Google Maps is celebrating April Fool’s Day this year with a limited-edition version of the classic arcade game Snake. The easter egg will be available starting today through the end of the week. With it, you’ll be able to play Snake on your desktop as well as with Google Maps’ smartphone app in a number of iconic…

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CNN host Brian Stelter lit into Fox News over a series of missteps — including the Fox & Friends banner that proclaimed Donald Trump had cut off aid to “3 Mexican countries” — and told his viewers “I don’t know what’s going on over there.”

On Sunday’s edition of CNN’s Reliable Sources, Stelter teased a segment by noting that “The only network that actually is apologizing for something this week is Fox News. I’ll show you what they’re apologizing for in just a moment.”

After the commercial break, Stelter noted that “If President Trump was watching Lou Dobbs the other night, he heard that foreigners may kill millions of Americans.”

He then played a clip from Fox host Lou Dobbs‘ Fox Business Channel show, in which Dobbs claims that “tens of thousands, perhaps millions of Americans” stand to be murdered by immigrants. His intro was accompanied by the first of several priceless reaction shots:

“Terrifying, right?” Stelter said following the clip, adding “That’s the whole point. It’s nonsense but it’s scary.”

Stelter then played a clip of Jeanine Pirro‘s return from suspension, during which, Stelter suggested, Trump would have “heard that his opponents should be… jailed.”

“Don’t know what to say,” Stelter said, with another facial expression to match:

Then, Stelter noted that “If the president was watching Fox & Friends this morning, he saw this banner, it says ‘Trump cuts U.S. Aid to 3 Mexican countries,’ The reference, of course, to Central American countries.”

Stelter exhaled, and made another appropriately bemused face before noting that The network apologized several hours later and said the banner never should have appeared. Obviously, that’s the case. But I don’t know what is going on over there.”

Neither does anyone else, Brian.

Watch the clip above, from CNN.

Because the 2020 presidential election is a year and a half away, it is very easy to get lulled into the false presumption that the outcome cannot possibly be currently determined, especially after the shocking result we all witnessed in 2016. However, there is an extremely strong argument to be made that the emerging destruction of Joe Biden, by both his own hands and those of his rivals, could very well end up allowing President Trump to be re-elected.

While I am no fan of Joe Biden the politician, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that, if the Democratic Party got behind him early in this process and allowed him to emerge from their primaries unscathed, that, barring a “black swan” event, he would defeat Trump. There is no one else currently likely to run for the Democratic nomination about whom a remotely similar statement could be rationally made.

The case for Biden’s electability advantage is rather overwhelming, and it isn’t just based on national polls where Trump has never once come close to defeating Biden. There has never be a presidential election in my lifetime where the battleground is going to be as narrow and well-defined as this one is very likely to be, and that specific territory is very well suited to Biden defeating Trump.

Assuming a traditional two-person race, there are only going to be four states which really matter in the 2020 election: Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Florida. These are all “Obama States” which Trump won by small margins. Since, other than largely irrelevant New Hampshire, there are no new states Trump can win against a reasonable Democratic opponent, if the president loses Florida plus any one of the other three, his re-election effort is essentially doomed.

These four states, all of which voted twice for Joe Biden to be Vice President, are all places where he would play far better than any of the other Democratic frontrunners (whom I consider to be Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Beto O’Rourke, and Pete Buttigeig). For instance, a new poll puts Biden a strong 10 points ahead of Trump in Pennsylvania, which is effectively a home state for him.

In short, if Democrats really believe that preventing Trump from a second term is a historical imperative, Biden, who wouldn’t scare older white middle-class voters into thinking that their race and sexuality was about to be made a permanent legal handicap, is by far the closest thing to sending the country a lifeboat. However, it is becoming quite clear that the rules of Democratic primary process are being set up to prevent that “safety valve” scenario from coming to fruition.

Obviously sensing that all the energy in the primary (at least among the media and those on Twitter) is going to be on the very progressive end of the party, and that the nomination fight in a crowded field will therefore turn into the “Woke Olympics,” Biden has already felt forced into several missteps. Most of them have had to do with apologizing for his essence as a white male, and his past friendships with Republicans.

Biden showing extreme weakness before he even starts his campaign is not the way to beat a bully like Trump, and neither his him giving up some of his appeal to non-liberal whites. But those developments are minor in comparison to what the progressive establishment is doing to Biden, apparently under the delusion that there are other candidates who can also be counted on to reliably beat Trump.

