Sarah Palin Just Endorsed a Presidential Candidate; Here’s Her Statement

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Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 vice-presidential nominee who became a Tea Party sensation and a favorite of grass-roots conservatives, will endorse Donald J. Trump in Iowa on Tuesday, officials with his campaign confirmed. The endorsement provides Mr. Trump with a potentially significant boost just 13 days before the state’s caucuses.

“I’m proud to endorse Donald J. Trump for president,” Ms. Palin said in a statement provided by his campaign.

Her support is the highest-profile backing for a Republican contender so far.

“I am greatly honored to receive Sarah’s endorsement,” Mr. Trump said in a statement trumpeting Mrs. Palin’s decision. “She is a friend, and a high-quality person whom I have great respect for. I am proud to have her support” . . .

”Over the years Palin has actually cultivated a number of relationships in Iowa,” said Craig Robinson, the former executive director of the Republican Party of Iowa and publisher of the website The Iowa Republican. ”There are the Tea Party activists who still think she’s great and a breath of fresh air, but she also did a good job of courting Republican donors in the state,” he added. (Read more from “Breaking: Sarah Palin Just Endorsed a Presidential Candidate – This Is Very Surprising” HERE)

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New York Values? Farmers Can’t Refuse Homosexual Wedding in Backyard – Unless They Want to Be Fined

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Farmers who host weddings in their backyard cannot refuse ceremonies where two people of the same sex are trying to get married, a New York court has ruled.

The court’s decision affirmed the state’s Division of Human Rights (DHR) ruling against Robert and Cynthia Gifford, owners of Liberty Ridge Farms, after they declined to host a “wedding” for a same-sex couple. The Giffords said they would host the reception for a lesbian couple, but the ceremony itself would have to be hosted elsewhere because of their religious beliefs about marriage.

DHR found that the couple violated New York’s “places of public accommodation” anti-discrimination law. If the court’s decision stands, the Giffords must pay $10,000 in state fines and an additional $3,000 in damages to the lesbian couple, Jennie McCarthy and Melissa Erwin, for “mental pain and suffering.”

Additionally, the Giffords – who say they have hosted a birthday party for a lesbian couple’s adopted child, and employed people with same-sex attractions – will have to provide sensitivity training to their staff and prominently display a poster highlighting state anti-discrimination laws.

The suit goes back to a 2012 phone call that Cynthia answered. Erwin and McCarthy wanted to have their wedding on site, something Cynthia said couldn’t happen. (Read more from “New York Values? Farmers Can’t Refuse Homosexual Wedding in Backyard – Unless They Want to Be Fined” HERE)

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US Recession Probability at Highest Levels Since Fall 2011

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The chances of a recession in the United States are at their highest levels since the fall of 2011, according to the CNBC Fed Survey.

The survey also showed recession fears rising for the sixth straight time among respondents, and are now sitting at 28.8 percent.

One fairly reliable recession indicator, the spread between the 2-year and 10-year bonds has weakened just about to its lowest level since the last recession. But it tends to signal recession at zero… So at 118 basis points, it’s softer, but not soft enough to signal recession . . .

Manufacturing looks to be contracting. Corporate profits are said to be in recession. And exports are weak. But the consumer is strong as is job growth and the service sector. (Read more from “US Recession Probability at Highest Levels Since Fall 2011” HERE)

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Martin Luther King Day Protest Blocks Traffic on the Bay Bridge

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Protesters marching on Martin Luther King Jr. Day blocked traffic on the Bay Bridge after earlier interrupting traffic on an Interstate Highway 80 off-ramp in Emeryville, according to the California Highway Patrol . . .

All westbound lanes of the bridge reopened about 90 minutes after protesters shut down all lanes just east of Treasure Island Monday afternoon. Traffic was backed up for miles.

About 10 of the protesters chained cars together in a row to stop traffic on the bridge, police said. The demonstrators jumped out of vehicles and started marching and chanting. Others sat down in the lanes. The protesters, about two dozen of them, were eventually taken away by CHP officers to be arrested.

All 25 protesters arrested were booked into the San Francisco County Jail on misdemeanor charges of false imprisonment, public nuisance, unlawful assembly and obstructing free passage, according to the CHP.

