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Robert Gibbs, President Obama’s press secretary, told reporters on Tuesday that he hopes the Comedy Central host can persuade enough Republican senators to vote for a 9/11 health bill so it can head to the president’s desk. Stewart has dedicated lengthy segments on “The Daily Show” to the legislation that would help the first responders on Sept. 11.

House delays tax vote

Barack Obama won the great tax-cut showdown of 2010 — and House Democrats don’t have a clue that he did. In the deal struck this week, the president negotiated the biggest stimulus in American history, larger than his $814 billion 2009 stimulus package. It will pump a trillion borrowed Chinese dollars into the U.S. economy over the next two years — which just happen to be the two years of the run-up to the next presidential election. This is a defeat?

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation is asking Americans to wear purple on Oct. 20 to show their efforts to support the end of anti-gay bullying. GLAAD has set up a website that lists a number of steps participants can take to help stop the bullying of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people

"After nearly 10 years at Aetna and with the company performing well, it is time to step aside. The passage of major health-care reform legislation has underscored the need for market-based solutions to address quality and affordability challenges in health care, and the next few years will present another opportunity for Aetna to lead," Williams said in a statement.

"I've had ENOUGH!" After two years in the White House fishbowl, fed up first lady Michelle Obama sobbed those emotional words to her husband during a tense confrontation. In a blockbuster ENQUIRER exclusive, well-placed Washington, D.C., insiders have revealed behind-the-scenes details of President Barack Obama's heated face-to- face with his 46-year-old wife - a spat that erupted over headline-making comments attributed to her in a revealing new book. According to the book, Michelle told France's first lady Carla Bruni Sarkozy, 41, that she absolutely detests her role as America's first lady, blasting it as "hell," and admitting: "I can't stand...

'Titanic was launched at a time when the world was moving from sailing ships to steam ships. My grandfather, like the other senior officers on Titanic, had started out on sailing ships. And on sailing ships, they steered by what is known as “Tiller Orders” which means that if you want to go one way, you push the tiller the other way. [So if you want to go left, you push right.] It sounds counter-intuitive now, but that is what Tiller Orders were. Whereas with “Rudder Orders’ which is what steam ships used, it is like driving a car. You...

On Meet the Press: Powell said the tea party activists who are driving the opposition against Obama were part of a movement, but they do not yet offer the kind of agenda that makes them a party. They have to offer more than slogans, he said. "This movement doesn't become a real force until it's— until it starts to talk to the issues," Powell said. "I want to cut spending. I want to have lower taxes. But how do you do that? You can't just have slogans. You can't just have catchy phrases. You have to have an agenda."

On Meet the Press: Powell said the tea party activists who are driving the opposition against Obama were part of a movement, but they do not yet offer the kind of agenda that makes them a party. They have to offer more than slogans, he said. "This movement doesn't become a real force until it's— until it starts to talk to the issues," Powell said. "I want to cut spending. I want to have lower taxes. But how do you do that? You can't just have slogans. You can't just have catchy phrases. You have to have an agenda."

On Thursday's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," the host announced plans to hold an event against extremism in Washington D.C. called "Rally to Restore Sanity." "See you October 30 on the National Mall to spread the timeless message, 'Take it down a notch for America,'" he said. "A million Moderate march, where we take to the streets to send a message to our leaders and our national media that says, 'We are here! We... are only here until six though, because we have a sitter.'"

Health insurers are asking for immediate rate hikes of more than 20 percent in Connecticut for some plans, citing rising medical costs and federal health reform laws as reasons. Both issues — the new federal health care reform and rising medical costs — are significant drivers of the increases, according to filings by insurers with state regulators that were reviewed by The Courant.

In a bold move that is likely to be much discussed in coming days, Fox News said today that it will not cover the burning of the Quran on Saturday if Pastor Terry Jones follows through on his plan to burn copies of Islam's sacred book. The proposed book burning by the Florida minister and his congregation has become a topic of heated conversation and coverage with everyone from President Barack Obama to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and two generals weighing in.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Hazleton, Pa., may not enforce its crackdown on illegal immigrants, dealing another blow to 4-year-old regulations that inspired similar measures around the country. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia said that Hazleton's Illegal Immigration Relief Act usurped the federal government's exclusive power to regulate immigration

A radical Islamic activist and lawyer in the U.K. has called on Muslims worldwide to burn U.S. flags outside American embassies on Sept. 11, a "direct retaliation" against a Florida church's plan to burn Qurans on the same day.

Using Facebook is the online equivalent of staring at yourself in the mirror, according to a study. Those who spent more time updating their profile on the social networking site were more likely to be narcissists, said researchers. Facebook provides an ideal setting for narcissists to monitor their appearance and how many ‘friends’ they have, the study said, as it allows them to thrive on ‘shallow’ relationships while avoiding genuine warmth and empathy.

Councilwoman rJo Winch, joined by Councilman Luis Cotto, brought more than 50 e-mails to a news conference Wednesday afternoon and criticized the harsh and bigoted language against Muslim clerics who offer the prayers contained with them.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Muslims and people of other faiths plan to gather at the Connecticut Capitol to discuss what they call "Islamophobia" across the country and concerns for their safety during the holy month of Ramadan.

“He said, ‘I killed the five racists that was there bothering me,’” said Will Holliday, Thornton’s uncle. “He said, ‘That’s it. The cops are going to come in so I’m going to take care of it myself.’” Holliday said Thornton had been complaining to relatives that in several years he worked at Hartford Distributors he was confronted with blatant racism. Holliday said, “He had some instances of racism at the company. They were hanging nooses in the bathroom and writing stuff like that. They were singling him out because he was the only black person there in that area.”

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is considering granting a posthumous pardon to Billy the Kid, angering descendants of Garrett who call it an insult to recognize such a violent outlaw.

Ousted Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod said Thursday she will sue a conservative blogger who posted an edited video of her making racially tinged remarks last week. The edited video posted by Andrew Breitbart led Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to ask Sherrod to resign, a decision he reconsidered after seeing the entire video of her March speech to a local NAACP group. In the full speech, Sherrod spoke of racial reconciliation and lessons she learned after initially hesitating to help a white farmer save his home.