President Barack Obama’s Rose Garden remarks on Obamacare earlier today were interrupted when a woman standing directly behind him seemed to nearly faint. The President turned around just in time to help her.

As accusations began to pour in that this rescue was a “staged event”, the White House issued a press release that claimed the woman was a pregnant diabetic who had recently registered on healthcare.gov

What do you think? Was this a staged diversion meant purely for positive publicity or did Obama really turn around just in time to keep the young lady from falling?

(KCRA) – At Calaveras High, being a Redskin is about tradition.

For 108 years, the school’s mascot has never changed or been debated.

The latest remarks from NBC sports anchor Bob Costas and even President Barack Obama, calling on the Washington Redskins to consider a name change, haven’t affected students and staff in Calaveras County.

“Our goal is not to offend anybody,” high school Principal Mike Merrill said. “It’s to show our pride.”

Students said Monday from their standpoint, there’s no controversy about being a Redskin.

“My dad was a Redskin here (and) his dad was a Redskin, too,” Jameson Brown said.

Added Kyle Chaboya, an athlete on the football team: “I don’t think it’s an insult — our mascot is, well, the way it is. (They) shouldn’t change anything about it.”

“I think it’s a tradition for us,” Priscilla Ruth said. “It’s not meant to be taken in bad way.”

The school uses an emblem of an Native American chief to show its pride and school spirit.

In the past, the only issue that came up was when the emblem was painted on the gym floor.

“The emblem was originally on the gym floor when it was built, then we learned from the tribal elder (that) the feather headdress was not to touch the floor,” Merrill said.

The emblem was removed and painted on the wall next to the scoreboard, out of respect for the Mi Wuk Tribe in the community.

Superintendent Mark Campbell said the Mi Wuk Tribe stands by the school using the Redskin as its mascot, and doesn’t think much of the national controversy brewing over the NFL team.

“They’re respectful in the way they do it, and the kids know it,” said Dana Heffington, a part of the Mi Wuk Tribe.

The closest the school came to considering a name change was in the ’90s, when a survey was sent out to the community. The support was overwhelming to keep the name.

A video of a female hiker on a Montara Mountain trail (near Pacifica in the Bay area) juxtaposed with a shot of a man wearing a ski mask has frightened viewers who came across it online, leading Pacifica police to investigate the video’s origin.

Although it is not illegal to create a video that is disturbing in nature as long as no crime has taken place, police identified and contacted the video’s creator, who was uncooperative, according to Pacifica police Capt. Daniel Steidle.

The videographer would not tell police why he made the video and said he caused the woman in the video no harm, nor did he make any contact with her, Steidle said. The woman has not been identified and she has not come forward. “An average person would apologize, but this guy was geared up for his rights and knew he hadn’t committed any crime — he was up for negative public attention and he got it,” Steidle said.

Police received dozens of reports, both by phone and electronically, from concerned community members who had seen the 59-second video on Liveleak.com. The clip begins with a picture of a lone mountain bike — presumably the videographer’s — and then pans to a sunny wide-shot of Montara Mountain. The viewer can hear the sound of the wind as the video zeroes in on a woman walking alone on the trial, seemingly unaware that she is being filmed. It then pans to the left where a full face hits the screen.

The man shown, wearing a black ski mask, maintains an exaggerated expression, with his wide eyes and a gritted-toothed smile showing through the three holes of the knitted mask.

So who is he? Watch this report:

Jon Stewart was adamant in pressing Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about issues he has with the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), from the website bugs to the one-year business delay that individuals didn’t get. He repeatedly pressed that last point and got noticeably frustrated at the lack of a clear response.

Stewart did not receive an answer after asking how many people signed up for the website, before bringing up the “legitimate criticism” about individuals not receiving the one-year delay. Stewart said it looks like “you were favoring small business,” and despite Sebelius attempting to explain that this is only a small percentage of businesses and small businesses have no mandates, Stewart still couldn’t figure the logic out.

When he went to commercial break, Stewart asked, “Can we come back and ask some more questions? Can I ask the same one?”

In the second part of the interview, Stewart kept going, calling the issues with Obamacare “frustrating” due to the “level of incompetence that’s larger than what it should be.” He pointed out that businesses are cutting worker hours to exploit a loophole in the law, but Sebelius said that’s not true. Stewart also wondered if they could actually run it well, pointing out the issues the government has had managing the VA.

Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) found him self in a vicious debate with Sean Hannity on Fox News over exemptions that businesses and members of Congress receive for the Affordable Care Act that individuals do not.

Pascrell refused to accept Hannity’s premise about the exemptions, fighting back hard against him and Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ). “Regardless of what the folks say, this is going to be successful,” Pascrell said of Obamacare. “And they don’t want it to be.”

“I have said I won’t take the subsidy,” Rep. Salmon said the of the exemption for Congress. “I’m not taking it. I think we should live under the same laws every American does.”

“I don’t have the federal plan,” Pascrell countered. “I have my own plan. So you don’t know what you are talking about.”

From there, Hannity began accusing Pascrell of lying, yelling at him, “You’re getting special perks and special breaks for yourself, absolutely. So cut the crap and stop lying to the audience!”

Things got increasingly heated, with all three men speaking at once until Hannity broke through with this message for Pascrell. “Do you know what your problem?” he asked. “You are an elitist. You think you are above the American people.” When the congressman tried to tell Hannity what his “problem” is, he shot back, “My problem is people who lie on this program. You’re lying to the American people.”

