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Jaycee Dugard, two months after resurfacing from 18 years in captivity, has released her first personal statement to People magazine, along with photos of herself as an adult. I'm so happy to be back with my family," she told the magazine. "Nothing is more important than the unconditional love and support I have from them."

A group of eight Democrats today asked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for the health care reform bill to be posted online for 72 hours before a vote on the measure and once again before a vote on the conference report that will meld the House and Senate versions. The senators told Reid that health care reform should be more transparent and easier for their constituents to understand. A CBS poll released last month showed that two-thirds of Americans say the issue is confusing and just 31 percent say they have a clear understanding of what reform will mean for...

U.S. first lady Michelle Obama has a message for other countries seeking to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games: in the fight the "gloves are off." The Chicago native heads to Copenhagen this week to promote her hometown in its bid to stage the Summer Olympics, paving the way for her husband, President Barack Obama, who will make a quick trip to Denmark on Friday to try to seal the deal. "This is very cool for me," the first lady told reporters in a rare briefing in the White House's state dining room on Monday. "I could've never imagined that...

Remember the controversy over the Pentagon policy of not allowing the press to take pictures of the flag-draped caskets of American war dead as they arrived in the United States? Critics accused President Bush of trying to hide the terrible human cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "These young men and women are heroes," Vice President Biden said in 2004, when he was senator from Delaware. "The idea that they are essentially snuck back into the country under the cover of night so no one can see that their casket has arrived, I just think is wrong." In...

In a sea of 7,000 fans, controversial TV and radio talk-show host Glenn Beck took his crusade to Safeco Field today, saying he is the voice of reason in a divided America. "I am a flawed human being," said Beck, 45. "But I'm in a position to ring the bell of warning." Beck, sponsored by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, came to Seattle amid a torrent of anger over his proclamation on July 28 that President Obama was a racist and that he believed the president has a "deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture." Outside the stadium, about...

<p>Susan Atkins, who committed one of modern history's most notorious crimes when she joined Charles Manson and his gang for a 1969 killing spree that terrorized Los Angeles and put her in prison for the rest of her life, has died. She was 61.</p>

Seven former heads of the CIA wrote President Obama on Friday to ask him to end an investigation launched by former Attorney General Eric Holder into the actions of CIA interrogators who used "enhanced" techniques to question terror detainees.

You might remember Mason Weaver from the March on DC. He's the one who said, "I thought you might want to hear from a black man who doesn't need a telepromter." (video at the link) Mason Weaver The People's Representative for California's 53rd District Bookmark this site - more information coming soon

You can expect a backlash to the new White House Farmers Market, which launches Thursday. The market was announced Tuesday at a chefs conference in Chicago by acting USDA Undersecretary Ann Wright, who said the market will sell sustainable produce from local farmers to the public. When First Lady Michelle Obama and White House assistant chef Sam Kass broke ground on an organic White House garden in the spring, it totally bugged pesticide supporters (Mid America CropLife Association and the American Council on Science and Health), who sent the first lady a letter expressing "disappointment." ACSH spokesman Jeff Stier was...

September 15, 2009 Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), ranking Republican on the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, today wrote to committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Inspector General, Kenneth Donohue, calling for an immediate and thorough investigation into the activities of the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). Shelby’s call for an investigation follows recent news reports surrounding the arrest of individuals in Florida for falsifying voter applications while employed by ACORN leading up to the 2008 elections, as well as video of employees in...

The US shifted its policy today, saying it is now willing to meet one on one with North Korea if that is helpful to bring Pyongyang back to the nuclear negotiations. US envoy Stephen Bosworth got the green light from the other members of the 6-party talks, negotiations to rid Pyongyang of its nuclear program, during meetings in the region in recent days.

Before he abruptly exited the White House last weekend, former green jobs czar Van Jones used his government position to help Obama's administration cynically green-wash the meaning of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Specifically, Mr. Jones helped lead an Obama-approved effort to reshape America's collective memory of the Sept. 11 atrocities. Eager to keep Mr. Jones in the vanguard of radical change, John Podesta's Center for American Progress reportedly offered Mr. Jones office space earlier this weekto help him get back on his feet. This attempt to re-brand the horrors of Sept. 11 is part of the effort to...

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- A former Ohio congressman who was freed after seven years in federal prison said he was put in jeopardy behind bars because of his views. James Traficant spoke in an interview to be broadcast Thursday night on the Fox News show "On The Record With Greta Van Susteren."

As the debate on health care in the U.S. continues, President Obama detailed his vision for health insurance reform in his second address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday September 9, 2009. The address was carried live from 8:00PM to approximately 9:06PM on 10 television networks. The sum of average audience for those networks was 32,111,596 viewers. The networks carrying the press conference were ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, Telemundo, BET, CNBC, CNN, FOX News Channel, and MSNBC. Viewership to last night’s address was down 38.6% from President Obama’s first address to a joint session of Congress on February...

NEW YORK - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is said to be frustrated over her lack of authority in her position. Despite her being the secretary of state, the Obama administration also has Richard Holbrooke as the “special representative” for Afghanistan and Pakistan, George Mitchell as “special envoy” to the Middle East. “President Obama’s picks fly in even if they didn’t pay their taxes. But, her picks take forever. Plus, she has no real clout over Holbrooke or Mitchell,” the New York Post quoted a Democrat, as saying. According to reports, Clinton is considering quitting the job to retake...

Hi, First day back to school for my two younger sisters. I read the speech. Obama invokes the word "I" 56 times!!!! I am sending my 14 year old sister to school with her Ipod and my 10 year old sister has no interest in anything Obama has to say, so I imagine she will be busy talking with the girls seated next to her. Elizabeth Grace San Diego

Lifestyles of the hip and famous keep on rolling for the world-champion Chula Vista Park View Little Leaguers. The boys were bused to Burbank yesterday for an appearance last night on “The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.” Never mind that most of the 12- and 13-year-olds didn't know Conan O'Brien from Conan the Barbarian. “Nope,” said Park View second baseman Bulla Graft. “Never heard of him.” After O'Brien's monologue and Sandra Bullock's appearance to promote her new movie, up to the stage stepped all 12 players, wearing baby-blue T-shirts and gray baseball pants — and earning the audience's hearty applause.

Fifty-one percent (51%) of voters nationwide believe that Congress is too liberal while 22% hold the opposite view and say it is too conservative. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 14% say the ideological balance of Congress is about right and 12% are not sure. Republicans overwhelmingly believe that Congress is too liberal, a view shared by 59% of those not affiliated with either major party. A plurality of Democrats have a different view. Thirty-nine percent (39%) of Democrats say Congress is too conservative, 19% too liberal, and 26% about right. Middle income earners are more likely than...

Fox Business Network (FBN) said on Thursday it had signed a multiyear deal to show the Imus program on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. starting on October 5.

Forty Years After Gruesome Cult Killings, Susan Atkins is Paralyzed, Near Death Charles Manson follower and convicted mass murderer Susan Atkins is expected to appear in person today to plead for parole so she can die outside of prison, but officials said her condition is on an "hour by hour" basis.