Dwayne Johnson would run for US President if people want him

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - “Fast & Furious” star Dwayne Johnson said on Monday that he would run for US President if he felt he had enough support from Americans.

Johnson, 48, one of the highest-paid and most popular actors in the United States, has been flirting with a possible White House bid for several years.

“I do have that goal to unite our country and I also feel that if this is what the people want, then I will do that,” Johnson said when asked about his presidential ambitions in an interview broadcast on the “Today” show on Monday.

The former professional wrestler did not say which party he would represent or when he might launch any bid for the White House.

His remarks follow an online public opinion poll released last week by consumer trends company Piplsay that found some 46% of Americans would consider voting for Johnson.

Johnson, known as “The Rock,” said he was humbled by the poll.

“I don’t think our Founding Fathers EVER envisioned a six-four, bald, tattooed, half-Black, half-Samoan, tequila drinking, pick-up truck driving, fanny-pack wearing guy joining their club - but if it ever happens it’d be my honor to serve you, the people,” he said in an Instagram posting.

Johnson, whose work includes the rebooted “Jumanji” movie franchise and the TV show “Young Rock,” joins a long list of American celebrities who have run for political office, including former “Apprentice” star Donald Trump.

“Magic Mike” actor Matthew McConaughey and former Olympic champion Caitlyn Jenner are reported to be weighing potential runs for governor in Texas and California respectively.

Reporting by Jill Serjeant, Editing by Nick Zieminski

-reuters-

Donald Trump received threat from Mexican drug lord - aide

WASHINGTON - An aide to Donald Trump said on Monday the FBI is investigating threatening tweets to the US Republican presidential candidate purported to have originated from Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, a notorious Mexican drug lord who escaped from prison on Saturday.

Reuters could not confirm the authenticity of the Twitter accounts from which the threats were allegedly made.

Trump, a real estate billionaire who has generated controversy by saying many illegal immigrants from Mexico are criminals and rapists, said in a statement on Sunday that "corrupt Mexican officials" had let Guzman escape.

A Twitter account made out in the kingpin's name, Joaquin Guzman Loera, that on Sunday had celebrated his escape sent a message threatening Trump if he continued to speak out.

Four Mexican government officials said they could not say whether the account, as well as several others in the name of some of Guzman's children that were linked to it, were genuine.

"I am told they are apocryphal," said Mexican Deputy Interior Minister Roberto Campa.

A Trump aide said in a statement: "The FBI is fully aware of the situation and is actively investigating this threat against Mr. Trump."

It quoted Trump as saying: "I'm fighting for much more than myself. I'm fighting for the future of our country which is being overrun by criminals. You can't be intimidated. This is too important."

An FBI spokesman said the agency had no statement on the issue. "Standard practice is to neither confirm nor deny FBI investigations," he said.

Guzman, who escaped from a maximum-security prison through a tunnel, ran the powerful Sinaloa cartel after an earlier prison breakout in 2001 until he was arrested last year.

The cartel has smuggled billions of dollars worth of cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamines into the United States.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Guzman posed a threat to public safety in the United States, and that Washington has "made quite clear to the Mexicans our interest in ensuring that he faces justice here in the United States."

In his statement on Sunday, Trump said: "Corrupt Mexican officials obviously let him go a second time. The last time he was free for 13 years. He has been selling drugs in the U.S. big time - a major kingpin."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Pinoys celebrate Obama victory

LOS ANGELES - With chants of "Four more years" and "Free hot dogs", President Obama's Filipino supporters celebrated at Dodger Stadium with other Los Angeles county Democrats.


Despite neck-to-neck races in key battleground states, Filipino Democrats in the most Filipino-populated region of the country say they never doubted that Obama could win re-election.

"It's just great for the nation to be able to move forward all together as one," Kevin Ocupillo, an Obama supporter, said.

"We got the right guy for the job for the next four years," David Dantic, a Democrat, said.

Just as both President Obama and his rival Mitt Romney worked hard on the campaign trail, Filipinos say they also worked hard for Obama's campaign doing last minute voter canvassing and phone banking in the key swing states like Nevada.

"We had 9 buses that came from Los Angeles that went door-to-door knocking, hitting the pavement, boots to the ground and I met a few Filipinos there. It was wonderful to see the support for Obama," Jocelyn Rosenthal of Filipinos for Obama said.

The pro-Obama crowd jeered as they watch Mitt Romney's concession speech..

But were more than thrilled to hear President Obama's victory speech.

"I actually teared up because this win means so much to me. To my family. When ever i think about Mr. Obama, I think about my grandfather who believed in democracy and the power of the vote," said Melissa Ramosso of Filipinos for Obama.

