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<p>A former Philadelphia police officer once hailed as a hero who sat next to the first lady during the 2009 State of the Union address was indicted yesterday after being accused of forcing two women to take heroin at gunpoint before raping them.</p>

First Lady Michelle Obama is staying Monday evening in the $3,300-per-night Princess Grace suite of Dublin’s Five-Star Shelbourne Hotel, according to Irish press reports, adding some credence to accusations she is in the city for a quick vacation at taxpayer expense.Michelle jetted to Dublin Monday afternoon Irish time after a brief stop in Belfast with President Obama, who is in the city for the two-day G-8 Summit.The White House is billing Michelle’s trip to Dublin as having diplomatic significance, but her itinerary suggests otherwise. She and her daughters will visit the Trinity College library to explore President Obama’s Irish family...

Not only is this the most expensive trip in presidential history (mentioned at the :40 second marker of below video), but also note that the video discusses all the cargo planes (accompanying Obama) as well as an interesting detail in which military jets will be doing a fly-over 24/7. Typically military jets are available and only fly-over when needed. But Obama wants 24/7 fly-over coverage. Too bad that Obama didn’t feel the same sense of urgency when our SEALs and American Ambassador needed security in Benghazi. (VIDEO-AT-LINK) Both the Weekly Standard and WaPo are reporting on the following story: When...

REX, Ga. — Police are trying to figure out who knocked over a monument dedicated to an ancestor of first lady Michelle Obama. “When I saw it, I shed a few tears,” Vicki Smith told Channel 2’s Linda Stouffer. Smith helped get the monument to Rex. It’s a tribute to Melvinia Shields, the great-great-great grandmother of Obama. Shields was born into slavery in 1844 and later moved to Georgia. Clayton County Commissioner Sonna Singleton said the monument company will have to lift the heavy stone to check for cracks after someone pushed it off the foundation block. “It was our...

The fallout from Michelle Obama’s heckling incident continued Thursday, as some defenders of the first lady charge that the heckler used coded racial language, and in general spoke from a perspective of “white privilege.” These folks point to a comment protester Ellen Sturtz made after she interrupted the first lady during a fundraiser and challenged President Obama to fulfill a campaign promise and sign an order banning federal contractors from discriminating against gays and lesbians. Rather than speak over Ms. Sturtz, Mrs. Obama left the podium and confronted the heckler in person, saying she’d leave if the heckling didn’t stop....

For the second day in a row, The Washington Post showed it was bored by the IRS scandal by putting the hearings story inside the paper. Instead, the top of Wednesday's post seized on the favorite liberal scandal du jour: "Military chiefs lament sex assaults but reject Senate bill." Their Post Express tabloid screamed this front-page headline: "CAN THE MILITARY CURE ITS 'CANCER'?" This is also the second day in a row that the Post has saved room on the front page to attack the ethics of Virginia's Republican governor, Robert McDonnell. The IRS hearings were on A-2, and below...

FLOTUS Pool Report #2 Pool was ushered in as FLOTUS began speaking at 6:07 under a white tent in the backyard of the residence of Karen Dixon and Nan Schaffer in NW DC. FLOTUS was introduced by Dixon. Debbie Wasserman Schultz also in attendance. FLOTUS was wearing a dark blue sleeveless shirt dress, with a black belt and pumps. Most notable part of the event was an interruption from a protester about 12 minutes into the 20-minute speech. A pro-LGBT rights individual standing at the front began shouting for an executive order on gay rights. (Pool did not hear exactly...

It’s a good thing that we dumped all that Western canon as the work of a bunch of old dead white guys or the phrase, “Let them eat cake” might have some resonance when a political leader eliminates hot meals for Marines but scarfs down Chocolate Opera Cake. As of June 1, Camp Leatherneck in southwestern Afghanistan will close its 24-hour sandwich bar and stop producing the hot meals traditionally offered during the midnight-ration service. Rather than offering a hot meal to troops beginning or ending their shifts at midnight, the base will now only provide a “Meal, Ready to...

