White House fence-jumper made it far deeper into building than previously known

Suspect Omar Gonzalez caught on a bystanders video camera running toward the White House after jumping the fence September 19th, that sparked a security alert. Gonzalez made it deep inside the White House before getting caught. (Alan Pawlinski via YouTube)

Story by Washington Post
Written by Carol D. Leonnig and Alice Crites

The man who jumped the White House fence this month and sprinted through the front door made it much farther into the building than previously known, overpowering one Secret Service officer and running through much of the main floor, according to three people familiar with the incident.

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An alarm box near the front entrance of the White House designed to alert guards to an intruder had been muted at what officers believed was a request of the usher’s office, said a Secret Service official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The officer posted inside the front door appeared to be delayed in learning that the intruder, Omar Gonzalez, was about to burst through. Officers are trained that, upon learning of an intruder on the grounds — often through the alarm boxes posted around the property — they must immediately lock the front door.

After barreling past the guard immediately inside the door, Gonzalez, who was carrying a knife, dashed past the stairway leading a half-flight up to the first family’s living quarters. He then ran into the 80-foot-long East Room, an ornate space often used for receptions or presidential addresses.

Gonzalez was tackled by a counter-assault agent at the far southern end of the East Room. The intruder reached the doorway to the Green Room, a parlor overlooking the South Lawn with artwork and antique furniture, according to three people familiar with the incident.

Secret Service officials had earlier said he was quickly detained at the main entry. Agency spokesman Edwin Donovan said the office is not commenting during the ongoing investigation of the incident.

Breaches of the White House fence have become more common, but most jumpers are tackled by Secret Service officers guarding the complex before they get even a third of the way across the lawn. Gonzalez is the first person known to have jumped the fence and made it inside the executive mansion.



Secret Service Director Julia Pierson has said the breach was “unacceptable” to her, and on Friday she briefed President Obama on her plans to shore up security.

Pierson is expected to face tough questions about the Gonzalez incident Tuesday at a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The hearing is likely to cover a number of security lapses by the agency, including new revelations published over the weekend by The Washington Post about the failure to identify and properly investigate a 2011 shooting attack on the White House.

The more detailed account of this month’s security breach comes from people who provided information about the incident to The Post and whistle-blowers who contacted Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), chairman of the oversight panel’s subcommittee on national security.

Chaffetz said he plans to ask Pierson how an alarm meant to alert officers to intruders could be silenced or turned down. The congressman said two people inside the agency told him that boxes were silenced because the White House usher staff, whose office is near the front door, complained that they were noisy. A Secret Service official told The Post that the usher’s office was concerned the boxes were frequently malfunctioning and unnecessarily sounding off.

The alarm boxes, which officers call “crash boxes,” are key pieces of the agency’s first-alert system, according to former agents and officials. If officers spot an intruder, they are trained to hit the large red button on the nearest box — sending an alert to every post on the complex about the location of an incursion and piping sound from that location to other boxes around the property.

“If true, the fact that crash boxes were muted to avoid being ‘disruptive’ is not due to a lack of resources or an insufficient number of checkpoints or barriers,” Chaffetz said.

He called the incident a “failure of leadership” by the Secret Service.

“The agency needs a solution that goes deeper than more fences and more people,” Chaffetz said. “It must examine what message is being sent to the men and women who protect the President when their leader sacrifices security to appease superficial concerns of White House ushers.”

The new revelations follow accounts provided to The Post last week detailing how Gonzalez’s ability to enter the White House reflected a failure of multiple levels of security at the compound. The agency relies on these successive layers as a fail-safe for protecting the President and the White House complex.

In this incident, a plainclothes surveillance team was on duty that night outside the fence, meant to spot jumpers and give early warning before they made it over. But that team did not notice Gonzalez. There was an officer in a guard booth on the North Lawn. When that officer could not reach Gonzalez, there was supposed to be an attack dog, a specialized SWAT team and a guard at the front door — all at the ready.

The dog was not released, a decision now under review. Some people familiar with the incident say the handler probably felt he could not release the dog, because so many officers were in pursuit of Gonzalez and the dog may have attacked them instead.

Since the incident, the Secret Service has added an additional layer of temporary fencing while the agency reviews its procedures.

President Barack Obama Addresses the Congressional Black Caucus

President Obama speaks at the Congressional Black Caucus Dinner on September 27, 2014.

Video shows trooper shooting unarmed man, South Carolina police say

Story by CNN
Video by CNN and South Carolina Police - reported by Martin Savidge
Written by Jason Hanna, Martin Savidge and John Murgatroyd

One moment, a man reaches into his vehicle after a South Carolina trooper asked for his driver's license.

Seconds later, the trooper shoots him, and the man asks why. Days afterward, prosecutors aren't satisfied with the answer.

Authorities released dash-camera video Wednesday showing what they say is Sean Groubert, a decorated South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper, shooting Levar Jones, who was unarmed, in the parking lot of a gas station just outside Columbia on September 4.

Jones, 35, survived the shooting. But Groubert, who has since been fired for the incident, has been charged with aggravated assault and battery, a felony that could get him up to 20 years in prison if convicted, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said Wednesday.

"The force administered in this case was unwarranted, inconsistent with how our troopers are trained, and clearly in violation of department policies," South Carolina Public Safety Director Leroy Smith said last week in announcing Groubert's firing.

This wasn't the first time Groubert had fired his weapon. He was lauded the previous time: His department gave him a medal of valor for an incident in which he and another trooper shot and injured a man who had shot at them in 2012, SCPSD spokeswoman Sherri Iacobelli said.

'Why did you shoot me?'

In this year's incident, police said Groubert, 31, stopped Jones in the parking lot of a Circle K station in daylight, for what police say was an alleged seat belt violation, around 5 p.m.

Video that authorities say was recorded from Groubert's police car shows the trooper driving up to a vehicle just as its driver -- who authorities say is Jones -- steps out of the vehicle.

When Groubert asks for Jones' license, Jones pivots toward the vehicle he just exited -- the driver's door is still open -- and leans inside as if to retrieve something, the video shows.

About two seconds later, the trooper that police identify as Groubert comes into view with a gun drawn and yells "Get out of the car! Get out of the car!" The gun is fired -- at least four shots are heard -- and Jones steps away from the vehicle, raising his hands in the air and eventually moving off camera.

"I just got my license! You said get my license!" says someone off camera, apparently Jones.

After being told to put his hands behind his back, Jones asks: "What did I do, sir?"

"Are you hit?" asks another off-camera voice, apparently Groubert's.

"I think so," comes the response. "I can't feel my leg. I don't know what happened."

The conversation continues:

"Why did you shoot me?"

"Well, you dove head-first back into your car. Then you (unintelligible), I'm telling you get out of your car."

Ohio man shot by police in Walmart store

Shot in the hip

Jones was shot in the hip, CNN affiliate WACH reported. He was taken to a hospital and later released, authorities said.

Jones was found not to be armed, Smith said.

"I believe this case was an isolated incident in which Mr. Groubert reacted to a perceived threat where there was none," Smith said last week.

In a court hearing Wednesday night, a judge ordered Groubert held with bond set at $75,000, WACH reported.

CNN's attempts to reach Groubert's and Jones' lawyers weren't immediately successful.

In explaining Groubert's firing Friday, Smith said the department's policy on using force says that officers can use "only the level of force necessary to accomplish lawful objectives."

"That protocol was not followed in this case. Further, this incident occurred in broad daylight. Mr. Groubert had a clear and unobstructed view of Mr. Jones," Smith said.

The shooting, Smith said, "deviates from SCDPS standards and cannot be tolerated."


South Carolina Officer Sean Groubert (Photo: Richland County Detention Center)

Medal of valor

Groubert, who joined the Highway Patrol in 2005, earned kudos for the other time he'd fired his gun in the line of duty.

