Starr920's Blog

Herman Cain announced Saturday that he is suspending his campaign for president, telling a crowd of supporters in his home state that the allegations of sexual harassment and infidelity had become too big a burden on his family.

His wife Gloria standing by his side in a rare public appearance, Cain decried the sustained accusations as false and declared he is "at peace" with his wife and with himself. But he said the claims have "sidetracked and distracted" from his ability to present a new vision for the country, as well as impacted his ability to raise money.

"I am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distraction, the continued hurt caused on me and my family," Cain said, adding that he reached the decision "with a lot of prayer and soul-searching."

Cain's exit leaves a slightly less-crowded race for the Republican nomination, with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney currently battling for top position in the polls, and several others trying to break through in the final weeks before the Iowa caucuses.

Cain made the announcement in Atlanta, at an event that was supposed to mark the opening of his Georgia campaign headquarters. While acknowledging that the crowd must be "disappointed," the businessman-turned-candidate tried to put a positive spin on the decision.

Cain, calling his bid for president "Plan A," said he's moving on to "Plan B" -- a new website called "cainsolutions.com" through which he said he'd be a "voice for the people."

Source:  http://nation.foxnews.com/herman-cain/2011/12/03/hes-out-herman-cain-suspends-campaign

After a bank issued an eviction notice for a home in Northwest Atlanta, sheriff's deputies and movers went to the residence to remove the people who lived there. But when they found Vinia Hall, 103, and her daughter, Vita Lee, 83, the movers and deputies decided not to follow through with it.

According to WSBTV, the women had been engaged in a long legal battle with Deutsche Bank, the financial giant accused of widespread mortgage fraud by the U.S. government earlier this year and is the focus of a $1 billion lawsuit filed by the Justice Department. In November, Deutsche Bank paid $165 million to settle a suit claiming that it had misled credit unions about the risk of securities tied to mortgages.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Ali Muhammad, Hall's grandson, took out a second mortgage on the house from Deutsche Bank National Trust. Although Hall lived in the residence for 53 years, Muhammad was listed as the owner. In 2009, Deutsche foreclosed on the property, according to the paper. (The loan is now controlled by Chase Bank.)

The Journal-Constitution reported that Mayor Kasim Reed of Atlanta, Derrick Boazman, a former city council member, and Vincent Ford, a state senator, all intervened to keep Hall in her longtime home.

“[Chase] should write this off at a loss,” Boazman said.

"I saw the sheriffs, who came to put them out, take off and leave. I gave all glory to God," community activist Michael Langford said.

"Please don't come in and disturb me no more," Hall said. "When I'm gone you all can come back and do whatever they want to," Hall said.

Hall is set to turn 104 in three weeks. 

Sometimes You Just Need A Hug

Hope This One Puts A Smile On Your Face

A tiny all-white Appalachian church in rural Kentucky has voted to ban interracial couples from joining its flock, pitting members against each other in an argument over race.

Members at the Gulnare Free Will Baptist  Church voted Sunday on the resolution, which says the church "does not condone interracial marriage."

The church member who crafted the resolution, Melvin Thompson, said he is not racist and called the matter an "internal affair."

 

"I am not racist. I will tell you that. I am not prejudiced against any race of people, have never in my lifetime spoke evil" about a race, said Thompson, the church's former pastor who stepped down earlier this year. "That's what this is being portrayed as, but it is not."

 

Church secretary Dean Harville disagrees: He says the resolution came after his daughter visited the church this summer with her boyfriend from Africa.

 

Stella Harville and Ticha Chikuni (shown above) -- now her fiance -- visited the church in June and Chikuni sang a song for the congregation. The two had visited the church before.

Dean Harville, the church's secretary, said he was counting the church offering after a service in early August when he was approached by Thompson who told him Harville's daughter and her boyfriend were no longer allowed to sing at the church.

 

"If he's not racist, what is this?" Harville said of Thompson.

