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A newly discovered species of lichen — a plant-like growth that looks like moss or a dry leaf — has been named after President Obama. Kerry Knudsen, lichen curator of the University of California, Riverside Herbarium, discovered the species in 2007 while doing a survey for lichen diversity on Santa Rosa Island in California. "I named it Caloplaca obamae to show my appreciation for the president's support of science and science education," he said. "I made the final collections of C. obamae during the suspenseful final weeks of President Obama's campaign for the United States presidency."

The presidential election is coming to the small screen. HBO will make a film based on the landmark 2008 election, featuring larger-than-life political characters like Sarah Palin, John McCain and President Barack Obama, the network announced this week. The film will be based on the book "Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime," by Time magazine editor-at-large Mark Halperin and New York magazine political correspondent John Heilemann.

Hoekstra: Obama deserves credit for rescue Blocked site, link only: http://www.freep.com/article/20090413/NEWS15/90413030/1008/NEWS/Hoekstra++Obama+deserves+credit+for+rescue

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and his family are celebrating Easter at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House.

Edward Norton and his Class 5 Films are prepping to shop a feature documentary about the historic presidential campaign mounted by Sen. Barack Obama.

If State Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) has his way, a portion of Interstate 20 in Dallas County will be renamed the "President Barack Obama Freeway," 1200 WOAI news reports. West's bill was introduced in conjunction with fellow Dallas Democrat John Carona, who heads the senate Transportation Committee. West's measure attempts to bypass current laws which state that Texas freeways are named only in honor of 'deceased people,' and only people who 'were significant in the state's history, or in the lives of people in this state.' Opponents, like Laura Elizabeth Morales of the Young Conservatives of Texas, joked that any...

During the G20 Summit in London, US President Barack Obama bowed to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. The mainstream TV and print media in the US have not produced any stories of this event. Coverage of this story has been limited to blog sites and non-US news outlets.

Who ever imagined that in the year 2009, the President of the United States and the protesters who sought to disrupt the G-20 Summit would actually agree on something? “Capitalism is immoral” was one of the phrases scrawled on several of the banners carried outside the summit meetings this past week. And although he has never said this in so many words, indeed President Obama would seem to be in lock-step with that assertion, or at least with the sentiment that the assertion entails. But whether you’re a protester or the President, to assert (or even to simply “imply,” as...

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PRESIDENT OBAMA:Extended cheers and applause. Hey! Thank you! Thank you so much. Good afternoon. Bon apres-midi-cheers, applause {cut} We also know that the pollution from cars in Boston...are melting the ice caps in the Arctic. {cut} And the United States certainly shares its - shares blame for what has happened. {cut} ...there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive. {cut} I've sent a clear message to the leaders and peoples of Iran.. And it is in that spirit that America and Europe must reach out to the vast majority of Muslims in our nations,...

At the top of the 3:00PM EST hour of live coverage on MSNBC, anchor Norah O’Donnell and Politico executive editor Jim VandeHei were practically tripping over themselves declaring Barack Obama the "rock star" of Europe in the wake of the G-20 summit. O’Donnell began by asking: "Can we gauge this meeting as a success?" VandeHei replied: "I think early indications are it probably was a big success...I think they'll hail that as a big success. I think the fact that he's just been greeted like such a hero overseas...and I think that that press conference will probably get a pretty...

It's obvious the camera loves President Barack Obama. But are American audiences growing tired of his seemingly ubiquitous TV appearances? This week alone, the president was on "60 Minutes," held a prime-time press conference (networks reluctantly bumped "American Idol" and "The Biggest Loser" to make room for it), and answered viewer questions at his first-ever online town hall meeting. And all this is in addition to ESPN’s sporadic updates on how his NCAA bracket is doing. The New York Times columnist Gail Collins put it this way: "…there appear to be only two constants in our ever-changing world. One is...

President is couple’s economic stimulus For a year, Roy and Bell Brown ran two mall kiosks —- one devoted to Jesus paraphernalia, the other to all things Barack Obama. But when the chance came to expand into a storefront at the North DeKalb Mall recently, the couple decided to settle on a single theme. The devout Christians relied on their customers to help make the choice. Sales of their religious wares were lagging behind those of the Obama merchandise. So, two weeks ago, the Obama Zone was born. Situated at the edge of the food court in the shopping mall...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) said Wednesday that Republicans shouldn’t oppose President Obama as a reflex and should praise him when he succeeds. Speaking at the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s (NRSC) spring dinner, Romney was thick on criticism of Obama, but also said Republicans shouldn’t root against the man Romney might well face in the 2012 presidential election. After offering a few choice words for Obama’s early conduct in office, Romney suggested it’s OK to hope things go well under the new president. “I also think its important for us to nod to the president when he’s right,” Romney...

CNN correspondent Alina Cho loaded the regal language into her report on Wednesday’s American Morning about Europe’s “apparent love affair” with Michelle Obama. Besides the obligatory Jackie Kennedy references, Cho gave a preview of the first lady’s tea with Queen Elizabeth II: “On today’s schedule: tea with the queen, and insiders say the queen and America’s queen bee will be fast friends.” The correspondent even compared Mrs. Obama to Princess Diana. She also referred to the Obamas as the “royal family of the United States.” Cho began her report by hyping the first lady’s popularity, how it apparently isn’t exclusive...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Tens of thousands of Americans, from teenagers to baby boomers, soon will get a fresh chance to lend a helping hand in a time of need after Congress voted Tuesday to expand ways for people to serve the country and each other. The House voted 275-149 for a $5.7 billion bill that takes ambitious steps on public service, including tripling the number of positions in the Clinton-era AmeriCorps program, its largest expansion since the agency's creation in 1993, and establishing a fund to help nonprofit organizations recruit and manage more volunteers. Congress was sending the bill to...

A strong sense of civic duty, coupled with a weak economy, is leading many college students to national service as a way to earn money for school while giving back to their country. This comes at a time when President Obama has renewed a call to service for all Americans, an “all hands on deck” approach to solving many of the systemic problems our country faces. When he signs the Serve America Act into law, which was recently passed by Congress with incredible bipartisan support thanks to groups like Georgetown’s chapter of ServeNext, young people will face unprecedented opportunities to...

On Sunday’s CBS 60 Minutes, commentator Andy Rooney read from some viewer letters: "It's always fun to read the letters people send, I get a lot of them, although, to be honest, if I took all the letters seriously I wouldn't ever say anything again. I get quite a few bad letters and, of course, I pay least attention to those. I don't want you to see me cry." Some of those "bad letters" came from viewers who criticized Rooney’s and the media’s pro-Obama bias: "Thomas Overley writes from Oceanside, California. He's mad because he thinks I like President Obama....

First daughter-wannabe Meghan McCain thinks Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is “cute” - but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to be Leader of the Free World! “You know, I think Colin Farrell is cute, too. I just don’t necessarily think he should run a country,” Sen. John McCain’s daughter, 23, told the Track yesterday during a campaign stop at Boston College. “I think (Obama) is a very formidable candidate and I have nothing but respect for the opposite team,” she added. “I think there has to be respect between us.”

LAKEVILLE, Minnesota (CNN) – John McCain heard boos at a town hall meeting Friday night after the Republican presidential nominee called for the crowd to be more respectful towards rival Barack Obama. “We would like you to remain a true American hero,” an elderly military veteran told him. “We want you to fight.” “I will fight, but we will be respectful,” McCain said. “I admire Senator Obama and his accomplishments and I will respect him.” When the crowd began to boo, McCain told them “No, no. I want everyone to be respectful.”