Politics

Two days ago George Will wrote a Washington Post column attacking Bill O’Reilly’s book Killing Reagan in which he denounces O’Reilly’s “slander” for claiming that the assassination attempt on Reagan triggered a mental decline so severe that his advisors considered using the 25th Amendment to remove him from office. Last night the fellow Fox News personalities tangled on-air about the …

According to International Business Times, billionaire investor Paul Singer’s backing of Marco Rubio may be tied to Rubio’s position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. At a discounted price, Singer purchased debt owed by Argentina and is suing them for full repayment. And Rubio can help with that. They write: Bloomberg reports that Singer’s firm, Elliott Management — through a …

USA Today reports: President Obama announced Friday that his administration has rejected the Keystone XL Pipeline project after more than six years of review. “The State Department has decided that the Keystone XL pipeline would not serve the national interest of the United States,” Obama said, appearing at the White House with Secretary of State John Kerry and Vice President …

Yesterday Ukraine’s Parliament voted down gay employment protections, which are a requirement for visa-free travel among the EU nations that belong to the Schengen zone. Agence France-Presse reports: President Petro Poroshenko said in a nationally televised address late Wednesday that his crisis-torn nation — it’s economy battered and the pro-Russian separatist east out of Kiev’s control — faced “an extremely …

Today the Elton John AIDS Foundation announced a partnership with the federal government which will increase access to HIV medications in African nations which are historically anti-gay. Speaking to CNBC, Elton claimed that Queen Elizabeth could repeal anti-gay legislation in Commonwealth nations “with one wave of her hand.” CNBC reports: John added: “These laws come from … the Commonwealth. These …

Interestingly, the clip below has already been edited to remove a dig at Ben Carson. Rolling Stone reports: In a series of promos posted online — then quickly taken down — Wednesday, Saturday Night Live offers a sneak-peek of what it has in store when GOP presidential candidate and famous gazillionaire Donald Trump returns as host of the show Saturday. …

Two weeks ago Goshen, Indiana city council candidate Brent Randall was outed for having a profile on Adam4Adam. Divorced in 2007 after 22 years of marriage to a woman, Randall dismissed the hook-up profile as a “little experiment” and maintained that he continues to oppose a local LGBT rights ordinance, falsely declaring that Indiana already protects its LGBT citizens under …

“Political strategists warned LGBT activists in the days ahead of the vote: There was little Spanish-language outreach, no big ad buy in Spanish-language media — in a city that is 44% Hispanic — countering the lies of the opposition, who’d certainly been doing their own outreach. Monica Roberts, a long-time African-American transgender activist, warned of little outreach in the black …

Last month perennial Toledo mayoral candidate Opal Covey promised that God will destroy her city if the election were to be stolen from her once again. “Bahalaa asha tiyah tololo!” warned Covey, in an interview with Toledo’s NBC affiliate. So get ready Ohio: Incumbent Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson, 64, who became mayor in February automatically as council president when Mayor D. …

And yet another big win in Salt Lake City. From the campaign’s Facebook page: Thank you! Thank you to my family for standing next to me through this campaign, for my volunteers for putting in countless hours knocking on doors, making calls, and talking to their friends. Thank you to all my supporters, your enthusiasm, donations, and moral cheers really …

Another bright spot from last night. The Salt Lake Tribune reports: Salt Lake City voters elected Jackie Biskupski as Utah’s first openly gay mayor and only the second female top executive in the capital city, according to the unofficial election-night count. Those vote tallies had Biskupski with 52.19 percent to two-term Mayor Ralph Becker’s 47.81 percent — less than a …

You KNEW he couldn’t stay away, right? NPR reports: Announcing what could be a string of projects from the former host of The Daily Show, HBO says it has reached an exclusive four-year deal with Jon Stewart. In the first phase of the deal, Stewart will produce “short-form digital content,” HBO says. “Appearing on television 22 minutes a night clearly …

Ah, satisfying. CNN breaks it down: President Barack Obama tore into Republican presidential candidates Monday night at a Democratic fundraising event in New York, saying their complaints about CNBC’s debate moderation aren’t an encouraging preview for their governing abilities. “Have you noticed that everyone of these candidates say, ‘Obama’s weak. Putin’s kicking sand in his face. When I talk to …

USA Today reports: Hillary Clinton has regained the lead over Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire, site of next year’s first Democratic primary, according to a new poll released Tuesday. Clinton leads Sanders 48% to 45%, according to the Monmouth University Poll. Sanders, a Vermont senator, held a 7-point lead in the same poll in September when Vice President Biden, Lincoln …

Sen. Al Franken has launched a year-long battle to help Democrats flip the five Senate seats needed to assume the majority in 2016. Politico reports: In a rare interview in his Capitol office, the Minnesotan described his most ambitious effort yet to help elect Democrats in his more than six years in Washington. Franken is using his celebrity to help …

Well, this is encouraging. From a just-issued study by Pew Research: Pew Research Center surveys consistently show that not all religious “nones” are nonbelievers. In fact, the majority of Americans without a religious affiliation say they believe in God. As a group, however, the “nones” are far less religiously observant than Americans who identify with a specific faith. And, as …

Gone is the “Jeb!” ABC News reports: Jeb Bush launches his “Jeb Can Fix It” tour today. The embattled GOP presidential candidate is beginning the tour in his home state of Florida, traversing the state with three events in three different cities. He’ll begin with remarks in Tampa, head to an event near Orlando and end with a town hall …

Take Part reports: It’s been called the largest humanitarian crisis in Europe since World War II. But while the stories of people fleeing violence and oppression have shocked the world, grasping the scale of the number of migrants seeking asylum on the continent can be difficult. That’s where Lucify, a data visualization company based in Helsinki, hopes to help. The …

Last night John Oliver ripped into Republican leaders who oppose expanding Medicaid coverage in their home states. Raw Story recaps: According to Oliver, 20 Republican-led states opted out of accepting what is essentially free money from the federal government in order to provide needed health care for residents who can’t afford health insurance. One state that has had overwhelming success …

Former US Senator, actor, and ad pitchman Fred Thompson died of lymphoma today at the age 72. NBC News reports: Thompson, a towering, burly man with a deep, Southern-inflected voice, parlayed his fame as a key investigator of the Watergate scandal into a TV and movie career before he was elected to finish the Senate term of Al Gore of …