 

The vote by members last Sunday was 9-6, Harville said. It was taken after the service, which about 35 to 40 people attended. Harville said many people left or declined to vote.

 

The resolution says anyone is welcome to attend services, but interracial couples could not become members or be "used in worship services or other church functions."

 

Stella Harville, a 24-year-old graduate student at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana, called the vote "hurtful."

 

"I think part of me is still in shock and trying to process what's been going on the past few days," she said. "I really hope they overturn this."

 

The church's pastor, Stacy Stepp, said Wednesday that he was against the resolution. Stepp said the denomination's regional conference will begin working on resolving the issue this weekend.

 

The National Association of Free Will Baptists in Antioch, Tenn., has no official position on interracial marriage for its 2,400 churches worldwide, executive secretary Keith Burden said. The denomination believes in the Bible is inerrant and local churches have autonomy over decision-making.

 

"It's been a non-issue with us," Burden said, adding that many interracial couples attend Free Will Baptist churches. He said the Pike County church acted on its own. Burden said the association can move to strip the local church of its affiliation with the national denomination if it's not resolved.

 

"Hopefully it is corrected quickly," Burden said.

 

The church's vote on interracial marriage was first reported this week by East Kentucky Broadcasting, a network of local radio stations in the region.

 

Stella Harville met Chikuni at Georgetown College, where he is a student advisor. Dean Harville said Chikuni's parents live in southern Africa, and he has not seen them in over a decade.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/30/kentucky-church-bans-interracial-couples-from-joining-congregation/?test=latestnews#ixzz1fJB2WAOu

Over 100 million smartphones are tracking their owners’ every step, Android developer Trevor Eckhart claimed, thanks to software that comes preinstalled on phones from most major carriers.

During a security demonstration revealed on Monday, Eckhart showed how software developed by Carrier IQ tracks virtually everything a user does -- going as far as logging individual keystrokes and button presses. The company claims it helps its customers improve quality and performance “by counting and measuring operational information in mobile devices.” Security experts call it spyware. 

"I assume that when I SMS my wife on the phone, no one is intercepting that message," Chet Wisniewski of security firm Sophos told FoxNews.com. He called the whole ordeal is a "serious invasion of privacy." 

"Why do they need to know when I'm logging into Bank of America, when I'm accessing my password? It's a different level of snooping," he said.

Developed as a mobile analytics platform, Carrier IQ's software can be found on most Android, BlackBerry and Nokia phones -- over 140 million phones in total, the company's website boasts. Some reports suggest Apple iPhones may carry the software as well. 

The company has flat out denied that its software records keystrokes, a claim Eckhart’s latest video seems to refute. 

“Every button you press in the dialer before you call,” Eckhart says in his latest video, “it already gets sent off to the IQ application.”

Eckhart did not return FoxNews.com phone calls, and Carrier IQ declined to comment on his claims. A statement on the company's website reiterates the company's claims that its software does not track customers or record keystrokes. 

“This information is used by our customers as a mission critical tool to improve the quality of the network, understand device uses and ultimately improve the user experience,” the company said. By evaluating these metrics, Carrier IQ aims to help with issues such as “dropped calls and battery drain.”

In videos showing Carrier IQ at work, Eckhart showed it going beyond such utilitarian monitoring. He showed Carrier IQ’s software monitoring entire text messages, a Google search, and his location, even during sessions protected by HTTPS, a security protocol that encrypts communications for sensitive transactions like online banking.

Sprint has acknowledged using Carrier IQ's software, but denies having access to personal data.

"Carrier IQ provides information that allows Sprint, and other carriers that use it, to analyze our network performance and identify where we should be improving service," Sprint told CNET earlier this month. "We collect enough information to understand the customer experience with devices on our network and how to address any connection problems, but we do not and cannot look at the contents of messages, photos, videos, etc., using this tool," Sprint continued.

While Wisniewski understands the needs for data and metrics, he believes carriers must be more forthcoming about how they are monitoring their users, what data they are collecting, and how they are protect that data.

