Fox News Just Announced a GOP Debate Rule Tweak That Could Be a Total Game Changer

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The next prime-time Republican presidential debate could include only six candidates, based upon the rules the Fox Business Network has established for the Jan. 14 event.

Based upon the rules Fox Business released Tuesday, assuming no major changes in the current polls, the main debate would be limited to Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Ben Carson; Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; N.J. Gov. Chris Christie and former Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and Carly Fiorina would move from the main stage to the “undercard.”

To qualify for the prime-time debate, Fox Business said candidates must do one of three things:

Place in the top six nationally, based on an average of the five most recent national polls recognized by Fox News.

Place in the top five in Iowa, based on an average of the five most recent polls recognized by Fox News.

Place in the top five in New Hampshire based on an average of the five most recent polls recognized by Fox News . . .

“It’s long past time that those who’ve failed to do something with these opportunities did the honorable thing and, if not quit the race entirely, at least exit the debate stage so that the actual contenders aren’t left begging for time amid Kasich’s karate-chop laden explainers or Paul’s dogged attempts to reshape the GOP base in his image,” wrote Jason Linkins. (Read more from “Fox News Just Announced a GOP Debate Rule Tweak That Could Be a Total Game Changer” HERE)

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#NotMiAbuela: Clinton Compares Herself to Latina Grandmas, Twitter Responds with Outrage

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A GIF-filled campaign post aimed at winning over Latino voters has backfired and instead is drawing the ire of many social media users for purportedly playing up ethnic stereotypes.

The campaign’s “7 ways Hillary Clinton is just like your abuela” (the Spanish word for grandmother), which came on the same day Clinton’s daughter Chelsea announced she is pregnant with what will be Clinton’s second grandchild, was quickly derided by many online users as using vague stereotypes, basic Spanish vocabulary and even a photo of the candidate with singer Marc Anthony to show she is in touch with a younger generation.

“It’s no secret that Hillary is loving her role as grandma,” the campaign post says. “And she was thrilled to learn that next summer, her granddaughter Charlotte will have a sibling to play with.”

The post then goes on to make numerous uses of the word respeto (Spanish for respect) paired with numerous GIFs, including one where she goes after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump by saying she had one word for him: “Basta! Enough!” The post ends with “Everybody loves abuela—even this guy,” which shows a picture of Clinton alongside Anthony.

The post was quickly met with derision. Twitter users expressed their outrage using the hashtag #NotMiAbuela or #NotMyAbuela. (Read more from “#NotMiAbuela: Clinton Compares Herself to Latina Grandmas, Twitter Responds with Outrage” HERE)

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Obama Just Made This Disgraceful Comment About Our Military – It Will Outrage You

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President Barack Obama, who is vacationing in Hawaii, released a pre-Christmas statement yesterday, celebrating the fifth anniversary of his having signed legislation that allows openly homosexual, lesbian and bisexual individuals to serve in the U.S. military.

“Today, Americans can serve the country they love no matter who they love, and openly gay, lesbian and bisexual men and women in uniform make our military stronger and America safer,” said the president.

Here is President Obama’s full statement:

Five years ago today, I signed a bipartisan bill repealing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’–extending our country’s promise of equality to those who protect it every day. Today, Americans can serve the country they love no matter who they love, and openly gay, lesbian and bisexual men and women in uniform make our military stronger and America safer.

Since the repeal of DADT, I’ve received hundreds of letters from service members who can now serve their country openly. They come from every corner of America and from military bases around the world. And their stories are a powerful reminder of how much has changed over the past five years. Because of all we’ve accomplished together, a grieving widow can now receive her wife’s flag at her funeral. A spouse can now be part of his husband’s promotion ceremony. One person told me he had been torn between his desire to serve his country and his longing to live life openly as a gay man. He no longer is forced to make that choice. And just last summer, he was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy.

(Read more from “Obama Just Made This Disgraceful Comment About Our Military – It Will Outrage You” HERE)

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British, U.S. Embassies Warn of Threats Against Westerners in Beijing

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The British and the American embassies in China say they have received information of possible threats against Westerners visiting a popular shopping district in Beijing around Christmas.

Both embassies sent out warnings to their citizens and staff, urging extra vigilance if they are in the Sanlitun district.

The district is home to a popular open-plan mall that boasts high-end brands like Mango, Reiss, and Lacoste, and some of Beijing’s best Western dining.

In August, a woman was stabbed to death in broad daylight by a sword-wielding man there. The attacker also injured a French man. Beijing police said the man stabbed the two passerby “without cause or reason.” (Read more from “British, U.S. Embassies Warn of Threats Against Westerners in Beijing” HERE)

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Finally: White House Admits a Child Is a Child

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The Executive Office of the President of the United States — aka Barack Obama — released a document in the days leading up to Christmas that proves once again that reality conspires against even the most careful liars.

The White House intended the document in question — dryly titled “Long-Term Benefits of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program” — to build the case for expanding the value and availability of food stamps.

What the document demonstrates is that even the Obama White House knows that an unborn child is a child . . .

When Obama was an Illinois state senator in 2001, as this column noted in 2008, state Sen. Patrick O’Malley introduced a trio of bills designed to protect the right to life of babies surviving abortions. One of these defined a fully born abortion-surviving baby as a “person,” “human being,” “child” and “individual” . . .

The paper says women are “mothers” while still only pregnant. And one of the paper’s key points — printed in bold in the executive summary — is: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s “positive impact on children begins even before birth and lasts well beyond their childhood years.” (Read more from “Finally: White House Admits a Child Is a Child” HERE)

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At Least 6 Killed as Strong Storms, Tornadoes Slam Midwest, Southeast

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At least six people were killed Wednesday and at least two others were reported missing as a storm system forecasters called “particularly dangerous” swept across the heartland.

