Former Saturday Night Live comedian Al Franken is officially a U.S. Senator. The Huffington Postreports that Republican Norm Coleman conceded to Al Franken after the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Franken should be certified the winner.
Coleman announced his decision at a news conference in St. Paul, bringing an end to a nearly eight-month recount and court fight over an election decided by only a few hundred votes.
"The Supreme Court has made its decision and I will abide by the results," Coleman told reporters outside his St. Paul home.
Franken, accompanied by his wife, told reporters outside his downtown Minneapolis town house that "Franni and I are so thrilled that we can finally celebrate this victory."
Al Franken says he promises to do his best and work hard. He says he "can't wait to get started." He says he thinks he will be seated early next week. Take a look:
Raw Story reports that President Obama warned in a news conference that the economy will get worse and unemployment will climb over 10%.
In a wide-ranging White House news conference, Obama also said he had no plans for a fresh stimulus package, hoping to give time to see the impact of the 787-billion-dollar economic plan approved shortly after he took office.
"We're still not at actual recovery yet. So I anticipate that this is going to be a difficult, difficult year," Obama said.
"I think it's pretty clear now that unemployment will end up going over 10 percent," he said, explaining it would take time for an economic recovery to translate into job growth.
The jobless rate in the world's largest economy surged to 9.4 percent in May, with the figure shooting to a record high 11.5 percent in the most populous state of California.
"What's incredible to me is how resilient the American people have been and how they are still more optimistic than the facts alone would justify," said Obama, who has largely held onto his high popularity ratings.
The World Bank has also become more pessimistic about the economy. In an indication of how much stress the President is under, he also admitted that he still occasionally falls "off the wagon" in his quest to quit smoking. The President also acknowledged his battle with cigarettes when he spoke before signing the bill to regulate tobacco.
Huge protests were held in Iran today as many supporters of opposition candidate Mirhossein Mousavi believe the election was stolen by current Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The protests turned violent with at least 1 death when he hardline Islamic Basij militia fired on the crowds.
President Obama says the Iranian voters should be heard but he also said diplomacy with Iran should continue. Vice President Joe Biden has also spoken out and says he has "real doubts" about the Iran election results. Iran's Supreme Leader has called for a recount in the wake of the large protests. Experts believe this may be the start of a democratic shift in Iran.
President Barack Obama and French President Nicholas Sarkozy are both calling for Iran to not develop a nuclear weapons program. President Obama says that Iran's possession of a nuclear weapon would be "profoundly dangerous" to the entire region and the world. He said if Iran gets a nuclear weapon than many countries in the Middle East are also going to want a nuclear weapon.
Bill Clinton Thinks Dick Cheney Needs More Target Practice
Former President Bill Clinton laughed off a question Wednesday about former Vice President Dick Cheney and his claims that the country is less safe under the Obama administration.
"I wish him well," Clinton told CNN while greeting voters after a campaign stop with Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe. "It's over," he added, apparently a reference to the Bush administration.
"But I do hope he gets some more target practice before he goes out again," Clinton said with a grin before moving along the ropeline.
It's probably not a good sign for your political career if former rivals aren't taking you seriously.
President Obama recently hit the important milestone of having been president for 100 days. So how did the media cover this event? Well, Fox News saw it as the Apocalypse, MSNBC worshipped all things Obama and CNN totally geeked out. Jon Stewart explains:
Former Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius has been confirmed and sworn in as the nation's Health and Human Services Secretary. She comes in right in the middle of a potential swine flu pandemic. President Obama says Sebelius will have to "hit the ground running" to deal with swine flu health emergency. The HHS website can be found here. You can find a list of swine flu resources here.
Top Ten Things Overheard Between Obama and Hugo Chavez
President Obama and Hugh Chavez met and shook hands at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad. David Letterman has a funny Top Ten list about the meeting. Take a look:
U.S. President Barack Obama and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez - a very outspoken critic of the United States - shook hands on Friday at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad. MSNBC's First Read says President Obama "president walked across the room where all the leaders were gathering and introduced himself to Chavez." MSNBC says Hugo Chavez said a few words in English to President Obama but the administration hasn't provided details about the exchange.
Impeached Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich pleaded not guilty to federal corruption charges on Tuesday. Blagojevich has all along denied that he schemed to sell President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat. Blogojevich told reporters that he is innocent of every allegation and hopes to be vindicated in the process. He also says he has not let down the people of Illinois.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates Says Finding Osama Bin Laden Could Take Many Years
Don't expect Osama Bin Laden to be captured any time soon. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates compares the hunt for Bin Laden to the FBI's 17-year long manhunt for the Unambomber.
How long might it really take to find al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden? U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggests the FBI's 17-year hunt for convicted Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski as a reasonable guide.
Or worse still, Gates said on Wednesday, consider the fate of Americans taken hostage decades ago in Lebanon who died before the United States could find and rescue them.
Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, Gates dismissed the notion that something might be amiss because bin Laden and his top lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahri, remain free more than seven years after the September 11 attacks.
"To a certain extent, I think too many people go to too many movies. Finding these guys is really hard, and especially if they have some kind of a support network," he said.
Robert Gages is pretty good at downplaying expectations. He also said, "Everybody continues to look for No. 1 and No. 2. And we will continue that effort and I think everyone's hope is that one of these days, we'll be successful."
Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan once met Vladimir Putin in May 1988 during a visit to Moscow. In the photo above, Reagan was approached by a group of supposed Russian tourists. The tourists were actually KGB members with their families. Radio Free Europe says these "tourists" asked President Reagan about human rights conditions in the United States.
The blonde-haired man in the striped shirt on the far left is Vladimir Putin. Putin was a KGB colonel in 1988. Reagan's photographer, Pete Souza, confirmed this information to NPR in January. Pete Souza is now the White House photographer for President Obama.
Jon Stewart has been taking on the guys over at CNBC; his latest target is the excitable Jim Cramer. Cramer complained that Stewart mischaracterized his remarks, then claimed that he never told his viewers to buy Bear Stearns stock right before it crashed. Stewart did some research and well, you probably know how this one's going to turn out. Take a look:
Saturday Night Live: Michael Steele is Limbaugh-Approved
Every time a Republican criticizes Rush Limbaugh, he then has to retract his statement, grovel and then hold a press conference to say that he and Rush have patched things up. Last night Saturday Night Live did a skit in which RNC chair Michael Steele is electrically shocked every time he says something that's not Limbaugh-approved. Take a look:
Dr. Sanjay Gupta has decided not to take President Obama's Surgeon General offer. He didn't want to have to give up practicing neurosurgery especially with a third child on the way.
"This is more about my family and my surgical career," Gupta told CNN's "Larry King Live."
The neurosurgeon said he would likely have had to give up practicing had he taken the job as the nation's top doctor.
In addition, the 39-year-old and his wife are expecting their third daughter any time, and the government job would have meant long periods away from his family, he said.
"I think, for me, it really came down to a sense of timing more than anything else," he said. "I just didn't feel I should do that now."
It's too bad because he would have been really good at it. He has both the knowledge base and the communication skills.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta has 