“Don’t you dare call me a liar!” Pascrell said, insisting he doesn’t have a special subsidy that the rest of America can’t get.

Finally, Hannity offered to make a $10,000 bet with the congressman with the winnings going to the charity of his choice if he’s right. Pascrell did not take the bet. That’s when Hannity ended the segment by telling the congressman that he was, “full of crap”.

Sean Hannity’s radio show is heard every weekday on AM 1450 KVML from noon through 3pm.

A fire that destroyed a Tesla electric car near Seattle began in the vehicle’s battery pack, officials said Wednesday, creating challenges for firefighters who tried to put out the flames.

Company spokeswoman Liz Jarvis-Shean said the fire Tuesday was caused by a large metallic object that directly hit one of the battery pack’s modules in the pricey Model S. The fire was contained to a small section at the front of the vehicle, she said, and no one was injured.

Shares of Tesla Motors Inc. fell more than 6 percent Wednesday after an Internet video showed flames spewing from the vehicle, which Tesla has touted as the safest car in America.

The liquid-cooled 85 kilowatt-hour battery in the Tesla Model S is mounted below the passenger compartment floor and uses lithium-ion chemistry similar to the batteries in laptop computers and mobile phones. Investors and companies have been particularly sensitive to the batteries’ fire risks, especially given issues in recent years involving the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid car and Boeing’s new 787 plane.

In an incident report released under Washington state’s public records law, firefighters wrote that they appeared to have Tuesday’s fire under control, but the flames reignited. Crews found that water seemed to intensify the fire, so they began using a dry chemical extinguisher.

After dismantling the front end of the vehicle and puncturing holes in the battery pack, responders used a circular saw to cut an access hole in the front section to apply water to the battery, according to documents. Only then was the fire extinguished.

Earlier this year, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D) introduced the Yosemite National Park Boundary Expansion Act of 2013, a bill to expand the park’s boundary. Senator Barbara Boxer (D) joined the bill as an original cosponsor.

The legislation expands Yosemite National Park by approximately 1,600 acres of land.

Supporting Boxer and Feinstein in their quest to have the Federal Government take over local land, is Republican California Assembly Members Frank Bigelow, Kristin Olsen and State Senator Tom Berryhill (who authored the state Resolution).

Opposing this measure is Republican US Congressman Tom McClintock.

Supporting Bigelow, Olsen, Feinstein, Boxer and Berryhill (on this issue) is the Sierra Club and Environment California.

Currently Yosemite National Park is closed due to the Government shutdown.

If this land was already a part of the Park, the Feds would have closed this area due to the Government shutdown. Also, if this 1600 acres becomes a part of the Park, the public will be charged fees for entering into the area.

Watch this video to see why local Republicans are excited about allowing the Federal Government to have control of this land.

A gang of two dozen motorcyclists bashed in the window of an SUV and pummeled its driver in front of his wife and 2-year-old daughter after a harrowing chase in upper Manhattan Sunday afternoon, cops said.

The driver of a black Range Rover was going northbound on the Henry Hudson Parkway near 125th Street about 2 p.m. when he was swarmed by dozens of motorcyclists, according to cops and a dramatic 6-minute video taken by one of the motorcyclists with a helmet camera.

The 33-year-old SUV driver, whose identity was not released, rear-ended one of the motorcycle riders, sparking a round of anger from fellow riders who surrounded the SUV and slashed its tires, an NYPD spokeswoman said.

The driver hit the gas, plowing into three other motorcyclists in the process, police added. The video shows the SUV bucking as it plowed over the machines and kept driving.

The motorcyclists gave chase — tracking the driver on a winding route up the Henry Hudson and onto the exit to the George Washington Bridge, where one biker yanked open the driver’s door to the SUV before the driver took off again, according to the video.

Sources said the SUV driver called 911 from inside his vehicle and told cops he was surrounded by motorcyclists who were driving erratically.

The bikers finally cornered the SUV after it got caught in traffic on 178th Street near St. Nicholas Avenue, according to cops and the FDNY.

A motorcyclist can be seen on the video pulling off his own helmet and repeatedly slamming it against the driver’s side window while other bikers surround him and begin to do the same before the video cuts off abruptly.

Cops said the bikers smashed open the SUV window and pulled the driver out before slashing him in the face in front of his terrified family.

The SUV driver, who lives in Manhattan, was treated at Columbia Presbyterian for two black eyes and given several stitches, sources said.

There have been no arrests so far in connection with the attack on the SUV driver. The driver of the SUV has also not been charged in connection to the incident, sources said.
Longtime Harlem resident Barri Anne Brown said she saw a large group of motorcyclists riding throughout the neighborhood Sunday afternoon.

“You could tell they were trying to antagonize people who were driving. They were getting inches away from other drivers,” Brown said. “Some were raising up their fists.”

Bronx and upper Manhattan residents have long complained about groups of motorcycle riders who they say are loud and reckless.

An unidentified young lady delivers information on the Tuolumne Canal near Twain Harte, in less than sixty seconds.

Concours d’Elegance is this Saturday at Ironstone Vineyards in Murphys from 10AM – 4PM. It is a great chance to see the finest antique and classic cars in a beautiful setting. The proceeds will benefit local FFA, 4-H Youth Activites, Scholarships and more. For a preview, we found this KCRA clip from just a couple of years ago. And yes, the information presented is still relevant! For more on this event, go to Ironstonefoundation.org