Walmart Black Friday Protests Hit Major Cities With Calls For '$15 And Full Time'

WASHINGTON -- Dirk Rasmussen had Friday off and could have slept in if he wanted to. Instead, the Maryland resident and Teamster rose early and drove to downtown Washington, eager to join a post-Thanksgiving protest against Walmart.

"Our local [union] president encouraged us to take part," said Rasmussen, 58, who works in a lumber and building-supply warehouse. "I raised eight children on a Teamsters benefit package and Teamsters wage. I'm a firm believer in collective bargaining, and I'm very concerned about the security of this next generation."

Black Friday may be most famous for doorbuster shopping deals, but among progressives it's becoming a regular holiday for labor demonstrations. Friday marked the third consecutive year of scattered but highly visible protests against Walmart. Demonstrators, along with an unknown number of Walmart strikers, are calling for better pay and scheduling practices from the world's largest retailer.

On Thursday and Friday, photos on Twitter tagged with #walmartstrikers showed sizable protests in D.C., Pittsburgh, Northern New Jersey, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Calif., and St. Paul, Minn., among other areas. The protests were led by OUR Walmart, a union-backed worker group, alongside community and labor groups in different cities.

100+ stand in solidarity w #WalmartStrikers on thanksgiving in DC pic.twitter.com/Spqc8rsooQ

-- DC Jobs With Justice (@DCJWJ) November 28, 2014

Dan Schlademan, campaign director of Making Change at Walmart, a project of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, said on a call with reporters Friday that he expects the number of strikers to be in the hundreds by the end of the day, though the group could not provide a specific number of workers who'd submitted strike notices to their bosses.

"All the signs that we're seeing is that this is going to be the biggest day ever," Schlademan said.

Brooke Buchanan, a spokeswoman for Walmart, told HuffPost that the retailer was more concerned with serving its customers than with protests it views as union stunts. According to Buchanan, more than 22 million shoppers came to Walmart stores on Thanksgiving alone this year.

"We're really focused on our customers," Buchanan said. "We've got millions of customers coming in [on Thanksgiving] and Friday, and we're making sure they have a safe and exciting shopping experience."

In D.C., a crowd estimated at 200 to 400 people assembled outside the Walmart store on H Street Northwest, calling on the retailer to commit to "$15 and full time" -- a wage of $15 per hour, the same rate demanded by fast-food strikers, and a full-time schedule for those who want it. One of OUR Walmart's top criticisms of the retailer is that part-time workers don't get enough hours.

The protest was large enough to draw the D.C. police, who stood at the store's doors and dispersed the crowd after about an hour.

Melinda Gaino, an employee at the store, said she would be missing three shifts this week while on strike. Gaino took part in a sit-down strike on Wednesday inside the H Street store, where she and other protesters sat on the floor with tape over their mouths, calling on Walmart to end what they called the silencing of workers.

Gaino, a 45-year-old mother of four, said she joined OUR Walmart in August out of concern with some of the challenges faced by her colleagues. Many workers, she said, don't get enough hours to support their families.

"This has given me more confidence," Gaino, who earns $9.90 per hour, said of going on strike. "I said I've come this far, so I may as well go all in."

Correction: This item originally misstated the number of Walmart shoppers on Thanksgiving.

Nice of @walmart to set up a lovely tableau for #WalmartStrikers! Roll back? Fight back! #BlackFridayWOA pic.twitter.com/XR0y85co5o

-- Jess Banks (@ProfBanks) November 28, 2014

Walmart Workers Launch Black Friday Strike

WASHINGTON -- Kicking off the third consecutive year of protests, Walmart workers in six states have formally submitted strike notices to their bosses ahead of the Black Friday shopping frenzy, calling for higher wages and better hours, according to OUR Walmart, the group representing the workers.

OUR Walmart did not provide an estimate on how many workers planned to take part in the strikes this year. It did, however, say that workers in Wisconsin, Louisiana, Florida, California, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., have already delivered notices, and it anticipates workers in Illinois, Minnesota, Texas and Pennsylvania will do so as well.

Charles Brown, an OUR Walmart member who unloads trucks at a Walmart in Newport News, Virginia, said he plans to miss three shifts this week to take part in the demonstrations. Brown said he joined the group in September to demand a greater say in scheduling as well as "more respect" from management.

"Some [other workers] may want to do a strike as well but are hesitant," said Brown, 27. "They need to know they don't have anything to be afraid of. If we don't stand up, no one else is going to stand up for us."

Black Friday has become an annual rallying cry for the anti-Walmart crowd, with labor activists and other progressives pillorying the world's largest retailer over its wages and scheduling practices for store employees. It also marks the most contentious week of the year between the Arkansas-based retail giant and OUR Walmart, which is backed by the United Food and Commercial Workers, a union that's been working to organize Walmart employees for years.

Walmart has downplayed the significance of the strikes in years past, noting that they involve just a tiny fraction of the retailer's one-million-plus U.S. workforce, and painted them as union-orchestrated stunts. OUR Walmart tends to put the number of strikers in the hundreds each year, while Walmart puts it more in the dozens.

"Perception is not reality in this case," said Brooke Buchanan, a Walmart spokeswoman. "Year after year we see the labor union and paid organizers promising they'll be out in force. And every year, we see a handful of people at a handful of stores."

Noting that Walmart workers get a holiday bonus, Buchanan also threw this barb at OUR Walmart and UFCW: "Are they going to pay their workers double time for working the holiday?" A union spokeswoman said all employees are salaried and work "as needed," meaning there is no bonus.

The sight of Walmart workers going on strike in the past two years has provided a shot in the arm to the labor movement, even if the numbers aren't large enough to impact sales. Like the fast-food walkouts that have popped up in cities across the country, the Walmart strikes aren't necessarily meant to disrupt the company's operations, but instead to draw attention to the participants' grievances.

This year, the group's members are making a specific demand in the protests: a wage of $15 and "consistent, full-time hours." Not coincidentally, $15 per hour is the same demand being put forth by the fast food strikers, whose movement is billed as Fight for $15 and who are backed by the Service Employees International Union.

OUR Walmart members have also been calling for an end to what they describe as retaliation from management for speaking out.

Since the strikes began in 2012, UFCW has filed a host of unfair labor practice charges against Walmart with the National Labor Relations Board, some of which the board's general counsel found merit in, some of which it did not. The general counsel issued a complaint in January alleging that Walmart had illegally punished workers in several states surrounding the strikes. That case has not yet been resolved.

OUR Walmart, in turn, has faced a number of court injunctions barring its members from protesting on Walmart property in certain states due to trespassing.

Many of the protests have focused on a lack of stable hours for workers, who say they don't get enough time on the schedule in order to make ends meet. Walmart says that a majority of its workforce is full-time, though it doesn't provide an exact percentage. The company recently launched a program aimed at giving more hours to the workers who need them, though it insisted the program was not a response to the protests.

Glova Scott, an employee at a Walmart in Washington, D.C., said she has already called in to her store and told them she won't be coming in this week. Scott said she's been working for Walmart for a little over a year but just joined OUR Walmart a week and a half ago. Fifty-nine years old, she earns $10.90 an hour stocking shelves on the night shift.

"It's hard. We work in an atmosphere where the pay doesn't make ends meet, and a lot of my co-workers think the solution is to look for another job rather than try to improve conditions," said Scott. "I joined because I wanted to be part of a movement. I'm looking forward to going back to work and encouraging my co-workers to join me."

Thanksgiving Day Deals Trump Black Friday This Year

NEW YORK (AP) — Thanksgiving could be the best day to shop all year.

An analysis of sales data and store circulars by two research firms contradicts conventional wisdom that Black Friday is when shoppers can get the most and biggest sales of the year.

Turns out, shoppers will find more discounted items in stores that are open on Thanksgiving. For example, there are a total of 86 laptops and tablets deeply discounted as door buster deals at Best Buy, Wal-Mart and others on the holiday compared with just nine on Black Friday, according to an analysis of promotions for The Associated Press by researcher MarketTrack.

And on the Web, discounts will be deeper on the holiday. Online prices on Thanksgiving are expected to be about 24 percent cheaper compared with 23 percent on Black Friday and 20 percent on Cyber Monday, according to Adobe, which tracks data on 4,500 retail web sites.

