Herman Cain just can’t get any love these days, the Tea Party representative went in search of networks that would air his response to President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday and apparently not a single national news network was willing to give him the time of day.

Speaking to the Atlantic Wire a representative for MSNBC gave a stern answer; ”We don’t plan on taking it.”

CNN gave pretty much the same answer regarding the Herman Cain SOTU response while conservative news network Fox News said they wouldn’t air the Tea Party members response live on their network but would make it available as a stream via FoxNews.com

Speaking about the 7-minute speech Cain’s Chief strategist Mark Block speculated that at least one TV network would offer Herman Cain’s rebuttal to the President’s speech but he wouldn’t say which one.

In the meantime TV networks appear unwavering in their call for a two-party system response system which would be disrupted should Herman Cain have his chance to voice his opinion.

Speaking about Cain’s rebuttal Tea Party spokesman Shawn Callahan said

“Last year, [US Rep.] Michele Bachmann did a good job for us, so this year we decided that Herman Cain would be a good fit.”

Callahan said Cain would pen his own remarks after hearing the State of the Union address and added:

“We do expect him to speak to the fiscal issues that the Tea Party Express stands for.”

When basing its goals off Michelle Bachmann type responses it’s no wonder a major news network refused to pick it up.

Do you think Herman Cain should have been given equal airtime to form a rebuttal against President Obama and the Democratic party?

Herman Cain Response To SOTU Doesn’t Receive National TV News Network Coverage is a post from: The Inquisitr

Ron Paul was interviewing with CNN’s Gloria Borger on Wednesday when questions he didn’t feel like answering were raised, leading to the GOP candidate unclipping his microphone and saying “Goodbye” as he walked off the set.

According to reports the source of the friction came when Paul was asked about campaign newsletters that came out 20 years ago with Ron Paul’s name attached. In those letters both racist and homophobic slurs were made.

The line of questioning isn’t new, it also came up during the candidates 2008 run for President. Since that time his answer has remained unchanged:

“I didn’t write them. I didn’t read them at the time and I disavow them. That is your answer.”

The questions were asked after the Weekly Standard once again wrote about the newsletters earlier in the week.

In one of the more controversial 1992 newsletter statements about the Los Angeles riots the newsletter stated:

“Order was only restored in L.A. when it came time for the blacks to pick up their welfare checks.”

According to Ron Paul the newsletter used his name and his campaign but he didn’t write or pay attention to the newsletters that staffers working for him at the time circulated.

Apparently Ron Paul was able to make money off the publications he never paid attention to which has in turn allowed the question of his involvement remain open for so long.

Here’s a Mediate capture of the CNN walkoff:

Do you think Ron Paul should have been more responsible when approving messages with his name on them or should he have been able to trust his staffers?

[Image via Christopher Halloran / Shutterstock.com]

Ron Paul Walks Off CNN Interview [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Republican Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich got an earful from a voter in Iowa today and the angry Iowan spoke directly into the camera on CNN.

“You’re a F****ing A$$hole, you know that right?” the man said to the ex-speaker as he hit the rope line to shake hands with supporters.  Gigrich has seen his numbers spike over the last few weeks but has recently seen them drop in the key states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

Iowa holds the first in the nation caucus on January 6th.  As recently as last week Gingrich took the lead from fellow contenders Mitt Romney and Libertarian Ron Paul, but as voters get to know him there is a word they associate with him more than the swear words, due in large part to anti-Gingrich advertising coming form super PAC’s who support Romney.

“Baggage” is the word of the day, and even though voters claim to have forgiven Gingrich for a lot of it, it seems to be the word that keeps coming up over and over again.

“Newt has too much baggage”, Gingrich is a bright guy but boy does he come with baggage”

These are but a few of the comments that are being heard daily by primary voters who want to believe in the former speaker, but just can’t bring themselves to do it.

The baggage they are referring to is a long list of transgressions Gingrich has committed since his days as speaker.  He has been unfaithful in two separate marriages, has taken millions in consulting fees from Freddie Mac (the government mortgage giant which melted down and required huge infusions of taxpayer cash) and although he claims to be the lone conservative voice in the field, he has worked with ultra liberal members of the House like Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Do you think Newt has way too much baggage?

