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Discovery Communications Inc. Chief Operating Officer Peter Liguori is leaving the cable programming giant at the end of December after just two years on the job. His departure comes at a key time for the company, as its high-profile ventures OWN and the Hub are struggling to establish themselves and its core networks Discovery and TLC face increasing competition from rival cable channels.

<p>Despite their accolades, few senior Obama administration officials found the time to attend General David Petraeus's retirement ceremony. John Barry explains how Petraeus will see their absence.</p> <p>The Obama administration has hailed Gen. David Petraeus as one of history’s greatest military strategists, whose stewardship of two difficult, prolonged wars won bipartisan praise. But when it came to his military retirement ceremony last week, few of the political brass could find the time to attend.</p>

The man who led the controversial Fast and Furious anti-gun-trafficking operation will step down as the interim head of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Justice Department announced Tuesday as it named a new acting director for the agency. Kenneth Melson, the bureau’s acting director, on Wednesday will move to the Office of Legal Policy, where he will be a senior adviser on forensic science, the department said without making reference to the failed gun-tracking operation that is alleged to have ultimately put guns into the hands of criminals. Dennis Burke, the U.S. Attorney in Arizona who oversaw...

President Barack Obama stirred up a hornets’ nest when he declared during his highly anticipated Middle East speech Thursday that Israel’s borders should be based on the pre-1967 lines. He added enough caveats to render his demand unattainable from a practical standpoint, but, as a matter of political and strategic perception, Obama has inflicted a serious wound on America’s most reliable ally. For that reason, it’s important to understand what Obama is demanding of Israel. If Israel were to return to the lines that existed prior to its defeat of invading armies from three of its Arab neighbors in the...

On January 5, 2011, three days before the Tucson shooting, I warned that the mainstream media would mount Operation Demoralize: The mainstream media will undertake, and already has undertaken, a concerted effort to blame the Republican House for everything that goes wrong, for not living up to promises, for living up to promises, for failing to compromise, for selling out, etc. Do not fall for it. Holding the Republican House to its commitments is one thing; falling for Operation Demoralize is something else. If you think that the mainstream media is not still 100% in the tank for Obama, think...

Some senior personalities in the Democratic Party have discussed with President Obama's advisers the possibility of him not running for re-election in 2012, according to an influential Democratic Party operative speaking on condition of anonymity. The operative, who is close to the Democratic leadership, did not indicate whether Obama was undecided about running again. Any such decision would need to be made at a later date based on a number of factors, such as any change in poll numbers after the midterm elections, the operative said. There are some within the Democratic leadership who believe at this point it would...

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) thanks outgoing White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel (L) as Emanuel's interim successor Pete Rouse looks on in the East Room at the White House in Washington October 1, 2010. Emanuel is stepping down to run for mayor of Chicago.

In his nearly two years in office, President Obama has relied on a very small clique of advisers that serves as his most trusted sounding board on politics and policy. Members of his staff describe Obama as wary of outsiders and reluctant to widen his inner circle. As one of his advisers bluntly put it, the president "doesn't like new people." Like it or not, he will soon be surrounded by them as an expected staff shuffle will deprive Obama of two of his closest aides and an influx of replacements will take their places within the West Wing. The...

Just a FOX NEWS ALERT right now. No story yet.

President Barack Obama says his chief of staff would make a "terrific mayor" of Chicago. But Obama says he expects Rahm Emanuel to hold off on deciding whether to enter the race until after the midterm elections. Barack Obama - Rahm Emanuel - Chicago - President of the United States - Chief of staff

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is like the Angelina Jolie to President Obama's Brad Pitt. So unpopular is he, every time the president is seen with another economically savvy individual, people start to get excited that the pair might finally be breaking up. So it follows that, after Mayor Bloomberg told reporters that he and Obama spent much of their intimate golf session in Martha's Vineyard last week discussing the economy, "Page Six" says they're hearing "whispers" that the president asked the mayor about taking over as Treasury secretary. "It's been the focus of a lot of discussion," one Democrat, who...

