Politics

In a huge defeat for Teabagistan, this morning the US House overwhelmingly approved its omnibus spending bill which fully funds Planned Parenthood. The Wall Street Journal reports: In a 316-113 vote, a coalition of more centrist Democrats and Republicans passed the spending bill that would avoid a shutdown when the government’s current funding expires at 12:01 a.m. ET on Dec. …

The New York Times reports: The Democratic National Committee has told the campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont that it was suspending its access to its voter database after a software error enabled at least one of his staff members to review Hillary Clinton’s private campaign data. The decision by the party committee is a major blow to Mr. …

Russian president Vladimir Putin appeared to endorse Donald Trump in remarks made yesterday in Moscow. Via Politico: According to an Interfax report of his annual year-end news conference, Putin called the Republican presidential candidate “a very bright and talented man,” as well as an “absolute leader” in the race for the presidency. “He says that he wants to move to …

The Hill has the numbers: Hillary Clinton holds a huge national lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), according to a new poll. A Monmouth University survey released Wednesday found Clinton with a 33-point lead, taking 59 percent support nationally over Sanders at 26 percent. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley takes 4 percent support in the poll. Clinton has maintained a …

CNN has condensed many of last night’s biggest moments into a 90-second clip. Watch below. I would have included Wolf Blizter rebuking Ted Cruz for refusing to abide by his time limit and that bitchy Trump-Bush blowup.

The New York Daily News continues its loud campaign against the gun industry: For America’s gun makers, the slaughter of school children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School turned out to be very good for the bottom line. In the three years since the massacre in Newtown, Conn., the country’s biggest gun manufacturers have made loads of money following a …

This is quite surprising considering recent events. The Independent reports: The far right Front National (FN) was unexpectedly vanquished in all parts of France last night after disgruntled moderate voters surged back to the polls in the second round of regional elections. In a nationwide vote watched with anxiety all over Europe, Marine Le Pen’s deodorised far-right party failed to …

Politico reports: Rand Paul will be on the main stage at Tuesday’s GOP presidential debate in Las Vegas after CNN apparently tweaked its criteria to add a ninth podium for the Kentucky senator, the network announced Sunday. The candidates who will be on the main stage are: Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Carly …

The haters may have turned back LGBT rights in Houston, but they couldn’t keep the mayor’s office out of Democratic hands. The New York Times reports: State Representative Sylvester Turner, defeated his rival, Bill King, as rainy weather appeared to have lessened turnout in the runoff election. The vote represented a political crossroads of sorts for the country’s fourth-most populous …

Just last week the Democratic former state Assembly majority leader was found guilty of corruption. Aaaand here we go again, but this time it’s the guy who voted against same-sex marriage. The New York Times reports: Dean G. Skelos, the former majority leader of the New York Senate, and his son were found guilty of federal corruption charges on Friday, …

THIS is how you do it. Via the New York Times: Canada welcomed 163 Syrian refugees under its new accelerated entry program late Thursday night, the first of 25,000 the country has promised to take in by March. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a battery of politicians from across the political spectrum were on hand at the Toronto airport to …

Via the Washington Post: Republican officials and leading figures in the party’s establishment are preparing for the possibility of a brokered convention as businessman Donald Trump continues to sit atop the polls in the GOP presidential race. More than 20 of them convened Monday near the Capitol for a dinner held by Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, and the …

It all started with a bouquet of roses and a “crotch grab.” The fight began between MPs from the president’s Petro Poroshenko Bloc (PPB) and Yatsenyuk’s People’s Front (PF). It allegedly all started when Oleg Barna (PPB) went up to the tribune while Yatsenyuk was giving a speech, presented him a bouquet of roses and then tried to carry him …

Hillary Clinton is leading Bernie Sanders by 20 points in a national poll released today. On the GOP side, many expected Ted Cruz to chip away at Trump’s lead this week, but that doesn’t appear to be happening. Politico reports: More than one-in-three Republican primary voters say they would vote for Donald Trump, according to the results of the latest …

Donald Trump has canceled his visit to Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the proposal to ban Muslim immigration. CNN International reports: Trump had planned to meet with Netanyahu December 28 in Israel, according to an Israeli government official, but shortly after the meeting was reported, Netanyahu’s office condemned Trump’s comments about Muslims. “Prime Minister Netanyahu rejects Donald Trump’s …

USA! USA! Politico reports: A hyperactive bald eagle named Uncle Sam did not frighten Donald Trump during a photo shoot for Time magazine earlier this year, the Republican presidential candidate said Thursday. “No, not really,” he told the co-hosts of “Fox and Friends” in a telephone interview. With the release of its annual list, Time also posted previously unpublished content …

The White House has rejected any quota for LGBT Syrian refugees but says their asylum requests will get priority attention due to their status as a persecuted minority. Stand by for Teabagistan to completely lose their shit. Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: White House Press Josh Earnest explained the administration’s position in response to a question from the …

Well, THAT didn’t take long. The BBC reports: A petition calling for Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump to be barred from entering UK has gathered more than 200,000 names, so MPs will have to consider debating the issue. The petition went on Parliament’s e-petition website on Tuesday. It was posted in response to Mr Trump’s call for a temporary halt …

Last night Bernie Sanders told Rachel Maddow that Donald Trump has encouraged the nation’s racists to come out of the shadows:  Top Democrats bashed Donald Trump Tuesday for his plan to ban foreign Muslims from entering the country. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said Trump’s call for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” has encouraged racists …

NBC News reports: White House press secretary Josh Earnest sharply denounced Donald Trump on Tuesday, saying that his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States is “disqualifying” and calling on all other Republicans to renounce any support for the real estate mogul even if he becomes the GOP nominee. “What he said is disqualifying,” Earnest said of Trump. …