 percent to a seasonally adjusted 3.75 million. Openings had reached a five-year high in February and remain nearly 7 percent higher than a year ago.

Still, the growth in hiring and quits provides more evidence of a dynamic job market that is making slow but steady strides. It follows Friday's May employment report, which showed the economy added a net 175,000 net jobs last month. That's roughly in line with the average monthly gain over the past two years.

Shooting rampage in Santa Monica: Threats, restraining order in gunman's home

2013-06-12T01:24:00Z

SANTA MONICA -- The mother of a gunman who fatally shot five people during a chaotic spate of violence last week said the shooter's father threatened to kill her on at least two occasions during their tumultuous marriage, according to court records obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

In a 1998 request for a restraining order, gunman John Zawahri's mother, Randa Abdou, wrote that her husband once told her: "If I had a gun it would be over."

Abdou also said her husband had threatened to take their two young sons to Canada after the couple separated at the time, and that he once punched her and stole her jewelry, purse and divorce papers she had started filling out.

Authorities said John Zawahri, 23, shot his father, Samir Zawahri, and his brother, Christopher Zawahri, on Friday, leaving their home in flames before shooting at strangers in cars and at Santa Monica College during a 15-minute rampage.

The former student at the school was heavily armed and carried a duffel bag with 1,300 rounds of ammunition before officers killed him in the campus library.

Santa Monica gunman's mother: Shooting a 'horrific tragedy'

2013-06-12T01:20:00Z

The mother of the gunman who killed five people in Santa Monica on Friday released a statement Monday expressing "great sadness" for the rampage.

Randa Abdou released the statement through her neighbor.

"As may be assumed, I am in mourning for my family and those who were also affected by this horrific tragedy over the past few days. I cannot express my great sadness for the families who are also suffering at this terrible time. I do ask the media to please give me time to grieve and come to grips with the overwhelming sorrow. This has befallen all of us."

Study: 60 percent of Richmond families are single parent

2013-06-12T01:16:00Z

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) — As Father’s Day approaches, children are reminded to appreciate their dads and the impact on their lives.

Today dads around the city were honored a week in advance of Father’s Day. Celebrate Fatherhood 2013 was held this afternoon at the Collegiate School Aquatics Center. While these dads and their children enjoyed the moon bounce and competed in contests, an alarming amount of children in the area won’t have fathers around to celebrate the holiday.

First Things First, an organization dedicated to keeping dads involved in kids’ lives, reports that 60 percent of all families in the city of Richmond are single-parent households. Within the African-American demographic, that number spikes up to 86 percent, a number that surpasses the national average.

Piers Morgan Now Claims Obama 'Worse' Than George W. Bush

2013-06-11T01:45:00Z

During Thursday night's edition of CNN's “Piers Morgan Tonight,” the liberal host harshly criticized President Barack Obama and his administration for allowing the National Security Agency to secretly obtain the telephone records of millions of Americans.

While interviewing Senator Bernie Sanders, Morgan asked the socialist from Vermont if he believed Obama's actions on surveillance are “worse than anything George W. Bush did.”

The CNN host led up to his question by quoting the editorial board of the New York Times, which stated on Thursday that the administration “has now lost all credibility on this issue.”

Has what Barack Obama been doing -- and his administration -- not just with all these revelations in the last 24 hours, but also the IRS, going after AP and FOX News, and so on, has what he's been doing worse than anything George W. Bush did?

Sanders took advantage of the opportunity to criticize the previous Republican president by stating:

Well, I think Bush started the process, and what I had hoped, and I think millions of Americans had hoped, that Barack Obama, who knew something about constitutional law, would not only change Bush's policies in a number of ways but certainly with regard with civil liberties.

“I think it's fair to say that many of us are deeply disappointed that he did not end many of those programs and provide a lot more transparency than he has,” the senator added.

Morgan responded: “You could argue he was right to say he'd be different. He's worse!”

Autopsy confirms body found in bayou is that of missing Louisiana teacher

2013-06-11T01:44:00Z

(CNN) -- The decomposed body found this weekend in a Louisiana bayou was identified Monday as that of a teacher missing for three months, the New Orleans Police Department said.

The statement said Terrilynn Monette, who was last seen March 2, was identified through dental records. The death was ruled a drowning, and there were no signs of trauma to the body, police said.

On Saturday, a diver with the Slidell Police Department who was volunteering to dive the waterways in the search for Monette found her Honda Accord in the bayou.

'I'm in shock'

Monette's mother, Toni Enclade, told CNN earlier that she had been notified a body was found.

Intelligence Leaks: Greenwald Accuses Mika Brzezinski Of Using 'Completely False' WH Talking Points

2013-06-11T01:44:00Z

Things got feisty on Morning Joe today, as Glenn Greenwald of the Guardian clashed with Mika Brzezinski over the leak of the NSA phone surveillance program by Greenwald's informant, Edward Snowden. H/t NB reader Jeff M.

