Source: New York Times


Verizon said Tuesday that it would buy AOL at $50 a share in a deal with an estimated value of $4.4 billion.

The move is an effort to expand Verizon’s digital and video offerings.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/13/business/dealbook/verizon-to-buy-aol-for-4-4-billion.html?

After NYC hoteliers Ian Reisner and Mati Weiderpass hosted a ‘fireside chat’ with vehemently anti-gay Senator and Republican Presidential candidate clown car occupant Ted Cruz at thier Central Park penthouse last month, the out business partners have been met with backlash and boycotts from the gay community.

Reisner was quick to respond, first calling the dinner party a “terrible mistake.” He wanted everyone to know he wasn’t entirely aware of Cruz’s politics before agreeing to co-host, because his multimillion dollar penthouse is apparently located underneath a rock. “I’ve spent the past 24 hours reviewing videos of Cruz’ statements on gay marriage and I am shocked and angry,” he said.

Well now Weiderpass is speaking out with a decidedly different take.

In an op-ed in the Observer, he calls out the “gay extremists” who don’t understand the virtues of breaking bread with someone like Cruz who has proudly boasted about his “proven record of standing and fighting to protect traditional marriage between one man and one woman.” In the same week as the dinner, Cruz filed two bills to halt same-sex marriage.
So which is it? A “terrible mistake” or an intentional engagement with the opposition? Because it can’t be both.

“I hosted a United States Senator Presidential candidate and asked him how he would feel if his daughter were to tell him she was lesbian,” Weiderpass writes. “How often do you think he has been asked that?” We suppose we should be thanking you?

more
http://www.queerty.com/gay-nyc-hotelier-who-hosted-ted-cruz-scraps-the-apologies-attacks-gay-extremists-instead-20150511?

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS

By FRANCES D'EMILIO Published MAY 10, 2015, 4:48 PM EDT

VATICAN CITY (AP) —

-snip-

After leaving the Vatican, Castro, the brother of Fidel, the revolutionary leader who brought the Communists to power in Cuba, gushed with praise for Francis. The pontiff "is a Jesuit, and I, in some way, am too," Castro said at a news conference. "I always studied at Jesuit schools."

"When the pope goes to Cuba in September, I promise to go to all his Masses, and with satisfaction," Castro said at a news conference at the office of Italian Premier Matteo Renzi, whom he met with after the Vatican talks. "I read all the speeches of the pope, his commentaries, and if the pope continues this way, I will go back to praying and go back to the church, and I'm not joking," he said.

It was a startling assertion for the leader of a Communist country, whose crackdown on dissidents in the past had drawn sharp Vatican criticism.

"I am from the Cuban Communist Party, that doesn't allow (religious) believers, but now we are allowing it, it's an important step," Castro said.

-snip-

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/castro-im-so-impressed-by-pope-i-might-return-to-church

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS

By JILL COLVIN Published MAY 9, 2015, 9:13 AM EDT

DOVER, N.H. (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Friday that he's moving on from the bridge scandal that has badly tarnished his presidential prospects and is done apologizing for the actions of his former allies.

Christie was wrapping up a town hall event at Fury's Publick House bar in Dover Friday evening when he was confronted with the issue by a woman who said she was born and raised in New Jersey and was "beyond horrified" by the incident — which she said reminded her of feudal times, when a king didn't care about his peasants.

"I'm worried about having a president who has people around him who think that that's OK," she said.

Christie had largely avoided the issue during his trip to New Hampshire. Last week, his former deputy chief of staff and a top appointee at the authority that controls the George Washington Bridge were indicted for shutting access lanes to the bridge to punish a Democratic mayor who declined to endorse Christie's re-election. Another former ally pleaded guilty.

-snip-

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/christie-stop-apologizing-bridgegate

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) on Saturday said some blame for the riots in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray lies with President Obama.

Following a speech at the South Carolina Freedom Summit, King was asked whether Obama should be blamed for the unrest in the city.

"I'll say yes," King told reporters, according to Bloomberg Politics. "The culture has created that because they drove that culture in Ferguson and it multiplied itself in Baltimore and across the country."

King said that another leader would "heal us together."

"Listen, God created all of us, and we cannot discriminate against people based upon the distinction that he's given each of us," King said, according to Bloomberg.

-snip-

Source: TPM

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Saturday weighed in on the shooting at a Muhammad cartoon contest in Garland, Texas, while discussing how President Obama is "unwilling" to used the phrase "radical Islamic terrorism."

"We saw the ugly face of islamic terrorism in my home state of Texas — in Garland, where two jihadists came to commit murder. Thankfully one police officer helped them meet their virgins," Cruz said. "But when given the choice between free speech and the political correctness of refusing to acknowledge radical Islamic terrorism, it is a time for choosing where we stand," he continued.

Two gunmen were killed last weekend when they opened fire on officers outside of the Muhammad cartoon contest organized by anti-Muslim activist Pam Geller.

Earlier in his speech, Cruz mentioned the religious freedom bills in Arkansas and Indiana, which were both modified after businesses expressed concern that the bills would permit discrimination against gays and lesbians. Cruz praised both states for standing up "to defend religious liberty."

