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Matt Lauer, host of the "Today" show, may be leaving the show involuntarily according to a report published by Radar Online on Wednesday. Radar reported that a inside source said the writing was on the wall for Lauer, 54, who has often been blamed for the departure of long time co-host turned lead-host, Ann Curry, in June. Since the time Curry was fired from her position, numerous rumors have emerged about Lauer's inability to get along with staff and his need to be surrounded by "yes" men and women. The source said, "His years-long feuds with former co-hosts Katie Couric,...

Not a word was heard from the Vatican all the years Sderot babies were in mortal danger. They began noticing the violence last week. Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Vatican Council for Culture, commenting on the war between Israel and Hamas, delivered a severe attack on the Jewish people: “I think of the ‘massacre of the innocents’. Children are dying in Gaza, their mothers’ shouts is a perennial cry, a universal cry”. The Catholic Church high official equated Israel’s operation in Gaza against terror groups with the New Testament story of Herod’s slaughter of Jewish babies in his effort...

Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Virginia has received government funding that enables it to expand its systematic sexualization and degradation of 9th graders in the Newport News public schools with “risk reduction” sex education. The money comes from the $75 million pool set aside as a part of Obamacare to teach the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP).The PREP money is setting students up for disaster as it enables Planned Parenthood and other organizations access to the most vulnerable youth across the nation. The curriculum being used in Newport News, Virginia, is distributed by ETR Associates, formerly the education department of Planned...

Today, the White House officially refused to release photos of US officials during the September 11 terrorist attacks on our consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that ended with the deaths of four Americans. CBS News requested the photos on October 31; the White House has routinely released photos showing members of the Obama administration in their hero poses during national security crises. That happened most famously with pictures of the Obama administration key players clustered into the White House situation room during the raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan.

It is a mark of how entirely bereft of ideas the 2012 contest was that the post-election analysis has come to center not on what Barack Obama will do in his second term—which is really the only thing that matters now—but rather on the condition and fate of the Republican Party. Obama won a historic victory in some respects: If you had said two years ago that the president could win reelection with an unemployment rate of 7.9 percent and 4 million fewer people in the workforce than when he was elected, most analysts would have called you crazy. Even...

Two Maine news anchors resigned together at the end of Tuesday’s broadcast after “a longstanding battle with upper management over journalistic practices” including being expected to do politically unbalanced news, the Bangor Daily News reported. Cindy Michaels and Tony Consiglio announced at the end of WVII-TV’s 6 p.m. newscast that it would be their final broadcast together. “And finally tonight, this will be Tony and my final show together here on ABC 7,” Michaels said. “The last six years have been an interesting and enjoyable time for both of us as we have been the longest running news team in...

A would-be burglar told deputies he was upset after he was tied up and left lying on the garage floor of the home he attempted to burglarize Wednesday morning in St. John.

Al Gore Warns of 'Planetary Emergency' Again by Wynton Hall 21 Nov 2012, 1:09 PM PDT In a recent interview, former Vice President Al Gore sounded the alarm of an impending "planetary emergency" if the Keystone Pipeline gets approved or if plans for Northwest coal export terminals proceed. "We have a planetary emergency," said Mr. Gore. "I know it drives some people nuts when I say that, but dammit, that’s what we face." This is not the first time Mr. Gore has declared the human race to be facing a "planetary emergency": he's made the exact same claim in 2005,...

אני יודע שישנם אזרחים שמצפים לפעולה צבאית חריפה עוד יותר, וייתכן מאוד שנידרש לה, אבל בעת הזאת, הדבר הנכון למדינת ישראל הוא למצות את ההזדמנות הזאת להשיג הפסקת אש מתמשכת. כראש ממשלה מוטלת עליי האחריות – והיא אחריות עליונה – לעשות את הצעדים הנכונים לשמור על ביטחוננו. כך נהגתי, כך אמשיך לנהוג. I realize that there are citizens who expect a harsher military action and we may very well need to do that. But at present, the right thing for the State of Israel is to exhaust this possibility of reaching a long-term cease-fire. As Prime Minister, I have...

Caught “Game Change” on cable the other night. Read Charlotte Allen’s Op-Ed article, “Hey, GOP, take the Palin cure,” in The Times on Sunday. And what did I learn? Well, something doesn’t add up. Or, to paraphrase “I Love Lucy”: “Charlotte, you got some ’splainin’ to do.” In her Op-Ed, Allen serves up equal parts lemonade and venomade in making her case that Sarah Palin should be the Republican presidential candidate in 2016. In Allen’s view, Palin has it all: She has blue-collar appeal, she’s “tough as nails,” and best of all, she’s a woman, which, in Allen’s world, gives...

