Bertel King, Jr

Texting while driving has been reported to be worse than driving drunk, leading phone and car manufacturers to devise voice-to-text as a safer alternative than poking at a phone when your eyes should be on the road. The problem? Voice-to-text isn’t any safer than texting. Turns out it’s actually worse. A study released Tuesday suggests […]

In 2012, President Barack Obama’s campaign successfully managed to paint Mitt Romney as a heartless businessman, guilty of outsourcing jobs and hiding dark secrets within his tax returns. Now the tides have reversed. Virginia’s current attorney general and Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli is on the offensive against Terry McAuliffe, his challenger well known for […]

West Virginia lawmakers have passed a bill requiring all of the state’s public schools to provide school lunches to each classroom. Mason County, West Virginia started the trend. In this southwestern county, which borders Ohio, entire classrooms walk to the cafeteria to eat breakfast together, not drastically unlike eating lunch. “They do it as a […]

Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona sent a handwritten note to the mother of a shooting victim expressing sadness over her son’s death and assuring her that strengthening background checks was something they agreed on. Then when the issue of expanding background checks came before the Senate last Wednesday, Flake chose to vote against it. Caren […]

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is seeking expanded background checks for gun purchases. The Republican Governor announced his intentions two days after a bipartisan proposal to expand background checks in the Senate failed and the same day that a GOP newsletter circulated in Benton County, Arkansas suggesting that Republicans should be willing to shoot representatives […]

Billions of people not yet born may grow up viewing tree bark and everyday leaves as edible — and healthy — sources of food, thanks to a recent breakthrough by researchers at Virginia Tech. ScienceDaily reports that a team of researchers at one of Virginia’s largest research institutions have succeeded in transforming cellulose into starch. […]

Ohio Senator Rob Portman’s approval rating has slipped slightly since endorsing gay marriage last month, but only among Republican voters. Given the country’s broad shift towards supporting same-sex marriage, the senator’s change of heart still may ultimately help him in the long run. A Quinnipiac University poll released today shows that Portman’s approval rating slipped […]

A grandfather of gangsta rap, who helped spread the art form throughout Japan, passed away last month. He wasn’t African American — he was North Korean, and he hardly spoke English. Wan Joon Kim moved to Los Angeles in the early 1980s and opened a 100-square-foot stall named Cycadelic Records. His stall became a location […]

The bipartisan Senate proposal to to expand background checks failed 54 – 46 Wednesday, with four Democrats siding with 41 Republicans to oppose the piece of gun control legislation. All four of the Democrats — Max Baucus, Mark Begich, Heidi Heitkamp, and Mark Pryor — come from conservative states. Three of the four have touch […]

Several fashion industry giants such as Gap, Adidas, and Brook Brothers have been tied to factories in Indonesia giving a local river a multi-color hue. Greenpeace International released a report this week revealing the dumping of industrial wastewater containing a mixture of toxic and hazardous chemicals into the Citarum River in West Java. The company […]

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, otherwise known as CISPA, passed the US House of Representatives Thursday. Passage comes despite opposition from the White House and concerns about online privacy. Support for the bill was overwhelming and bipartisan. The bill passed 287 – 127. The bill was put forward by Democratic Representative Dutch Ruppersberger […]

Boston radio stations are planning to share a moment of silence Monday to honor the victims of the Boston Marathon explosions and the heroes that responded to the crisis. The Associated Press reports that stations owned CBS Radio, Clear Channel Media and Entertainment, Entercom and Greater Media will participate in the tribute. Gordon Smith, president […]

Minnesota Representative and former Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has found herself in a bit of hot water as of late, as former campaign staffers are threatening to reveal incidents of campaign finance fraud taking place throughout her 2012 presidential campaign. Andy Parrish, Bachmann’s former chief of staff, is expected to tell an Iowa Senate […]

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is set to air a new video ad Thursday that hopes to tie a liberal superPAC’s secret recording to President Barack Obama. “Mitch McConnell is Obama’s number one target, because Mitch protects Kentucky from Obama’s bad ideas,” the ad asserts. “Liberals will do anything to beat McConnell.” The ad references […]

Trash to Trend is introducing the world’s first mass produced “upcycled” clothing line, a substantial milestone for eco-conscious fashion connoisseurs. Trash to Trend’s Upcycled Collection is the world’s first mass production of upcycled clothing. Trash to Trend advertises that this collection features products that are made with less water, less energy, and less production waste. […]

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has seen his name thrown around often as a possible contender for the Republican nominee for president in 2016, and he does his best to keep stoking the flames. Paul now says he is considering running for president because doing so will provide him with a larger platform to discuss issues. […]