When Brzezinski alleged that wiretapping or the review by the NSA of emails required an additional judicial review and warrant, Greenwald accused Mika of using "White House talking points" that were "completely misleading and false." Mika denied it. Greenwald upped the animosity by telling Mika she would have known better if she had paid even "remote attention" to the issues over the last ten years. View the video after the jump.

Watch the sparks fly.

State Department memo reveals possible cover-ups, halted investigations

2013-06-11T01:43:00Z

(CBS News) CBS News has uncovered documents that show the State Department may have covered up allegations of illegal and inappropriate behavior within their ranks.

The Diplomatic Security Service, or the DSS, is the State Department's security force, charged with protecting the secretary of state and U.S. ambassadors overseas and with investigating any cases of misconduct on the part of the 70,000 State Department employees worldwide.

CBS News' John Miller reports that according to an internal State Department Inspector General's memo, several recent investigations were influenced, manipulated, or simply called off. The memo obtained by CBS News cited eight specific examples. Among them: allegations that a State Department security official in Beirut "engaged in sexual assaults" on foreign nationals hired as embassy guards and the charge and that members of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's security detail "engaged prostitutes while on official trips in foreign countries" -- a problem the report says was "endemic."

The memo also reveals details about an "underground drug ring" was operating near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and supplied State Department security contractors with drugs.

Cavuto Cuts Mic on 'Obnoxious' Liberal Guest Echoing White House Talking Points

2013-06-11T01:42:00Z

Now THAT’S what I’m talking about.

Fox News host Neil Cavuto on Saturday cut the mic of the incredibly "offensive" and "obnoxious" liberal shill Julian Epstein for refusing to have a serious discussion about the current White House scandals and instead insisting on echoing Democrat talking points (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):

Cavuto asked his guest, “What part of Custer don’t you understand here, where you’re surrounded, and you see one incident after another that comes up, and it all it all comes back to the same basic issue: privacy’s invaded or potentially invaded, institutions of all sorts doing pretty much the same thing. There is a pattern.”

“If you want to conflate and combine all these issues and then make these general statements, you can do that,” Epstein said. “I just don’t think it’s a thoughtful way of approaching it.”

Cavuto interrupted his guest and shouted, “Why don’t you think about what I said, Julian? I’m asking you to think and connect all the – no, no, Julian, don’t play the politics game.”

Jury selection begins for George Zimmerman in Trayvon Martin case

2013-06-11T01:41:00Z

The trial of George Zimmerman began Monday with the laborious process of picking a jury that will decide the fate of the neighborhood watch volunteer accused of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed African American teenager, during a confrontation last year in a gated community in Sanford, Fla.

After a day of fits and starts, the defense and prosecution were able to question only four possible jurors in the first pool of 100 people who filled out questionnaires. The first round of questioning dealt primarily with the impact of pretrial publicity in a case that sparked local and national protests.

After the questioning, the lawyers met in front of Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson, where their discussions were private. But in comments in open court, Nelson said three of the four people questioned were asked to return Tuesday morning, along with 17 other jurors who were not questioned. That would imply that one of those questioned was already excused.

The four possible jurors — whose names, like everyone’s in the jury pool, are being withheld — agreed they could hand down a fair verdict based just on what they heard in the courtroom.

In 2006, Obama blasted NSA spying: 'No president is above the law'

2013-06-11T01:38:00Z

In 2006, then-Sen. Barack Obama criticized the nomination of U.S. Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, citing the controversial National Security Agency program for wiretapping Americans and collecting their phone records.

His full remarks below:

I have no doubt that General Hayden will be confirmed. But I am going to reluctantly vote against him to send a signal to this administration that even in these circumstances, even in these trying times, President Bush is not above the law. No President is above the law. I am voting against Mr. Hayden in the hope that he will be more humble before the great weight of responsibility that he has not only to protect our lives but to protect our democracy.

SENATOR ALEX PADILLA ISSUES STATEMENT ON PERMANENT CLOSURE OF SAN ONOFRE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

2013-06-11T01:37:00Z

Sacramento-California State Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), Chair of the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee announced today that he will be holding a hearing in the near future regarding the closure of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) and released the following statement:

“Many Californians will welcome the closure of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). I agree it was the right choice. We now face many unique challenges which will require careful consideration by the Legislature, Governor Brown, state regulators, and utilities. Of immediate concern is bridging the gap in the electricity supply and demand to serve Southern California. We have a solid plan in place for this summer, but looking out on the horizon we have critical impacts to plan for including assisting hundreds of plant employees who face the prospect of losing their jobs, replacing more than 2,000 megawatts of greenhouse gas-free baseload generation, and the costs and process of decommissioning the plant. I believe we can meet these challenges.

Calif. utility to retire troubled San Onofre nuclear power plant

2013-06-11T01:36:00Z

The troubled San Onofre nuclear power plant on the California coast is closing after an epic 16-month battle over whether the twin reactors could be safely restarted with millions of people living nearby, officials announced Friday.

