Attendees at the recent CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) were asked to describe President Obama in one word…

(Bloomberg.com) One day after forming an exploratory committee to help him decide whether to run for president in 2016, Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon, found himself in hot water after asserting that the experience of some prison inmates proved that being gay is a societal choice.

In a wide-ranging discussion of gay rights with CNN’s Chris Cuomo on Wednesday, Carson stated that he believed sexual preference was a matter of personal choice rather than something a person is born with. To prove his point, Carson then noted the experience of those who have been incarcerated.

Carson’s comments were widely reported, and caused an immediate backlash on social media.

Hours later, Carson issued a formal apology in which he stated that he “realized that my choice of language does not reflect fully my heart on gay issues.”

“I do not pretend to know how every individual came to their sexual orientation. I regret that my words to express that concept were hurtful and divisive. For that I apologize unreservedly to all that were offended,” Carson’s statement read.

Still, Carson said that the jury is still out on the question of how a person’s sexual orientation is determined.

“Some of our brightest minds have looked at this debate, and up until this point there have been no definitive studies that people are born into a specific sexuality,” the statement he provided to CNN read.

Ben Carson announced on Tuesday that he is putting together an exploratory committee for a possible 2016 Presidential run. Here is his unfiltered YouTube announcement.

All members of Congress receive an annual base pay of $174,000. The majority are multi-millionaires. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says she knows members of Congress who “can not live” without having their paycheck on-time.

On Sunday March 1st, residents of Tuolumne City spent one hour and a half watching “Donkey Basketball” inside of the Tuolumne City Memorial Hall. This is an annual fundraiser for the Tuolumne Lumber Jubilee, to be held later this year. Teams were made up of California High Patrol officers, Tuolumne County Sheriff deputies, Tuolumne paramedics and students from Sonora and Summerville High Schools.

This is an aerial view of New Hogan Lake. This video was filmed using a Go Pro Hero 3 Black Edition camera mounted on a remote controlled QAV400 Quad. New Hogan Lake is a reservoir located between Valley Springs and San Andreas.

Residents of the Mother Lode have been getting used to temperatures this month ranging from the upper sixties to low seventies. What a difference a couple of time zones makes. Over 90 million people on the east coast have been affected by extreme cold and snow. Here is a report from ABC News.

Before BART trains became a part of the Northern California/Bay Area culture, the system needed to be sold as a positive item to the local population. Enjoy this 3 minute promotional ad that was designed to get people excited about the rapid transportation “of tomorrow”.

The local Fox television station in Phoenix, Arizona shows a boiling hot forecast for the region this weekend.

There is no better place to live than in beautiful Mi-Wuk Village.

This time-capsule film was produced in 1955.