Now that the economy is like totally fixed, it's back to the culture war! Yesterday, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who leads the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he felt betrayed by President Obama's decision to require religious organizations to offer woman birth control without charging them through their insurance. Now the White House is prepared to announce some sort of "accommodation." more ›

Now that the Obama Administration has signaled it will reconsider the requirement to make insurance plans offered by Catholic universities and charities provide women with birth control without charging them, Archbishop Timothy Dolan is happy... for now. He told the Daily News, "I would welcome the fact of the government saying we’re willing to rethink this... The federal government should do what it has traditionally done since 1776 and keep its hand out of the internal workings of the church." more ›

Today, the Food and Drug Administration decided to make Plan B, the morning-after contraceptive, available to everyone and lift the requirement that those under 17 years of age need a prescription. However, Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius rejected the decision, which means access is still restricted. Sebelius's statement says, "The science has confirmed the drug to be safe and effective with appropriate use. However, the switch from prescription to over the counter for this product requires that we have enough evidence to show that those who use this medicine can understand the label and use the product appropriately. I do not believe that [Plan B maker] Teva’s application met that standard. The label comprehension and actual use studies did not contain data for all ages for which this product would be available for use." more ›

The U.S. may not have those "death panels" that Sarah Palin once famously warned about, but we do apparently have a secret panel in charge of making a "kill or capture" list for the executive branch. Reuters is reporting that the panel, a subset of the White House's National Security Council, doesn't have a public record, any laws establishing its existence or guiding rules, and the White House is declining to talk about it. So maybe Ron Paul is onto something? more ›

Just in time for President Obama's lowest approval rating since taking office (39 percent according to Gallup) the Republican presidential race is beginning to heat up! And by "heat up" we mean "crowd the field with über-conservative candidates that think evolution has 'never been proven' and who believe states can just secede from the Union." more ›

Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) has seen the photographs of Osama bin Laden's corpse after U.S. Special Forces raided the Al Qaeda leader's Pakistan hideaway-in-plain-sight and killed him. And Inhofe says they are "grotesque," describing, "Either a bullet, the significant bullet, went through the ear and out the eye socket, or vice versa," and he's generous enough to want everyone else to see dead Bin Laden photographs, too! more ›

This week when President Obama visited Ground Zero, he met with 14-year-old Payton Wall; Wall had written a letter to the President about her father, who was killed on 9/11, and how she had been inspired to share her story by our favorite cyborg Christian pop star, Justin Bieber. And this morning, the President related her moving story while speaking to troops at Fort Campbell. By the transitive properties of inspirational stories, does that mean that President Obama is now a Belieber? more ›

Among the juiciest details released after the successful US operation to kill Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden last weekend was the mention that the military took hard drives from the compound—"10 hard drives, 5 computers and more than 100 storage devices which includes discs, DVDs and thumb drives." Investigators have been poring through those files, and have now revealed that Al Qaeda had been considering attacking the US rail system on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. more ›

Five days after President Obama announced that US forces in Pakistan had successfully located and killed Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda confirmed the death of their leader this morning. They posted a statement on jihadist forums today, which was translated by US monitoring group SITE Intelligence, vowing to avenge his death: "We call upon our Muslim people in Pakistan, on whose land Sheikh Osama was killed, to rise up and revolt to cleanse this shame that has been attached to them by a clique of traitors and thieves who sold everything to the enemies...a curse that chases the Americans and their agents, and goes after them inside and outside their countries." more ›

Well, guess Leon Panetta was wrong: yesterday, there was chatter that the release of photos of a deceased Osama bin Laden was imminent, and CIA director Panetta added to it when he said, "I don't think there was any question that ultimately a photograph would be presented to the public." However, President Obama announced today that he has decided not to release photos of bin Laden's body. "That's not who we are. We don't trot this stuff out as trophies. We don't need to spike the football," he said during a 60 Minutes interview. more ›

Yesterday, President Obama signed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act into law, ensuring that first responders to the September 11, 2001 attacks at the World Trade Center would receive $1.5 billion in health benefits and $2.7 billion in compensation. Obama, who signed the bill from his vacation home in Hawaii, said in a statement that it was an honor to sign the bill, "We will never forget the selfless courage demonstrated by the firefighters, police officers and first responders who risked their lives to save others. I believe this is a critical step for those who continue to bear the physical scars of those attacks." more ›

President Obama really loves playing basketball, but did his fellow players miss the memo about not injuring the Commander-in-Chief? CNN reports, "President Barack Obama received 12 stitches Friday after being inadvertently hit with an opposing player's elbow in the lip while playing basketball with friends and family, according to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. The stitches were administered by the White House Medical Unit." more ›

Two days after reports that North Korea showed an enormous, sophisticated new plant used to enrich uranium to an American scientist, the isolated country fired around 100 rounds of artillery (some reports say 200) at the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong in the Yellow Sea, killing two South Korean marines, according to South Korean media. South Korea fired back and its military is in "crisis mode." more ›

It's the Friday before Labor Day, so here's another story wondering what's up with Mayor Bloomberg's many meetings with White House officials. Basically, it's anyone's guess, but one Bloomberg aide told the Daily News it'd be unlikely that the billionaire would want to be a Treasury official, "Would you want to give up being mayor so you could sit in your office and have Rahm Emanuel's assistant tell you not to say something?" more ›

