News

Warner Music has formally surrendered in its years-long battle to retain the copyright to Happy Birthday To You. Via the New York Daily News: The universally beloved, though lyrically limited, song, “Happy Birthday to You” will soon be available for free to filmmakers and the like, thanks to a music publishing company’s decision to back off fighting a judge who …

Whoa. If true, the GOP did the same thing to Jimmy Carter. Via Talking Points Memo: An Iranian official said “Republican rivals of the current US administration” attempted to stall last month’s Iranian-U.S. prisoner swap until the eve of the U.S. presidential election, Tasnim News Agency reported. According to the semi-official Iranian news outlet, Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s …

Unbelievable. Via Gawker: The City of Cleveland has devastated the family of Tamir Rice several times over, and seems to have no intention of stopping. This afternoon in probate court, Cleveland Scene reports, the city filed a creditor’s claim for $500, saying that Rice’s family still owes them for the ambulance and paramedics that tended to the 12-year-old’s body after …

Legs kicking, arms waving, Carly Fiorina has dropped out. NPR reports: Carly Fiorina is exiting the Republican presidential race after a seventh-place showing in last night’s New Hampshire primary. “While I suspend my candidacy today, I will continue to travel this country and fight for those Americans who refuse to settle for the way things are and a status quo …

A smartphone app just launched in Iran allows the user to alert others if the morality policy are nearby. France 24 reports: In the Islamic Republic of Iran, the morality police, a unit of the National Police, are charged with insuring that Iranian citizens comply with so-called Islamic law. For example, morality officers have to make sure that women wear …

ABC News reports: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is expected to formally suspend his presidential campaign as early as today after he huddles with his closest advisers, ABC News has learned. A statement announcing the suspension could come as soon as early this afternoon, according to a source briefed on Christie’s plans. “We bet the ranch on New Hampshire, and …

IO9 reports: The Archie comics reboot has to be one of the biggest surprises in the comics industry of the last few years. Ever since the publisher dropped the comics code authority and began diversifying its approach to Archie and his friends, Archie has become one of the best comics around—and now it’s going a step further by revealing Jughead’s …

Within minutes of the polls closing, all of the major networks tonight declared Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump the winners of the New Hampshire primary. The final margins won’t been known for a couple of hours, but polling appears to be been correct for both front-runners. Now all eyes turn to the four-way battle for second place on the GOP …

Most of New Hampshire’s polls closed at 7PM eastern and the rest close at 8PM. Heavy turnout is expected to favor Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, both of whom began the day with double-digit polling leads. Embedded below are live-streams which will begin reporting the results shortly. Watch along with us and weigh in below.

The Sexuality Information & Education Council applauds:  Earlier today, President Obama released his fiscal year 2017 budget, the final budget of his administration. The President’s Budget supports the sexual health of our nation’s youth by eradicating abstinence-only-until-marriage funding, increasing funds for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, maintaining funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Adolescent and …

CNN reports: Michael Bloomberg says he is considering running for president of the United States, a move that would dramatically shake up an already chaotic 2016 race. In an interview with Financial Times, the media mogul and former New York City mayor said he was “looking at all the options” when asked about a possible bid. “I’m listening to what …

Oh, Florida. From West Palm Beach’s NBC affiliate: Gator wasn’t on the menu but one did make an appearance inside a Wendy’s just east of Loxahatchee in Royal Palm Beach. And it wasn’t by choice. A Jupiter man threw it through the restaurant’s drive-thru window, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission incident report. FWC officials say 23-year-old …

Radical fringe groups like Westboro Baptist and social justice groups took advantage of the Super Bowl media spotlight this weekend to stage protests across the Bay Area. Among them was a group of anti-circumcision “intactivists” called the Bloodstained Men. Glenn Beck came across the group near San Francisco’s Ferry Building and today he mocked them on his show, calling their …

The United States Olympics Committee has suggested that athletes and support staff should consider skipping the 2016 Rio Games if they fear contracting the Zika virus. Reuters reports: The USOC’s briefing to sport federations is the latest sign that Olympics officials are taking the Zika threat to the games in Rio de Janeiro seriously, and acknowledging that at least some …

Bill Clinton really tore into Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire last night. Via Politico: Bill Clinton’s milquetoast stump speech touting his wife’s biography and her power as a “changemaker” has transformed into a brutal litany of attacks on Bernie Sanders and the devious campaign the Clintons apparently believe he is running. “When you’re making a revolution, you can’t be too …

I was born in the Year Of The Pig. Ahem. But happy Year Of The Monkey: People born in the Year of the Monkey are characterised as lively, quick-witted, curious, innovative and mischievous, but it is also believed to be one of the most unlucky years in the Chinese calendar. The general image of people in this zodiac sign is …

The Detroit Free Press reports: Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton vowed Sunday to help Flint residents recover from a debilitating water contamination crisis during an afternoon appearance at a Baptist church on the city’s northwest side. “I will not for one minute forget about you or forget about your children,” Clinton told members of the House of Prayer Missionary Baptist …

Death & Taxes recaps last night’s bungled opening to the GOP debate: Saturday night’s GOP debate got off to an inauspicious start when Ben Carson apparently did not hear the moderators call his name, signaling his turn to walk out on stage, the result of which was absolute chaos. The disastrous effects of Carson’s misstep were amplified by the fact …

The Guardian reports: France has become the first country in the world to ban supermarkets from throwing away or destroying unsold food, forcing them instead to donate it to charities and food banks. Under a law passed unanimously by the French senate, as of Wednesday large shops will no longer bin good quality food approaching its best-before date. Charities will …

The Satanic Temple, which is actually a group of atheist activists and pranksters, has trolled the Phoenix City Council into ending its practice of opening their meeting with prayers. The Washington Post reports: For weeks now, Phoenix lawmakers have wrestled with the idea of allowing members of a Satanic group to give the invocation before an upcoming city meeting. Phoenix …