Times Square Gossip

Barack Obama Stops By To Support Sen. Tim Kaine USA TODAY -- Democratic campaign workers in Virginia received a big surprise: a visit from former President Barack Obama, doughnuts in hand. Obama dropped by Monday to encourage volunteers in Fairfax County, as Sen. Tim Kaine and congressional candidate Jennifer Wexton seek victory in Tuesday's election. He told staffers it wasn't just candidates and issues such as health care on the ballot, but "the character of this country is on the ballot." Obama said election victories on Tuesday don't mean issues like climate change or poverty are immediately fixed. "What it does mean is things start getting better," said Obama. "Better is good. Better is important. Better is a start. That's what you're doing. You're going out there, you're going to make sure that people vote to start making things better." Read the full story HERE . 

My Next Guest Needs No Introduction David Letterman is out of retirement and returning to television with a six-episode, 60-minute Netflix series -- My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman. The first episode will premiere on Friday, January 12, 2018 with each subsequent episode streaming monthly from February to June. Dave’s lineup of influential guests includes George Clooney, Malala Yousafzai, Jay-Z, Tina Fey, Howard Stern and President Barack Obama. The interviews take place both inside and outside a studio setting, with Letterman traveling to "locations far and wide," according to a Netflix press release. The episodes will take an in-depth look at Letterman's guests. When Letterman announced the new show, he said in a statement, "I feel excited and lucky to be working on this project for Netflix. Here's what I have learned, if you retire to spend more time with your family, check with your family first. Thanks for watc...

**** @POTUS **** President Barack Obama NEW YORK -   Guinness World Records, the global authority on record-breaking achievement, can confirm that President Obama, yesterday shattered the record for Fastest time to reach one million followers on Twitter, after his new verified account @POTUS reached the figure in less than 5 hours. Obama's latest social media achievement beats a record previously held by Ironman star Robert Downey Jr., a feat the movie star achieved in 23 hours and 22 minutes in April 2014. Downey Jr.'s Twitter debut was recognised in the 2015 edition of the Guinness World Records book. The US President already has the account @BarackObama, which has amassed nearly 60 million followers. However, the new @POTUS account is associated with the presidential office - or as Obama puts it: "The handle comes with the house." "The @POTUS Twitter account will serve as a new way for President Obama to engage direc...

**** OFF THE GRID **** Jesse Ventura On Cuba Jesse Ventura agrees with President Obama: it is time to end an outdated approach. On his online-only show, " Off The Grid ," the former Minnesota governor explains -- "The embargo was put in place [in 1962].They felt hopefully the citizens of Cuba would rise up and overthrow Fidel and his dictatorship," said Ventura. "Well, clearly it hasn't happened. It's been 50 years. All we are doing is hurting the Cuban people through this whole ordeal. Do you think Fidel has missed one sandwich? I don't think so." Jesse Ventura explained that 52 percent of the American people support ending the embargo. In Florida, where there is the highest percentage of Cuban-Americans, 64 percent of adults said it's time for the embargo to be lifted. Even Governor Rick Scott feels that normalizing economic ties with Cuba will bring greater financial gains to Florida. If...

President Of The United States Barack Obama Former U.S. President Bill Clinton Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama spoke at the 'Cities as labs of Innovation' Plenary Session during the third day of the Clinton Global Initiative's 10th Annual Meeting at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers today in New York City. Photo By: Diego Corredor / MediaPunch 

Barack Obama Despite Republican House Speaker John Boehner’s threat this week to sue President Obama over his use of executive orders, the president refused to apologize for his actions during an exclusive interview with ABC News and took the Republican Party to task for what he described as its attempt to interfere with the basic functions of government. “You notice that he didn't specifically say what exactly he was objecting to,” the president said when asked about the suit by ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos during an interview Thursday in Minnesota. “I'm not going to apologize for trying to do something while they're doing nothing,” the president added later. Boehner said Wednesday during the announcement of the lawsuit that the president had “not faithfully executed the laws,” but Obama sharply disagreed during his interview with ABC News. “The suit is a stunt,” he said. As for immigration overhaul, the pr...

