Freddie Stubbs
Freddie Stubbs's JournalR.I. Gov. Chafee will not seek re-election
Source: The Providence Journal
CRANSTON, R.I. - In a move that dramatically shakes up Rhode Island's political world, Gov. Lincoln Chafee announced Tuesday outside the state Department of Motor Vehicles that he will not seek re-election next year.
The announcement, at a hastily called 2 p.m. news conference, opens the door for a number of prominent politicians who have been eyeing the governor's office.
Two popular and well-funded Democrats -- state General Treasurer Gina Raimondo and Providence Mayor Angel Taveras -- have said they are considering a run. So too has Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, a Republican.
First elected in 2010, the governor has not given any indication that he would not seek another four-year term.
Read more: http://www.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/content/20130904-r.i.-gov.-chafee-will-not-seek-re-election.ece
Foster and Kriseman headed to runoff, voters reject the Lens, according to early election results
ST. PETERSBURG — Early poll results are in and they suggest that Mayor Bill Foster will be facing challenger Rick Kriseman in the Nov. 5 general election.
Foster captured almost 43 percent of the early votes, compared to Kriseman's 35 percent. Kathleen Ford trailed with 21 percent.
Voters also overwhelmingly rejected the proposed pier replacement project called the Lens, with 64 percent of people voting to end the city's contract with the architect who was going to build it.
Foster was expected to make the runoff, so the five-person contest really was a race for second place.
more: http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/st-petersburg-foster-and-kriseman-headed-to-runoff-voters-reject-the-lens/2138638
Bill Nelson endorses Rick Kriseman in St. Pete mayor’s race
U.S. Senator Bill Nelson today endorsed fellow Democrat Rick Kriseman in the St. Petersburg mayor’s race.
“Rick Kriseman is a strong leader who will bring people together to find solutions for the challenges facing St Petersburg,” Nelson said in a statement. “As mayor, Rick will do well for St Petersburg.”
Kriseman, a former Democratic state lawmaker and City Council member, has surged in recent polls ahead of Tuesday’s primary election, pulling to within 1 percentage point of incumbent Bill Foster in the most recent survey conducted this week by StPetePolls. He and Foster seem likely to face each other in the Nov. 5 general election. That means former councilwoman Kathleen Ford, an early frontrunner in the race, would come up short in her third bid for mayor.
“I am honored to have Sen. Nelson’s confidence and endorsement in this race,” Kriseman said in a statement. “Sen. Nelson knows firsthand the need for pragmatic leadership and bipartisan consensus-building. As mayor of St. Petersburg, I will bring the people of this great city together to create jobs, improve our schools and strengthen our neighborhoods.”
more: http://tbo.com/pinellas-county/bill-nelson-endorses-rick-kriseman-in-st-pete-mayorx2019s-race-20130822/
Army: We won't provide transgender Manning with hormone treatment or sex reassignment surgery
Source: The Miami Herald
Convicted WikiLeaks soldier Bradley Manning confirmed today that she is transgender and asked to be referred to as Chelsea and with female pronouns.
Mannings' lawyer, David Coombs told the Today show that he hoped officials at the military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., will accommodate Manning's request for hormone treatment, but the Army said it doesn't provide it or sex-reassignment surgery.
Here is the complete military statement:
We are aware that counsel representing the soldier convicted under the name Bradley Manning conveys that his client now openly identifies as female.
Read more: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2013/08/army-we-wont-provide-transgender-manning-with-hormone-treatment-or-sex-reassignment-surgery.html
Former Senate candidate Alvin Greene arrested
Source: The Hill
The unemployed military veteran who won the South Carolina Democratic nomination to run against then-GOP Sen. Jim DeMint in 2010 has been arrested for trespassing in Myrtle Beach.
Police said Alvin Greene was arrested Friday for trespassing at an apartment complex. He was found wandering around looking “disoriented,” according to reports, and paramedics were called to the scene.
Greene remained in jail as of Monday.
In a stunning upset, Greene edged out former state lawmaker Vic Rawl in the Democratic primary despite spending no money on his own campaign. He lost the general election to DeMint by a large margin.
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/316745-former-senate-candidate-alvin-greene-arrested-for-trespassing
Another Obamacare delay: Out-of-pocket caps waived for a year
Source: Alabama.com
Enactment of the part of the Affordable Care Act that would cap expenses such as co-pays and deductibles has been delayed a year, according to a Forbes Magazine story.
