Michael Grimm To Resign From Congress: Reports

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/29/michael-grimm-resigning_n_6393206.html

Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) will announce this week that he is resigning from Congress, the New York Daily News reported Monday.

According to the report, the Staten Island congressman is planning to resign on Tuesday or Wednesday. A Grimm spokesperson did not immediately respond to The Huffington Post's request for comment on the matter.

Politico and BuzzFeed confirmed the Daily News report.

The report comes less than a week after Grimm pleaded guilty to one count of felony tax fraud. (The congressman was indicted on 20 counts in April.) His plea carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

The Replacements Release 24-Minute Jazz Improvisation
Recorded in October, "Poke Me in My Cage" arrived online last week to little fanfare



By Jon Blistein | December 23, 2014

The first piece of new, original music from the recently reunited Replacements may not be what fans expected from the snotty kings of college rock, but "Poke Me In My Cage" is a holiday gift nonetheless: A 24-minute improvised jazz track, which the band uploaded to Soundcloud last week with little fanfare.

Written by Paul Westerberg and bassist Tommy Stinson, "Poke Me In My Cage" was recorded at Wooly Mammoth Sound in Waltham, Massachusetts in October. The track features plenty of out-there guitar noodling, with Westerberg letting loose over relentless, scattershot drumming from Josh Freese, a session vet who's now the band's third drummer.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/replacements-release-24minute-jazz-improvisation-20141223

Todd also pined for the moderator’s chair—and lobbied aggressively for it. “He saw himself as the heir,” says the former senior NBC executive, and “let it be known that he was the one that Tim Russert wanted.”

But choosing Todd had drawbacks. He was 36 then and had been on the air only a short time. Despite all Todd’s jockeying, the former executive says the network only briefly considered him—the brass believed he was simply too raw for such a high-profile position.

Todd’s Meet the Press ambitions made for tension. “It was obvious that Chuck knew a lot more about politics than David did, and so that was uncomfortable,” says a person familiar with their relationship. “And then on Chuck’s end, David had the job he wanted, so that’s uncomfortable.”

Earlier this year, Sures, Todd’s agent, approached the NBC brass in New York, according to a former senior NBC executive, and demanded that Todd be handed Gregory’s job.

http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/how-david-gregory-lost-his-job/

Chris Martin: David Bowie Rejected Coldplay Collaboration

"One time I sent (Bowie) a song to ask him to sing on it. He called me and said, 'It's not one of your best,'" Martin admits




http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/chris-martin-david-bowie-rejected-coldplay-collaboration-20141214

By Daniel Kreps | December 14, 2014

During David Bowie's long hiatus prior to releasing The Next Day, the singer would sporadically reappear to contribute background vocals for artists like Arcade Fire ("Reflektor&quot , TV on the Radio and Scarlett Johansson. However, when Chris Martin attempted to recruit Bowie to contribute vocals to a song Coldplay was working on, Bowie rejected the collaboration because the track wasn't good enough.

Martin made the revelation at the inaugural BBC Music Awards on December 11th during a video tribute to Bowie, a nominee for the British Artist of the Year award. "One time I sent him a song to ask him to sing on it. He called me and said, 'It's not one of your best,'" Martin admitted (via NME). "He's got very high standards and I appreciate that. It inspires the rest of us to keep our standards high." Martin didn't elaborate which Coldplay song Bowie had turned down.

Despite being rejected by Bowie, Martin had nothing but praise for The Next Day. "When 'Where Are We Now?' came out I was staggered, and also annoyed," Martin said at the BBC Music Awards. "Like, 'Come on, it's not fair.' He's already got all these amazing songs and then this instant classic."

If Coldplay hopes to get Bowie to join them in the studio, they better write something that meets his high standards, and fast: Martin previously hinted that the band's in-the-works next LP, tentatively titled A Head Full of Dreams, could be their "final" album. "It's our seventh thing, and the way we look at it, it's like the last Harry Potter book or something like that," Martin said. "I have to think of it as the final thing we're doing. Otherwise we wouldn't put everything into it."

Karl Rove Says Bush Knew About CIA Interrogation Program, Defends Rectal Feeding
Posted: 12/14/2014 11:05 am EST Updated: 2 hours ago

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/14/karl-rove-torture_n_6322774.html

Karl Rove defended the CIA and former President George W. Bush on Sunday in the wake of the devastating Senate report on torture.

Appearing on "Fox News Sunday," Rove claimed the brutal forced rectal feedings -- which the report said were not medically necessary -- were used out of medical necessity.

The Senate report suggests that the CIA went to some pains to keep the program insulated from Bush -- an opinion shared by former agency General Counsel John Rizzo in his recent book. When the president was finally briefed on everything that happened under the program, the report said, he "expressed discomfort" at the image of a detainee chained to ceiling, clothed in a diaper, defecating on himself.

On Sunday, Rove said Bush was fully briefed on all of the CIA's tactics early on in the program in 2002, citing the former president's recent book.

"He was briefed and intimately involved in the decision," said Rove.

Jeb Bush and his emissaries are sending increasingly strong signals that the former Florida governor is gearing up for a 2016 presidential campaign, with associates saying he could announce his intentions within a month.

***

Some senior Republicans in communication with Bush said they have concluded he is almost certain to run. His family — once averse to a campaign — is now on board with a run. Bush also has slimmed down: He is working with a new personal trainer after a knee surgery, according to the Miami Herald, and lost 15 pounds in recent weeks.

Asked whether he saw any reason Bush would not run, one confidant who has been in touch with the former governor said, “I don’t know of anything.” This person, who like some others interviewed spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk candidly about the conversations, said Bush sees value in taking his time before deciding.

***

A second Bush confidant said: “He’s not playing games. He’s being very sincere and honest with folks and going through the things that really matter to him. Within a month, we’ll know.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/jeb-bush-sending-signals-that-he-may-be-getting-ready-for-2016-presidential-run/2014/12/12/eb421326-8235-11e4-8882-03cf08410beb_story.html

Michael Brown’s mother may face felony armed robbery charges: report

Lesley McSpadden allegedly led a group of 20 to 30 people to a tent in a parking lot in Ferguson, Mo. on Oct. 18 to beat and rob vendors selling 'Justice for Michael Brown' merchandise.
BY Marc Weinreich
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Thursday, November 6, 2014, 11:15 AM
Updated: Friday, November 7, 2014, 3:52 PM



http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/michael-brown-mom-face-felony-armed-robbery-charges-article-1.2001373

The mother of Michael Brown could be charged with felony armed robbery for allegedly attacking people in a Ferguson, Mo., parking lot because they were selling T-shirts honoring the late teenager.

The Ferguson Police Department is currently investigating claims that Lesley McSpadden brought a group of people — including her own mother — to beat vendors and rob them of their “Justice for Mike Brown” merchandise Oct. 18, The Smoking Gun has learned.

One person was hospitalized in the reported attack and another unidentified alleged victim was reportedly beaten with a pipe.

McSpadden’s former mother-in-law, Pearlie Gordon, was among those beaten by “a large group of about 20-30 subjects” who had “jumped out of vehicles and rushed” the group of sellers, according to the police report.