-snip-

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ted-cruz-garland-free-speech

Source: The Guardian



Robert Rice, now 24, convicted of felony hate crime and aggravated assault; Group of 10 white teenagers committed string of assaults on African Americans

The last of a group of 10 young white defendants was sentenced on Friday for his role in a string of racially motivated assaults on black people in Mississippi, which ended with a horrific killing that echoed the worst violence of the civil rights era.

Robert Rice, 24, was ordered on Friday in Jackson, Mississippi, to serve 10 years in prison, the maximum sentence on charges of a felony hate crime and aggravated assault.

He took part in a series of forays from the suburbs, where the then teenagers lived, into the city, looking for random opportunities to attack African Americans, the court heard.

Despite taking part in three episodes of racist violence, Rice was not present on the night of the final episode prior to the group being apprehended, in June 2011, when others of the group encountered 49-year-old James Anderson in the parking lot of a motel on the outskirts of Jackson, beat him viciously, then fatally ran him down with one of their vehicles.

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Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/final-suspect-in-mississippi-hate-crime-gang-attacks-sentenced-to-10-years-in-prison/

Source: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

An Egyptian court sentenced ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his two sons to three years in prison on Saturday after a retrial for embezzlement.

Mubarak and his sons Alaa and Gamal were present in the caged dock, wearing suits and sunglasses. Mubarak’s lawyers may try to appeal the verdict.

They had already been sentenced to three years on the same charges but an appeal court overturned the original verdict.

It was not immediately clear whether the sentencing took into account time served. The three had all been arrested in 2011, months after Mubarak was toppled in a popular 18-day uprising after three decades in power.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/egyptian-court-sentences-ex-president-mubarak-to-three-years-in-prison-for-corruption/

Source: The Guardian

CHRIS MCGREAL IN LAS VEGAS AND MATT ISAACS OF THE INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING PROGRAM, THE GUARDIAN
09 MAY 2015 AT 14:07 ET

Casino magnate’s trial remarks raised more questions than they answered about Las Vegas Sands’ connection with an alleged organised crime leader in China

Sheldon Adelson, the multibillionaire casino magnate and key Republican party donor, spent four combative days in a Las Vegas court this week defending his gambling empire from accusations of bribery and ties to organized crime.

By the time the hearing was over, Adelson had argued with the judge, contradicted the evidence of his own executives and frustrated his lawyers by revealing more information than he was required to in response to simple yes or no questions. But most importantly, far from laying the allegations against his Las Vegas Sands conglomerate to rest, the billionaire’s answers threw up yet more questions which he is likely to have to return to court to answer.

On the court docket, the case is merely a wrongful dismissal suit. The former CEO of Adelson’s highly profitable casinos in the Chinese enclave of Macau, Steven Jacobs, is suing because he claims to have been sacked for trying to break links to organised crime groups, the triads, and for attempting to halt alleged influence peddling with Chinese officials.

But the extent of what is at stake for Adelson was evident in the form of the Nevada gaming board official monitoring the case from the public gallery. Adelson accused Jacobs of “squealing like a pig to the government” and of blackmail in taking his accusations to the US authorities.

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Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/sheldon-adelsons-ties-to-alleged-chinese-crime-boss-under-scrutiny-after-new-testimony/

Source: RawStory/The Hill

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush accused President Barack Obama’s administration of trying to stifle religious freedom during an appearance at Liberty University in Virginia on Saturday, The Hill reported.

“Somebody here is being small-minded and intolerant, and it sure isn’t the nuns, ministers, and laymen and women who ask only to live and practice their faith,” Bush said in a transcript of his speech at Liberty’s commencement ceremony. “Federal authorities are demanding obedience in complete disregard of religious conscience. And in a free society, the answer is ‘No.'”

Bush said it was strange to hear Christianity described as a “backwards destructive force,” and accused the White House of employing “coercive federal power” against Christians.

“Our friends on the left like to view themselves as the agents of reform,” he said. “And you and I are just supposed to get with the program. There are consequences when you don’t genuflect to the latest secular dogmas.”

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Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/jeb-bush-accuses-obama-of-pushing-complete-disregard-of-religious-conscience/

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Bush fails to excite evangelical crowd

LYNCHBURG, Virginia — At Liberty University on Saturday, a surprise proposal got a better reception than the commencement speech by likely presidential candidate Jeb Bush.

The former Florida governor struggled to impress the evangelical audience at the university founded by Southern Baptist pastor Jerry Falwell. That could signal trouble for Bush, who, as seen in recent polls, is already struggling to woo evangelical and far-right conservatives. Saturday’s address did nothing to change that, as the governor delivered a speech about faith and religious persecution to a subdued audience that didn’t always acknowledge applause lines.

That same crowd cheered boisterously when Falwell’s grandson proposed to his girlfriend, however. (She said yes.)

Speaking at the largest Christian university in the world to a total of 34,000 in attendance and watching online, Bush’s oratory was largely uninspiring. He earned the most applause for arguing that leaders must be guided by their faith – even if it’s not politically correct – but in a handful of instances, talked through cheers or waited for applause that never came. “Our friends on the left like to view themselves as the agents of change and reform and you and I are just supposed to get with the program,” Bush said during the speech. “There are consequences when you don’t genuflect to the latest secular dogmas.” He argued against what he characterized as an assault on religious liberty, referencing legal battles by religious groups that refuse to provide health insurance because it could cover abortion, for instance.

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/bush-fails-excite-evangelical-crowd-liberty-university