Quotes of the week: O'Reilly vs. Trump and more
Getting into the holiday spirit, we found time to play an April Fool's joke on our unfortunate interns who thought they were getting the week off. Instead they worked a week straight in the usual darkened, locked room looking through endless hours of footage just for you.
This week, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly gave Donald Trump his two cents when it came to "birther" claims about President Obama from the billionaire, reality TV personality and potential 2012 GOP candidate.
Continue »The week in quotes: Did Obama get locked out of the White House? (VIDEO)
Our crack team here at Unplugged thought they'd have it easy this week with Congress in recess, but the rest of Washington delivered in spades and kept our interns locked in the bunker with another week of sleepless nights and endless video for you and yours to enjoy.
After nearly a week spent in Latin America as the crisis in Libya unfolded, all President Obama wanted to do was get into the White House, but was he locked out?
Continue »When it comes to Libya, "war" is a dirty word for White House
Shortly after an off-camera briefing by White House press secretary Jay Carney with reporters, CBS News chief White House correspondent Chip Reid told CBS News' Rob Hendin that the administration is "still on track, they believe, to hand over authority, the lead, on this mission in Libya."
Carney also stressed that it will be days, not weeks, before the administration gives up control of the mission. In "maybe eight to nine days it's going to happen," Reid said.
Reid also noted that the White House is strongly against calling this mission a "war," a word which has caused tension among lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in Washington.
Continue »Openly gay Republican announces presidential bid
Barely hours after filing his intent with the FEC to run for the 2012 Republican nomination for president, Fred Karger stopped by Washington Unplugged to formally announce his decision.
Speaking with CBS News congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes Karger said, "I've filed to run for President of the United States." (watch above)
Explaining what brought him to this moment Karger said, "It was the culmination of a lifetime of political work. It was a very exciting moment."
Will Libya attacks lead to stalemate?
On Monday's Washington Unplugged, CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante spoke separately with national security correspondent David Martin and Robert Danin, senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations about the dilemma facing the U.S. and European allies.
Is it possible to protect the citizens of Libya and not oust longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi without causing a stalemate?
It's a perplexing thought that has sparked fears that the U.S. will enter a third war in the Middle East because of the differing words and actions from the administration.
Continue »The week in quotes: Mr. Burns "fires" Bill Plante (VIDEO)
We've come to the end of yet another week and, hopefully, you've recovered from a long night of celebrating St. Patrick's Day.
But here at Washington Unplugged we have the perfect cure for any lingering effects thanks to the tireless efforts of our crack team of researchers who worked overtime to bring you the greatest hits and misses from the week in Washington.
Included in this week's video are two quotes from Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.), including one where he remarked that no bank robbers are "walking into a bank with a gun anymore."
Continue »NPR exec.: Attacks on NPR "unfair"
Shortly before the House passed a bill which would bar all funding to NPR and other distributors of public radio, Mike Risken, NPR's VP of Policy and Representation spoke with CBS News senior political producer Rob Hendin and weighed in on the vote taking place.
"We have great concerns about its implications for the entire public radio system hundreds of stations, dozens of producers and the communities that rely on them each and every day," he said on Washington Unplugged. "It is a direct and calculated effort to weaken public radio that if enacted would choke our stations ability to serve their local audiences."
"We do think those attacks are unfair," he added when asked about the criticism NPR has received in Congress.
When asked what the mood was like at NPR in the wake of a string of controversies that propelled Republicans to move ahead with a vote, Risken told Hendin, "We have extraordinary confidence in the abilities of our journalists to do their job. We are deeply proud of the work they do and we are doing everything we can to ensure that they can continue to do their work and an environment free of influence of any kind."
Risken also responded to charges that NPR is politically biased. "We believe strongly in the character and integrity of our journalistic and programming products. And we believe the American public does as well," he said.
Continue »GOP Rep. on defunding NPR: "Let's let them loose"
In a 228 to 192 vote Thursday afternoon, the House passed a bill designed to defund NPR.
On Washington Unplugged, CBS News senior political producer Jill Jackson spoke with Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn, who introduced the bill.
Lamborn told Jackson, "NPR can survive on its own. It has quality programming... They could survive and even thrive. So let's let them loose from taxpayer subsidies."
The congressman aimed to defund NPR long before the fallout over Juan Williams last fall and the controversial video featuring former fundraising executive Ron Schiller last week.
