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Planned Parenthood has hired a high-profile crisis communication firm to help it deal with fallout from a series of undercover sting videos produced by the Center for Medical Progress. Politico reports that PP has hired SKDKnickerbocker, a firm which features former Obama communications staffer Anita Dunn as a managing director. Dunn is perhaps best known for a speech she gave extolling the political philosophy of communist revolutionary Mao Zedong. On its website, SKDKnickerbocker touts its expertise in crisis communications in Washington and on Wall Street. “By working with a company’s existing corporate communications resources or creating a separate ‘war room,’...

A Florida man convicted of first-degree murder for shooting a teenager to death over loud music was sentenced to life without parole Friday. Michael Dunn, 47, was convicted of killing Jordan Davis, 17, in November 2012 after he shot into a SUV of four teenagers 10 times when an argument broke out over loud music coming from the teens' vehicle. Dunn was sentenced to an additional 90 years in prison for three attempted murder convictions and another 15 years for firing into an occupied vehicle. “Our justice system works. This case demonstrates that our justice system does work,” said Judge...

A partial mistrial in a Florida murder case for the shooting death of teenager Jordan Davis marks another example of failed justice involving a young black victim, according to the Rev. Talbert W. Swan II, president of the Greater Springfield chapter of the NAACP. In a prepared statement released this week, Swan wrote that news of a mistrial on a first-degree murder charge against Michael Dunn left him saddened by the loss of life and angry at the justice system. "The failure to convict Michael Dunn of murder only highlights the perceived value of black life and reinforces the stereotypes,...

urors in the trial of a white Florida man who fatally shot a black teenager over loud music said on their fourth day of mulling the case that they reached a verdict on four of five counts, but cannot come to a consensus on one count of first-degree murder. Michael Dunn, 47, says he was acting in self-defense when he shot at an SUV 10 times while parked next to four teens at a Jacksonville, Fla., gas station in November 2012. The shots killed Jordan Davis, 17, of Marietta, Ga. Dunn is charged with first-degree murder, three counts of attempted...

Assistant State Attorney Erin Wolfson made a solid presentation in the first of the State’s two closing arguments. (The State has a second closing argument after the defense’s close.) Reasonable Doubt She touched upon all the key points, using powerpoint slides and forensic photos, beginning with a definition of a reasonable doubt, defined in the negative as is pretty much the norm.(Reasonable Doubt.) First Degree Murder The elements of the crimes with which Dunn is charged, beginning with first degree murder.(Murder 1st Degree.) In the context of first degree murder she also provided a definition ofpremeditation:(A Premeditated Act.) (Premeditation slide...

The White House is getting advice from some former campaign advisers on how to win congressional support for a strike on Syria, Fox News has learned, with top White House aides soliciting their input during a long strategy session Tuesday afternoon. The aides met with former top Obama campaign hands like strategist Anita Dunn, former deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter and long-time adviser David Axelrod. (snip) Other attendees included two people who have been critical in helping plot media strategy for the president over the years -- former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and former senior White House adviser...

Former WH communications director attacks GOP as intolerant over Ground Zero mosque ### Former White House communications director Anita Dunn on Tuesday launched a furious attack against Republicans who have criticized President Obama’s remarks on the Ground Zero mosque, labeling the GOP as the party of intolerance. “The Republican party as solidifying its reputation for intolerance in this year, for almost any kind of difference in American society, is going down a very dangerous long term road,” Dunn said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “They might see some short term things although I think the American people are better than that,”...

His show's called The Daily Rundown. And sure enough, Chuck Todd ran down Rick Santorum this morning as just another "flavor of the day" who "probably won't be the nominee." Apparently, trouncing Mitt Romney in three contests last week, and leading by a reportedly huge margin in Romney's native state of Michigan, isn't enough to impress Chuck. But Todd totally swerved around Anita Dunn, failing to question his guest about the story of her big-money hypocrisy making today's news. As Obama's White House communications director, Dunn regularly went after hedge funds. But now as a PR consultant, as the Washington...

......................."So. Media Matters, we learn, is having weekly strategy calls with the White House, they meet with Obama aide Jarrett and ex-aide Dunn, who returned to the White House for the meeting after she departed. Anita Dunn also "became a regular presence" in the Media Matters offices, the then-president of Media Matters "lunched with her, met with her and chatted with her frequently on any number of occasions." And what else? What raises the specter of Tony Ulasewicz? This. From Media Matters' Karl Frisch: "We should hire private investigators to look into the personal lives of Fox News anchors, hosts,...

