Author: Dino Grandoni

Stat of the Day

The Drudge Report Can Thank Obamacare for 45 Million Page Views

Drudge Report

Did you visit The Drudge Report yesterday to get the latest breaking news on the Obamacare decision? We were mainly focused on CNN (big mistake) but if you stopped by Matt Drudge's breaking news site, you were not alone.

By Dino Grandoni

Feb 1, 2012

Argentina Is Not Happy About Prince William's Deployment to the Falklands

The heir to the British throne, Prince William, also happens to be a helicopter pilot in the Royal Air Force -- which means that from time to time he must take part in actual military missions, even when they have a whiff of colonialism.

Comments | 1,056 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Feb 1, 2012

Jon Stewart Shows That Pandering Can Be Tricky

Since every candidate is doing it, pandering may seem pretty easy. But as Jon Stewart discovers, it's pretty easy to slip up.

Comments | 2,074 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 31, 2012

Sadly, January 20, 1992 May Not Be Ice Cube's 'Good Day'

Last week we were very excited to report that one blogger apparently determined that Ice Cube's "good day" was actually January 20, 1992, but today another Internet sleuth is punching holes in that theory.

Comments | 1,379 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 31, 2012

A Trump Endorsement Is Imminent

Though he's not saying when he will make it or whom it will be for, Donald Trump is giving the Republican candidates fair warning that the endorsement no one should want is coming soon.

Comments | 10,218 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 31, 2012

BuzzFeed's Latest Poach Is from Gizmodo

In yet another step toward becoming the next Huffington Post big important Internet news thing, BuzzFeed snatched up Gizmodo's Matt Buchanan.

Comments | 965 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 31, 2012

Jon Stewart Enjoys Mitt and Newt's Mortal Kombat in Florida

With today's primary vote in Florida, the Republican infighting between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich has gotten contentious.

Comments | 2,786 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 30, 2012

Snoop Dogg (Sort Of) Backs Ron Paul

Not to be outdone by Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney's celebrity endorsements, Ron Paul is catching a buzz from a celebrity nod of his own: Snoop Dogg.

Comments | 5,174 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 30, 2012

On NBC, Romney Says His Team Will Talk with NBC About Tom Brokaw Ad

In your meta news clip of the day, Mitt Romney appeared on NBC and indicated that he will in fact meet with NBC's lawyers about that Tom Brokaw ad that aired first Friday.

Comments | 1,154 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 30, 2012

Republicans Like to Watch The Weather Channel

Ads for Romney, Gingrich, and other candidates showing up on cable stations as apolitical as The Weather Channel tell us not only that, for whatever reasons, its viewers tend to be Republican, but that 2012's presidential campaigns are the most sophisticated yet.

Comments | 987 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 30, 2012

That Missing $1.2 Billion in MF Global Money Is Probably Gone for Good

It's always a bad sign for those still waiting to get their MF Global money to wake up to a front-page Wall Street Journal story saying that "officials hunting for an estimated $1.2 billion in missing customer money increasingly believe that much of it might never be recovered."

Comments | 956 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 27, 2012

Stat of the Day

27% of State of the Union Viewers Lasted Only Five Minutes

Unfortunately for President Obama (and the TV networks that carried his State of the Union address), all his oratory skill could stop more than as quarter of viewers from tuning out right away, opting mainly for (sigh) sitcom reruns and college basketball. 

Comments | 517 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 27, 2012

Obama's Anti-SOPA Tech Officer Might Run for Office

Aneesh Chopra, who helped author President Obama's position against SOPA, is leaving his post with a bit of bang, possibly setting up whatever political aspirations he may have in his home state of Virginia.

Comments | 743 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 27, 2012

Jeopardy! Contestants Don't Know Rachel Maddow

Folks as obsessed with media personalities as us were surprised to see the three supposedly brainiac contestants on last night's Jeopardy! stumped when asked who Rachel Maddow was, while correctly answering a question about George Stephanopoulos.

Comments | 5,882 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 27, 2012

Brewer Offered to Buy Obama Lunch Before Their Tarmac Argument

After their heated tarmac encounter, both Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and President Obama are in explaining mode about what lead to that much-discussed Associated Press photo.

Comments | 10,356 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 27, 2012

U.N. Pouches Are a Pretty Good Way to Mail Cocaine

In a rather ingenious method of international drug smuggling, two diplomatic bags were shipped from Mexico to the U.N. headquarters in New York containing about 35 pounds of cocaine.

Comments | 4,068 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 27, 2012

Jon Stewart Watches Prime Time TV, Discovers a Horror Show

Jon Stewart covered the other two branches of the government well enough, but where's the love for the Supreme Count?