Elementary school children who helped First Lady Michelle Obama plant her White House garden this year were rewarded for their labor, with arugula and snap peas. “On Tuesday, First Lady Michelle Obama joined school children from across the country to harvest the summer crop from the White House Kitchen Garden,” Mrs. Obama’s anti-obesity initiative “Let’s Move!” said on its blog. Children who helped plant the garden this April were invited back to the White House for the harvest, “so they could see the fruits of their labors.” Kids from two New Jersey schools affected by Hurricane Sandy were also invited....

First Lady Michelle Obama spoke at a DNC Fundraiser at the Manhattan home of fashion designer Tory Burch Wednesday evening. TPM was in attendance to provide press pool coverage. Our unedited pool report is below: "Your pooler is currently composing this report in a Starbucks a few blocks from Manhattan's Hotel Pierre where First Lady Michelle Obama just gave a speech at a DNC fundraiser in the home of fashion designer Tory Burch. In her speech, Obama encouraged the crowd to remain politically engaged and active though "the excitement that comes with the presidential campaign has faded." Pool was led...

Why mess with a good thing? Michelle Obama is known for recycling her favorite outfits and there is one item she goes back to again and again: a bold wisteria print dress by designer Tracy Feith. By our count, she's worn the dress (which cost about $720 retail) at least seven times since she debuted it on January 21, 2009, the day after President Barack Obama's inauguration, at a non-denominational prayer service held at the Washington National Cathedral followed by a luncheon. On Wednesday, she donned it again to visit the historic Decatur House. While we mortals might shop our...

Michelle Obama ditches her bangs By Emily Goodin - 05/17/13 12:23 PM ET Michelle Obama's much-talked-about bangs are gone. The first lady debuted a new 'do on Friday during her commencement address at Bowie State University. Her bangs, which she called her midlife crisis, were grown out and parted to the side with her hair slightly longer, touching her shoulders. No word on whether that means the crisis is over. However, in April, she told "Entertainment Tonight" that her bangs were getting "irritating." "The bangs are a day-by-day proposition. They're starting to grow out, getting a little irritating," she said....

We wonder if Mooch is saying the same thing today after her husband was heckled by the founder of CodePink, who somehow managed to get a press pass for an Obama speech Thursday. So how did well-known heckler and war protester Medea Benjamin — leader of the activist group Code Pink — get into President Obama’s counterterrorism speech on Thursday? With a press pass. Politico reported that a photographer who stood in line with Benjamin at the National Defense University saw her wearing a bright green pass pass adorned with her original name, Susan Benjamin. Security officials eventually escorted Benjamin...

A young Michelle Obama once dated the inspector general who recently uncovered the IRS scandal, according to a bombshell report. The future First Lady, then known as Michelle Robinson, reportedly dated J. Russell George, the current IRS top watchdog responsible for investigating the widening trouble at the tax agency, while the two were at Harvard Law School in the 1980s, the National Journal reported. First lady Michelle Obama and George were both in the Black Law Students Association at Harvard Law School. The power pair were both members of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) and graduated together in 1988,...

Michelle Obama - cracking under the pressure of being First Lady - is drinking way more than she should, friends fear. Longtime pals have been keeping a close eye on her White House booze intake for months, sources told The ENQUIRER, and her husband President Barack Obama even stepped in when she recently consumed too much alcohol. "When Barack saw Michelle drink more than she should at a recent dinner, he hit the roof. He told her, 'This is NOT going to turn into a problem!'" a close source told The ENQUIRER. "Barack is overly sensitive to the issue because...

Complete Headline: Michelle Obama Tells Grads: ‘I Could Take Up a Whole Afternoon Talking About’ Barack Obama’s Failures First lady Michelle Obama in her commencement speech at a high school in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday said she could “take up a whole afternoon talking about” her husband’s failures. “And then there’s this guy, Barack Obama, who lost – I could take up a whole afternoon talking about his failures, but – he lost his first race for Congress, and now he gets to call himself my husband,” she told graduates of Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High School during commencement...

