President Obama rejected the Keystone pipeline; in lieu of flowers, the family of America's jobs asks that you make a donation to China. Ben Carson misremembered being offered a slot at West Point -- to be fair, Lincoln Chafee's dad had just died. And the jobless rate dropped to five percent, though Republicans were quick to point out, in a flurry of sharply-worded press releases, "Benghazi." This is HUFFPOST HILL for Friday, November 6th, 2015:
FLORIDA MAN ACCEPTS PLEA DEAL - And for some reason they won't let him have his gyro back. Bridget Bowman reports: "Douglas Hughes said Friday he plans to plead guilty to one felony charge related to his gyrocopter flight to the Capitol in April -- but he is not ashamed. The Florida man flew from Pennsylvania to the Capitol on April 15, to deliver letters to Congress pushing for a campaign finance overhaul. He was immediately arrested for breaching restricted airspace and later indicted on two felony and four misdemeanor charges. After several months of negotiations, Hughes is poised to accept a plea deal this month. 'I’m proud of what I did and I’m not going to be ashamed of accepting a felony conviction,' Hughes said in a phone interview with CQ Roll Call. … 'The other aspect of the settlement that really stings is they’re not going to let me have my gyro back,' Hughes added. He did not know what was going to happen to his low-flying vehicle." [Roll Call]
NANCY PELOSI SO RICH - Javier Panzar: "It can be an odd thing having Nancy Pelosi as your next-door neighbor. Especially when the House minority leader and her husband open up their bucolic Northern California estate and vineyard on the banks of the Napa River to the likes of Google’s Eric Schmidt, wealthy environmental activist Tom Steyer and Gov. Jerry Brown. 'When all the black SUVs are circling around the property -- like planes gathering over O'Hare Airport -- that is when you know they are here.' Susanna Kelham, who owns a winery next to the Pelosi property in St. Helena, told the Los Angeles Times." [LAT]
HILLARY EMAILS NOT SO BAD TODAY: GUY - Josh Gerstein: "The U.S. intelligence community has retreated from claims that two emails in Hillary Clinton’s private account contained top secret information, a source familiar with the situation told POLITICO. The determination came from Director of National Intelligence James Clapper’s office and concluded that the two emails did not include highly classified intelligence secrets. Concerns about the emails' classification helped trigger an on-going FBI inquiry into Clinton's private email set-up." [Politico]
UGH MORE HOBBY LOBBY - They so hate your filthy pills. "The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear appeals brought by Christian groups who are demanding full exemption from the requirement to provide insurance covering contraception under President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law." [Reuters]
REALLY GOOD PRESS RELEASE - You gotta read all the way to the end. "With the support of nearly the entire California House delegation, U.S. Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Beautiful San Fernando Valley, Calif.) this week introduced the most important piece of legislation ever etched into the Congressional Record. This law is going to be so good and so smart that it will completely make America great again. America is going to be the best. 'All of the pieces of legislation introduced this year have been losers,' said Cárdenas. 'Anyone can negotiate a multi-year transportation funding program, but in order to do what I’ve done, you have to be able to make deals. That is the reason I was elected, because I know how to make deals and I’ve got the best people, and they also know how to make deals. That’s how we got this done.' Cárdenas used the most spectacular office staff in the Congress to pull together almost every California House member to support this absolutely huge bill. Not only is the bill being supported by the greatest, classiest Congressional delegation ever assembled, but the Van Nuys Neighborhood Council unanimously approved it, because they know it will be a super law. Cárdenas’ bill, H.R. 3938, will rename the Van Nuys post office after Marilyn Monroe, who attended Van Nuys High School in the 1940s. Monroe, born Norma Jeane Mortenson, referred to the time during which she lived in Van Nuys as the happiest in her life.Marilyn Monroe was the best."
OBAMA ACORNS KEYSTONE PIPELINE - Sure, it was already dead for the duration of his administration, but this will make for some lucrative-ass fundraising solicitation emails. Kate Sheppard and Laura Barron-Lopez: "President Barack Obama on Friday rejected TransCanada's application to build the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have transported oil across the United States-Canada border. After seven years of reviewing the project, Obama announced his final decision from the Roosevelt Room in the White House. 'The State Department has decided the Keystone XL pipeline would not serve the national interest of the United States -- I agree with that decision.' His rejection came after meeting earlier Friday with Secretary of State John Kerry, whose department oversaw the review. Taking a jab at the politicization of the pipeline, Obama said it had become 'overinflated' in public discourse. 'Shipping dirtier crude oil into our country would not increase America's energy security,' Obama said." [HuffPost]
Haircut: Steve Kornacki (h/t Elise Foley), Andy Foley (h/t Elise Foley).