Gingrich Slammed on Camera, Cursed at by Iowa Voter [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

One year after Christiane Amanpour left CNN to join up with ABC’s This Week, the anchor is set to make a return to CNN, the network announced today. In her place, Good Morning America‘s George Stephanopoulos will be returning as the host of This Week.

According to the network, Amanpour will begin hosting a weekday segment in 2012 on CNN International, which the anchor left in 2010.

“Christiane Amanpour has been synonymous with international reporting and with CNN for many years,” CNN Worldwide President Jim Walton said in a statement. “We could not be happier that through this unique arrangement with ABC News, her experience and global perspective are returning to a nightly news broadcast for our international audience.”

Amanpour isn’t leaving ABC entirely, however; as part of a “unique arrangement” with ABC, she’ll stick around as a “global affairs anchor” and is planned to host “multiple” specials during primetime for ABC News.

“I am looking forward to getting back into the field to report stories on global issues that matter greatly to the American people,” Amanpour said in a statement. “At the same time, I will be broadcasting once again to hundreds of millions of people across the world with a weekday show on CNN International.”

ABC says that Stephanopoulos will continue hosting Good Morning America, but ABC says that he may be doing so on a 4-day schedule.

“Christiane has had an absolutely remarkable year at ABC News, with world-beating exclusives,” ABC News President Ben Sherwood said in a statement. “We’re thrilled that she will be able to get back out in the field, bringing these important global stories back to our audiences, particularly primetime.”

Source: CNN

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Christiane Amanpour Leaving ABC’s ‘This Week’, Returning to CNN is a post from: The Inquisitr

In da interview, ‘Fiddy’ opened up about everything from his upbringing, his rise to fame, being shot nine times, his anti-bullying book, and his transformation into a multi-millionnaire vitamin water salesman.

He also stated he no longer touches drugs or alcohol (though he admits he did deal drugs from the age of twelve), revealing, “I had an experience that made me paranoid so I try to stay away from it.”

And if 50 Cent’s father is reading now, he’d be best to look away. The rapper was asked by Morgan about his rough childhood, and whether he ever wanted to meet his father. The reply was brutally honest:

“I have no desire to meet him, I mean he could help me not make the mistakes I made earlier on but I don’t think he would be a positive influence on me.”

There was also some talk of politics, a subject 50 Cent was recently vocal about when he declared himself a supporter of the Occupy Wall Street protests.

Piers Morgan Pumps Iron to 50 Cent’s ‘In Da House’ [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

It’s been a good week for Erin Burnett. The CNBC reporter will be celebrating her new show on CNN, as well as her engagement to Citigroup executive David Rubulotta, this weekend.

Burnett will be taking over CNN’s 7 p.m. slot starting this Monday. CNN is moving John King USA to the 6 p.m. slot to make room for Erin Burnett OutFront. Burnett told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that she is going to focus on putting out a quality show and not worry about ratings.

Burnett said:

“Once you start doing that, it’s like death. We just want to put on a show that we’re passionate about and fulfills its mission.”

Burnett told the Hollywood Reporter that her new show will focus on the Middle East, China’s growing influence and women’s issues.

Burnett said:

“I’m a female anchor in primetime. It’s a strength we can take advantage of.”

Here’s a short preview from Erin Burnett OutFront.

CNN Worldwide president Jim Walton said:

“Erin is the kind of all-star player that knows how to connect-the-dots and translate events into relevant information for viewers.”

Getting her own show is a huge achievement, but that isn’t the only thing that Burnett has to celebrate. Burnett also recently got engaged.

The New York Post reports that Rubulotta proposed to Burnett last month, but it wasn’t until the launch party of her new show that the engagement was made public.

Do you think Erin Burnett will be successful in CNN’s prime time spot?

Erin Burnett Gets Engaged, Talks About New Show is a post from: The Inquisitr

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper is well-known for his insistence on not “being the story,” keeping his personal life under wraps as he reports from locations all over the world on every conceivable newsworthy event.

But the newsman and his famous fashion designer mom, Gloria Vanderbilt, recently spoke publicly about the ripple effects of the suicide of Cooper’s brother, Carter Vanderbilt Cooper. Cooper discussed the event with his 87-year-old mother in an interview, and both were visibly moved when discussing the tragedy of two decades ago.

Vanderbilt cited her younger son, Anderson, who was 21 at the time, as her reason for not succumbing totally to the loss. She recalls the moment when her older son plunged from the family’s 14th floor penthouse- an event she happened to witness.