**** Why Refusing to Raise the Debt Ceiling Will Not Result in Default on American Debt By: Brian Woodward ****   Barack Obama The media, members of Congress, and the President of the United States have gleefully disseminated misinformation about what would happen if we do not raise the debt ceiling by October 17th. The biggest blow these lies encountered was when Moody’s, one of the nation's top credit rating agencies, released a memo on October 7th stating: “We believe the government would continue to pay interest and principal on its debt even in the event that the debt limit is not raised, leaving its creditworthiness intact...The debt limit restricts government expenditures to the amount of its incoming revenues; it does not prohibit the government from servicing its debt. There is no direct connection between the debt limit (actually the exhaustion of the Treasury’s extraordinary measures to raise funds) and a default...The budget defic...

Bill Clinton With Barack Obama Hillary Rodham Clinton Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke along with President Barack Obama, at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) meeting in New York City yesterday. Credit: Corredor99/ MediaPunch Inc.

**** THE WOODWARD REPORT Editorial By Brian Woodward “We can know only that we know nothing. And that is the highest degree of human wisdom.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace **** Barack Obama Times like this are when no one can possibly imagine the pressure that the President (as well as other top military and cabinet members) are under. No matter what President Obama chooses to do, some will assert that blood is on his hands. Geopolitics is a dirty, dangerous, and violent arena at times. Syrians are human beings just like us and 100,000 of them have already died in this civil war. Chemical weapons have been used, although there seems to be uncertainty as to who used them and who is in control of all of these weapons. The United Nations Security Council of course came to no consensus with China and Russia urging restraint. However, the United States seems to have made up it’s mind that sufficient evidence exists. All of the media reports indicat...

**** THE WOODWARD REPORT By: Brian Woodward **** Al Sharpton “There is another class of coloured people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs — partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.” ― Booker T. Washington Trayvon Martin should not be dead, but the reason that he is, does not have to do with the color of his skin. Other than pure speculation, there is no evidence to suggest that this incident had anything to do with race. However, as the prior quote asserts, men like Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and Louis Farrakhan love to swoop in and soak up the media attention. It does not matter to them whether they...

**** CORPORATIONS AGAINST AMERICANS **** Barack Obama Following is a statement by the Communications Workers of America on Cablevision’s attempt to stop the National Labor Relations Board hearing scheduled for July 8. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to grant Cablevision Systems Corp.’s request for a stay of the National Labor Relations Board hearing set to begin July 8 in Manhattan. Cablevision’s actions are clear evidence of why workers need a fully functional NLRB. It’s the only agency that can enforce federal labor law for 80 million workers. “The Senate minority and their U.S. Chamber of Commerce supporters don’t want a functional NLRB. That’s why it’s up to the Senate majority, to change the rules if necessary, so that these and other nominations can have an up or down vote,” said CWA President Larry Cohen.

Global Zero President Obama will meet with President Putin on the side of the June 17-18 G-8 Summit in Northern Ireland, with nuclear weapons on the agenda. In the lead-up to this critical decision point, an eminent group of artists – including Alec Baldwin, John Cusack, Matt Damon, Robert De Niro, Danny DeVito, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Whoopi Goldberg, Zoe Kravitz, Martin Sheen, Christoph Waltz and Naomi Watts – issued a stirring call for a world without nuclear weapons in a powerful new video released by Global Zero. The video is part of an international campaign urging President Obama to set the world’s course to zero nuclear weapons by negotiating further cuts in the massive U.S.-Russian Cold War stockpiles and bringing other leading nuclear powers into international nuclear arms negotiations for the first time in history. As part of these efforts, Global Zero delivered to the White House a letter to President Obama from approximately 75 former...

**** IN THE PIPELINE **** President Barack Obama This evening, hundreds of New Yorkers will march to a rally outside President Obama's fundraiser at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on 49th and Park to protest the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. Activists from CREDO, 350.org, the Sierra Club and others are demanding that the president reject the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and other oil pipelines that will accelerate the climate crisis. CREDO recently launched a campaign calling on activists to pledge to risk arrest if President Obama moves forward with a plan to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. Nearly 60,000 people who have signed the pledge to risk arrest in peaceful dignified civil disobedience in their local communities, in front of OFA meetings, State Department offices, TransCanada's corporate lobbies, banks that are financing tar sands oil development, areas ravaged by Hurricane Sandy and along the pipeline route. Read more ab...

