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Obama cancels Poland trip due to volcano fallout The Associated Press Saturday, April 17, 2010; 2:56 PM WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama has canceled plans to travel to Poland for the funeral of President Lech Kaczynski (lekh kah-CHIN'-skee). A White House statement Saturday cited hazardous flying conditions posed by the ash cloud from the erupting volcano in Iceland. The cloud has forced huge portions of European airspace to be closed. The fear is that microscopic particles of highly abrasive ash could endanger passengers by causing aircraft engines to fail. Obama was to leave Washington on Saturday night for Sunday's state...

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's nominee to head the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel has withdrawn her bid for confirmation after several Republicans objected to her criticism of the Bush administration's terrorist interrogation policies. Dawn Johnsen's withdrawal was disclosed Friday by White House officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel matter.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has canceled a planned trip to Washington next week to take part in President Barack Obama's 47-country nuclear security summit conference.

* Netanyahu fears Islamic ambush at conference * Sends a deputy in his place to Washington (Updates with White House, Liz Cheney comments)

Sarah Palin is refusing to be tied down by the Republican National Committee, days after the committee was found to have spent donors' money at an erotic, bondage-themed club. The former Alaska governor has asked the RNC to remove her name from an official invite to a New Orleans fundraiser next week, even though she'll be in the Big Easy for a separate GOP event. The one-time Republican vice presidential nominee "will not take part in any RNC fundraiser in New Orleans," an aide told Politico.com. The apparent snub comes days after federal disclosure forms showed the RNC spent nearly...

A controversial student-directed play at Tarleton State University that would have portrayed Jesus as a homosexual has been canceled. According to a press release from the university, the professor of the theatre directing class decided to cancel the Saturday production of "Corpus Christi" because of safety and security concerns for the students, as well as the need to maintain an orderly academic environment.

CHICAGO - Congressman Bart Stupak's invitation to deliver the keynote speech at next month's Illinois Catholic Prayer Breakfast has been withdrawn. The event's president, Michael Sullivan, says he and other Illinois Catholics felt betrayed when the Michigan Democrat set aside abortion concerns to vote for President Barack Obama's healthcare bill.

The anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List group announced tonight they will strip Rep. Bart Stupak of the "Defender of Life" award that he's received several times. The group blasted Stupak's role in forging a compromise with the White House on abortion language in an executive order and said he is no longer truly "pro-life." The group says President Obama's executive order was "unacceptable" and they are redoubling efforts to elect "true" pro-life candidates. SBA List Candidate Fund President Marjorie Dannenfelser issued a statement saying the group had been planning to honor Stupak (D-MI) for his efforts at their Campaign for...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama struck down a rule Friday that prohibits U.S. money from funding international family-planning clinics that promote abortion or provide counseling or referrals about abortion services. President Obama says he doesn't want family planning to be used as a "political wedge." President Obama says he doesn't want family planning to be used as a "political wedge." Obama said in a statement that family planning aid has been used as a "political wedge issue," adding that he had "no desire to continue this stale and fruitless debate." The policy says any organization receiving U.S. family-planning funds from...

Google is expected to announce on Monday that it will withdraw from China on April 10, according to a report in a Beijing-based newspaper that cited an unidentified sales associate who works with the company. "I have received information saying that Google will leave China on April 10, but this information has not at present been confirmed by Google," the China Business News quoted the agent as saying. The report also said Google would reveal its plans for its China-based staff that day.

Breaking: TVNewser has learned that Congressman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) canceled what was to be an appearance on this evening's broadcast of "Larry King Live" a short time ago. The show's staff was told that "under the circumstances" Rangel could not do the interview tonight as planned. Rangel's exclusive had been booked and confirmed, and it was to be he his first interview since stepping down from the chairmanship of the House Ways and Means committee. Rangel is currently the subject of multiple ethics investigations. A CNN spokesperson tells us that producers pushed for more information from Rangel's reps, but "they...