“He was sitting on the wall with one foot hanging over and he kept looking down and I kept begging him [to come back]. When he went … I thought he was going to come back, but he didn’t… He let go, and there was a moment when I thought I was going to jump over after him.”

She adds:

“I thought of you and it stopped me from [following]… There’s never closure on something that happens like this.”

Anderson is 44 now, and has some recollections of his own on lighter topics. While the newsman deals with a range of stories each day, he admits they can be a bit odd when they involve your mother:

“What’s amazing, my mom has written a dozen books—one of them was a romance memoir about some of the gentleman callers I guess that she had over the years,… She asked me to proofread and I was like ‘Really? Really?’ So I did, and it was funny because I used to watch old movies with my mom when I was a kid, and there’s like Frank Sinatra in some movie and I would turn and be like, ‘Oh, did you ever know Frank SInatra?’ She would look at me and be like, ‘Oh yes.’ “

The interview aired this afternoon on Cooper’s talk show, Anderson.

Gloria Vanderbilt, Anderson Cooper Discuss Suicide of Cooper’s Brother is a post from: The Inquisitr

Did you know that Anderson Cooper, of CNN fame, has yet another new show coming out this September?

No?

Neither did I up until a couple of days ago but then it seems that they’ve turned on the publicity blitz about his daytime talk show, that is already being yakked about as the new Oprah daytime powerhouse, and I am seeing news about is popping up daily.

Sort of like this little tidbit released by the show on the Anderson.com site where he gets comfie out in the sun with a bikini clad Kathy Griffin. Considering that they are buds from way back I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised. Suppressing a gag reflex maybe but surprised, not likely.

As you can see from the image above they look like such a lovely couple just enjoying their time all alone out in the sun with no-one around to bother them. As for the image below, well, that’s just the gallant gentleman in Anderson coming out as he helps Griffin adjust her bikini top.

via HuffPo

Anderson Cooper gets all cozy with Kathy Griffin (Pics) is a post from: The Inquisitr

Because it is the joke that never gets old.

The real story of bin Laden’s assassination is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Associated Press has confirmed that DNA results done on the body of Osama bin Laden have confirmed the corpse of the man killed in the raid yesterday in Abbottabad, Pakistan is that of the Al Qaeda leader.

Bin Laden was killed along with two and a woman who was used as a shield by one of the unidentified combatants. DNA from bin Laden’s body was matched against that of his deceased sister in making the positive identification:

The officials said the DNA testing alone offered a “99.9 percent” certainty that bin Laden was shot dead in a daring U.S. military operation in Pakistan. Detailed photo analysis by the CIA, confirmation by other people at the raid site and matching physical features like bin Laden’s height all helped confirmed the identification.

Citing an unwillingness of any country to accept his remains, bin Laden’s body was buried at sea- a decision that some Muslim clerics have decried as an insult to Islam. It is unclear whether photographic evidence of bin Laden’s death will be released to global media.

DNA match confirmed on bin Laden body is a post from: The Inquisitr

A Twitter user in Pakistan was a bit put out by the noisy raids taking place near him in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

It turns out Sohain Athar, aka @reallyvirtual, was livetweeting the raid that resulted in the death of September 11th mastermind Osama bin Laden. Athar’s tweets were posted in chronological order by Mediaite, and are pasted below. Later in the evening, Athar became increasingly irritated at the growing worldwide interest in his tweet-witness account, but the position in which Athar finds himself is interesting. Generally social media witnessing has been through direct and intentional involvement- Athar just wanted the helicopters to STFU and had no idea he was going to become a small historical footnote via Twitter.

From @reallyvirtual (with others)via Mediaite:

Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event).

Go away helicopter – before I take out my giant swatter :-/

A huge window shaking bang here in Abbottabad Cantt. I hope its not the start of something nasty :-S

@m0hcin all silent after the blast, but a friend heard it 6 km away too… the helicopter is gone too.

@m0hcin http://bit.ly/ljB6p6 seems like my giant swatter worked !

@m0hcin the few people online at this time of the night are saying one of the copters was not Pakistani…

han3yy Hania Ahmed  by ReallyVirtual OMG :S Bomb Blasts in Abbottabad.. I hope everyone is fine

@raihak I try, man, I try (in reply to entreaty to “be safe!”)