Comments | 2,644 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 26, 2012

Stat of the Day

Only 58% of Kids Go to the Colleges They Most Want to Attend

There's some sour news today for high schoolers who just finished their college applications.

Comments | 1,405 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 26, 2012

Chart of the Day

America's Gardens Are Warmer in 2012

One way to tell that the world (or at least this country) is warming is to take a look at the map the USDA puts on the back of seed packets, which shows that winter temperatures have risen pretty much everywhere in the U.S.

Comments | 1,164 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 26, 2012

Rand Paul's 'Detainment' Doesn't Look Too Harsh

Another piece of evidence casts doubt on whether or not Sen. Rand Paul was really "detained" at Nashville's airport. Security footage found by the The Tennessean shows Paul peacefully sitting in a TSA glass cubicle.

Comments | 1,209 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 26, 2012

Alec Baldwin Hints That He Could Be Electable in a Couple Years

Last night Alec Baldwin sustained the speculation that he will make an Al Franken-like jump from comedy to politics in the near future, telling CNN's Piers Morgan, "I do want to run for office one day."

Comments | 2,320 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 26, 2012

Confusing Iran Says It's Open to Talk About Nukes While Also Threatening to Cut Off Oil

Iran's president said Thursday that his country is ready to talk nukes (er, we mean "nuclear power") with the West, but not without a fair share of postering to start.

Comments | 724 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 26, 2012

Jon Stewart Isn't Crying Over a Spilled Milk Joke

Jon Stewart was a standup comic, so he knows how to it feels to bomb a joke like President Obama did with that spilled milk one during Tuesday's State of the Union address.

Comments | 11,453 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 25, 2012

Assange's TV Show Is Now Russian Propapanda

From the outside, political radicals and TV stations often make for strange bedfellows (are your ears buzzing, Al?). But who would have expected Julian Assange to pair up with a state-owned television network in Russia to air his new show?

Comments | 1,258 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 25, 2012

NYPD's Ray Kelly Knew He Was Appearing in Anti-Muslim Film

The fallout from that terrible anti-Muslim police video just got a bit worse today as the NYPD commissioner acknowledges that he agreed to be interviewed for it.

Comments | 1,724 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 25, 2012

Jon Stewart Explains How Romney Got His Low Tax Rate

A genuinely angry seeming Jon Stewart tore into Mitt Romney yesterday night for all the various rich-guy ways he got his tax rate down to 13.9 percent.

Comments | 9,795 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 25, 2012

Chart of the Day

Obama's State of the Union Addresses Are Long, But Not as Long as Clinton's

From approximately 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. last night, President Obama delivered the State of the Union address to Congress and a national television audience. Even for a SOTU, it seemed a bit long -- but how long was it historically?

Comments | 862 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 24, 2012

Chart of the Day

John Kerry Actually Had a Lower Tax Rate Than Romney

In a bit of Democratic comeuppance for dinging Mitt Romney for how little he pays in taxes, Wonkblog published this chart of presidential candidates' tax rates. And wouldn't you know, John Kerry had a (slightly) lower tax rate than Romney does.

Comments | 6,631 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos and Dino Grandoni

Jan 24, 2012

Romney Offers a State of the Union 'Prebuttal'

Around 11 a.m. in Tampa, Mitt Romney tried to grab some media spotlight by offering a "prebuttal" to President Obama's State of the Union Address.

Comments | 862 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 24, 2012

Now You Now Have No Choice But to Use Facebook Timeline

That moaning you hear this morning is the collective Facebook world registering its discontent with the announcement of yet another change to the social network -- namely, that the Facebook Timeline will now be mandatory for all users.

Comments | 7,306 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 24, 2012

Stat of the Day

Silicon Valley Workers Now Earn $104,000 on Average

Bubble or not, tech employees in Silicon Valley seems to be doing pretty well.

Comments | 1,035 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 24, 2012

The Pope Thinks You're Tweeting Too Much

Normally we don't take advice on social media from 84-year-old priests, but let's hear Pope Benedict XVI out on this one.

Comments | 2,931 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 24, 2012

Jon Stewart Isn't Letting Newt Off the Hook

Newt Gingrich's indignation over being asked about his ex's open-marriage allegation during Friday night's debate raised plenty of eyebrows, including those of Jon Stewart, who couldn't help but take the time to lay into for the former speaker three days later.

Comments | 9,001 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 23, 2012

CIA Clearly Doesn't Like Ex-Agents Talking to Journalists

The CIA announced the arrest of John Kiriakou, a former agent, for leaking classified information, marking the second time this month the agency is sending the message that it doesn't like its ex-agents to be talking to reporters.