"If you're going to collect that kind of information from people, you have to meet a different standard," Wisniewski told FoxNews.com.

But for now, most users are stuck, unable to even turn off or uninstall the program.

"The Carrier IQ application is embedded so deeply in the device that it can't be fully removed without rebuilding the phone from source code," Eckhart wrote on his website. 

"Even where a device is out of contract, there is no off switch to stop the application from gathering data."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/12/01/is-your-smartphone-secretly-spying-on/#ixzz1fJ9SsGGu

I never “get” the mistress. I mean sure, as someone, who loves her space the idea of a non-committal relationship does seem tempting. And sure there is the good sex, hotel room adventures, exciting clandestine dates, gifts and the allure of doing something the rest of society frowns upon. And there is no denying that there is power in being the person for whom a man, albeit married, desires so much that he is willing to jeopardize his sacred union.

But at some point, the thrill of it all tires for the mistress and then all you are left with is the truth; that you are not a priority, and that the odds that he’ll leave his wife is on par with M.C. Hammer making a comeback. Unlikely.  And in the slim chance that he does leave his family behind, there is an even smaller chance that he will leave his wife for you.

I suspect that this realization is what is at the heart of Ginger White‘s reasoning to come forward and reveal her 13-year adulterous relationship with Herman Cain. Despite her claims that she came out of the mistress closet out of partial fear that the truth would be exposed eventually and partial concern over how Cain mishandled the allegations of sexual harassment waged by five different women, this is very much, more personal.  I mean who could blame her?

After years of playing the dutiful kept-woman, allegedly, Cain cowardly breaks things off with her prior to his announcement for candidacy for president. And then you find out that during the time when he was stepping out on his wife, allegedly, with you, that lying, cheating <snip> was also feeling up random women, allegedly behind your – and his wife’s – back. It’s enough to turn any loving mistress into the hell-fury scorned woman intent on revenge.

That’s why it comes as no surprise that White was more than willing to give the Fox news affiliate her cell phone bill, which included 61 phone calls or text  messages to or from Cain at all hours of the day and night, to prove an accusation that she alone was making. Again no one forced her to come forward with the details of their alleged secret affair; she did it out of her own accord with the intention of exposing him. And I imagine that she secretly smirked in delight as the reporter texted the number she had given him and got a call back from Cain himself. Gotcha, she probably thought.  It is the quintessential and yet high-profiled version of busting the windows of a dude’s car.

Nobody believes a mistress or even has sympathy for one.  Yet we do love a good salacious sex story.  Back in the day, being a kept-woman used to be socially unacceptable. There was no glory in being the woman who was enabling a man to cheat on his wife. Thus women, who chose that lifestyle knew to keep their mouths shut. You didn’t see Marilyn Monroe holding press conferences about her tryst with Kennedy nor FDR’s secretary crying on the shoulders of Nancy Grace.

But in these less than graceless times, a mistress is practically heightened to the status of a celebrity.  Mistresses are running their mouths all over the place getting fame and paid handsomely for her “emotional” sorted story of being the other woman. Never mind the grieving and delusional Mrs. at home. There is no Gloria Allred, celebrity feminist attorney, representation in their corners. Instead, it is the mistresses with the book deals and television appearances.

But if it is any consolation, the very public men in these adulterous affairs pay the ultimate price. Not only are they shamed but many times they end up losing plenty of professional clout, if not their jobs, in the process. And in a way, we understand. They were the vow taker and ultimately the vow breaker. But is it fair that their personal shame be a matter of their public downfall?

As it stands now, Herman Cain’s polling numbers have been falling. Yesterday, after the allegations of his affair spun its way through the news, he announced that he would “reassess” his bid for the White House.  And surprisingly, the allegations of sexual harassment, his 9-9-9 plan, his thoughts on Muslims, Mexicans and plantation Blacks wasn’t enough to turn off voters or his supporters within his own political party. No, it would be a consensual affair, allegedly, which would be the possible reason for his early exit from the race.  Proving once again how much we take great delight in all the scandalous falters from watching these public figures squirm over whether or not they had sexual relations with that woman, or women (or men).