Hobby Lobby, a Christian-owned and run company, is fighting back against a judge’s decision siding with the Obama administration saying that it has the right to force it to pay for drugs for women that may cause abortions.The privately held retail chain with more than 500 arts and crafts stores in 41 states filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration over its HHS mandate. The company says it would face $1.3 million in fines on a daily basis starting in January if it fails to comply with the mandate, which requires religious employers to pay for or refer women for...

State environmental leaders this week hailed California's first cap-and-trade auction a success, but it was hardly so for the state budget. Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers assumed three auctions this fiscal year would generate $1 billion total for the state, half of which they want to plug the state budget deficit. But most of the $289 million raised this month is dedicated for utilities and their ratepayers, leaving only $55.8 million for state purposes.

Everyone loses: •HOSTESS JUDGE APPROVES MOTION TO WIND DOWN COMPANY•HOSTESS WINS APPROVAL TO CLOSE AND BEGIN SELLING ASSETS Next up: the Twinkie economy. Fom Leveraged Loan: U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain this afternoon approved Hostess Brands’ emergency wind-down plan, as well as an amendment to its debtor-in-possession credit agreement that will allow Hostess to access the full amount of its $75 million DIP loan during its liquidation. Drain also denied a motion filed by the U.S. Trustee to convert the case to Chapter 7, though he did not rule out the prospect of a conversion at a later date. Hostess...

An article in the Wall St. Journal paints a gloomy picture for the future U.S. companies are scaling back investment plans at the fastest pace since the recession, signaling more trouble for the economic recovery.Half of the nation's 40 biggest publicly traded corporate spenders have announced plans to curtail capital expenditures this year or next, according to a review by The Wall Street Journal of securities filings and conference calls. Nationwide, business investment in equipment and software—a measure of economic vitality in the corporate sector—stalled in the third quarter for the first time since early 2009. Corporate investment in new...

Henry Winkler of "Happy Days" fame is considered one of the nicest people in Hollywood. You don't hear any horror stories about his on-set behavior, and he's managed to leave the iconic Fonzie character behind to play supporting roles in projects like "Arrested Development" and "Here Comes the Boom." Winkler's reaction to puppeteer Kevin Clash resigning from "Sesame Street" amid allegations the puppeteer engaged in sexual acts with minors hardly seemed in character. In fact, Winkler's comment is downright ugly. No one is disputing Clash's talents. Just watch last year's documentary "Being Elmo" to marvel at his many gifts. But...

In the Republican crack up following their loss on November 6, conservative pundits have tossed out innumerable arguments about how to win next time. It was inevitable that someone would come up with the worst possible idea. And, sure enough, someone has. Writing in the Los Angeles Times on Sunday, conservative pundit Charlotte Allen declares, “I’ve got a suggestion for cutting short the GOP angst: Sarah Palin for president in 2016.” Reading Allen’s piece is interesting because of what it shows about the mindset of some conservatives: that pundits who think as Allen does have no respect for policy, no...

Muslim immigrants in a town near Copenhagen have forced the cancellation of traditional Christmas displays this year even while spending lavishly on the Islamic Eid celebration marking the end of Ramadan. The controversy has escalated into an angry nationwide debate over the role of Islam in post-Christian Denmark, where a burgeoning Muslim population is becoming increasingly assertive in imposing its will on a wide range of social and civic issues.

On the Splendor of God's Truth "Through Faith We Come to True Knowledge of God and Ourselves" VATICAN CITY, Nov. 21, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today in Paul VI Hall. The Holy Father continued his series of catecheses on faith. * * * Dear brothers and sisters, We go forward in this Year of Faith, bearing in our hearts the hope of rediscovering how much joy there is in believing and of finding the enthusiasm to communicate to all the truths of the faith. These truths are not a simple message about...

The terms of the competition are simple: Hunters in New Mexico have two days this weekend to shoot and kill as many coyotes as they can, and the winners get their choice of a free shotgun or a pair of semi-automatic rifles. But the planned two-day coyote hunting contest has sparked an online petition that has generated tens of thousands of signatures worldwide. The FBI is investigating a death threat to the gun shop owner who is sponsoring the hunt. And one protester has even vowed to dress like a coyote to trick hunters into accidentally killing a human.

Probably what will happen next -- if, in fact, it is not already happening -- is that stores will serve their customers a complete Thanksgiving meal. Forward-thinking entrepreneurs could set up a lounge with flat-screen TVs, and that's where the men can watch football while the women shop. They could occasionally meet back at the table and graze over a dessert buffet before the women head back out into the aisles. The need to shop early after Thanksgiving is peculiarly American and apparently speaks to the need of getting a deal. Last week, in El Cajon, Calif., women were already...