During a commencement address at Bowie State University on Friday, first lady Michelle Obama urged the graduates of the historically black university to "please stand up and reject the slander that says a black child with a book is trying to act white," instructing them to "be an example of excellence for the next generation."

Michelle Obama criticizes the worship of celebrities, sports stars By Emily Goodin - 05/17/13 02:06 PM ET Michelle Obama on Friday urged black youth to stay in school instead of dropping out to become a "baller or a rapper." The first lady, speaking to graduates at Bowie State University, a historically black college, criticized the worship of sports stars and celebrities. "Today, instead of walking miles every day to school, they’re sitting on couches for hours playing video games, watching TV," she said of black youth. "Instead of dreaming of being a teacher or a lawyer or a business leader,...

First Lady Michelle Obama has expanded her anti-obesity campaign to museums, enlisting them to offer “healthy food options,” and change their menus. Mrs. Obama’s “Let’s Move!” initiative is now calling for museums, zoos, gardens, science and technology centers to “join the call to action,” to decrease obesity among children. The first lady is recruiting these institutions to join the “Let’s Move! Museums and Gardens” project because of their power to “influence real and sustained behavior change” on the eating habits of kids. “With their impressive reach and great potential for impact, museums and gardens can launch community efforts to create...

As some of you know, my wife is a private piano voice and piano teacher however this year, she had the opportunity to work in one of the public schools here in town on a limited basis for an opportunity she couldn't refuse. She left the public school system a few years ago because of the politics within the school, no surprise. This, however, is one of those opportunities she couldn't turn down as she was working with 1-2nd grade and special needs students. Enough background. One thing she has been privy to is the plans for the school for...

First lady Michelle Obama on Wednesday said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) suffers from adulthood obesity and is an example of why her "Let’s Move" campaign is such an important initiative. Speaking Wednesday on the "Today" show, the first lady was asked to comment on reports that Christie secretly underwent a medical operation in February to help him lose weight. “The one thing I will say is that there are millions of people like the governor who struggle with adulthood obesity, and that’s one of the reasons why 'Let’s Move' is so important,” she said. “Because we want to...

For a long time conservatives have warned that the heavy propaganda and regulatory hands of the Obama administration were not going to change the exercise or eating habits of 315 million Americans... Now comes early statistical proof that after reelecting Obama with fewer votes the second time and 1,567 days of his reign of government intervention and stimulation, many Americans are deciding that maybe the Obamas' plans for their lives do not fit their plans for their own lives.

Oh, good grief. Last month Michelle Obama teared up while pushing for more gun control legislation. (VIDEO-AT-LINK) Now this… Michelle Obama told ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ that gun violence has “every single kid worries about their own death every single day.” The Hill reported: First lady Michelle Obama said that students at a high school just five miles from her family’s Chicago home told her that “every day they wake up and wonder whether they’re going to make it out of school alive.” In an interview with “CBS Sunday Morning” that will air this weekend, the first lady said that when...

This was a BLAST! Such a good cause! The Move Your Body and Let's Move campaigns (both supported by the First Lady herself, Michelle Obama!) want you to help all the kids out there to move and stay healthy ! Michelle has done an amazing job, but she doesn't want to do it alone knowing others out there would be more than happy to help! So what does she do?? She enlists the likes of The Wanted, Jessica Sanchez, Carly Rae Jepsen, and PEREZ — among others!! All together we teamed up with the WAT-AAH! Foundation, an organization aimed at...

Okaz, the same prominent Saudi newspaper, that published photos of Abdul Rahman Ali Issa Al-Salimi Al-Harbi in the hospital after the Boston marathon bombings, is now reporting that the Saudi national was also visited by the first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama during his hospital stay. ... In light of recent reports that Alharbi was scheduled for deportation on ‘national security grounds’, the first lady’s visit takes on much added significance if those reports are true. We already know that the Alharbi clan consists of multiple Al-Qaeda members. This would seem to bolster the claims of scheduled deportation,...