The data is the latest proof that retailers are slowly redefining the Black Friday tradition. It's been the biggest shopping day of the year for years, mostly because it's traditionally when retailers pull out their best sales events. But in the last few years, retailers like the Gap, Target and Toys R Us have started opening their stores and offering holiday discounts on Thanksgiving to better compete with online rivals.

"I was surprised, but it really shifted one day," said Tamara Gaffney, principal analyst at Adobe, which is based in San Jose, California.

Shoppers already are noticing the deals on Thanksgiving. Corey Grassell, 34, of Appleton, Wisconsin, said he plans to shop for deals on Thanksgiving and bypass Black Friday. That's after he grabbed bargains last year on the holiday, including a washer-dryer combination at Sears for about $800, a 50 percent discount.

"I feel guilty for going out on Thanksgiving, but the deals are so much more attractive to me than on Black Friday," he says.

But some industry watchers fear others won't shop on Thanksgiving, choosing to keep the day sacred. Those who wait instead to shop on Black Friday could wind up being disappointed with the leftover deals, they say. In fact, according to Deloitte Research's recent survey of shoppers, about two-thirds say they're not motivated to go out to stores Thanksgiving because it's important to be with family and friends.

"Shoppers could be disappointed and find that the hot items on their list are not in stock on Black Friday because of the early push by retailers," says Traci Gregorski, MarketTrack's vice president of marketing.

She says she's conducting a survey of shoppers after the holiday shopping weekend to see how retailers fared. "We want to get shoppers' perception of these deals," she says.

Most big retailers acknowledge that they're starting to offer deals on Thanksgiving that previously were reserved for Black Friday.

Jeff Haydock, a spokesman at Best Buy, the nation's largest consumer electronics chain, said the best deals become available Thanksgiving when its doors open at 5 p.m. For example, one of Best Buy's Thanksgiving specials is a $899 55-inch LED Smart TV, the lowest price it has ever offered on a Samsung ultra-high definition TV of this size. That will be available on Friday —if supplies last.

"Naturally, more of the deals are being pulled into Thursday because our stores are open," says Haydock.

Brian Hanover, a spokesman at Sears, which is opening at 6 p.m. Thursday, also says Thanksgiving specials spill into Black Friday. But the quantities for the 1,000 door busters are limited. They include Nordic Track treadmills for $699.99, or an $800 discount, and a 36 percent savings on a Whirlpool laundry machine, regularly priced at $549.99.

"It probably behooves the customer to shop earlier on Thanksgiving," he says.

For its part, Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, says it's spreading out discounts online and in the store. But Gregorski, of MarketTrack's says its "evident" in Wal-Mart's circular that "the best deals are on Thanksgiving."

To be sure, for its two sales events on Thanksgiving, Wal-Mart devotes 36 pages of its circular to discounted TVs, computers and other items. On Black Friday? Wal-Mart has four pages of deals.

_______________

Follow Anne D'Innocenzio at — https://twitter.com/adinnocenzio

How FDR Commercialized Thanksgiving

For those who deride America's biggest retail companies for ruining Thanksgiving by offering Black Friday "doorbusters" smack dab in the middle of the holiday, that's hardly the worst of it.

Many decades ago retailers actually managed to convince the president to change the date of the holiday in order to get people to shop more.

In 1939 during the Great Depression, then President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving Day a week earlier to give Americans an extra week to do their Christmas shopping.

That year, Thanksgiving would have fallen on November 30, the last day of the month. That meant there were fewer days than usual between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Fearing that the shortened holiday shopping season might further crimp the economy, FDR simply moved the date.

At the time, the president said that retailers had pushed him to move Thanksgiving because the holiday fell too close to Christmas. He justified his decision by acknowledging "there was nothing sacred about the date," according to an Associated Press story that appeared on the front page of the New York Times on August 15, 1939.

FDR moved Thanksgiving in 1939.

There was, of course, much opposition. According to the AP story, the town of Plymouth, Mass., where the first Thanksgiving holiday was celebrated, was staunchly opposed. The move also "provided a headache... for football schedule makers," who had already scheduled games to be played on the day they thought would be Thanksgiving. Sixteen states refused to accept the president's proclamation, and kept Thanksgiving on its normal day. Overall 59 percent of Americans objected to it, according to a Gallup poll.

The change was so unpopular FDR reversed his plan less than two years later, admitting that his Thanksgiving experiment didn't do much to help the retail industry.

In 1942, Thanksgiving went back to its old date, and today the holiday is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.

"Some people never forgave him,” Geoffrey C. Ward, author of "The Roosevelts," told The Huffington Post.

FDR announced in 1941 that he was moving Thanksgiving back to its original date.

Though today, there's no talk of moving Thanksgiving earlier in the month to satisfy corporate America, the effort to make the holiday shopping season longer is still alive and well.

Last year, Thanksgiving once again fell late in the month, a "glitch" that retailers worried would cost them billions. In response, many stores opened for the first time on Thanksgiving Day and holiday spending actually increased over the previous year.

So in a way, Roosevelt was right. Even though his experiment didn't totally pan out, it was only a matter of time before retailers got their stranglehold on Thanksgiving once again.

Correction: An earlier version of this post stated that in 1942, Thanksgiving went back to being celebrated on the last Thursday in November. In fact, it's celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.

10 Countries With The Most Slaves

While many believe slavery is an issue of the past, it remains a real, yet largely hidden, problem. An estimated 35.8 million people are enslaved worldwide, according to a recent report by the Walk Free Foundation, a human rights organization.

Modern-day slavery differs from traditional slavery. In traditional slavery, which is illegal in each of the 167 countries reviewed in the 2014 Global Slavery Index, people were considered legal property. However, modern slavery, which is defined as possession or control of a person that deprives them of their rights with the intention of exploiting them, exists in each of the 167 nations.

In some countries, the number of enslaved people is especially high. Five countries alone account for 61% of all people believed to be living in modern slavery, and 70% of all enslaved people live in 10 countries. India had the highest number of people living in modern slavery, at over 14 million. Based on figures from the 2014 Global Slavery Index, these are the countries with the most slaves.

Many of the nations on this list are also among the world’s most populous, which certainly plays a role in the high numbers of slaves. Seven of the world’s 10 most highly populated nations are among the countries with the most people living in slavery. However, size alone does not account for the high levels of slavery in these nations. For instance, the United States is the world’s third most populous country, yet it has far fewer people enslaved than any other similarly large country.

Click here to see the countries with the most slaves

In fact, a number of the countries with the most slaves also have a high prevalence of slavery, measured as a percent of the population. For instance, more than 1% of the populations of India, Pakistan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo were deemed by the Walk Free Foundation to be enslaved, a higher percentage than in most nations. In Uzbekistan, 4% of all people live in modern slavery, the second highest percentage in the world.

Populations that are vulnerable to slavery often reside in countries where government is not stable or discrimination is prevalent, according to the Walk Free Foundation. Fiona David, executive director of global research for the foundation, summarized the role of political instability in driving vulnerability, telling 24/7 Wall St., “In conflict situations, the rule of law breaks down. People no longer have access to the police or other services to protect them.” Similarly, when discrimination is rampant, people also lack access to important protective services.

Vulnerability to slavery is also shaped by a country’s economic and social development. In fact, the nations with the highest numbers of people living in slavery often had low scores on the Human Development Index (HDI). Seven of the 10 countries on our list had low HDI scores, falling outside the top 100 nations measured out of a total of 187 countries. One country that scored especially poorly was the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where a lack of stability has hampered development and, in turn, made people vulnerable to slavery.

Corruption also frequently hampers government policies and other efforts to curb modern slavery. According to David, people are more vulnerable when the rule of law is not strong enough to protect them, “and, of course, corruption breaks down the rule of law.” Anti-corruption advocacy group Transparency International rated all but one of the countries on this list worse than a majority of countries on its 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index.

To identify the countries where the most people live in modern slavery, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed figures from The Global Slavery Index 2014 on the estimated population living in slavery in each country. The index also provided the approximate percentages of a country’s population living in modern slavery. We also reviewed data from the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index (HDI). Economic data, such as gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, came from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Data on corruption is from the 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index, compiled by Transparency International.

These are the countries with the most slaves.

