CBS hopes debate coverage will boost streaming service
CBS News sees its coverage of Saturday’s Democratic presidential debate as a key moment in helping to establish CBSN, the streaming service that just celebrated its first birthday. Political reporter Major Garrett will host a preview of the debate an hour before it begins on CBSN. The free service will stream the debate live, accompanied by data and tweets provided by Twitter, with Garrett stepping in with reactions during commercial breaks of the televised contest. It is also being shown on the broadcast television network. CBSN, which launched Nov. 6, 2014, provides a continuous newscast and also allows users to click on streams of individual stories. It is available on the CBS News website, on the network’s mobile apps and through services like Apple TV, Roku and Android TV. Starting this week, it can also be seen on Xbox One. “What this has to be to be a success if to be completely ubiquitous, that everybody who is delivering live news content has to be distributing us,” said CBS News President David Rhodes. CBS views it as the future of video news, a generation removed from cable news networks. The average age of a CBSN viewer is just under 40, considerably younger than the traditional television news demographic, the Nielsen company said. It is younger by three years for people watching on Internet-connected televisions. For now, the service is unique to CBS. Rhodes said he believes competitors like CNN, Fox News and MSNBC are reluctant to try something similar because potential users would be put off by having to go through cable companies to use the service. “If we make a go of this and it becomes a commercial success, I think you will see others try to get into it,” he said. “I think we would welcome that because it’s a validation of our strategy.” While the network does not say how many people use CBSN, Rhodes said he expected it will get more views Saturday night than ever before. Usage tends to spike around major news events, he said. Oddly, the service has done well before, during and after previous presidential debates, which Rhodes found surprising considering CBSN did not stream them. The service has offered ongoing discussions about the debates while they were happening with occasional highlights, and Rhodes speculated it appeals to cord-cutters who have no traditional TV service. This Saturday, network executives anticipate CBSN will be used as a second screen for many people already watching the debate on the broadcast network. Garrett said he’ll be helping to curate the Twitter feed that will appear on the CBSN screen. “That’s part of the experiment,” he said. “Everyone associated with social media is trying to figure out — how do you make it meaningful and not just noisy?” Because of social media, the “spin room” that existed after debates is now in operation while the event is still going on. Garrett will use the broadcast commercial breaks to show how campaign aides are trying to shape the stories. Garrett, who worked at both CNN and Fox News Channel, had anticipated a more structured environment at CBS with newscasts in the morning and evening broadcasts. CBSN takes him back to his cable days where there is much more time to fill; fewer commercials mean discussions can go even longer at CBSN. His children — ages 20, 19 and 15 — provide him with a daily reminder of the importance of CBSN. Their dad works in TV but they rarely see him there. They catch him in clips that are linked on social media. “The digital platform is essential for the fate of broadcast network news,” he said. “We have to be in that space.” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Terry Dunn speaks out on decision to run for PSC President
Former Public Service Commissioner Terry Dunn recently answered questions posed by Alabama Today via email on his decision last week to reconsider dropping his challenge to PSC President Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh. Dunn filed for the Republican primary nomination Friday, hours before the qualifying deadline. Dunn says he is in the race to push back against Alabama Power and the utilities, which he said have an outsized influence over the current commissioners. He’s employing on something of a populist message in his bid to return to the commission as its chief. “I feel like the average ratepayers and small business owners are not being truly represented,” said Dunn. “My name being on the ballot will give ratepayers a choice; do they want a Commissioner with a record of standing up for ratepayers or one that looks out solely for the interest of the utility companies?” This is the same campaign theme and question he used in his failed campaign for re-election against Commissioner Chip Beeker who handedly defeated him 51% to 41% in 2014. His former Chief of Staff David Rountree has been criticized, like Dunn himself, for pushing for formal rate hearings for Alabama Power, creating what critics called a litigious “courtroom-style” atmosphere wherein testifiers must be sworn in and retain an attorney. In lieu of such hearings, informal public meetings were held around the state in 2013. These hearings allowed consumers, consumer advocacy groups and others the opportunity to participate in the process. Responding to an inquiry, Dunn said Rountree will not be a part of the campaign or his administration should he be elected. Rountree now edits a magazine and is nearing retirement age. “Jerry Renfroe, who has worked in telecommunications for years, is actively involved in my campaign efforts at this time,” said Dunn over the weekend. “My plan to win going forward is to remind the ratepayers that they were deceived by Twinkle Cavanaugh,” said Dunn, asked about his plan to bounce back after a defeat at the hands of Beeker last cycle. Dunn accuses Cavanaugh of not doing enough to stop rate increases which Alabama Power asked for in response to increased costs associated with compliance of EPA regulations. He also went on to say she hadn’t done enough for coal miners. Cavanaugh’s record shows that she has been among the state’s loudest advocates against the EPA regulations which would result in the loss of coal jobs. She and the other two commissioners wrote a letter to President Obama asking him to revisit his so-called Clean Power Plan, specifically citing coal jobs. Cavanaugh was criticized and widely mocked by environmentalists nationally for asking residents to pray that the right thing would be done. Dunn challenges the idea that the EPA is the biggest threat to coal jobs. “The coal miners need to be asking their congressman and representatives why they continue to let China dump cheap steel in the US? That’s the main reason the coal industry is suffering today,” said Dunn.
