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The Kepler space telescope seeking Earth-like planets in a far-off region of the Milky Way has discovered more than 700 planetary "candidates" - some that just might be the right size and in the right places for life to be possible.

After meeting with wounded Marines, first lady Michelle Obama told thousands of troops and their families Sunday that she is launching a national challenge to Americans to find ways to support them. Since her husband took office, Obama has been visiting bases across the country as part of her mission to improve the quality of life for military families. She called Camp Pendleton and the surrounding Southern California cities a model for community support of troops. But California Republicans called the event a publicity stunt to help Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who is running for a fourth term and has...

Obama's Seventy First Week in Office .Sestak-Gate (updated file)The List" for 6/3/2010 Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) said he and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel discussed how to persuade Rep. Joe Sestak (Pa.) not to challenge Sen. Arlen Specter in the 2010 Democratic primary.Obama's new healthcare law reportedly doesn't allocate nearly enough money to cover the estimated 5.6 million to 7 million Americans with pre-existing medical conditions who will qualify for temporary high-risk insurance pools An analysis by the Center for Studying Health System Change found that the new law “could leave hundreds of thousands of potential participants...

The world’s first gold bar vending machine has been unveiled at Emirates Palace. The Gold To Go machine, itself covered in 24-carat gold, dispenses one, five and 10 gram bars as well as one ounce bars of gold, the National reported on Thursday. Six gold coins of varied weights and engraved with symbols of gold-producing nations Canada, Australia and South Africa, are also dispensed by the machine. About AED175 will buy a one gram bar, AED760 a five gram bar and AED4,645 an ounce, the paper reports. “It brings gold to the public,” Thomas Geissler, the chief executive of Ex...

WASHINGTON — Critics who allege that Congress overstepped the U.S. Constitution by requiring Americans to carry health insurance are "flatly wrong," the Obama administration said Wednesday in its first court defense of the landmark health care law. Congress acted well within its power to regulate interstate commerce and to provide for the general welfare, Justice Department lawyers argued in a 46-page brief filed in federal district court in Detroit. For the courts to overturn President Barack Obama's signature domestic legislation would amount to unwarranted interference with the policymaking authority of Congress, they added.

Michelle Obama Says U.S., Mexican Governments Can do More to Tackle Drug Issue- On a visit to Mexico, first lady Michelle Obama said today that in despite recent drug-related violence along the U.S. border, Mexico is still a safe country for Americans to travel with their families and said she hopes to bring her daughters south of the border for a visit.

Below is the video of Barack Obama’s ceremonial first pitch. This year, he makes it to the catcher, but, as the president described it, he threw high and outside. Like his healthcare law, Obama’s attempt was weak, outside the strike zone, and far to the Left. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gvHAYlyrlM

My rabbi explained: One way to gain insight into what the mass of humanity believes and feels is to study its billboard and magazine advertising. Advertising themes which are recycled again and again are those themes which experience has proven successful, messages which strike responsive chords in the hearts of millions of people. And if we consider the tens of millions of dollars spent on advertising religion, one central theme stands out: "Turn to G-d—it will make you feel better." "The family that prays together, stays together"; "Something good is going to happen to you"; Catholic schools— schools with a...

Obama's Sixty First Week in Office"The List" for 3/25/2010 Obama yesterday bowed to criticism that his new health-care laws exempt him from buying coverage at the government-run "exchanges" and announced the first family will get its insurance just like everyday folks. Convicted felon Robert Creamer, who wrote the blueprint for the Democrats’ health care reform campaign, attended official health care signing celebrations in Washington, D.C. yesterday. The Obama administration plans to overhaul how it's tackling the foreclosure crisis, in part by requiring lenders to temporarily slash or eliminate monthly mortgage payments for many borrowers who are unemployed, senior officials said...

The First Lady and her daughters escaped to New York to catch a Broadway show while her husband stayed in Washington to fight for health care. Michelle Obama - with Sasha, 8, and Malia, 11, and about a dozen other people in tow - took in the matinee performance of "Memphis" Sunday. Security blocked off 44th Street outside the Shubert Theatre when their motorcade arrived. Obama, the girls and their friends were hussled in through a side door to seats reserved in the first four rows of the theater. "They didn't make an announcement but when they came in, everybody...

