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Original title: 'If four Americans get killed, it's not OPTIMAL': Obama's extraordinary response to Comedy Central question about shifting story after Benghazi attack ---------------------------- President Barack Obama, during an interview to be shown on Comedy Central, has responded to a question about his administration's confused communication after the Benghazi attack, by saying: 'If four Americans get killed, it’s not optimal.' Obama was speaking to Jon Stewart of The Daily Show for a programme to be broadcast tonight. Stewart, a liberal whose young audience is full of potential voters prized by the Obama campaign, asked the president about his handling of...

President Obama called in to the "YO Show" radio program Friday to talk about his campaign and the issues of the day. Speaking with host Michael Yo, Obama gave his take on the strained relationship of American idol judges Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey.

California Democratic congresswoman Maxine Waters will not be charged with ethics violations. At a meeting Friday, House Ethics Committee members said they found no violations in their investigation of allegations she steered a $12 million federal bailout to a bank where her husband owns stock. Waters is a senior Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. The committee, however, said Waters' chief of staff, Mikael Moore, did take actions in Congress in an attempt to help the bank and violated standards of conduct. Moore likely will receive a letter admonishing him for his conduct. but will not face more severe punishment,...

Original title: Monica's revenge: Lewinsky 'to publish secret love letters to Clinton revealing his insatiable desire for threesomes and how he trashed Hillary' --------------------- Monica Lewinsky is reportedly set to write a tell-all book about her affair with Bill Clinton - including her intimate love letters to the ex-president and how he had an insatiable desire for threesomes. The former White House intern, 39, reportedly wants revenge on Clinton, who she believes escaped unscathed while she has never been able to shake the disgrace of their Oval Office trysts. Friends claim publishers are scrambling to get their hands on the...

Anderson Cooper, who has been reluctant to talk about his personal life in public, revealed that he is gay in an essay posted online on Monday. The CNN journalist said he had kept his sexual orientation private for personal and professional reasons, but came to think that remaining silent had given some people a mistaken impression that he was ashamed. "The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn't be any more happy, comfortable with myself and proud," he wrote in a letter to Andrew Sullivan of the Daily Beast. Cooper, the son of Gloria...

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) on Wednesday morning was asked to leave the House floor after removing his suit jacket to reveal a “hoodie,” then putting the hood on his head to protest the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida. “Racial profiling has to stop,” Rush said. “Just because someone wears a hoodie does not make them a hoodlum.” Rush also put on sunglasses. The Illinois Democrat quoted the Bible while presiding officer Gregg Harper (R-Miss.) repeatedly interrupted him, then asked the sergeant at arms to enforce the House prohibition on hats in the chamber. “The chair must remind members that clause...

First lady Michelle Obama is challenging assertions she's forcefully imposed her will on White House aides, saying she's tired of people portraying her as "some kind of angry black woman." Mrs. Obama tells CBS News she hasn't read New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor's new book that characterizes her as a behind-the-scenes force in the Executive Mansion, whose strong views often draw her into conflict with President Barack Obama's top advisers. "I never read these books," she told CBS's Gayle King in an interview broadcast Wednesday. "So I've just gotten in the habit of not reading other people's impressions of...

Original title: Tony Bennett: Obama is America's 'Greatest Accomplishment,' Not Sure if Fighting Hitler 'Justified' --------------------------- Appearing as a guest on Monday's Piers Morgan Tonight on CNN, singer Tony Bennett declared that President Obama is the "greatest accomplishment that the United States ever came up with," and expressed admiration for the President whom he labeled as "more than intelligent." A bit later, when asked by host Piers Morgan whether he believed war was ever "justified," with Morgan specifically asking if it was "imperative" to "defend yourselves" against Adolf Hitler in spite of the "collateral damage," Bennett, a World War II...

Over the last few hours a photo has begun to circulate on the blogs showing Obama supposedly at the “Open Government Partnership” conference today committing an egregious gaffe by raising his hand to block the face of another world leader.

President Barack Obama’s uncle, facing deportation for being in the country illegally, will not be treated differently than anyone else under U.S. laws, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told CNSNews.com on Thursday. “I would refer you to ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and DHS [Department of Homeland Security]. It will be handled like any other immigration case,” Carney said. CNSNews.com also asked, “Was the president aware that his uncle was in the United States as an undocumented immigrant?” But before the question was completely asked, Carney interjected, saying President Obama “was made aware of this issue when I walked...

With his approval rating dropping to historic lows, unemployment at an epic high and the Dow closing in the gutter, President Barack Obama is cutting his losses and taking a few days off. The president will be staying with his family at the Blue Heron Farm, a sprawling, $50,000-per-week estate with plenty of room for staff and Secret Service agents accompanying him on the trip. Mr Obama boarded Air Force One with First Dog Bo on Thursday as a new poll showed a startling loss in the commander-in-chief's favourability before he heads to Martha's Vineyard.