And it’s not just a Black Republican thing: Bill Clinton, David Vitter, Anthony Wiener, Arnold Schwarzenegger and that low-down dirty dog John Edwards all had their personal sexual affairs scrutinized by the public. Because more than we hate a lying politician, we can’t stand a cheating man. In fact, we hate adulterous politicians more than we hate the ones that go to jail for embezzlement, the ones, who trample over our civil liberties and the 25 or so politicians, who have been embroiled in tax scandals over the past two decades. In a Utopia, or at least in a politically mature place, all of those offenses should be worthy of some sort of impeachment yet it is always the wandering eye, or penis, that does these men in.

Part of the reason is that politicians, as well as the general public, tend to elevate or exaggerate their moral stature, i.e. the conservative republican, who runs on a platform of family values. So when the realities of their marriages don’t jibe with their public personas, we feel that their moral hypocrisy ultimately is betrayal of our public trust. But I would be remised if I didn’t mention at the heart of our discontent is something a little more individual.  It is a proven fact that infidelity has been alive and well for many thousands of years before the media circus began to highlight the cheating politician. In fact, most of us have been cheated on and didn’t even have the political clout or the double digits in our Charles Schwab portfolios. The only difference is that we normally don’t get to inflict the type of torment on our own cheating partners that we can on high-profiled individuals. And that, my friends, is why we ultimately hate (but secretly love) the cheating politician.

Source:  http://madamenoire.com/108210/herman-cain-and-why-we-hate-politicians-who-cheat/2/

An Iowa student's profound pro-gay parenting, pro-marriage equality speech has gone viral -- for the second time -- 11 months after it first exploded on the Internet.

Though Zach Wahls, 19, made the moving testimony in front of the Iowa House of Representatives back in February, the video has re-surfaced in the blogosphere now after being posted on MoveOn.org's website yesterday.

The clip is sweeping Twitter and Facebook all over again as many find it just as inspirational now as they did in February due to the continuing debates about same-sex marriage and gay parenting in the United States.

"I guess the point is that our family isn't so different than any other Iowa family," he says in the clip. "When I'm home, we go to church together, we eat dinner, we go on vacations."

After acknowledging his family's usual set of struggles, he went on to note, "We're Iowans, we don't expect anyone to solve our problems for us, we'll fight our own battles. We just hope for equal and fair treatment from our government."

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/01/zach-wahls-iowa-student-marriage-equality_n_1123020.html

Former soldier Shaun Clark has turned himself into a living memorial to pay his respects to service personnel killed in Afghanistan.  Mr Clark has 383 names of those killed in the line of duty tattooed onto his chest, his back and even one of his legs.

The 45-year-old, who started the practice in 2009, has the new names added each Remembrance Day, beginning at exactly 11am. This year, there were 40 names, which were tattoed onto his leg.  Sadly the list already needs updating - the latest deaths in the conflict will be added next Remembrance Day.

Mr Clark went under the needle last week at Doncaster's Fantasy Studio where artist Kevin Kent worked for two hours adding the names.  The former soldier, now a court security officer, served with the 8th Battalion Light Infantry Regiment from 1989 to 1996. 

He began adding the tattoos on Remembrance Day 2009 when more than 300 names were inked onto his torso. Ever year since then, at the 11th hour on Remembrance Day, he has added the dead from the previous twelve months.  In the process he has managed to raise more than £4,500 for the Help for Heroes charity through sponsorship.

Mr Clark, who lives with his wife Mandy, 44, and  two sons Peter, 22, and 19-year-old Robert in Rossington, Doncaster, admits his family thought he was mad when he started having the tattoos. 