Marco Rubio’s low-budget campaign looks to ramp up as voting nears
For months, Marco Rubio‘s campaign team in South Carolina operated out of a staffer’s garage, plotting strategy for the first-in-the-South primary from freshly painted yard sale furniture and tiny classroom desks. The shoestring budget setup was a point of pride for the Republican presidential candidate’s team. Now, with Rubio enjoying a burst of momentum as the early voting contests edge closer, the Florida senator’s campaign is moving beyond its lean and mean roots. On Wednesday, Rubio’s South Carolina team officially moved out of the garage and into a proper campaign headquarters — though they brought some of the yard sale furniture along with them. “This election could very well be decided in this state,” Rubio told the crowd gathered at the office in Columbia, South Carolina’s capital. Rubio’s team also opened offices in Nevada a few weeks ago. His staff grew by about 30 percent in October, with more than 70 people now on the campaign payroll. The new hires include communications and digital advisers, as well as field workers to boost voter contact and advance staff to help set up larger and more frequent events in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, the first four states to vote in the nomination contest. Whether Rubio can effectively build up his campaign infrastructure in those states may determine whether he can turn his natural political talents and easy appeal with GOP voters into primary victories. “Everywhere I go I hear folks talking about him,” said Glenn McCall, a Republican National Committeeman from South Carolina. “So it’s the right time to come into the state, set up shop and set up more time here.” While Rubio’s advisers say they’re simply executing the next phase in a carefully crafted campaign blueprint, there’s no doubt the team’s early penny-pinching was driven in part by necessity. The senator’s fundraising has been underwhelming and his money totals trailed several rivals through summer and fall, including a lackluster $6 million haul in third financial reporting period of the year. But buoyed by strong performances in the last two GOP debates, Rubio has been attracting more high-dollar donors, including billionaire investor Paul Singer and New York hedge fund manager Cliff Asness. With more cash in the pipeline, Rubio is expected to spend more money on travel to early voting states and on larger events aimed at putting him in front of as many voters as possible. Rubio communications director Alex Conant pointed to a 450-person event in New Hampshire last week and a similar sized event in Davenport, Iowa, on Wednesday as examples of the type of settings the candidate will appear at more regularly. Rubio’s more robust travel plans are welcome news to some Republicans in early voting states who have griped for months that the senator wasn’t spending enough time on the ground meeting with donors and wooing important backers. While some candidates have all but taken up residency in Iowa and New Hampshire, Rubio has been a more sporadic presence. “He’s recognizing that in order to win in New Hampshire, you need to be available to voters — not just once or twice but more often than that,” said Donna Sytek, a prominent New Hampshire Republican. She called Rubio an “attractive candidate” but said she’s also still considering Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina. Rubio’s backers believe the campaign’s fiscal caution has already been validated by the early money woes of other candidates. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker quickly built a large and expensive operation, but was forced to withdraw from the race after just two months when his fundraising stopped covering his bills. And despite raising more than $100 million for his super PAC, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush slashed payroll spending by 40 percent after campaign fundraising slowed. To be sure, the Rubio team’s tales of cheapness have helped the campaign define the Florida senator as a scrappy underdog taking on wealthier rivals. Campaign manager Terry Sullivan has bragged about sticking Rubio on budget airline Frontier — which he called “a special kind of hell” — and touted his rule of personally approving expenses over $500. At one of the campaign’s Nevada offices, staffers tried to do their part to live up to the less is more mantra. After noticing a pizza place next to a campaign office had free wireless internet that required a password, a staffer walked over and bought two pieces of pizza and asked for the internet access code. But the cost-cutting measure was short-lived. After about three weeks, the pizza place caught on and asked the Rubio team to stop. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Despite registration push, active voters slightly down so far in 2015