Police said Groubert stopped a car that had passed him at a high rate of speed in Richland County in August 2012. The driver eventually took off without permission, and Groubert pursued him, police said.

Another trooper joined the pursuit, and the driver stopped at a bank, exited his vehicle and fired shots at both troopers in the parking lot, police said.

Groubert and the other trooper returned fire, injuring the suspect, the SCDPS said. At some point, it appeared that the suspect intended to go inside the bank, Iacobelli said.

That suspect was charged with attempted murder and convicted in 2013, according to the SCDPS.

The SCDPS gave Groubert a medal of valor in 2013 for his handling of the incident, Iacobelli said.

Why Eric Holder Quit as the United States Attorney General

Story by Politico
Written by Glenn Thrush

It’s oddly fitting that Attorney General Eric Holder – a stubbornly independent career prosecutor ridiculed by Barack Obama’s advisers for having lousy political instincts— would nail his dismount.

But Holder, who began his stormy five-plus-year tenure at the Justice Department with his controversial “Nation of Cowards” speech, has chosen what seems to be the ideal (and maybe the only) moment to call it quits after more than 18 months of musing privately about leaving with the president and senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett, a trio bound by friendship, progressive ideology and shared African-American ancestry.

It was now or never, several current and former administration officials say, and Holder – under pressure to retire from a physician wife worried about a recent health scare, checked the "now" box. “It was a quit-now or never-quit moment,” one former administration official said. “You didn’t want confirmation hearings in 2015 if the Republicans control the Senate. So if he didn’t do it now, there was no way he could ever do it.”

Holder—described by associates as President Obama’s “heat shield” on race and civil rights—sprung it on the president over the Labor Day holidays. Obama didn’t bother to push back as he has in the past, even though staffers say he winces at the prospect of a long confirmation battle, whomever he chooses for the nation’s top law enforcement job.

Holder’s announcement gives Obama several weeks to pick and vet a successor who would face confirmation hearings in the lame-duck session after the midterms. Holder has “agreed to remain in his post until the confirmation of his successor,” a top Justice Department aide said, as an insurance policy against GOP foot-dragging.

His timing also has a personal dimension. The keenly legacy-conscious Holder has never been in better standing, leaving on arguably the highest personal note of his tenure, after a year of progress on his plan to reform sentencing laws and just after his well-received, calming-the-waters trip to Ferguson, Missouri, during the riots in August. In a background email to reporters, a senior Justice Department official struck a victory-lap tone, writing, “The Attorney General’s tenure has been marked by historic gains in the areas of criminal justice reform and civil rights enforcement. The last week alone has seen several announcements related to these signature issues.”

That’s a striking contrast to the defensive posture of the last few years, when Holder became the first sitting Cabinet official to be found in contempt of Congress. Hill Republicans, who have warred with Holder for years, greeted his departure with don’t-let-the-door-hit-you-on-the-way-out glee. “I welcome the news that Eric Holder will step down as Attorney General,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, in an email. “From Operation Fast and Furious to his misleading testimony before the House Judiciary Committee regarding the Department’s dealings with members of the media and his refusal to appoint a special counsel to investigate the IRS’ targeting of conservative groups, Mr. Holder has consistently played partisan politics with many of the important issues facing the Justice Department.”

The Men in Power: President Barack Obama and now former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in front of the United States Capitol Building (Photo by Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images)

At the moment, there’s no obvious replacement, several officials close to the situation told me. W. Neil Eggleston, the new White House counsel, will lead the search with an assist from Jarrett, Holder’s longtime ally and defender. Obama and his team would probably prefer a known and trusted quantity—like Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, a potential future Democratic presidential candidate who served as the head of the department’s civil rights division under Bill Clinton. But Patrick, who is friends with Obama insiders like David Axelrod, who still advises his old boss informally, has repeatedly told them he’s not interested, and – for now—he seems to mean it. When asked by reporters today, Patrick snapped, “I am going to finish my term and then head into the private sector.”

Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, Jr. is a favorite of Obama’s, and a person valued as a team player inside the West Wing—not as widely known but someone who might have an inside track, thanks to Obama’s penchant for picking trusted insiders over high-profile outsiders. But liberal critics have faulted Verilli for his halting performance defending the Affordable Care Act before the Supreme Court, as well as his mixed scorecard overall.

In recent days the president’s team has also taken a close look at California Attorney General Kamala Harris, an African-American woman who would likely pursue the same civil rights agenda championed by Holder—but may opt to stay in her state to pursue gubernatorial ambitions.

Other names under consideration, but considered less likely, according to check-ins with half a dozen current and former West Wingers: Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney in Manhattan known for his aggressive Wall Street prosecutions; Ron Machen, the young U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.—a job once held by Holder; Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a former state attorney general; former Joe Biden aide Neil MacBride, an ex-federal prosecutor in Virginia who is now a partner at the law firm Davis Polk; ex-White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, another Obama favorite; and Labor Secretary Tom Perez, another former head of the civil rights division—and currently the only Latino candidate mentioned by insiders.

There’s also at least one high-profile long-shot on the informal list being circulated inside Obama’s camp: former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who left Washington in 2013 to take over the massive University of California system, according to one Democrat with close ties to the White House. Napolitano was the original choice for the job at the start of Obama’s first term – a favorite of then-Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Holder, who had considered himself the sole front-runner for the job, was startled during the 2008-09 transition period when he was handed a Department of Justice binder that included headshots of himself and Napolitano as potential AGs.

Al Sharpton demands Justice Department investigate Eric Garner and Michael Brown killings

Rev. Sharpton standing with national civil rights leaders, the mother of Eric Garner, the parents of Michael Brown, Attorney Benjamin Crump and others at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. calling on the Justice Department to take on the investigation of these cases.

Replacing Eric Holder: Ready for a Political Bloodbath?

Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Attorney General Eric Holder’s resignation leaves President Barack Obama trying to replace one of his most trusted confidants in a critical job at a time when his dealings with Congress are bound to become more difficult. Peter Cook reports on “Bloomberg Surveillance.” (Source: Bloomberg)

President Obama Delivers a Statement on United States Attorney General Eric Holder, and Holder officially announces his resignation

Yesterday, Thursday September 25, 2014 at the White House, President Obama offered thanks to the United States Attorney General Eric Holder for his six years of service.

Statement by President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder

State Dining Room

4:30 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. Please have a seat. Bobby Kennedy once said, “On this generation of Americans falls the full burden of proving to the world that we really mean it when we say all men are created free and equal before the law.”

As one of the longest-serving Attorney Generals in American history, Eric Holder has borne that burden. And over the summer, he came to me and he said he thought six years was a pretty good run -- I imagine his family agrees. Like me, Eric married up. He and his wife, Dr. Sharon Malone, a nationally-renowned OBGYN, have been great friends to Michelle and me for years. And I know Brooke and Maya and Buddy are excited to get their dad back for a while.

So this is bittersweet. But with his typical dedication, Eric has agreed to stay on as Attorney General until I nominate his successor and that successor is confirmed by the Senate. Which means he’ll have a chance to add to a proud career of public service -- one that began nearly 40 years ago as a young prosecutor in the Department that he now runs.

He was there for 12 years, taking on political corruption until President Reagan named him to the bench as a judge. Later, President Clinton called him back. So all told, Eric has served at the Justice Department under six Presidents of both parties -- including a several-day stint as acting Attorney General at the start of George W. Bush’s first term. And through it all, he’s shown a deep and abiding fidelity to one of our most cherished ideals as a people, and that is equal justice under the law.

As younger men, Eric and I both studied law. And I chose him to serve as Attorney General because he believes, as I do, that justice is not just an abstract theory. It’s a living and breathing principle. It’s about how our laws interact with our daily lives. It’s about whether we can make an honest living, whether we can provide for our families; whether we feel safe in our own communities and welcomed in our own country; whether the words that the Founders set to paper 238 years ago apply to every single one of us and not just some.