President Barack Obama Over 100 high profile artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers, comedians, directors, producers, and performers are calling on President Obama and Congress to acknowledge the hope and dignity of the American immigrant story by passing just, fair, and inclusive immigration reform. Members of the creative community who are speaking out for humane reform include Russell Banks, W. Kamau Bell, Ross Bleckner, Margaret Cho, Teju Cole, Chuck D, Rosario Dawson, Zack De La Rocha, Junot Díaz, Abigail E. Disney, Dave Eggers, Shepard Fairey, Eric Fischl, John Leguizamo, Yo-Yo Ma, Mira Nair, Robert Redford, R.E.M., The Roots, Sarah Silverman, Jose Antonio Vargas, Colson Whitehead, and many others. Published on MigrationIsBeautiful.com , the Artists’ Statement on Immigration Reform says, “Creating a just and humane immigration process is a moral and cultural imperative that secures the future of a vibrant nation. Immigration reform should reflect our s...

President Barack Obama President Barack Obama delivered remarks on immigration policy at Del Sol High School in Las Vegas, Nevada yesterday. Photo By: RD/Kabik/Retna

**** FIRST LADY FASHION **** First Lady Michelle Obama With President Barack Obama First Lady Michelle Obama sparkled in Forevermark Diamonds at the 57th Inaugural Ball last night in Washington, DC.  ABOUT FOREVERMARK Every Forevermark diamond is inscribed with a promise; a promise that it is beautiful, rare and responsible sourced. Less than one per cent of the world’s diamonds are eligible to become a Forevermark diamond and be inscribed with the Forevermark icon and individual number. Forevermark is a diamond brand from the De Beers group of companies and as such, benefits from over 120 years of diamond expertise. Forevermark diamonds are carefully selected and come from sources committed to high standards; are beautifully crafted by a select group of diamantaires; and are exclusively available in select jewellers. FOREVERMARK INSCRIPTION & GRADING Less than one per cent of the world’s diamonds are eligible to become a Foreverma...

**** FAMED ABC NEWSWOMAN RECOVERING **** Barbara Walters Barbara Walters is recovering after an inauguration weekend fall, and said she expects to be released from the hospital soon. "Barbara went to Washington to cover the inauguration. She missed a step and had a fall, which cut her upper temple. The doctors stitched her up and she is doing fine, but they want her to take it easy," Whoopi Goldberg said on "The View" today. In a statement, Walters, 83, said she wanted to "thank all the people who have called, written and been concerned about me". "I am running a low grade fever and the doctors are keeping me in the hospital until my temperature is normal. I'm pleased to say that it is going in the right direction and I will be home soon," the veteran ABC News journalist said.

**** THE 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES **** Barack And Michelle Obama Barack Obama once again took the oath of office at the official swearing-in ceremony in the Blue Room of the White House in Washington D C today . Administering the oath was Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts.    White House Pool Photo

  ****  THIS WEEK   Interview By: George Stephanopoulos / ABC News **** Eva Longoria Award-winning actress and emerging Washington power player Eva Longoria told ABC News on “This Week” that immigration reform should be a top priority in President Obama’s second term. “People say, ‘Oh, get in the back of the line,’ [but] people don’t realize there’s a hundred lines to get into,” said Longoria of the immigration process. ”It’s a very broken system.” Just this week, the Wall Street Journal labeled the former “Desperate Housewives” star a “Hispanic activist and power player in Washington, D.C.” She’s been a top supporter of President Obama, serving as a co-chair of his reelection campaign and taking center stage last September for a speech at the Democratic National Convention.

**** REPUBLICANS TO HOLD COUNTRY HOSTAGE AGAIN * *** Barack Obama Statement of MoveOn.org Executive Director Justin Ruben: "MoveOn cannot support the deal that was announced last night. “We just finished an election in which the American people made clear that they want the wealthiest 2% to finally pay their fair share of taxes, but this agreement fails to meet that test. Voters gave President Obama a mandate to end the Bush tax cuts for those making more than $250,000. He has not delivered. “We are also deeply concerned about the short-term nature of the sequester extension, which means that in just two months, the country will yet again face a situation in which the GOP tries to hold our economy hostage as it seeks policies that benefit the rich. “It is important to note that there are no Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid cuts in this agreement – and that’s a good thing. MoveOn members and allies have fought hard to preven...