Politics

The Young Turks: Cenk, Ben Mankiewicz and Brett Erlich discuss troubling reports that the Department of Justice tapped Fox News reporter James Rosen’s phone line – and his parents’. Cenk says the journalist wiretapping is the only actual scandal going on right now (as opposed to the IRS audits and Benghazi). But because Fox News flips out over everything, it’s hard to separate the wheat from the chaff on the rare occasion that they’re right about something. “Part of the problem is that Fox News cries wolf so much that once they have a legitimate argument… you’ve lost a little credibility,” Cenk says. I'm not sure when, or if, Fox News ever had a legitimate argument -- or credibility -- but they do cry wolf rather often.

Hungarian authorities evacuated around 1,000 people on Thursday after an unexploded World War II shell was discovered embedded in the roof of Budapest's city hall."The Soviet-made explosive device was found during a renovation project," a defence ministry spokesperson told state newswire MTI.Workers, residents and tourists were evacuated as a precaution from the area surrounding the building in downtown Budapest.Cites and towns across Nazi-allied Hungary were bombed heavily during the final months of the war by US, British or Soviet forces, with Budapest carpet-bombed on 37 occasions.Many devices were buried in the ground after failing to explode and are often discovered during construction work, leading to 11 evacuations in the capital alone since 2008.On Tuesday, a 70-kilo (154-pound) German bomb from World War II was unearthed at a construction site near the Royal Palace in Budapest's heavily touristed Castle district.Last October, a 500-kilo (1,100-pound) US-made bomb was discovered in the river Danube close to a railway bridge in the north of the city.Copyright (2013) AFP. All rights reserved.More...

Maybe the problem is that rape is an extension of military culture. And it's metastasizing, even as legislation to address it stays trapped in congressional subcommittee.Scandals and outrage come and go, but rape is ever-present. In 2011, a Pentagon report estimated that 19,000 sexual assaults had occurred in the U.S. military, of which barely 3,000 were reported because of the stigma and risk involved in doing so. The "I own you" system of military justice traditionally turns on the victim far more than the accused. That year, in response to the shocking statistics, U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) introduced a bill that would, among other things, remove the investigation of rape cases from the military chain of command, which has far more interest in ignoring the problem than prosecuting it.More...

Not all surprises are good. For example, Fidelity Investments just revealed the results of a survey that showed that a surprisingly high percentage of recent college graduates have no idea how much debt they accrued to obtain their coveted sheepskin. Much too late for these graduates, the study concluded that nearly 40 percent of the respondents would have made different choices regarding their college education if they had a better understanding of the costs involved.In this national sample of 750 graduates, Fidelity found that 70 percent had racked up an average of about $35,000 in federal and state loans, credit card debt, and private loans. When confronted with these figures and an estimation of just how long and how much it might take to pay those loans, the new debtors expressed surprise and even a bit of remorse. Although most still don't regret the college decision, they now say it could have affected their choices if they had truly understood the costs involved.More...

Cannes 2013 jury member Nicole Kidman walked the red carpet on Thursday in a dress that looked a little bit familiar.Turns out, the off-white Valentino gown, which featured a stunning floral overlay and high neck, was supposed to be Anne Hathaway's Oscar 2013 look.More...

In the midst of a growing crisis over sexual assault in the U.S. military, a bipartisan group of senators and representatives proposed a bill on Thursday that would reform the way the military handles sexual assault cases.The legislation, introduced by Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Reps. Niki Tsongas (D-Mass.) and Mike Turner (R-Ohio), will be included in the broader defense authorization bill that Congress passes each year. The bill would require that any service member found guilty of rape or sexual assault receive a minimum punishment of dismissal or dishonorable discharge from the military, and it eliminates the five-year statute of limitations on trial by courts-martial for sexual assault.More...

When the Buddha was dying, he gave a final message to his beloved attendant Ananda, and to generations to come:"Be a lamp unto yourself, be a refuge to yourself. Take yourself to no external refuge."More...

Jerrie Bhonde held onto her husband, Hemant Bhonde, as long as she could as the tornado ripped through their Oklahoma home on Monday.But as they hid in their bathroom, Hemant was wrenched from Jerrie's arms by the powerful winds and disappeared, Jerrie told Anderson Cooper Wednesday.More...

Even Jason Sudeikis doesn't know if he's leaving "Saturday Night Live."During a visit to "The View" to promote his new movie "Epic," Sudeikis was pressed about his future with the show by Barbara Walters. He gave a non-answer, but Walters continued asking for a real answer.More...

It's all over for "Body of Proof."The Dana Delany series will not move to a new network despite previous reports. A rep for ABC Studios confirmed the news to The Huffington Post.More...