That’s why I made him America’s lawyer, the people’s lawyer. That comes with a big portfolio -- from counterterrorism to civil rights, public corruption to white-collar crime. And alongside the incredible men and women of the Justice Department -– men and women that I promise you he is proud of and will deeply miss -– Eric has done a superb job.

He’s worked side by side with our intelligence community and the Department of Homeland Security to keep us safe from terrorist attacks and to counter violent extremism. On his watch, federal courts have successfully prosecuted hundreds of terror cases, proving that the world’s finest justice system is fully capable of delivering justice for the world’s most-wanted terrorists.

He’s rooted out corruption and fought violent crime. Under his watch, a few years ago, the FBI successfully carried out the largest mafia takedown in American history. He’s worked closely with state and local law enforcement officers to make sure that they’ve got the resources to get the job done. And he’s managed funds under the Recovery Act to make sure that when budgets took a hit, thousands of cops were able to stay on the beat nationwide.

He’s helped safeguard our markets from manipulation, and consumers from financial fraud. Since 2009, the Justice Department has brought more than 60 cases against financial institutions, and won some of the largest settlements in history for practices related to the financial crisis, recovering $85 billion –- much of it returned to ordinary Americans who were badly hurt.

He’s worked passionately to make sure our criminal justice system remains the best in the world. He knows that too many outdated policies, no matter how well-intentioned, perpetuate a destructive cycle in too many communities. So Eric addressed unfair sentencing disparities, reworked mandatory minimums, and promoted alternatives to incarceration. And thanks to his efforts, since I took office, the overall crime rate and the overall incarceration rate have gone down by about 10 percent. That’s the first time that they’ve declined together, at the same tim, in more than 40 years.

Eric’s proudest achievement, though, might be reinvigorating and restoring the core mission to what he calls “the conscience of the building” -- and that’s the Civil Rights Division. He has been relentless against attacks on the Voting Rights Act –- because no citizen, including our servicemembers, should have to jump through hoops to exercise their most fundamental right. He’s challenged discriminatory state immigration laws that not only risked harassment of citizens and legal immigrants, but actually made it harder for law enforcement to do its job.

Under his watch, the Department has brought a record number of prosecutions for human trafficking, and for hate crimes -- because no one in America should be afraid to walk down the street because of the color of their skin, the love in their heart, the faith they practice, or the disabilities that they live with.

He’s dramatically advanced the cause of justice for Native Americans, working closely with their communities. And several years ago, he recommended that our government stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act -- a decision that was vindicated by the Supreme Court, and opened the door to federal recognition of same-sex marriage, and federal benefits for same-sex couples. It’s a pretty good track record.

Eric’s father was an immigrant who served in the Army in World War II only to be refused service at lunch counters in the nation he defended. But he and his wife raised their son to believe that this country’s promise was real, and that son grew up to become Attorney General of the United States. And that’s something. And that’s why Eric has worked so hard -- not just in my administration, but for decades -- to open up the promise of this country to more striving, dreaming kids like him. To make sure those words -- life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness -- are made real for all of us.

Soon, Eric, Sharon, and their kids will be a bit freer to pursue a little more happiness of their own. And thanks to Eric’s efforts, so will more Americans -- regardless of race or religion, gender or creed, sexual orientation or disability, who will receive fair and equal treatment under the law.

So I just want to say thank you, Eric. Thank you to the men and women of the Justice Department who work day in and out for the American people. And we could not be more grateful for everything that you’ve done not just for me and the administration, but for our country. (Applause.)


U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with United States Attorney General Eric Holder at a ceremony at the White House, on Sept. 25, 2014. (Photographer: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER: I come to this moment with very mixed emotions: proud of what the men and women of the Department of Justice have accomplished over the last six years, and at the same time, very sad that I will not be a formal part -- a formal part -- of the great things that this Department and this President will accomplish over the next two.

I want to thank you, Mr. President, for the opportunity that you gave me to serve and for giving me the greatest honor of my professional life. We have been great colleagues, but the bonds between us are much deeper than that. In good times and in bad, in things personal and in things professional, you have been there for me. I’m proud to call you my friend.

I’m also grateful for the support you have given me and the Department as we have made real the visions that you and I have always shared. I often think of those early talks between us, about our belief that we might help to craft a more perfect union. Work remains to be done, but our list of accomplishments is real.

Over the last six years, our administration -- your administration -- has made historic gains in realizing the principles of the founding documents and fought to protect the most sacred of American rights, the right to vote.

We have begun to realize the promise of equality for our LGBT brothers and sisters and their families. We have begun to significantly reform our criminal justice system and reconnect those who bravely serve in law enforcement with the communities that they protect.

We have kept faith with our belief in the power of the greatest judicial system the world has ever known to fairly and effectively adjudicate any cases that are brought before it, including those that involve the security of the nation that we both love so dearly.

We have taken steps to protect the environment and make more fair the rules by which our commercial enterprises operate. And we have held accountable those who would harm the American people -- either through violent means or the misuse of economic or political power.

I have loved the Department of Justice ever since as a young boy I watched Robert Kennedy prove during the Civil Rights Movement how the Department can and must always be a force for that which is right. I hope that I have done honor to the faith that you have placed in me, Mr. President, and to the legacy of all those who have served before me.

I would also like to thank the Vice President, who I have known for so many years, and in whom I have found great wisdom, unwavering support, and a shared vision of what America can and should be.

I want to recognize my good friend Valerie Jarrett, whom I’ve been fortunate to work with from the beginning of what started as an improbable, idealistic effort by a young senator from Illinois, who we were both right to believe would achieve greatness.

I’ve had the opportunity to serve in your distinguished Cabinet and worked with a White House Chief of Staff -- a White House staff ably led by Denis McDonough that has done much to make real the promise of our democracy. And each of the men and women who I have come to know will be lifelong friends.

Whatever my accomplishments, they could not have been achieved without the love, support and guidance of two people who are not here with me today. My parents, Eric and Miriam Holder, nurtured me and my accomplished brother, William, and made us believe in the value of individual effort and the greatness of this nation.

My time in public service, which now comes to an end, would not have been possible without the sacrifices too often unfair made by the best three kids a father could ask for. Thank you, Maya. Thank you, Brooke. And thank you, Buddy.

And finally, I want to thank the woman who sacrificed the most and allowed me to follow my dreams. She is the foundation of all that our family is, and the basis of all that I have become. My wife, Sharon, is the unsung hero. And she is my life partner. Thank you for all that you have done. I love you.

In the months ahead, I will leave the Department of Justice, but I will never -- I will never -- leave the work. I will continue to serve and try to find ways to make our nation even more true to its founding ideals.

I want to thank the dedicated public servants who form the backbone of the United States Department of Justice for their tireless work over the past six years, for the efforts they will continue, and for the progress that they made and that will outlast us all.

And I want to thank you all for joining me on a journey that now moves in another direction, but that will always be guided by the pursuit of justice and aimed at the North Star.

Thank you. (Applause.)

END
4:41 P.M. EDT

Nielsen cuts 80 radio staffers

Briefing by Inside Radio

Executives have said they expect to complete the integration process of the former Arbitron into Nielsen by year’s end, and that effort advanced forward last week with more layoffs.

Nielsen says it dismissed 80 radio-focused staffers at Arbitron’s old headquarters in Columbia, MD.

BREAKING NEWS: United States Attorney General Eric Holder to RESIGN after nearly six years

Story by MSNBC
Written by Zachary Roth
Video by CNN

Attorney General Eric Holder will announce Thursday his plans to leave office after nearly six years, a Justice Department official tells NBC News. The announcement will come at a formal White House event.

The Attorney General has agreed to remain in his post until the confirmation of his successor.

Holder, 63, has led the Justice Department since the start of the Obama administration in 2009. During that time, he has prioritized civil and voting rights and criminal justice reform, earning effusive praise from civil rights activists, but has also frequently clashed with Republican lawmakers.