Amid a voting-rights kerfuffle which has garnered national headlines, figures from the Alabama election chief’s office show active registered voters slightly down as 2016 elections approach. Secretary of State John Merrill recently penned an op-ed piece stating unequivocally “We do not have a problem with making photo IDs available for voting in Alabama.” That claim came after Congresswoman Terri Sewell and national Civil Rights leaders raised concerns over recent closures of auxiliary DMV facilities as a result of state budget cuts, which Sewell likened to discriminatory voting practices employed by Southern states during the Jim Crow era. Merill has made a point to show his commitment to growing the voter rolls, saying last month “registering to vote empowers eligible citizens to exercise their right to vote on Election Day” and that he would “do everything within my power to ensure that each eligible Alabamian is able to exercise his or her right to vote.” Nonetheless, records from the Merrill’s Department of State show numbers of active registered voters slightly down so far in 2015. Voting registration figures reflect 2,844,871 Alabamians as actively registered currently, down some 1.3 percent from last year’s four-year high of 2,881,612. The current number of participating voters is also down compared to 2013 and 2012, when numbers remained flat at around 2.86 million registered. Terri Sewell called for a Department of Justice probe into Alabama’s voting laws last month, saying the administration of Gov. Robert Bentley and the GOP-led Legislature in Montgomery have created an environment hostile to voting rights for poor and minority citizens. “Despite a budgetary pretext, the consequence of this decision is to deny the most vulnerable in Alabama an equal opportunity to obtain a means to vote,” Sewell wrote. “These closures will potentially disenfranchise Alabama’s poor, elderly, disabled and black communities.” 2016 presidential primaries are set to be held in just 81 days, on March 1.
Alabama delegation busy during Veterans Day recess
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives may be back home in their districts this week for the Veteran’s Day recess, but contrary to the term “recess” their time away from Washington is anything but downtime. Alabama’s lawmakers have kept their schedules chock-full of events across the Yellowhammer state this week hosting town halls, meeting constituents and participating in Veterans Day events. Here’s what the delegation has been doing this Veterans Day “recess”: Monday Monday morning Rep. Bradley Bryne (AL-01) partnered with the Coastal Alabama Partnership to host a workshop for local elected officials, their staff, and chambers of commerce focusing on some of the tools the Census Bureau has for tracking demographics and economic information that will be helpful when it comes to applying for grants. Monday evening, Rep. Byrne spoke to members of the University of South Alabama Chapter of the American Medical Association and shared his opinion on the need to move away from a health care system ran by the federal government. Rep. Mike Rogers (AL-03) spoke at a Natural Resource class at Auburn University. Rep. Mo Brooks addressed a group of young professionals at Dynetics on a multitude of topics. Later in the day, Rep. Brooks met with the Seekers Debate Club to discuss federal judiciary issues and help them prepare for their upcoming competition. They will compete through the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association (NCFCA), a national non-profit organization dedicated to furthering communication skills. U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) held her second Black Belt town hall where she discussed how state budget cuts are impacting rural Alabamians. Tuesday Rep. Byrne spoke at Daphne High School’s Veterans Day ceremony. Rep. Rogers spoke to the Calhoun County Chamber. Rep. Brooks addressed Weatherly Heights Elementary School at their Veterans Day program this afternoon where he joined with the community and expressed his gratitude to America’s Veterans and their families. Wednesday Rep. Byrne attended the Mobile Veterans Day Parade. There, he spent some time with Army veteran Jim Jeffries, the 2015 Mobile Bay Area Veteran of the Year. Rep. Martha Roby (AL-02) attended the Veterans Day ceremony in Prattville. Rep. Brooks met with 1SG (Ret) Willie Allen who served the United States with valor and distinction, receiving the Soldier’s Medal for risking his own life to pull injured soldiers from the burning wreckage of a UH1H helicopter and a OH58 Kiowa helicopter on April 24, 1973. Brooks presented First Sergeant Allen with the prestigious medal and others, including the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, which had previously been lost to a house fire. Brooks later attended the Veterans Day breakfast at the VBC, the Fallen Soldier’s Battlefield Memorial ribbon cutting and dedication, and the Veterans Day program at the Floyd E. “Tut” Fann State Veterans Home. U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (AL-06) attended a Veteran’s Day ceremony at West Blocton High where he shared the field with veterans from American Legion Post #47. Wednesday, Rep. Sewell left Washington, D.C. for a trip to Cuba to discuss expanding agricultural trade. Thursday Rep. Rogers visited with a group of students interested in politics at Smiths Station Freshman Center.