I've been reading in real estate news that first time home buyers are starting to buy homes again. Interest rates are still low, the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit is still available and houses are affordable but, I'm just curious, how many Freepers are looking to buy their first home? This isn't necessarily a thread to comment on the Obama economy, I'm simply interested in buyer's current attitudes. I'm a real estate investor and I thought I would ask some real people about this.

Amanda Simpson Says It Was Her Merits, Not Gender Identity, That Got Her Commerce Job For Amanda Simpson, believed to be America's first openly transgender presidential appointee, the job she starts Tuesday in the U.S. Commerce Department is an honor and the culmination of a career dedicated to understanding military technology. But what gnaws at her, she says, is the fear of being labeled a token who was hired because of her sexual identity rather than on her merits.

Washington (AP) - After a sleepless, overnight flight to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month, President Barack Obama made a not altogether surprising admission. He was tired. Who could blame him? The president was on his ninth foreign trip to his 21st country; he added a 10th trip the following week. The year had been bookended by the two most intense periods of his young presidency -- the early decisions to bail out the nation's banks and automobile industry, steps the president deemed unpopular but necessary, and his December orders to deploy 30,000 additional U.S. troops...

Israel's new rocket defense system has proven a hit-to-kill capability. Officials said Israel's Iron Dome has achieved the ability to strike incoming short-range missiles and rockets. They said the Iron Dome demonstrated this during its first live fire test in mid-2009. "They met head on," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said. In a Nov. 17 address to the International Aerospace Conference and Exhibition-Israel, Barak said Iron Dome exceeded all expectations. He said the assessment within the Defense Ministry and military had been that the interceptor would explode 10 meters from the incoming missile.

LONDON - Swine flu is far less dangerous than originally feared, British officials said Thursday — about 100 times less lethal than the 1918 Spanish flu. To determine how deadly the virus is, the British health department tracked all reported swine flu patients hospitalized between July and November. In a paper published online in the British journal, BMJ, experts estimated that out of every 100,000 infected people in Britain, about 26 died.

"Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor--and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a DAY of PUBLIC THANKSGIVING and PRAYER to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness....

 Obama's Forty First Week in OfficeLatest Additions to "The List""The List" for 11/7/2009 Obamacare passes in the house of representatives VIDEO of President Barack Obama (Saturday after Fort Hood shooting) visiting the U.S. Capitol to personally lobby Democrats to support the Democrats' Health Care Bill.Former President Bush and his wife visit the wounded at Fort HoodFormer presidnet Bush visits Fort Hood This weekend.  Obama goes to Camp David.VIDEO: Fort Hood terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan was apparently an invited guest to a public address in Washington by the Israeli Ambassador to the US, Sallai Meridor.  Hasan took a seat in the...

First Daughters Not Vaccinated Against H1N1 President Obama's school age daughters have not been vaccinated against the H1N1 flu virus. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says the vaccine is not available to them based on their risk. The Centers for Disease Control recommend that children ages 6 months through 18 years of age receive a vaccination against the H1N1 flu virus. At this time only children with chronic medical conditions are receiving the vaccination because their immune system is not strong enough to fight off the strain. The CDC also says a regular seasonal flu shot does not protect...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama, who accused former President George W. Bush of leading a government "that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns," is hearing directly from New Orleans residents who have struggled to rebuild their city since the 2005 hurricane season. Obama arrives in New Orleans Thursday on his first presidential trip to the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast. About 1,600 people were killed in Louisiana and Mississippi by Hurricane Katrina, which caused $40 billion in damages and displaced 1 million people from their homes.

President Obama's school age daughters have not been vaccinated against the H1N1 flu virus. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says the vaccine is not available to them based on their risk. The Centers for Disease Control recommend that children ages 6 months through 18 years of age receive a vaccination against the H1N1 flu virus.(continued)