The beam from the intruder's flashlight pierced the blackness of the bedroom at 4:45 a.m., sweeping across the down comforter and into Eric Martin's eyes. Outside, the streets of his Utah subdivision lay still and silent. But as Martin rolled to the floor, reached into the nightstand drawer and drew out his 9 mm pistol, the 46-year-old executive's mind raced with calculation: Would this man harm Martin's fiancee or her son? Was an accomplice outside waiting? What if he pulled the trigger and hit the sleeping 8-year-old across the hall?(continued)

First Lady Michelle Obama returned to her murder-plagued hometown Wednesday to make an emotional plea for strengthening US gun laws, saying she too could have been a victim of brutal street violence while growing up. Making a rare direct foray into the domestic policy debate, Obama held back tears as she recalled a young black Chicagoan named Hadiya Pendleton, who was shot dead one week after performing in President Barack Obama's inauguration in January. As she urged lawmakers and city officials to find constructive ways to combat youth bloodshed, Mrs. Obama mentioned how, when attending the 15-year-old's funeral with the...

Today, Allstate CEO Tom Wilson joined First Lady Michelle Obama, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and a coalition from Chicago's business and philanthropic communities to support successful community-based programs that serve at-risk youth. The effort, which is being chaired by Allstate's Chief Executive Officer Tom Wilson and Loop Capital Chief Executive Officer Jim Reynolds, called on Chicago's business sector to raise $50 million to support proven programs that serve at risk youth across the city....

President Obama had another tough week in a second term filled with bad news and blunders — and he’s only 10 weeks in. While the White House suddenly decided to drop its budget Friday in an effort to control the news, there was no covering up the disastrous jobless numbers: 90 million Americans out of the workforce, the highest level since 1979; another 663,000 joining the ranks of the long-term unemployed; a measly 88,000 jobs “created.” But what seems stuck in the craw of a lot of you readers out there was last week’s column on the Obamas’ 1 percent...

CHICAGO — When she returns home here Wednesday to deliver a speech on gun violence, first lady Michelle Obama will be making a rare foray into the politics of the day that could presage a more activist role during her husband’s second term. Obama is taking what aides described as an intentional step outside her narrow focus on military families and childhood nutrition to confront the dark reality of young people being gunned down on the streets of America’s cities. The remarks come amid a contentious debate on Capitol Hill over stricter gun laws advocated by President Obama. White House...

Keep refreshing…Beginning at 6:55pm, watch the PBS taping of a salute to Memphis Soul live from the White House right here. The actual edited show airs on Aprul 16th. The show will use Justin Timberlake as bait for the contemporary audience. But the real reasons to watch are the Stax Records stars who made it onto the lineup including Mavis Staples, Sam Moore, Booker T. Jones– who will sing, which is rare–William Bell, as well as Cyndi Lauper and Queen Latifah. Al Green was supposed to be on the show, but no one could find him. Or they found him...

The state of equality and justice in America is shameful-especially since the election of President Barack Obama. Unlike many of my friends who think America is going to hell in a hand basket, and have given up thinking things will get better for those who've been marginalized for so long, I still have hope for a better day. When Barack Obama was running for President of the United States, a close friend told me, "Mark my word. When Senator Obama is elected, some people will go absolutely crazy, and after he's re-elected, they will go mad!" His rationale was that...

Weatherman domestic terrorist Bill Ayers is now confirming what the White House has previously denied – that he held a fundraiser in his living room for Barack Obama. That 1995 meeting was said to have launched Obama’s political career. In an October 2008 interview on MSNBC host Chris Matthews’ show, Robert Gibbs, a spokesman for Obama’s presidential campaign, categorically denied the fundraiser was ever held. Matthews asked Gibbs: “Did [Ayers] have a fundraiser for [Obama], or not?” Gibbs, who would become the White House spokesman, replied: “No, he did not have a fundraiser for our candidate as he said ten...