Operator Southern California Edison said in a statement it will retire the twin reactors because of uncertainty about the future of the plant, which faced a tangle of regulatory hurdles, investigations and mounting political opposition. With the reactors idle, the company has spent more than $500 million on repairs and replacement power.

San Onofre could power 1.4 million homes. California officials have said they would be able to make it through the summer without the plant but warned that wildfires or another disruption in distribution could cause power shortages.

It wasn't clear how electrical production from the plant would be replaced permanently. The California Public Utilities Commission said it will work with governments to ensure Southern California has enough electricity, which will require increased energy efficiency and conservation during peak usage, as well as upgrades to transmission and generation resources.

Santa Monica shooter carried out deadly plan

2013-06-11T01:35:00Z

The gunman, dressed all in black and carrying a semi-automatic rifle, walked calmly through the Santa Monica College campus after killing his father, brother and another person, authorities said. He would kill a woman outside the library moments later, before dying from police gunfire.

CBS News senior correspondent John Miller, a former assistant FBI director, said on "CBS This Morning: Saturday" that authorities have been able to glean from neighbors that there was an ongoing family issue in the house where the deadly rampage began.

"Certainly, what we can tell is that this was not a visit to the house that turned into an argument," said Miller. "He prepared himself with weaponry. He prepared himself with tactical gear and clothing. This is the kind of thing that he was either planning - fantasizing about first, then planning - and then literally getting dressed up for, so he could create this person who was going to change everything."

Santa Monica suspect was 23-year-old ex-student

2013-06-11T01:34:00Z

Police identified the suspect in the Santa Monica shooting that killed five others as a 23-year-old who would have turned 24 on Saturday.

Authorities announced Sunday that the suspect, John Zawahri, and his brother were enrolled at Santa Monica College as early as 2010. Zawahri, who was first identified late Saturday, was killed by police during the gunfight. The shooting began at his father's house and ended at the college.

Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks said the suspected gunman had contact with law enforcement in 2006.

What we know about NSA leaker Edward Snowden

2013-06-11T01:29:00Z

The 29-year-old computer whiz who says he divulged details about National Security Agency's data-collecting programs has also revealed specifics of his life story, from an upbringing in North Carolina to a top-secret contract in Hawaii.

Speaking from a Hong Kong hotel that he reportedly has since left, Edward Snowden told The Guardian that he had enjoyed a "very comfortable life," but one marked by mounting disillusionment with what he views as government intrusion into the private lives of American citizens.

NSA Prism program taps in to user data of Apple, Google and others

2013-06-11T01:07:00Z

The National Security Agency has obtained direct access to the systems of Google, Facebook, Apple and other US internet giants, according to a top secret document obtained by the Guardian.

The NSA access is part of a previously undisclosed program called Prism, which allows officials to collect material including search history, the content of emails, file transfers and live chats, the document says.

The Guardian has verified the authenticity of the document, a 41-slide PowerPoint presentation – classified as top secret with no distribution to foreign allies – which was apparently used to train intelligence operatives on the capabilities of the program. The document claims "collection directly from the servers" of major US service providers.

Although the presentation claims the program is run with the assistance of the companies, all those who responded to a Guardian request for comment on Thursday denied knowledge of any such program.

In a statement, Google said: "Google cares deeply about the security of our users' data. We disclose user data to government in accordance with the law, and we review all such requests carefully. From time to time, people allege that we have created a government 'back door' into our systems, but Google does not have a back door for the government to access private user data."

White House defends surveillance as world digests leaker's motives

2013-06-11T01:06:00Z

(CNN) -- The White House said Monday it welcomes a debate over the electronic surveillance programs exposed by a National Security Agency contractor, even as federal agents began building a case against the self-proclaimed leaker.

Edward Snowden told the British newspaper the Guardian that he left behind his family and a six-figure job in Hawaii to reveal the extent of the NSA's collection of telephone and Internet data, which he called "an existential threat to democracy." The 29-year-old worked for computer consultant Booz Allen Hamilton, a contractor for the U.S. electronic intelligence agency.

Snowden said he expects to be prosecuted for the leak, and a federal law enforcement official said Monday that FBI agents have begun an investigation by searching the 29-year-old's home and computers and seeking interviews with his girlfriend, relatives, friends and co-workers.

Snowden outed himself Sunday in the Guardian, which began publishing details of his revelations last week. He said he expects to be prosecuted but acted in hopes of ending what he called an excessively intrusive system, the Guardian reported.

Piers Morgan Compares Newtown Photos to Open Casket of Emmett Till; Implies They Need to Be Published

2013-06-07T02:31:00Z

CNN's Piers Morgan continues to find every way he can to boost his gun control agenda. On Tuesday night's Piers Morgan Live, he compared the Newtown shooting photos to the open casket of Emmett Till in the 1950's and implied that America would need to see the gruesomeness of the shooting in order to change its mind on guns.

