New Senator And Secretary Of State

ALBANY - Gov. Paterson, defying the liberal wing of his Democratic Party, has chosen little-known, NRA-backed, upstate Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton as New York's junior senator, it was learned last night.

The surprising - and, for many Democrats shocking - decision to pick the conservative Gillibrand, 42, from Hudson in Columbia County, was disclosed by the governor in calls to party officials and some members of the state's congressional delegation, many of whom said they were unhappy with the selection, sources said.

Gillibrand, a mother of two occasionally resented by colleagues for being an aggressive self-promoter, was strongly backed for the post by Charles Schumer, the state's senior senator, who said a woman and an upstater was needed on next year's ticket.

Paterson's decision - to be officially announced today at noon at the state Capitol - was made just 24 hours after Caroline Kennedy took herself out of the running.

The decision was a major rebuff to some of the state's best-known Democrats interested in Clinton's seat, including Attorney General and former federal Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo, for whom Gillibrand once worked as a junior lawyer; Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, and Reps. Carolyn Maloney of Manhattan and Steve Israel of Suffolk County.

Sources said "at least five" members of the state's Democratic congressional delegation called Paterson to protest the possibility of Gillibrand's selection. One, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy of Nassau County, even threatened a primary challenge. Gillibrand faces a special election in 2010.

Democratic activists predicted that Cuomo, son of former Gov. Mario Cuomo, would also "seriously consider" challenging Paterson in a primary next year.

Calls were made from Paterson's office to leading Democrats and Republicans throughout the afternoon, inviting them to a special meeting room attached to the Capitol for "a major announcement."

The inclusion of several prominent Republicans among the invitees was an early sign to insiders that Paterson planned to pick an upstate Democrat.

Gillibrand has won two successive elections in one of the heaviest GOP districts in the state, first upsetting incumbent Rep. John Sweeney and, in November, defeating former state GOP chairman and multimillionaire Alexander Treadwell, in one of the most expensive races in the nation.

Liberal Democrats have been wary of her because she ran for re-election with the backing of the National Rifle Association, opposed the federal TARP program to rescue banks, and has been less than enthusiastic about gay marriage.

Plane Crash Into Hudson River

A giant crane and a barge were brought in today to begin hauling a partially submerged jetliner out of the Hudson River, one day after it was apparently knocked out of the sky by birds and spectacularly splashed down alongside Manhattan's skyscrapers.

Many survivors were exposed to the frigid water of the Hudson River.

The US Airways Airbus A320 has been lashed to a Manhattan pier since all 155 passengers were safely evacuated by a flotilla of ferries, tug boats, and emergency craft. A giant crane and a barge began working today to drag it ashore.

While the passengers were stunned, bruised and shivering from their icy ordeal, they were largely unhurt and are hailing the plane's pilot Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger III as a hero.

Tales of fear and survival inside the plane began to emerge today.

Irina Levshina told "Good Morning America" that she was sitting in the last row of the plane.

"I feel quite shaken still," Levshina said.

Before the plane took off, the woman sitting next to her blurted out that she was petrified of flying.

But during the terrifying descent, she was the one who calmed people down, Levshina said.

"Girls, its going to be OK, I'm the one that's afraid of flying,'" the unidentified woman told Levshina and another woman in the back row. The women held hands and prayed.

Being in the last row made it even scarier once the plane had settled on the river and water began rushing in.

"I thought I'd be the last one out of the plane. That was really scary," Levshina told "GMA."

"At first it was relatively calm, but when people realized we had to get out, people were prompting others to get off the plane. With yelling. I was one of those. I didn't want to drown there," she said.

Passenger Dave Sanderson said he heard a bang and looked out the window to see a startling sight.

"I saw the flames coming from underneath the wings," Sanderson told "GMA." "Once again, I said this is not a good thing."

He went from the frying pan into the river.

"It was so cold. So, it woke you up pretty quickly. You get out of the shock and start moving forward.

Barack Obama

Meet Barack

Early Years

Barack Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4th, 1961. His father, Barack Obama Sr., was born and raised in a small village in Kenya, where he grew up herding goats with his own father, who was a domestic servant to the British.

Barack's mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in small-town Kansas. Her father worked on oil rigs during the Depression, and then signed up for World War II after Pearl Harbor, where he marched across Europe in Patton's army. Her mother went to work on a bomber assembly line, and after the war, they studied on the G.I. Bill, bought a house through the Federal Housing Program, and moved west to Hawaii.

It was there, at the University of Hawaii, where Barack's parents met. His mother was a student there, and his father had won a scholarship that allowed him to leave Kenya and pursue his dreams in America.

Barack's father eventually returned to Kenya, and Barack grew up with his mother in Hawaii, and for a few years in Indonesia. Later, he moved to New York, where he graduated from Columbia University in 1983.

The College Years

Remembering the values of empathy and service that his mother taught him, Barack put law school and corporate life on hold after college and moved to Chicago in 1985, where he became a community organizer with a church-based group seeking to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods plagued with crime and high unemployment.

