News

And nobody was surprised. Via CNN: Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee ended his long-shot bid for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination Friday, his campaign announced in a statement. Chafee is set to speak on his decision momentarily at the DNC’s annual Women’s Leadership Forum in Washington. “As you know I have been campaigning on a platform of Prosperity Through …

Some welcome lightheartedness on Capitol Hill: Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) outlasted a team of journalists Wednesday night to win the National Press Club’s “Politicians vs. Press” spelling bee. The event, a fundraiser for the National Press Club Journalism Institute, pitted a team of seven journalists against seven lawmakers. Helping to judge the competition were 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee co-champions …

We’ll enjoy seeing The Donald spin suddenly being behind by eight points in Iowa. CNN reports: Ben Carson has knocked Donald Trump from his perch atop the field in Iowa, according to the latest Quinnipiac University poll of Iowa Republicans. Carson has opened up an 8 percentage point lead over Trump with the help of women and white evangelicals, who …

Here’s some Tea Party double-speak for you: Hard-line conservatives cleared a path Wednesday for Rep. Paul Ryan to become House speaker when some of his most disgruntled fellow Republicans signaled that they would support his bid for the top job. The decision to back Ryan by the House Freedom Caucus, a group of nearly 40 lawmakers that has risen in …

“The Vice President’s decision not to enter the 2016 race is a major blow for Democrats, who now will almost certainly be saddled with their unpopular and scandal plagued front-runner Hillary Clinton. Vice President Biden was the most formidable general election candidate the Democrat Party could have fielded, and his decision not to challenge Hillary Clinton greatly improves our chances …

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has signed three bills that criminalize the possession and sale of so-called synthetic marijuana. Gothamist reports: Selling or manufacturing the drug was previously only considered a health code violation, carrying a $250 fine; when the new laws go into effect in 60 days, offenders will punishable by up to $5,000 in fines and …

The Hill reports: House Republicans will hold elections to nominate a new Speaker on Oct. 28, two days before Speaker John Boehner is expected to resign from Congress, Boehner told GOP lawmakers in a closed-door meeting Wednesday. Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Tuesday night he’ll run for the top job if he can win support from three …

Last night Paul Ryan declared that he would “gladly serve” as House Speaker – but only if far-right Republicans vow to support him without complaint. That, of course, has not gone down well in Teabagistan. Over at Breitbart, where multiple daily anti-Ryan pieces have been running for weeks, Ryan’s statement has resulted in renewed fury.

Ever since Kevin McCarthy abruptly dropped his bid for House Speaker, Breitbart has been running multiple daily attacks on that also terrible RINO, Paul Ryan. Tonight Ryan declared that he MIGHT serve as Speaker – but with a whopping proviso aimed squarely at Teabagistan. The Washington Post reports: Ryan met Tuesday evening with tea party hard-liners and later with the larger …

The Associated Press throws some delicious shade: After missing almost a third of Senate votes this year, Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio made a rare appearance in the Senate Tuesday — to try and pass a bill that would crack down on federal employees who fail to do their jobs. “This should actually be the rule in the entire government,” …

Ooh, snap! The Clinton campaign today needled her GOP opponents by posting a clip which features them saying very nice things about her “until she decided to run for president.” Appearing in the clip: Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham, John McCain, and Donald Trump.

Ben Carson and Donald Trump continue to hold a commanding lead in the latest CNN/ORC poll as Carly Fiorina rejoins the rest of the GOP field further behind. CNN reports: Fiorina has lost 11 points in the last month, declining from 15% support and second place to 4% and a tie for seventh place. At the same time, Carson has gained …

According to Fox News, today Jim Webb and his wig will drop out of the Democratic race: Webb is said to be disillusioned with the Democratic Party — as well as the Republican Party — and how the political parties are being pulled to allegedly extreme positions by the huge amounts of loosely regulated money fueling the campaigns. Webb has …

As multiple unnamed sources continue to claim that Joe Biden is about to enter the presidential race, last night the Washington Post jumped the gun with a canned story announcing just that. Media Equalizer reports: Embarrassed Washington Post editors were left scrambling earlier today after a story was accidentally published that declared Joe Biden’s presidential candidacy. With “XXX” showing in …

CBC News recaps Trudeau’s acceptance speech: This will be the second time for Canada to be led by a Trudeau, as the 43-year-old Liberal leader follows in the footsteps of his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who served as prime minister for almost 16 years before retiring in 1984. “Sunny ways my friends. Sunny ways,” Trudeau told his enthusiastic supporters in …

Vox recaps last night’s segment: Americans do not typically think of Canada as a particularly riveting political subject; journalist Michael Kinsley once joked that the most boring headline imaginable would be “worthwhile Canadian initiative.” But this year’s Canadian federal election, for which voting is today, is both important and, if you’ve been following its twists and turns, pretty interesting. John …

USA Today reports on today’s election in Canada: A young liberal leader with a famous pedigree in Canada, Justin Trudeau, threatens to upend nearly 10 years of conservative leadership under Prime Minister Stephen Harper as Canadians go to the polls Monday. Harper, who has held power longer that most major Western leaders, hopes to capture a rare fourth term in …

CNN reports: President Barack Obama announced Thursday that U.S. forces will remain in Afghanistan at their current levels throughout much of 2016, yet another delay in their scheduled withdrawal and an acknowledgment that America’s longest war won’t be concluded on his watch. Obama campaigned as the president who would end two wars, and Thursday’s decision was a major political reversal …

The parent companies of Budweiser and Miller, the world’s two largest breweries, have agreed to merge and create an entity that would control one-third of the global beer market. After turning down five offers, British-based brewer SABMiller accepted in principle an improved takeover bid worth $106 billion from Anheuser Busch InBev, which along with Budweiser makes Corona, Stella Artois and …

According to Austrian researchers, people who prefer bitter tasting things like black coffee have a higher propensity to be sadistic, selfish, vain, and manipulative. The Independent reports: In the study, led by Professor Christina Sagioglou from Innsbruck University in Austria, 500 men and women were shown a list of foods with equal numbers of sweet, salty, sour and bitter items. They …