Members of protest groups Black Seed and the Black Queer Liberation Collective took responsibility for the protest in a statement, citing recent police shootings. “We are here to move towards an increase in the health and wellbeing of all Black people in Oakland & San Francisco,” the groups wrote in a statement. (Read more from “Martin Luther King Day Protest Blocks Traffic on the Bay Bridge” HERE)

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Trump Just Hinted at His Potential Vice President Pick – Some Conservatives Will Be LIVID

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By Jack Davis. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stirred the waters Saturday by suggesting that former Sen. Scott Brown would make a “very good” vice president.

Brown was the GOP’s choice to fill the U.S. Senate seat for Massachusetts that opened with the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy in 2009. He won a special election in 2010 but then lost to Elizabeth Warren in 2012. Brown moved to New Hampshire where in 2014 he challenged Democrat Sen. Jeanne Shaheen but lost in a close election.

Talk of the vice presidential spot began when, during a Portsmouth, New Hampshire., rally Brown was hosting, Trump asked Brown whether he would run again for office.

A member of the audience proposed a Trump-Brown ticket for the GOP in 2016.

“Vice president – hey, that sounds like it could, hey, hey, very good,” Trump responded.

“Hey, you know what? And he’s central casting. Look at that guy. Central casting,” he added. “He’s great. Great guy and a great, beautiful, great wife and family. So important.” (Read more from “Trump Just Hinted at His Potential Vice President Pick – Some Conservatives Will Be LIVID” HERE)

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Donald Trump Ramps up Attacks on Ted Cruz, Says ‘He’s a Nasty Guy’

By Jonh Santucci. With two weeks left before voters in Iowa cast the very first votes in the 2016 presidential election, Republican front-runner Donald Trump is turning up the heat on his fiercest rival in the Hawkeye State -– Sen. Ted Cruz.

“I don’t think Ted Cruz has a great chance, to be honest with you,” Trump told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos in an interview on “This Week” Sunday. “Look, the truth is, he’s a nasty guy. He was so nice to me. I mean, I knew it. I was watching. I kept saying, ‘Come on Ted. Let’s go, okay.’ But he’s a nasty guy. Nobody likes him. Nobody in Congress likes him. Nobody likes him anywhere once they get to know him. He’s a very –- he’s got an edge that’s not good. You can’t make deals with people like that and it’s not a good thing. It’s not a good thing for the country. Very nasty guy.”

On the campaign trail, Trump is now questioning the freshmen Texas senator for a loan, first reported by The New York Times, that Cruz took out from Goldman Sachs during his 2012 Senate run that he failed to disclose in federal campaign finance documents. (Read more from “Donald Trump Ramps up Attacks on Ted Cruz, Says ‘He’s a Nasty Guy'” HERE)

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This Is Google’s Top Search (Hint: It’s About Hillary Clinton)

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By Hadas Gold. Two of the top searched questions on Google for Hillary Clinton are likely not about the themes her campaign hopes to highlight.

“Will Hillary Clinton get prosecuted?” is most searched question on Google ahead of the Democratic debate on Sunday night. “Will Hillary Clinton win the nomination?” is second and “What did Hillary Clinton do that is illegal?” is the third.

For Sanders, the top question is much more positive. “Why is Bernie Sanders so popular?” followed by “Can Bernie Sanders win?” and “How old is Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders?” (Read more from “This Is Google’s Top Search (Hint: It’s About Hillary Clinton)” HERE)

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Hillary: FBI Has Not Interviewed Me Yet

By Daniel Halper. Hillary Clinton claimed on CNN this morning that she has not yet been interviewed by the FBI in regards to its investigation into her email server. Clinton made the claim in response to a question from CNN State of the Union host Jake Tapper.

Watch here:

(Read more from “Hillary: FBI Has Not Interviewed Me Yet” HERE)

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Many ‘Lost’ Voters Say They Have Found Their Candidate in Trump

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Ted Wade hasn’t cared about politics enough to cast a vote in a U.S. presidential election for almost a quarter of a century, back when he supported Ross Perot’s independent candidacy in 1992.

