Obama urges shift in Russia ties
US President Barack Obama has urged Russia to turn from the past, emphasising the common goals the US shares with its former Cold War rival. He told young graduates in Moscow they were the "last generation" to be born in a "divided world".

In Italy, Obama turns to climate, trade, pope, G-8 - Yahoo! News
ROME – President Barack Obama is embarking on three days of multinational talks about climate change , the global economy and world hunger in the second and most policy-laden stop of his three-nation, weeklong trip. The meetings to begin Wednesday in Italy may lack the intrigue of Obama's sit-downs with Russia 's top leaders earlier this week or the emotion of the reception that the first black American president is likely to receive in Ghana on Saturday. But they won't lack for ambition,...

Democrats Expand Senate Control, Yet Splits Remain
Democrats achieved their biggest majority in the U.S. Senate in decades on Tuesday as Al Franken of Minnesota finally took his seat -- but President Barak Obama will still have to fight hard to muster the votes to pass healthcare reform and other major initiatives. Franken, who won the seat after a 239-day recount and legal battle following last November's election, became the 60th member of the Senate Democratic Caucus. That gives them the potential to clear Republican procedural hurdles,...

President Tries To Put Out Fire From Emanuel's Health Care Remarks
In an effort that seemed designed to appease concerned progressive advocates, President Barack Obama issued a clarifying statement about the administration's commitment to a "public option" for health insurance while traveling in Russia on Tuesday. "I am pleased by the progress we're making on health care reform and still believe, as I've said before, that one of the best ways to bring down costs, provide more choices, and assure quality is a public option that will force the insurance...

Russia interview highlights - FLOTUS more popular than POTUS?
The highlights from President Obama's July 4 interview with ITAR-TASS/Rossiya TV, where he lays out his vision for ... U.S.-Russian relations, critiques his golf game, and finds out why his wife may be more popular in Russia than him: Q And what we in Russia can expect from the new American leader? How you see the role of the Russia in the world? THE PRESIDENT: Well, look, Russia is a great country with an extraordinary culture and extraordinary traditions. It remains one of the most powerful...

US and Russia agree nuclear cuts
The United States and Russia have agreed a deal to cut back their stockpiles of nuclear weapons. US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev reached the agreement during talks in Moscow.

Obama, Gorbachev Meet
U.S. President Barack Obama met former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, the father of Glasnost, Tuesday, the second day of his trip to Moscow. "Then the Gorbachev-Obama meeting was brief, but interesting -- they talked to each other and apparently were interested and said that it would be good to continue communication in the future, and Obama perhaps wanted to meet Gorbachev again in Moscow," Pavel Vashchenko, head of the international relations department at the Gorbachev Foundation, told...

Helen Thomas' Declaration Of Independence!
Who would have expected one of the toughest and most loyal liberals in the media to take on the most liberal president in the history of the United States? In an era in which a television Odd Ball declares that Barack Obama sends a "thrill up and down my leg," nothing but total groveling and surrender is expected from weasels in mainstream media. However, marking the spirit of the Independence Day holiday, Helen Thomas has declared her personal freedom from Obamamania, at least when it comes to...

Obamamania? Not In Russia For Presidential Visit
For once, the adoring crowds were absent as Barack Obama visited Russia this week. Feted in many countries as a global superstar and accustomed to rapturous welcomes when he travels at home and abroad, the U.S. president received a more muted response during two days of talks in Moscow. Instead of cheering crowds lining the streets, Obama's motorcade was greeted with some smiles and waves as it sped through the Russian capital. Most people looked on, showing little reaction. The cooler...

U.S. Calls On Russia To Find U.S. Reporter Paul Klebnikov Killers
A top U.S. official used a visit by President Barack Obama on Tuesday to call on Russia to bring to justice those behind the 2004 murder of American journalist Paul Klebnikov, the editor of the Russian version of Forbes. Klebnikov's death aged 41 provoked international condemnation and his family has repeatedly called on the Kremlin to prosecute his killers. U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns joined several hundred people at a service at Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral marking...

Power of Stimulus Slow to Take Hold
Five months after Congress approved a massive package of spending and tax cuts aimed at reviving an ailing economy, the jobless rate is still climbing and the White House is scrambling to reassure an anxious public that President Obama's prescription for economic recovery is on the right track.

In Georgetown Speech, Obama Offers Cautious Optimism
President Obama today laid out a vision for a new era of U.S. economic prosperity and called on the nation to "get serious" about reforming entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security -- reform that he said starts with overhauling the American health care system.

Obama Renews Support For U.S. Public Insurance Plan
U.S. President Barack Obama renewed his support for a government-run health insurance plan on Tuesday after a top aide indicated the White House might be willing to back a healthcare overhaul that did not include the option. In a statement released while traveling in Russia, Obama strongly endorsed the idea of a public plan and said it was one of the best ways to bring down costs and "force the insurance companies to compete and keep them honest." The option, supported by many Democrats, has...

