Three-Minute Briefing: Eric Garner Reactions, Cigarette Taxes and More on Ben Carson
Eric Holder plans an investigation and goes on tour, Bill de Blasio gets personal, and Cher blasts Chris Christie.
Protesters march through the streets of New York City Wednesday after a grand jury cleared a white New York City police officer in the videotaped chokehold death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man, who had been stopped on suspicion of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes.
Good Thursday morning, the 338th day of 2014, and the fourth day since President Barack Obama announced a White House task force to examine the "simmering mistrust" between police and minority communities in the wake of the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. After a night of national protests following a grand jury's decision not to indict a New York City police officer for fatally choking Eric Garner, an unarmed suspect, the task force has a lot of work to do. Here's today's Three-Minute Briefing, the News You Can Use in 180 seconds or less:
Familiar Pattern: As he did after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the Trayvon Martin "Stand Your Ground" trial in Florida and the grand jury non-indictment of Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Attorney General Eric Holder says the Justice Department will conduct an "independent, thorough, fair and expeditious" investigation into the Garner case for possible federal charges. Holder also will begin a tour of cities to discuss the deep divisions between police and African-Americans, starting in Cleveland today – where officers shot and killed a 12-year-old boy after mistaking his toy pistol for the real thing.
[SEE: Twitter Reacts to Eric Garner Grand Jury Decision]
Death by Taxes: As protesters nationwide registered their outrage that a grand jury wouldn't indict an officer for killing Garner, who was selling loose cigarettes on the street, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) – a libertarian hero and Republican presidential contender who has urged GOP outreach to the black community – identified the real trigger of Garner's death: cigarette taxes.
"The Talk": In appealing for calm last night, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio also shared a deeply personal anecdote: what it's like to be the top official of the world's largest city, yet still have to warn his teenaged African-American son, Dante, how to behave – and protect himself – around NYPD police.
Cartoon of the Day, Eric Garner Edition:
Bombs Away: House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Obama have come up with a plan to keep the government open and let Republicans vent about Obama's decision to act on immigration. So, naturally, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) wants to blow it up, with a government shutdown as the endgame. But neither did Cruz's colleagues, who shouted down his effort to wreck the deal.
I Declare Recess: Last month after the midterm elections, Obama said he'd ask Congress to pass a new authorization of military force law that will allow him to legally carry out strikes against the Islamic State group, and Congress seemed ready to protect its right to declare war. Now, both sides are headed out of town for the Christmas recess without so much as a mention of a new AUMF bill – or outrage that strikes continue in Iraq and Syria without it.
Smoke Out: They may not want to authorize military force, but House Republicans, who control the purse strings for the city of Washington, are ready, willing and eager to do whatever it takes to block a voter-approved law decriminalizing marijuana – even if it means defunding a law that really doesn't cost anything.
[OPINION: Voters Already Don't Like the Congress They Elected in 2014]
Eye on Ben: Now that he's leading (sort of) the field of 2016 Republican presidential candidates, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson is attracting a lot of attention. Unfortunately for him, so are some of his more, shall we say, extreme views on race, feminism, Obamacare and American exceptionalism.
Cher vs. Christie: Sextuagenarian pop star Cher took on Chris Christie, lashing out over Twitter about the New Jersey governor's decision not to ban crates that confine pregnant hogs until they give birth to what eventually becomes our bacon. In registering her disgust at Christie's perhaps coincidental nod to hog farmers in Iowa, Cher declared Christie is "a despicable bully" who can "4get POTUS."
Stat of the Day: Percentage increase since 2000 in the number of Americans with potbellies, according to the CDC: 17 (courtesy of Harper's Index).
Duly Noted: On this date in 1783, future president Gen. George Washington gave his farewell address to Continental Army officers at Fraunces Tavern in New York, James Monroe of Virginia was elected the fifth president of the United States in 1816, and President Woodrow Wilson steamed to France to attend the Versailles Peace Conference in 1918. The Senate overwhelmingly approved U.S. participation in the United Nations in 1945, and in 1954, the first Burger King stand opened in Miami. Happy anniversary to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.): She was elected San Francisco's first female mayor in 1978, replacing the assassinated George Moscone. Birthdays: Game show host Wink Martindale (81), actor-producer Max "Jethro Bodean" Baer Jr. (77), The Pogues' stringman Terry Woods (67), "Thirtysomething" actress Patricia Wettig (63), Oscar-winning actress Marisa Tomei (50), "Portlandia" actor-comedian Fred Armisen (48), rap music mogul (and Friend of Obama) Jay-Z (45), brainy supermodel Tyra Banks (41).
