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Ricin-Tainted Letter Sent to Obama

The White House has confirmed that a letter addressed to President Barack Obama has tested positive for the poison ricin, reports the Chicago Tribune.

The suspicious letter to Obama contained "a granular substance that preliminarily tested positive for ricin," an FBI statement said. It added: "There is no indication of a connection to the attack in Boston," where three people were killed in bombings at the city's marathon on Monday.

The Secret Service said the letter to Obama was received on Tuesday at a mail screening facility not located near the White House. "The Secret Service is working closely with the U.S. Capitol Police and the FBI in this investigation," Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan said in a statement.

The FBI said filters at a second government mail screening facility had "preliminarily tested positive for ricin this morning" and mail from that facility was also being tested.

Thericin-tainted letter apparently came from "from the same sender who mailed a [similar] letter" addressed to Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, adds NBC News.

What is happening? Thankfully, no one was harmed in these incidents. #SMDH

VIDEO: NYC's Rev. Calvin Butts: Marriage Equality is "the Freedom That God Has Given You"

The Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts for the win. The influential pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City's Harlem noted that his denomination did not support marriage equality ... but he delivered a passionate defense of equal rights for all Americans.

"It’s something that we don’t believe in, in terms of what we have learned from the Bible," Rev. Butts told ABC’s George Stephanopolous on This Week. "But in terms of men and women having their rights as citizens and human beings, we certainly affirm that."

The pastor and civil rights leader added: "You should have every right as a citizen of this nation and every right as a human being to enjoy the freedom that God has given you. The choice is yours. And I should not stand in the way of you making that choice."

Butts called on the Supreme Court to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act and California's Proposition 8. The court heard historic oral arguments on two federal challenges last week. Decisions are expected in June.

Abyssinian Baptist Church was previously headed by Adam Clayton Powell Sr and Adam Clayton Powell Jr..

Rev. Dr. Butts did not endorse President Obama's historic affirmation for equal marriage in May 2012. But at that time, the pastor "denounced those who are ready to 'watch others be discriminated against, marginalized, and literally hated in the name of God,'" reported CNN's Belief Blog.

Via Raw Story, watch the clip AFTER THE JUMP ...

VIDEO: Brendon Ayanbadejo on "Face the Nation", "HuffPost Live"

Love it. Brendon Ayanbadejo continues to use his celebrity in the fight for equality. The Baltimore Ravens linebacker appeared on Huff Post Live this afternoon and CBS News' Face the Nation on Sunday morning in advance of this week's Supreme Court arguments around Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act.

Ayanbadejo, Minneapolis Vikings punter Chris Kluwe and Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita are among the hundreds of legislators, politicians, employers and government agencies who submitted briefs to the Supreme Court opposing Proposition 8.

"My colleagues and I want to make sure that everyone is treated equally—and that includes the LGBT community," Ayanbadejo said on CBS News. "Being biracial, I know what it's like to be treated differently and discriminated against. ... This is a natural evolution from civil rights, equal rights and women's rights."

The Family Research Council's Tony Perkins also appears on FTN and—wait for it!—lies about how many states how voted for pro-marriage laws. The number is actually four. Watch both segments AFTER THE JUMP ...

INFOGRAPHIC: The Obama Administration's Judicial Nominees

On Monday, history was made when the Senate confirmed Judge Pamela Chen to become the first openly gay, Asian-American judge on the federal bench. Chen will serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. "There are now five openly gay judges on the federal bench," reports Think Progress. "Four of these five are Obama appointees, and the fifth, Clinton appointee Deborah Batts, recently took a kind of partial retirement for older judges."

The President has named eight openly gay or lesbian life-tenured federal court judicial nominees. These include Judge William Thomas and Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro, who would become the first out Black man and Latina on the federal bench, respectively. "Thomas would be the second out LGBT black judge," adds Buzzfeed's Chris Geidner. "The first, Judge Deborah Batts, also was the first out LGBT federal judge."

The Washington Post profiled the Obama Administration's efforts to diversify the federal judiciary on Tuesday. "Of the 35 judicial nominees currently pending before the Senate, 17 of the 35 pending judicial nominees are women, 15 are ethnic minorities and five are openly gay." Only six are white straight men.

The White House released a very clever infographic yesterday that demonstrates how it has made the federal courts more reflective of our society. Click to enlarge.

VIDEO/TRANSCRIPT: President Obama on His Opposition to Prop 8

PHOTO: GETTY

The Obama Administration announced on Thursday that it would submit an amicus brief to the Supreme Court supporting the landmark challenge to Proposition 8. President Obama was asked about his decision to take this historic step at a White House press conference this afternoon on the sequester.