Fewer People Plan To Shop On Thanksgiving This Year

Could the country's biggest box stores be losing their so-called "War on Thanksgiving"?

Fewer Americans plan to spend their turkey day shopping this year compared to 2013, according to a report released Thursday by the National Retail Federation.

Only 18.3 percent of people (25.6 million people) who said they will shop on Thanksgiving weekend plan to do so on Thanksgiving Day, according to NRF. That's down from the 23.5 percent of holiday shoppers who said they would shop on Thanksgiving Day last year.

The NRF polled 6,593 people, 61.1 percent of whom said they plan to shop either Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend. Based on the poll, the NRF expects 140.1 million Americans to shop throughout the course of the weekend, which is down slightly from the 140.3 million expected last year.

The decline comes as more and more of the nation's biggest retailers prepare to kick off their holiday shopping sales on Thanksgiving Day, instead of the following day, known as Black Friday.

Considered the biggest shopping weekend of the year, Black Friday and the days around it have grown into a giant turf war for the nation's brick-and-mortar stores, all struggling to stave off the effects of a sluggish economic recovery and facing fierce competition from online retailers.

Kmart plans to kick off its Black Friday sales at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, and stay open 42 hours straight. Most Walmart stores will be open all day on Thanksgiving as well, with Black Friday deals starting at 6 p.m.

Jeff Shelman, a spokesman for Best Buy, recently told The Huffington Post that the electronics retailer began stretching its Black Friday shopping into Thanksgiving Day last year after noticing it was losing shoppers to competitors who opened earlier on Thursday.

"The reality is, customers have shown that they want to shop on Thanksgiving evening, and we want to be there to serve those customers," Shelman said.

Deisha Barnett, a spokeswoman for Walmart, said the nation's biggest retailer is "cautiously optimistic" about Thanksgiving weekend.

"Competition is definitely heavy out there," Barnett said. She did not disclose how many shoppers she expects to come out on Thanksgiving this year.

Last year, sales on Black Friday actually fell 13.2 percent compared to 2012 because more shoppers were coming out on Thursday. Stores generally count on holiday shopping for a huge portion of their annual sales.

In recent years, however, this aggressive push has come under scrutiny from shoppers and workers who accuse large retailers of waging war on Thanksgiving -- a day, like Christmas, when stores have historically remained closed. Many low-wage workers now have to sacrifice the holiday to staff store openings that are generally pretty chaotic, and sometimes even dangerous.

That said, retailers maintain that Thanksgiving weekend has become the "Super Bowl" of the retail industry, and that employees generally are pretty excited to work.

Obamacare Penalty Could Cost More Than You Expect

Considering going without health insurance next year? Be careful -- it could cost more than you think.

As you’ve probably heard, Obamacare requires most U.S. residents to obtain some form of health coverage, either from a job, a private insurance company or a government program like Medicaid.

Failing to do so could mean taking a hit on your taxes. There’s been a lot of attention paid to the $95 tax penalty for people who are uninsured this year. But in reality, few people will pay that little, and high-income households could owe thousands of dollars when they file their 2014 taxes. Plus, the minimum penalty more than triples for the 2015 tax year.

Don’t expect to hear much about the mandate during the big enrollment push under way. Although the individual mandate is a critical part of Obamacare, it’s politically toxic. Plus, focusing on the positive benefits of the law has proven more effective at increasing enrollment -- and decreasing the number of people who’d be penalized -- than emphasizing the negative parts of it, said Anne Filipic, president of Enroll America, a nonprofit promoting Obamacare sign-ups.

“We are continuing to lead with the facts about what’s available to consumers, and especially the message about financial assistance,” Filipic said. “We want to be careful not to talk about it in a threatening way.” Information about the mandate and penalties will be secondary, and the group plans to emphasize it closer to the February deadline to use the the health insurance exchanges to sign up for coverage that will be in effect next year, she said.

An April Enroll America survey found that the mandate motivated some people who signed up during the first Obamacare enrollment period, which ended in April. Nineteen percent said they wouldn’t have enrolled without it, and another 21 percent said they weren’t sure if the would have.

Still, President Barack Obama’s administration believes promoting the subsidies available to low- and middle-income families and emphasizing the cut-off date is a better way to boost sign-ups. “Our primary focus is going to be on affordability and deadlines. That’s what we know really works and drives people,” a senior administration official told The Huffington Post.

But the individual mandate is a big and complex change in the law, and taxpayers need to understand how it affects them. That’s especially true now. Enrollment on the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges began Saturday and runs through Feb. 15. Except under special circumstances, like having a baby, consumers who want to use these online marketplaces will have to sign up now or wait until next year to get for private insurance. (However, there’s no deadline for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program applications.)

Considering an estimated 87 percent of Americans already have health coverage and the slew of exemptions from the individual mandate, not many people actually will owe penalties if they aren’t covered. For those who do owe, the penalty will likely cost less than health insurance -- but they'll be exposed to potentially unlimited expenses in the event of a serious injury or illness.

The individual mandate penalty is calculated as the greater of either a set dollar amount or a percentage of income, and it varies from $95 to about $11,000.

To protect lower-income families from big expenses, and to more strongly push higher-income people to get covered rather than pay the extra taxes, there are two methods for figuring out the penalty. You would pay either as a set dollar amount per person -- $95 per adult and $47.50 per child, up to $285 this year -- or a percentage of household income, whichever is higher.

For the 2014 tax year, higher-income people who are uninsured probably would wind up paying 1 percent of their taxable income minus $10,000 to $22,400, depending on family size and other factors. That could be as much as $11,000, which is the maximum possible penalty, and is based on the national average price for a "bronze" insurance plan available on the Obamacare exchanges.

The minimum penalties get a lot higher next year. They start out at $325 per adult and $162.50 per child, up to a maximum of $975 per household, or 2 percent of household income (after subtracting that $10,000 or more), whichever is more. The maximum penalty for 2015 will be about the same as the maximum penalty for 2014.

A family of four with an income of three times the federal poverty level -- about $70,650 -- would owe around $500 this year, and more than double that in 2015, according to a calculator created by the Tax Policy Center.

People who owe these penalties will see them deducted from their income tax refunds or added to their tax bills. Unlike other taxes owed, though, not paying isn’t a crime, and the IRS can’t garnish the wages or put liens on the property of people who don’t pay it.

Plus, there are a whole lot of exemptions from the individual mandate.

They include if you earn too little to file federal income taxes or if the cheapest plan you can find costs more than 8 percent of your income. People with religious objections to insurance also don’t have to get covered. Undocumented immigrants aren’t allowed to use the Obamacare exchanges, so they also don’t have to comply with the individual mandate. People who live in states that didn't adopt Obamacare’s expansion of Medicaid are exempt if they would have qualified for the program. What’s more, there’s a “hardship” exemption the federal government has defined very broadly.

Obamacare includes the individual mandate as a way to nudge people into health coverage and discourage “free riders” who use health services when they could afford insurance. Being insured for at least nine months a year fulfills the mandate.

Obamacare’s authors call it the “individual shared responsibility provision.” As the theory goes, a health insurance market that’s open to everyone, including those with pre-existing conditions, must include as many people as possible, especially those who don’t have high medical bills and will pay into the pool without drawing down much. As healthy people age or become unlucky enough to get sick, this is supposed guarantee there’s a health insurance system in place to take care of them.

In addition, more people covered means fewer people getting treated at emergency rooms and not paying the bills, which costs taxpayers billions in the form of special Medicare and Medicaid funding that goes to hospitals treating large numbers of people who can’t afford the care they received. So people either get covered, or pay the penalty to offset the costs they incur when they get sick.

“Those who can afford health care but choose to go without are required to make a payment to help cover their medical costs and keep coverage affordable for others,” the Treasury spokesperson wrote.

Sam Stein contributed reporting.

Doritos-Flavored Mountain Dew Is Real, PepsiCo Confirms

PepsiCo Inc. is concocting a version of its Mountain Dew soda flavored to taste like cheesy Doritos chips, the company stated Friday.

The soda and snack giant said it tested the new flavor, dubbed “Dewitos,” on college students. The company did not reveal which colleges participated in the test, but at least one Reddit user, who goes by the username joes_nipples, posted a photo of the taste test on Friday, saying the soda did, in fact, taste like Doritos.