Obama attending G-8 summit in Italy - Yahoo! News
ROME – President Barack Obama is flying from Russia to Italy today for the G-8 summit of leading industrial nations . Agenda items include global warming , trade, Iran 's nuclear ambitions and food security . On arriving in Rome , Obama will meet with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano (neh-pahl-ih-TAN'-oh). Then it's on to the G-8 summit site in L'Aquila (LAH'-kwee-lah), a central Italian mountain town that was devastated by an earthquake in April. Obama will be greeted there by Silvio...

Officials say tentative stimulus deal reached
WASHINGTON (AP) - Amid stunning new job losses and yet another bank failure, key senators and the White House reached tentative agreement Friday night on an economic stimulus measure at the heart of President Barack Obama's recovery plan. Two officials said the emerging agreement was for a bill with a $780 billion price tag, but there was no immediate confirmation. The tentative agreement capped a tense day of back room negotiations in which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, joined by White...

The Take: Obama Stands to Be Judged on Economic Recovery
Nothing may be more important to public assessments of President Obama's leadership than the state of the economy, and at this point there are political warning lights flashing.

Putin Treats Obama To Russian Breakfast
U.S. President Obama ate a traditional Russian breakfast including smoked sturgeon and caviar at a meeting Tuesday with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Obama and Putin dined on an open terrace at the prime minister's official residence, with some tables outfitted in table linens in the style of classic Pavlovsky Posad shawls, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported. "We have prepared for you a Russian-style breakfast," Putin greeted his U.S. visitor. The menu included smoked sturgeon...

Tax Payer Money Wasted On Michael Jackson Farewell In Los Angeles
Los Angeles, like all major cities in America, is under enormous financial pressure because of the steep recession and President Obama's misguided policies which have only turned the recession into a major depression. Budget deficits have caused the city to layoff teachers and cut back services to citizens, although illegal aliens fare better because many are shielded by Mayor Antonio Villagarrosa, a Mexican national who regards the millions of invading criminals in LA as "family." With all of...

-NewsBusted' 7/07/09
In this episode, “NewsBusted” covers: North Korea, Sarah Palin, Tina Fey, U.S. Marines, Afghanistan, President Obama, EPA memos, global warming,

Honduras Outraged By Obama-Chavez Alliance
I continue to receive messages from Honduran citizens upset at the international media for their distorted coverage of the situation in the Central American country. The people support the ouster of Manuel "Mel" Zelaya, who is considered a puppet of Venezuelan Communist ruler Hugo Chavez. They are mystified that an American president would want to return this Chavez puppet to power in Honduras. One Honduran wrote: "The recent action taken by our Congress is highly supported by several...

Al Sharpton: Michael Jackson made Barack Obama president
Speaking at Jackson’s memorial service, reverend gives singer credit for a more colorblind world.

Sites get record traffic during Jackson memorial
In that first of what's sure to be many online traffic reports to come, MSN is reporting record-setting numbers during Michael Jackson's memorial. According to MSN.com, the site received its biggest traffic spike ever during the Jackson event, with 50% more people watching the memorial than watched Barack Obama's presidential inauguration. The site -- one of many outlets providing a live stream of the Staples Center ceremony (live blog here) -- delivered more than 3 million streams...

Today, We Are All Hondurans
You all know the story to date. Former Honduran president Manuel Zelaya was given the bum’s rush out of Tegucigalpa to Costa Rica by Honduras’ military on June 25th. In the days since, this apparent brutal seizure of power has received worldwide condemnation, most particularly by the Organization of American States, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, Nicaragua president Daniel Ortega, the Castro brothers of Cuba and President Obama. Ya, I know . Bear with me. That’s just the...

DVD Review: -Do the Right Thing' (20th Anniversary Edition)
Director Spike Lee’s third film, “Do the Right Thing,” hasn’t aged a day since its 1989 release. The film’s misguided views on violence were wrong-headed the second it hit theaters. And the election of President Barack Obama surely puts some of the film’s victimization subtext in fresh perspective. But as sheer entertainment, “Thing” remains a blistering experience, the culmination of every one of Lee’s unique gifts as a filmmaker. The...

OK, OK: Turns Out You Guys Really Do Want to Watch Michael Jackson's Funeral on the Web
Looks like I called this one wrong: Earlier in the day, I predicted that Web interest in Michael Jackson’s funeral/memorial would be less than expected because anyone who really cared about this would be watching on TV. Nope. Check out these snapshots of Akamai’s live traffic meters , which I took shortly after 1 pm EDT. They indicate that the Web infrastructure company’s clients are serving up more than 109 million customers per minute–more than they have at any other...