@raihak Funny, moving to Abbottabad was part of the ‘being safe’ strategy

Since taliban (probably) don’t have helicpoters, and since they’re saying it was not “ours”, so must be a complicated situation #abbottabad

@raihak yep, the mad power cuts have reached abbottabad – 14 hours daily – luckily I have a generator AND a UPS at the coffee shop

@tahirakram yea. *hides his giant swatter*

@kashaziz technically, it is unidentified until identified, and it is a flying object, so year, why the hell not, we have seen weirder stuff

@tahirakram they’re not saying anything

The abbottabad helicopter/UFO was shot down near the Bilal Town area, and there’s report of a flash. People saying it could be a drone.

@wqs figures, if they have the right to shoot planes flying over the president house, the must have the same instructions for PMA

@smedica people are saying it was not a technical fault and it was shot down. I heard it CIRCLE 3-4 times above, sounded purposeful.

@tahirakram very likely – but it was too noisy to be a spy craft, or, a very poor spy craft it was.

@smedica It must have been more, I started noticing the helicpoter when the noise got irritating – which part of Abbottabd are you in?

@smedica I live near Jalal Baba Auditorium

@smedica ’safer’ is a relative term that has lost its meaning in Pakistan

Here’s the location of the Abbottabad crash according to some people >>> http://on.fb.me/khjf34

Two helicpoters, one down, could actually be the training accident scenario they’re saying it was >> http://bit.ly/ioGE6O

and now I feel I must apologize to the pilot about the swatter tweets :-/

And now, a plane flying over Abbottabad…

@raihak The day there is uninterrupted electricity in Lahore for a whole month, I will start packing my bags, until then, Abbottabad is home

1 dead and 1 injured in Abbottabad for heli crashed

Interesting rumors in the otherwise uneventful Abbottabad air today
naqvi rt by ReallyVirtual I think the helicopter crash in Abbottabad, Pakistan and the President Obama breaking news address are connected.

Twitter user in Pakistan live-tweets bin Laden compound raid unknowingly is a post from: The Inquisitr

We posted a screenshot with an unfortunate misspelling announcing the death of Osama bin Laden, but this is a bit beyond the pale.

Another Fox News Freudian slip on bin Laden death is a post from: The Inquisitr

Twitter reacts to bin Laden’s death is a post from: The Inquisitr

The man who threatened to shoot CNN employees at one of the company’s L.A. buildings was detained by LAPD officials on Wednesday night.

Law enforcement officials are quick to point out that the man was not placed under arrest but instead was placed on a 5150 psychological hold. Under 5150 rules officials can hold the man for 72 hours in Los Angeles facilities to monitor his mental health state.

You may recall that it was the mans father who called 911 on Tuesday to tell police that his son said he was going to shoot someone soon, while mentioning the CNN building as a possible target for his actions.

Since hearing of the threat CNN has had stationed security at all exits, creating a lock down situation.

CNN Suspect Detained By LAPD, Placed On 5150 Hold is a post from: The Inquisitr

Remember the Google guy who went missing in Egypt shortly after he began participating in protests to remove the now former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak from office?

It turns out Ghonim was safe, but had been detained by authorities for 11 days. He was finally released on February 7th, and remained in Egypt to continue protesting alongside other demonstrators to demand Mubarak step down. When news broke today that Mubarak planned to vacate the office and turn control of the country over to the Egyptian army, Ghonim tweeted:

They lied at us. Told us Egypt died 30 years ago, but millions of Egyptians decided to search and they found their country in 18 days #Jan25

Ghonim spoke to CNN about the role of social media in the Egyptian revolution, saying:

I want to meet Mark Zuckerberg one day and thank him… I’m talking on behalf of Egypt. This revolution started online. This revolution started on Facebook. This revolution started in June 2010 when hundreds of thousands of  Egyptians started collaborating content. We would post a video on Facebook that would be shared by 60,000 people on their walls within a few hours. I always said that if you want to liberate a society just give them the Internet…. The reason why is the Internet will help you fight a media war, which is something the Egyptian government regime played very well in 1970, 1980, 1990, and when the Internet came along they couldn’t play it. I plan to write a book called Revolution 2.0… that will highlight the role of social media.