Continue »Radicalization hearing: The good, bad and ugly
The most poignant moments from Thursday's House Homeland Security hearing on the radicalization of Muslim Americans were personal stories from those testifying as well as Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) emotional testimony.
There were also plenty of fireworks. Committee members couldn't get along, Sheila Jackson Lee quoted... well, herself and Sheriff Lee Baca decided to give the committee some much needed advice.
Continue »Sen. Sanders on why he supports funding for NPR
In an interview with CBSNews.com's Washington Unplugged today Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, weighed in on the fallout facing NPR, which has emboldened Republicans to pursue cutting off public funding for public broadcasting.
Sanders told CBS News congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes that public broadcasting supports freedom of the press, "To be honest with you, I worry concentration of ownership in media, where you have a handful of media conglomerates largely controlling what we see, hear and read."
Sanders continued, "To some degree NPR and PBS offer an alternative to that."
Cordes also asked Sanders about GOP Rep. Peter King's so called Muslim radicalization hearing scheduled for Thursday. Continue »
The week in quotes: Huckabee on Obama, Bush on Frist (VIDEO)
While Congress was hard at work temporarily avoiding a government shutdown and the NFL and the players' union tried their best not to become the sports world's version of Wisconsin, the crack team at Washington Unplugged scoured through endless hours of video to find you the good, bad and just plain strange from the week in Washington.
Continue »Tea Party Group slams deal to avoid shutdown
On Washington Unplugged, CBS News senior political producer Rob Hendin spoke with Tea Party Patriots co-founder and national coordinator Mark Meckler for reaction to Congress' two-week continuing resolution to fund the government, which would cut $4 billion in spending and, for the time-being, prevent a government shutdown.
When asked for comment after House Speaker John Boehner said in a news conference Wednesday that there's no threat of a government shutdown, Meckler told Hendin, "I mean initially, that's just pathetic. Basically what he's saying is we're here to do some serious negotiations but before we start we'd like to look like we gave up. I'm stunned that he would say something like that."
Meckler thinks Republicans are conceding to the demands of President Obama and Democrats.
"People are not really concerned about a government shutdown," Meckler noted, "In fact, I think there are a lot of people who would be happy to see the government shutdown for a few days."
The Tea Party movement wields influence within the Republican Party and is likely to be crucial to the success or failure of potential GOP presidential candidates in 2012. Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, who's considered a likely contender for the nomination, released (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20037681-503544.html?tag=mncol;lst;1) an ad Tuesday courting the Tea Party in dramatic fashion.
Continue »Rep. Rush Holt's secret to beating IBM's Watson (VIDEO)
It wasn't just man versus machine Monday night here in Washington but congressman versus machine as Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) took on IBM's Watson along with fellow members of Congress during a mock exhibition Jeopardy match in Washington.
Holt told CBSNews.com's Lauren Seifert the day after his victory "I think Watson was having a low-voltage night."
Continue »Wisconsin's Peter Barca: Scott Walker "trampled on democracy"
Governor Scott Walker's controversial budget measure that would strip most public employee unions of their collective bargaining rights moved forward in the wee hours Friday morning, when Wisconsin Republicans surprised Democrats by abruptly ending debate and passing the bill through the state assembly before Democrats could stop them.
On Friday's live edition of Washington Unplugged, Wisconsin representative Peter Barca, the Democratic leader in the state assembly, gave CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante his impression of what happened.
"It was quite a scene last night in the capitol," Barca said. "[Republicans] trampled on democracy though throughout the day and really throughout this past week."
Barca said he was amazed that Republicans could pass the bill even as thousands protested outside the statehouse. He told Plante, "People are outraged that their governor and other legislators are willing to take away their rights to collectively bargain at every level."
Continue »Planned Parenthood debate is personal for young woman
As the debate over Planned Parenthood continues in Washington, Chloe Heitnz, a 22-year-old recent college graduate, took to YouTube to explain how Planned Parenthood helped her at one of the darkest moments of her life. On Thursday, she shared her story with Washington Unplugged.
In the video Heintz explains how she was raped by a boyfriend when she was 17. As she explained to CBSNews.com's Lauren Seifert during the interview, "It was a pretty violent situation... And afterward it took a long time for me to develop a coherent way of thinking about that experience."
Heintz did not get pregnant as a result of the assault, but she was given a pregnancy test and tested for STDs at Planned Parenthood.
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