“He has meant so much to the civil rights community and to our country,” Judith Browne Dianis, a co-director of the Advancement Project, said. “This attorney general has not only talked the talk, but he’s walked the walk on civil rights.”

The first African-American attorney general of the United States, Holder made a statement at the outset of his tenure when, in a 2009 speech for Black History Month, he called the U.S. “a nation of cowards” for what he saw as its failure to talk honestly about race. The line drew a furious reaction from conservatives.

Holder also sought to have Khaled Sheikh Mohammed and other 9/11 architects tried through the civilian justice system, including bringing them to New York for the trial. The administration ultimately backed down amid opposition from Republicans.

And last year, the House voted to hold Holder in contempt when he refused to turn over documents relating to an investigation into DoJ program to counter gun trafficking. Democrats denounced the probe as a witch-hunt.

Last month, Holder made a high-profile trip to Ferguson, Missouri to help calm tensions after the police shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teen, and to assure residents that the federal government will aggressively investigate the killing.

And he has aggressively used the Voting Rights Act to protect access to the ballot for racial minorities, bringing lawsuits against voting restrictions in Texas and North Carolina, and supporting cases in Ohio and Wisconsin.

Holder has disappointed some progressives for his reluctance to file criminal charges against individual banking executives who helped cause the 2008 financial crisis.

Holder had served as deputy attorney general—the No. 2 post in the department—during the Clinton administration.

Holder told The New Yorker magazine for a story published in February that he planned to step down this year. But the process of confirming his successor could last into next year.

MEDIA ADVISORY: TODAY - 11 a.m., Ferguson & Beyond: Ending Racial Profiling in America

Washington Post Announces Cuts to Employees’ RETIREMENT BENEFITS

Story by Washington Post
Written by Steven Mufson

The Washington Post announced large cuts in retirement benefits on Tuesday, declaring that it would eliminate future retirement medical benefits and freeze defined-benefit pensions for nonunion employees.

The company also said that in negotiations that started Tuesday, it will seek to impose the same conditions on employees covered by the union — one of the first indications of how The Post’s new owner, Amazon.com founder Jeffrey P. Bezos, will manage relations with the staff of the news organization.

The changes will hit hardest at employees hired before 2009 who could plan on receiving pension payments based on their income and years of service. Each of those employees could see scores — or hundreds — of thousands of dollars less over the course of a retirement. More recent hires do not have traditional pension plans.

The Post will create a new cash balance plan to replace the pensions for nonunion employees and a separate but similar plan for those covered by the union. Those plans provide employees with a lump sum or annuity when they retire. But they do not guarantee a particular level of retirement payments, thus reducing the risk that Bezos would have to add money to the pension if financial markets plunged.

A steady stream of firms have been eliminating pensions over the past decade or so and replacing them with plans that call on employees to bear more of the responsibility for their retirement. The 2008 financial crisis made companies even more wary of promising benefits that they could have trouble funding.

The Post’s existing pension plan was about $50 million, or approximately 20 percent overfunded, last Oct. 1 when Bezos bought The Post.

The newspaper said in a letter to employees that it was doing this “with a goal of better positioning The Post for long-term success.” The company declined to comment further.

“Sadly, rather than cutting costs by sharing them, some companies instead are giving up on providing pensions at all and dumping the responsibility and risk on employees, who are least prepared to handle it,” said Josh Gotbaum, who stepped down last month as the director of the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

The letter to employees did not mention changes in company contributions to 401(k) plans, which were cut in a little-noticed section of The Post’s contract with Local 32035 of the Newspaper Guild, a union belonging to the Communication Workers of America. Effective Oct. 1, The Post will cut its contributions to 401(k) plans from a maximum of 5 percent to a maximum of 1 percent for workers in jobs covered by the guild contract.

Instead, The Post will create another cash balance plan that will tap the pension surplus. The payments matching employee contributions to their 401(k) plans are paid out of operating expenses.

The Post had made the same changes in 401(k) matches for non-union-covered employees in 2012.

“The Post once again dropped a bomb on the guild at its first day of contract talks,” said Fredrick Kunkle, a staff writer and co-chair of the union local. “The last time we went to the table, more than a year ago, we said the publisher might have put forward the most contemptuous proposal in memory. We were wrong. We think this one is as bad, maybe even worse.”

Congressional Black Caucus Convention Events September 24 - 27, 2014

Sirius XM Loses Lawsuit on Royalties for Oldies

Story by New York Times
Written by Ben Sisario

In a case that could have wide implications for the digital music business, a federal judge in California ruled on Monday that Sirius XM, the satellite radio giant, was liable for copyright infringement for failing to pay royalties on recordings made before 1972.

The case, filed last year by members of the 1960s band the Turtles (which recorded “Happy Together”), concerns an obscure aspect of music copyright that has become a major focus in the music industry’s efforts to collect more money from digital media.

By law, federal copyright applies only to recordings made on or after Feb. 15, 1972. But the Turtles, whose hits were made well before that date, argued that when Sirius XM played its songs without seeking a license or paying the group royalties, it infringed on its copyright protections under state laws.

The group filed class-action suits in California, Florida and New York, seeking more than $100 million in damages, and opened the floodgates on the issue. After the Turtles filed the suits, the major record companies followed with similar cases against both Sirius XM and Pandora Media, and industry groups have begun lobbying Congress over extending royalty laws to pre-1972 recordings.

In the first ruling on the issue, Judge Philip S. Gutierrez of United States District Court in Los Angeles on Monday granted summary judgment in the Turtles’ favor, saying that the group has the exclusive right to its recordings under California law, and establishing that Sirius XM had infringed on those rights by publicly performing the records without permission.

Sirius XM declined to comment, but music industry executives said that an appeal was likely. The next step in the case is a trial to set damages, to be scheduled next month.

The decision opens the door for the Turtles and other oldies acts to collect royalties from services like Sirius XM and Pandora, and music groups were quick to declare it an industrywide victory.

“This decision in California confirms what we have always known: All sound recordings have value, and all artists deserve to be paid fairly for the use of their music,” said Michael Huppe, chief executive of Sound-
Exchange, a nonprofit group that collects royalties from digital radio services like Sirius XM and Pandora on behalf of artists and record companies. “It does not — and should not — matter whether those recordings are protected by state or federal law.”

Harvey Geller, a longtime music industry lawyer who represented the Turtles, called the ruling “historic.”

“It gives artists and recording owners the ability to participate in the digital revolution in a way that they never before have been able to participate in,” said Mr. Geller, a former deputy general counsel for the Universal Music Group.

But the judge’s decision is limited to California, and its scope was unclear. A brief filed by Sirius XM last month warned that too broad a ruling would entail a “radical expansion” of intellectual property rights and also place AM-FM radio stations and retail stores, bars and restaurants in the position of infringing on copyright for playing music in public.

The value of the royalties at stake in the oldies cases was also unclear. SoundExchange estimates about $60 million is lost each year in uncollected royalties from oldies on all digital radio services. Up to 15 percent of the music that Sirius XM plays is from before 1972. It paid recording royalties last year equivalent to about 9 percent of its $3.8 billion in revenue.

SoundExchange is promoting a bill introduced in Congress this year, the Respect Act, to require digital services to pay royalties for playing pre-1972 recordings.

Federal Copyright Protection for Pre-1972 Sound Recordings

Source: Copyright.Gov

A Study on the Desirability of and Means for Bringing Sound Recordings Fixed Before February 15, 1972, Under Federal Jurisdiction

Background

The U.S. Copyright Office has issued its report on Federal Copyright Protection for Pre-1972 Sound Recordings, as required under the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009. The report, prepared after receiving written and oral input from stakeholders, recommends that sound recordings made before February 15, 1972 be brought into the federal copyright regime.

