Detroit

A legally credentialed poll watcher was threatened with a gun at a polling precinct in Detroit — an incident that state Republican leaders are calling an act of “outlandish” intimidation. The poll watcher, a lawyer, was confronted by a voter who demanded that he show his credentials. The poll watcher complied with the request –but the voter objected and allegedly brandished a gun and badge and ordered him to leave the precinct. The GOP observer was reportedly chased away by the unidentified gun-wielding individual.
The Detroit Police Dept. confirmed they are aware of the alleged incident and are currently investigating.

Philadelphia

Workers at a Philadelphia polling place, after being ordered by a judge to cover up a mural of President Obama “in its entirety,” slapped up a few pieces of paper that only partially covered his image — while leaving the Obama campaign logo and a quote from the current president in full view for voters.

Washington DC

A portrait of President Obama greeted voters inside a polling precinct in the northeast section of Washington, D.C. It’s just one of several reports of Obama-related posters and murals spotted inside polling places around the nation.

Alleghaney County,PA

An Allegheny County judge on Tuesday issued an order to halt electioneering outside a polling location in Homestead. County officials received a complaint shortly before 10 a.m. Tuesday that Republicans outside a polling location on Maple Street in Homestead were stopping people outside the polls and asking for identification.

Redwood City, CA

Two men wearing all black were asking voters for their IDs outside a polling place. No ID is required to vote in California. The two men, described as “thug-looking,” tall and Caucasian with shaved heads, were wearing all black with dark sunglasses and standing in front of the polling place at 134 Hemlock Avenue with their arms crossed.

By Greg Wyshynski | Puck Daddy

The NHL and the NHLPA are engaged in serious talks at Rao’s an undisclosed location on Tuesday in New York, attempting to end a lockout that has claimed over a month of scheduled games, the 2013 Winter Classic and any semblance of decorum between Darren Dreger and Allan Walsh on Twitter.

The battle line’s drawn rather starkly: The NHLPA has made honoring current contracts its rallying cry, months after revenue sharing was its cause du jour.

[Also: Martin Brodeur favors short season, like when he won Cup in ’94-95]

The NHL is sticking to its proposed framework for a deal like it was Flick’s tongue to a metal pole; a framework that included a “make whole” proposal to honor existing contracts but that also offered several other provisions that were less palatable for the players: The 50/50 revenue split, the rookie maximum contracts of two years, a maximum contract length of five years and a cap of five percent above or below the first year’s level of compensation for salary during the contract’s term.

Andy Strickland of TrueHockey.com believes the NHLPA won’t cut a deal unless the NHL moves on “contract rights.”

The good news is that some of these NHL demands were put in place for the sake of negotiation: No one believes the majority of the owners want a 5-year cap on contracts when even the most hawkish ones were handing out 6-year terms this summer (hi, Jeremy Jacobs). So the NHL will come up a year or two in “good faith” and the wheels inch closer to the destination for these talks.

Again: Some of the NHL’s sticking points are flexible. Others, not so much. So what will Gary Bettman and the owners fight for at this stage of the talks?

Larry Brooks of the NY Post expects the NHL to push free agency later and toss first-year players under ye olde bus:

Several individuals have told us the league will be willing to negotiate off its proposed five-year contract term limit and 5-percent variance on annual salary, though the NHL does seem committed to increasing unrestricted free agency requirements by a year in experience and/or age, to eight years and/or 28, and likely will dig in on its proposed Entry Level changes.

The AHL provision and the punitive retroactive punishment regarding front-loaded long-term contracts previously registered by the league are as much team issues as NHLPA issues, both restrictions aimed at the heart of successful big-market teams and aimed at the offices of general managers who from time to time make mistakes.

Then there are issues like AHL salaries counting on the cap and all of the various debates about Hockey Related Revenue, but these are the meaty issues facing the two sides.

[Eric Adelson: With no Winter Classic, players should take it outside]

Can the NHLPA agree to a deal with new restrictions on rookie contracts? Sure, but only because one imagines the vast majority of players aren’t in this fight to preserve the integrity of the entry level contract.

Can the NHLPA agree to a deal that includes delayed unrestricted free agency? Tough call. The players know that’s when the owners can’t help themselves in spending, and it’s potentially cutting another year into their prime.

Will the NHLPA agree to a deal that costs the players anything they maintained in the previous CBA?
That’s the real test, when Donald Fehr’s mantra has been: “After all the concessions the players made last time, in the billions of dollars, and with the owners having had record revenues seven years in a row, and the two highest growth years being last season and the season before, we see no basis upon which to tell players to go backward.”

As for the NHL … hey, maybe the sponsors can have an affect on when this thing gets done, according to Ad Age.

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Zion 423

Jason Aldean will crisscross the country in 2013, and we finally know where his ‘Night Train’ will be traveling. The Georgia native, who revealed his first three stadium shows during a whirlwind media day last month, announced today (Nov. 5) that he’ll kick off his Night Train tour on Feb. 21 in Bossier City, La., and then hit 23 more cities before wrapping up in May. See the full list of cities below.

The “Take a Little Ride” singer will be joined on the road by soon-to-be-papa Jake Owen and the recently-married Thomas Rhett. “The thing I’m most excited about for next year is getting to add some new songs off the ‘Night Train’ album into my show,” Jason says. “As a musician, it’s great to be able to shake up the set list and think of cool ways to present these new songs in the live show. We’re already working on some cool production ideas, and we’re going to come back from the holidays ready to go. I’m a big fan of both Jake and Thomas Rhett, so it’ll be awesome to have those guys out with us.”

Jason has already had a little taste of his favorite thing about the upcoming tour — sharing new music with fans. While entertaining students at the University of Georgia for the announcement of his Sanford Stadium show, he discovered fans who already knew tracks from Night Train, not a week after the album was released. One of the night’s highlights came when fans yelled for his latest single, “The Only Way I Know,” which features Luke Bryan and Eric Church.

“I love the fact that people already know the songs!” exclaimed Jason to The Boot and other reporters at the UGA announcement. “Unfortunately, they requested a song that I haven’t played live yet, so I had to defer that one a little bit. That’s the thing, we’ve got three more shows this year, then we’re going to take a little time off. By the time we roll out next year on the big tour, we’re going to have a lot of these new songs in the show. I’m as excited to play them as they are to hear them.”

The “Take a Little Ride” singer will play 23 cities from February to May of next year, in addition to his three stadium stops: University of Georgia’s Sanford Stadium (April 13), Boston’s Fenway park (July 12 and 13) and Chicago’s Wrigley Field (July 20).

2013 Night Train Tour Destinations:

Austin, TX
Biloxi, MS
Bossier City, LA
Charleston, WV
Columbia, MO
Duluth, MN
Evansville, IN
Grand Forks, ND
Greenville, SC
Greensboro, NC
Houston, TX
Knoxville, TN
Lafayette, LA
Las Cruces, NM
Little Rock, AR
Louisville, KY
Lubbock, TX
Madison, WI
N. Charleston, SC
Omaha, NE
Tulsa, OK
Uncasville, CT
Wichita, KS