President Obama is barnstorming the heartland to boost US jobs in a taxpayer-financed luxury bus the government had custom built -- in Canada, The Post has learned. The $1.1 million vehicle, one of two that Quebec-based Prevost sold the government, has been tricked out by the Secret Service with state-of-the-art security features and creature comforts. It's a VIP H3-45 model, the company's top of the line, and is used by major traveling rock bands. "That's the more luxurious model," Christine Garant of Prevost told The Post. "When we have the Country Music Awards, we sometimes see a lot of them,"...

According to Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos, companies that go overseas as a result of high taxes in America are "unpatriotic." The ABC host, who has repeatedly lobbied for higher taxes throughout his journalistic career, endorsed Warren Buffett's call for the rich to pay a higher percentage in taxes. Talking to Donald Trump, Stephanopoulos cajoled, "Warren Buffett made another splash, saying it's not right, he a billionaire, pays 17 percent in taxes when his secretaries and receptionists pay more. Isn't he right about that?" (According to columnist Cal Thomas, Buffett's efforts would make little difference.) Trump insisted that he would...

President Barack Obama said yesterday in Decorah, Iowa, that he absorbs more political criticism than Abraham Lincoln, the assassinated 16th U.S. president, attracted from his Civil War critics. The comment came during a question-and-answer session where one invited audience member asked Obama how he deals with his congressional critics in the GOP. “The Congress doesn’t seem to be a good partner. You said so yourself, they’re more interested in seeing you lose than [seeing] the country win,” the questioner lamented. “Democracy is always a messy business in a big country like this,” Obama responded. “When you listen to what the...

The Senate's top Democrat told a home state newspaper he expects the conservative movement's grasp on the GOP to diminish. The days of the Tea Party's influence on American politics are numbered, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said this weekend. The Senate's top Democrat told a home state newspaper that he expects the conservative activist movement's grasp on the GOP to diminish, a bold prediction given the influence that group showed Saturday in Ames, Iowa, where Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), a Tea Party darling, won an influential presidential straw poll.

About 100 teenagers swarmed from a McDonald’s to Trader Joe’s to a new Target store during a riot in East Liberty on Sunday, police said. Police said the trouble started at Mellon Park, where Mount Ararat Baptist Church had just wrapped up its community picnic. The Rev. Linda Oliver said that out of an estimated attendance of over 3,000 people, only a fraction of those people are responsible for starting the trouble. “We had a few fights that broke out with the young people,” said Oliver. When reporter Dave Bondy arrived at the scene, police were everywhere. At least a...

Somebody’s Having a Birthday Party and You’re Not Invited. That is, if you belong to a union. In case you live under a rock and haven’t heard, Barack Obama turns 50 today. And, the place to be tonight is the Aragon. The party starts at 7:00. But don’t bother to show up if you’re a union member. The White House hired a non-union crew for the event tonight. A confidential and trusted union source contacted me today to report that the crews called in to work Obama’s birthday bash are non-union. Union members are OUTRAGED that Obama would turn his...

President George W. Bush allegedly snubbed “No Strings Attached” actor Ashton Kutcher at last week’s Super Bowl, reports BBC. Kutcher sat directly behind Bush in a luxury suite at last Sunday’s Super Bowl, but two had minimal interaction with each other. “I don’t think he’s very happy with me,” Kutcher said of Bush. “He just was not very nice to me. He just kind of snubbed me a little bit … [He was] kind of more than [ just ignoring me] … [He was], well, just curt. He just said, ‘eh’ … almost like a burp.” Kutcher said Bush turned...

Whoops! Us Weekly ran a story quoting Sarah Palin demanding that Christina Aguilera be “deported” over her botched performance of the national anthem at Super Bowl XLV. The only problem: It never happened. The item “quoted” Palin trashing Aguilera as “a demanding beauty queen who’s clearly in over her head” and adding for good measure, “If I were president, I’d deport Ms. Augilera back to wherever it is she’s from and give Amy Smart a call.” The fake quotes originated from an Onion-like satirical web site, relaying a fictional radio interview between the former Governor of Alaska and Fox News...

Original title: Obama 'deserves respect' says Oprah Winfrey as she blasts critics of the President in a television interview ------------------------ The first lady of television has called on critics of President Obama to show 'some level of respect' - even if they weren't in support of his policies. Speaking on a special edition of Morning Joe today, Oprah Winfrey said the presidency is a position that 'holds a sense of authority and governance over us all'. The chat show host, who also talked about her new network OWN and the end of her long-running show, has been extremely vocal about...