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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi sent her colleagues a letter Thursday afternoon saying it’s "clear" that House Republicans do not have the votes to pass a $1.1 trillion spending package. Shortly after coming out against the package in a speech on the House floor, the California Democrat thanked her troops for giving Democrats “leverage” to demand changes. "This increases our leverage to get two offensive provisions of the bill removed: the bank bailout and big money for campaigns provision," Pelosi wrote, referring to the two Republican amendments that have fueled the Democrats' revolt. "However you decide to vote in the...

The cromnibus had an unlikely savior Thursday afternoon in the form of a lame-duck lawmaker who used to raise reindeer. Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-Mich.), who lost his primary earlier this year, was originally among the conservative Republicans who voted against the rule. Without the help of Democrats, Republicans could only lose 17 of their own to pass the rule, which sets up floor debate for the underlying "cromnibus" spending bill. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) intervened once there were 18 Republican defectors — and not a single Democrat voting "yes." Many Democrats will vote against the government spending measure because they...

The family of the man who was shot to death in Brooklyn by the NYPD wants Al Sharpton to mind his own business and stay away from the upcoming wake and funeral. Akai Gurley was gunned down in a Brooklyn housing project stairwell, and the cop who shot him shockingly texted his union rep before calling 911. Sharpton has gone on the attack, holding a news conference condemning the cop. But Gurley's aunt, Hertenceia Peterson -- who is speaking for his mom -- tells TMZ, "Al Sharpton came in, put his name on the situation, but has not even made...

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) are talking about inviting the families of Eric Garner and Michael Brown to President Obama's State of the Union address in Washington next month. The lawmakers – who have universally condemned the justice system's response to the killings of the two black men at the hands of white police officers – say the presence of the two men’s relatives would send a strong signal that Washington policymakers are serious about tackling criminal justice reform head on. “I think that would be appropriate and fitting,” Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the civil rights icon, said...

The communist and racist New Black Panther Party plotted to bomb St. Louis’ Gateway Arch and assassinate local law enforcement officials, but the Justice Department so far has limited its prosecution of the group to an indictment of two members on minor gun charges. The soft treatment for activities that normally would have brought federal terrorism charges appears to be part of efforts by Attorney General Eric Holder and the Justice Department to “go soft” on the racist group, according to former Justice official J. Christian Adams. “I have always been perplexed why these guys get special treatment,” said Adams,...

Jeb Bush is steeling for a fight with the GOP’s conservative base, signaling he will not bend from his centrist positions on immigration and Common Core education standards in 2016 — even if it costs him support with grassroots conservatives. In what could be read as a swipe at 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Bush told a Washington audience this week that “no one really knows” if a presidential candidate can survive the primaries without sacrificing his core principles because “it hasn’t been tried recently.” The former governor of Florida also told the CEO Council forum sponsored by The...

Published on Aug 12, 2014 Al Sharpton called for transparency in the Michael Brown police shooting case. He said he knows people are angry but urged them to throw their arms up instead of turning to violence. (Aug 12, 2014)

Dorian Johnson initially said that his friend had put his hands in the air and said to Darren Wilson: 'I don't have a gun, stop shooting.' Claim sparked protests in Ferguson and catapulted shooting to national attention But Darren Wilson's version of events was entirely different - and appeared to be believed by grand jury Close friends of Darren Wilson now want star witness to be charged over 'lying' about officer's actions Johnson broke silence last night and said he had feared Wilson would kill him too Close friends of Darren Wilson have called for the star witness in the...

George Stephanopoulos cut into ABC programming this afternoon to share details of his interview with Officer Darren Wilson about the Ferguson grand jury decision and his confrontation with Michael Brown.

Despite calling for peaceful protests even in the event of a St. Louis County grand jury’s decision not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown, the 18-year-old’s step-father was caught on video provoking violence. “Burn this bitch down!” Brown’s step-father, Louis Head, yelled into a raucous crowd in front of Ferguson police headquarters Monday night as St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch announced the grand jury’s decision not to indict. Head was with Brown’s mother Lesley McSpadden who was being restrained by a friend and yelled “they think this is a f*cking joke!”...

The legal fight may over in Ferguson, Mo., but the war of words has just begun. The family of slain teen Michael Brown Jr. and the Rev. Al Sharpton will hold a joint press conference Tuesday in Ferguson, Mo., one day after a St. Louis grand jury chose not to indict Police Officer Darren Wilson in the Aug. 9 shooting.

