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WASHINGTON, April 24, 2008 – A group of wounded warriors got a presidential send off at the White House today as they launched a three-day bicycle ride to show the world and themselves what they’re still capable of accomplishing. President Bush joined Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon R. England, and the secretaries of State and Veterans Affairs on the South Lawn, heralding the wounded warriors for their service, sacrifice and inspiration. The riders set out on the “White House to Light House Challenge” that will take them from the White...

Suspicious package found at the gates of the White House..press corps being rushed out of the area by SS

"It is a real beauty" - that's President George W. Bush's verdict on the brush cutter he was given by Fredrik Reinfeldt during the Swedish Prime Minister's visit to the White House. In a letter dated June 18th and released to journalists on Wednesday, Bush tells Reinfeldt that he has already put the brush cutter to use on his Texas ranch following the prime minister's visit in May. "Dear Fredrik: I was honored to welcome you to the Oval Office," the president writes. Reinfeldt was slammed by opposition politicians at home for not using the meeting to criticize US policy...

The Prince of Wales was a "most likeable person", President Gaddafi a "mad clown" and Michael Jackson was "surprisingly shy". The private diaries of Ronald Reagan, which are about to be published for the first time, reveal a US president who was worried about imminent Armageddon but who also fretted about how he would handle chopsticks in front of the Chinese. The man who was credited with ending the Cold War reveals that he was "lonesome" when his wife, Nancy, was away and refused to talk to their son, Ron Junior, after he hung up on him. His carefully handwritten...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A 32-year-old woman wielding a machete was arrested Sunday outside the White House, the Secret Service said. Spokeswoman Kim Bruce said Ashwak Saleh was taken into custody and charged with possession of a prohibited weapon after she displayed a 13-inch machete on the sidewalk outside the White House. Saleh was arrested at 2:20 p.m. and taken to Washington Metro Police Department 3rd district for processing. Witnesses said Saleh was sitting on the sidewalk when she pulled the machete out of a leather sleeve and began sharpening it on the edge of the sidewalk. The witnesses said passersby...

A pattern is emerging in pre-trial arguments in the perjury and obstruction of justice case against former Cheney chief of staff Lewis Libby. That pattern is the recurring conflict between the Little Case and the Big Case. The Little Case is the narrow, tightly defined charge that Libby lied to prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's grand jury. For example, did Libby lie when he testified that NBC's Tim Russert "said to me, did you know that Ambassador Wilson's wife…works at the CIA? And I said, no, I don't know that"? Did Libby lie when he testified that, when speaking to journalists about...

They See Al Gore by a Nose in 2008 Is Al Gore coming back? If allies we talked to have their way, the former veep will be the next president. "It's Gore Time," says a political strategist and fundraiser who is opening a bid to get Gore into the race. Gore friends see his recent political and business moves as proof he's preparing to run. Allies say that in speeches, Gore has found his voice to address domestic and world issues. And in raising money for his Current TV network, which targets the critical youth market, Big Al has built...

In the latest Cato Tax and Budget Bulletin, Stephen Slivinski uses revised data released during the summer by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to make side-by-side comparisons of the spending habits of each president during the last 40 years. While the data show that all presidents presided over net increases in spending, George W. Bush is shown to be one of the biggest spenders of them all, even outpacing Lyndon B. Johnson in terms of discretionary spending. An excerpt from the report: "The increase in discretionary spending - that is, all nonentitlement programs - in Bush's first term was 48.5...

MOSCOW, September 6 (RIA Novosti) - The United States does not have a clear policy in dealing with Iran, a Russian expert said Tuesday. "The White House currently has 16 policies regarding Iran, ranging from participation in dialogue to pinpointing strikes against nuclear facilities. This means that the U.S. does not have a reasonable policy regarding this country," said Viktor Orlov, director of the Center for political studies in Russia. Speaking about the EU-Iran talks on the Iranian nuclear program, Orlov said the U.S. is not applying strong pressure on the European Troika, also known as the Big Three. He...

After months of unsuccessful negotiations by European diplomats, Iran's government announced on Aug. 8 that it has resumed work on processing/converting uranium at its Isfahan nuclear facility. Washington and European nations have warned that despite Tehran's assertion that their nuclear project is intended to develop electric power and not weapons, the matter will be brought to the U.N. Security Council to demand economic sanctions if Iran does not halt the program. A showdown between Iran and the West could come in September when the matter is expected to reach the Security Council. Iran insists that as a signatory of the...

The 1,000 megawatt reactor is located in the southwestern Iranian city of Bushehr, a port town on the Persian Gulf. Construction of the reactor began in the 1970s and is near completion. Built and designed by Russian engineers, the facility is worth $800 million. Nuclear fuel for the reactor is also produced by Russians and is awaiting delivery. The U.S. is pressuring Russia to halt nuclear cooperation with Iran, but Russia has already built the reactor and signed a fuel deal. For years, Iran kept its nuclear activities under wraps, so its unprecedented openness comes as a surprise to U.S....

WHITE HOUSE BLASTS WASHINGTON POST -- AGAIN Wed Feb 09 2005 17:25:59 ET For the second time in less than a week, the White House has issued a rare public demand for The WASHINGTON POST to correct high impact stories about the cost of President Bush's domestic initiatives. The POST caved last Thursday after the White House savaged reporter Jonathan Weisman's article on Social Security (“Benefit Cuts Would Offset Contributions”). Not only did the POST run a correction, but Weisman wrote an entire story correcting his earlier account. The bad blood boiled over again today when the POST led its...