He said: "I have a lot of friends who have served in Afghanistan and some who are over there now.I wanted to do something to keep what is going on over there in people's minds rather than just a sponsored walk or parachute jump or something like that. I had more than 300 names tattooed on my body in 2009. It took more than five hours and it was painful but it was worth it. I added more names the following Remembrance Day and this year another 40 were tattooed on my leg. I have made contingency plans in case I run out of space on my body. If the deaths keep rising, my son Peter will take over for me."

But Shaun said there is a downside to being well-known.

"The only problem is I keep having to take off my shirt to show my tattoos to people. Word has spread over the years and I am asked almost every day to show someone the names" he said. 

'Solicitors at court ask to see them and the other day a judge asked me if he could take a look.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2063151/Shaun-Clark-tattoo-Former-soldier-names-killed-Afghanistan-inked-body.html#ixzz1fCxSjUa

So the NBA players and owners have reached a deal to end the lockout and it looks like we'll have pro basketball to go with our Christmas turkey (or lasagna or beef or whatever it is you dig in to on Dec. 25).

With the business side of the game taken care of, and since you have to keep score in sports, here's a look at the winners and losers as the players get ready to hit the hardwood.

WINNERS
David Stern
He gets his owners a 50-50 revenue split, with a harder cap, along with the Christmas Day games. Just as he diagrammed it. Best of all, he doesn't lose an entire season, which would have killed his legacy.

Billy Hunter
True, he put up the white flag on the money split, but the union chief got his players a deal that isn't nearly as bad as many hard-line owners like Michael Jordan and Paul Allen had wanted.

Kobe Bryant
At his age, the best player in the game couldn't afford to sit out an entire season.

The Chicago Bulls
They finished with the best record last season, have the reigning MVP, Derrick Rose, and Coach of the Year, Tom Thibodeau, and aren't undergoing any major changes. They should hit the ground running.

LOSERS
The City of Akron
Scheduled to have LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony play in their Homecoming Tour on Dec. 1, that game will be canceled now.

Free-spending teams
The Lakers, Knicks and Mavs will face more punitive luxury tax levels, which might prevent them from outspending rivals. But it shouldn't prevent the Knicks from getting Chris Paul, if the money is right.

Deron Williams
Although he gets to come home from Turkey, his next contract won't equal what the top stars were able to make in the last CBA.

The Lakers
With a shorter training camp and preseason, they'll probably struggle in the regular season with first-year coach Mike Brown putting in a new system and trying to replace Phil Jackson.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/kobe-bryant-derrick-rose-bulls-winners-nba-lockout-deron-williams-ny-knicks-losing-side-article-1.983090#ixzz1fBcx4ZlO

You'd love to get lucky with the lottery just once, wouldn't you? You probably can't even imagine how it feels to get lucky twice, right?

Perhaps you should ask Delma Kinney how it feels. He knows the feeling. That's because he's two times lucky with the lottery.

Delma Kinney won $1 million on an instant scratch-off game in 2008. Then in November of 2011, it happened again - Another million dollar win. That's a total of $2 million worth of scratch-off wins!

Delma is a 50 year old single father of three. With his first win in 2008, he put away some money for his kids college funds. With his recent win, he plans on giving some money to charity.

Recently, Delma had a cold. That's when he went out to the pharmacy to buy some cold medication. While there, he bought a scratch-off game from Georgia Lottery called Super Millions. He scratched the ticket while back in the car and, as soon as he saw the matching numbers, he knew that he was a big winner. Normally, people that win the lottery experience shock, but not Delma; he'd already experienced that once before. This time, it was just par-for-the-course. Multiple lottery winners just get used to winning, you now?

Delma Kinney won his most recent million dollars on a Georgia Lottery scratch-off game called Super Millions. Super Millions cost $20 to play and offers a top prize of $5 million. The $1 million that Delma won is actually the fifth prize in the game because the game also offers prizes of $2 million, $3 million, and $4 million. The odds of winning any of the million dollar plus prizes are approximately 1-in-1-million.

