Jennifer Harper

Cruise ship to feature arctic-themed Snow Grotto - with flurries and a ‘bucket dump’

In keeping with its Scandinavian roots, a new ocean-going Viking Cruises ship will feature a sub-zero Snow Grotto for passengers seeking an experience beyond the typical pool deck and sun chairs that rival companies offer. Set to launch from Norway in mid-May, the Viking Star has already picked up accolades for the unprecedented snow room, which features powder-consistency snow falling from the ceiling in an environment done up in ice blue and white, a nearby "bucket dump" will douse brave guests with ice water to get their blood circulating.

April 19, 2015

Conservatives in NH take on establishment GOP promising ‘shot heard round the world’

They've stood by and waited while establishment Republicans staged a noisy First in the Nation Leadership Summit in New Hampshire which drew 19 presidential hopefuls and a crush of media this weekend. Now they are ready to rumble: a feisty group of Granite State conservatives will move in. Literally. On Sunday, the 603 Alliance — activists loyal to founding principles and the Constitution - will stage a daylong summit in the very same hotel. They intend to winnow out the authentic conservative conservative candidates - with much ado.

April 18, 2015

Armstrong WIlliams and The Right Side Forum tackle ‘a nation of too many laws’

Right Side Forum," an hour-long conservative live news and talk show hosted by columnist Armstrong Williams, will ask this question on its next broadcast: "Have we become a nation of too many laws?

April 17, 2015

Rand Paul stars in a new biographical comic book with all the graphic details

It may not fit in with his presidential campaign plans, but you never know. Sen. Rand Paul is now the subject of a biographical comic book, done up in in graphic novel style, and billing him as a "political powerhouse" and the "intellectual godfather of the tea party.

April 17, 2015

Inside the Beltway: GOP, conservatives, Democrats on collision course in New Hampshire

They're first in the nation, and don't you forget it. The New Hampshire Republican Party is ferocious about its traditional status as host of the nation's first presidential primary, which can make and break candidates and create a media ruckus. So, naturally, there's a First in the Nation Republican Leadership Summit.

April 16, 2015

Inside the Beltway: Pro-life is ‘morally just, politically smart’

The mainstream press typically overlooks polls that suggest the nation is pro-life; a recent YouGov poll, for example, found that two-thirds of Americans believe that "fetuses in the womb are people," including 80 percent of Republicans and 56 percent of Democrats. One group that does not overlook this is the Susan B. Anthony List, a nonprofit that supports pro-life candidates — set to host a daylong summit and evening gala in the nation's capital on Thursday. Republicans will help them: Sen. Rand Paul appears at the summit, Carly Fiorina serves as mistress of ceremonies at the gala, where Sen. Lindsay Graham — lead sponsor of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act — is the keynote speaker. On hand to receive awards for pro-life leadership: Sen. Joni Ernst and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus.

April 15, 2015

Hillary Clinton inevitable? 57 percent of voters say Hillary ‘likely to be elected president’

Inevitable? Or is it just too early to draw meaningful conclusions about 2016? "Most voters think Hillary Clinton will be the next president of the United States even though they have very mixed feelings about her," notes a Rasmussen poll released Wednesday - which has some of those proverbial read 'em and weep numbers for Republicans to consider.

April 15, 2015

Inside the Beltway: Ferguson the Play debuts in D.C. to show what media ‘is trying to hide’

"Verbatim drama" would seem ideal for the nation's capital, home to political theater and media hysteria. Verbatim drama, however, is formally categorized as documentary theater — actors read from real court testimonies, transcripts and other actual documents, yielding dramatic effects that can trump the work of a playwright. Which brings us to "Ferguson the Play," a verbatim drama drawn from Grand Jury testimony surrounding the shooting death of Michael Brown.

April 14, 2015

Inside the Beltway: Marco Rubio has drawn an unfriendly media for years

A certain Florida Republican has drawn negative press for years. Indeed, Sen. Marco Rubio has been a target since he was elected in 2010, so much so that Geoffrey Dickens, an analyst for the Media Research Center, was inspired to track the historic "ripping Rubio" coverage. Among other things, he found that MSNBC once aired two segments in which contributors called the lawmaker "a coconut," and "pretty boy." This week, the network featured Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz calling Mr. Rubio "a flat-Earth society worshipper" and a "prune" adorned with tinsel.