The President answered in part:

I think that the same evolution that I've gone through is an evolution that the country as a whole has gone through. And I think it is a profoundly positive thing. So that when the Supreme Court essentially called the question by taking this case about California's law, I didn’t feel like that was something that this administration could avoid. I felt it was important for us to articulate what I believe and what this administration stands for.

The President added that if he "were on the Court" he would vote to strike the law. "Let’s treat everybody fairly and let’s treat everybody equally," said POTUS.

The White House Press office has emailed R20 transcript. Read the exchange and via Think Progress watch the video AFTER THE JUMP ...

Justice Dept to File SCOTUS Brief Opposing Proposition 8

This is fantastic. Obama Administration will submit an amicus brief to the Supreme Court opposing Proposition 8, reports NBC News.

After first suggesting it would not get involved, the Obama administration will file a friend-of-the-court brief late today in support of the two gay couples who launched the fight over the issue four years ago, the officials said. Today is the last day for filing briefs in support of the couples' position.

The administration last year signaled it might stay on the sidelines. In May, when President Obama first said that "same-sex couples should be able to get married," he added that it was not a matter for the federal government. But he appeared to express a different view in January during his inaugural address when he said, "Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law, for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well."

The Supreme Court announced in December that it would hear the federal challenge to California's Proposition 8, the voter-approved same-sex marriage ban passed in November 2008. The court will also hear a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act. Oral arguments begin in March.

Senate Confirms Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense in 58-41 Vote

PHOTO: GETTY

The Senate has finally confirmed former Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel as the next Secretary of Defense. The 58 to 41 vote ended "a long and contentious nomination process marked by an unprecedented GOP filibuster of a presidential cabinet level nominee," notes TalkingPointsMemo.

The Republican filibuster of their former colleague ended this afternoon. Hagel will succeed Leon Panetta and will "immediately inherit a budget crisis," notes USA Today.

Last week, the Pentagon announced that it plans to furlough the majority of its 800,000 civilian employees to help meet a $46 billion shortfall caused by automatic spending cuts that begin March 1 and its stop-gap budget that prevents shifting funds to urgent needs.

Four Republicans joined 54 Democrats to approve Hagel: Cochran (MS), Johanns (NE), Shelby (AL) and Rand Paul (KY). "All 41 no votes came from Republicans," adds the Washington Post. Former Republican presidential nominee John McCain also switched his vote to a "no."

Hagel voted to authorize the Iraq War in 2003. The Nebraska Republican later became a frequent critic of the Bush Administration prosecution of the war.

VIDEO: Economist Paul Krugman on HuffPost Live w/ Marc Lamont Hill

The nation's economy will grow by only 1.4 percent in 2013 and "unemployment will remain above 7.5 percent through 2014", according to a new report released this week by the Congressional Budget Office.

How to end the recession? Marc Lamont Hill hosted a great Huff Post Live discussion with Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize-winning progressive economist and New York Times columnist.

"It's the easiest thing [to do] in the world," said Krugman. "We know how to end it. To end this depression we need the federal government to give aid to the state governments. [The states] need to rehire the teachers that they laid off, begin road and infrastructure repair. ... But the political will is not there."

Watch AFTER THE JUMP ...

Kerry Washington's Amazing NAACP Image Award Speech: VIDEOS

PHOTOS: GETTY

The big winner at the 44th Annual NAACP Image Awards: The fabulous Kerry Washington. The star of ABC's "Scandal" was a triple threat at the ceremony, picking up trophies for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for Scandal, Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for Django Unchained and the President's Award for special achievement and exceptional public service.

Kerry Washington's amazing acceptance highlighted her work for equality and President Obama. Watch it AFTER THE JUMP ...

Said the actress:

"I consider it an honor to be an advocate for the arts and to serve on [President] Obama's committee for arts and humanities because just as we must insure that 'We, the people' includes all Americans, regardless of race, class, gender and sexual orientation, we must also work to ensure that the stories we tell, the movies we produce, the television we produce, the theaters we stage, the novels we publish, are all inclusive in all those same ways."

Kerry Washington is the "first Black female lead on network television in 38 years." The President's Award was presented to Washington by actress Diahann Carroll who first broke that color barrier in 1968.

The complete winners list HERE.

Videos of all three acceptance speeches, the transcript of the big speech and a photos of "Olivia" and "Fitz" on stage AFTER THE JUMP ...

VIDEO: Beyoncé's Flawless Live Performance of National Anthem

Beyoncé opened her Super Bowl press conference this afternoon with a flawless two minute live rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner."

"Any questions?" she asked reporters.

Take THAT, haters! Watch AFTER THE JUMP ...