Source:  http://www.biglotterywinners.com/2011/11/delma-kinney-two-times-lucky.html

NBC News recently raised eyebrows when it announced a new addition to its reporting family – the daughter of a former U.S. President and the reigning Secretary of State.

 

Chelsea Clinton was hired and given the title “full-time correspondent” and is slated to work with “Rock Center with Brian Williams” and “NBC Nightly News” to spotlights stories within the network’s "Making a Difference" franchise, which acknowledges various individuals and organizations making a commendable difference in the United States and across the world. 

 

The RUB? The Stanford University alumni, who graduated with a B.A in history and went on to work for an American investment firm, doesn’t technically have “journalist” among her list of qualifications.

 

In the recent edition of The Hollywood Reporter Magazine, media analyst Andrew Tyndall slammed the news organization for hiring an “imposter," suggesting that the high-profile human resources move was actually sending an implicit message to viewers that the quality of journalism NBC News delivers “is such a low standard that a rank amateur is qualified to stand in front of our cameras, just as long as she has a famous last name.”

NBC News President, Steve Capus, has since come forth to defend Clinton’s new position, which had some questioning the ethics of whether it was a vanity hire and/or plain and simple marketing move.

 

“If I were looking for someone to report the lead story for NBC Nightly News, I’m not going to turn to Chelsea Clinton. That’s not why she was hired,” he told TV Guide’s “The Biz” last week, confirming that she would not be attached to political or breaking news. “I want to draw on her remarkable experience and have her tell stories that she feels strongly about.”

 

However, Clinton, 31, is not the first – and most likely will not be the last – political spawn to score a coveted journalism job in a major market. Jenna Bush Hagar was hired as a correspondent for “Today,” Senator John McCain’s daughter Meghan was also recently employed by NBC News as contributor on MSNBC, and Ronald Reagan, Jr., joined Air America to host his own nationally-syndicated talk radio show.

 

So what’s the appeal in hiring political kids? And is it fair for them to be taking jobs from what skeptics call “real journalists”?

"The children of high profile politicos are the quintessential media royalty. They are the triple threat for news networks because they offer a strong political background, recognizable name with an established fan base, and connections to the most powerful people in the world,” political publicist and media commentator Angie Meyer told FOX411’s Pop  Tarts column. “But it does come across as bias for a news organization to choose someone like a Chelsea Clinton, or Megan McCain over a lesser known talent with more experience.  It's all about ratings in the news world - recognizable political names sell advertising - it's just the way it is. Hiring the heirs of political royalty is basically a ratings gold mine."

 

Rachel Ehrenfeld, Ph.D, Director of the American Center for Democracy, said that growing up in and around the ranks of Capitol Hill doesn’t suddenly make one skilled in the field of journalism and apt in delivering news to American households.

 

“A good journalist was born with curiosity, writing talent and integrity. Unfortunately, the media today focuses on celebrities. As such, children of political, entrainment, business and social celebrities have the advantage of name recognition and easier access to news sources other celebrities,” she explained. “That however doesn't necessarily translate to good journalism.”

 

On the flipside, Ronn Torossian, CEO of New York-based communications firm 5WPR and author of the recently released public relations book “For Immediate Release,” noted that having children with political last names among the American journalism pool actually adds credibility and value to our national media.

 

“Kids of political candidates have an immediate insider's understanding of politics and are primarily well educated, well spoken people who understand what it means to be out front and center in the media. On top of the immediate PR value of hiring a Clinton or McCain, one also assumes they are bringing relationships with them day one to the job,” Torossian added. “Just as JFK launched George Magazine, Chris Cuomo is today a major ABC host, so too should there be no surprise that Chelsea Clinton has been hired. I'd expect to see it continue and is part of the American media and political systems continued intertwining." 

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/11/29/chelsea-clinton-and-meaghan-mccain-join-nbc-do-political-kids-make-good/?intcmp=obnetwork#ixzz1f91YmDd1

(CNN) -- A day after three Connecticut asset managers claimed the largest Powerball jackpot in the state's history, a public relations executive acting on their behalf issued a statement denying there was a fourth participant who wanted to remain anonymous.