“We are always testing out new flavors of Mountain Dew, and giving our fans a voice in helping decide on the next new product has always been important to us,” a spokeswoman for PepsiCo said in a statement to The Huffington Post. “We opened up the DEW flavor vault and gave students a chance to try this Doritos-inspired flavor as part of a small program at colleges and universities.”

This isn't the first time PepsiCo has combined the highly caffeinated soda and the cheese-dusted nacho chips. PepsiCo also owns Frito-Lay, which makes Doritos, and the company has a long history of linking the two brands through new flavors or joint promotions. In 2008, PepsiCo released Doritos Quest, a sweet chip with a mystery flavor that was later identified as Mountain Dew.

The company has also long promoted Doritos and Mountain Dew, together enshrined in video gaming culture as the ultimate snacking cuisine, in marketing campaigns promoting the release of games on Microsoft’s Xbox.

Earlier this year, PepsiCo began printing special codes on bottles of Mountain Dew and bags of Doritos that can be used to unlock gear and increase experience points in “Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare,” which was released this week.

It’s unclear whether the Doritos-flavored soda will ever reach store shelves. But there's evidence to suggest that the Doritos and Mountain Dew combination is popular: In June, YouTube chef Rosanna Pansino introduced the world to Mountain Dew-flavored cupcakes topped with a Doritos crumble. And interest in the two brands, as shown by this Google Trends graph, seems to be on the rise:

This story has been updated.

Obamacare Shoppers Get Sneak Peek At New Prices

Health insurance consumers using HealthCare.gov will get their first look at the prices for 2015 coverage starting Sunday night, when window shopping goes live on the website, federal officials announced Sunday.

Shoppers won't be able to choose a health plan for 2015 until Nov. 15, when the three-month enrollment period begins. But the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is providing early access to estimated health insurance premiums and the value of subsidies available to low- and moderate-income households. The window-shopping tool proved to be the most-visited part of HealthCare.gov during the first Obamacare enrollment period, officials said.

HealthCare.gov, which serves insurance consumers in more than 30 states, debuted Oct. 1, 2013, without the ability for people to window shop, which forced users to create accounts and begin applications for coverage before they could view prices. And since the website was barely functional for the first two months of the six-month sign-up period last year, the absence of this tool made it nearly impossible for people to gauge whether they could afford coverage -- and put greater strain on the system -- until the feature was added.

Obamacare officials said they would release an analysis of the health insurance premiums for 2015 later this week.

"We think the news is largely positive," said Kevin Counihan, the CEO of HealthCare.gov and the director of the Center for Consumer and Information and Insurance Oversight within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Independent analyses based on health insurance pricing information made public by state regulators have shown modest average premium increases for Obamacare plans across the nation. According to the consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, rates will rise an average of 6 percent in states that have reported 2015 prices. The changes vary greatly, however, so some consumers will see double-digit increases while others will see prices go down if they keep their current coverage. The number of health insurers selling plans on the exchanges also is increasing by about 25 percent.

Consumers will be automatically re-enrolled into the plans they have this year if they are still being sold by their insurance carriers, but Counihan stressed that federal officials want individuals who already have coverage through the exchanges to revisit the website to ensure they're getting the best deal based on the new prices and the subsidies they can receive based on their incomes.

"The majority of our customers will be able to save money by shopping and comparing," Counihan said during a conference call with reporters Sunday. "We are strongly encouraging our customers to return back to HealthCare.gov, update their income and eligibility information, shop and compare, and see if there are better values out there for them."

Next year's prices will be available Sunday night on both HealthCare.gov and CuidadoDeSalud.gov, the Spanish-language portal to the federally run exchanges. Thirteen states and the District of Columbia operate their own exchanges and will provide premium information on their own schedules, the federal officials said.

The health insurance exchanges will open on time next Saturday, said Andy Slavitt, principal deputy administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. "We've hit all the critical deadlines," he said. "We're not contemplating anything unusual or out of the ordinary, regarding Nov. 15."

The HealthCare.gov team has streamlined the application process most consumers will use, and has completed more than a month of testing to ensure the website functions this time. The website also will be able to serve more users at a time than it did during the first enrollment period.

Officials said it will be easier than it was last year for visitors to HealthCare.gov to access the window-shopping tool and view estimates of the price and benefits of plans available in their local area before this sign-up period.

Shoppers can provide their zip codes, approximate income and information about the make-up of their households to get a look at what's available and what it costs, including the effects of tax credits to reduce premiums, and subsidies to reduce out-of-pocket costs. Then users can sort health insurance plans by price and level of benefits, view information on what services are covered or not covered, and see how much they will pay when they receive medical care. When consumers find a plan they may want to purchase during the enrollment period, they can print out or email the information to themselves or save the link to that plan.

Minimum Wage Raise Passes In Four GOP States

Voters in four red states approved ballot initiatives to raise their state minimum wages on Tuesday, sending another message to Washington that Americans support a higher wage floor.

Binding minimum wage referendums were on the ballot in Arkansas, Nebraska, Alaska and South Dakota on Tuesday, with polls suggesting ahead of election day that all would pass.

Arkansas voters approved their initiative by a 65-to-35 margin, according to early returns. The measure will increase the minimum wage incrementally to $8.50 per hour by 2017. Nebraska voters, meanwhile, approved their initiative, which will raise the minimum wage to $9 by 2016, by a 62-to-38 margin.

Alaskans voted by a 69-to-31 margin to raise their minimum wage from $7.75 to $9.75 an hour by 2016, and then peg it to an inflation index so that it rises with the cost of living. South Dakota voted 55-45 to raise their minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.50 next year. It will also be indexed thereafter.

The federal minimum wage is just $7.25 per hour and hasn't been raised since 2009, though states have the option of setting their own minimum wages instead. Arkansas and Nebraska will now join 24 other states that are slated to have a higher wage floor than the federal level next year.

Raising the minimum wage is extremely popular among Americans, with 70 percent of respondents to a recent poll saying they back the idea. That support tends to cross party lines, even if Democrats are more enthusiastic about the idea than Republicans.

Supporting minimum wage increases became so fashionable during this midterm election season that even some Republican candidates got behind the ballot initiatives. After discouraging such a raise earlier this year, Dan Sullivan, the Republican challenger to Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), eventually said that he would vote in favor of the Alaska measure. Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who unseated Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) on Tuesday, slowly came around to say he would do the same for the initiative in Arkansas.

Given the broad public support, progressive and labor groups in recent years have made a point of putting minimum wage referendums on the ballot at the state and city level. By going to the ballot box, minimum wage backers are able to bypass reluctant state legislatures, particularly those led by Republicans, and put the vote to what is often a more sympathetic audience.

Recent polls in Arkansas, Alaska and South Dakota all showed support for the minimum wage ballot measures, even though the legislatures in those states are GOP-controlled. Nebraska, though solidly red, does not formally recognize state lawmakers' party affiliation.

Minimum wage increases have been a bright spot for organized labor recently, as unions -- and the Service Employees International Union in particular -- have spearheaded the campaign to raise wages in fast food and retail. Low-wage worker strikes have gained national attention.

President Barack Obama has cited the fast-food strikes in calling on Congress to hike the federal minimum wage. Democrats in both chambers have proposed raising the wage to $10.10 per hour and tying it to an inflation index. House Republicans, however, haven't brought the measure up for a vote, and Senate Democrats haven't rounded up enough votes to overcome a GOP filibuster.

This story was updated after wage increases passed in Alaska and South Dakota.

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Oldest Newest Share + 11/05/2014 8:27 AM ESTChristie: GOP Wins Show Focus On Leadership

The AP reported Wednesday:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says Republican victories in governor's races across the country show voters want leaders who will "get things done," rather that fighting over ideology.

Christie, chairman of the Republican Governors Association and a possible 2016 candidate for president, said he was gratified by GOP wins in Democratic-leaning states such as Maryland, Massachusetts and Illinois, as well as victories in key swing states like Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio.

Christie said voters "elect and re-elect governors to get things done."

Christie, who campaigned for GOP candidates across the country, said the winners deserve the credit, not him. He said elections are "always about the candidate."

Christie spoke Wednesday on NBC's "Today" show, ABC's "Good Morning America" and Fox News Channel.