"The Copyright Office is grateful for the opportunity to explore this issue and to assist Congress in addressing how best to preserve and offer appropriate access to these works that are such an important part of our cultural patrimony,” said Register of Copyrights Maria A. Pallante. “We believe that bringing pre-1972 sound recordings into the federal copyright system serves the interests of consistency and certainty, and will assist libraries and archives in carrying out their missions while also offering additional rights and protection for sound recording right holders."

Although sound recordings were first given federal copyright protection in 1972, sound recordings made before February 15, 1972 remained protected under state law rather than under the federal copyright statute. As a result, there are a variety of legal regimes governing protection of pre-1972 sound recordings in the various states, and the scope of protection and of exceptions and limitations to that protection is unclear. Current law provides that pre-1972 sound recordings may remain protected under state law until February 15, 2067. After that date they will enter the public domain.

At the urging of sound recording archivists, Congress instructed the Copyright Office to conduct a study on the desirability of and means for bringing pre-1972 sound recordings into the federal copyright regime. Congress directed that study was to cover the effect of federal coverage on the preservation of such sound recordings, the effect on public access to those recordings, and the economic impact of federal coverage on rights holders. The study was also to examine the means for accomplishing such coverage.

* Bringing pre-1972 sound recordings into the federal copyright system completes the work Congress began in 1976 when it brought most works protected by state common law copyright into the federal statutory scheme.

* Federalization would best serve the interest of libraries, archives and others in preserving old sound recordings and in increasing the availability to the public of old sound recordings.

* The principal objection offered by certain right holders – that federalizing protection for pre-1972 sound recordings would cast a cloud over existing ownership of rights in those recordings – can be addressed by expressly providing that the ownership of copyright in the sound recording shall vest in the person who owned the rights under state law just prior to the enactment of the federal statute.

* The term of protection for sound recordings fixed prior to February 15, 1972 should be 95 years from publication or, if the work had not been published prior to the effective date of legislation federalizing protection, 120 years from fixation. However,

* In no case would protection continue past February 15, 2067, and

* In cases where the foregoing terms would expire before 2067, a right holder may obtain extended protection for any pre-1972 sound recording by making that recording available to the public at a reasonable price and, during a transition period of several years, notifying the Copyright Office of its intention to secure extended protection.

Read more: http://www.copyright.gov/docs/sound/

President Obama Delivers a Statement on Airstrikes in Syria

Last night, President Obama ordered American armed forces to begin targeted airstrikes against ISIL targets in Syria. Speaking from the White House South Lawn today, the President made it clear that these strikes are part of the U.S. campaign to deliver one message on ISIL: They will find no safe-haven.

The U.S. military actions also included strikes to disrupt plotting against the U.S. and our allies by the Khorasan Group -- seasoned al Qaeda operatives in Syria.

And the winner is...

Post by 107.1 The Monkey.

MGM Grand Casino opens in Prince Georges County, Maryland in 2016

Beltway Perspective

MGM National Harbor offers a sophisticated architectural approach that addresses the local area's significant geographical and cultural history. The design is influenced by the natural topography of the dynamic Maryland site, the iconic nature of nearby national monuments, and their interactions with residents and visitors in this vibrant travel corridor. The piercing verticality of the streamlined high-rise hotel rises from a resort pedestal and is precisely positioned to maximize sightlines to Washington, D.C. and the Maryland countryside.


Aerial Perspective

MGM National Harbor's siting and internal organization take inspiration from Pierre Charles L'Enfant's 1791 plan for the then brand-new city of Washington, D.C. This influence is most readily seen in the form of the equatorial skylight that runs the length of the roof between the outdoor terrace and the hotel tower and conservatory. During the day, this feature allows refreshing natural light to filter into the resort below; at night, interior illumination spills out, allowing the edges of the roof to dramatically glow.


Terrace Perspective

Anchoring one end of the National Harbor mixed-use development, the resort is set on a pedestal, designed to evoke the plinth of a grand monument. Terraced into the landscape to incorporate a ninety-foot elevation change, the eye moves gracefully from harbor level to the top of the plinth, creating a sense of respectful monumentality. The pedestal serves a dual purpose as it incorporates and conceals a seven-story parking garage. Spanning above the resort, connecting the hotel to the outdoor terrace is a sweeping roof that appears to float over the glass-walled spaces below.



Link to Read and See More: http://www.mgmnationalharbor.com/

KTVA-TV reporter Charlo Greene Alaska QUITS on-the-air, revealing that she owns the Alaska Cannabis Club...Greene Explains Her Dramatic Exit

KTVA Charlo Greene quit on live TV after revealing she was the founder of the AK Cannabis Club.

The local news anchor who dramatically quit her job on air following a segment on marijuana, explained her exit in a YouTube video released today.

Charlo Greene, a reporter for Anchorage's KTVA, announced on air that she would be leaving her job at the TV station to focus on marijuana legalization in Alaska.

“Everything you've heard is why I, the actual owner of the Alaska Cannabis Club, will be dedicating all of my energy toward fighting for freedom and fairness, which begins with legalizing marijuana here in Alaska," she said. "And as for this job, well, not that I have a choice but, f--k it, I quit."

In the YouTube clip below, Greene explained why she believes the fight for marijuana legalization in her home state is so important.



"There comes a time in each and every one of our lives where we must choose to continue to spectate or stand up for what's right," she said. "Why are Americans arrested every 37 seconds, Alaskans every 4.3 hours? Why should an aspiring someone lose their ability to earn a higher education, to become someone they were not meant to be? And why should you lose the ability to get public assistance in times of struggle and need?"

She continued: "Advocating for freedom and fairness should be everyone's duty. I'm making it my life work to uphold what America stands for truly: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, ideals that now need to be defended."

Alaskans are set to vote on Ballot Measure 2, which would legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana for recreational use, in November. Colorado and Washington have implemented similar legislation in the last year.

The Full New York Times Commentary by Alessandra Stanley that offended Shonda Rhimes - Creator of TV hit series Scandal and Greys Anatomy - calling Rhimes an "Angry Black Woman"

Viola Davis (left) in “How to Get Away With Murder.” (Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC)

Shonda Rhimes took offense to the below NY Times 9-18-14 article by Alesssandra Stanley. Rhimes continues to create many successful TV series with diverse casts.

Story below by New York Times
Commentary by Alessandra Stanley titled: "Wrought in Their Creator’s Image Viola Davis Plays Shonda Rhimes’s Latest Tough Heroine"

When Shonda Rhimes writes her autobiography, it should be called “How to Get Away With Being an Angry Black Woman.”

On Thursday, Ms. Rhimes will introduce “How to Get Away With Murder,” yet another network series from her production company to showcase a powerful, intimidating Black Woman. This one is Annalise Keating, a fearsome criminal defense lawyer and law professor played by Viola Davis. And that clinches it: Ms. Rhimes, who wrought Olivia Pope on “Scandal” and Dr. Miranda Bailey on “Grey’s Anatomy,” has done more to reset the image of African-American women on television than anyone since Oprah Winfrey.

Ms. Rhimes didn’t just construct a series around one African-American woman. She has also introduced a set of heroines who flout ingrained television conventions and preconceived notions about the depiction of diversity.

Her women are authority figures with sharp minds and potent libidos who are respected, even haughty members of the ruling elite, not maids or nurses or office workers. Be it Kerry Washington on “Scandal” or Chandra Wilson on “Grey’s Anatomy,” they can and do get angry. One of the more volcanic meltdowns in soap opera history was Olivia’s “Earn me” rant on “Scandal.”

_________________

Shonda Rhimes (right), creator of “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal” and “How to Get Away With Murder.”
_________________

Ms. Rhimes has embraced the trite but persistent caricature of the Angry Black Woman, recast it in her own image and made it enviable. She has almost single-handedly trampled a taboo even Michelle Obama couldn’t break.

