BET Wire: The Selfie and Handshake That Shook the World
Cuban-Americans angered by Obama-Castro handshake.
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In Case You Missed It - Obamacare enrollment is on the rise while President Obama's approval ratings continue to dip; Herman Cain says the GOP has a branding and a diversity problem; turns out the first lady wasn't side-eying her husband's "funeral" selfie, and more. — Joyce Jones (Photo: BET)
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No Biggie - The photographer who captured the image of Obama and the British and Danish prime ministers taking a selfie at Nelson Mandela's memorial service was surprised by the attention it generated. “I took these photos totally spontaneously, without thinking about what impact they might have. At the time, I thought the world leaders were simply acting like human beings, like me and you,” Roberto Schmidt wrote in a blog post. And First Lady Michelle Obama also had been joking with others around her. "Her stern look was captured by chance," he said. (Photo: ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images)
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Not Exactly a High Five - A handshake between Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro at Mandela's memorial service has enraged Cuban-American lawmakers. Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen called it "nauseating and disheartening," but to ignore Castro's extended hand would have been "disrespectful to South Africa and to Mandela," said Philip Peters, president of the Cuba Research Center. (Photo: REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach)
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RNC, We Have a Problem - Herman Cain thinks his party needs to consider a more diverse 2016 lineup of presidential candidates under consideration by the Republican National Committee. "Do you know what they had in common?" Cain said on Fox News' Happening Now. "They all have been on TV and in the media a lot, and they were all white. Where was Allen West? Where was Dr. Ben Carson? And have they ruled out the possibility that I might consider another run? That’s part of their branding problem." (Photo: America's Newsroom via FOX News)
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Still Falling - Obama's approval rating reached another record low in the latest Quinnipiac poll, in which 58 percent of voters said they disapprove of his job performance. On the flip side, however, 76 percent of Democrats and 85 percent of African-American voters polled said they approved of Obama. (Photo: Pete Marovich/Getty Images)
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Gentleman's C - Football legend Jim Brown, who campaigned for Obama in Ohio, also is unimpressed by the president's performance and would only give it a C. “I like his family. I like him as a human being," Brown told talk show host Arsenio Hall. "But somehow it seems like he’s in over his head.” (Photo: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
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Accountabiity - Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has called for an investigation into the management and contracting decisions that led to the Affordable Care Act's botched roll out. "I believe strongly in the need for accountability, and in the importance of being good stewards of taxpayer dollars," Sebelius said. (Photo: Rod Lamkey/Getty Images)
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On the Rise - While still on the mend, Obamacare enrollment was much stronger in its second month. According to the latest report, approximately 365,000 have purchased private insurance and 803,000 have been determined to be eligible for the public Medicaid program. (Photo: Christopher Futcher/Getty Images)
Photo By (Photo: Christopher Futcher/Getty Images)
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Scandal - Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee) has placed his chief of staff, Ryan Loskarn, on leave following allegations related to child pornography. “I am stunned, surprised and disappointed by what I have learned. Based on this information, I immediately placed Mr. Loskarn on administrative leave without pay. The office is fully cooperating with the investigation,” Alexander said. (Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)
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Let's Make a Deal - Seeking to avoid its annual holiday edition of budget hi-jinks and hardball Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington), who chair their chambers' budget committees, have reached a deal. This agreement makes sure we don't have a shutdown scenario in January and that we don't have a shutdown scenario in October," Ryan said. "This also shows that we can work together to get our government functioning at its very basic levels." (Photo: T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images)