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 7:46 AM ESTPresident Obama To Address Midterm Results In Afternoon Press Conference

President Barack Obama will speak to the press Wednesday afternoon to address his party's resounding loss in the 2014 midterm elections, according to White House press secretary Josh Earnest. He is expected to strike a tone of compromise and accountability following a Republican takeover of the U.S. Senate and many of the nation's gubernatorial offices.

Obama tried reached out to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who is widely expected to be the next senate majority leader and who also won re-election Tuesday night, and left a message, CNN reported.

The president's press conference will take place at 2:50 p.m. Eastern time from the East Room of the White House.

Igor Bobic

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 6:57 AM ESTIndictment, Dog Killing, Infidelity Overcome By GOP Candidates

How bad was it for Democrats? Rep. Michael Grimm, a Republican facing a 20-count indictment won in New York and another known for outbursts of rage and killing a beagle, Mike Bost, won a seat in President Barack Obama's home state of Illinois that had been Democratic for 70 years.

Down in Tennessee, Rep. Scott DesJarlais' past infidelities and pushing of abortion on a mistress continued to not matter to voters, who handed him a landslide victory.

There were a couple of bright spots for Democrats, or at least the more moderate crowd. Florida Rep. Steve Southerland lost to Democrat Gwen Graham after holding an all-male fundraiser and joking about Graham in lingerie. And in Louisiana, GOP Rep. Vance McAllister, dubbed the "Kissing Congressman" after he was caught on tape smooching a staffer, finished far back in the field in his contest.

-- Michael McAuliff

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 5:24 AM ESTExpect A Delay In Results

AP not calling these races until the number of outstanding votes can be verified: Va. gov.; Conn. gov.; Colo. gov.; Alaska gov, Senate.

— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) November 5, 2014

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 5:07 AM ESTAlaska Becomes 4th State To Legalize Recreational Marijuana

In yet another major pushback against the war on drugs, Alaska legalized recreational marijuana on Tuesday, joining Oregon and Washington, D.C. -- both of which legalized cannabis only hours before. Alaska becomes the fourth state in the U.S. to legalize retail marijuana, along with Oregon, Colorado and Washington state.

Voters approved Measure 2, which legalizes the possession, use and sale of recreational marijuana. Adults, age 21 and older, may possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana and grow up to six plants (with no more than three being mature) for personal use. The measure also legalizes the manufacture, sale and possession of marijuana paraphernalia, such as devices used for smoking or storing the plant.

“The folks trying to keep marijuana illegal are relying on the same scare tactics today that they have relied on for decades, but voters just aren’t falling for it anymore," Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a statement early Wednesday morning. "The results are particularly encouraging since voter turnout during a midterm election is typically smaller, older, and more conservative. Clearly, support for ending marijuana prohibition spans the political and ideological spectrums."

Read more here.

-- Matt Ferner

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 4:28 AM ESTAh, Politics... Chicago-Style

People are STILL voting on Chicago's north side because of election judge problems @cbschicago #Election2014

— Elizabeth Godvik (@GodvikNewzGirl) November 5, 2014

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 3:40 AM ESTSarah Palin To GOP: You Didn't Build This

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin took to Facebook last night to issue a hearty congratulations -- and warning -- to her GOP brethren:

Thank you, wise voters! Tonight is a big victory for We the People! Credit is due to the victorious candidates. Your message to President Obama is undeniably received, though he'll try to ignore it.

...

The Democrats got mauled today, deservedly so. To prohibit that from happening to the GOP in 2016, it must learn the lesson from the last time Republicans held the Senate majority. This time they must not retreat, and it's our responsibility to hold them accountable. Will they fight for reform that aligns with the limited government planks of the Republican platform, or will they return to the big government cronyism and status quo favored by the permanent political class? Will they drain the swamp or decide the D.C. cesspool is really just a jacuzzi they can't wait to jump on into and shake us off?

If GOP leadership returns to business as usual, then this majority will be short lived, for We the People say, “once bitten, twice shy.”

Click here to read the full statement.

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 2:55 AM ESTAlaska Approves Minimum Wage Increase

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) _ Alaskans have voted to raise the minimum wage.

— Becky Bohrer (@beckybohrerap) November 5, 2014

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 2:39 AM ESTAlaska Rep. Don Young Projected To Win 22nd Term

The Associated Press is projecting that Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) will win re-election as Alaska's only member of Congress.

--Sam Levine

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 2:36 AM ESTVoter Turnout In The U.S. Is Always Awful.. And This Year Was No Different

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 2:36 AM ESTDCCC Chair Tries To Find A Silver Lining

.@DCCC Chair @RepSteveIsrael: "In short, it could have been worse"

— Josh Lederman (@joshledermanAP) November 5, 2014

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 2:21 AM ESTMaine's Fourth-Largest City Legalizes Marijuana Possession

Voters in South Portland, Maine, the state's fourth-largest city, approved a measure that removes all legal penalties for possession of up to one ounce of marijuana by adults.

Public consumption and display remain illegal. Maine's largest city, Portland, legalized recreational marijuana last year.

A similar measure in Lewiston, the second-largest Maine city, failed Tuesday night.

-- Matt Ferner

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 2:17 AM ESTCruz Says He Won't Challenge McConnell

Ted Cruz tells CBS that "under no circumstances" would he challenge McConnell for leader. So there's that.

— Susan Davis (@DaviSusan) November 5, 2014

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 2:15 AM ESTDemocrats Are Not Sugarcoating Tuesday's Election Results

Business Insider's Hunter Walker and Brett Logiurato report:

Democrats knew they were in trouble on election night Tuesday when a Virginia Senate seat that was expected to be a blowout victory began to come in much closer than expected.

"When you're cheering for an eke-out win in Virginia, not going to be a good night," one Democratic strategist told Business Insider.

Read more here.

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 2:09 AM ESTHope And Change? Not This Time

Wednesday's front page, NY Daily News: pic.twitter.com/2mChPO9FuU

— Joel Siegel (@joelmsiegel) November 5, 2014

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 2:08 AM ESTPat Quinn Refuses To Concede Illinois Governor's Race As Rauner Declares Victory

CHICAGO -- Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D) addressed supporters late Tuesday night saying he was not ready to concede the election to challenger Bruce Rauner, despite the fact that the Associated Press and others have called the race for the Republican political newcomer.

“There are a lot of votes still to be counted,” Quinn told supporters. “I don’t believe in throwing in the towel when there are that many votes still to be counted.”

As of late Tuesday night, the splash page for the Quinn For Illinois campaign website said, "We're still waiting for the final results to come in. Thanks for your support."

Meanwhile, Rauner declared victory in a speech late Tuesday, promising a "new direction" for Illinois.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting by midnight Tuesday, only Quinn's Chicago base of Cook County tipped in his favor; Rauner won the influential "collar counties" around Chicago and easily carried downstate counties as well.

Cook County, which encompasses Chicago, was the only county that hadn't reported all its results at the time of Quinn's announcement. Election issues rippled throughout Chicago since the polls opened at 6 a.m. on Tuesday.

Election officials alleged "dirty tricks" were afoot after "malicious" robocalls were sent to election judges as early as Friday. Chicago Board of Election Commissioners spokesman Jim Allen told the Sun-Times that the calls -- which reportedly gave election judges false information about voting requirements and eligibility -- prompted more than 2,000 no-shows on Election Day.

"You're interfering with the orderly conduct of a federal election in our opinion," Allen said.

Fire crews had to break down the door of one polling place located inside a restaurant after the owners failed to show up and open. The polling station was just one of several that stayed open beyond the regular poll closing to accommodate the late start.

Additionally, a new policy that allowed voters to simultaneously register and vote at a polling place contributed to the hundreds of voters still waiting in line when the polls closed at 7 p.m.

-- Kim Bellware

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 1:58 AM ESTDemocratic Gubernatorial Candidates Had A Very, Very Bad Night

HuffPost's Samantha Lachman reports:

Republicans had been predicted to take control of the Senate Tuesday evening, but Democrats hoped to do better in gubernatorial races. That hope was more than disappointed, as even Democrats who had been expected to easily win in Democratic-leaning states were defeated.

