Politics

Vice President Joe Biden has put off making his decision about jumping into the 2016 presidential race and will not take part in next week’s first Democratic debate.  CNN reports: He is not preparing for the first Democratic debate on October 13 in Las Vegas and is not expected to participate, people close to him say, because he feels no …

Nothing seems to ruffle the polling numbers for the Teflon Don. USA Today reports: Billionaire businessman Donald Trump has strengthened his lead at the top of the USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll while two other outsider candidates, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina, have gained ground over rivals with electoral experience. Jeb Bush, who two months ago was second to Trump in …

GOP Indiana House Majority Leader Jud McMillin abruptly resigned yesterday after a sex video was sent from his phone to unknown persons. McMillin, one of his state’s most ardent opponents of same-sex marriage, claims that his phone was “stolen in Canada.” Via the Indianapolis Star: The Star has learned that the surprise resignation came after a sexually explicit video was …

The Washington Post sets up the clip: Rep. Jim Jordan, one of the most conservative members of the House, used his time shouting at Richards because she admitted at one point that she had originally “apologized for the tone and statements” in the “sting” videos that started this controversy. Apparently Jordan imagined that in making this admission, she had fallen …

The Intercept reports: Edward Snowden isn’t just a hashtag anymore. The NSA whistleblower joined Twitter on Tuesday, using the @snowden Twitter handle. Snowden, who has lived in Russia since turning over a trove of top-secret documents to reporters more than two years ago, has remained in the public eye thanks to frequent appearances and interviews using video links and sometimes …

The First Lady appeared on The Late Show last night where Stephen Colbert asked about her post-White House plans. TIME Magazine recaps: You know what First Lady Michelle Obama is most looking forward to when she leaves the White House? Opening a window. They say it’s the little things that matter most in life. In this case, that seems like …

Vox reports: Robert Mugabe, the 91-year-old leader of Zimbabwe, deviated slightly from his prepared remarks, during his Monday evening address to the United Nations General Assembly, to do something that he does frequently: slur against homosexuality. “We are not gays,” he shouted. And it’s worse than it sounds. Mugabe made the comment in the course of a point about “double-standards,” …

Russian president Vladimir Putin sat down with 60 Minutes in advance of his address today before the United Nations General Assembly. According to Putin, Russia treats its LGBT citizens very well. Via CBS News: “The problem of sexual minorities in Russia had been deliberately exaggerated from the outside for political reasons, I believe, without any good basis,” he tells Charlie …

ABC News reports: President Obama took on a confrontational tone in his speech this morning to the United Nations General Assembly, specifically calling out Russia, China and Iran for destabilizing activities in various world conflicts. Obama opened his speech directly decrying “strong states that seek to impose their will on weaker ones,” then alluded to Russian support for Syrian President …

Singing “Zip-O-Dee-Doo-Dah” (seriously), John Boehner held a press conference this afternoon to announce his resignation both as House Speaker and from Congress entirely.

Breitbart has reacted to the news of John Boehner’s resignation with a blinking headline – something I’ve not seen them use before. And moments ago Sen. Marco Rubio broke the news to Duggar Fest attendees who leaped to their feet for a wild standing ovation. As bad as Boehner was on most progressive issues, at least he kept the far-right …

WOW. The New York Times: “Mr. Boehner was under extreme pressure from the right wing of his conference over whether or not to defund Planned Parenthood in a bill to keep the government open.” Teabagistan is going to explode in utter joy. Story developing… UPDATE: The Hill reports. “Speaker Boehner believes that the first job of any Speaker is to …

UPDATE: Things are about to begin. Pope Francis will arrive at the United Nations within minutes for his address before the General Assembly. His speech is scheduled to begin at 8:30AM and embedded in this post is the Vatican’s official live-stream. One of today’s main topics is expected to be Europe’s continuing refugee crisis, which will surely cause even more …

Pope Francis is on his way to the US Capitol where a large crowd is awaiting his unprecedented address to Congress. The below live-stream will begin at 9:30AM.  Last night Rachel Maddow reported that 16 members of Congress, eight from each party, have been assigned to perform as de facto papal bodyguards, should any of their colleagues breach protocol and …

Thousands of people either camped out all night or arrived outside the White House in this morning’s predawn hours in advance of the arrival of Pope Francis. Reuters reports on today’s events: Pope Francis and President Barack Obama are set to hold private talks at the White House on Wednesday before the pontiff parades through streets of Washington on the …

Politico recaps last night’s show: Donald Trump was in no fighting mood on Tuesday night. Rather than come out swinging, as he did at the outset of last week’s Republican debate, a subdued front-runner came out nodding in his “Late Show” interview with Stephen Colbert. Rather than engage or try to turn the tables, Trump, whose default mode is offense, …

Pope Francis just landed at Andrews Air Force Base where he was greeted by President Obama, who shook his hand for about 20 seconds before turning to introduce the First Lady and First Teens.  Security, of course, is enormously tight. Watch the goings-on below.

The Afghan tradition of “bacha bazi” – literally “boy play” – is illegal both under Sharia law and civil code, yet few are prosecuted – especially if the perpetrators are powerful men. Yesterday the New York Times reported that the US soldiers have been told to ignore the practice, even when it takes place on military outposts. From their story: …

NBC reports: The Atlanta Braves’ “Kiss Cam” entertainment at Turner Field featured a famous couple Thursday night: former President Jimmy Carter and wife Rosalynn. The two were in their usual seats near the Braves dugout during a 5-0 loss to Toronto, and they received a loud cheer when shown on the video board. Carter kissed his wife and then gave …

So that happened shortly before the debate began. After a tweetstorm of mocking, Wolf Blitzer said, “By the way, we want to apologize to our viewers. We thought we saw Nancy Reagan here in the hall. We are now told that was not Nancy Reagan. We’re going to find out what exactly happened, but that’s an apology from all of …