This effort to derail Biden, before “Amtrak Joe” even gets his train out of the station, reached a crescendo with a renewed attempt on Friday to give him the #MeToo treatment. This happened when former Nevada assemblywoman Lucy Flores,who just happens to be a very strong Sanders supporter, wrote an op-ed accusing Biden of an inappropriate kiss, and the #MeToo crusaders immediately went on the attack, saying that this was a disqualifying event for a prospective 2020 Democratic nominee.

Forgetting for a moment that this whole thing is eerily reminiscent of what I still believe was a political hatchet job on former Democratic senator Al Franken, even if the allegation is entirely true, it is idiotic for Democrats to be seemingly taking Biden out over something like this. This story, probably by design, will now open the door to any woman who ever had a somewhat similar experience to now tell their story to the media, and Biden’s death by a thousand cuts will be well on its way.

Where the heck are all the Democratic stars who know Biden coming to his defense?! Are they ALL (even Michelle Obama, who could easily nip this problem in the bud) really that terrified of a #MeToo backlash that they are willing to risk Trump’s re-election over it?

If so, then Democrats, at whom Trump has to be laughing right now, simply don’t deserve to be beat him. If they really think that Trump will be defeated by anyone they nominate, no matter how liberal/problematic they are, and that therefore they can afford to take some significant risk here, they are delusional.

When your only child is stuck in a burning building, you don’t go looking for that cash you hid under the mattress before you get them out, and, when they are in need of emergency surgery, you don’t take the scenic route on the way to the hospital. Either the Trump presidency isn’t REALLY a national crisis, or what Democrats are allowing to happen to Joe Biden is both suicidal and dangerous.

There is no other logical option.

Former Vice President Joe Biden released a statement on Sunday in response to the recent allegation of “inappropriate” behavior on his part written about by former Nevada lawmaker and Bernie Sanders supporter Lucy Flores.

In his statement, Biden said that “not once – never – did I believe I acted inappropriately.”

On CNN’s State of the Union, Jake Tapper asked Flores for her reaction.

“Well I certainly think it’s better than his first statement that they released on Saturday,” said Flores, referring to the general statement that was given by a spokesperson. “I’m glad he’s willing to listen. I’m glad he is clarifying his intentions.”

“Frankly, my point was never about his intentions, and they shouldn’t be about his intentions.” Flores continued. “It should be about the women on the receiving end of that behavior.”

In Biden’s statement, in addition to defending his intentions, he said he “may not recall these moments the same way” as women who have been on the receiving end remember it, but that he will “pay attention” to what they say.

Flores correctly noted that this isn’t the first questionable behavior on Biden’s part.

“This isn’t the first time and it wasn’t the only incident where he was acting inappropriately with women,” she said. “If he is saying he never believed that was inappropriate, then frankly I think that’s a little bit of a disconnect, and not being aware, a sense of not being aware because there has been documentation both in photos, videos, stories that were written.”

She also suggested that, rather than the idea that no one has ever brought it to his attention, it seems more likely those objections have simply been dismissed. “I just can’t imagine that there was never a situation where someone said to him, Vice President — Mr. Vice President, you probably should stop doing that. You should probably stop touching women in that way, you should probably keep your hands to yourself,” she said.

She said of the statement, “frankly I think that’s a little bit of a disconnect” and that part of the problem is his “not being aware.”

Interestingly, as the interview continued, Flores at one point said she felt less pressure to keep quiet because there are so many good candidates for 2020 on the Democratic side. In other words that when there are fewer candidates, there is a great deal of pressure on Democrat women not to speak out.

“We’re often pressured to keep our mouths shut about anything,” she said. “We are expected to quote unquote keep our dirty laundry to ourselves, and it’s always in service the party.”

She said that because Democrats “have options” she doesn’t feel pressured to “stay quiet and just take one for the team the way in which we’re always asked to do.”

Watch the clip above, courtesy of CNN.

[Featured image via screengrab]

—

Follow Caleb Howe (@CalebHowe) on Twitter

The 2019 NCAA men’s tournament continues on Sunday. On Sunday, Texas Tech and Virginia won their spots in the Final Four, and today Auburn will take on Kentucky and Duke will take on Michigan State to determine the same.

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Independent Vermont Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders placed the stakes of the health care debate in stark terms when he said that under Donald Trump‘s “plan” (which does not actually exist), “thousands of people will literally die.”

On Sunday morning’s edition of CBS News’ Face the Nation, host Margaret Brennan asked Sanders about the Trump administration’s attempt to strike down the entirety of Obamacare, without a plan to replace it.

