Free Republic

NEW ORLEANS — Chaka Khan is more than angry. Instead of getting to rest before her show at the Louisiana Superdome, the R&B star has been booked for two speaking engagements. She’s holed up in her hotel suite, fuming. Outside, her assistants are waiting for her to open the door. Her makeup artist, Derrick Rutledge, is waiting, too. He just flew in to do her after working on Michelle Obama in the East Wing. After New Orleans, he’s scheduled to fly out to do Oprah Winfrey before returning home to Washington. But first Rutledge has to persuade Khan to open...

Billed as part of first lady Michelle Obama’s “Joining Forces” initiative for military families — and perhaps as a way to woo average American voters — Mrs. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden’s wife, Dr. Jill Biden, will serve as Grand Marshals of the November 20 season-ending NASCAR Ford 400.

A magician named John Cassidy—world record holder for "most balloon sculptures made in one hour"—visited Michelle Obama at the White House last month. She promptly imprisoned him in a latex bubble, while a White House photographer documented her chilling disregard for the civil liberties of balloon magicians.

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<p>WASHINGTON - First lady Michelle Obama is trying to help set a world record for the most people doing jumping jacks in a 24-hour period.</p> <p>An overcast sky and light drizzle didn't stop Mrs. Obama from leading about 400 elementary and middle-school students from Washington, Maryland and Virginia in one minute of continuous jumping jacks on the South Lawn.</p>

Michelle Obama dazzles in New York, wearing diamond bangles by H-Town's Katie Decker That was no ordinary bling on the wrist of First Lady Michelle Obama at the DNC fundraiser in New York Tuesday night. Those fancy diamond cuffs were the creation of 23-year-old Katie Decker, whose namesake jewelry line has been making a serious splash since her graduation from Texas A&M two years ago. --- blah, blah, blah

First Lady Michelle Obama urged young Africans on Wednesday to fight for women's rights and battle the stigma of AIDS, using her husband's "yes, we can" campaign slogan to motivate youth across the continent. Obama is on her second solo trip abroad as first lady to promote issues such as education, health and wellness. But her speech to a group of young women and men at Regina Mundi Church, which played a role in South Africa's anti-apartheid movement, touched on much harder topics: race, discrimination, democracy, and development. Obama, who is traveling with her mother and two daughters, drew on...

Professional event planners choose Michelle Obama as their top choice to walk the red carpet at an event in 2011 in an exclusive reader survey conducted by BizBash, the leading trade media for the event industry. Twenty-five percent of readers chose Michelle Obama over a list of celebrities that included Lady Gaga, Sarah Palin, Angelina Jolie, Kim Kardashian, the Jonas Brothers, and the cast of Jersey Shore.