City Council Speaker Christine Quinn officially announced via Twitter and an online video this weekend that she is running for mayor.

The candidate, who was leading in the polls before officially running, tweeted Sunday morning: “It’s official: I’m running for mayor to fight for the middle class.”

Quinn released a 5-minute biographical video where she talks about growing up in a middle class home in Long Island, her father’s union activism, her mother’s battle with breast cancer, her accomplishments in the City Council and her vision for the city.

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  VIDEO: Christine Quinn launches bid for mayor

Though the latest polls have shown she is a favorite among democrats, she has also drawn criticism for being too close of an ally to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and stalling action on the paid sick leave bill.

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The move comes as President Barack Obama will also ratchet up pressure with a policy speech on Tuesday in Nevada on immigration – a campaign promise he made last year to Hispanics when running for re-election.

Many important details still have to be worked out before the outlines can be translated into legislation. Here are the main elements of the Senate plan:

THE PLAYERS

Eight senators have been working for months to craft this plan. The Democrats are Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate who has a large Hispanic population in his state of Illinois; New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, who is of Cuban descent; Charles Schumer of New York, who, like Durbin, is a member of the Senate leadership and has a large immigrant constituency, and Colorado Senator Michael Bennet.

The Republicans are Senator John McCain, his party’s 2008 presidential candidate who has long been involved in immigration issues and is from the southwest border state of Arizona; freshman Senator Marco Rubio from Florida, a potential presidential candidate in 2016 who is making immigration reform one of his top priorities; Jeff Flake, also of Arizona, who joined the Senate this month, having previously served in the House; and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who also has been active in immigration reform but who could face a 2014 primary election challenge from the conservative wing of his party.

A PATH TO CITIZENSHIP

There are an estimated 11 million people living in the United States – many of them for decades – who arrived illegally. Most are from Mexico, Central American and South American countries.

The senators’ plan would require those here illegally to register with the federal government and pass a background check. They would have to pay a fine and back taxes to earn a “probationary legal status,” according to a document outlining the program.

Clearing these hurdles would give these illegal residents a legal status for the first time.

Those people earning the status would go to the back of the line of prospective immigrants who have applied through legal means to come to the United States. They also will have to learn English, continue to pay taxes and demonstrate a work history in the United States to apply for legal permanent residency.

Those who successfully do so would get a “green card” allowing them to live and work permanently in the United States. From there, they could apply for citizenship, like any other green card holder.

BORDER SECURITY MEASURES

Efforts to secure U.S. borders – mainly the southwestern border with Mexico – will be further enhanced. This would include increasing the number of unmanned aerial vehicles and other surveillance equipment and adding border law enforcement agents.

An entry-exit system would be completed to track whether everyone entering the United States on temporary visas via airports and seaports have left the country as required by law.

A commission of governors and other public officials and citizens living along the southwestern border would be created to monitor progress toward securing that border and make recommendations.

YOUNG ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Last summer, Obama gave a temporary reprieve from deportation to qualifying children who came to the United States with their parents.

Under the Senate proposal, this group would not be subjected to the same requirements for being put on a path to citizenship. It was not clear from the short outline exactly how this group would be treated, however.

Similarly, farm workers also would be treated differently through a new agricultural worker program.

HIGH-TECH WORKERS

The proposals would include means to keep and attract workers with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This would be aimed both at foreign students attending American universities where they are earning advanced degrees, and high-tech workers abroad. U.S. corporations have been lobbying for years for such a provision.

EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION SYSTEM

Improvements would be made in holding U.S. employers accountable for knowingly hiring undocumented workers and make it harder for illegal immigrants to falsify documents to get jobs. Meanwhile, the U.S. government would provide faster, more reliable methods to confirm whether new hires are in the United States legally.

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Speaking to reporters at its Menlo Park, California headquarters, Zuckerberg described what he called “graph search,” which allows users to sort through content that has been shared with them.

Critics have long deemed the social network’s current search capabilities inadequate.

Available as a “beta” or early version now, the new feature – dubbed “graph search” because Facebook refers to its growing content, data and membership as the “social graph” – will initially let users sort through mainly photographs, people, places and members’ interests, he added.

“You need to be able to ask the query, like, who are my friends in San Francisco,” Zuckerberg said.

The world’s largest online social network, Facebook is moving to regain Wall Street’s confidence in the wake of a rocky IPO and concerns about its long-term money-making prospects.

Speculation had approached fever pitch over the past week about what Facebook planned to reveal in its highest-profile news briefing since its market debut. Guesses had ranged from a long-rumored smartphone to a full Web-search product.