Jonathan Gruber, the former ObamaCare adviser in hot water for his comments about the “stupidity of the American voter,” has agreed to testify at a House panel next month, setting up a healthcare showdown in what could be the final week of this Congress. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will also hear from Obama administration official Marilyn Tavenner, who is under fire this week for using inflated enrollment figures for the healthcare law. “Both Mr. Gruber and Administrator Tavenner have agreed to testify,” committee spokeswoman Caitlin Carroll told The Hill. Both figures have played a role in major...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- President Obama quietly signed a classified executive order authorizing a more expansive role for U.S. troops in Afghanistan in 2015, ensuring American troops will be fighting in the country for at least one more year, The New York Times reported. The order allows American troops to take a direct role in missions against militant groups that include the Taliban.

In the wake of serious allegations of sexual assault from multiple women against Bill Cosby, the Associated Press has released the full video from a Nov. 6 interview. During the on camera exchange, an AP reporter, Brett Zongker, asked Cosby about the allegations and he replies “No, no. We don’t answer that.” Cosby then requested that none of the questions and answers about the allegations appear anywhere. “I would appreciate it if it was scuttled,” Cosby said. “I think if you want to consider yourself to be serious,” Cosby said to the reporter, “that it will not appear anywhere.” The...

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) on Tuesday won a competitive four-way race to become the House Oversight Committee chairman in the new Congress starting in January. Chaffetz and Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Mike Turner (R-Ohio) and John Mica (R-Fla.) vied to succeed current Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who is term-limited, for the high-profile gavel. All four candidates emphasized throughout their candidacies that they'd try to run the committee differently from Issa's controversial tenure. Over the course of the last two days, the House GOP Steering Committee, a panel consisting of elected leadership, top committee chairmen and regional representatives that determines...

Mark Paffrath worked for the Drury hotel chain in Missouri Paffrath, a Navy veteran, posted photos of dozens of vehicles marked with the logos of the Department of Homeland Security to his Facebook Vehicles were located about a 30-minute drive from Ferguson, Missouri A Navy veteran has been fired and branded a terrorist for posting Facebook pictures of scores of Homeland Security SUVs parked at a hotel near Ferguson where he works. Mark Paffrath, who worked for the Drury hotel chain, took photos and a video of dozens of vehicles marked with the logos of the Department of Homeland Security...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is demanding an investigation into the taxpayer-funded fees paid to ObamaCare consultant Jonathan Gruber after a series of highly publicized comments the senator called a "disgrace." "He was paid, and now he's admitted that he was deceptive and deceitful," Paul said in an interview on Fox News on Monday night. Paul said he would request an official investigation into public funds paid to Gruber for consultant work, pegged at upwards of $6 million among multiple states and several federal agencies. "Who was sort of organizing this for him? Is this some sort of thing that happened...

The ObamaCare consultant drawing fire for mocking the “stupidity of the American voter” visited the White House on nearly two dozen occasions and met with President Obama in the West Wing, according to a review of visitor logs. MIT professor Jonathan Gruber held a series of high-level meetings with administration officials beginning in 2009 and extending through June of this year. During the height of 2009’s ObamaCare debate, Gruber met repeatedly with former Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orzag, National Economic Council Director Larry Summers, and Jeanne Lambrew, the deputy director of the White House Office of Health...

The Secretary for Health and Human Services said Sunday morning that she does not agree with controversial comments recently made by one of the architects of health care reform. In an exclusive interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, Sylvia Mathews Burwell responded to the videos that surfaced this week of MIT economics professor Jonathan Gruber in which he criticized American voters and their knowledge of the system. “I have to start with how fundamentally I disagree with his comments about the bill and about the American people,” Burwell said. (snip) Critics of the healthcare reform law have used Gruber’s comments...

An anchor for Fox Business Network who used to work for CNBC told viewers that her superiors at the network "silenced" her reporting on Obamacare, telling her she was "disrespecting the office of the president" by pointing out that Obamacare's math didn't add up. Daily Caller: Fox Business Network anchor Melissa Francis said she was “silenced” by CNBC when management told her she was “disrespecting the office of the president” by reporting about Obamacare. Francis highlighted Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber’s comments about the “stupidity” of American voters and the administration intentionally misleading the public about what’s in the law and...