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White House officials are pledging that President Obama will deliver a “non-traditional” State of the Union address in January, the last time he will deliver the annual speech as president. The address will still be given in the Capitol before joint session of Congress. But instead of rattling off a laundry list of proposals for lawmakers to consider, a senior White House official said the president will take a “big picture approach to some of the challenges and opportunities that we face” as a country. The plan is a recognition of the limits Obama faces during his final year in...

The White House is promising President Barack Obama will deliver a "non-traditional" State of the Union address next month, eschewing the standard litany of policy proposals for a broader discussion on the challenges facing the country. The format reflects the legislative reality for Obama's final year in office. Much of what the White House and the Republican-led Congress could realistically achieve in an election year is already underway, including discussions on criminal justice reform, and the ticking clock on Obama's presidency leaves little time to jumpstart major new initiatives. ...

... This week Gingrich also released his 24th book, with many of his upcoming campaign stops doubling as marketing events for his book and movies, raising more questions about the true intentions of the campaign. "If he's being driven by book sales, and movie openings and things like that, that doesn't fit into a traditional campaign," said Reed. Also raising questions from independent watchdog groups is the operation of a charity Gingrich founded, called Renewing American Leadership. Its website contained ads for Gingrich's books -- taken down after ABC News asked about them -- and posted his positions on political...

SOUTHWEST ASIA, July 19, 2006 – A U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter, providing nontraditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support to coalition ground forces, killed a member of an improvised explosive device cell and identified an IED emplacement yesterday near Baqubah, Iraq, U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials reported today. The F-16 identified three possible IED emplacers and passed the information to ground forces. Ground unit personnel positively identified the terrorists and requested the F-16 engage the hostile forces. The F-16 strafed the terrorists, killing one and ending the engagement. Coalition aircraft, operationally controlled by U.S. Central Command Air Forces from...

WASHINGTON, May 19, 2006 – Supporting nontraditional missions and humanitarian crises doesn't detract from the defense mission, but rather, builds important relationships around the world, strengthens capabilities and fills vital needs, top defense leaders said here today. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Marine Gen. Peter Pace both said that DoD can and should support nontraditional, humanitarian missions, such as 2005's Hurricane Katrina and Pakistan earthquake. Both offered their views at a Pentagon town hall meeting May 19. Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Chad McNeeley, USN  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. "When our nation sends its armed forces...

SOUTHWEST ASIA, March 24, 2006 – The convoy travels down the dusty desert road. Soldiers keep watchful eyes, surveying the barren landscape surrounding them. Today, their minds are slightly at ease. Overhead, an armed F-16 in direct contact with their team is watching the road ahead. No one will be lost today. An F-15E Strike Eagle flies over the coast in Southwest Asia. Aircraft like this and others are capable of monitoring the battlespace with their targeting pods. This concept is known as nontraditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Photo by Master Sgt. Lance Cheung, USAF  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution...

Charter school enrollment in California has exploded over the past two years, a sign that parents are desperate for solutions to the public school fiasco. Trouble is, the education establishment doesn't want to pay much attention to this trend, especially in Los Angeles, where school district unions and administrators try hard to ignore the glaring fact that charters are extremely popular with parents and growing numbers of teachers. According to the California Charter School Association, there are 574 charter schools in the state - 86 just within the LAUSD, 20 more than the year before. At this rate, by 2012,...

SOUTH HAVEN -- The teacher accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old former student had developed such a trusting relationship that the two "married" in a pagan ritual, state police said Thursday. "They also participated in witchcraft together," Detective Sgt. Dianne Oppenheim said. Elizabeth Miklosovic, 36, of Grand Rapids, a teacher at South Haven's Baseline Middle School, was arraigned Thursday in South Haven District Court, charged with first-degree criminal-sexual conduct, a potential life offense. She was held on a $100,000 bond. Also on Thursday, the Kent County Prosecutor's office issued warrants on first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct charges, alleging Miklosovic...

Vienna, Va., July 23--(RNS) Leaders of the New Thought movement used their annual conference as an opportunity to encourage a nontraditional spiritual quest. At a morning session of the 89th Annual Congress of the International New Thought Alliance, held July 18-23, speakers suggested new ways to approach the metaphysical path on which they walk. In a speech titled "Thinking With NewER Thought," the Rev. Noel McInnis of Wilsonville, Ore., supported the congregational singing of a revamped version of "Let There Be Peace on Earth." "We just need to make over the old song," said McInnis, an ordained minister of Religious...

A senior World Health Organisation (WHO) official told a conference on Tuesday that traditional medicine had helped improve the condition of two of his nieces, who are HIV-positive. Dr Welile Shasha, the WHO liaison officer in South Africa, said he took the two to a traditional healer and their conditions improved. "They are being tested for viral load ... to see where they are," he told a conference of traditional leaders in Benoni. Shasha said HIV-positive people should be exposed to decent choices as contained in the comprehensive treatment plan for HIV/Aids. Speaking at the conference earlier, Minister of Health...