Politics

Gothamist reports: Governor Cuomo announced on Wednesday that he is spearheading a comprehensive overhaul of Penn Station. In conjunction with Amtrak and the MTA, the renovation will seek a private developer to convert the Farley post office building on Eighth Avenue into a grand, sun-soaked waiting area. Maybe this time the stories will be true? The project—dubbed the Empire Station …

Reported yesterday by the Associated Press: The son of Alabama’s chief justice has pleaded not guilty to drug charges. Court documents show Caleb Moore pleaded not guilty on Dec. 21 to two counts. Moore, who is 25, faces charges of felony possession of the prescription medication alprazolam and misdemeanor marijuana possession. Caleb Moore was arrested in March in Troy. Police …

The New York Daily News today again strikes effectively at the gun lobby, calling the GOP “the party of pro-death.” Today’s front page calls out Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina, and Paul Ryan for their “blood-soaked chase for cheap votes.” Yesterday the tabloid blasted the NRA for its “act of terror” in tweeting out a bullet-strewn image of pro-gun …

The BBC reports: North Korea says it has successfully carried out its first underground test of a hydrogen bomb – a more powerful weapon than an atomic bomb. If true it would be its fourth nuclear test since 2006 and mark a huge advance in its nuclear capabilities. The announcement was swiftly criticised by world leaders with South Korea calling …

Via Raw Story:  Fox News host Andrea Tantaros suggested on Tuesday President Barack Obama had used a “raw onion” to produce fake tears for shooting victims during his press conference on gun violence. After a commercial break, Fox News replayed a clip of Obama with tears flowing down his face. Tantaros said that she didn’t buy the emotion because “he …

“The gun lobby may be holding Congress hostage but they cannot hold America hostage. We cannot make carnage the price of freedom.” USA Today reports: President Obama announced a series of executive actions on guns Tuesday, focusing on the victims of gun violence in a White House event intended to prod Congress to take further action. Speaking to an East …

Jeb Bush today rushed out a pro-gun ad just one day after he was busted for “mistakenly” claiming to have received an award from the NRA and a rifle from Charleton “Moses” Heston. CNN reports: Jeb Bush loves talking about how Moses once gave him a gun. A staunch supporter of Second Amendment rights, Bush frequently tells the story of …

The Associated Press reports: Jackie Biskupski has been sworn in as Salt Lake City’s mayor, becoming the first openly gay person to hold the office. The 49-year-old former Utah lawmaker said Monday she is humbled by her history-making election but said more needs to be done for LGBT rights. Biskupski is no stranger to making history in the state. In …

Former Rep. Aaron Schock today tweeted for the first time in nearly eight months to complain about a news item which reports that his House replacement has painted over Schock’s infamous Downton Abbey-inspired office. The Washington Post speculates that Schock might be setting the stage for a return to public life. They write: The day after the first episode of …

CNBC reports: Gun control initiatives are coming to the U.S. in the next few days, President Barack Obama said Monday afternoon. Obama, who has expressed deep frustration about U.S. gun control regulations after a series of mass shootings at schools and other places during his presidency, met with U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Monday to discuss gun control measures …

Responding to the torching of its Tehran embassy, yesterday Saudi Arabia cut its diplomatic ties to Iran. A ripple effect is taking place today in pro-Saudi nations. The BBC reports: A number of Saudi Arabia’s allies have joined diplomatic action against Iran after the Saudi embassy in Tehran was attacked amid a row over the execution of a Shia Muslim …

YouTube’s popular Taiwanese animators have rushed out their take on the teabagger militia currently occupying a federal building in Oregon. The clip below mocks the FBI for doing nothing so far and pointedly notes what would have happened if these “protesters” were black.

Several skywriting planes are laying down anti-Trump messages over the Rose Bowl Parade today in Pasadena, California. Among the messages: “Trump Is A Fascist Dictator” and “Trump Loves To Hate Anybody.” Also: “Iowans Dump Trump” and “America Is Great, Trump Is Disgusting.” The messages appear to be from the people behind the website AnybodyButTrump.us. A very short clip is below.

Actor turned Fox News pundit Wayne Rogers died yesterday at age 82. Via CNN: Rogers, who portrayed the wise-cracking Army surgeon “Trapper” John McIntyre in the first three seasons of TV’s “M*A*S*H,” died Thursday, his publicist Rona Menashe told Reuters. Rogers died of complications from pneumonia in Los Angeles, Menashe told Reuters. Rogers’ Trapper John was one half of “M*A*S*H”‘s …

“For over a decade, Media Matters has fought conservative misinformation in the media. As another year comes to an end, we take a look back to just some of the inanity we’ve seen this year.” Watch this.

Via Politico: Comedian-in-Chief Barack Obama on Wednesday fired off quips alongside Jerry Seinfeld to open season 7 of “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.” “I always wanted to be in a show about nothing and here I am,” Obama says. “There’s nothing more nothing than this,” Seinfeld responds. “Nothing.” The online series features Seinfeld driving around various cities with other comedians. …

From the New York Times editorial board: Tamir Rice of Cleveland would be alive today had he been a white 12-year-old playing with a toy gun in just about any middle-class neighborhood in the country on the afternoon of Nov. 22, 2014. But Tamir, who was shot to death by a white police officer that day, had the misfortune of …

President Obama’s Twitter team has sent out the above image with this caption: “Suit up—it’s President Obama’s final State of the Union. Say you’ll tune in.” The reaction across Teabagistan has been quite amusing. Iowa Hawk blogger David Burge: “This picture says more about the state of the nation than his mouth ever could.” Admittedly, the photo is kind of trolltastic …

Whoa. Via Reuters: A book to be published in Hong Kong in the new year says Zhou Enlai, Communist China’s much-respected first premier, was probably gay despite his long marriage, and had once been in love with a male schoolmate two years his junior. It is a contention certain to be controversial in China, where the Communist Party likes to …

Ynet News reports: Likud’s first openly-gay MK Amir Ohana, who entered the Knesset following the retirement of minister Silvan Shalom, was sworn in on Monday, while members of ultra-Orthodox faction United Torah Judaism decided to leave the plenum in protest. “I am here with everything that I am – the things I chose to be and those I didn’t – …