The field in the battle for a New York Senate seat became a little clearer Tuesday when Mortimer B. Zuckerman announced he would not join the race. Mr. Zuckerman, chairman and publisher of the Daily News, said personal and professional reasons were behind his decision not to challenge Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. "I was encouraged by many major political figures in New York to look closely at running for Senate," Mr. Zuckerman said. "However, at this time, it is very difficult to see how I can devote the necessary time to either a campaign, or to working in Washington, if...

This has been a flu season like few others. Normally at this time of year, influenza is rampant in the U.S., prompting hundreds of thousands of people to stay home in the dead of winter with fever, aches and pains. Now, after raging through college campuses and communities last summer and fall, cases of the new H1N1 swine flu virus have dwindled to a trickle, and run-of-the-mill seasonal flu has barely made an appearance. Not one state reported widespread flu illness to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the week ended Feb. 20, the latest data available. The...

Having read Sarah Palin’s book: Going Rogue, Common Sense University is absolutely baffled by what she describes happened during the ten-week Presidential campaign in 2008. As if it was not bad enough that the liberal media, the vast majority of our media, tried everything in the book to dishonor and discredit her with atrocious accusations and slander, her own campaign staff, the so called ‘B’ team did not at all support her and advise her properly. Instead, they treated her like some country hick and micro-managed her every day activities. They set up interviews with the likes of Charlie Gibson...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Harold Ford, a former representative from Tennessee, will not challenge Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in the New York Democratic primary, The New York Times reported on Monday. In an opinion piece it said would be published in the Times on Tuesday, the newspaper quoted Ford as writing: "If I run, the likely result would be a brutal and highly negative Democratic primary -- a primary where the winner emerges weakened and the Republican strengthened." "I refuse to do anything that would help Republicans win a Senate seat in New York, and give the Senate majority to the Republicans,"...

NEW YORK – Add Gatorade to the list of endorsement deals that Tiger Woods has lost. A representative for the drink, sold by PepsiCo Inc., confirmed late Friday that it had ended its relationship with the golfer, who made a lengthy public apology last week for his infidelities. "We no longer see a role for Tiger in our marketing efforts and have ended our relationship," a Gatorade spokeswoman said. "We wish him all the best." The spokewoman said Gatorade would continue its relationship with the Tiger Woods Foundation.

New York Gov. David Paterson will drop his bid for election to a full term and plans to make a statement later Friday morning, media reports said. The governor has faced intensifying pressure to abandon his campaign, as a senior aide quit his administration in outrage and the New York political world responded with disgust to allegations the state police and the Democratic governor interfered with a domestic-violence case involving a top aide. Mr. Paterson's administration was plunged into disarray late Wednesday after it was reported by the New York Times that the governor and a member of his security...

The drama did not end with Breitbart slamming all comers at CPAC. Susie (Medea) Benjamin was called out as she and her partner Tighe Barry snuck into the ballroom while Beck was finishing up his speech. Towards the end of Glenn Beck's keynote speech while I was busy tweeting on my @#$%@# netbook, Doug Welch (Stix Blog) mentioned to me that he just saw Code Pink walk through Bloggers Lounge towards steps leading to the floor of the ballroom. I immediately grabbed Doug, notified Caleb Howe and encouraged other bloggers to head out into the ballroom in search of Code...

12th District notes: Joyce Murtha out, Critz and Cernic in (Updated) A few more 12th District pieces came into focus Monday. The Fix reports that Joyce Murtha, the late Congressman John Murtha’s widow, won’t be running for the seat he held for decades. This clears the way for anyone who was waiting on her decision. Barbara Hafer, the former state treasurer and auditor general, had said she wouldn’t run if Murtha did. Meanwhile, CQ Politics reports that Murtha’s district director Mark Critz will soon enter the race, adding a candidate intimately familiar with the district into the mix. Former Cambria...

That vague screeching noise you hear in D.C., the slight odor of burning rubber? That's the government trying to brake its anti-Toyota campaign. It may be a little late. The Toyota spectacle has become slightly surreal, as a few uncertain questions about "sudden acceleration" morphed into a media and political firestorm over the safety of its entire fleet. It is also proving an interesting case study in the treacherous politics that accompany government ownership of U.S. industry. Washington's initial enthusiasm in bashing Toyota is beginning to backfire. There's no question that in the first, heady days of recall, at least...