In deep-blue Maryland, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown conceded to Republican Larry Hogan. In Massachusetts, Attorney General Martha Coakley suffered a crushing loss. And in Maine, deeply unpopular Republican Gov. Paul LePage beat back a challenge from Democratic Rep. Michael Michaud. In all three of those states,

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, didn't even get the requisite 50 percent of the vote needed to win outright in his state.

Read more here.

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 1:35 AM ESTMia Love Projected Winner In Utah Congressional Race

Mia Love wins Utah House race, @AP projects http://t.co/x8zvDVQksC #election2014

— HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) November 5, 2014

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 1:29 AM ESTIn Bed At A Reasonable Hour: Mitch McConnell's Election Night Extravaganza

HuffPost's Eliot Nelson reports:

When the crowd at Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell's election party first learned their candidate had won a sixth term to the U.S. Senate, the reaction was somewhat less than euphoric. A few yelps of excitement erupted here and there, but it seemed as if no one wanted to stand out by making a fuss. It took a few minutes, but the cheers eventually coalesced into something resembling a roar.

It was a decidedly understated bunch. Men in blazers with prep school haircuts had been mingling with demure women sporting bleach-blond helmet hairdos. Many of their children -- themselves seemingly straight out of a Crewcuts catalog -- noshed on complimentary bags of popcorn.

There were flashes of eclecticism, like the two young men toting a sign reading "COME AT ME BRO" featuring a picture of McConnell holding out his arms. Otherwise, the room felt less like a raucous, eardrum-shattering political celebration and more like history's rowdiest Presbyterian church mixer.

Read more here.

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 1:27 AM ESTMartha Coakley Not Ready To Concede In Massachusetts

.@marthacoakley campaign says NO CONCESSION TONIGHT

— Sarah Birnbaum (@sbirn) November 5, 2014

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 1:17 AM ESTRand Paul Taunts Hillary Clinton After GOP Victory

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) wasted no time using the GOP’s new majority in the Senate in the face of potential 2016 presidential rival Hillary Clinton.

Paul posted an entire Facebook album of photos of Clinton campaigning with candidates who lost on Tuesday. Each photo was tagged #HillarysLosers.

On Twitter, Paul continued to attack Clinton, saying that the GOP’s victory on election day was a repudiation of her and President Barack Obama.

Today voters sent a message to Pres. Obama & Hillary Clinton, rejecting their policies & often, their candidates. pic.twitter.com/uQ07JIkwU9

— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) November 5, 2014

You didnt think it could get worse than your book tour? It did. Courtesy of the U.S. voters: https://t.co/kGAZVFq7ze pic.twitter.com/zABFStFM67

— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) November 5, 2014

-- Sam Levine

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 1:16 AM ESTNew Jersey Passes Major Bail Reform

Voters approved Public Question No. 1, a bail reform measure that will reduce the pretrial incarceration of those accused of low-level drug violations. Poorer defendants who can't afford bail, but who are not considered a threat to the community, will now be eligible to be freed while awaiting trial through an alternative release system.

Judges can still deny pretrial release to individuals who pose a clear danger to the community, to repeat offenders and to those who are a probable flight risk.

A recent report from Luminosity and the Drug Policy Alliance found that almost 75 percent of the almost 15,000 individuals in New Jersey's jails are awaiting trial rather than serving out a sentence, and almost half of them remain incarcerated simply because they cannot afford bail. The Drug Policy Alliance backs Public Question No. 1.

-- Matt Ferner

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 1:15 AM ESTElection Results Leave Immigration Advocates Frustrated With Obama

HuffPost's Elise Foley reports:

As of next year, the Senate will be controlled by Republicans, as will the House. The fact that the Senate flipped to Republicans wasn't necessarily surprising to advocates, but it was a frustrating reminder of the president's decision to delay executive action on immigration. That move was meant to protect vulnerable red-state Democrats like Hagan, but most of them either lost anyway or are poised to lose.

In Colorado, executive action could have boosted enthusiasm from Latino voters to the benefit of Udall. Instead, he lost to Republican Cory Gardner, whose immigration stances are far more conservative. The only tangible effect of the delay may have been the deportation of thousands of people who could have been helped by executive action.

Read more here.

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 1:15 AM ESTCould The Shellacking Have Been Avoided?

HuffPost's Sam Stein and Ryan Grim report:

Call it a thumping. Call it a shellacking. However you want to describe the 2014 midterm elections, the point remains the same. Democrats took it on the chin Tuesday night, losing the Senate, getting crushed in winnable governors' races, solidifying their minority status in the House for years to come, and stemming the party's ability to continue putting its stamp on the judiciary.

The question is whether it was all avoidable. Democratic strategists will say that the party was dealt a terrible hand, forced to defend too many vulnerable Democrats in red states against too much money. It was, to be sure, a lousy hand. But Democrats never tried to play it.

Candidates across the country shunned the president, with one famously refusing even to say whether she voted for him; they ran from the party's signature accomplishment, national health care reform; and they panicked when the White House considered doing broad-based immigration reform by executive action. Instead, a robust get out the vote operation was supposed to save the party, which rested its hopes in shifting demographic trends and fear of GOP extremists. But when you don't give your voters much to "get out" for, what's left?

"We gave Dems no reason to run," said an adviser to President Barack Obama. "We ran as Dems-lite."

Read more here.

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 1:13 AM ESTNew Mexico Voters Approve Ending Criminal Penalties For Marijuana Possession

Voters in New Mexico's Bernalillo and Santa Fe counties overwhelmingly approved the decriminalization of marijuana Tuesday. While they are nonbinding, the questions are aimed at gauging support for such a move.

The county questions com after the Santa Fe City Council's decision in August to decriminalize possession of marijuana and marijuana-related paraphernalia. The city's penalty was reduced to a $25 civil infraction.

-- Matt Ferner

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 1:11 AM ESTWinner: Karl Rove

After the 2012 elections didn't quite go the way the GOP wanted it, Republicans responded by impaneling a team of experts to divine what hard lessons needed to be learn, and come up with a long-term strategy to get back on the winning side. That effort yielded the 100-page "Growth And Opportunity Project" report (more colloquially known as the "RNC Autopsy"). Progress on this venture has been decidedly mixed, at best.

Elsewhere, however, key GOP figures were contemplating a short-term solution, focused on the 2014 midterms. Chief among them was former Bush adviser and Fox News contributor Karl Rove. His vision: the Conservative Victory Project. Its goal: No more Todd Akins! Rove attributed key GOP losses to the fact that too many undisciplined candidates were making it through party primaries and into general elections against Democratic candidates that more seasoned, established GOP candidates could beat.

In an interesting coincidence of timing, Rove's project launched around the same time that Iowa's Democratic senator, Tom Harkin, announced he would be retiring. Subsequently, one of the first people to end up in the crosshairs of Rove's new organization was U.S. Rep. Steve King of Iowa. As The New York Times reported at the time:

Representative Steve King, a six-term Iowa Republican, could be among the earliest targets of the Conservative Victory Project. He said he had not decided whether he would run for the Senate, but the leaders of the project in Washington are not waiting to try to steer him away from the race.

The group’s plans, which were outlined for the first time last week in an interview with [American Crossroads president Steven J.] Law, call for hard-edge campaign tactics, including television advertising, against candidates whom party leaders see as unelectable and a drag on the efforts to win the Senate. Mr. Law cited Iowa as an example and said Republicans could no longer be squeamish about intervening in primary fights.

“We’re concerned about Steve King’s Todd Akin problem,” Mr. Law said. “This is an example of candidate discipline and how it would play in a general election. All of the things he’s said are going to be hung around his neck.”

Iowa ended up with Iowa state Sen. Joni Ernst as their standardbearer in that Senate race, and while she's pushed the envelope in the wrong direction at times, she's more or less proved to be a manageable candidate. (Though it arguably helped Ernst that the media, by and large, chose to give her multiple passes.) Over in Colorado, Rove got the sort of candidate he prefers in U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner -- again, a manageable alternative to Ken Buck. Throughout the primary season, Republicans avoided elevating the types of candidates -- your Todd Akins, Sharron Angles, and Richard Mourdocks -- that had previously sunk ambitions.

Tuesday, in the critical Colorado and Iowa races, Gardner and Ernst both prevailed, beating established Democratic candidates thought to have superior ground operations. The GOP may still need to revisit that "RNC autopsy." But in the short term, what Karl Rove wanted to get, he got.