April 13, 2015

Stop Hillary marketing victory: GOP generates $9.9 million in buzzworthy ‘earned TV media’

There's a petition, a video, a flash drive and some nimble talking points - the Republican National Committee was quick to launch a well organized and imaginative effort to counter Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. And it has paid off. "In three days, the RNC accumulated an impressive $9.9 million in earned TV media and 1,675 individual hits across TV and radio," Sean Spicer.

April 13, 2015

Inside the Beltway: Hillary Clinton rebranded as ‘humble’ champion of everyday Americans

The counter-coronation is underway as a reserved Hillary Rodham Clinton arrives on the presidential landscape. But wait. We've seen this before. Democratic strategist David Axelrod recast candidate Barack Obama as "no-drama Obama" during the 2008 presidential campaign after Republicans criticized the presumptuous trim of his campaign.

April 12, 2015

Fossil find: Skeleton of towering ‘terror bird’ found exquisitely preserved

It's a bodacious and big-beaked bird, that's for sure. Scientists studying the skeleton of an ancient South American terror bird called Llallawavis scagliai are describing it as "exquisitely preserved." Indeed, over 90 percent of the creature's bony structure is intact, revealing such details as voice box, trachea and the complete palate of a carnivorous predator which strolled the Earth some 3.5 million years ago.

April 11, 2015

American Conservative Union is not ready for Hillary Clinton: ‘We’ve had enough’

Enough already. So say conservatives upon confronting the very real possibility that Hillary Clinton will soon announce her intention to run for the White House in 2016. Press reports indicate that she'll make the move on Sunday, possibly on Twitter. And possibly not. "Never before has a presidential candidate played so fast and loose with the truth as has Mrs. Clinton," said American Conservative Union chairman Matt Schlapp.

April 10, 2015

Armstrong Williams and the ‘Right Side Forum’ address Islamic extremism

Right Side Forum," an hour-long conservative live news and talk show hosted by columnist Armstrong Williams, will ask this question on its next broadcast: "Islamist Extremists and the Koran." The guests are Clare Lopez, vice president for research and analysis at the Center for Security Policy; and Imam Akmal M. Muhammad, founder of The Islamic Freedom Foundation, Inc.

April 10, 2015

NRA Convention: Here’s where to watch it live

The National Rifle Association’s annual convention is now underway in Nashville, boasting 70,000 attendees, acres of firearms and a certain exuberance among the huge, like-minded crowd. Of note Friday: the sold-out leadership forum, to be streamed live online, from 1:45 - 6 p.m. ET. Here's the link.

April 10, 2015

Inside the Beltway: Rand Paul fires up the ‘libertarianish’ engine

His grand presidential announcement behind him, Sen. Rand Paul has embarked on the initial fundraising foray of his official candidacy. His first stop this weekend is a private event in Newport Beach, California, in the home of a manufacturing maven, the tickets priced at $10,400 each.

April 9, 2015

Personhood? Two thirds of Americans say ‘fetuses in the womb are people’: Poll

Two thirds of Americans believe that "fetuses in the womb are people" - that includes 80 percent of Republicans and 56 percent of Democrats. The source is a YouGov poll conducted in the wake of a shocking attack on a pregnant woman in Colorado that left her injured, and resulted in the loss of her unborn child. The pollster addressed that issue too, revealing that 76 percent of Americans overall agree that if an attack on a pregnant woman leads to the death of her unborn child, a murder charge is appropriate.

April 9, 2015

Inside the Beltway: NRA convention draws Republican hopefuls, 70,000 fans

Talk about accurate aim. A dozen Republican presidential hopefuls are bound for the National Rifle Association's annual convention, which begins Thursday in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a bodacious and powerful event, expected to draw 70,000 folks intent on affirming their allegiance to guns, guts, fellowship and America — with some prayer, country music and family time to go with it.

April 8, 2015

U.S. economy out $233.8 billion due to ‘lost productivity’ as Americans wrestle with taxes: study

Researchers at the National Taxpayers Union Foundation have done all the math on tax code complexity to reveal that the U.S. economy loses $233.8 billion as Americans race to complete and file forms.

April 8, 2015

Inside the Beltway: White House Correspondents’ Dinner the star of Nerd Prom, the Movie

Patrick Gavin has written and directed "Nerd Prom: Inside Washington's Wildest Week." The exuberant but incisive documentary debuts in the nation's capital on Thursday, and it is no exercise in celebrity worship. The audacious Mr. Gavin has focused on the "unadulterated self-celebration" surrounding the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

April 7, 2015