Originally under the act, starting in 2014, deductibles were to be limited to $2,000 per year for individual plans, and $4,000 per year for family plans. Also, there was to be no lifetime limits on "the dollar value of benefits for any participant or beneficiary." In other words, you would not have a lifetime cap on insurance coverage.
Both of those provisions will be delayed until 2015 because, according to the White House, businesses need more time to figure out how to comply with the new rules.
The delay was first announced in February when the Department of Labor published the rule delaying the caps in the Federal Register. The change went largely unnoticed until The New York Times published an article about it on Monday.
Read more: http://blog.al.com/wire/2013/08/another_obamacare_delay_out-of.html
Cory Booker Dominates Fundraising Again
Source: Roll Call
Newark Mayor Cory Booker dominated his New Jersey Senate special-election foes in fundraising during the first three weeks of July, pre-primary reports filed with the Federal Election Commission showed.
Booker raised $2.1 million from July 1 to 24 — six times more than his closest competitor in the Aug. 13 race for the Democratic nomination.
Booker reported having more than $4 million in cash on hand by the end of the pre-primary period. Reports were due to the FEC on Aug. 1.
The mayor is heavily favored to advance to the Oct. 16 special election and win the seat of the late Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg. The last three weeks of fundraising were a continuation of what’s transpired in the race so far.
Read more: http://atr.rollcall.com/cory-booker-dominates-fundraising-again/
Anthony Weiner stands by spokeswoman who went on rant calling ex-intern a 'f--king slutbag', a 'tw-t
Source: NY Post
Anthony Weiner’s foulmouthed flack Tweeted a mea culpa today — posting a photo of ‘swear jar” crammed with $100 bills and a Visa credit card after she blasted a former campaign intern as a “slutbag” and a “c-nt.”
“Not my best day yesterday,” Morgan wrote in the Twitter post. “Should’ve know better, been better. Gotta pay up.”
The posting came after Morgan let loose an explicit, profanity-laced tirade against former Weiner intern Olivia Nuzzi, who wrote an article about her experience with the embattled campaign.
Weiner today said he is sticking with his potty-mouthed press secretary, telling reporters “You bet!” when asked if Morgan still had a job after her maniacal meltdown.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/anthony_weiner_spokeswoman_barbara_MplV8ar11xDSC6JPEd8TxJ
Ralph "Thanks for 2000" Nader:Hillary Clinton needs challenger from the left
Former presidential candidate Ralph Nader said Monday progressives in the Democratic Party must challenge Hillary Clinton for the presidential nomination in 2016, saying she’s lost her progressive cred.
“Somebody must challenge from the left, because, I mean, Hillary Clinton, who started out as a progressive out of Yale Law School and Wellesley, she’s become almost the poster child for the military-industrial complex,” Nader told Chuck Todd in an online interview for MSNBC’s “The Daily Rundown” on Monday.
“She hugs Kissinger. She hobnobs with Bob Rubin and the Wall Street crowd. I mean it’s almost a caricature. But you know on social issues, like pro-choice, children’s issues, you know she keeps that liberal sheen.”
Nader said the challenge could from a few “marginalized” members of the party, but he worries they won’t step up to the plate.
more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/ralph-nader-hillary-clinton-2016-94871.html
Obama: VRA decision 'small-bore stuff compared to lynching'
The setback from the Supreme Court’s decision striking down elements of the Voting Rights Act is bad, but not as daunting hurdles from past generations, President Barack Obama told a White House gathering of civil rights leaders Monday.
“He said, ‘When you think about it, this is small-bore stuff compared to lynching and shootings and killings that happened 50 years ago,’” one participant in the meeting told POLITICO. “He said, ‘Ultimately this is within our power to change.’”
Obama told the group of about 15 civil rights leaders that it will be incumbent upon alert the Justice Department flag violations of what’s left of the Voting Rights Act, since the Supreme Court found the law’s preclearance requirements unconstitutional.
“They assured us that the Voting Rights Act may have been wounded but it’s not dead, it’s not even on critical,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton, the MSNBC host and National Action Network president. “There are other sections of the Voting Rights Act that the Justice Department can still enforce.”
more: http://www.politico.com/politico44/2013/07/obama-vra-decision-smallbore-stuff-compared-to-lynching-169443.html?hp=l2
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