“The president this week said he wants the courts to strike down Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act, but to be fair, Senator, you want to replace Obamacare, too,” Brennan said, which is a bit like saying “to be fair, you and Hannibal Lecter both enjoy a good meal.”

“You want to replace it with Medicare For All, government-run, government-financed program,” Brennan said (Trump has no plan to replace it).

“If the courts strike down the ACA, does that ultimately help you?” she asked.

“No, no,” Sanders said, with a derisive laugh. “Yes, Trump has an idea on health care, his idea is to throw 32 million millions off of the health insurance they have, doing away with insurance for kids who are 26 years of age or younger who are on their parents plans, doing away with the protections that the ACA has for preexisting conditions, Margaret.

“That means if you have cancer, you have heart disease, you have diabetes, if Trump gets his way, the cost of health insurance for you will be so high that many people literally will not be able to afford it,” Sanders said, adding “Thousands of people will literally die. That’s trump’s health insurance plan.”

The senator has made similar claims about Republican repeal efforts, backed up by a 2009 study that shows 45,000 annual American deaths linked to a lack of health coverage.

Sanders then explained his Medicare For All plan, which would do away with private insurance in favor of a single payer, government-run health care program. Sanders has previously said that he will not support health care reforms other than his own plan.

Watch the clip above, via CBS News.

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How many Mexicos (Mexicoes? Mexicae?) are there, exactly? Depends on who you’re asking. If it’s Fox & Friends, the answer, apparently, is three.

On Sunday morning, as Pete Hegseth was talking about his desire that nations south of the border be best, the chyron beneath the hosts had a strange headline.

TRUMP CUTS AID TO 3 MEXICAN COUNTRIES. Just a slip of the chyron. The hosts listed which countries the chyron was referring to. Bad chryons happen. Sometimes hilariously. And when it’s Fox, trust that CNN folks and some dedicated tweeters will catch it.

Later in the show, co-host Ed Henry corrected the record regarding the number of Mexican countries.

“We apologize for the error, it never should have happened,” said Henry.

Watch the clip above, via FOX News Channel.

Trump Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney attacked CNN and the media over its coverage of Special Counsel Robert Mueller‘s investigation, but Jake Tapper pushed back on the idea that any journalists on his network “got anything wrong” in reporting on the Mueller probe.

On Sunday morning’s edition of CNN’s State of the Union, Tapper began by asking Mulvaney about a Trump tweet that seemed to suggest blocking the release of the Mueller report.

“The problem is, no matter what the Radical Left Democrats get, no matter what we give them, it will never be enough. Just watch, they will Harass & Complain & Resist (the theme of their movement). So maybe we should just take our victory and say NO, we’ve got a Country to run!” the tweet read.

“Is he suggesting that the full Mueller report should not be released?” Tapper asked.

Mulvaney responded by quickly pivoting to an attack on CNN and the media.

“Take the president at his word, that it is time to sort of work on policy,” Mulvaney said, but added “Yes, we need to figure out what went wrong with the Mueller report, why, in all fairness to your network, why the media got it so wrong for so long.”

He added that Trump “is venting the same frustration a lot of people had when the Mueller report came out, and it turned out exactly like he said.”

“I’m not sure what you’re saying the media got wrong,” Tapper said. “The media reported that the investigation was going on. Other than the people in the media on the left, not on this network, I don’t know anybody who got anything wrong. We didn’t say there was conspiracy. We said that Mueller was investigating conspiracy.”

“That’s fine, if that’s your recollection of history, that’s great,” Mulvaney said. “Face it, the media got this wrong. It’s okay,” and then claimed that the Mueller report “completely exonerates the president, there’s no collusion, there’s no obstruction of justice.”

“Have you read the Mueller report?” Tapper asked.

“No, I, neither have you. I’ve read the Barr summary, which is what everyone else has read,” Mulvaney said.

“But you’re making statements there that I don’t… I don’t know what the Mueller report says,” Tapper said. “I was just asking are we going to see the Mueller report. There were, in addition to all the interviews you talked about, dozens of indictments, including jail time for people close to the president.”

Watch the clip above, via CNN.

A huge storage sale for World Backup Day, Mr. Beams spotlights, and the best price ever on Michelle Obama’s Becoming lead off Sunday’s best deals from around the web.

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Former Vice President Joe Biden released a statement on Sunday morning about the allegation from former Nevada lawmaker Lucy Flores that he kissed and touched her inappropriately at an event in 2014.