Boosted Boards recently unveiled what it calls “the world’s lightest electric vehicle,” an electric skateboard priced as high as Google’s Chromebook Pixel. Boosted Boards has created a novel concept. Their product is a standard long board with an electric motor attached, replacing leg muscles as the source of power. The twin electric motors provide 2.6 […]

Citi Biki will launch its long-awaited bike share program in New York City next month, and eager New Yorkers have already showered the company with a wave of support. Membership registration opened up two days ago, and the first 5,000 “founding member” offers have already sold out. More than 4,000 members signed up in the […]

The message behind Dove’s latest beauty campaign is quite simple: women are more beautiful than they think, and it’s time they realize it. Dove brought in forensic artist Gil Zamora and placed him on one side of a curtain. The company then brought in various women to sit on the other side of the curtain. […]

Hugh Heffner may want to expand his Playboy empire into the world’s second most populous country, but conservative politicians in India have decided that now is not the time. PB Lifestyle is the Indian firm with rights to the Playboy brand. NPR reports that the firm intended to make the southwestern state of Goa the […]

The state of Washington will soon fine drivers for parking in front of charging stations intended for electric cars. Imagine pulling up to a gas station where every pump was occupied, only no one was pumping any gas. This is the situation that plagues many of the state’s 2,500 residents who drive electronic vehicles. Gas […]

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has called the Boston Marathon explosions a “cruel act of terror.” His bold rhetoric comes at a time when President Barack Obama has chosen to be more cautious with his word choice. President Barack Obama was quick to speak out about the incident in Boston yesterday, appearing on television mere […]

President Barack Obama sat down with Today’s Savannah Guthrie for an interview just hours before yesterday’s tragic explosions rocked the Boston Marathon. The interview aired on this morning’s episode of Today. “I think we got a good chance of seeing it pass if members of Congress are listening to the American people,” Obama said after […]

One of the former Progress Kentucky activists accused of secretly taping Senator Mitch McConnell’s campaign headquarters has started a legal defense fund on a fundraising website. Curtis Morrison created the legal defense fund at gofundme.com and is hoping to raise $10,000. At the time of this article, Morrison had raised $665 through contributions from 23 […]

As is generally the case when tragedy strikes, the Boston Marathon explosions have put partisan politics on hold. “This is a horrific day in Boston,” Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said in a statement issued following the incident. “My thoughts and prayers are with those who have been injured. I have been in touch with the […]

Conservatives have long made the argument that, if you allow marriage to be redefined to include gay marriage, legalizing polygamy will be next. This refrain is often followed by the assertion that people will start demanding the privilege to marry their pets, and, while this demand is perhaps a tad far-fetched, the push for legalizing […]

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has chosen not to take sides in the controversy surrounding Wilcox County High School students seeking to end a tradition of holding segregated proms. The governor’s spokesman, Brian Robinson, told a local television station via email that the governor had no response to a liberal group’s call for state officials to […]

Many anti-abortion advocates believe that 20 weeks into a pregnancy is the point at which a fetus can feel pain, and while the premise is up for debate, the North Dakota legislature has made up its mind on the matter. North Dakota’s House approved a proposal that would outlaw abortions after 20 weeks today, and […]

President Barack Obama released his federal income tax returns today, revealing that he and the first lady brought in an adjusted gross income of $608,611. The Obamas paid $103,214 in taxes. This came from a tax rate of 18.4, which the president has sought to rise through policy proposals such as the Buffett Rule aimed […]

The families of those killed in the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut know that tragedy alone is not enough to move lawmakers to pass gun control measures; so they committed the time and energy towards learning how the game is played in Washington. And they are winning. The Newtown families were political novices a few months […]

Florida Senator Marco Rubio is one of the Republican Party’s most prominent 2016 presidential hopefuls, and the young senator is now throwing all his weight behind an immigration reform proposal that could damage not only his appeal but the entire Republican Party brand. That’s if Rubio fails. If Rubio succeeds and plays a key role […]

Senator Mitch McConnell’s claims that Progress Kentucky bugged his campaign office are largely true, according to one local Democratic official. Jacob Conway told a local radio station that two Progress Kentucky employees bragged to him about recording the meeting through a door in McConnell’s campaign office. Their names: Shawn Reilly and Curtis Morrison. “Apparently the […]

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan says President Barack Obama’s recent budget proposal gives him reason to be optimistic. The Wisconsin Republican and former vice presidential candidate told NPR that he was encouraged by the gestures made in the president’s budget. “This is the first time in this presidency that I have seen a chance […]

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul may have fibbed a little during a question and answer session with Howard University students following the first speech a Republican lawmaker has given at the historically black university in decades. Liberals smelled blood and quickly pounced on the polarizing Republican’s statements. “I do question some of the ramifications and the […]