Till was a black teenager who was brutally murdered in Mississippi in 1955, whose mother insisted on having an open funeral casket to show the country the barbarity of the racism and hatred behind the killing. Newtown parents have objected to the publication of photos of their slain children, and Morgan insisted he would "respect" their views. However, he went on to cite Michael Moore and argue that America would need to see the pictures: [Video below the break. Audio here.]

"[O]bviously you respect the views of all these parents, and of course they should never be published if that's what they don't want. Everyone understands that. But Michael Moore raised this point that it may take something as shocking as what happened in the '50s with Emmett Till, when his mother released these dramatic pictures, allowing people to see the open casket of her son with the terrible injuries that he suffered. And that it changed the civil rights debate irrevocably. Could it happen in America, do you think? We didn't see any pictures from Aurora. None from Sandy Hook. If Americans saw the reality of a mass shooting outrage, could it change public opinion?"

'Things have got a little out of whack': Eric Holder admits failings on secretly pulling records on reporters but says he has no intention of standing down

2013-06-07T02:30:00Z

Attorney General Eric Holder has admitted that investigators may have gone too far in their recent attempts to prevent leaks to the media and he said the Justice Department needs to do a better job of balancing national security with press freedom.

‘I'm a little concerned that things have gotten a little out of whack,’ Holder told NBC on Wednesday. ‘I think we can do a better job than we have. We can reform those regulations, reform those guidelines to better reflect that balance.’

Holder has been embroiled in a media storm over a Justice Department subpoena of Associated Press phone records and, in particular, an investigation into leaks to Fox News correspondent James Rosen.

MSNBC's Matthews Returns Squarely to Obama Fold: Opposition Is 'Purely Ethnic'

2013-06-07T02:29:00Z

After briefly criticizing President Obama for the recent scandals surrounding his administration a few weeks ago, MSNBC's Hardball host Chris Matthews is back to his usual role of playing cheerleader for the Obama administration. Appearing on the June 5 program, Matthews showed his audience that the “thrill up his leg” feeling he has towards Obama is clearly back.

Speaking with The Huffington Post’s Howard Fineman and The Daily Beast’s Peter Beinart, Matthews went on a tirade against Republicans continued opposition to Susan Rice, Obama’s newest National Security Advisor, asking Howard Fineman:

Isn’t there any Republican hesitation, Howard [Fineman], you and I have watched this game for a long time, hesitation about beating the hell out of an African-American woman again. I mean, don't they feel any hesitance on just the gender and the ethnic front. [See video after jump. MP3 audio here.]

Matthews doubled down on his tired liberal talking point that opposition to Ms. Rice was racist, claiming that:

NSA reportedly collecting phone records of millions, though officials had denied holding 'data' on Americans

2013-06-07T02:28:00Z

Reports that the Obama administration has been collecting the phone records of millions of Verizon customers in the U.S. could contradict statements made by top officials who previously claimed the government was not holding data on Americans.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper was asked at a March hearing whether the National Security Agency collects any data on millions of Americans.

"No sir ... not wittingly," Clapper responded, acknowledging there are cases "where inadvertently, perhaps" the data could be collected.

NSA Director Gen. Keith Alexander also told Fox News last year that the agency does not "hold data on U.S. citizens."

L.A. Unified offers to pay alleged Miramonte victims $17 million

2013-06-07T02:27:00Z

The Los Angeles Unified School District on Wednesday offered to pay about $17 million to settle 40 legal claims involving a former Miramonte Elementary School teacher accused of committing lewd acts on children — but attorneys for the students say they plan to refuse the offers and take the claims to trial.

The settlement offers, which expire in 30 days, would pay each of the alleged victims of former teacher Mark Berndt about $425,000, plaintiffs’ lawyers said. All of those offered the settlements are represented by attorneys Luis Carrillo and Brian Claypool.

If accepted, the offers would be the second batch of settlements connected to the high-profile case, which rocked the nation’s second-largest school system and prompted a flurry of new state and local policies to better protect students.

The offers are lower than the first group of 58 settlements reached in March. Those will pay each of the victims about $470,000.

Berndt, 61, was arrested in January 2012 after a South Bay drugstore photo technician alerted authorities to images of children blindfolded, some with tape over their mouths. Berndt, a former third-grade teacher, was charged with 23 counts of lewd conduct involving allegations that he spoon-fed semen to blindfolded children as part of what he purportedly called a tasting game. He’s also accused of feeding them semen-tainted cookies and placing cockroaches on their faces.

Crowd stunned after valedictorian rips up speech, recites Lord's prayer

2013-06-07T02:26:00Z

A South Carolina valedictorian garnered wild applause after he ripped up his pre-approved speech and delivered the Lord’s prayer at his high school graduation on Saturday.

The act was apparently in protest of the Pickens County School District’s decision to no longer include prayer at graduation ceremonies, Christian News reported. Officials said the decision was made after the district was barraged with complaints by atheist groups.

But that didn’t stop Roy Costner IV of Liberty High School. He ripped up his graduation speech for all to see, before he started talking about his Christian upbringing, Christian News reported.

“Those that we look up to, they have helped carve and mold us into the young adults that we are today,” he said. “I’m so glad that both of my parents led me to the Lord at a young age.”