Biden, who is all but officially a contender for the 2020 Democrat nomination, released his response as a statement just minutes before Flores was set to appear on CNN’s State of the Union. In it, he says he never thought he was acting inappropriately and that he never intended to.

Flores says that at the 2015 event, Biden leaned in intimately from behind her, smelled her hair, and kissed her on the head, despite that they had no prior relationship or acquaintance.

“My brain couldn’t process what was happening,” she wrote at New York magazine’s The Cut of the incident. “I was embarrassed. I was shocked. I was confused.”

Biden first responded through a spokesperson on Friday before issuing his own response as Flores was about to go on air.

The statement was broadly addressed, not just directed to Flores:

“In my many years on the campaign trail and in public life, I have offered countless handshakes, hugs, expressions of affection, support, and comfort. And not once – never – did I believe I acted inappropriately. If it is suggested I did so, I will listen respectfully. But it was never my intention.

“I may not recall these moments the same way, and I may be surprised at what I hear. But we have arrived at an important time when women feel they can and should relate their experiences, an men should pay attention. And I will.

“I will also remain the strongest advocate I can be for the rights of women. I will fight to build on the work I’ve done in my career to end violence against women and ensure women are treated with the equality they deserve. I will continue to surround myself with trusted women advisers who challenge me to see different perspectives than my own. And I will continue to speak out on these vitally-important issues where there is much more progress to be made and crucial fights that must be waged and won.”

[Featured photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images]

—

Follow Caleb Howe (@CalebHowe) on Twitter

Donald Trump has been telling people that Special Counsel Robert Mueller‘s as-yet-unreleased report constitutes “total exoneration,” but Fox News host Chris Wallace gave White House counselor Kellyanne Conway repeated doses of reality on that subject by telling her it “just isn’t true.”

On this week’s edition of Fox News Sunday, Wallace grilled Conway on the Mueller report summarized in Attorney General William Barr‘s memo, repeatedly pointing out that it did not exonerate Trump.

“The special counsel cleared the president on collusion, absolutely no question about it. But he especially did not clear him on the question of obstruction, so why is the president telling Americans something that is not true?” Wallace asked.

Conway answered by boasting that Trump had not fired Mueller, and claiming he had not “interfered” with the investigation, until Wallace eventually interrupted her.

“Now Kellyanne, wait, but I’m asking you specifically about obstruction, and I don’t mean to interrupt, but I do want to keep you on point,” Wallace said.

“It’s not in there,” Conway said.

Wallace then read the portion of the Barr memo that specifically says the Mueller investigation “does not exonerate” Trump, and again noted “When the president says that it’s total exoneration on obstruction, Kellyanne, that’s just not true.”

“Well the president is probably comparing that report, and the ultimate conclusions of no conspiracy, no collusion, no contact with any Russian at a campaign that I managed into its final successful phases,” Conway began, although the Barr memo mentions none of those things aside from conspiracy, “and have always been offended that anyone would think that we would cheat lie steal or talk to any Russians, that’s ridiculous and always was.”

Wallace wound up interrupting her again, telling Conway to “take yes for an answer, I’m agreeing with you on collusion, I’m asking you about obstruction, though.”

“Well we’ll see what the full Mueller report says, but there’s nowhere in the Barr report that said the president obstructed justice, there’s nowhere in the Barr memo that says you or I obstructed justice…” Conway said, clearing up the unasked question of Chris Wallace’s obstruction of justice.

“Well there is no Barr report, Barr is simply summarizing Mueller, and Mueller says that it did not exonerate him.

Watch the clip above, from Fox.

Internet famous “You were at my wedding, Denise” and now-former The Federalist blogger Denise McCallister tweeted her way out of a job Saturday when a Twitter feud quickly escalated into a homophobic screed.

Last week, McCallister launched the “You were at my wedding, Denise” meme by provoking that now-classic clapback from Meghan McCain by trashing the cohosts of The View as “mental midgets.” McCain is married to Ben Domenech, publisher of The Federalist, and Denise was apparently at their wedding.

you were at my wedding Denise….

— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) March 26, 2019

On Saturday, things started innocently enough with this bit of regressive oversharing:

Trying to talk to my husband while Carolina is playing. He looks at me and says, “Woman, you know better than this. The game is on.” He’s right. I slipped.

Commercial comes on. I fetch him a beer. He grabs me. Deep kisses.

Patience and timing, ladies. That’s the lesson.