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul lied to students at Howard University yesterday when he told them he was never against the Civil Rights Act. Well, actually, no he didn’t. Wait, yes – yes he did. The confusion stems from Paul’s answer to a question from a student at the historically black university. “I’ve never been against […]

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced FWD.us in a Washington Post column today, an advocacy group made of Silicon Valley leaders dedicated to passing bipartisan immigration reform. “We have a strange immigration policy for a nation of immigrants,” Zuckerberg wrote. “And it’s a policy unfit for today’s world.” In the column, Zuckerberg recalled that his great-grandparents […]

Things seemingly can’t get much tenser on the Korean peninsula than they already are, but new North Korean threats of an imminent missile launch have placed neighbors in the region further on edge. The missile, assuming it launches — and assuming it works as planned — would have a range of over 2,000 miles and […]

The New York Times‘s Paul Krugman wrote a column today arguing that the late Margaret Thatcher’s true heir is someone few people would guess — Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. “Her downfall came with the poll tax, a drastically regressive tax — the same amount for everyone, regardless of income — that was too much even […]

FBI agents met with members of Senator Mitch McConnell’s campaign at the senator’s campaign office Wednesday, a day after the Kentucky Republican accused Progress Kentucky of bugging his office in February. Federal investigators are beginning an investigation into the matter. NBC reports that FBI agents were at campaign headquarters for roughly an hour. The campaign […]

Senators Joe Manchin (pictured above) and Pat Toomey introduced a bipartisan proposal Wednesday to expand background checks to more gun purchases. The West Virginia Democrat and Pennsylvania Republican want to expand background checks from being performed only at certain dealers to being performed for any and all commercial guns sales. Gun buyers would have to […]

President Barack Obama introduced to Congress a $3.8 billion federal budget plan aimed at healing the sequester budget cuts Wednesday. The plan aims for a grand bargain by balancing tax increases that conservatives dislike with entitlement cuts that liberals abhor. Obama’s federal budget plan raises taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Those making over $1 million […]

A day after North Korea warned foreigners to evacuate South Korea before the outbreak of a “merciless, sacred, retaliatory war,” the world has instead decided to call the country’s bluff. The European Union told North Korea Wednesday that it sees insufficient reason to evacuate Europe’s various diplomats from the Korean peninsula. The union of 27 […]

A Pennsylvania man was arrested Wednesday morning after making a bomb threat outside of the White House. Krzysztof Wasik, 44, of Hazle Township informed an officer near the gates to the White House that there was a bomb in a truck nearby. The bomb, he said, would detonate soon. Police quickly blocked off access to […]

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell accused a progressive super PAC of bugging his Kentucky campaign office Tuesday. The prominent Republican official has requested that the FBI investigate the matter. The Hill reports that McConnell was furious after hearing a leaked recording of a meeting between the senator and his aides. During the meeting, they debated […]

Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday that if Republicans filibuster upcoming gun control legislation, it would be embarrassing for America’s reputation around the world. “What an embarrassing thing to say,” Biden said. “Imagine what they’re saying, gentlemen and ladies, in other capitals around the world today.” Biden has led the Obama administration’s efforts to implement […]

The Gang of Eight senators intend to propose comprehensive immigration reform legislation on Thursday, presenting Congress with a bipartisan bill that may actually stand a chance of getting passed. A member of the group told The Hill that the bill is virtually complete. The plan is to bring the bill to the floor this Thursday, […]

Hillary Clinton isn’t the only high profile Obama first-termer to snag a book deal recently; David Axelrod has a book of his own on the way. His memoir is due out in the fall of 2014, months after Clinton’s book is expected to hit store shelves. “Over the past 30 years as a journalist, political […]

Superstars Beyoncé and Jay-Z celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary in Havana, Cuba last week, putting the Obama administration under scrutiny for approving the trip. “U.S. law clearly bans tourism to Cuba by American citizens because it provides money to a cruel, repressive and murderous regime,” Florida Senator Marco Rubio said in a statement yesterday. “Since […]

South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson announced support for gay marriage Monday, leaving only three Democratic senators still opposed to same-sex marriage. “After lengthy consideration, my views have evolved sufficiently to support marriage equality legislation,” Johnson said in a brief statement. “This position doesn’t require any religious denomination to alter any of its tenets; it simply […]

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal abandoned his unpopular tax plan following widespread backlash from political supporters and opponents alike. This comes as a major blow to a governor who made his tax plan a key part of his second term agenda. “I realize that some of you think I haven’t been listening,” Jindal said in a […]