Many Filipino Republicans in Southern California did not attend the Republican post-election party in Orange County.

But following Romney's concession, Republican Fil-Am politician Edith Fuentes of the  Filipino-American Business Association of Glendale, told Balitang America  that "the best thing for all of us now to do - is to move forward, forget about being a Republican or Democrat, but help those who got elected to do the best job they can - for the people of this country."

Now with the elections over, Filipino Democrats believe that four more years will be enough time for Obama to make good on his 2008 campaign promises of bringing change to a country reeling from an economic crisis.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

President Obama Wins, Gets Second Term

President Obama won a second term tonight as ABC News projects he will be re-elected, emerging victorious in what had been a deadlocked race into the final hours of the campaign.

Obama's lease on the White House was renewed with a crucial victory in Ohio.

Celebrations erupted in Obama's home town of Chicago, in New York's Time Square and outside the White House, while Romney's Boston headquarters went mournfully quiet.

The race is a validation, if not an overwhelming mandate, in support of the president's policies of the last four years, which included a major overhaul of the healthcare system and a drawdown of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Obama built a coalition of young people, minorities, and college educated women and won by turning out supporters with a carefully calibrated ground operation to get out the vote in crucial states like Ohio, Iowa and Wisconsin.

For live coverage of President Obama's victory speech and Mitt Romney's concession speech, click HERE.
 
Nevertheless, it was a squeaker. In Florida and Virginia, states that were key to both candidates, Obama and Romney were separated by a single percentage point.

Ohio also was close, with the candidates also separated by a point late into the vote count.



Early on, the Obama campaign built an electoral firewall across the Midwest, focusing on Ohio, whose 18 electoral votes strategists saw as vital pathway to victory, and it was Ohio that secured the president's victory.

For ongoing political coverage check out ABCNews.com, and for a lighter take, Otusnews.com 
 
Before the Republicans had settled on a nominee, Obama was running ads in the state's blue-collar North. That effort paid off for the president, Ohio voters said they supported his bailout of auto manufacturers, an industry vital to the states economy, 59 percent to 36 percent.

The participants were themselves history making, the first black president running against the first Mormon presidential nominee to make it the general election. But for the most part the election turned not the politics of identity but of the economy.

The election took place against the backdrop of a slow economic recovery. From its outset, both campaigns knew the race would come down to the economy, and both tried to tailor their appeals to middle class families struggling with inflation and unemployment.

Obama routinely reminded voters he had inherited the worst economy since the Great Depression and pointed to policies he led, including the auto bailout, and signs of improvement including a drop in the unemployment rate.

Obama portrayed Romney as an out of touch millionaire intent on helping the rich at the expense of the middle class when they were hurting the most. That impression seemed to stick with voters who nationally said by 55 to 40 percent that they believed the economic system favors the wealthy rather than being fair to most people, according to exit polls.

The candidates also tangled over health care, abortion, and taxes, leading to a bevy of negative ads.

The campaign was the most expensive in history, with each candidate raising nearly $1 billion a piece.

source: abcnews.go.com

Obama inches toward victory in US vote

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama was inching towards victory on Tuesday as results poured in from the US presidential election, as Mitt Romney's struggled to win vital swing states.

While the most important trio of battlegrounds -- Ohio, Florida and Virginia -- remained too close to call, Obama grabbed Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, dramatically shrinking the Republican's chances.

At 10:30 pm (0330 GMT), US news network voting projections had Obama leading Romney by 173 to 163 electoral college votes, and the Democratic incumbent appeared to have a far clearer route to victory ahead of him.

As expected, Obama polled strongly in New England and the industrial northeast, grabbing densely populated states like New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to news network projections.

His rival Romney did predictably well in the southern Bible Belt and western prairie states, winning the major prize of Texas and taking back Indiana, which Obama won in 2008, for the Republicans.

But Romney failed to win Michigan, his home state where his father served as governor, and the key battleground states of Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and Ohio remained too close to call.

Obama also won New Hampshire, which had been considered a swing state, and Wisconsin, the home state of Romney's running mate Paul Ryan.

Polling was due to have ended in the east of the country, but there were long lines in many areas and officials kept polling centers open late, as the campaigns pleaded with their supporters to stay the course.

The final opinion polls published before voting began showed the two candidates in a dead heat nationwide, but gave Obama a slight advantage in the handful of swing states like Virginia and Ohio that will decide the race.

Each state has a quota of electoral college votes based on its population, and the eventual victor will be the candidate who secures the most.

source: abs-cbnnews.com