American Morning
Limbaugh wants to own Rams
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/10/13/limbaugh.rush.gi.art.jpg caption="Limbaugh wants to own the St. Louis Rams."]
Rush Limbaugh has never been shy with his opinions about the National Football League... or anything else really.
Now he wants to put his money where his mouth is. The conservative radio host announced last week he's part of a bid to buy the NFL's St. Louis Rams.
Some critics are lining up to block the bid, saying his comments in the past should be held against him now.
So what do you think? Should Rush Limbaugh be allowed to own an NFL team? Sound off on our show hot line 1-877-MY-AMFIX.
Report: Sailors hogtied, fed dog treats
Just the thought of it is shocking: U.S. military personnel tying up and ridiculing a young man, hosing him down, forcing him to simulate a sex act with another man, and then throwing him into a feces-filled dog's cage at the canine unit – all while being videotaped.
The alleged victims are American servicemen – and it describes the hazing and abuse allegedly inflicted on sailors at the military canine unit in Bahrain in 2005 and 2006. One of them, former dog handler Joseph Rocha, says the abuse occurred daily during his two-year deployment.
“I could not wrap my head around the degradation and the barbarity of it,” says Rocha, who was 18 when he joined the Navy’s Military Working Dog Division in Bahrain in 2005. Because he is gay, he followed the military's rules and kept his homosexuality under wraps. But although, he says, no one in his unit knew he was gay, he still suffered.
Rocha says others, including his chief, suspected he was gay when he showed no interest in sexual escapades with women. He became a prime target, he says. “It was everyday for 28 months, for 16 hours a day. Nothing I did was good enough; all of my achievements were overshadowed by ridicule of my sexuality.”
He describes being ordered by his chief “to get on my knees pretend to have oral sex with another service member. … I was instructed ... to act more queen, more queer, more homosexual, more believable.” Rocha and several others from the Bahrain unit who spoke to CNN say the hazing was widespread – gays, straights, and women in his unit were targets, too.
Democrat stands by 'die quickly' remark
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Freshman U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson refused to back down Wednesday from remarks made on the House floor the night before, in which he said the Republican health care plan calls for sick people to "die quickly."
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/POLITICS/09/30/house.floor.controversy/art.grayson.housetv.jpg caption="Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Florida, made the "die quickly" remark on the House floor Tuesday night."]
In fact, Grayson, a Democrat who represents a central Florida swing district that includes Orlando, made another floor speech in which he apologized to the dead and their families for not acting sooner on health care reform. He then defended both speeches on CNN's "The Situation Room."
"What I mean is they have got no plan," Grayson told Wolf Blitzer. "It's been 24 hours since I said that. Where is the Republican plan? We're all waiting to see something that will take care of the pre-existing conditions, to take care of the 40 million Americans who have no coverage at all.
"That's what I meant when I said that the Republican plan is don't get sick. And if you do get sick, die quickly."
Republicans pounced on Grayson's late-night speech and demanded an apology.
Secret Service probes Facebook poll on Obama
(CNN) - The social networking site Facebook on Monday pulled a third-party application that allows users to create polls after a site member built a poll asking if President Obama should be killed.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/POLITICS/09/28/facebook.poll/art.facebook.cnn.jpg caption="There are more than 350,000 applications on Facebook. The company says it disables any that violate its terms."]
The U.S. Secret Service, the agency assigned to protect the president, has launched an investigation, agency spokesman James Mackin said.
"As is usually the case, our vigilant users reported it to us first," Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt told CNN. "The USSS [Secret Service] sent us an e-mail late this morning PDT asking us to take it down. At that point, it had already been removed, and we let them know."
Schnitt said the application "was immediately suspended while the inappropriate content could be removed by the developer and until such time as the developer institutes better procedures to monitor their user-generated content."
Suburb wants Gadhafi's tent taken down
NEW YORK (CNN) - The town of Bedford, New York, is not happy with a tent set up as part of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's visit to the United States for the United Nations General Assembly, a town attorney said Tuesday.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/US/09/23/new.york.gadhafi.tent/art.tent.wabc.jpg caption="The tent is on property that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is renting in New York, WABC reported. "]
"I discussed this matter with town officials, and the town building inspector believes that this would constitute a violation of several town zoning and land use laws," Bedford town attorney Joel Sachs said. "I directed the town building inspector to immediately go to the property and issue a stop work order, which would the individuals to cease erecting the tent."
Sachs said if he had to he would take the issue to a higher court to get the tent taken down.
New York state Sen. Vincent Liebell confirmed to CNN affiliate WABC that Gadhafi had rented the property.
"He's not going to have many fans in Bedford or Westchester County, certainly not me," the senator said. "There's not going to be any welcome mat for him in Bedford."
The property is owned by the Trump Organization, which said in a statement: "We have business partners and associates all over the world. The property was leased on a short-term basis to Middle Eastern partners, who may or may not have a relationship to Mr. Gadhafi. We are looking into the matter."
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