Comments | 1,459 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 23, 2012

Rand Paul Says He Was Detained by the TSA for Refusing a Pat-Down

Always one to detest the TSA's intrusion on people's privacy, Sen. Rand Paul has been detained himself by officials with the agency at Nashville's airport this morning, according to Paul spokesperson Moira Bagley.

Comments | 4,244 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 23, 2012

Chicago Sun-Times, Doubting Its Relevance, Drops Political Endorsements

Noting that "a multitude of information sources" exist today besides it (read: online journalism), the Chicago Sun-Times seems to acknowledge its and other newspapers' waning influence as why it has decided to quit endorsing candidates for office.

Comments | 911 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 23, 2012

Blackberry Maker Gets a New CEO

Removing its co-CEOs, Blackberry-maker Research in Motion is installing Thorsten Heins as its new chief to not-so-raucous applause. 

Comments | 205 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 20, 2012

Live: Colbert and Cain Hold a Rally

Taking the strange Colbert-Cain alliance even further this afternoon, the two once and possibly future serious presidential candidates are holding a joint rally in South Carolina.

Comments | 3,966 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 20, 2012

Texas Still Doesn't Know Its Congressional Districts

A Supreme Court decision today means that Texas still doesn't know the boundaries of its 36 congressional district, which is a bit of a problem since primaries for those congressional seats are only three months away.

Comments | 2,541 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 20, 2012

Megaupload Founder Had Mega Swag

Proof that you can make a lot of money hosting an illegal file-sharing website: A Lamborghini, a Maserati, a Rolls-Royce, two Cadillacs, and 16 (16!) Mercedes-Benzes, all which stood to be confiscated after four of the seven top brass at Megaupload were arrested yesterday.

Comments | 4,763 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 20, 2012

There Are So Many Ways for Jon Stewart to Mock Newt's Infidelity

Off word that Newt Gingrich's (second) ex-wife would give ABC a tell-all interview, Jon Stewart had yet another chance to lay into the former speaker for all his past infidelities.

Comments | 3,089 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 19, 2012

Chart of the Day

#WikipediaBlackout Was a Very Popular Hashtag Yesterday

If Twitter had shut down yesterday too, it'd be impossible to tell what kind of impact Wikipedia's anti-SOPA protest would have had on the tweeting masses.

Comments | 530 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 19, 2012

Rick Perry Is Done Running for President

Five months riding into the GOP nomination race on a wave of enthusiasm, Gov. Rick Perry will be moseying back to Texas, CNN reports, breaking the story.

Comments | 13,048 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 19, 2012

Jon Stewart Slams SOPA

Jon Stewart used  yesterday's online protests to weigh in on the Stop Online Piracy Act  last night, which actually seemed to put him in a tough spot.

Comments | 2,855 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 18, 2012

Stat of the Day

Employees at Just One Paris Hospital Are Owed 2 Million Vacation Days

Exemplifying a problem created by France's generous vacation and overtime rules the employees of the Hopital Vaugirard in Paris have accumulated 2 million days off, reports NPR's Renée Montagne on Morning Edition.

Comments | 16,433 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 18, 2012

Bill Clinton Makes MSNBC Sound Like a Conspiracy

Opposite GQ's list of top D.C. insiders in newsstands this month is Esquire's cover with a certain Washington bigwig, Bill Clinton, who cracked wise that MSNBC was in fact created as liberals' ostensive answer to Fox News.

Comments | 3,109 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 18, 2012

Washington's Run by People You Don't Know

Last week, The Village Voice's Steven Thrasher ranked "The 100 Most Powerless New Yorkers" and it was full of people who rarely hear about. On Wednesday, GQ's biennial "50 Most Powerful People in Washington" was released and it, too, is filled out by names you don't know.

Comments | 1,617 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 18, 2012

Gingrich Plays Up Half-Hearted Palin Endorsement

When asked by Sean Hannity on Fox News if she was ready to make an endorsement, Sarah Palin said, "If I had to vote in South Carolina, in order to keep this thing going, I would vote for Newt."

Comments | 949 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 17, 2012

Chart of the Day

The Fixie Index of Places Most Entranced by Hipster Trends

"Fixies (fixed gear bikes) are considered to be a strong indicator of hipsterness," argues Rohin Dhar at the Priceonomics Blog.

Comments | 7,135 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 17, 2012

Jon Stewart Buys Mario Batali with Stephen Colbert's Money

The power of being in charge of the Definitely Not Coordinating with Stephen Colbert Super PAC has gone to Jon Stewart's head as he spent The Daily Show lavishly spending money on frittatas. 

Comments | 4,931 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 16, 2012

Wikipedia to Go Dark on Wednesday

It's been speculated, and now it's confirmed: Wikipedia plans to give its users a (severe) taste of the Internet under SOPA by going offline in protest of the bill on Wednesday.

Comments | 10,665 Views

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