Weiner makes it official. Disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner officially kicked of his New York City mayoral bid Wednesday morning, with a two minute video both laying out his vision for the Big Apple and apologizing for his past mistakes, two years after he accidentally sent lewd photos on Twitter forced him to resign from Congress.
The video begins with Weiner and his wife, former Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, taking care of their young son, Jordan, with Weiner talking about his humble upbringing in Brooklyn. "You work hard, you make it into the middle class, and you make life a little bit better for your kids," says Weiner. "That's how this city was built, but it's getting harder and harder every day." On the scandal that forced him from public life, Weiner says, "I know I made some big mistakes, and I know I let a lot of people down. But I've also learned some tough lessons. ...I hope I get a second chance to work for you."
Garcetti victorious. Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti will be the city's next mayor, winning Tuesday night's two-year long campaign over City Controller Wendy Greuel. Throughout the night, Garcetti's lead grew, and the Los Angeles Times reports Greuel called early Wednesday to concede to Garcetti, who will be the city's first elected Jewish mayor.
Taking the Fifth. Lois Lerner, the embattled head of the IRS division that prompted extra screening of conservative groups, will invoke the Fifth Amendment and refuse to answer questions about her role in the scandal before the House Oversight Committee Wednesday morning. NBC News has more on other IRS officials testimony before the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, including outgoing acting chair Steven Miller, where "senators of both parties directed outrage at top IRS officials over not being informed earlier" about the targeting and "demanded answers...as to why action was not taken more quickly to halt the abuses."