-- Jason Linkins

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 1:08 AM ESTOne Of The Nation's Most Unpopular Governors Wins Re-election

HuffPost's Amanda Terkel reports:

Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) won re-election on Tuesday, despite being one of the most unpopular governors in the country.

LePage won in part for the same reason he did in 2010: A crowded race split Democratic votes, paving the way for his victory.

Read more here.

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 1:07 AM ESTMaine Voters: We Want To Bait Bears

For the second time in 10 years, a ban on bear baiting, trapping and hounding was defeated by Maine voters on Tuesday.

According to the Bangor Daily News, the majority of liberal voters (those residing in the more urban Portland area) were for the ban. The rest of the state? Not so much.

The pro-ban campaign was funded almost entirely by the Humane Society of the United States, which hoped to convince voters that hunting the state's black bears using bait, dogs and traps was cruel and unsporting. The opposition claimed these practices were necessary to control the state's population.

With 54 percent of precincts reporting, the no votes were leading, 53 percent to 47 percent.

Click here for more.

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 1:03 AM ESTRepublican Projected To Win Re-Election In Maine

Maine Gov. Paul LePage wins re-election http://t.co/l7QJfMRt4n #Elections2014

— HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) November 5, 2014

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 12:58 AM ESTGOP Senators Begin Jockeying For Leadership Posts

confirmed: Thune will run for majr. conference chairman, per sources close to him. Expects McConnell and Cornyn to win top 2 posts.

— Robert Costa (@costareports) November 5, 2014

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 12:45 AM ESTBallot Measure To Drug-Test Doctors Fails In California

HuffPost's Lydia O'Connor reports:

Under Prop. 46, physicians could have been tested for drugs at random, within 24 hours of an adverse event suffered by a patient under their care, and when they were accused of possible substance abuse. Had it passed, California would have been the only state requiring random drug tests of doctors, the East Bay Express wrote.

Reform groups criticized that provision as ineffective in decreasing substance abuse, unfairly punitive of doctors and a step backward in ending the war on drugs. In a statement sent to The Huffington Post, the Drug Policy Alliance noted that random drug testing "cannot be used to determine the extent of drug misuse, impairment, frequency or amount of use." Moreover, it said, random drug-testing “often creates incentives to use riskier substances in counterproductive ways.”

Read more here.

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 12:41 AM ESTSenate Now Has Enough Votes To Pass Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Bill

HuffPost's Kate Sheppard reports:

The new Senate Republican majority creates an opportunity for likely Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to force a vote on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline he's been waiting years to hold.

By The Huffington Post's count, the new Senate will have at least 61 votes in favor of a measure forcing the pipeline's approval -- a filibuster-proof majority.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said Tuesday in an appearance on MSNBC that passing a Keystone approval bill would be the second item on the Republican agenda, after a budget. "I actually think the president will sign the bill on the Keystone pipeline because I think the pressure -- he’s going to be boxed in on that, and I think it's going to happen," Priebus said.

Read more here.

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 12:28 AM ESTNobody Wants To Run Against Harry Reid For Minority Leader

Politico's Manu Raju reports:

Harry Reid will run for Senate minority leader, and it appears he will have no significant opposition.

Senior Senate Democratic aides said Tuesday night that Reid would have the full support of his entire leadership team, despite his party incurring huge losses on Election Night.

Read more here.

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 12:22 AM ESTAmerica, Meet Your New Republican Bosses

HuffPost's Dana Liebelson reports:

Republican victories in Tuesday's Senate elections push out a Democratic old guard and usher in a new crop of hungry GOPers, some just getting their feet wet in politics.

Republicans won control of the Senate partly with the help of newcomers who ousted Democratic incumbents and whipped rivals for seats vacated by retiring liberal lions, whose political service spanned decades that included some of the biggest moments in modern U.S. political history. These departing senators have chaired powerful committees, authored landmark bills, exposed torture in Vietnam, debated CIA interrogation methods, and voted on the Iraq war.

Politically inexperienced Republicans fought to victory by linking Democratic opponents with President Barack Obama and by emphasizing business or military experience, rather than Washington savvy. A Republican outsider also snagged a seat held by a retiring Republican heavyweight: Businessman David Perdue, who will take the seat of departing Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.).

Read more here.

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 12:20 AM ESTPat Quinn Wants Every Vote Counted In Illinois Gubernatorial Race

Quinn says "They're entitled to make sure that the election authorities in every single county, counts the votes."

— natasha korecki (@natashakorecki) November 5, 2014

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 12:19 AM ESTCalifornia Votes To Imprison Fewer People

HuffPost's Matt Sledge reports:

California approved a major shift against mass incarceration on Tuesday in a vote that could lead to the release of thousands of state prisoners.

Nonviolent felonies like shoplifting and drug possession will be downgraded to misdemeanors under the ballot measure, Proposition 47. As many as 10,000 people could be eligible for early release from state prisons, and it's expected that courts will annually dispense around 40,000 fewer felony convictions.

Read more here.

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 12:15 AM ESTSam Brownback Projected To Win Re-Election In Kansas Gubernatorial Election

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback wins re-election, @AP projects http://t.co/ofVzXwtzru #Election2014

— HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) November 5, 2014

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 12:11 AM EST2016 Dem Contender Will Have To Explain Loss Of Historically Blue State

How does Martin O'Malley explain losing Maryland to the GOP on the 2016 trail?

— Scott Conroy (@RealClearScott) November 5, 2014

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 12:10 AM ESTMartha Coakley Loses Another Election In Massachusetts

Charlie Baker defeats Martha Coakley in Massachusetts governor's race, Fox and ABC project http://t.co/ofVzXwtzru #Election2014

— HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) November 5, 2014

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 12:08 AM ESTDavid Axelrod Says Returns Show A Wave Election

Said on @NBCNews earlier that this was not a wave. But the returns since then say otherwise.

— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) November 5, 2014

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 12:07 AM ESTRepublican Larry Hogan Projected To Win Maryland Gubernatorial Race

BREAKING: GOP Larry Hogan wins election as governor of Maryland. @AP race call at 12:05 a.m. EST. #Election2014 #APracecall

— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) November 5, 2014

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/05/2014 12:04 AM ESTVermont Legislators Will Select Governor

BREAKING: Vermont legislature will pick governor after no candidate wins majority.

— The Associated Press (@AP) November 5, 2014

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/04/2014 11:56 PM ESTKay Hagan Announces Concession

Hagan: I just called Speaker Tillis to congratulate him pic.twitter.com/InaRTrM2dF

— W.J. Lowery (@WesleyLowery) November 5, 2014

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/04/2014 11:56 PM ESTAnti-Abortion Ballot Measure Passes In Tennessee

HuffPost's Laura Bassett reports:

Tennessee voters on Tuesday approved a controversial ballot measure that ensures the state constitution does not protect a woman's right to abortion under any circumstances. Nearly 54 percent of voters approved the measure, with 46 percent opposed, according to Politico.

Amendment 1 overrides the Tennessee Supreme Court's 2000 decision to block a 36-hour mandatory waiting period before abortions. The court had ruled the state constitution protects women's right to privacy, which includes the right to have an abortion.

Read more here.

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/04/2014 11:55 PM ESTMitch McConnell Claims To Admire Collegial Leaders, But Can He Be One?

HuffPost's Howard Fineman reports:

In his Capitol Hill office, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) proudly displays an oil painting of his state’s most famous senator, Henry Clay, “The Great Pacificator” and unifying statesman of 19th century America. But as the 72-year-old McConnell prepares to take over as Senate majority leader, a job he’s spent decades plotting to win, it’s not clear whether he can be -- or wants to be -- another Clay.

McConnell has said recently that the past majority leaders he most admires are two Democrats -- Mike Mansfield of Montana, who moved most of President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society legislation, and George Mitchell of Maine, who was noted for his diplomatic and collegial style.

On Election Day, McConnell staffers referred me to a speech their boss had made in which he vowed to run a more bipartisan and consultative Senate than now exists. He would be Clay, Mansfield and Mitchell all rolled into one.

Many of his critics scoff at the notion.

Read more here.

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/04/2014 11:54 PM ESTAnother Kennedy Enters Politics

NECN reports:

Ted Kennedy Jr. has won his first political race and a seat in the Connecticut state Senate.