Electric Car Lover Rejected After Liquidating Savings to Meet Obama

2013-06-07T02:25:00Z

Paul Scott, 60, was willing to do just about anything to get President Obama’s ear for a few minutes about his lifelong passion for electric vehicles.

So the car salesman raised $32,000 by taking out money on credit cards and liquidating stock that constituted much of his life savings to attend a June 7 Democratic National Committee fundraiser the president plans to attend in California.

The only problem: He blogged about it. And the ensuing publicity prompted the DNC to say thanks but no thanks to his contribution.

“An average person off the street, what are the chances that they would get an opportunity to sit down for a few minutes and talk to the president on an important issue?” Scott asked ABC News as he drove his solar-powered electric vehicle to work today. “There’s zero chance of that.

“I just happened to mention it out loud. I didn’t know there were unwritten rules about this,” he said. “In my naivete, I said, ‘Wow, I get a chance to talk to the president.’”

The Left's War on Father's Day

2013-06-06T17:13:00Z

“We know the statistics,” said President Barack Obama, “that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime; nine times more likely to drop out of schools and 20 times more likely to end up in prison. They are more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from home, or become teenage parents themselves.”

The Journal of Research on Adolescence found that even after controlling for varying levels of household income, kids in father-absent homes are more likely to end up in jail. And kids that never had a father in the house are the most likely to wind up behind bars.

Tupac Shakur, the rapper killed in an unsolved and possibly gang-related murder, once said: “I know for a fact that had I had a father, I’d have some discipline. I’d have more confidence.” Tupac admitted he began running with gangs because he wanted structure and protection: “Your mother cannot calm you down the way a man can. Your mother can't reassure you the way a man can. My mother couldn't show me where my manhood was. You need a man to teach you how to be a man.”

Where have all the fathers gone?

When I was a child, my father and mother often complained about “people going on the county,” a term they used for the rare young mother in our neighborhood who relied on government welfare. My parents, who often disagreed politically, saw eye-to-eye in their opposition to what they called wrongheaded incentives that encourage people to have children without marriage. “The worst thing that ever came down the pike,” Dad would often call “county money.”

In “Dear Father, Dear Son,” my latest book, I write about my rough, tough World War II Marine staff sergeant father, whose gruff exterior I mistook for lack of love. Born in the Jim Crow South of Athens, Ga., he was 14 at the start of the Great Depression.

He never knew his biological father. The man with the last name of “Elder” was one of his mother’s many boyfriends, only this one stayed in my dad’s life a little longer than the others. A physically abusive alcoholic, Elder would give my father’s mom money from his paycheck to ensure it would not blow it on booze and gambling. After a couple of days, Elder would get drunk and demand his money back. She would refuse. He would beat her and take the money back. My father witnessed this ugly scenario over and over. “Why she just didn’t give him the damn money,” Dad told me, “I’ll never understand.”

One day, my father, then 13, came home from school, and his mom’s then-boyfriend accused him of making too much noise. They quarreled. His mother, siding with the boyfriend, threw my father out of the house. He never returned.

Growing up, I watched my father work two full-time jobs as a janitor. He also cooked for a rich family on the weekends and somehow managed to go to night school to get his GED. When I was 10, my father opened a small restaurant that he ran until he retired in his mid-80s. “Hard work wins,” Dad would tell my brothers and me. “The world doesn’t owe you a living.” My parents drilled into us the importance of education and self-reliance. “Go out into the world unprepared,” Dad would say, "and you’re going to get your behind kicked and your feelings hurt.”

Studies back up the link between the explosive growth in government welfare -- begun in the ‘60s -- and the increase of out-of-wedlock births.

In 1960, 5 percent of America’s children entered the world without a mother and father married to each other. By 1980 it was 18 percent, and by 2000 it had risen to 33 percent. Today, the number is 41 percent. For blacks, out-of-wedlock births have gone from 25 percent in 1965 to 73 percent today. The ethnic group with the next-highest percent of births to unmarried mothers is that of Native Americans, at 66 percent. For whites, out-of-wedlock births stand at 29 percent. For Hispanics, out-of-wedlock births are at 53 percent.

In every state, a woman with two children “makes” more money on welfare than were she to take a minimum wage job. The array of federal and state programs amounts to over $60K spent for every poor household. But because of costs, the recipient household ends up getting far less.

How do we know that the welfare state creates disincentives that hurt the people we are trying to help? They tell us. In 1985, the Los Angeles Times asked whether poor women “often” have children to get additional benefits. Most of the non-poor respondents said no. When the same question was asked of the poor, however, 64 percent said yes.

People, of course, need help. A humane society does not ignore those who cannot or even will not fend for themselves. But good faith does not substitute for sound policy. The welfare state is an assault on families.

Father of 22 Children by 14 Women Gives Amazing Interview

2013-06-06T01:31:00Z

Nashville’s Orlando Shaw, only 33 years old but already the father of 22 children by 14 different women, costs the state more than $7,000 each month to support his kids, News Channel 5 reports.