ECONOMY GOOD; TIME FOR FED TO MAKE IT STOP BEING SO GOOD - Because of inflation, you see. Lucia Mutikani: "U.S. job growth surged in October after two straight months of tepid gains, with the unemployment rate hitting a 7-1/2-year low in a show of domestic strength that makes it almost likely the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates in December. Nonfarm payrolls increased 271,000 last month, the largest rise since December 2014, the Labor Department said on Friday." [Reuters]
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CARSON CAUGHT EMBELLISHING WEST POINT STORY - It doesn't matter, really, as West Point is just a large grain storage facility on the Hudson River. Kyle Cheney: "Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson on Friday conceded that he never applied nor was granted admission to West Point and attempted to recast his previous claims of a full scholarship to the military academy -- despite numerous public and written statements to the contrary over the last few decades. The academy has occupied a central place in Carson’s tale for years. According to a story told in Carson’s book, 'Gifted Hands,' the then-17 year old was introduced in 1969 to Gen. William Westmoreland, who had just ended his command of U.S. forces in Vietnam, and the two dined together. That meeting, according to Carson’s telling, was followed by a 'full scholarship' to the military academy." [Politico]
Don't miss the latest HuffPost Politics podcast, in which reporter Dave Jamieson confesses to actual crimes.
BEN CARSON, PATRON CANDIDATE OF ANIMALS - Delaney and Ashley Alman: "Carson has only grown in popularity since the Republican candidates took the stage for their first national debate in August, as he’s become increasingly known for his soft-spoken tone and affinity for Nazi comparisons. And just like a certain someone, Carson is a vegetarian -- in fact, he is the only openly vegetarian candidate that we're aware of to pursue the presidency, maintaining a mostly meatless, but not strict, vegetarian diet. He's probably closer to winning the White House than a non-meat-eater has ever been. Michele Crockett, editor-in-chief of Vegetarian Times, is thrilled that such a prominent political person follows a plant-based diet. 'Anyone who's in politics, or in a job that requires a lot of travel and a lot of navigating different food situations, to be able to stick to an eating plan is commendable regardless of your politics,' Crockett said. 'So cheers to him.'" [HuffPost]
66 is the worst freeway.
GUY RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR AGAINST DAVID VITTER HAS A PRETTY MEAN AD - His name is John Bel Edwards and he would like to remind you that David Vitter slept with prostitutes who weren't veterans.
LOL, peak Chuck: "Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) says Sen. Marco Rubio's "fingerprints are all over" a 2013 immigration bill with a path to citizenship, highlighting the Florida Republican's ties to a reform effort he has downplayed during his presidential campaign. 'He was not only totally committed, he was in that room with us,' Schumer told CNN when asked how committed Rubio was to the 'Gang of Eight' immigration effort. 'His fingerprints are all over that bill. It has a lot of Rubio imprints.'" [The Hill]
TEACUP BUGGING SAUCER - "With House Republican leaders saying they want to expand opportunities for members to debate legislation on the floor, some on the GOP rank and file are asking Senate GOP leaders to do the same. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., become the latest to formally request the other chamber change its procedures. He is planning to introduce a resolution calling on the Senate to limit use of the filibuster on the motion to proceed. Under Senate rules, the body must approve the motion to proceed before it can begin debate on legislation or consider amendments, and the minority party in recent years has required procedural votes requiring 60 votes to proceed on such motions." [Roll Call]
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here are some tiny hedgehogs.
RAND PAUL'S BOOK SELLING TERRIBLE - People aren't clamoring for fake Founding Fathers quotes, Andrew Kaczynski and Megan Apper report: "Paul’s book, Our Presidents & Their Prayers, a 36,000-word account about the faith of U.S. presidents, had only sold 80 copies in the first six days, according to the BookScan numbers. Today the number of sales for Paul’s book stands at 440 through Sunday, according to sources with access to the numbers." [BuzzFeed]
COMFORT FOOD
- X-ray of a hamster stuffing its cheeks.
- Fish isn't taking it, anymore.Fish fights back.
- Egg yolk separator is why God made our brains.
TWITTERAMA
@delrayser: At this rate, soon Ben Carson is going to admit he's actually a trained sturgeon and we all misheard him the first time
@JeffYoung: Crazy to think Ben Carson, Jonah Lehrer, Brian Williams were almost in the same class at West Point!
@emmaroller: This West Point story is sure to devastate tens of Carson’s supporters.
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