Asked why he visited WH 118 times,Former IRS Commish Doug Shulman,cited the Easter Egg Roll as one reason. —Mark Knoller (@markknoller) May 22,2013 Well, give him points for creativity at least. When asked to account for his 118 visits to the White House within a two-year period, former IRS commissioner Douglas Shulman dug deep and managed to come up with one explanation: he took his kids to the White House Easter Egg Roll!… “@jpodhoretz: 118 times in 104 weeks Shulman went to White House. why?"Easter egg roll…" he actually said that.” Bold.—Dana Perino (@DanaPerino) May 22,2013 No kidding! Too bad...

The White House insists President Obama is "outraged" by the "inappropriate" targeting and harassment of conservative groups. If true, it's a remarkable turnaround for a man who helped pioneer those tactics. On Aug. 21, 2008, the conservative American Issues Project ran an ad highlighting ties between candidate Obama and Bill Ayers, formerly of the Weather Underground. The Obama campaign and supporters were furious, and they pressured TV stations to pull the ad—a common-enough tactic in such ad spats. What came next was not common. Bob Bauer, general counsel for the campaign (and later general counsel for the White House), on...

Prosecutors are asking a judge to deny bail to the man who shot and killed 17-year-old Jordan Davis and are disputing that the three other teenagers with the victim left the scene and could have discarded a weapon. They fled only a few hundred feet and for less than two minutes, according to an affidavit. Wednesday the State Attorney’s Office released its motion to deny bail to Michael David Dunn, 46, who has been in jail since shortly after the November shooting outside a Jacksonville convenience store. A three-page affidavit from the lead detective in the case says the teenagers...

One of the passengers in the Durango that was fired on by Michael Dunn was an adult convicted of burglary in 2011. Tommie Stornes was on probation at the time of the shooting. It is not known if the Dodge Durango involved in the shooting was the same Dodge Durango that was used in the burglary.

ATLANTA (AP) - The fatal shooting of a Florida teenager who was listening to loud music in a car a week ago has drawn comparisons to the Trayvon Martin case, but the differences are significant. Unlike the Martin case, there were several witnesses to this shooting and there was no scuffle before 17-year-old Jordan Davis was shot to death. And notably, the man accused of firing into the car was arrested a day later. Michael David Dunn is charged with murder and attempted murder in the Nov. 23 shooting at a Jacksonville, Fla., gas station. The 45-year-old Dunn parked beside...

MIAMI — In what could become another test of Florida’s broad self-defense law, a software developer charged with killing a Jacksonville teenager said he reached for his gun and fired eight rounds only after he was threatened with a shotgun.

A Brevard County man remained in jail late Tuesday, accused of shooting a teenager dead in an argument over loud music. Michael David Dunn, 45, and his girlfriend were in Jacksonville Friday for Dunn's son's wedding when they stopped at a convenience store, Jacksonville sheriff's Lt. Rob Schoonover said. Jordan Russell Davis, 17, and several other teenagers were sitting in a sport utility vehicle in the parking lot when Dunn pulled up next to them in a car and asked them to turn down their music, Schoonover said. Jordan and Dunn exchanged words, and Dunn pulled a gun and shot...

Donald “Duck” Dunn, the bassist who helped create the gritty Memphis soul sound at Stax Records in the 1960s as part of the legendary group Booker T. and the MGs and contributed to such classics as “In the Midnight Hour,” ‘’Hold On, I’m Coming” and “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay,” died Sunday at 70. Dunn, whose legacy as one of the most respected session musicians in the business also included work with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd’s Blues Brothers as well as with Levon Helm, Eric Clapton, Neil Young and Bob Dylan, died while on tour in Tokyo....

SEATTLE -- Republican King County Council member and Attorney General candidate Reagan Dunn tells KING 5 News he will back efforts to legalize same-sex marriage. In supporting gay marriage legislation, Dunn is staking out a different position from Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna.

Friction about the roles of women in the Obama White House grew so intense during the first two years of the presidentÂ’s tenure that he was forced to take steps to reassure senior women on his staff that he valued their presence and their input. At a dinner in November 2009, several senior female aides complained directly to the president that men enjoyed greater access to him and often muscled them out of key policy discussions. Those tensions prompted Obama, urged on by senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, to elevate more women into senior White House positions, recognize them more during...