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The White House has released a list of some of the guests expected at tonight's Ramadan dinner hosted by President Obama. Cabinet members, members of Congress, ambassadors from around the world and many members of the Muslim community are expected to attend. Click through for the full list. CABINET Secretary Robert Gates, Department of Defense Attorney General Eric Holder, Department of Justice Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Health and Human Services DEPUTY CABINET SECRETARIES Deputy Secretary Dennis Hightower, Department of Commerce Deputy Secretary Adam Miller, Department of Education MEMBERS OF CONGRESS Congressman Andre Carson (Indiana 7th) Congressman John Conyers (Michigan 14th) Congressman...

HONOLULU — Stinky city bus riders soon could get soaked. The Honolulu City Council is considering a bill that would impose up to a $500 fine and/or up to six months in jail for public transit passengers convicted of being too smelly.

If you have the time, it's worth it.

Audiobook: In this episode, Father Stephen Keller tries to help a stranger with his social worker friend, Laurie, and fears he's fallen for a weird trap. Will he take the bait and go up to Ruthie's room alone? Watch video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NT9maMHSBE Constructive criticism appreciated.

There’s a myth circulating in the blogosphere and the punditry, and it is threatening the Democrats’ majorities. It goes like this: In 1994, Democrats failed to pass a healthcare bill, and they lost their majorities. Ergo, if Democrats fail to pass a healthcare bill in 2009, they will be at serious risk of losing their majorities in 2010, so to save their majorities, they should make certain above all else to get something passed.

CALGARY - Canada will apply existing foreign ownership laws to PetroChina’s bid to buy Canadian oilsands assets but will not introduce further barriers to investing in the country, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday. PetroChina, the world’s most valuable oil company, is set to pay $1.9 billion for a 60 per cent stake in two planned Canadian oilsands projects. It’s the biggest Chinese investment yet in Canada’s oilsands, which have reserves second only to Saudi Arabia, and a test of the Canadian government’s bid to thaw once-frosty relations with Beijing. Harper said he recognized that PetroChina’s plans were controversial, but...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has run into problems with her attempt to save the troubled German carmaker Opel: The US government doesn't want a consortium featuring Russian investors to take over the GM subsidiary. Thousands of German jobs are hanging in the balance as talks drag on. snip

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Clinton ordered an investigation on Tuesday into the Animal House revels of private guards at the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan - including booze, hookers and other "deviant behavior." "These are very serious allegations, and we are treating them that way," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said of photo and e-mail evidence of the "climate of fear and coercion" at the living quarters of ArmorGroup guards. The investigation by the State Department's inspector general follows a shocking report to Clinton by the nonprofit Project on Government Oversight detailing a "Lord of the Flies environment" at the...

The deposed president of Honduras said Tuesday that he received assurances from the permanent council of the Organization of American States that they will not recognize his country's upcoming elections. Ousted President Manuel Zelaya's news conference came as campaigning began for the Nov. 29 elections, which were scheduled when Zelaya was still in power. Interim leaders have expressed hope that international interest in restoring Zelaya will fade after the elections. Zelaya said the election would be viewed as a fraud by the international community. "The countries have expressed today that they are willing to accept neither the electoral process nor...

Universities and public-school districts spent the summer preparing for swine flu. For some colleges, however, the virus popped up sooner than expected. Four Ohio schools -- Miami, Xavier, Cedarville and Cincinnati -- have cluster cases of the flu, according to state health officials. "We knew we were going to see it, but to have it happen so quickly surprised us a little bit," said Debora del Valle, spokeswoman for Xavier. The Cincinnati school has 110 suspected flu cases and canceled large events through Labor Day. No cases have been reported by Ohio public-school districts. Yesterday, President Barack Obama urged Americans...

Aides to President Barack Obama are putting the final touches on a new strategy to help Democrats recover from a brutal August recess by specifying what Obama wants to see in a compromise health care deal and directly confronting other trouble spots, West Wing officials tell POLITICO. Obama is considering detailing his health-care demands in a major speech as soon as next week, when Congress returns from the August recess. And although House leaders have said their members will demand the inclusion of a public insurance option, Obama has no plans to insist on it himself, the officials said. “We’re...