That anticipation, as well as expectations of strong fourth-quarter financial results, have helped drive up Facebook’s stock. Its shares are up more than 15 percent since the start of the year.

On Tuesday, its stock was off 0.3 percent at $30.84.

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If confirmed by the Senate, Lew will replace Timothy Geithner, the longest serving member of Obama’s original economic team, who has said he would step down after one term.

A source familiar with the matter said Lew, who had been widely expected to be tapped for the role, will be nominated on Thursday.

Lew served as budget director for Obama and for former President Bill Clinton.

A State Department deputy secretary early in Obama’s first term, he is a 57-year-old policy wonk. He will have to confront a host of tricky economic topics ranging from how best to scale back the government’s role in the housing market to how to respond to China’s economic heft.

But nothing will consume his time as much as the battle in Washington over how to rein in the growth of the nation’s debt and put the budget on a sustainable path.

Even though he is mistrusted by a number of Republicans, Lew has some bipartisan credentials that might help in budget struggles with Republicans in Congress.

The one-time Citigroup executive honed his political skills as a top policy adviser to Democratic House Speaker Tip O’Neill, who is touted as a symbol of bipartisanship because he worked with Republican President Ronald Reagan to change the tax code and the Social Security retirement program in the 1980s.

“Jack is more concerned about what’s fair than any personal attention or credit,” said Pamela Jackson, who worked with Lew when O’Neill was speaker. “He was an integral and important part of those (tax policy and Social Security) negotiations as a trusted adviser to the speaker,” she said.

Lew is an orthodox Jew and observes the Sabbath holiday, which requires him not to work, including answering phones, between Friday evenings and sunset on Saturday. During Obama’s re-election campaign, he campaigned for the president with Jewish constituents in Florida.

His nomination will leave the position of chief of staff open. Obama’s deputy national security adviser, Denis McDonough, is considered the top candidate to take on that role.

LOOMING BUDGET DEADLINES

Three fiscal deadlines loom.

By the end of February, Congress must raise the $16.4 trillion debt ceiling on how much the Treasury can borrow or risk a damaging debt default.

On March 1, deep automatic spending cuts to defense and to a wide swath of domestic programs start to go into effect unless Congress acts.

And at the end of March, a stop-gap funding measure expires and the government could be forced to shut down if Congress does not approve another bill to fund federal operations.

Lew helped lead budget talks with Congress under Clinton and spearheaded the “Budget Control Act” negotiations under Obama.

Geithner, who survived calls for his resignation and bore the brunt of the criticism for how the Obama administration handled the financial crisis, managed to win over Republican lawmakers in his four years as treasury secretary.

Late last year, Obama picked Geithner over Lew to lead talks with Congress to avert the New Year’s day “fiscal cliff” of tax hikes and spending cuts. Lew had angered key Republicans during budget negotiations in 2011.

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The race could pit a veteran Democratic Massachusetts congressmen or the state’s top federal prosecutor against Senator Scott Brown, a Republican who came to office in a 2010 special election but who last month lost a re-election bid to Democrat Elizabeth Warren.

The campaign promises to be a more spirited one than the state’s last special election, called to fill the vacancy created by the August 2009 death of Senator Edward Kennedy. With heavy support from the national Republican Party, Brown won the seat long held by the Democratic leader, handily beating state Attorney General Martha Coakley, who was criticized as running a lackluster campaign.

Brown has hinted he could consider another run, saying in his farewell speech on the Senate floor, “We may obviously meet again.”

Possible Democratic contenders include congressmen Edward Markey and Michael Capuano, as well as U.S. District Attorney Carmen Ortiz, observers and local media said.

A Democratic contender for the seat Kerry has held since 1985 could get a big boost from Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, who has authority to appoint an interim senator to serve from the time Kerry steps down to the special election about five months later.

That authority stems from a 2009 law passed in the wake of Kennedy’s death. At that time Patrick appointed Paul Kirk, a longtime Kennedy friend who said he would not run for the seat. But the governor does not have to nominate someone who does not intend to run for the seat.

“The real question is, does the governor appoint somebody who would be a coat-holder or someone who is going to run in the special election,” said Jeffrey Berry, a professor of political science at Tufts University. “That’s a crucial decision that the governor would make because if he appoints someone who is going to run, then that person gets a tremendous advantage a few months later in the election.”

Massachusetts law requires the special election to come on a Tuesday 145 to 160 days after Kerry submits his letter of resignation, with party primaries held four weeks before that.

