NBC's Mitchell Disses Cheney to Defend Obama on NSA Snooping

In a report on Monday's NBC Today about new leaks from National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell took a jab at former Vice President Dick Cheney: "Cheney, who helped institute warrantless evesdropping, no court orders required, a policy Congress later rejected in favor of the current surveillance programs." [Listen to the audio or…
Kyle Drennen
June 17th, 2013 3:44 PM

CNN 'New Day' Review: Chris Cuomo 'Can Make a Lost-Kitten Story Sound

The first reviews of CNN's new morning show New Day are out, and network boss Jeff Zucker will be none too pleased. TVNewser's Gail Shister lambasted the program, in particular co-host Chris Cuomo who she said "can make a lost-kitten story sound like a mass murder":
Noel Sheppard
June 17th, 2013 3:43 PM

Networks Hype Sequester Slashing 'Desperately Needed Money' to Fight W

Saturday's CBS Evening News ballyhooed the "enormous strain on resources" that the budget sequester has apparently put on extinguishing a massive wildfire in Colorado. Carter Evans played up how, in addition to fighting the flames, "federal firefighters are facing another challenge: a loss of $50 million, mandated by the budget sequester. That forced the Forest Service to cut 500 firefighters…
Matthew Balan
June 17th, 2013 3:20 PM

Billionaires Want to End Capitalism As We Know It

Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington and a group of other CEOs and former world leaders have formed a group whose goal is to end capitalism as we know it. The nonprofit, known as “The B Team,” was created to help promote a “better version of capitalism, one that prioritizes people and planet over profit.” This ignores the fact that capitalism is, by definition, motivated by profit. The team,…
Mike Ciandella
June 17th, 2013 2:46 PM

MSNBC's Hayes Sees 'Ridiculous Clownish Antics' in GOP, Lauds Brewer f

On Friday's All In show, MSNBC host Chris Hayes compared conservatives to clowns as he praised Republican Governor Jan Brewer for breaking ranks with conservatives and pushing for the implementation of ObamaCare in Arizona. Reminiscent of the time he recently called various Republicans "jackasses" and used some version of the word "jackass" 11 times in one segment, Hayes on Friday used some…
Brad Wilmouth
June 17th, 2013 2:13 PM

Palin: Reporter Comparing Iranian Presidential Candidates to Tea Party

CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer on Saturday’s Evening News compared the Iranian presidential candidates to members of the Tea Party. In her first official re-appearance on Fox News Monday, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin told Fox & Friends viewers that Palmer “put the BS in CBS" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Noel Sheppard
June 17th, 2013 1:57 PM

NBC, CBS Skip Obama-Supporting IRS Agent, ABC Allows 22 Seconds

ABC on Monday allowed a scant 22 seconds to the latest revelation in the scandal engulfing the Internal Revenue Service. NBC and CBS have, thus far, ignored the newest detail. The Associated Press on Sunday night reported that an IRS "supervisor in Washington says she was personally involved in scrutinizing some of the earliest applications from tea party groups seeking tax-exempt status."…
Scott Whitlock
June 17th, 2013 12:50 PM

Michael Bloomberg: America Should be Begging Foreign Students to Stay

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg used his commencement address at Stanford University Sunday to push for immigration reform. Speaking to the assembled, he said of the foreign graduates with student visas in attendance, “If those in Washington had any sense at all, they would be begging you to stay here in the United States.”
Noel Sheppard
June 17th, 2013 12:40 PM

MSNBC Panel Sees 'Hate' in Limbaugh 'Mantra,' Conservatives Are in 'Ec

On Friday's PoliticsNation, MSNBC's Karen Finney asserted that Rush Limbaugh's "overall mantra" is "us versus them and hate in general," as she responded to a clip of the conservative talk radio host accusing the Republican establishment of being "ashamed" of the conservative base. A bit later, host Al Sharpton asserted that conservatives are "almost like in an echo chamber. They're talking to…
Brad Wilmouth
June 17th, 2013 11:34 AM

Cozy: Obama Spinner Buys Swanky Penthouse Condo From WashPost Editor

Apparently, it’s lucrative work to be “entrusted to safeguard the president’s image and legacy.” The Washington Post “Reliable Source” gossips Monday reported that White House spinner Dan Pfeiffer has bought an almost-million-dollar penthouse condo. Of course, in another cozy exchange between liberal elites, Pfieffer is buying the swanky condo from a senior correspondent and associate editor…
Tim Graham
June 17th, 2013 10:41 AM

Open Thread Monday

NB Staff
June 17th, 2013 10:40 AM

Profile In Bias: New CNN Host Chris Cuomo Called America Racist, Idoli

Chris Cuomo is the co-host of CNN's new morning show New Day, which made its debut Monday morning. Before he came to CNN in February, Cuomo was formerly the co-host of ABC's 20/20. He brings a liberal legacy with him to CNN. Cuomo hails from a Democratic family. His brother Andrew is the Democratic governor of New York, and his father Mario Cuomo was formerly the state's three-term…
Matt Hadro
June 17th, 2013 9:38 AM

Melissa Etheridge: Angelina Jolie Was a Cancer Coward

From 'Access Hollywood' to the cover of Time magazine, movie star Angelina Jolie was flooded with praise for deciding to undergo a double mastectomy due to her chances of developing breast cancer. But some people think Jolie was a cancer coward. At the very end of an interview with the gay newspaper The Washington Blade, lesbian rocker Melissa Etheridge implied that Jolie made the "most…
Tim Graham
June 17th, 2013 9:12 AM

CNN Originally Calls IRS Targeting 'The Forgotten Scandal,' Wipes 'For

Either CNN's Tom Cohen, his headline and subheadline writers, or both thought it was a bit over the top to describe the IRS's targeting of Tea Party, conservative, and religious groups as a "forgotten scandal" in a Friday story. Evidence that the subheadline originally read "Republicans try to keep the public focused on the forgotten scandal of IRS targeting of conservative groups" is here and…
Tom Blumer
June 16th, 2013 7:42 PM