CAROLINE KENNEDY is so ticked off at the OBAMAs she coldly snubbed them during the family's recent vacation to Martha's Vineyard, sources tell The ENQUIRER. After working hard to elect President Obama, Caroline was widely expected to host the first family at her sprawling Red Gate Farm on the island, as the Kennedys did the Clintons when they were in the White House. Instead, when the Obamas recently relaxed on Martha's Vineyard, they ended up renting the same place as last year, Blue Heron Farm in the town of Chilmark. Caroline's blatant cold-shoulder treatment is evidence of the bad blood...

Received the following in an email: It all began Monday, July 22, 2010. As the country watched in horror, Breitbart released a snippet of a tape on his “Big Government” site which showed an obscure black female official of the Dept. of Agriculture laughing to a roomful of NAACP members about how she’d discriminated against a destitute white farmer and refused to give him the financial aid he desperately needed. As she smirked to the room, she’d sent him instead to a white lawyer – ‘one of his own kind’ – for help. The black woman was Shirley Sherrod –...

The truth hurts. This may be something for the White House to consider as midterm fatigue sets in and personnel starts to churn. Are White House press secretary Robert Gibbs' recent bouts of truth-telling a sign he should move on? For months, speculation has abounded that Gibbs will eventually move from his current post to become a less-visible senior adviser to President Obama. He already essentially plays that role, sitting in on virtually every major meeting regardless of subject matter and receiving rare bureaucratic carte blanche within a disciplined West Wing to jump from policy lane to lane. After seven...

National Journal's Victor will have the scoop in tomorrow's edition of the National Journal magazine that Obama economic adviser Christina Romer is quitting the post. It all stems from her feeling -- despite her title as chairwoman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers -- that Larry Summers has more influence with the president.

President Obama's relationship with members of the Congressional Black Caucus is being tested over a series of high-profile incidents, the latest of which is the ethics investigation into New York Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel. On Friday, Obama told CBS News that he believed it was time for Rangel to end his carer "with dignity", adding: "I think Charlie Rangel served a very long time and served his constituents very well, but these allegations are very troubling." A Politico story quoted a person close to Rangel saying that the congressman "doesn't give a damn about what the president thinks about this."...

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) has chosen to go through an ethics trial, like the one lined up for New York Rep. Charles Rangel, rather than accepting charges made by an ethics subcommittee, a source familiar with the process tells POLITICO. The back-to-back trials of a pair of black lawmakers represent an unprecedented use of an ethics adjudication system that has rarely been used by House members accused of breaking House rules. Waters' case revolves around allegations that she improperly intervened with federal regulators to help a bank that her husband owned stock in and on whose board he once served.

President Barack Obama has kept mum on the fate of Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) for days -- but he tells CBS News that it's time for the embattled 80-year-old former Ways and Means Chairman to end his career "with dignity." "I think Charlie Rangel served a very long time and served-- his constituents very well. But these-- allegations are very troubling," Obama told Harry Smith in an interview to be aired on the "Early Show." and first broadcast on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric. "And he'll-- he's somebody who's at the end of his career. Eighty years old....

President Obama said Secretary Tom Vilsack rushed to judgment when he dismissed Shirley Sherrod from the Department of Agriculture amid charges of racism. "He jumped the gun, partly because we now live in this media culture where something goes up on YouTube or a blog and everybody scrambles," Obama told consumer correspondent Elisabeth Leamy in an exclusive “GMA” interview.

WASHINGTON – An embarrassed White House apologized on Wednesday to a black Agriculture Department employee who was ousted for her remarks about race, acknowledging that officials did not know all the facts when she was fired. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs called the dismissal of Shirley Sherrod an injustice and a mistake. He said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was trying to reach her to extend the administration's apology.

A black former Agriculture Department employee, who resigned after a video clip surfaced of her discussing a white farmer, insisted Tuesday she "went all out" to help the man keep his farm and said she resigned under pressure from the Obama administration. Shirley Sherrod, who resigned Monday as the department's director of rural development for Georgia, told CNN she had four calls telling her the White House wanted her to resign. "They asked me to resign, and in fact they harassed me as I was driving back to the state office from West Point, Georgia, yesterday," she said. The last...

