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(AP) Lawmakers have decided against asking presidential candidates who want to be on New Hampshire's primary ballot next year to produce a birth certificate. The House Election Law Committee voted 10-8 yesterday to reject the proposal. -snip- He predicted the proposal may be back next year.

‘That’s enough. That — that’s a show of disrespect to me.” That was Barack Obama, a couple of weeks back, explaining why he was casting the Reverend Jeremiah Wright into outer darkness. It’s one thing to wallow in “adolescent grandiosity” (as Scott Johnson of “Powerline” called it) when it’s a family dispute between you and your pastor of 20 years. It’s quite another to do so when it’s the 60th-anniversary celebrations of one of America’s closest allies. Last week, President Bush was in Israel and gave a speech to the Knesset. Its perspective was summed up by his closing anecdote...

Goodbye, war on smoking. Hello, war on fat.In a span of two months, smoking bans have been imposed in Scotland, enacted in England, Denmark, and Uruguay, proposed by the government of Portugal, and endorsed by the French public. China has banned new cigarette factories. In Virginia, our third most prolific tobacco state, senators voted to ban smoking in nearly all public places. The Arkansas legislature, backed by a Republican governor, passed a similar ban and voted to extend this policy to cars in which a child is present. Tobacco companies have won a skirmish here or there, but always in...

Sean Penn, Snoop Dogg, Jamie Foxx and Danny Glover are among the thousands of mourners expected to turn out for the funeral of executed former gang leader Stanley 'Tookie' Williams early next week.

From the moment the Kerry sisters walked out on stage at MTV’s Video Music Awards, you just knew it wasn’t going to end well. Did you watch this train wreck the other night? First off, the show stunk. No juice. Usually, there’s a ton of wild antics. This time, nothing. No lesbian kissing, no accidental nudity, no storming the stage. It was as if the entire entertainment industry took three too many Valium before the show. That is, until the Kerry sisters -- Alexandra and Vanessa -- took the stage. You know how the rock n’ rap vote is already...

Raise Beer Tax to Reduce Teen Drinking - Report Tue Sep 9, 6:23 PM ET Add U.S. National - Reuters to My Yahoo! By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress and state legislatures should raise taxes on alcohol, especially beer, to discourage underage drinking, advisers to the government said on Tuesday. The Institute of Medicine (news - web sites) and the National Research Council (news - web sites) also recommended more careful advertising of alcohol to ensure children do not get bombarded with pro-drinking messages. "More young people drink alcohol than use other drugs or smoke...

The fattest speaker at a recent conference on obesity was the anti-fat campaigner Kelly Brownell, who never tires of comparing Ronald McDonald to Joe Camel. If pointing to Brownell's gut or his extra chin seems mean, consider how you would feel about a chain-smoking anti-tobacco activist or a slots-playing anti-gambling crusader. Brownell is not the only portly leader of the fight against obesity. John Banzhaf, the George Washington University law professor who is a conspicuous advocate of suing fast food companies, also could stand to lose more than a few pounds. But according to Brownell, a psychologist who heads Yale's...

Police impound weapons sold at Cape mall By JACK PERRY STAFF WRITER HYANNIS - A Cape Cod Mall business owner says the swords and knives he sells are collectible items, sold only for display. Barnstable police say they are dangerous weapons, illegal in Massachusetts. John Horner said he was surprised when police seized nine swords and knives from his business's pushcart earlier this month. Horner and partner Eric Anderson own Jabberwocky, located near the Holidays card and gift store. "I would contend everything they took out of the (display) case was legal," Horner said. "If you walk down the cutlery...