Her heroines are not at all like the bossy, sassy, salt-of-the-earth working-class women who have been scolding and uh-uh-ing on screen ever since Esther Rolle played Florida, the maid on “Maude.”

They certainly are not as benign and reassuring as Clair Huxtable, the serene, elegant wife, mother and dedicated lawyer on “The Cosby Show.” In 2008, commentators as different as the comedian Bill Cosby and the Republican strategist Karl Rove agreed that it was the shining, if fictional, example of the Huxtables that prepared America for a Black President and First Lady. (This was after a Fox News anchor applied the description “terrorist fist jab” to the couple’s friendly fist bump.)

Even now, six years into the Obama Presidency, race remains a sensitive, incendiary issue not only in Ferguson, Mo., but also just about everywhere except ShondaLand, as her production company is called.

In that multicultural world, there are many African-Americans at the top of every profession. But even when her heroine is the only nonwhite person in the room, it is the last thing she or anyone around her notices or cares about.

And what is most admirable about Ms. Rhimes’s achievement is that in a business that is still run by note-giving, nit-picking, compromise-seeking network executives, her work is mercifully free of uplifting role models, parables and moral teachings.


Katie Lowes and Kerry Washington in “Scandal.” Credit Ron Tom/ABC

Ms. Davis is perhaps best known for her role in “The Help” as a stoic maid in the segregated South, a role for which she was nominated for a best actress Oscar. As it turned out, it was her “Help” co-star Octavia Spencer, playing the sassy back talker, who won an Oscar (for supporting actress).

Maybe it’s karma, or just coincidence with a sense of humor, but some of the more memorable actresses in that movie (its star Emma Stone, who played a young writer championing civil rights, is not one of them) are now all on network television, only this time, the help is on top.

Allison Janney, an imperious employer in the film, now plays an ex-addict and the matriarch of three generations of poor single mothers on a CBS comedy, “Mom.”

Ms. Spencer is one of the stars of a new Fox series, “Red Band Society,” albeit in a more predictable, pre-Rhimesian role: a bossy, sharp-tongued hospital nurse who is a softy at heart.

Ms. Davis’s character, on the other hand, is the lead, a tenured professor who also has her own law firm: She is as highhanded as John Houseman’s character in the 1970s movie “The Paper Chase,” and as craftily enigmatic as the lawyer Glenn Close played on “Damages.”

The premiere episode is a cleverly constructed hoot: A group of Keating’s top first-year students compete fiendishly to win internships in her law office, then find themselves using her classroom lessons to fiendishly cover up a death. It’s a sexy murder mystery not unlike Donna Tartt’s first novel, “The Secret History,” not a nighttime soap. Ms. Rhimes is the show’s marquee muse, but the writer is a “Grey’s Anatomy” alumnus, Peter Nowalk. The pilot episode of “How to Get Away With Murder” is promisingly slick and suspenseful, without all the histrionic, staccato speechifying that Ms. Rhimes favors on “Scandal.”

Read the remainder of this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/21/arts/television/viola-davis-plays-shonda-rhimess-latest-tough-heroine.html?_r=0










There Are Just So Many Things Wrong With the New York Times’ Shonda Rhimes "Wrought in Their Creator’s Image" Article - Margaret Lyons writes in New York Magazine below:

New York Times television critic Alessandra Stanley has a long history of being wrong about a great many things. But her newest article, an ostensible paean to Shonda Rhimes, is inaccurate, tone-deaf, muddled, and racist. Stanley's "Wrought in Their Creator’s Image: Viola Davis Plays Shonda Rhimes’s Latest Tough Heroine" is a mess. Let's take a look.

"When Shonda Rhimes writes her autobiography, it should be called How to Get Away With Being an Angry Black Woman."

Why in the world would it be called that? Are there specific instances of Shonda Rhimes seeming particularly angry? Many of us follow her on Twitter, where she does not seem angry — except maybe about this atrocious article. What is the maximum amount of anger black women are allowed to demonstrate before they get stuck with that label? More angry than everyone else? What is it that qualifies Shonda Rhimes as an angry black woman and not just … a black woman? Do we use any kind of coded, dismissive language when talking about, oh, Aaron Sorkin or John Wells or J.J. Abrams? Ha, ha, ha, ha, of course we don't. Also, she's not "getting away with it" because no matter what she does, she's still going to be slapped with the racist label "angry black woman" by the New York Times.

"On Thursday, Ms. Rhimes will introduce How to Get Away With Murder, yet another network series from her production company to showcase a powerful, intimidating black woman. This one is Annalise Keating, a fearsome criminal defense lawyer and law professor played by Viola Davis. And that clinches it: Ms. Rhimes, who wrought Olivia Pope on Scandal and Dr. Miranda Bailey on Grey’s Anatomy, has done more to reset the image of African-American women on television than anyone since Oprah Winfrey."

You can tell how much that image has been reset because you're still calling her an "angry black woman." It's almost too progressive. Shonda Rhimes is many wonderful things, but she is not actually the creator of How to Get Away With Murder. That's Peter Nowalk. And he's white. Though my guess is he'd have to be a raging maniac before anyone would label him "angry."

"Be it Kerry Washington on Scandal or Chandra Wilson on Grey’s Anatomy, they can and do get angry. One of the more volcanic meltdowns in soap opera history was Olivia’s "Earn me" rant on Scandal."

I am a huge Grey's Anatomy fan. Chandra Wilson is not the star of Grey's Anatomy, certainly not the way Kerry Washington is the star of Scandal, nor is her character angry. Tough? Sure. Serious, driven, passionate, difficult to please — all these things. Angry, though? On Scandal, Cyrus is by far an angrier character than Olivia. Mellie is a rage machine. But somehow, for some reason, this article is just about how angry black women are. What's the difference between a rant and a monologue? Sometimes just the race of the person delivering it.

"Ms. Rhimes has embraced the trite but persistent caricature of the Angry Black Woman, recast it in her own image and made it enviable. She has almost single-handedly trampled a taboo even Michelle Obama couldn't break."

Congratulations to Shonda Rhimes for ending racism. But how are any of these characters cast "in her own image"? Futher, she didn't "embrace the caricature" of the Angry Black Woman — she rejected it completely and wrote other things. What kind of character would Shonda Rhimes have to write before there was no twisted logic to suggest that secretly they're still Angry Black Women? As it turns out, any black female character — and many black female real-life human beings — can be labeled an Angry Black Woman. That way, their ideas can be ignored, marginalized, and dismissed.

Read the entire Margaret Lyons article: http://www.vulture.com/2014/09/shonda-rhimes-new-york-times-alessandra-stanley.html

What is going on with the White House Secret Service? A Secret Service White House breach

Story by CBS News
Written by Jake Miller

The security breach late Friday at the White House is prompting a new round of criticism for the Secret Service, with lawmakers and outside voices saying the incident highlights glaring deficiencies in the agency's protection of the president and the first family.

Just minutes after President Obama and his daughters departed for Camp David Friday evening, a man jumped the White House fence and sprinted across the North Lawn toward the residence. He was eventually tackled by agents, but not before he managed to actually enter the building.

"Never before has an intruder on the grounds managed to enter the White House itself," said Ronald Kessler, author of a recent book that is very critical of the Secret Service. "The incident on Friday evening is the most shocking example yet of how dangerously lax the Secret Service has become, failing at its most basic job - to protect the President and first family in the White House."

CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett said criticism of the Secret Service, which has endured a number of black eyes in recent years, "will only increase" after this latest incident.

Garrett highlighted some basic questions the Secret Service must answer: "Why wasn't the intruder tackled? How long was it before the intruder was detected? Did agents decide not to use dogs to stop the intruder?"

Law enforcement officials have emphasized the need to balance the president's security with the free access rights of the public. One official told CBS News that Friday's breach should be considered "in context."