Lady Gaga has been named as the most popular women on web. COED Magazine has compiled a list based on Google search results, sporting some surprises-Justin Bieber comes in at No. 7, ABC News reported. The list also includes Washington's famous women like former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at No. 18, first lady Michelle Obama at No. 21 and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at No. 32. Here are the top 50: 1. Lady Gaga 2. Kesha 3. Madonna 4. Beyoncé 5. Rihanna 6. Britney Spears 7. Justin Bieber 8. Miley Cyrus 9. Paris Hilton 10. Avril Lavigne....

What an interesting day in political foot in mouth from the White house. FLOUTS gave an interview to a CBS affiliate WCAX and said she was a, "Single Mother". President Obama flirtatiously called the California Attorney General the best looking in America. California Attorney General Kamala Harris did meet Obama at the Airport and it appears they were happy to see each other. We will be listening for a domestic at 1600 Pennsylvania.

During a gun control speech in Colorado on Wednesday, President Obama said first lady Michelle Obama told him while they were campaigning in Iowa that she’d want a gun for self-protection if she lived in a rural area: “The first conversation was when Michelle came back from doing some campaigning out in rural Iowa. And we were sitting at dinner, and she had been to a big county, a lot of driving out there, a lot of farmland. “And she said, if I was living out in a farm in Iowa, I’d probably want a gun, too"....

President Obama felt the heat Thursday after calling a powerful female official smoking hot. And as luck would have it, he made the unfortunate comment on the same day his wife — remember her, tall lady with the midlife bangs? — mistakenly referred to herself as a single mother. But back to the Prez and his very male salivary glands: “She also happens to be by far the best looking attorney general in the country,” Obama said of California’s Kamala Harris during a fund-raiser. The unexpected comment ruffled the feathers of some observers and caused a commotion on social media...

A Political Action Committee (PAC) launched this week to support bearded candidates, according to paperwork filed Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The Bearded Entrepreneurs for the Advancement of a Responsible Democracy (BEARD) was founded by 30-year-old Jonathan Sessions, who sits on the Columbia, Mo., Board of Education, according to his website. “With the resurgence of beards in popular culture and among today’s younger generation, we believe the time is now to bring facial hair back into politics,” Sessions said in a statement. “We haven’t had a bearded major party candidate run for president since Charles Evans Hughes ran...

We’ve heard about the government spending $1.5 million to determine why most lesbians are fat and almost twice that much to discover why they are drunks, but a peek under the White House rug shows much more willful waste of our money. Barack Obama is arming Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood so they’ll be able to defeat our ally Israel in the next Middle East war. He gives the PLO hundreds of thousands of our money each year as well. King Barack has eaten through $1.4 BILLION in happy lifestyle spending on him, Mooch and their royal highnesses. $505,000 of our tax...

During an interview with Michelle Obama, the host of Entertainment Tonight asked her how she felt having a husband who was a “sex symbol” similar to former Presidents JFK and Bill Clinton. “He’s got a little swag,” Obama admitted with a smile. “That’s OK, I’m proud of him.” Obama further flattered her husband, noting that he was “a stylish man who is healthy and he’s smart and he’s passionate and he’s inspiring” “Who wouldn’t fall in love with that?” she asked. “You know? It’s OK.”

ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT: [Jackie Kennedy] was also one of the first to have a president -- husband -- who is kind of a sex symbol. Like, people used to look at JFK, 'Oh, he's sexy.' And then it was Bill Clinton, and now it's your husband, Barack Obama is looked upon by women across the country as a sex symbol. What do you think? MICHELLE OBAMA: He's got a little swag, you know. ...