— DC McAllister (@McAllisterDen) March 30, 2019

McCallister responded to a few critical tweets without blowing herself up:

Guys, avoid women like this if you want a mate who has a sense of humor and also respects male space. https://t.co/waeX4G6RR3

— DC McAllister (@McAllisterDen) March 30, 2019

He said it teasingly not harshly. https://t.co/gA29tK812K

— DC McAllister (@McAllisterDen) March 30, 2019

Mirror? https://t.co/j1J4OdLsgP

— DC McAllister (@McAllisterDen) March 31, 2019

Millennial women are such children.

Let your man be a man. Let your man have his space. Let your man have a sense of humor.

Most of all, trust your man. Stop thinking of yourself all the time and think of HIM! https://t.co/awxvLC2ID7

— DC McAllister (@McAllisterDen) March 31, 2019

Your beta man wants you to suck his dick. I’m sure he accomplished his goal.

— DC McAllister (@McAllisterDen) March 31, 2019

But then along came journalist and towel enthusiast Yashar Ali, who pulled the pin:

“He’s right. I slipped.”

Oh Denise pic.twitter.com/8cWlcGPtUm

— Yashar Ali (@yashar) March 31, 2019

McCallister wasn’t about to take “Oh Denise” lying down:

A gay man commenting on a heterosexual relationship is just. Sad. Pathetic really.

— DC McAllister (@McAllisterDen) March 31, 2019

I stand up for men being free in their masculinity. Respected for their masculinity. I’m attacked by gay men and their female sidekicks. What do you men think about this? We live in a society that wants to rob men of their manhood. Are you going to sit by and take it? Or fight?

— DC McAllister (@McAllisterDen) March 31, 2019

I think @yashar has a crush on me. Maybe I’m making him doubt his love of penis.

— DC McAllister (@McAllisterDen) March 31, 2019

Oh so sad. @yashar is lost. He doesn’t know his purpose as a man. He doesn’t know his purpose as a human being. He doesn’t know his purpose as an Individual. So he wallows and tries to find himself in another man’s asshole. Sad.

— DC McAllister (@McAllisterDen) March 31, 2019

Oh my. I criticized ONE gay dude because he attacked me and my respect for real masculinity. Burn me at the stake. I’m quivering. And laughing at all of you.

— DC McAllister (@McAllisterDen) March 31, 2019

That’s when CNN host S.E. Cupp stepped in to try and get McCallister to put down her beer:

God, what a disgusting and lazy ad hominem and homophobic attack. If you can’t defend men without smearing men who also love men, you’re really, really bad at this. https://t.co/lCvmycqf0K

— S.E. Cupp (@secupp) March 31, 2019

I’m struggling to find your through line, Denise. I’ve had the same stuff aimed at me, of course, for years. That’s never magically turned me into a rageful homophobe. Free will, and all. https://t.co/zDMyJiZqH5

— S.E. Cupp (@secupp) March 31, 2019

Well I don’t have to, Denise. You did it. https://t.co/irjHK5nXbe

— S.E. Cupp (@secupp) March 31, 2019

Consider this @secupp A gay man criticizes my relationship with my husband in which I honor his masculine space, but no one criticizes the gay guy’s bigotry toward me. I counter his lack of self awareness in the context of his own sexuality yet I’m the bigot. Please explain.

— DC McAllister (@McAllisterDen) March 31, 2019

I have defensed masculinity & have been ridiculed for it. Maligned for loving my husband as a man & celebrating my role as a woman. Yet I’m the devil in the eyes of many. I criticize a gay man who dares to mock my relationship. And I’m the devil. You do see how fucked up this is

— DC McAllister (@McAllisterDen) March 31, 2019

This appears to be about the point at which McCallister was separated from The Federalist:

They won. Goodbye, my friends.

— DC McAllister (@McAllisterDen) March 31, 2019

The minute Ben Shapiro DMed me that I was no longer welcome bc I had criticized a gay man the way I did despite the times I’ve been threatened for standing for conservative principles, the right of women to vote contrary to the feminist herd, and support of masculinity, I quit.

— DC McAllister (@McAllisterDen) March 31, 2019

Eventually, Domenech made it official:

In response to your many inquiries, we've spoken and Denise McAllister will not be writing for us at The Federalist any more.

— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) March 31, 2019

At least she’ll have plenty of time for weddings now.

Happy World Backup Day! To celebrate this rare, actually-useful fake holiday, Amazon’s running a huge one-day sale on everything from microSD cards to SSDs to hard drives to NAS enclosures. Unlike most storage sales, this one includes deals from multiple brands, and all the big names like Samsung, Synology, SanDisk,…

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