Those mothers — through Child Support Services — took Shaw to court for tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid child support over the years:

“How do we apply our child support guidelines to this many children in this many households,” said magistrate Scott Rosenberg.

Rosenburg said Shaw would have to take three or four full-time jobs to even come close to paying the child support he owes. Shaw said his prior criminal history makes it hard for him to find a job.

PARIS JACKSON LEFT SUICIDE NOTE, CUT HERSELF WITH MEAT CLEAVER

2013-06-06T01:24:00Z

Paris Jackson left a suicide note and then cut her arm with a meat cleaver ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with an intimate knowledge of the situation tell TMZ ... Michael Jackson's daughter called a suicide hotline and the person on the other end was alarmed enough to call 911.

Our sources say in addition to cutting her right forearm, Paris had taken a large number of Motrin pills.

We're told once Paris was taken by stretcher to an ambulance and then transported to a nearby hospital, she was placed under a 5150 psychiatric hold for 72 hours.

She received "numerous stitches" for the cut.

As for the suicide note ... we do not know what she wrote.

Chris Dorner Review Finds That Firing Was Justified, Says His Allegations Of Racism Were Unfounded

2013-06-06T01:20:00Z

LOS ANGELES — An internal review by the Los Angeles Police Department concluded that rogue ex-officer Christopher Dorner was justifiably fired, a lawyer who reviewed the findings told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Civil rights attorney Connie Rice said the lengthy examination found no basis for allegations of racism and bias that Dorner made in a manifesto vowing revenge on his former colleagues and their families.

Authorities said Dorner killed four people, including two law enforcement officers, during a weeklong rampage in February that involved a massive manhunt and ended with his apparent suicide in a mountain cabin following a gunbattle with police.

The findings, which are expected to be made public this month at a Los Angeles Police Commission meeting, concluded that Dorner had a history of embellishing stories, misperceiving slights and making bogus complaints against his fellow officers, Rice said.

Report: MLB may ban A-Rod, Braun

2013-06-06T01:18:00Z

Major League Baseball apparently has secured a star witness in its investigation of performance-enhancing drug use among active players: Tony Bosch, founder of the now-defunct Biogenesis wellness clinic at the center of the probe.

MLB has searched for evidence of PED use by Ryan Braun, Alex Rodriguez and others over the past several months. But they didn't have an informant with intimate knowledge of the PED-related activity to substantiate information contained in documents related to Biogenesis. That has changed, according to an ESPN report Tuesday evening.

The ESPN report said Bosch "reached an agreement this week to cooperate with MLB's investigation" into Biogenesis. In return, according to the report, MLB has agreed to drop a lawsuit it had filed against Bosch earlier this year and "put in a good word with any law enforcement agency that may bring charges against him." A source with The Associated Press later confirmed the ESPN report that Bosch has an agreement with MLB.

'Late Late Show' Host Ferguson to Bill Maher: You're Controlled by the Democratic Party

2013-06-06T01:16:00Z

This is beyond delicious.

On the CBS Late Late Show Tuesday, host Craig Ferguson accused Bill Maher - to his face! - of being controlled by the Democratic Party (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):

During their discussion, Maher commented about how he had been on the same studio lot since 1996 when he was doing Politically Incorrect on Comedy Central.

“I’ve endured,” bragged Maher. “That’s gansta!”

Obama appoints Susan Rice as national security adviser

2013-06-06T01:14:00Z

Hailing her longtime role as a “trusted adviser,” President Barack Obama formally named U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice as his next national security adviser on Wednesday.

Obama tapped Rice, a target of Republican criticism in recent months, to succeed Tom Donilon; the president also nominated Samantha Power, a longtime foreign policy adviser, to take over Rice’s role at the United Nations.

“I am absolutely thrilled that she'll be back at my side leading my national security team in my second term,” Obama said of Rice, a longtime confidant whose role in publicly explaining the administration’s initial assessment of last year’s terror attack in Benghazi, Libya, has made her a lightning rod for criticism.

Rodriguez, Braun Implicated In New PED Scandal

2013-06-06T01:12:00Z

NEW YORK (AP) — The founder of a Miami anti-aging clinic has agreed to talk to Major League Baseball about players linked to performance-enhancing drugs, a person familiar with the case told The Associated Press on Tuesday night.

The person declined to be identified because the investigation was still ongoing.

Information that Anthony Bosch provides MLB on players who came to the now-closed Biogenesis of America clinic could lead to suspensions. Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun, Nelson Cruz and Melky Cabrera are among the players whose names have been tied to the clinic.

Judge orders dying Pa. girl put on transplant list

2013-06-06T01:11:00Z

A federal judge Wednesday ordered that a dying 10-year-old suburban Philadelphia girl be placed temporarily on an adult transplant list for a new lung.

Sarah Murnaghan, of Newtown Square, has end-stage cystic fibrosis and just weeks to live, doctors say. But organ-transplant rules say children under age 12 must wait for lungs from young donors, which happens infrequently.