"The family was not in residence, the individual didn't appear to have a weapon. He wasn't carrying any bags or a backpack," the official said. "The Secret Service has to be able to balance security with access and reasonableness. Closing Pennsylvania Avenue to pedestrians is not reasonable, but this access does result in fence jumpers periodically."

But some in Congress are already highlighting the incident as the latest example of the agency's negligence.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said the breach was "totally unacceptable," according to The Associated Press, and he accused the Secret Service of "failing to do their job."

"These are good men and women, but the Secret Service leadership has a lot of questions to answer," he said.

"Was the door open?" he asked.


Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-intruder-prompts-secret-service-critics-to-pounce/

BREAKING NEWS: POTUS to Deliver Keynote at 2014 CBCF Phoenix Awards Dinner!

Son of NFL Hall of Fame Quarterback John Elway, 25 year old Jack Elway, pleads guilty to disturbing peace in a domestic violence incident

Jack Elway (photo by Denver Police)

Story by Denver Post

Jack Elway, the son of Broncos executive vice president of football operations and general manager John Elway, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year of probation in the domestic violence case against him.

John Elway III, 24, was charged with disturbing the peace and assault in what police described as a violent fight with his girlfriend in May. Elway ripped out pieces of the woman's hair when he pulled her out of his car and pushed her to the ground, according to a probable cause statement.

As part of a plea agreement, Elway pleaded guilty to the charge of disturbing the peace and the Denver City Attorney's office dropped the assault charge, according to court records.

Elway was sentenced to one year of probation as part of a deferred judgment. If he completes the year without any incidents, Elway will be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea and the case will be dismissed.

The plea agreement was entered in Denver County Court on Tuesday. Elway had been scheduled to go to trial on the charges Monday.

His appearance in court Tuesday was not posted on the court docket the previous day.

This is the second time the judge in this case has allowed Elway and his attorney, Harvey Steinberg, to appear outside of a scheduled hearing. In June, Denver County Judge Johnny Barajas allowed Elway to enter his original plea of not guilty the day before his scheduled arraignment in June.

Barajas accepted the plea agreement. He also ordered Elway to pay fines and court costs and attend domestic violence counseling.

Elway cannot have contact with the victim.

Elway was arrested at his father's Cherry Hills Village home on May 31. He later posted a $550 bond.

U.S. Women's Soccer Star Hope Solo and the domestic violence case no one is talking about

U.S. / Pro Soccer Star Hope Solo is charged with assaulting her Sister & Sister's Minor Child. Neil Buethe, U.S. Soccer Director of Communications, is aware of assault charges. Hope played last night - U.S. vs Mexico - and Nike still endorses Hope Solo (photo by Jen Fuller / Getty Images).

Story by the Washington Post
Written by Cindy Boren

The official account shows that Hope Solo extended her shutout record to 73 games as the U.S. Women’s National Team beat Mexico 4-0 in a friendly Thursday night soccer match in Rochester, N.Y.

But as the NFL grapples with its domestic-violence crisis, Hope Solo, who has been accused of the same crime, continues to play for her pro soccer team as well as the "United States National Women's Soccer Team" as she awaits trial in November. Solo has pleaded not guilty to two counts of misdemeanor domestic violence in an alleged assault of her sister and 17-year-old nephew last summer in Kirkland, Wash.

Unlike some of the biggest NFL stars, Hope Solo, their counterpart in US Women’s Soccer and someone touted as "a role model", quietly goes about her business of keeping soccer balls from going into the net. NFL stars like Ray Rice, Greg Hardy, Jonathan Dwyer and Adrian Peterson were banished after massive sponsor, political and fan pressure, but Nike, for instance, has has remained silent on Solo.

Rice is appealing an indefinite suspension by the NFL and was cut by the Baltimore Ravens after he knocked out his then-fiancee; Hardy and Peterson are both on the exempt commissioner’s list (essentially on leave with pay) while their legal cases are pending. Dwyer was suspended by the Arizona Cardinals after his arrest Wednesday on a charge of head-butting his wife. The Carolina Panthers’ Hardy is appealing his conviction by a judge of assaulting and threatening an ex-girlfriend; the Minnesota Vikings’ Peterson was arrested last weekend on a child-abuse charge.

Solo, who is also on the Seattle Sounders roster, continues to play as a big year for United States Women’s Soccer is looming with qualifying this fall for the next summer’s World Cup.

“We are aware that Hope is handling a personal situation at the moment,” said Neil Buethe, U.S. Soccer director of communications, told USA Today last month. “At the same time, she has an opportunity to set a significant record that speaks to her hard work and dedication over the years with the National Team. While considering all factors involved, we believe that we should recognize that in the proper way.”

While U.S. Soccer doesn’t have the same high profile as the NFL, how do the cases differ? Aren’t women’s soccer players just as much role models as male football players? The goalkeeping record is an an important one, both for Solo and for women’s soccer, but does it really trump an accusation of domestic violence? And why aren’t more people talking about the fact that domestic violence isn’t simply an issue of men against women?


Hope Solo listens to her attorney, Todd Maybrown, in an appearance in Kirkland Municipal Court on Monday, June 23rd. She was released on personal recognizance and ordered to avoid alcohol and contact with alleged victims. (photo by: Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times)

_____________________________________________________________________

Below from Cindy Baren's June 21st Washington Post article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2014/06/21/hope-solo-arrested-on-domestic-violence-allegations-involving-sister-nephew

...Kirkland police released details of her arrest (via the Times):

On June 21st 2014 and just before 1:00 am, Kirkland Police Department Patrol Units responded to a 911 call of a disturbance in the 10600 block of 124th AVE NE. The male caller stated that a female at the residence was “hitting people” and they could not get her to stop or to leave the house. Officer arrived and immediately heard the sounds of the disturbance inside the residence.

They entered and contacted several persons; one being Hope A Stevens (Solo) who appeared intoxicated and upset. As officers made contact, they observed visible injuries on Solo’s 17-year-old nephew and on Solo’s sister. After receiving statements of the persons involved, Officers determined that Solo was the primary aggressor and had instigated the assault.

Solo was arrested on 2 counts of Domestic Violence Assault 4th Degree and booked into the south King County detention facility (SCORE). Solo will have a mandatory court appearance Monday June 23rd at the Kirkland Municipal Court, with the time yet to be determined.

The Seattle Reign, for whom Solo plays, said in a statement: “We are aware of the situation regarding Hope Solo and are currently gathering information. We have no further comments at this time.”
_______________________________________________________________________

Below from Cindy Baren's Washington Post June 24th article, "Hope Solo arrest: Nephew says she was drinking, called him ‘too fat to be an athlete’" http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2014/06/24/hope-solo-arrest-nephew-says-she-was-drinking-called-him-fat-and-unathletic/ :

....In court documents, according to the Seattle Times’ Christine Clarridge:

Solo’s nephew told police that his mother — Solo’s older half-sister — had just started letting Solo back into their lives, according to an affidavit of probable cause outlining the police case. Solo had apparently been estranged from the family because “she always does this,” the teen reportedly told police, an apparent reference to past problems.

Police wrote in the affidavit that the teen’s T-shirt was torn and he had scratch marks on his arms and a bleeding cut on his ear when officers arrived.

The teen told police the altercation began as he discussed theatrical productions he’d been in, the affidavit says. The teen explained that he believes that a good actor has to have an “athletic state of mind.”

Solo then told him he was “too fat and overweight and crazy to ever be an athlete,” according to the court document.

The teen responded by calling Solo a name, told her to get out of the house and then walked into another part of the house. Solo followed him and called him crazy again, the document says.

He told Solo that she and her father were crazy, according to the affidavit. Solo charged him, punched him in the face and tackled him, the court document alleges.

When the teen’s mother tried to intervene, Solo attacked her as well, the document says. The teen tried to pull Solo off his mother and then broke a wooden broom over her head, the document says.