When Laura Bush became first lady four years ago she didn't know just how powerful her position in the White House would be. "It took me a while to really realize what podium I had, as Lady Bird Johnson says," Mrs. Bush said, recalling the reaction from women nationwide after she made her first radio address about the women of Afghanistan. "And, I think, you know, you kind of hear and certainly you watch your whole life — I certainly had a very close view of the role of the women in the White House, but it really takes a...

During upcoming confirmation hearings for Attorney General-nominee Alberto Gonzales, senior Democrats want to screen infamous videotapes showing Iraqis being abused at Abu Ghraib prison, top sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT. The curtain is raised Thursday for the Senate Judiciary Committee's showdown with Gonzales. The Bush White House counsel will be grilled about his role in formulating the administration's legal policies on coercive techniques in interrogations -- techniques some Democrats believe led to outright torture! Yet it's the grainy prison videos, shot by a soldier's cellphone and never before viewed by the public, that threaten to turn the New Year ugly:...

A Food & Drug Administration advisory committee raised questions yesterday about the safety and effectiveness of a patch developed by Procter & Gamble to increase the sex drives of women. The committee will present its findings today to a panel of FDA officials. While not binding, the committee's recommendations typically serve as a bellwether for FDA approval. The committee cited a research study that concluded a combination of the hormones progesterone and estrogen increased the risk of heart and breast cancer, and wondered if a different hormone, such as the testosterone used in P&G's Intrinsa patch, would produce a similar...

2004-11-21 Jobs rotate in rumor mill Lieberman key to possible changes for state, local politicians By Fred LucasTHE NEWS-TIMES Joseph Lieberman It's a political rumor with a twist. In fact, several twists, turns and flips. It's a scenario that runs from Washington, D.C., to Danbury City Hall. From the Department of Homeland Security to the Connecticut state Senate.It has local Republicans buzzing, e-mails flying and lukewarm denials rolling off the tongues of intrigued politicians.And it's too good not to share.It goes something like this:Connecticut Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, a Democrat, could be named secretary of the Department of the...

Mohamed Alanssi slid the photos of his once-happy life across the table of a Union Station restaurant. The portrait of his wife with two of his six children. The picture showing the living room of the $1 million home he built in his native Yemen when he was a prosperous businessman. The 1970s snapshot of him as a low-level employee at the U.S. Embassy in Yemen, shaking hands with the U.S. ambassador. But that happiness ended after he made the mistake of becoming an FBI terrorism informant, Alanssi said tearfully in an interview three weeks ago. His cooperation had been...

WASHINGTON -- The Postal Service closed its government mail facility Thursday night while authorities ran tests to determine whether anthrax was detected at the Navy site that handles mail for federal agencies. Postal Service spokesman Azeezaly Jaffer said the V Street mail facility, which has 270 workers, was closed as a precaution. Equipment that routinely monitors the air at the Naval Automated Processing Facility, also located in the District of Columbia, indicated Wednesday the presence of "small amounts of biological pathogens, possibly anthrax," said Rachael Sunbarger, a Homeland Security spokeswoman. That facility receives mail from V Street. After the initial...

<p>A Senate investigation has found no evidence that the Bush administration pressured CIA analysts to tailor their intelligence to suit the White House's views on the threat posed by Iraq. However, the inquiry did find instances where the CIA downplayed intelligence that contradicted Bush's views, according to lawmakers and officials familiar with the probe.</p>

<p>A central figure in the Iran-Contra affair of the 1980s has passed allegations to the Bush administration that $150 million in enriched uranium was smuggled from Iraq into Iran five years ago and some may remain hidden in Iraq.</p> <p>The information was relayed to the administration through a conservative author, Michael Ledeen. And Ledeen is now accusing the CIA of failing to aggressively check the allegation because of a long-held distrust of Manucher Ghorbanifar, a middleman in the Reagan administration's Iran-Contra swap of arms for hostages.</p>

Saudi officials, furious over a congressional report issued last week alleging possible links between Saudi individuals in the government and some of the Sept. 11 hijackers, have requested and been granted a meeting today between Foreign Minister Saud Faisal and President Bush. The hastily scheduled White House visit, which will take place shortly after Bush meets with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, demonstrates the level of Saudi anger and the kingdom's clout with the Bush administration. A key issue in the dispute is that 28 pages of the 900-page report dealing with allegations about Saudi Arabia was entirely classified --...

WASHINGTON Here are three glimpses of one of the most unexamined first ladies in recent history: Laura Bush collected nearly $2 million last month at three fund-raisers for President Bush's re-election campaign, Bush-Cheney '04, and campaign officials expect her to appear at some 20 more. This month, after returning with Mr. Bush from a five-day visit to Africa, she is to go on her annual weeklong backpacking trip to an undisclosed location (the last two jaunts were to Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks) with a group of longtime female friends. She is planning White House literary events, even after she...

WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- The White House announced Tuesday a new interactive forum on its web site where citizens can pose questions to senior White House officials. The new feature, called "Ask the White House," will make its debut Wednesday night at 7:00 PM EST. The public can log onto the new forum at the official White House web site at www.whitehouse.gov/ask. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said, "The interactive forum will allow for a 30 minute question and answer period between any citizen who wants to log on or anybody from around the world who wants to log on,...

<p>The Bush administration is asking Congress to ease environmental laws so 10 million acres of overgrown federal forests can be thinned more rapidly to reduce wildfires.</p> <p>At the same time, the administration is quietly mapping a far more ambitious plan that would bypass Congress: changing agency procedures so such projects can proceed on 190 million acres with far less environmental scrutiny than is now required.</p>