U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson issued a temporarily restraining order because of the severity of her illness, ruling she could be placed on the list until at least June 14, when a court hearing is scheduled.

Religious Crusade Against Boy Scouts?

2013-06-06T01:09:00Z

The controversy over the Boy Scouts welcoming gay youth is being fueled by religious purveyors of judgment and condemnation. Ironically it is the Boy Scout values of compassion and respect that reflect a more generous spirit of inclusion.

I am no fan of the decision to allow gay youth to be members of Boy Scout troops while disallowing the leadership and service of adults who happen to be gay. It is a disingenuous double standard. However, the decision of the Boy Scouts looks enlightened when compared to the religious and cultural war that some religious leaders and institutions are trying to wage on scouting and gay youth.

Earnest Easley, a Southern Baptist pastor and chair of his denomination's executive committee, is one of these warriors according to USA Today. Claiming that homosexuality is a sin and using spurious cut and paste theology to support a prejudice against LGBT people, a self-righteous crusade has been launched to sever ties between faith based groups and the Scout troops that they sponsor.

PARIS JACKSON POSSIBLE SUICIDE ATTEMPT Rushed to Hospital

2013-06-06T01:06:00Z

5:19 PM PT -- Howard Weitzman, the lawyer for the MJ Estate, tells TMZ, "Co-Executors John Branca and John McClain wish to extend their heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Paris Jackson during this very difficult time. The Executors are fully committed to providing Paris with whatever assistance she requires in dealing with this situation and will be there for her."

1:35 PM P -- We just posted a story ... Paris left a suicide note and cut herself with a meat cleaver. To read full story, click here.

1:30 PM PT Police went to Debbie Rowe's ranch to speak with her today ... presumably because she's been spending a lot of time with Paris, and knows her state of mind.

Treasury IG: 'No One' at IRS Would Say Who Ordered Targeting of Conservatives

2013-06-05T02:48:00Z

(CNSNews.com) - The Treasury Department inspector general told Congress on Monday that he asked the big question -- who at the Internal Revenue Service ordered the targeting of conservative groups? -- but got no answers. And the new acting Commissioner of the IRS says he hasn't even asked the question yet, as he conducts his 30-day "accountability" review.

"Have either of you asked the individuals in Cincinnati, who ordered this? Who ordered them to use this extra scrutiny to punish or penalize or postpone or deny?" Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.) asked acting IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel and Treasury IG J. Russell George at Monday's hearing.

Glenn Close: My 'Fatal Attraction' role 'played into the stigma' of mental illness

2013-06-05T02:46:00Z

It is arguably her most famous role, but Glenn Close says her portrayal of vengeful Alex Forrest in "Fatal Attraction" had a fatal flaw — namely, that it contributed to misunderstanding of mental illness.

In the film, Close's character becomes obsessed with Dan Gallagher, played by Michael Douglas, after a brief fling. When Dan cuts her off, Alex, a single publishing executive, goes off the rails, threatening his family, attacking him with a knife and infamously boiling a bunny.

In an interview with CBS News, Close said she "would have a different outlook" on Alex today.

Mariners one-timer Milton Bradley faces prison after spousal abuse conviction

2013-06-05T02:26:00Z

Milton Bradley, the baseball hot-head who played his final two seasons for the Mariners, now faces up to 7 1/2 years in prison after being convicted Monday of abusing his estranged wife.

Bradley, 35, was accused of threatening and attacking his wife on five occasions in 2011 and 2012. In one incident, prosecutors said, Bradley picked up a baseball bat and swung it at his wife. He also was accused of showing her a picture of a gun and saying, “This is the gun that I’m going to kill you with.”

A jury in Los Angeles convicted him Monday on nine counts of spousal battery. His sentencing is scheduled for July 2, and he could go to jail for 7 1/2 years on the convictions, The Associated Press reported.

Here’s more from the AP:

Prosecutors said Bradley threatened and attacked his wife five times in 2011 and 2012. The two have been married for five years and have two children together, but are separated and in the middle of a contentious divorce.

Maryland Vs. King Ruling: US Supreme Court Decides DNA Swabs During Arrests Are Constitutional In 5-4 Decision

2013-06-05T02:20:00Z

Police are allowed to take DNA samples from people they arrest on charges of serious crimes, even if there are no plans to prosecute them for the offenses, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision handed down Monday.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion for the court. Also voting with Kennedy were Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer and Samuel Alito. Justice Antonin Scalia, who wrote the dissenting opinion, joined Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan in the minority.

Rate Shock: In California, Obamacare To Increase Individual Health Insurance Premiums By 64-146%

2013-06-05T02:16:00Z

Last week, the state of California claimed that its version of Obamacare’s health insurance exchange would actually reduce premiums. “These rates are way below the worst-case gloom-and-doom scenarios we have heard,” boasted Peter Lee, executive director of the California exchange. But the data that Lee released tells a different story: Obamacare, in fact, will increase individual-market premiums in California by as much as 146 percent.