But Republican Donald Trump’s 2016 White House bid has motivated Wade to get involved and he plans to support the real estate mogul in Nevada’s nominating caucus next month. Trump is a “non-politician” who can fix the “chaos” in Washington, he says.

About one in 10 Americans who plan to cast a vote this election will do so for the first time in years, if ever, and Trump holds a decided edge with them, according to polling by Reuters/Ipsos.

These voters offer Trump a pool of voters who could be decisive either in the Republican primaries or a general election. They could be crucial for Trump in early-voting states such as Iowa and South Carolina, where his nearest rival, Senator Ted Cruz, is putting pressure on Trump and enjoys a strong base of support with more traditionally conservative voters.

In Reuters/Ipsos polling from June to December 2015, 27.3 percent of these “new” voters said they would vote for Trump, higher than his poll numbers among independents and Republicans who regularly vote. (Read more from “Many ‘Lost’ Voters Say They Have Found Their Candidate in Trump” HERE)

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Rand Paul Supporters Just Sent Him a Major Warning: ‘Don’t Skip…’

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With the next Republican presidential primary debate around the corner, Rand Paul’s supporters are nervous he will hurt his chances by boycotting that event, as he did the last one, if he again doesn’t qualify for the main stage.

“Skipping the undercard debate, he got a lot of free press doing that, but I think it only works once,” State Rep. Keith Ammon, R-New Boston, told the Washington Examiner shortly before Paul took the stage at a town hall in Ammon’s district.

Ammon and his colleague, Rep. Eric Eastman, R-Nashua, both endorsed Paul early and expressed confident in his ground operation in New Hampshire. But the two state legislators suggested that skipping the next GOP debate, the final one before voting kicks off with the Iowa caucuses, could backfire for the already low-polling candidate.

Paul wouldn’t be rewarded with “the same attention” if he pulls the move a second time around, Ammon said.

Indeed, it would be difficult for the senator to draw a similar amount of publicity for the same stunt. After Paul announced his decision to skip the undercard debate, he was invited to appear on “The Dr. Oz Show,” “The Daily Show” and other cable news and talk radio programs. (Read more from “Rand Paul Supporters Just Sent Him a Major Warning: ‘Don’t Skip…'” HERE)

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US to Pay Iran $1.7 Billion in Debt and Interest: Kerry

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The United States is to repay Iran a $400 million debt and $1.3 billion in interest dating to the Islamic revolution, Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday.

The repayment, which settles a suit brought under an international legal tribunal, is separate from the tens of billions of dollars in frozen foreign accounts that Iran can now access after the end of nuclear sanctions.

But the timing of the announcement, one day after the implementation of the Iran nuclear accord, will be seen as pointing to a broader clearing of the decks between the old foes.

US President Barack Obama defended the settlement in a televised statement from the White House, saying it was for “much less than the amount Iran sought.”

“For the United States, the settlement could save us billions of dollars that could have been pursued by Iran. There was no benefit to the United States in dragging this out,” he said. (Read more from “US to Pay Iran $1.7 Billion in Debt and Interest: Kerry” HERE)

Listen to this analysis of Iran’s despicable actions toward our sailors last week; the discussion on Iran starts at 6:10:

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’13 Hours’ Book Author Defends Pivotal ‘Stand Down’ Scene

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“Stand down,” says the actor playing the CIA station chief in Michael Bay’s new film, “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.” He’s speaking to the security team that wants to go help Americans under siege less than a mile away in a U.S. diplomatic compound under fierce attack. His order keeps the team from leaving for a crucial 20 minutes, before they decide to ignore him and go anyway.

It’s the pivotal — and most controversial — scene in the new film, a movie that Bay insists steers clear of politics, but which is bound to spark much political discussion nonetheless. On Friday — the movie’s opening day — the Washington Post quoted the now-retired CIA station chief, identified only as Bob, as strongly denying he ever issued such an order or anything like it.

“There never was a stand-down order,” the base chief was quoted by the Post as saying. “At no time did I ever second-guess that the team would depart.” (Read more from “’13 Hours’ Book Author Defends Pivotal ‘Stand Down’ Scene” HERE)

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