Court documents say the 17-year-old “got an old gun that did not work” and pointed it at her in an attempt to get her to stop assaulting him and his mother and to leave. The handgun was ultimately determined by police to be a broken BB gun.

Solo would not leave, however, and was “circling like a shark,” the teen told police.

According to the affidavit, Solo’s half-sister got her out of the house, but Solo then walked around it, hopped over a fence and re-entered through a sliding door.

U.S. Stocks Climb on Fed Optimism, Lower Jobless Claims

Story by Bloomberg
Written by Oliver Renick

U.S. stocks rose for a third day as investors speculated interest rates will remain low and data showed fewer Americans filing for jobless claims.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 0.3 percent to 2,006.53 at 9:33 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 36.54 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,193.39.

“The market’s still in Fed mode,” Joe Bell, a senior equity analyst at Cincinnati-based Schaeffer’s Investment Research Inc., said in a phone interview. “A majority of people are thinking July 2015 may be the rate increase and the market’s responding positively to the idea that rates aren’t coming any sooner.”

Jobless claims decreased by 36,000 to 280,000 in the period ended Sept. 13, the Labor Department said today. The median forecast of 52 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a decline to 305,000. Those already collecting unemployment benefits fell to a more than seven-year low.

Stocks advanced yesterday, sending the S&P 500 up as much as 0.6 percent, after the Fed renewed its pledge to keep interest rates near zero for a “considerable time” after its bond-buying program ends, probably next month. Policy makers also projected a steeper increase in borrowing costs next year, raising the median forecast for the benchmark rate at the end of 2015 to 1.375 percent from June’s estimate of 1.125 percent.

“There is a tension between the committee’s statement keeping the considerable period language versus the rate forecasts,” said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York. “It is quite a balancing act of the high-wire kind that still leaves the market guessing about the Fed’s intentions.”

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., the Chinese e-commerce giant, intends to pick a price for its nearly $22 billion initial public offering tonight. The company is asking investors to value it as high as $167.6 billion, or 29 times estimated earnings in the year through March. That’s still below Tencent, Baidu Inc. and Amazon.

To contact the reporter on this story: Oliver Renick in New York at orenick2@bloomberg.net

Greg Hardy placed on NFL Commissioner's exempt list

AP Photo/Patrick SemanskyGreg Hardy will still be paid his full $13.1 million salary while he is on the NFL's exempt list.

Read More: http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11543641/greg-hardy-carolina-panthers-expected-placed-exempt-list

A Major Increase in Our Response to the Ebola Outbreak

At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta yesterday, President Obama discussed the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and announced a major increase in our efforts to help fight the outbreak.

While reiterating that the chances of an Ebola outbreak in the United States are very unlikely, the President emphasized that the outbreak is still a national security priority, and that the government has "devoted significant resources in support of our strategy."

Read More: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/09/16/major-increase-our-response-ebola-outbreak?utm_source=snapshot&utm_medium=email&utm_content=9172014-topper

Beyonce shows no signs of pregnancy in latest photos

Despite latest rumors of Beyonce being pregnant - from a Freudian slip by JAY-Z on stage in Paris - she seems not pregnant on board a ship in her latest photo shoot.

Story by Yahoo
Written by Taryn Ryder

We guess the answer is no?

Beyoncé was hit with another round of pregnancy rumors after unconfirmed online reports recently claimed that Jay Z revealed the happy news during their "On the Run" tour stop in Paris. The rapper allegedly changed a "Beach Is Better" lyric over the weekend to say, "cause she's pregnant with another one."


Vignette of the Top Ten Beyonce videos. Whether you call her Queen B, Sasha Fierce, or any other name, it seems anything she touches is gold. WatchMojo counts down their picks for the top 10 Beyoncé songs

The couple has yet to speak out about the reports; however, in true Bey fashion, the "Drunk in Love" singer decided to shut down the gossip mill the best way she knows how.

On Tuesday, Knowles posted a series of photos to her website from her birthday celebration earlier this month. In honor of the big 3-3, Beyoncé and Jay Z, 44, chartered a yacht around Europe along with their 2-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy. (Photos: beyonce.com)

Chameleon and Lion Sample Songbook - Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga to Release Album Next Week

Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga - Anything Goes (Studio Video)

Story by NY Times
Written by Nate Chinen

Tony Bennett was waiting, in a Brioni tuxedo and an uncertain silence, onstage at Frederick P. Rose Hall in Manhattan. Moments earlier, he’d been singing the Tin Pan Alley tune “Goody Goody,” while Lady Gaga — polymorphic pop star, supersize cult hero and, for the moment, his co-headliner — muttered coquettish protestations from an enormous rocking chair, cartoon-chic in a pink cocktail dress, a wide-brim black hat and satiny opera gloves.

Then she tottered off for her fourth costume change in six songs, leaving several stagehands to contend with the chair. Mr. Bennett stood and watched the changeover, one hand resting on the curve of a grand piano, before his gaze turned to the audience, at which point he tossed off a deadpan line: “I can’t wait to get back in show business.”


Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga onstage at Frederick P. Rose Hall in Manhattan in July for PBS’s “Great Performances,” a preview of their album, “Cheek to Cheek.” Credit Joe Sinnott/Thirteen Productions

Mr. Bennett, who turned 88 last month, and Lady Gaga, 60 years his junior, had set up shop at the Rose Theater one night this summer to tape a forthcoming episode of “Great Performances” on PBS. Accompanied by a big band, a combo and an orchestra, with set and lighting design by the director Robert Wilson, they made the concert into a full-dress preview of their plush new album, “Cheek to Cheek.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/arts/music/tony-bennett-and-lady-gaga-to-release-album-next-week.html?_r=0

Vikings reverse step and ban Adrian Peterson

NFL's Minnesota Vikings placed Adrian Peterson on the NFL's exempt list, until his child-abuse case is resolved. This bars Peterson from all team activities, including NFL games.

Clear Channel’s (now IHeartMedia) new stock ticker

Briefing by Inside Radio

Clear Channel’s new stock ticker: IHRT.

It’s not just Clear Channel’s name that’s changing to iHeartMedia. So too is its stock ticker. It will now be traded under “IHRT” dropping its “CCMO” trading symbol.

The company says the new identity reflects its successful transformation into a multi-platform media company.

BREAKING NEWS: Clear Channel changes name to iHeartMedia.

Story by Inside Radio

Days before staging its biggest event of the year, Clear Channel announced it has changed its company name to iHeartMedia. The company says the new identity reflects its successful transformation into a multi-platform media company. The new moniker will serve as umbrella branding for its 859 radio stations, iHeartMedia Digital streaming service, radio networks live music events and related companies, including Katz Media Group and Clear Channel Outdoor.

The company’s parent CC Media Holdings, Inc. will become iHeartMedia, Inc. and its ticker symbol will also change, effective tomorrow. Clear Channel Media and Entertainment will become iHeartMedia; other company brands, including iHeartRadio, Premiere Networks, Total Traffic and Weather Network, Katz Media Group and RCS, will retain their current names.

In a statement, CEO Bob Pittman said the new name “reflects our commitment to being the media company that provides the most entertainment to the most engaged audiences wherever they go, with more content and more events in more places on more devices.”

Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. will retain the Clear Channel brand. “Although we are changing the parent company’s name, Clear Channel Outdoor is built into the fabric of our multi-platform company,” iHeart Media CFO president/CFO Richard Bressler explained in a statement.

Explaining the rationale behind the name change, the company says iHeartRadio has become the dominant national consumer brand among its assets with almost 70% consumer brand awareness and record-breaking digital growth, reaching 50 million registered users faster than any digital music service, and even faster than Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

“iHeartMedia was created by the strongest broadcast radio stations in the country, and we will continue to build this company the same way ¬ on the country’s strongest radio stations,” Pittman added. “We are especially excited because our digital platform extends the reach and impact for our wildly popular on-air personalities ¬ and it¹s a platform that only iHeartMedia provides.”