Former Department of Agriculture official Shirley Sherrod says she was forced to resign last night under orders from the White House over racist comments she made at an NAACP dinner in March that were revealed by Big Government yesterday morning. The Associated Press reported Sherrod's claim this morning:Shirley Sherrod says she was forced to step down by the White House even though her comments, in which she says she withheld support for a farmer because he was white, were really part of a story of racial reconciliation. In an interview, Sherrod said the White House's wishes were relayed by an...

WASHINGTON – The White House is contradicting the NASA administrator's claim that President Barack Obama assigned him to reach out to Muslims on science matters. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden recently told Al-Jazeera network that one of the charges Obama gave him was "to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science and engineering." Some conservative activists criticized the remarks. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday that such activities are not among Bolden's assigned tasks. He said administration officials have spoken with...

CNN fires ME editor over tweet 08/07/2010 Octavia Nasr mourns death of Shi'ite leader Fadlallah. NEW YORK — CNN has fired an editor responsible for Middle Eastern coverage after she posted a note on Twitter expressing admiration for a late Lebanese cleric considered an inspiration for Hizbullah. Octavia Nasr later apologized for her tweet, but CNN's senior vice president for international news gathering, Parisa Khosravi, said Wednesday that Nasr's credibility had been compromised. The Atlanta-based Nasr worked at CNN for 20 years, starting as an assignment editor on the international desk. Her job was mostly off the air, but she...

President Obama embarked on a what seemed to be an insane strategy last year. Shortly after passing the Stimulus, he had his minions on the Hill, Reid and Pelosi, launch full throttle into two of the most controversial legislative issues ever to face Congress. The House passed Cap-and-Trade climate change legislation in June of 2009. The Senate failed to take up the bill because of lack of support among many Midwest Democratic Senators. Undeterred, President Obama had Pelosi start the process of ramming Health Care Reform through the House. After much twisting of 'Blue Dog' Democrats arms, the House passed...

Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, is expected to leave his job later this year after growing tired of the "idealism" of Barack Obama's inner circle.

*snip* This morning the President accepted my resignation as Commander of U.S. and NATO Coalition Forces in Afghanistan. I strongly support the President's strategy in Afghanistan and am deeply committed to our coalition forces, our partner nations, and the Afghan people. It was out of respect for this commitment — and a desire to see the mission succeed — that I tendered my resignation.

President Obama announced Wednesday that he has accepted Gen. Stanley McChrystal's resignation as the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan following a scathing article in which he and his aides were quoted criticizing the administration for its handling of the war. In doing so, Obama nominated Gen. David Petraeus, the head of U.S. Central Command and the former commanding general in Iraq, to replace him. The president stressed that while the decision was a difficult one, it does not represent a change in the course of the war. "This is a change in personnel, but it is not a change...

The war in Afghanistan is bigger than one general and is bigger than one President. It was not easy for President Obama to realize the general he personally picked did not leave up to the standards for leadership. It was not easy for him to appoint the hero from the evil Bush years that gave us the success in Iraq: General Petraeus. But Obama, The Commander-in-chief, made the right decision. Now the US President has to find the courage to recall the other member of the dysfunctional team: the US ambassador to Afghanistan Eikenberry, who is equally responsible for the...

BREAKING: Fox News is reporting that Helen Thomas has announced her retirement effective immediately from the Hearst Corporation, and as a member of the White House Press Corps. In the video above, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs today called anti-Jewish remarks by Helen Thomas “reprehensible”: “I think those remarks were offensive and reprehensible. I think she should and has apologized. Obviously those remarks do not reflect the opinion, certainly, I assume, of most of the people in here, and certainly not of the administration.”

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said today that journalist Helen Thomas' recent remarks about Israel were "offensive and reprehensible" and "certainly" do not reflect the views of the Obama administration.