At a "workshop" for the film 42 in the State Dining Room of the White House, First Lady Michelle Obama told the assembled guests that "this is your house, too." "I want to make sure that you all know how welcome you are here in this house, because the truth is we do these things -- we make sure that we do these workshops so that you all know that this is your house, too," Obama told the guests. "So we want you to make yourselves at home. We want you to feel good and relaxed and learn and ask...

*Barf alert* The host of Entertainment Tonight asked her how she felt having a husband who was a “sex symbol” similar to former Presidents JFK and Bill Clinton.

By Stephanie Condon / CBS News/ April 3, 2013, 10:53 AM Michelle Obama: It's "OK" president is a sex symbol Asked by Entertainment Tonight about her husband's status as a "sex symbol," first lady Michelle Obama says she understands the attraction. "He's got a little swag, you know. That's OK," Mrs. Obama said in the Monday interview, conducted at the White House Easter Egg Roll. "I mean, I'm proud of him. He's a stylish, I think, man who is healthy and he's smart and he's passionate and he's inspiring. And who wouldn't fall in love with that, you know? It's...

Dozens of D.C.-area students were invited for a frank conversation about race Tuesday at the White House with Michelle Obama, Harrison Ford, and other members of the cast and crew of "42," the soon-to-be-released film about Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball. "I know I was mad just watching the movie," the first lady told the 80 students assembled in the State Dining Room, as Robinson's widow Rachel, who is 90, sat behind her. "It would have been easy for them to get mad or to give up. But instead, they [met] hate—they met hatred...

April 1, 2013 FLOTUS’s attempt to turn Easter Egg Roll into ‘Let’s Move’ event backfires Molly C. Braswell Oops! First Lady Michelle Obama’s attempt to turn the 135th Annual Easter Egg Roll into another one of her “Let’s Move� events backfired when the kids in attendance announced that they liked spaghetti and meatballs more than peas and broccoli.Her first mistake was choosing (or allowing someone in her office to choose) the children’s book “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” by Judi Barrett for the reading part of the event. “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,� for those of you not...

Michelle was caught cheating on her expense report. What a show of arrogance! This information was obtained by Judicial Watch March, 2012. The administration had to be sued to get this through the FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. Michelle Obama listed daughters as ‘Senior Staffers’ to justify her expensive African vacation and safari. October 5, 2011, Judicial Watch said the U.S. Air Force provided a C-32 ( a Boeing 757 ), modified by the military for the purpose of flying big-wigs around the world, to fly the First Lady and her entourage to and from Africa , at a cost of...

Culture challenge of the week: Easter makeoverOn Easter Monday, the White House will host its annual Easter Egg Roll. Before you applaud the Obamas for maintaining the traditional celebration, consider how things have changed. This year’s theme (Why does Easter Monday demand a “theme” apart from Easter itself?) is “Be Healthy, Be Active, Be You!” Yes, that’s right. The Egg Roll, an event that has been around for 135 years, acknowledging Easter’s importance in the cultural and religious lives of our people, has been reduced to a physical fitness promotion, with Michelle Obama as the Richard Simmons-style cheerleader. This year’s...

In the first three months of her husband’s second term, Michelle Obama has made a splash as fashion icon, entertainer, cover girl. Her “The Evolution of Mom Dancing” video with Jimmy Fallon has racked up 15.3 million views on YouTube, and she’s back on the cover of the sartorial mag Vogue. But if this makes people think she’s settling for “soft power,” avoiding the tough issues — recent moves have shown this isn’t so. To the first lady’s conventional issues — healthy food, exercise and military families — add violence against youth. On April 10, she will attend a youth...

First came the bangs. Then a comedy sketch on NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Next, her unexpected presentation of the Oscar for Best Picture. Now, in April, she graces the cover of Vogue magazine, for the second time. Do we need any more confirmation of Michelle Obama’s apotheosis? Some of the intense interest in the first lady may be owing to the fact that she is now inviting it. The second term of her husband’s presidency gives her increased freedom to be herself, notes Jennifer Lawless, director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University in Washington, D.C....