Pop-prognosticator Malcolm Gladwell has been attracting a lot of heat in the wake of the Egyptian revolution due to comments he made late last year that social media isn’t sufficient to precipitate actual political change. Do you think this situation proves otherwise?

Freed Google exec Ghonim thanks Facebook for role in Egyptian revolution is a post from: The Inquisitr

Rick Sanchez’s six year run at CNN has come to an end with his firing after CNN responded to a radio interview on SiriusXM where Sanchez called Jon Stewart a “bigot” and implied that the media is controlled by Jews.

Jon Stewart is well known for mocking Sanchez on The Daily Show, and its been long rumored that Sanchez is thin skinned. The anti-Jewish rant is reported to have been Sanchez trying to get his own back at Stewart…be in rather unsuccessfully.

Sanchez, a Cuban-American, also stated several times that he’d experienced discrimination throughout his career, including at the hands of “a lot of elite Northeast establishment liberals” who saw him as someone “who belongs in the second tier and not the top tier.”

CNN, said it will telecast “CNN Newsroom” in Sanchez’s 3 to 5 p.m. time slot “for the foreseeable future.”

Rick Sanchez Fired From CNN is a post from: The Inquisitr

Just remember folks, it’s not news, it’s CNN news.

CNN Makes An Interesting Contribution To The WTC Mosque Debate is a post from: The Inquisitr

Daniel Schorr, a veteran journalist who worked for decades in Washington with CBS News, CNN and NPR, has died after a “short illness.”

93-year-old Schorr passed away this morning in a Washington hospital, and NPR posted a lengthy analysis of his distinguished career with a link to his bio page on their site. Schorr rose to prominence for his reporting during the Cold War, but later came under fire for refusing to reveal a source for a controversial FBI/CIA story he leaked to the Village Voice during the 1970s:

This led to his suspension by CBS and an investigation by the House Ethics Committee in which Schorr was threatened with jail for contempt of Congress if he did not disclose his source. At a public hearing, he refused on First Amendment grounds, saying that “to betray a source would mean to dry up many future sources for many future reporters… It would mean betraying myself, my career and my life.”

The House ethics committee voted 6 to 5 not to cite Schorr for contempt of Congress, but he ultimately left CBS after the controversy. He spent the bulk of his later career at NPR after a stint with CNN, and worked on segments All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, and provided commentary on live coverage of breaking news.

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Veteran journalist Daniel Schorr dies at 93 is a post from: The Inquisitr

Seen on Reddit and Digg, captioned “stay classy, CNN!”

Ads: they don’t always handle deaths in a sensitive manner is a post from: The Inquisitr

Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria Kaczynska, and several officials were killed in a plane crash that occurred at 10:50am local time (2:30am EST) at a western Russian airport in Pechorsk, near Smolensk.

Kaczynski was traveling with the Polish delegation to Russia to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre during World War II. The flight originated in Warsaw, and it is thought that the plane may have hit some trees at the end of the runway while a landing was attempted in a heavy fog.

The casualties could be particularly devastating to the country’s miliary:

“The entire top military brass, including the chief of defense and all the services, were on the plane,” said Tomas Valasek, of the Center for European Reform.

“If that is true, then you’re looking at a situation, in effect, of the decapitation of the military services.”

Kaczynski’s Law and Justice Party released a partial list of those killed:

• Lech Kaczynski — Polish president
• Maria Kaczynska — The president’s wife
• Ryszard Kaczorowski — Poland’s last president-in-exile
• Aleksander Szczyglo — head of the National Security Office
• Pawel Wypych — presidential aide
• Mariusz Handzlik — presidential aide
• Jerzy Szmajdzinski — deputy parliament speaker
• Andrzej Kremer — Deputy Foreign Minister
• Gen. Franciszek Gagor — head of the army chief of staff
• Andrzej Przewoznik — minister in charge of WWII memorials
• Slawomir Skrzypek — head of the National Bank of Poland
• Janusz Kurtyka — head of the National Remembrance Institute
• Przemyslaw Gosiewski — lawmaker
• Zbigniew Wassermann — lawmaker
• Grzegorz Dolniak — lawmaker
• Janusz Kochanowski — civil rights commissioner
• Bishop Tadeusz Ploski — army chaplain

There were no survivors, and 97 people were killed in the crash.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski, wife, many others killed in plane crash is a post from: The Inquisitr