Necessary News
1) STAT ATTACK
According to a new PPP poll, only 27% of Republicans say Obama actually won the presidency, with 52% saying that ACORN stole it. Among McCain voters, 31% believe that Obama legitimately won the election, 49% think Acorn stole the election, and 20% are undecided. [PPP]
2) SENATOR 9/11
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani has decided not to run for governor next year, but will run for U.S. Senate instead, according to sources. If elected, the source said, he could use that as a stepping stone to run for President in 2012. However, the Giuliani camp has vigorously denied the rumors, saying simply “It’s not true.” [NY Daily News] [Politico]
3) AND THE HOUSING CRISIS CONTINUES
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s report Thursday that one in seven(or about 14 percent) of American homeowners with a mortgage were either in foreclosure or behind on their payments at the end of September, a record-high for the ninth straight quarter. The report says that lost jobs are now the main reason homeowners fall behind on their mortgages. [CBS News]
4) HUCKABEE DEFENDS OBAMA
“When he [Barack Obama] was at Dover the other day, and went there to pay respect for soldiers, I heard a lot of people on the Right say “Aw, that’s just a cheap photo-op.” No, I think it was the Commander-in-Chief of our military paying respect to a dead soldier, and I’m grateful that he did that, and I was proud of him for doing that. And I think we all — as Americans — should give him credit for doing that."—Mike Huckabee, in a speech early this month, lashing out at his fellow Republicans for attacking the president for the most trivial matters. (Listen to the audio in today’s audio block.) [Huff Post]
5) YIKES
The University of California Board of Regents voted Thursday to raise undergraduate fees, the equivalent of tuition, 32% by next fall to make up for steep cuts in state funding. Several campuses are planning to admit more out-of-state students, who pay higher tuition, to help close the budget gap in addition to the increased fees for in-state students. [NYT]
6) WEB 2.0
“I think Republicans need to learn to communicate with the tools of the 21 st century. The women in Iran have been more effective using Twitter than House Republicans have been getting their message out to the country. We need to embrace the modern tools of the 21st century.... Let’s get with it with this stuff.” —Former Rep. John Kasich (R-OH) at the Republican Governor’s Association meeting. [Political Wire]
7) QOTD
“It’s going to be a holy war."— Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) on the coming health care debate in the U.S. Senate. [LAT]
8) BOOK TOUR CONTROVERSY
You know the Newsweek cover of Sarah Palin with the American flag that supporters say is sexist? Well, Daily Finance reports that the photographer who shot the controversial picture of violated his contract by reselling the pictures to Newsweek for use on this week’s cover. (If you remember, the pictures were taken for Runners’ World originally). [Political Wire]
9) THE PALIN PRESS BARRICADE
If you had planned on watching Sarah Palin’s appearance at Fort Bragg Monday on TV, try again. According to new reports, Army officials plan to prevent media from covering Sarah Palin’s appearance at the base, saying they fear the event will turn into political grandstanding against President Obama. [USA T]
10) TROUBLE IN AFGHANISTAN
According to a new report by UNICEF, Afghanistan, a country devastated by eights years of war, is the most dangerous place in the world for a child to be born. Afghanistan now has the highest infant mortality rate in the world — 257 deaths per 1,000 live births. Some 43 percent of the country is now virtually off-limits to aid agencies due to insecurity. [Reuters]
Watercooler Sensation
1) YOU (DON’T) HAVE MAIL
On Thursday, AOL announced plans to cut one-third of its work force, or about 2,500 jobs, in an effort to trim $300 million in annual costs. The move comes as AOL spins-off from Time Warner Inc, and once again becomes its own company. Just one question— does anyone still use AOL? [NYT]
2) OOPS
Fox News apologized yesterday, not just for showing footage from 2008 and pretending it was from Sarah Palin’s book tour, but also for showing the wrong book cover during a segment about Sarah Palin’s new memoir, Going Rogue. Instead, they twice showed the cover of Going Rouge, a collection of essays mocking the former governor that came out the same day as Palin’s memoir. [TPM]
3) SAD, SAD WORLD
According to the LSU student newspaper, the Mississippi White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan plan to attend this Saturday’s Ole Miss-LSU football game, after Ole Miss Chancellor Dan Jones decided to ban the playing of the school fight song “From Dixie with Love” until a controversial phrase is removed. Shane Tate, the North Mississippi great titan for the Mississippi White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, said the Klan will rally in support of keeping the phrase, “The South Shall Rise Again,” in one of the school’s long-standing game day songs.[Palm Beach Post]
4) CELEBRITY-FILLED CHRISTMAS
Some of the biggest names in music are headed to the White House next month for the National Christmas Lighting and a “Christmas in Washington” TV special. The tree lighting will take place Dec. 3, and will feature Sheryl Crow, Common and Ray LaMontagne. Then, on Dec. 13, stars will perform at the White House for the TV special, hosted by comedian George Lopez, with musical guests Mary J. Blige, Neil Diamond, Rob Thomas, Usher and Sugarland. Just another perk of having Obama as your last name. [NBC 4]
5) WINNING AWARDS
José Andrés is GQ’s Chef of the Year, which is cool because of his impressive restaurants, including Jaleo, Zaytinya, and Minibar, but also because he made an appearance at CAP earlier this year to talk about sustainable food and eating locally. Watch his video here. [DCist]
6) FIGHTING WORDS
“She may look like a Sunday school teacher...Linda McMahon’s hands are as bloody as her husband’s [Vince McMahon] because she is aware of every move in the ring."—Mr. Eldridge Wayne Coleman a.k.a. “Superstar Billy Graham, on Former Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon, a candidate for the GOP nomination to run against Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT). [TPMDC]
7) PUT THE POPCORN DOWN
One reason why moviegoers may want to stick with a bag of low-fat candy: According to a new analysis, theater popcorn is often loaded with calories and artery-clogging saturated fat. Case in point:A large-sized popcorn at Regal theaters has 20 cups of popcorn, 1,200 calories and 60 grams of saturated fat. That’s about half a day’s calories and three days’ worth of saturated fat in one large popcorn. Ouch. [USA T]
8) VAMPIRES TAKE BITE OUT OF ECONOMY
It’s no secret: This year has been the year of the vampire. From everything Twilight, to True Blood, vampires have brought in millions of dollars for the entertainment business—but just how much? According to new calculations tallied by The Daily Beast, between movie and costume sales, TV endorsements, and swag, the gross vampire product is a blood-sucking $771.5 million annually! That’s more than the GDP of Twilight’s hometown, Forks, Washington ($126 million). [The Daily Beast]
9) SAY WHAT?
“Virginia is for lovers. Texas is for jobs.” —Texas Governor Rick Perry, joking around after being introduced by newly elected Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell at the Republican Governors Association meeting. [Politico]
10) UNDER PERFORMING AND OVERPAID
Funnyman Will Ferrell may have been able to get the laughs on SNL, but he can’t seem to bring in the money at the box office. According to Forbes magazine, Ferrell is the No. 1 most overpaid actor in Hollywood after it was estimated that for ever dollar he earned he would return only $3.29 to his studio. While Billy Bob Thornton, Tom Cruise and Jim Carrey also made the list, actor Shia LeBeouf was dubbed the most *underpaid*, making the studio $160 for every dollar he earned. [Telegraph]
RSS 
Twitter 
Facebook 
RSS headlines feed