Posts by Katharine Zaleski

Katharine Zaleski has been the News Editor of the Huffington Post since May 2005.

White House: We Can't Save Newspapers
Posted by Katharine Zaleski, Huffington Post on May 4, 2009 at 2:31 PM.

A reporter pressed Press Secretary Robert Gibbs Monday on whether the White House is concerned about the fate of newspapers. Gibbs' reply suggested the White House hadn't thought much about the issue, "I have not asked specifically about assistance... I don't know what, in all honesty, government can do about it." (See Gibbs' full answer below).

It's a big week for the newspaper industry. The Boston Globe got a reprieve from parent company The New York Times this morning. According to the AP:

The Globe's owner, The New York Times Co., had threatened to close the newspaper unless its unions agreed to $20 million in cuts to annual expenses by midnight Sunday. The company showed labor negotiators a draft of a 60-day shutdown notice, required under federal law, and said it would file it if concession demands were not met. The Guild called that a "bullying" tactic.

Tomorrow, Senator Kerry will hold hearings on the fate of the industry. Last month, Kerry sent a letter to the Boston Globe family, stating his concern:

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Joe the Plumber to Advise Young Republicans at Conservative Conference
Posted by Katharine Zaleski, Huffington Post on February 26, 2009 at 4:58 AM.

On Thursday, conservatives will be descending on Washington DC, the place they like to slam the most, to galvanize their mission to take back Congress and the presidency. Reports say this year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) will bring in record numbers despite it not being a midterm or presidential election year. According to The Washington Times, 7,000 people attended last year and 9,000 are expected this year.

Last year President Bush and Cheney were the stars of the event. And Mitt Romney chose the conference to announce that he was suspending his campaign.

This year, Cheney and Bush are off the agenda, replaced by ghosts of the campaign trail like Joe the Plumber (Joe Wurzelbacher) and documentarian John Ziegler, who has been making the rounds to restore Sarah Palin's self-imposed media debacle with his documentary "Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted." And of course Rush Limbaugh will be there as the biggest draw.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Bailed Out Banks Still Blowing Millions on Sports Sponsorships
Posted by Katharine Zaleski, Huffington Post on February 2, 2009 at 12:03 PM.

Tax paying sports fans beware... it appears that you may be helping sponsor major teams whether you like them or not! A couple reports out cite how bailed out banks are still spending millions on sponsorships. Moreover, Bank of America is considering a new sponsorship with the Yankees. Read below.

ABC: Bank Of America doled out around $10 million for super bowl festivities...

Despite a near collapse that required $45 billion in federal taxpayer bailout funds, Bank of America sponsored a five day carnival-like affair just outside the Super Bowl stadium this past week as President Obama decried wasteful spending on Wall St.

The event - known as the NFL Experience - was 850,000 square feet of sports games and interactive entertainment attractions for football fans and was blanketed in Bank of America logos and marketing calls to sign up for football-themed banking products.

HuffPost's Ryan Grim: Congressmen want Citibank to nix its Mets sponsorship deal...

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Obama Fights Corporate Greed: Forces Citigroup to Ditch Private Jet Purchase
Posted by Katharine Zaleski, Huffington Post on January 27, 2009 at 8:24 AM.

According to a report from ABC News, President Obama is not taking kindly to corporate greed, especially when it's funded by taxpayer money. Read more from ABC here:

The high-flying execs at Citigroup caved under pressure from President Obama and decided today to abandon plans for a luxurious new $50 million corporate jet from France...

ABC News has learned that Monday officials of the Obama administration called Citigroup about the company's new $50 million corporate jet and told execs to "fix it."

On Monday, the news broke that bailed out bank was going through with its $50 million private jet purchase even though it had recieved $45 billion in government funds:

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Day Two: Big Three Now Asking Congress For $34 Billion
Posted by Katharine Zaleski, Huffington Post on December 5, 2008 at 7:39 AM.

The Big Three are back on Capitol Hill today. This time their talking to Congress about getting a multi-billion dollar bailout package.

More info from AP:

The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee says the new bleak unemployment figures makes helping the nation's beleaguered auto industry even more urgent.

Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, warned that doing nothing would be a disaster in the middle of what he called the worst economic crisis in 70 years.

Watch live video from today's hearing:

Palin's Staffers Keep Her Away From the News to Avoid Being 'Depressed'
Posted by Katharine Zaleski, Huffington Post on October 17, 2008 at 10:43 AM.

A day after The Washington Post's Dana Milbank wrote about how the Secret Service is blocking press at Sarah Palin's rallies, it appears Palin's staff is blocking her from listening to the press. Palin revealed at a fundraiser last night that she is in an ever-growing media bubble.

"So North Carolina, I appreciate you all so much, who are here who already get it. You know, maybe I'm preaching to the choir a little bit here, but being here encourages me because I know that I'm not alone and I'll send this message back to John McCain also. At those times on the campaign trail when sometimes it's easy to get a little bit discouraged, when, you know, when you happen to turn on the news when your campaign staffers will let you turn on the news," she said, prompting laughter from the group. "Usually they're like 'Oh my gosh, don't watch. You're going to, you know, you're going to get depressed.'"

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Debate Preview: Obama Holds Strong, McCain Talks Big
Posted by Katharine Zaleski, Huffington Post on October 15, 2008 at 6:43 AM.

Tonight is the last presidential debate and the stakes are highest for John McCain, since he's on track to finish off this debate season with three strikes. The Republican candidate appears to be heightening expectations for a fight. Before last Tuesday's debate he did the same thing, suggesting to a crowd that he would "take the gloves off." (He didn't, and by many accounts the debate was not only "boring" but another win for Obama.) Tonight is McCain's last chance to close the widening gap between him and Senator Obama. By McCain's own predictions, it would seem that only a knockout win will do the trick.

Read below for McCain's two major pronouncements: that he'll "'whip' Obama's "you-know-what" and that it's "probably ensured" he'll bring up William Ayers tonight.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Men Have Awesome Make Out Session Behind CNN Reporter
Posted by Katharine Zaleski, Huffington Post on September 16, 2008 at 3:30 AM.

CNN reporter Allan Chernoff was given a "loving" background while reporting on the grim demise of Lehman Brothers. Unbeknownst to Chernoff, two men pretended to make out behind him while he was on air. CNN anchor Kiran Chetry witnessed the scene from CNN headquarters and explained to the audience that these were "two guys, obviously, just trying to make light of a bad situation, pretending to console each other." Watch it:

Trent Lott's Likely Replacement Featured In Borat [VIDEO]
Posted by Katharine Zaleski, Huffington Post on November 28, 2007 at 11:00 AM.

This post, written by Katharine Zaleski, originally appeared on The Huffington Post

Sen. Trent Lott's resignation announcement Monday may have woken many on Capitol Hill out of their tryptophan stupors, but speculation over his replacement is not surprising anyone. The focus is on Mississippi Rep. Chip Pickering and Roger Wicker as the most likely candidates to replace Lott.

Pickering announced this summer that he would be retiring from Congress after ten plus years to spend more time with his family. If Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour appoints Pickering to Lott's Senate seat, then he'll be hitting the campaign trail instead of going home. Lott's seat will be up for grabs again in a special election occurring the same day as the November 4, 2008 general election.

And if that's the case, Pickering might find himself answering questions about his cameo in "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." Pickering appeared at a Pentecostal gathering where theories against evolution were cheered and the Chief Justice of the Mississippi State Supreme Court declared that America "will always be a Christian nation until the good lord returns."

Watch the scene to your right.