We adore acerbic Broadway veteran Elaine Stritch, so you can imagine our surprise last night when the 85-year-old star was the top trending Twitter topic in NYC. (If you don't use Twitter, this means a lot of people were buzzing about her.) That's because Stritch, along with Nathan Lane, was performing at the White House for a PBS "salute to Broadway." Stritch has won fans with roles in everything from Albee to Beckett to Sondheim, but last night she reportedly got into a train wreck during her rendition of "I'm Still Here" from from Sondheim's Follies. According to the message board All That Chat, this involved: more ›

Now that longtime White House reporter Helen Thomas has retired (NY Post headline: W.H. crone resigns), there is intense jockeying going on among members of the White House Correspondents' Association over who will get Thomas's coveted, front-row center seat, famous for its ample leg room and proximity to the press secretary. Fox News and Bloomberg News are battling for the chair, and it's unclear how these kids will resolve the dispute without any adult intervention. The fight is further complicated because of rumors that Thomas called "savesies" after her last visit to the press room—unless she taps a door knob three times while hopping on one foot, the chair is still legally hers. more ›

Amazing: Last night, the fameballing couple who crashed the first Obama state dinner were stopped by the Secret Service last night in the vicinity of the White House, where the Obamas' second state dinner was being held. Michaele and Tarez Salahi's limo driver ran a red light and then entered a restricted area. ABC News reports the vehicle was stopped and the driver and occupants were questioned: "A source familiar with the situation says Michaele Salahi was wearing a white mink coat, while Tareq Salahi was in a suit." Still, a DCist commenter imagines that Michaele, who wore a sari to the first state dinner, "was in a Lucha libre outfit, with mask, tights, boots, and cape worn by Jack Black in Nacho Libre." more ›

Last night, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama held their second White House State Dinner, this time welcoming Mexican President Felipe Calderon and his wife Margarita Zavala. After their first State Dinner for India's prime minister was crashed by aspiring reality stars (prompting Secret Service members to be put on leave), security was tight this go around. The AP reports, "At least one woman was turned away for lack of proper ID. Kathryne Mudge said her husband, Arturo Valenzuela, an assistant secretary of state, was supposed to bring the necessary identification. 'My husband is the absent-minded professor,' Mudge said." more ›

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano fired back at accusations that the White House was shortchanging NYC area counter-terrorism funding, telling Rep. Peter King (R-Long Island) in a letter that the NY Times happened to obtain, "We are concerned. that more than $275 million in federal funding for New York City’s port and transit security since 2006 has not yet been drawn down." more ›

The White House wants New Yorkers—like Rep. Peter King and Senator Charles Schumer—to stop freaking out over funding to counterterrorism programs being cut. Because the White House says NYC's funds actually increased... thanks to stimulus money (and no thanks to the Bush Administration). more ›

Why does President Obama hate us so much? And by us, we mean those who live, work and/or visit the city where a car bomb was allegedly placed by a man with ties to the Pakistani Taliban. WCBS 2 reports that the White House has cut funding for counterterrorism in NYC "by $42 million - 27 percent - and for port security by $11.2 million, or 25 percent." Rep. Peter King (R-NY), the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, was shocked, "This is definitely a slap in the face to New York." And maybe Mayor Bloomberg—guess his visit to DC last week didn't make much of an impression. more ›

As part of its World Series Championship victory lap, the Yankees met President Obama yesterday at the White House. With players and Yankees management flanked behind him, the President said,"It's been nine years since your last title, which must have been an eternity for Yankees fans...I think other teams would be just fine with a spell like that. The Cubs, for example." more ›

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the Obama administration has not ruled out trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his alleged terror plotting cohorts in New York City, saying a NYC venue is "not off the table," though the White House has been taking "into consideration the concerns that have been raised by local officials, and by the community in New York City." Hold also pointed out, "The Southern District of New York, for instance, is a much larger place than simply Manhattan. There’s also the possibility of trying the case in other venues beyond New York." more ›

Actor Kal Penn, best known for his role as Kumar in the "Harold & Kumar" stoner movie franchise, is abandoning his post as Associate Director of Public Engagement of this great nation and heading back to the entertainment business. The reason? A very Harold & Kumar Christmas! Penn, a Jersey native, left showbiz in 2008 to campaign for Barack Obama, but is leaving the administration to begin filming the new Christmas-themed movie in June. According to EW, the film should be released in 2011, and the studio is contemplating shooting the film in 3-D. But shouldn't all those delicious burgers be in Smell-O-Vision? more ›

With U.S.-Israel relations very frayed, Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington D.C. this week, delivering a speech at the AIPAC conference (where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also spoke) and meeting with President Obama. However, the White House meeting didn't go very well, if you believe the press from Israel, which has been likening it to a "hazing" and an "ambush." According to the Telegraph, Israel's Maariv newspaper wrote, "There is no humiliation exercise that the Americans did not try on the prime minister and his entourage. Bibi received in the White House the treatment reserved for the president of Equatorial Guinea." more ›

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Michigan) announced his support of the health care bill after President Obama agreed to sign an executive order "reaffirming a ban on federal funding of abortions." Stupak, who had been a holdout over abortion language in the bill, spoke at a press conference—with a half-dozen other holdout Democrats—proclaiming "We’re well past 216 [votes], yes... We’ve always said ... that we were for health care reform, but there was a principle that meant more to us than anything, and that was the sanctity of life." more ›