Senate

The desk man at the Greensboro, North Carolina, Holiday Inn shook his head when I asked for Willie Nelson. “Got no Willie Nelsons today.” He turned away officiously and resumed cleaning his fingernails with a Holiday Inn matchbook. He was about as encouraging as my cab driver had been: “You goin’ to see Willie Nelson? Man, he was a no-show last week. They had ta haul that Wet Willie in; he play instead. You see Willie Nelson, you tell him for me, ‘Man, you die fast in this town.’ “ I went back to the Holiday Inn desk man: “See here, I was really looking for the party of Fast Eddie and the Electric Japs.” “Well, goddamnit, why dincha say so.” He started thumbing through registration forms: “Lemme see, Mr. Eddie ain’t here yet, but Mr. Snake is, Mr. Poodie is, Mr. Beast is . . . “ “Okay, gimme Snake’s room number.” Poodie, who is Willie’s road manager, and Beast, his cook and … [Read more...] about Willie Nelson: Holy Man of the Honky Tonks

On Meet the Press on Sunday, Chuck Todd asked Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, “Do you believe Ukraine meddled in the election in 2016?” Cruz replied, “I do, and I think there’s considerable evidence.” Todd’s eyes immediately widened in astonishment while he responded, “You do?” and viewers could hear laughter from the show’s studio. Todd then went through a historical laundry list of Cruz being smeared by Trump while telling the senator that “it strikes me as odd” that Cruz wouldn’t be suspicious of Trump creating “false narratives” and may be doing the same with the debunked Ukrainian meddling fabrication to help himself politically. “Senator, this sort of strikes me as odd. because you went through a primary campaign with this president. He launched a birtherism campaign against you. He went after your faith. He threatened to quote ‘spill the beans’ on your wife about something. He … [Read more...] about Ted Cruz Wishes He Hadn’t Woken Up Early After Chuck Todd Was Through With Him

Melissa McCarthy’s reign as Saturday Night Live’s Sean Spicer appears to have come to an abrupt end. President Donald Trump has named pal/Wall Street financier Anthony Scaramucci as White House communications director, and Spicer, who has been filling in on the job, has resigned. In a statement, Trump wished him success and pointed to “his great television ratings.” Spicer’s role as wrangler of the daily White House press briefings had been neutered since Team Trump pulled cameras from the clambake and Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders largely took over the gaggle. Spicer told CNN’s Dana Bash this morning he stepped down to give Trump’s new message-massaging chief a “clean slate” and tweeted he is exiting officially next month: Related Story RIP Sean Spicer's White House Press Briefings: 'The Daily Show' It's been an honor & a privilege to serve @POTUS @realDonaldTrump & this amazing country. I … [Read more...] about Sean Spicer Resigns As Anthony Scaramucci Named White House Communications Director; Trump Lauds “His Great Television Ratings”

CNN has retracted its story about a Russian investment fund and possible ties to associates of Donald Trump, and apologized to entrepreneur and Trump transition team member Anthony Scaramucci. “Classy move,” tweeted Scaramucci in response. “Apology accepted.” The CNN report by Thomas Frank, posted to the network’s website Thursday, alleged that Senate investigators were tracking down ties between Scaramucci, founder of investment firm SkyBridge Capital, and a Russian investment fund managed by a Kremlin bank. The report was removed Friday, and CNN posted a retraction (see it below) explaining that the “story did not meet CNN’s editorial standards and has been retracted. Links to the story have been disabled. CNN apologizes to Mr. Scaramucci.” Today, Scaramucci tweeted “CNN did the right thing. Classy move. Apology accepted. Everyone makes mistakes. Moving on.” An editor's note from CNN … [Read more...] about CNN Retracts Russian Investment Fund Story; Trump Ally Accepts Apology

Award-winning actor Ron Leibman, whose career in movies, theatre and television spanned six decades, died after an illness at the age of 82. Best known for playing Rachel''s overbearing father, Dr Leonard Green in the popular sitcom "Friends", Leibman died on December 6 in Manhattan, reported The New York Times. A spokeswoman for his wife, "Arrested Development" star Jessica Walter, said the cause of death was pneumonia. Primarily a stage actor, Leibman won an Emmy award in 1979 for the short-lived CBS series "Kaz", which he created, and also has a Tony to credit for the play "Angels in America". He played Cohn in the first part of Tony Kushner''s monumental two-part play about homosexuality and the age of AIDS. Cohn, a conservative lawyer and closeted gay man who was once chief counsel to Senator Joseph R McCarthy and who died of AIDS in 1986, is a central figure in the work. On the big screen, Leibman''s credits include films such as "Norma Rae", "Slaughterhouse-Five" and "Where''s … [Read more...] about Ron Leibman, ”Friends” And ”Norma Rae” Actor, Dies At Age Of 82