Kennedy is the 53-year-old son of the late U.S. senator and a nephew of President John F. Kennedy. He beat Republican Bruce Wilson Jr. on Tuesday for an open seat in a district along Connecticut's shoreline.

Kennedy had been mentioned in 2012 as a possible Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in his family's home state of Massachusetts. But he decided to seek office in Connecticut's 12th District, where he has lived for about 20 years.

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Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/04/2014 11:53 PM ESTMississippi Now Outlier On Political Progress For Women

Now there's only one state that's never elected a woman to federal office or the governorship: Mississippi. #2014

— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) November 5, 2014

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/04/2014 11:48 PM ESTTed Cruz Won't Commit To Mitch McConnell As Majority Leader

Ted Cruz won’t say whether he’ll support McConnell as Majority Leader

— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) November 5, 2014

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/04/2014 11:48 PM ESTOregon Becomes Third State To Legalize Recreational Marijuana

The reformation of marijuana laws across the nation took another step forward Tuesday when voters in Oregon approved a measure to legalize the drug for recreational use.

Voters passed Measure 91, which legalizes the possession, use and sale of recreational marijuana for adults 21 and over, according to The Oregonian, NORML and a Fox affiliate in the state. Oregon becomes the third state in the nation to end the prohibition on cannabis.

"People are no longer being fooled by the anti-marijuana propaganda that they’ve been hearing their entire lives," said Mason Tvert, communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project.

“This is another example of voters standing up and saying, ‘Enough is enough.’ Marijuana prohibition has been a massive failure and voters are ready to move on. This is a particularly impressive victory because voter turnout for midterm elections is typically smaller, older, and more conservative. Clearly, support for ending marijuana prohibition spans all age groups and the ideological spectrum."

Read more here.

-- Matt Ferner

Share this: Tweet Share tumblr Share + 11/04/2014 11:46 PM ESTScott Brown Concedes In New Hampshire Senate Race

Scott Brown concedes http://t.co/p9A9YAaDcb #Election2014

— HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) November 5, 2014

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Virgin Galactic May Resume Test Flights In 2015: CEO

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The space tourism company that suffered a tragic setback when its experimental rocket-powered spaceship broke apart over the California desert could resume test flights as early as next summer if it can finish building a replacement craft, its CEO says.

The sleek composite shell and tail section of the new craft are sitting inside the company's manufacturing facility in Mojave, California.

After more than two years of work, it's beginning to look like a spaceship, but Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides said there's much more to be done, from relatively simple things such as installing windows to the more complex fitting of flight controls and other wiring.

The ship — dubbed SpaceShipTwo Serial No. 2 — will replace one that was destroyed last week after its feathering system that controls descent deployed prematurely and aerodynamic forces ripped it apart, killing the co-pilot and seriously injuring the pilot.

In the wake of the accident, workers have focused on building the new ship.

"That's provided some solace to all of us, and I think there's sort of a therapeutic benefit to folks to be able to put their energies into constructive work," Whitesides told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Wednesday.

He said the company will be able to continue flying its mother ship — the much larger jet-powered plane that launches the rocket ship at high altitudes — while federal investigators look into the cause of the deadly crash with the cooperation of the company.

It's possible that test flights for the next spaceship could begin within six months, before the investigation is expected to conclude, Whitesides said.

Scaled Composites, which is developing the spacecraft for Virgin Galactic, has an experimental permit from the Federal Aviation Administration to test the crafts. Just last month, the company had received approval from the agency to resume rocket-powered flights.

When the new ship is ready next year, the FAA said it will conduct a more extensive review to ensure whatever caused last week's mishap has been addressed before allowing test flights to resume.

Speculation continues about how far the accident will push back the day when Virgin Galactic's paying customers can routinely rocket dozens of miles from a $219 million spaceport in the New Mexico desert toward the edge of space for a fleeting feeling of weightlessness and a breathtaking view.

Whitesides said the accident has been tough on many levels, but he refused to see it as a roadblock and said the company does not have to start from scratch.

"There was no question it was a tragic setback, but it's one from which we can recover," he said. "With Serial No. 2, we'll be putting a stronger, even better ship into initial commercial service and I think we'll be able to get back into test flights soon and carry forward."

Virgin Galactic has hopes of one day being able to manufacture at least one new ship a year. It envisions flights with six passengers climbing more than 62 miles above Earth.

Seats sell for $250,000 and the company says it has booked passengers including Justin Bieber, Ashton Kutcher and Russell Brand. A few more passengers signed on this week, Whitesides said.

Virgin Galactic will be the anchor tenant at the taxpayer-financed Spaceport America in southern New Mexico. Before the accident, the company planned to begin moving operations to New Mexico early next year.

Whitesides reiterated his commitment to New Mexico but acknowledged the company was still considering its new timeline.

J.C. Penney Will Kick Off Black Friday At 5 P.M. On Thanksgiving

J.C. Penney announced on Wednesday that its Black Friday sales will begin at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving, three hours earlier than last year.

The department store joins a number of other retailers kicking off their Black Friday sales earlier than ever this year in an effort to squeeze the most out of customers during the competitive holiday shopping season.

The Black Friday creep, also known as the "War on Thanksgiving," has been criticized by shoppers and workers alike for turning a day that's traditionally spent with family and friends into one focused on consumption.

So far this year, Kmart, Sears, Macy's and Walmart have said they'll open stores on Thanksgiving Day. Costco and Sam's Club are among the holdouts who refuse to open on the holiday.

Last year was the first year J.C. Penney opened on Thanksgiving, and Joey Thomas, a J.C. Penney spokesperson, said that the "response from customers was overwhelmingly positive."

"Local store leaders recognize the importance of work-life balance when staffing regular and seasonal associates, and give priority to those who volunteer for holiday shifts," Thomas wrote in an email. "Hourly associates will receive time and a half for hours worked on Thanksgiving Day."

J.C. Penney has struggled for years from weak sales, tumultuous leadership changes and a decaying brand. It's not clear whether steep holiday discounts will help the retailer.

Earlier this year, J.C. Penney was initially reluctant to release details about its 2013 holiday sales performance, which sent its stock tumbling. The store also announced it would be closing 33 stores and laying off thousands of workers.

Red Lobster Attempts To Save Itself With More Lobster

NEW YORK (AP) — It turns out people go to Red Lobster for the seafood.

The struggling chain on Monday announced another revamped menu that removes dishes including Spicy Tortilla Soup and a Wood-Grilled Pork Chop, while tacking on more dishes featuring lobster. The non-seafood dishes had been added by the chain's previous owner, Darden Restaurants Inc., in hopes of attracting people who don't like seafood as sales declined.

But the new management thinks that was a mistake.

"At the end of the day, we believe that seafood is really why people come to Red Lobster," said Salli Setta, Red Lobster's president, in a phone interview.

The revamped menu is 85 percent seafood, up from 75 percent. Red Lobster says the menu will be easier to navigate and features more photos of the food. Four of the five new dishes include lobster, and it's increasing the amount of shrimp in the popular "Ultimate Feast" platter by 50 percent. The price of the dish, which also includes lobster and crab, will go up by a dollar to $26.99.

The reversal comes after Red Lobster was sold off to investment firm Golden Gate Capital by Darden this summer. Darden, which is based in Orlando, Florida, and owns Olive Garden, had failed to turn around the chain's declining sales and blamed a variety of factors such as the growing availability of shrimp at other restaurants and price-sensitive customers.

For its last fiscal year, Darden had said Red Lobster's sales declined 6 percent at established locations, following a 2.2 percent decline the previous year. Red Lobster, which is still operating out of Darden's offices until it moves into its new home, no longer has to disclose its sales figures because it is privately held.

Whether its new menu will win back customers remains to be seen, with people increasingly heading to chains like Chipotle where they feel they can get high-quality food without paying as much.

Other changes had already been in the works.

CEO Kim Lopdrup, who is back at Red Lobster after serving as its president from 2004 to 2011, has said steep discounting like "30 shrimp for $11.99" was a mistake. The chain this summer also started changing the way it plates its dishes, with fish piled over rice instead of having foods spread out on a dish. Red Lobster says that presentation is more visually appealing, while also helping retain the food's heat.

Follow Candice Choi at www.twitter.com/candicechoi