The leading Republican candidate for governor, Texas' current Attorney General Greg Abbott continues to be called out for campaigning with fiery ex-rocker Ted Nugent, even after Nugent called President Obama a "Subhuman mongrel".
That's just some of the reaction from political opponents and bloggers.
CNN's Ed Lavandera tried asking Abbott about Nugent.
Lavandera: Mr. Abbott, why did you think it was a good idea to campaign with Ted Nugent?
Abbott: You know, it's funny how reactive the Davis campaign is to this. It shows that he's driven a wedge and exposed the fraud that they have displayed on second amendment based issues. Ted Nugent was a way to expose Wendy Davis for her flip-flopping on gun-related issues.Lavandera: But this is Texas, finding someone who is pro-gun is not that hard. Why does it have to be Ted Nugent?
Abbott: (ignores Lavandera and asks another reporter): What's your question.
Lavandera: That was the question!
Lavandera kept on trying but couldn't get an answer to his question.
CNN's Erin Burnett asked one of Abbott's opponents for the Republican nomination, Lisa Fritsch, what she thought about Nugent's controversial comments and Abbott not denouncing the rock star.
"It's not acceptable," Fritsch. "And it's not acceptable for leadership to not come out and completely disavow that type of rhetoric and that type of language."
The problem of hate in America has come to the forefront this week with a string of incidents, ranging from vandalism to assault in three different states across the country.
Police: Oregon teens torture classmate, cut swastika into his head
In Oregon, three teenagers have been charged with menacing, kidnapping and assault for attacking a classmate and carving a swastika into his forehead with a box cutter.
Meanwhile, authorities at Ole Miss are investigating the defacing of a statue of civil rights icon James Meredith, which vandals desecrated by hanging a noose around the statue's neck.
There is also outrage in Georgia after officials approved a new license plate featuring two images of the confederate flag.
What is going on? Are racist incidents on the rise in America?
Mark Potok, senior fellow with the Southern poverty law center and Reihan Salam, CNN contributor and contributing editor with the National Review are OutFront.
"I think the best data shows that in fact anti-black racism has risen over the last four or five years," Potok says. "There's polling that shows that both implicit and explicit anti-black attitudes among American whites have gone up quite significantly between 2008 and 2012, to the point where now more than half of white Americans have these anti-black attitudes."
Salam disagrees with Potok. He says looking at implicit associations are "extremely misleading" and adds that "people are getting very creative in what they're characterizes as racism. When you look at hard statistics, like interracial marriages and friendships, when you look at the level of racial segregation you've seen enormous progress over time and we should celebrate it."
Colorado is rolling in the green.
Colorado's recreation marijuana market is far exceeding tax expectations, according to a budget proposal released Wednesday.
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper expects to take in $184 million in tax revenue from pot in just the first 18 months of being legal.
Colorado Poll: Pot getting more support, but majority say it's harmful to state's image
That's coming about 610 million dollars in retail and medical marijuana sales.
OutFront: Former Senior Drug Policy Advisor to President Obama, Kevin Sabat and Bloomberg Television Anchor Trish Regan.
United States officials are tying the new threat of shoe bombs on airplanes to al Qaeda.
There are indications that the threat could ultimately be tied to Ibrahim al Asiri, the master bomb-maker for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
He's the man officials say designed the underwear bomb that failed to detonate aboard a Detroit bound flight on Christmas Day in 2009.
He also built the printer-cartridge bombs that al Qaeda placed on cargo planes destined for Chicago the following year.
Al Qaeda link to shoe-bomb warning
An official tells CNN the new warning is related to recent intelligence gathered on bomb-making tactics believed tied to Asiri.
CNN's Erin Burnett talks to National Security Analyst and Former CIA operative Bob Baer about the latest threat and why Asiri hasn't been caught.
"He's up in the mountains of Yemen," Baer says. "There's no digital footprint that he's left behind. He's read about leaks in this country. He's fairly immune and there's nothing the Yemeni government could do about it."