The outcome of the race would not tip the balance of power in the Senate where Democrats currently enjoy a 55-45 majority.

But the departure of Kerry, 69, from a seat he had held for about 28 years will leave Massachusetts with two of the most junior members in the Senate.

Markey, 66, has held his seat in the House of Representatives since 1976 and is the ranking member of the Natural Resources Committee, while Capuano, 60, has served in the House since 1999.

Ortiz, 56, was named U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts in November 2009 and has overseen cases including the ongoing prosecution of accused Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger.

Ortiz “has no plans to run for U.S. Senate,” a spokeswoman said on Friday.

Representatives of the other possible candidates did not return calls seeking comment on Friday.

The winner of the special election would serve until the end of Kerry’s current term, which extends into January 2015.

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“Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby,” the office said in a statement.

“The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry and members of both families are delighted with the news.”

The couple, officially known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, married in April last year, prompting a global media frenzy and there has been much speculation, particularly in U.S. gossip magazines, about a possible pregnancy.

The statement said Catherine was in the King Edward VII Hospital in Central London suffering from very acute morning sickness. She is likely to remain there for several days.

It said her condition required supplementary hydration and nutrients. There was no detail about when the baby was due, with the statement stating the pregnancy was in its early stages.

“I’m delighted by the news that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting a baby,” Prime Minister David Cameron said on his Twitter website. “They will make wonderful parents.”

William, Queen Elizabeth’s grandson, is second in line to the British throne, and their first child will become the third in succession when he or she is born.

Last year Britain and other Commonwealth countries which have the queen as their monarch agreed to change the rules of royal succession so that sons would no longer have precedence as heir, regardless of age.

The agreement also means an end to a ban on a future monarch marrying a Catholic, a stipulation dating back some 300 years.

William and Catherine currently live in north Wales where the prince is based as a Royal Air Force search and rescue pilot.

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Justin Bieber may be newly single, but that didn’t mean he had to attend the American Music Awards solo. Instead, the 18-year-old Canadian pop star showed up with his mom, 38-year-old Pattie Mallette. While he made no mention of his split from Selena Gomez, Bieber did address his critics after winning his first award of the night, for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist. “I want to say this is for all the haters who thought I was just here for one of two years,” Bieber said from the stage. “I feel like I’m going to be here for a very long time.”

A close friend of Prince William and Kate Middelton insists the royal couple is set to announce something big next month, prompting speculation that a baby is on the way. “They’re planning to make an announcement in December,” Jessica Hay, a former schoolmate of Middleton’s and a guest at their wedding, tells New Idea magazine, adding that the Duchess of Cambridge has gained a bit of weight recently and that “William and Kate are focused on starting a family.” How focused, exactly? They’ve apparently already discussed the number of children they want to have — two — and that they’d prefer a son and then a daughter. “It seems very traditional but of course they’ll be happy with two boys or two girls. They don’t want more,” Hay says. “They’ve discussed it endlessly and don’t want to be older parents.”

As Taylor Swift‘s new album, “Red,” tears up the charts, insiders are beginning to decipher exactly which of her failed relationships different songs on it around about — and one source insists to Us Weekly that song “All Too Well” is about Swift’s time dating Jake Gyllenhaal. “It’s safe for her and it’s something she loves,” the source says of Swift’s tendency to mine past relationships for material. “She goes back to it because it’s something she’s good at — and she’s not good at love.”

As an actress and a newly single mom, Katie Holmes has a number of talents, but apparently cooking isn’t one of them. “Me in the kitchen is a comedy, but it’s heartbreaking for me going through it,” she tells Vogue. “But for others, they probably think it’s really funny, because all the pans are out and I get frustrated, and suddenly it’s burning.” We’ll assume someone else is handling the Thanksgiving meal for Holmes this year.

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“Frankly, it’s a check that I very much want to write,” Trump said in a YouTube video released via his Twitter and Facebook pages.

Trump has questioned whether Obama’s birth certificate issued by the state of Hawaii is legitimate, suggesting Obama was not born in the United States, which could have made him ineligible for the White House. The White House released the long-form copy of Obama’s birth certificate in 2011.

Trump did not say what he expected the college and passports records to reveal but was specific in saying he wanted to see all of Obama’s college applications and records and his passport applications and records.

“President Obama is the least transparent president in the history of this country,” Trump said in the video.

“If he releases these records it will end the question and indeed the anger of many Americans.”

Trump, who had toyed with the idea of running for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, said the deadline for the release of the documents was 5 p.m. on October 31.