Man arrested after 400-gallon moonshine still found at Alabama home
Authorities have arrested a man after finding a 400-gallon moonshine still at a Sumter County home. Multiple media outlets report 57-year-old Reginald Williams of Cuba, Alabama, was arrested Nov. 10. He is charged with five counts of possession of a still and one count of manufacturing moonshine. In a statement, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Senior Trooper Johnathan Appling says Williams’ arrest stems from an investigation in which State Bureau of Investigation agents located and seized a 400-gallon moonshine still that contained five different condensers at a Sumter County residence. Agents also located 1200 gallons of mash, 356 gallons of moonshine, 1960 pounds of sugar and 500 pounds of rye. Williams was booked into the Sumter County jail. It isn’t immediately clear if he has an attorney. The investigation is ongoing. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Governor Robert Bentley says he is “looking” at Medicaid expansion
The conservative Republican governor of a Deep South state, where the Affordable Care Act is often reviled in GOP circles, says his administration is mulling an expansion of the state’s Medicaid program. Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said Thursday after a speech at a legal conference that his administration is considering expansion, but has not made a final decision. Bentley, who is a doctor, said he was concerned about the health care access for the state’s working poor and rural health care infrastructure. However, Bentley said a stumbling block is figuring out a way to fund the state’s share of costs. Thirty states have expanded Medicaid under President Barack Obama‘s health care law. The governor has previously said he might support a state-designed program with work and premium requirements on recipients. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
VictoryLand owner hopes to reopen by Christmas
A lawyer for VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor said he hopes to have the casino reopened by Christmas despite a court order allowing the state to keep seized gambling machines. McGregor’s attorney Joe Espy said Wednesday that VictoryLand will have to obtain new bingo machines in order to reopen. However, Espy believes the casino will be able to do that. The state has been in a long-running legal battle over the slot machine-look-alikes. The attorney general’s office seized 1,615 electronic bingo machines and $260,000 during a 2013 raid at VictoryLand. A circuit judge this year ordered the state to return the machines by Nov. 16 saying it was unfair to close the casino if others remained open. The Alabama Supreme Court on Monday stayed the order to return the machines. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Ben Carson profits from ties with convicted felon
Republican presidential contender Ben Carson has maintained a business relationship with a close friend convicted of defrauding insurance companies and testified on his behalf, even as the candidate has called for such crimes to be punished harshly. Pittsburgh dentist Alfonso A. Costa pleaded guilty to a felony count of health care fraud after an FBI probe into his oral surgery practice found he had charged for procedures he never performed, according to court records. Though the crime carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison, Costa was able to avoid prison time after Carson helped petition a federal judge for leniency. That’s different from the position Carson took in 2013 as he prepared to launch his presidential campaign, saying those convicted of health care fraud should go to prison for at least a decade and be forced to forfeit “all of one’s personal possessions.” At Costa’s 2008 sentencing hearing, Carson described the dentist as “one my closest, if not my very closest friend.” “We became friends about a decade ago because we discovered that we were so much alike and shared the same values and principles that govern our lives,” Carson told the judge, adding that their families vacationed together and that they were involved in “joint projects.” “Next