One of the most serious flaws with Obamacare is that its blizzard of regulations and mandates drives up the cost of insurance for people who buy it on their own.

If this health plan is 'socialism,' we need more of it

2013-06-05T02:15:00Z

So this is what socialism looks like: Private companies competing for people's business in an open marketplace.

Californians got their first glimpse Thursday of what insurers plan to charge for coverage to be offered next year to about 5 million state residents who don't receive health insurance from employers.

Where's The Inflation? Coming To Your Neighborhood

2013-06-05T02:13:00Z

In December 2008, the Federal Reserve drove down the overnight federal funds rate to near zero. In March 2009, it announced an aggressive program to purchase mortgage backed securities.

These actions were followed by successive rounds of monetary easing, which were unprecedented in size and scope. Economists have been predicting an outbreak of inflation. Were they wrong?

Critics say the absence of inflation proves the doomsday forecasts were wrong. Some critics, like Paul Krugman, argue even more monetary stimulus is needed. They point to consumer price inflation, which was 1.1% for the last 12 months ending in April, to argue there is ample room for further monetary easing.

Yet Fed Chairman Bernanke's congressional testimony on Wednesday suggests the Fed is beginning to doubt the wisdom of continuing its current policy of monetary ease.

Gov. Chris Christie Calls Special Election For Open Senate Seat

2013-06-05T02:11:00Z

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) called for a special election to fill the Senate seat left vacant by Frank Lautenberg (D), who died of pneumonia yesterday.

The primary will be on August 13 and the general election on October 16. Christie says he will name a placeholder to the seat but hasn't decided who he will pick.

"I do have a preference for one party over another, so that may color my judgment a little," Christie said.

Christie opts for special election, says voters should decide

2013-06-05T02:09:00Z

(CNN) - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie opted for a special election to fill a newly vacant Senate seat through 2014 instead of appointing a replacement through that time, saying the decision was about giving voters "a choice and a voice in the process" and was not driven by political self-interest.

While the Republican's decision for a special October ballot could help him avoid stronger Democratic turnout in his re-election bid a month later, it also opens him up to criticism from his own party that is on the short end of the balance of power in the Senate.

Emanuel Bets on Blackhawks, Challenges LA Mayor

2013-06-04T01:33:00Z

Looks like Mayor Rahm Emanuel has a beef with the Mayor of Los Angeles.

Emanuel placed a wager on the Chicago Blackhawks this weekend, offering Mayor Atoniono Villaraigosa some hometown favorites, including 25 Italian beef sandwiches from Al’s Italian Beef, if the Kings beat the Hawks in this best-of-seven series.

In a letter to Mayor Villaraigosa, Emanuel states:

“In every stage of these Playoffs our Blackhawks have advanced in the most humble fashion: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury by your Kings. Kings, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, are unfit to be the champion of the NHL, and should be relegated to ‘Ye Olde Sin Bin.’

“I, therefore, the Representative of the People of Chicago, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions (in this case NHL commissioner Gary Bettman), do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of this fair City of Big Shoulders, solemnly publish and declare that we will offer the following bounty, payable only if your Kings find way to defeat our Blackhawks in the forthcoming best-of-seven series that will commence today.”

Are You Happy? It May Depend on Age, Race/Ethnicity and Other Factors

2013-06-04T01:27:00Z

New York, N.Y. - May 30, 2013 - Has the pursuit of happiness left Americans unhappy? Maybe, according to the Harris Poll® Happiness index, which uses a series of questions to calculate Americans' overall happiness. According to findings of a Harris Poll survey of 2,345 U.S. adults surveyed online between April 10 and 15, 2013 by Harris Interactive, only a third of Americans (33%) are very happy.

"Our happiness index offers insight into what's on the minds of Americans today and is a reflection of the state of affairs in our country," said Regina Corso, Senior Vice President of the Harris Poll. "While the attitudes on the economy may be improving, we're seeing that this is not translating into an improvement in overall happiness. For certain groups, such as minorities, recent graduates and the disabled, they are actually sub segments of the American population where 'happiness' has trended downward in the last couple years."

The Role of Politics

Minorities show particularly pronounced declines in happiness in the two years since the Happiness Index was last measured, with especially low happiness levels observed among the Hispanic American population; while it is important to note that a causal link cannot be established, it may not be a coincidence that this drop coincides with a political landscape that has seen frequent, sometimes contentious, discussion of immigration policy in recent months. Other findings include:

African-Americans appear to be less happy than in 2011, with 36% qualifying as very happy - down from 44% in 2011. However, though happiness is down among them, they remain roughly as happy as whites (34%); in contrast, fewer than three in ten Hispanic Americans (28%) are very happy. This represents not only a decline from 2011 (35%) but also a significantly lower percentage than seen among either whites or African-Americans.
Among Americans with disabilities, the percentage of those very happy has dropped from 34% to 31%- another decline which may have ties to cuts or feared cuts in services as a result of the sequester.