Norah O'Donnell
From NBC's Norah O'Donnell and Matt Glick
Levi Johnston, the estranged father of Sarah Palin's grandson, told CBS in an interview that -- among other things -- Palin had joked about her son Trig, who has Down's Syndrome.
Palin has released this statement through her spokesperson Meg Stapleton, which appears to refer to Levi's agreement to pose for Playgirl magazine:
We have purposefully ignored the mean spirited, malicious and untrue attacks on our family. We, like many, are appalled at the inflammatory statements being made or implied. Trig is our 'blessed little angel' who knows it and is lovingly called that every day of his life. Even the thought that anyone would refer to Trig by any disparaging name is sickening and sad. CBS should be ashamed for continually providing a forum to propagate lies. Consider the source of the most recent attention-getting lies - those who would sell their body for money reflect a desperate need for attention and are likely to say and do anything for even more attention."
From NBC's Norah O'Donnell and Adam Verdugo
Ex-Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin is holding her fire now for former running mate John McCain's advisors but there are hints that she'll have plenty to share in her forthcoming book, "Going Rogue." Palin's spokesman, Meg Stapleton, suggested there will be plenty of material to respond to former McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt's comments today that a Palin presidential nomination in 2012 would be catastrophic.
Stapleton tells NBC, "The Governor will write about all of this in her book. There will be plenty of time to talk about it then."
At the Atlantic's "First Draft of History" event at the Newseum today, Schmidt said, "I think she has talents," adding, "My honest view is that she would not be a winning candidate for the Republican Party and in fact were she to be the nominee, we could have a catastrophic result."
Schmidt, who during the campaign was in favor of adding Palin to the McCain ticket, conceded that Palin has a great deal of support among the base of the party, referring to advance sales of her memoir, but added that, "she has done nothing to expand her appeal beyond the base into the middle of the electorate where elections are decided."
From MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell and Adam Verdugo
Republicans requested and were granted a third round of questioning of Judge Sonia Sotomayor.
Each Senator gets 10 minutes. Most of the questions will likely be from Republicans.
From MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell
J.Crew today is flashing on the front-page of its crewcuts section, "The famous coats you've been waiting for."
When you click the link, you can pre-order the peach and purple coats Malia and Sasha Obama wore to their father's inauguration in January.
The preppy clothing line is already taking heat for trying to profit off the Obamas' decision to sport their clothes. Yesterday, a spokesman for J.Crew insisted they never sent out a press release touting all the details on the trench coats and ballet flats the first daughters wore in Moscow.
Instead, J.Crew said it only responded to media inquires. The First Lady's office tells NBC News, "We do not believe the girls should be used for marketing purposes."
It should be noted that J.Crew does not mention the Obama daughters' names on its Web site.
From NBC's Norah O'Donnell and Mark Murray
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is now back on again for tonight's big Republican fundraising dinner, according to Republican sources.
"Our understanding is she will be attending and will sit at Sen. Cornyn's table," National Republican Senatorial Committee communications director Brian Walsh told NBC News.
Another GOP source adds, "She's coming, not speaking… She will be recognized at the event."
Also to be in attendance at tonight's dinner, per a Republican source: GOP Virginia gubernatorial nominee Bob McDonnell.
From MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell
Sarah Palin's dinner date with Republicans in Washington may be off, but she's still planning a political trip in two weeks to Indiana to attend a Right to Life fundraiser.
Her political travel is likely to raise new questions. Her spokeswoman said she would not commit to a Senate-House GOP dinner in June because she was focused on Alaska state business -- not politics.
On April 16, Palin will be attending the Vanderburgh County Right to Life dinner in Evansville, IN, as well as a breakfast the next day for S.M.I.L.E., a nonprofit organization for people with family members who have Down syndrome. Palin's spokeswoman, Meg Stapleton, said Palin will be taking a "36-hour vacation" to attend the events in Indiana. Palin's political action committee will pay for the travel.
Palin was replaced as the keynote speaker at the Republican dinner in Washington by Newt Gingrich. The event's organizers grew tired of waiting for her to commit to the party's big spring fundraising gala.
Stapleton said Palin would not agree to political events until after April 20, when the Alaska legislative session ends. "She is focused on Alaska," Stapleton said today.
And while Palin's camp claimed no hard feelings about being replaced by Gingrich, Stapleton said, "She probably would have said yes if they could have waited."
Stapleton could not explain why Palin would say yes to a political event in Indiana and not attend a political event in Washington. However, she did note that Palin wanted to honor her son Trigg, who has Down syndrome, at the S.M.I.L.E. event in Indiana.
It's possible there could be a huge increase in political travel by Palin after the legislative session in Alaska ends. "There are thousands of requests" for appearances across the country, Stapleton said.
From MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell
As he announced on Morning Joe today, Sen.
Evan Bayh is forming a Moderate Dems Working group that will meet every other Tuesday before the Democratic caucus to discuss legislative strategies and ideas.
Per Bayh's office, the group's goal "is to work with the Senate leadership and the new administration to craft common-sense solutions to urgent national problems."
Video: Bayh is forming a 15-person working group focused on fiscal responsibility.
Here's part of a statement to be released very shortly from Bayh... The group will focus "on the upcoming budget negotiations and the importance of passing a fiscally responsible spending plan in the Senate."
More: "Leading the new group are Democratic Sens. Evan Bayh of Indiana,
Tom Carper of Delaware and
Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas... [O]thers joining the group are Sens.
Michael Bennet of Colorado,
Mark Begich of Alaska,
Kay Hagan of North Carolina,
Herb Kohl of Wisconsin,
Mary Landrieu of Louisiana,
Joe Lieberman of Connecticut,
Claire McCaskill of Missouri,
Ben Nelson of Nebraska,
Bill Nelson of Florida,
Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire,
Mark Udall of Colorado, and
Mark Warner of Virginia."
From MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell and Adam VerdugoThe Clintons --
Bill,
Hillary, and
Chelsea -- just arrived at the swearing-in ceremony.
From NBC's Norah O'Donnell
The office of
Jack Kemp -- the former congressman, HUD secretary, and GOP vice presidential candidate -- announced today that he has cancer.
Per a statement, "Mr. Kemp has been undergoing tests to determine the origin of the disease and the options for continued treatment. He will continue to serve as Chairman of Kemp Partners and plans to remain involved in his business, charitable and politically related activities. Mr. Kemp and his family are grateful for the thoughts and prayers of friends and appreciate respect for their privacy at this time."
From MSNBC's Adam Verdugo
Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan responded today to criticism that he's dragging his feet when it comes to bringing up legislation calling for a special election to replace embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich, saying that Democrats have not ruled it out.
"All we did yesterday was to defer the question of a special election," he said in an interview with MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell.
The Republican Party in the state points to a poll it commissioned (conducted by McLaughlin & Associates), which indicates that just 14% believe Illinois' is on the right track; 79% say the state is on the wrong track. And that two-thirds support a special election.
Republicans, who obviously want a special election to have a shot at winning the seat, claim that if Democrats in the state house don't take action soon, voters will hold them accountable.
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