The raft of boycotts being imposed on Arizona over its immigration law could up end hitting Hispanic workers as hard as anyone. Hispanics make up a huge chunk of the state's hospitality and service sector workforce -- and with city governments and organizations pulling the plug on travel and conventions in Arizona, state officials point out that Hispanic workers stand to lose. They say it makes little sense for officials protesting the Arizona law out of concern that it would subject Hispanic immigrants to racial profiling to register their dismay by targeting the tourism industry.

National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair to Resign, Fox News Confirms

In his latest White House Rose Garden PR plan, President Obama stressed how much the US was doing to help Mexico stop the inter-gang drug violence south of the border. Repeating the long-disproved notion that US-supplied guns are behind the Mexican drug cartel violence, Obama pledged new resources to solve a non-existent problem. (Note of Obama: Guns do not kill people – Too much Mexican hot sauce can kill, however) Obama wants us to ignore the fact the Communist Chinese made Norcico AK-47s were smuggled through Mexican ports as freely as a lukewarm Corona flows through the intestines of a...

The DUmmies are realizing what the Rev. Jeremiah Wright is now saying: Barry USED me like a five-dollar hooker and then threw me UNDER THE BUS! Read about it here, in this THREAD, "Ex-Obama pastor: 'Obama threw me under the bus.'" Of course, some of the Obamassiah True Believers think Jerry done Barry wrong by hurting him politically, but most of the DUmmies are ready to join Rev. Wright on the pavement. So let's all join the crowd under the chassis, where the comments are in Roadkill Red, while the commentary of your humble guest correspondent, Charles Henrickson, recalling...

On 60 Minutes earlier this week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commented that the American economy is making it more difficult for her to do her job because other nations are telling her that “we always look to you because you have this great economy, and now you’re in the ditch.” Bill O’Reilly saw “a little jab” at the President in those comments, blaming the White House for her job troubles, but guest Dick Morris took that premise a bit further, suggesting the remarks, coupled with her silence on health care reform, were a deliberate attempt to undermine the President...

One of New York City’s most famous and influential Jews, former mayor Ed Koch, longtime Democrat — and longtime mayor (he governed New York for eleven years) — is showing distinct signs of buyer’s remorse. And anecdotal evidence gathered by him — and me in my sojourns around New York and New Jersey — suggest that Hiz Honor’s emotional trajectory is fairly representative of a growing disenchantment among Jews who voted for Obama. The “falling out of love,” the term Mayor Koch used in an August commentary where he began expressing doubts, has been gradual. First there was the handling...

He may be the world's foremost mixed-race leader, but when it came to the official government head count, President Barack Obama gave only one answer to the question about his ethnic background: African-American. The White House confirmed Friday that Obama did not check multiple boxes on his U.S. Census form, or choose the option that allows him to elaborate on his racial heritage. He ticked the box that says "Black, African Am., or Negro."

" For Ms. Rogers, associates said the episode proved a searing experience that has soured her on Washington. She believes she was left largely undefended by the White House, by her colleagues, including Mr. Axelrod, Robert Gibbs and even her close friend, Valerie Jarrett."

Switzerland has come under criticism in a key United States human rights report in a as an example of anti-Muslim discrimination in Europe. The US State Department’s annual report on Human Rights released in Washington on Thursday cites in its introduction last November’s popular vote in Switzerland to ban the building of minarets. It describes growing European discrimination against Muslims as “ an increasing concern”.

Just before Thanksgiving of this year, a report was issued by Congressman Issa and Senator Grassley contending that the Obama White House was politically motivated when it fired AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin after his 2008 investigation of Kevin Johnson, friend of the Obamas, and now Sacramento's mayor. The report criticizes the White House ethics counsel for not examining what Walpin had been investigating at the time of his dismissal, including the allegations of sexual misconduct by Johnson and hush-money used to cover up the misconduct. The report asserted that Michelle Rhee, now Johnson's fiancee, made the payoffs. The firing...

MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Dmitry Medvedev ordered Russian Olympic officials to quit or be fired on Monday and demanded drastic changes to training procedures after a poor showing at the Winter Games dented national pride. Once mighty Russia limped in 11th in the medals table with just three golds, its worst ever tally. The result was especially embarrassing because Russia is due to host the next Winter Olympics in 2014 at the Black Sea resort of Sochi. "Those responsible should take the brave decision and sign a letter (of resignation)," Medvedev said in televised comments. "If they can't we will...

Former Obama Green Jobs Czar is making a comeback. On Friday night he received an award from the NAACP and showed some love to Glenn Beck. “I see you, and I love you, brother. I love you and you cannot do anything about it. I love you and you cannot do anything about it,” Jones said. “Let’s be one country. Let’s be one country. Let’s get the job done.” But there were two interviews that Van Jones gave yesterday that no one is talking about. The first was with CNN were he explained that the White House did indeed "vet"...

WASHINGTON - President Obama abandoned his defense of Rep. Charles Rangel against a raft of ethics charges Friday as a handful of rank-and-file Dems echoed GOP demands to demand that Rangel give up his chairman's gavel. White House officials have privately called Rangel "untouchable" in the past, but Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama stressed that "rules are put in place for a reason and that those rules can and must apply to each and every person." Obama also said that members of Congress "ought to be accountable," Gibbs reported, "and that applies to everyone," including the powerful 79-year-old Harlem...

Axelrod: Coakley could have asked for help earlier By Eric Zimmermann - 01/19/10 01:26 PM ET The White House would have helped out Martha Coakley's campaign earlier if she had only asked, White House senior adviser David Axelrod said today. President Obama made a last minute campaign stop for Coakley on Sunday, but many Democrats wondered why he didn't make an earlier, stronger push. "The White House did everything we were asked to do," Axelrod told reporters today, according go the Baltimore Sun. "I think if we had been asked earlier, we would have responded earlier." As recently as a...

My first reaction to the recent wave of Democrat politicians either retiring or announcing they won't run for reelection -- Chris Dodd being the latest -- was one of joy. "Here's the 'thinning of the herd' that we expected!" Upon further reflection -- and seeing how eager Nancy Pelosi was to sacrifice the "blue dogs" in order to pass her Deathcare bill -- I'm wondering if this is not a grand scheme by the Democrats ... to throw under the bus (with promises of future payoffs, of course) any Democrats considered too "damaged" to re-elect -- and replace them with...

Veteran Civil Rights Division attorney Christopher Coates is no longer chief of the Voting Section, according to the division’s Web site. There was no official announcement of the personnel change in the long-troubled section, which most recently has been embroiled in the controversy over the New Black Panther Party voter intimidation case. Main Justice noticed the change on the Voting Section Web site. Taking over for Coates in an acting role is Chris Herren, a deputy chief of the section, according to the Web site. Alejandro Miyar, a spokesman for the Civil Rights Division, wasn’t available for comment Sunday. Coates...

If I were a senator, I would not vote for the current health-care bill. Any measure that expands private insurers' monopoly over health care and transfers millions of taxpayer dollars to private corporations is not real health-care reform. Real reform would insert competition into insurance markets, force insurers to cut unnecessary administrative expenses and spend health-care dollars caring for people. Real reform would significantly lower costs, improve the delivery of health care and give all Americans a meaningful choice of coverage. The current Senate bill accomplishes none of these.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama will meet with Senate Democrats at the White House Tuesday to press for action at a make-or-break moment for his health care overhaul. All 60 members of the Democratic caucus have been invited, according to three Democratic officials. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement was not yet public.

The lines began forming Saturday morning outside the Sioux Falls Barnes & Noble bookstore, fully 35 hours before former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was to arrive there to sign her new book, "Going Rogue." But the mother of five was far from South Dakota tonight. In fact, she was only about a half-dozen blocks from the White House that she didn't help John McCain win. Palin appeared in a brand-new role for the possible 2012 Republican presidential candidate -- joke-teller as the GOP's representative at the annual winter Gridiron Dinner, a 124-year-old group of Washington writers and guests who hold...