Throughout the day Monday there had been published reports that the three men who appeared with the winning check were only collecting on behalf of a client of their investment firm.

"While there has been much speculation and quite a bit of misinformation over the last 24 hours, this Trust, with its three trustees, has been established to manage the winnings in the most practical and expedient way possible so that we can achieve our strategic goal of helping those who can best benefit from these funds," said public relations executive Gary Lewi. "And to be clear, there are a total of three trustees and there is no anonymous fourth participant."

The statement goes on to say that the financial advisers will set up a trust that will have as its focus -- among other things -- care for U.S. veterans and those returning home from deployment.

Within 10 days the trust will distribute $1 million to selected veterans relief organizations within the tri-state region, Lewi said.

Co-workers Tim Davidson, Brandon Lacoff and Greg Skidmore claimed the prize from the November 2 drawing, which netted them more than $100 million, at a presentation by the Connecticut Lottery Corp.

Ranjit Singh, the manager of the Stamford BP gas station where the winning ticket was purchased, told CNN's Mary Snow that he is sure it was Tim Davidson who purchased the ticket. "I do recognize him, I cannot forget the face." Singh also said he remembers that he pushed Davidson to buy a ticket.

The jackpot was $254 million, had the winners taken a multiyear payout. They opted instead for a one-time cash payout that totaled $103.6 million after taxes, according to Connecticut Lottery spokeswoman Linda Tarnowski.

It was the 12th-largest jackpot in Powerball history, according to Anne Noble, president of the Connecticut Lottery.

"Everybody is extremely excited -- these numbers are huge," said the trio's attorney, Jason Kurland. "This is going to benefit many people."

Kurland spoke on behalf of three winners, all asset managers at start-up firm Belpointe Asset Management in Greenwich, Connecticut. He said that the men will donate "a significant amount" of the winnings to charities in the state.

Davidson bought the $1 ticket at a gas station in Stamford, Kurland said.

After realizing they had a winning ticket the following morning, the three co-workers formed the Putnam Avenue Family Trust, each becoming a trustee.

"They have become their dream client," Kurland said.

Skidmore was the only one of the three winners to speak at Monday's press conference.

"It feels good," he said.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ripped President Obama for the failure of the debt supercommittee, calling the president "a bystander in the Oval Office" in comments Monday.

“I was angry this weekend, listening to the spin coming out of the administration, about the failure of the supercommittee, and that the president knew it was doomed for failure, so he didn’t get involved. Well, then what the hell are we paying you for?” Christie said in Camden, N.J. " 'It’s doomed for failure, so I’m not getting involved'? Well, what have you been doing, exactly?”

Christie was contrasting the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street movements, saying both stemmed from "anger" with government's inability to respond to the financial crisis. But while Christie said "both parties deserve blame for what's going on in Washington, D.C.," he pointed the finger squarely at Obama for failing to strike a budget deal.

 “Why the president of the United States refuses to do this is astonishing to me. If he wanted to run for Senate again and just be one of a hundred, I’m sure he could have gotten reelected over and over again in Illinois,” Christie said. “He’s the one in Washington, and he’s got to get something done here. And it’s not good enough just to say, ‘Well, I’ll get it done after the election.'"

Christie said that the template for fixing budget deficits existed at the state level, where balanced-budget requirements and divided governments often force governors and state legislatures to compromise.

"In New Jersey, the reason why they got done is because I called people into the room and said we’re going to solve this problem and I had people of good will on the other side who said they believed it was their obligation, regardless of party, to get done things like pension and benefit reform,” Christie said.

The popular and outspoken New Jersey governor has endorsed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination for president.

Source:  http://thehill.com/video/in-the-news/195823-christie-rips-obama-for-supercommittee-failure-what-the-hell-are-we-paying-you-for

Midday/Evening:

11  12  13  26  27  28

26  27  28  31  32  33

Good luck to all