to my wife of 32 years, there is no one on this planet that I trust more than Al Costa,” Carson said. Costa has served on the board of Carson’s charity, the Carson Scholars Fund, and continues to lead the charity’s fundraising efforts in the Pittsburgh area to provide $1,000 college scholarships to children in need. Before his criminal conviction and the revocation of his license to practice dentistry, Costa built a multimillion-dollar fortune through commercial real estate. Investments Carson and his wife made through Costa earn the couple between $200,000 and $2 million a year, according to financial records that Carson was required to file when he declared his candidacy. Costa also continues to promote his involvement with Carson’s charity as part of his real estate business, prominently featuring the logo of the Carson Scholars Fund on the company’s website. His son has worked with Carson’s presidential campaign and a political committee founded by the retired neurosurgeon. Doug Watts, the campaign’s spokesman, said Wednesday he was unable to immediately respond to specific questions about land deals involving Carson and Costa. The AP contacted Watts on Tuesday and again Wednesday. “I will confirm they are best friends and that they do hold business investments together,” Watts said. Costa did not respond to messages seeking comment. The breadth of the two men’s business ties has not been previously reported, partly because details can be obscured in property and incorporation records. Costa’s company and its affiliates own properties in at least five states and overseas. In 2007, a few months before Costa was charged, records show that a pair of corporations was established in Pennsylvania called BenCan LLC, and INBS LLC. Carson and his wife are listed as the sole members of the companies. Though the Carsons live outside Baltimore, the mailing address on the incorporation forms was Costa’s home address in Pittsburgh. BenCan and INBS then paid more than $3 million to purchase an office building in suburban Pittsburgh. The mailing address for the corporations listed on the deed matches the office of Costa’s real estate firm, Costa Land Co. That September, federal prosecutors charged Costa, accusing him of fraud committed over a nearly five-year period, according to court records. Investigators determined that Costa’s dental practice charged more than 50 patients for procedures that had not been performed, resulting in a loss of more than $40,000 to insurance companies. After Costa pleaded guilty, 40 of his family members, friends and dental patients wrote letters to the judge as character witnesses. Carson was one of three people who also testified at Costa’s 2008 sentencing hearing, stressing his friend’s charitable works and vouching for his personal integrity. Also testifying on Costa’s behalf was Jerome Bettis, a beloved former Pittsburgh Steelers running back who had helped bring home a Super Bowl trophy to the city two years earlier. The government urged the judge to make an example of Costa. “Reduction of a sentence based on good works by a wealthy person can create the appearance that a defendant’s financial resources and prominent connections can skew the justice system in ways not available to persons of lesser means,” a prosecutor told the judge. In the end, Costa got no prison time. He was sentenced to one year of house arrest and 100 hours of community service, and ordered to pay more than $294,000 in fines and restitution. Costa later got 12 months shaved off his three-year probation. Though Costa was assigned to serve his sentence in his 8,300-square-foot mansion in nearby Fox Chapel, his lawyers repeatedly returned to court to seek permission for him to travel. A few months after starting his sentence, Costa asked to travel to the White House as one of 10 invited guests at a June 2008 ceremony where President George W. Bush presented Carson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The judge denied that request, though Costa was later allowed to take a month-long trip to the Italian coast while on probation to handle what his lawyer described as urgent business at a resort he owns. Carson’s appeal for leniency toward Costa contradicts the draconian criminal penalties he called for in his 2013 political treatise, “America the Beautiful.” In his book, Carson wrote that anyone found guilty of health care fraud should face what he called the “Saudi Arabian Solution.” “Why don’t people steal very often in Saudi Arabia?” Carson asked. “Obviously because the punishment is the amputation of one or more fingers. I would not advocate chopping off people’s limbs, but there would be some very stiff penalties for this kind of fraud, such as loss of one’s medical license for life, no less than 10 years in prison, and loss of all of one’s personal