Officials confirmed that three people, including a 7-year-old boy, were killed in Mississippi, where multiple tornadoes were reported. An 18-year-old Arkansas woman was killed when a tree blew over onto a house and crashed into her bedroom.

In Tennessee, the state’s Department of Health confirmed that a man and a woman were killed in severe storms in Perry County, southwest of Nashville, but had no further details. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency says the county has reported debris across roads and some communications issues.

In Benton County, Miss., where two deaths occurred and at least two people were missing, crews were searching each house and in wooded areas to make sure residents were accounted for. Police there said several homes were blown off their foundations.

A 7-year-old boy died in Holly Springs, Mississippi, when the storm picked up and tossed the car he was riding in, officials said. Marshall County Coroner James Anderson says the boy’s relatives in the car with him were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. (Read more from “At Least 6 Killed as Strong Storms, Tornadoes Slam Midwest, Southeast” HERE)

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Trump Dominates GOP Field Heading into 2016

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Donald Trump seems set to end 2015 as the dominant force in the race for next year’s Republican nomination for president, with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz now a clear — yet distant — second after a strong debate performance, a new CNN/ORC poll released on Wednesday has found.

Trump tops the field with 39%, according to the poll of Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters. That’s more than double the share backing Cruz, who, at 18%, has inched up 2 points since the last CNN/ORC poll, which was taken in late November.

Trump has been a constant atop the polls since his ascent to the lead in July, and this new poll marks the first time Cruz stands significantly apart from the other candidates vying for the nomination. Behind those two, Ben Carson and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio have each slipped a few points and now stand tied at 10% . . .

A Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday found a tighter race between Trump and Cruz, a finding that clashes with most other recent polling on the national race. It is one of only two live interviewer national polls released since Thanksgiving that found Trump with a lead smaller than 10 points. Across the 10 polls released during that time, Trump’s lead over Cruz averages 16 points.

The CNN/ORC poll was conducted after the Republican debate hosted by CNN and Facebook in Las Vegas on December 15. Among those Republicans who say they watched, 33% say Trump did the best job in the debate, 28% Cruz, 13% Rubio. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie follows with 6%. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, widely seen as needing a strong debate performance to boost his standing in the polls, was rated best by just 1% of debate watchers. (Read more from “Trump Dominates GOP Field Heading into 2016” HERE)

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10-Year-Old Boy Robbed at Gunpoint for Only $3

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Tommy Mendez went out with $3 to buy cookies at the corner store — but even in leafy Carroll Gardens, that proved to be perilous.

The 10-year-old was held up at gunpoint on one of Brooklyn’s safest streets by three men who forced him to hand over the three singles — and threatened to kill him if he snitched.

“I got really scared,” Tommy told The Post. “I didn’t want to tell my parents because I thought they would get mad at me for going out without permission. It was a big mistake.”

The crime took place at 4:30 p.m. Dec. 8 near the boy’s home and across the street from PS 149, also called The Brooklyn New School. (Read more from “10-Year-Old Boy Robbed at Gunpoint for Only $3” HERE)

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Rand Paul: I Won’t Do an Undercard Debate

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Rand Paul will not accept being relegated to an undercard debate and is willing to protest, the Republican presidential candidate said Wednesday.

“I won’t participate in any kind of second-tier debate,” Paul declared in a radio interview with Fox News host Brian Kilmeade.

Paul talked up his campaign, touting the size of his operation in Iowa and the millions of dollars he’s raised. “Doesn’t mean I’m gonna win, but I think without question we have a first-tier campaign and we just can’t accept the designation of being artificially told that we don’t have a chance with three weeks to go,” he said, alleging that downgrading a candidate to a secondary debate at this point would “destroy the campaign.” “So we won’t stand for it and we will protest any such designation.”

The Kentucky senator was responding to the news that only six candidates are likely to make Fox Business Network’s main debate stage in South Carolina on Jan. 14. According to the debate criteria and current poll numbers — the main debate will feature the top six candidates based on national polling, and the top five based on an average of Iowa and New Hampshire polls — Paul, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina could be relegated to the happy hour debate . . .

Paul maintained he could make the big stage. He’s just 0.3 points below the criteria, he said, and it would be illogical to exclude someone who’s within the margin of error. “But, frankly, if we beat Chris Christie by 0.3 and he’s excluded, as much as I disagree with him politically I think that’s a mistake,” Paul said. “The same way with Fiorina. There’s no reason why people should be told that they have no chance with three weeks to go.” (Read more from “Rand Paul: I Won’t Do an Undercard Debate” HERE)

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Now the TSA Can Force You to Go Through the Body Scanner

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Your next flight might include a mandatory trip through the body scanner, with the US government quietly changing the opt-out rules for searches. In a document published earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security outlined an update to the Advanced Imagery Technology protocols used by the TSA at US airports, adding a clause which allows officers to insist travelers go through the controversial machines.

Previously, though the body scanners were present at many airports across the country, travelers were free to opt-out of the process. Billed as a privacy consideration, it meant a physical screening was mandatory, but alleviated concerns held by some that the technology could “see them naked” and store photographs of that.

Now, though, that option is being diluted, though not completely retired.

“TSA is updating the AIT PIA to reflect a change to the operating protocol regarding the ability of individuals to opt opt-out of AIT screening in favor of physical screening,” the DHS writes. “While passengers may generally decline AIT screening in favor of physical screening, TSA may direct mandatory AIT screening for some passengers.”

No more detailed explanation for the change is given. However, it seems likely that the scanners’ ability to single out metallic objects hidden around the body – and that might have been missed by a physical search from a TSA agent – is seen as invaluable for whoever security services believe presents a greater-than-normal risk. (Read more from “Now the TSA Can Force You to Go Through the Body Scanner” HERE)

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