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Seeing that pretty much all the details that leaked from the iPhone 5 announcements were true, you can pretty much guarantee that the new mini tablet will have a 7.85-inch display — but it won’t have Retina quality. Thanks to the recent innovations that we have seen in the iPhone 5, we can also expect this device to be lighter.

But there are other things that we may have to wait to find out about. Rumor has it that the iPad Mini will run on an A5 chip like the iPad 2, instead of the new A6 chip that is on the iPhone 5s. There’s also the chance that it may have 3G or 4G capabilities, which would put it one step ahead of its similar competitors like the Kindle Fire or the Google Nexus 7.

The last and final question — and perhaps the most important one — is the price. Sources have told various blogs everything from $250 (which puts it in the same price range as other mini tablets) to $329.

Whatever the price and specs, the product is expected to ship Nov. 2.
But, the new iPad isn’t the only thing to be excited for. Other possible items that could be announced tomorrow include a new iTunes, updated iMacs, updated Mac Minis and the one thing many of us have been waiting for: a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. Fingers crossed that all these new toys will be available by the holidays.

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People magazine is reporting that Tom Cruise and his much-younger, yet less famous, wife Katie Holmes will be getting a divorce.

The couple share the most fashionable child in Hollywood, 6-year-old daughter Suri. Holmes reportedly filed for full custody of Suri.

“This is a personal and private matter for Katie and her family,” Jonathan Wolfe, Holmes’ attorney, said. “Katie’s primary concern remains, as it always has been, her daughter’s best interest.”

TMZ reports the couple did sign a pre-nup before their 2006 nuptials at an Italian castle, which came after a whirlwind courtship that made headlines for Cruise’s bizarre proclamations of love for Holmes.

The rumor mill has been churning for years that the couple’s marriage was a sham from the start — a binding contract Holmes’ agreed upon for money in exchange for helping conceal Cruise’s alleged homosexuality.

Guess we’ll see. Bets on who will land the first post-divorce interview?

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Fighting back tears, Curry told viewers at the end of Thursday’s program she would be leaving the show and taking up a new role reporting from around the world for NBC.

“For all of you who saw me as a ground breaker, I am sorry I could not carry the ball across the finish line. But man, I did try,” she told viewers in an emotional farewell.

Since Curry moved from news reader to co-host on June 9, 2011, the morning show’s margin over ABC’s “Good Morning America”, or GMA, has steadily shrunk.

Curry’s departure from the early morning mainstay has been widely expected.

The Hollywood Reporter reported on Tuesday that the job had been offered to Savannah Guthrie, who hosts the show’s third hour. An NBC spokeswoman was not available to comment.

USA Today reports that Curry signed a new multiyear contract with Comcast-owned NBC, and will lead a seven-person unit charged with covering worldwide stories.

Curry had $10 million remaining on her four-year contract, according to a person with knowledge of her agreement.

Since Curry moved from news reader to co-host on June 9, 2011, the morning show’s margin over ABC’s “Good Morning America”, or GMA, has steadily shrunk.

With Meredith Vieira sitting next to co-host Matt Lauer, the show regularly beat GMA, and led by 650,000 viewers the week before Curry replaced her, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by media planning and advertising agency Horizon Media.

GMA on ABC, which is owned by Walt Disney Co, drew more viewers in four of the 10 weeks before June 11, 2011, among those who watched it live or recorded the same day.

“Throughout all the turmoil, Ann Curry has taken the high road and has handled the situation with class and dignity,” said Brad Adgate, Horizon’s senior vice president of research. “Unfortunately it’s a personality-driven show and Matt Lauer is the star, so I suspect the chemistry was lacking on air.”

Curry was Lauer’s third co-host, following Vieira and Katie Couric, who preceded Lauer and left in 2006 after 15 years to anchor CBS’s evening news program.

Curry succeeded Lauer as the early morning show’s news anchor in 1997, when Lauer replaced Brian Gumble.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Posada, 40, has played on five World Series championship teams. He finishes his career with .273 batting average with 900 runs, 379 doubles, 275 home runs and 1,065 RBI in 1,829 games.

He is one of just five players in baseball history to record at least 1,500 hits, 350 doubles, 275 home runs and 1,000 RBI while playing at least half of his games at catcher.

The Puerto Rican native is a five-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He has hit home runs in 29 different ballparks, the most by any player in Yankees history. He is ranked seventh on the Yankees’ all-time list.  

Posada will officially announce his retirement at a press conference at Yankee Stadium at 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Yankees.

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