When I learned that my Representative, Sue Myrick, would hold a health-care town hall meeting at our local high school, I decided to attend to see firsthand how much of the passion against socialized medicine was the result of real grass roots or just “Astroturf” (as Nancy Pelosi put it). Sue is a strong conservative who came to office as part of the 1994 Republican revolution. Since she’s against the current house bill (HR 3200), I didn’t think all that many would turnout. Wow, was I wrong! Let me set the context for you. I live in a half-rural half-residential...

Exercise helps prevent weight regain after dieting by reducing appetite and by burning fat before burning carbohydrates, according to a new study with rats. Burning fat first and storing carbohydrates for use later in the day slows weight regain and may minimize overeating by signaling a feeling of fullness to the brain. The University of Colorado Denver study also found that exercise prevents the increase in the number of fat cells that occurs during weight regain, challenging the conventional wisdom that the number of fat cells is set and cannot be altered by dietary or lifestyle changes. These coordinated physiological...

Small-business owners are sweating this summer -- and it’s not necessarily because of the weather. Many worry that a form of nationalized health care could soon become law, and that this would cost jobs. “I give my employees health insurance but I can’t afford to meet the government mandates,” one owner told the National Federation of Independent Business. “I will have to eliminate several employees to reduce my payroll expense.” (NFIB is a trade organization that helps businesses). “I don’t believe we’ll be able to comply. We will have to eliminate pay increases and Christmas bonuses. Full-timers will be eliminated...

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Six people were killed in Indonesia after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Wednesday, officials said. The quake was initially categorized as magnitude 7.4 before being downgraded to 7.0 by geological officials. No details were immediately available about the deaths. At least 18 other people were injured around the capital, Jakarta, said Rustam Pakaya, a health ministry spokesman. A tsunami watch went into effect and quickly expired, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. It struck about 2:55 p.m. (3:55 a.m. ET) and was centered 242 km (150 miles) from Jakarta, according the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake...

A friend of ours sent us this article from RedState just now, and we had a good discussion about it. It’s commentary on David Brooks’ column in the NY Times, where Brooks argues Democrats really and truly are committing political suicide, since the White House and Congress believe America is The Huffington Post. Brooks says Democrats will try to ram Deathcare through using every trick in the book, even if only 35% of the country identifies as liberal and supports this. Brooks predicts a massive backlash against the White House and Congress in 2010. One of the comments on this...

For months rumours of share-ramping, market manipulation, excessive loans to their owners and unusual transfers off-shore have been circling Kaupthing, Glitnir and Landsbanki, whose failure last October left 300,000 British customers unable to access their money. It has now become clear that this was no ordinary crash. Iceland's special investigation into "suspicions of criminal activity" at the three banks is likely to stretch from Reykjavik to London, Luxembourg and the British Virgin Islands.

No sooner had Michael Ignatieff told his caucus in Sudbury, Ont., that the Liberal party will no longer support Stephen Harper’s Conservatives than headlines started to pop up saying that the Liberal leader is set to topple the government. Let’s all take a deep breath here, people. There are 308 seats in Parliament and the Liberals hold only 77 of them. To bring down the government they need the support of both the Bloc Québécois and the NDP. The last Canwest poll by Ipsos Reid had the Dippers at 14% support, down from 18% at the last election, when they...

President Obama and congressional supporters estimate that his health care plan will cost between $50 and $65 billion a year. Such cost estimates are lies whether they come from a Democratic president and Congress, or a Republican president and Congress. You say, "Williams, you don't show much trust in the White House and Congress." Let's check out their past dishonesty. At its start, in 1966, Medicare cost $3 billion. The House Ways and Means Committee, along with President Johnson, estimated that Medicare would cost an inflation-adjusted $12 billion by 1990. In 1990, Medicare topped $107 billion. That's nine times Congress'...

EDINBURGH, Scotland — British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is facing accuations of "double-dealing" after confidential documents were released on Tuesday revealing that Libya was told Brown wanted the Lockerbie bomber to die a free man. "We did not want him to die in prison, no, we weren't seeking his death in prison," Miliband said. Al-Megrahi, 57, was the only person convicted in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people. Scotland freed him on compassionate grounds Aug. 20 after doctors said he had terminal cancer. U.S. Justice Department spokesman Richard Kolko said Tuesday...