The group had some success, but Barack had come to realize that in order to truly improve the lives of people in that community and other communities, it would take not just a change at the local level, but a change in our laws and in our politics.

He went on to earn his law degree from Harvard in 1991, where he became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. Soon after, he returned to Chicago to practice as a civil rights lawyer and teach constitutional law. Finally, his advocacy work led him to run for the Illinois State Senate, where he served for eight years. In 2004, he became the third African American since Reconstruction to be elected to the U.S. Senate.

Political Career

It has been the rich and varied experiences of Barack Obama's life - growing up in different places with people who had differing ideas - that have animated his political journey. Amid the partisanship and bickering of today's public debate, he still believes in the ability to unite people around a politics of purpose - a politics that puts solving the challenges of everyday Americans ahead of partisan calculation and political gain.

In the Illinois State Senate, this meant working with both Democrats and Republicans to help working families get ahead by creating programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit, which in three years provided over $100 million in tax cuts to families across the state. He also pushed through an expansion of early childhood education, and after a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, Senator Obama worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.

In the U.S. Senate, he has focused on tackling the challenges of a globalized, 21st century world with fresh thinking and a politics that no longer settles for the lowest common denominator. His first law was passed with Republican Tom Coburn, a measure to rebuild trust in government by allowing every American to go online and see how and where every dime of their tax dollars is spent. He has also been the lead voice in championing ethics reform that would root out Jack Abramoff-style corruption in Congress.

As a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Senator Obama has fought to help Illinois veterans get the disability pay they were promised, while working to prepare the VA for the return of the thousands of veterans who will need care after Iraq and Afghanistan. Recognizing the terrorist threat posed by weapons of mass destruction, he traveled to Russia with Republican Dick Lugar to begin a new generation of non-proliferation efforts designed to find and secure deadly weapons around the world. And knowing the threat we face to our economy and our security from America's addiction to oil, he's working to bring auto companies, unions, farmers, businesses and politicians of both parties together to promote the greater use of alternative fuels and higher fuel standards in our cars.

Whether it's the poverty exposed by Katrina, the genocide in Darfur, or the role of faith in our politics, Barack Obama continues to speak out on the issues that will define America in the 21st century. But above all his accomplishments and experiences, he is most proud and grateful for his family. His wife, Michelle, and his two daughters, Malia, 9, and Sasha, 6, live on Chicago's South Side.

BUCK50

Artist Name: BUCK50 Album: Political Pain
Email address: RAHMIERBUCK50@GMAIL.COM
Hometown: KISSIMMEE, FL, US
Website: http://www.myspace.com/buck50rahmier
Style of music: HIP-HOP

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/rahakabuck50
CDBaby:
SonicBids: http://www.sonicbids.com/buck50
SoundClick: http://www.soundclick.com/buck50
PureVolume:
iTunes
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Description: BUCK50's music is clearly unique. Live lyrical flow over catchy grooves with a political twist.

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Bio: Buck50 shares his “Political Pain” Los Angeles, CA – There’s new music coming from Buck50. This rising rap star has announced that work is under way on an album by the name of “Political Pain.” The disc will be filled with the invigorating, melody-laced and high-energy brand of hip-hop. Danceable, thought-provoking and original, Buck50’s music packs the kind of punch rap requires. “All I Do” is the lead single for the album. It boasts a very dancefloor-friendly beat and Buck50’s trademark lively lyrical flow, bringing mind and the hooks together in a captivating attack of hip-hop. The song is inspired by tragic events suffered by Buck50 and the warm-hearted woman who offered comfort and healing. “No matter what I went through, my best friend helped me to stay focused by taking my mind off my everyday struggles,” says Buck50. “All I Do” is a heady song that is armed with both brains and catchy grooves. Buck50 takes his name from a scar across his face. “In 1999, I was in a fight with a guy who pulled out a box cutter,” Buck50 explains. “He slashed my face from front to back … In the streets, they call the scar a ‘buck 50’ so I made it my rap name.” The death of Buck50’s father in 2004 while in transit to Fort Dix to report for Iraq duty brought a terrible blow to Buck50’s heart and mind – as did other family tragedies during that time – but it also helped him find the inspiration to pour his soul into his music. It paid off. Buck50 has sold CDs out of his car (still does – he once sold 1,000 CDs in a month) and he has also recorded with multi-platinum producer Veitt Renn of RMP Studios. He’ll tell you it’s the fruits of hard work. He has earned strong positive feedback for his music; massive online support has helped his popularity grow, sending him continually higher on music charts. “I am competing with all the mainstream professional rappers in the world … Out of 18,000 rappers, I’m at 2,023 on the charts.” He is in communication with Violator Records and Badboy Records. Buck50 is working with A&R Select, the world’s leading independent artist development firm, based out of Los Angeles, CA. Despite the hurdles of being an indie artist, Buck50 is pressing forward with his career. Recording is under way on “Political Pain” and he has retained a lawyer for consultation on offers from the music industry. More information is available by visiting www.myspace.com/rahmierakabuck50 and www.arselect.com. Music is also available on www.blackplanet.com and indiecharts.com