Elizabeth Edwards denied reports on Tuesday that she
wants her daughter Cate to raise her two young children if she succumbs
to breast cancer, which she has been battling since 2004.
A New
York-based tabloid suggested Edwards is grooming 28-year-old Cate
Edwards to raise Emma, 12, and Jack, 10 (all shown here), in the event of her passing.
But Edwards was emphatic that the custody of her youngest children would
pass to her ex-husband, former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.).
“The children would go to John and then, if he died, to Cate. That is
what we always said in our wills,” Edwards told ABCNews.com.
John and
Elizabeth Edwards split after John admitted to a highly publicized
extramarital affair with filmmaker Rielle Hunter. In an interview
earlier this year, Hunter declined to say whether she and Edwards are
still involved romantically.
Cate Edwards lives in Washington,
where she clerks for a federal judge.
The typically jaded congressional press corps was momentarily star-struck on Wednesday when Sir Paul McCartney stopped by the Library of Congress. Billed as a press conference, the late afternoon meeting turned out to be more like a run-in with a crowd of excited fans, who happened to be journalists.
McCartney is in town to receive the third ever Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from the Library of Congress Wednesday, which will be capped off by a star-studded trbute to "Sir Paul" at the White House Wednesday night.
The first reporter to speak asked McCartney for his autograph. James Rosen of Fox News introduced his question by telling McCartney that his five-day old son’s middle name is McCartney. The crowd chuckled at the reporter’s zeal.
Dressed in a sleek black suit, white shirt and a matching black tie, McCartney looked relaxed on the podium, but he grew animated when talking aboutcomposers George and Ira Gershwin.
“I grew up listening to the music of the Gershwin’s brothers. I loved it,” McCartney said. “I had no idea that one day I might be in such a place getting an honor such as this.” He added that knowing how the Gershwin’s music impacted civil rights makes the award more meaningful to him.
McCartney said that he's particularly excited to receive the Gershwin Prize from President Barack Obama.
“I must say I’m a big fan, hes a great guy,” he said, though he added that hes a little nervous “to sing for the prez” tomorrow night.
“Lets face it, this is not our usual crowd,” McCartney said. “Its going to be slightly nerve wracking … the president is going to be three feet away… but we’re going to have fun.”
Andrew Koppel, the 40-year old son of veteran journalist Ted Koppel, died in New York City in the early hours of Memorial Day.
A lawyer by trade, Andrew Koppel was most recently a member of the New York City Housing Authority's civil litigation division, but according to the Associated Press, he resigned from the post in 2008. He was one of four children Ted Koppel (pictured here) had with his wife, Grace Anne Dorney.
The circumstances surrounding Koppel's death are still under investigation. On Tuesday afternoon, Ted Koppel had yet to release a statement.
ITK offers our condolences to the entire Koppel family on their loss.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) had an up-and-down weekend over Memorial Day: a family celebration, followed by his NBA Phoenix Suns falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Western Conference finals.
First up was the graduation of his youngest daughter, Bridget McCain, from high school in Phoenix. McCain posted this photo of the pair on Sunday along with a note, "I'm so proud of my daughter Bridget who graduated from high school today. Congratulations Bridget!!!" (ITK suspects this wasn't the only photo of a parent with their eyes closed that was taken during what was a big weekend for grads).
But the rest of the weekend left decidedly less to celebrate. McCain was in the stands on Saturday night to see the Suns lose their chance to extend their series with the Lakers to seven games.
McCain tweeted throughout the game, addressing the team by their Twitter handle, @PhoenixSuns. He said they "played great up until the end! Great season guys!!"
The Lakers will face the Boston Celtics in the NBA finals.
Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Wisconsin Public Service Commissioner Lauren Azar are ending their 15-year domestic partnership, according to a statement from Baldwin's office.
In 2009, Baldwin (at right) and Azar (at left) were one of the first couples to register their same-sex partnership with the state's domestic partnership registry. The statement said that domestic partnership will be legally terminated.
Baldwin was elected to Congress in 1998 where she became the first openly gay woman in the legislative branch.
According to a spokeswoman, "neither Tammy nor Lauren will have any further public comment on this very private matter."
On a weekend when many lawmakers made their way back to their home districts to begin the Memorial Day Recess, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) stayed in the nation's capital where she was spotted grocery shopping on Monday morning.
Pelosi dashed into the new Safeway in Georgetown accompanied by her security detail, which stood out, according to an ITK tipster, because of their obvious "security-detail-on-the-weekend" duds.
The Speaker was sporting white yoga pants, a white button down shirt, and a baseball cap, and she was zipping through the shop picking up barbecuing supplies and orange roses. "Her detail could hardly keep up with her!" the tipster exclaimed.
Nicknamed the "social" Safeway, on account of the good-looking, young, Georgetown residents who often mingle in the checkout lines, Pelosi was all business in the checkout line.
No word on where she was headed, although the Speaker carried her own grocery bags out to the car.
This isn't the first time the "Social Safeway" has made political news: Senate hopeful Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) received a barrage of criticism from his opponents last month when he was caught attending the gala opening of the newly refurbished branch.
Former Vice President Al Gore and his wife Tipper are separating
after 40 years of marriage, according to media reports.
In
an e-mail to friends, the couple said the move is a "mutual and mutually
supportive decision that we have made together following a process of
long and careful consideration," the Associated Press reported.
Gore served as vice president for President Bill Clinton and
later received the Democratic Party's nomination for president in 2000.
At the Democratic National Convention that year the Gore's
long, on-stage
kiss became an iconic political image.
Since then Al
Gore has been an outspoken advocate for climate change awareness,
winning a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
Tipper Gore has
worked to raise awareness of mental health issues.
When Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) (at right) was toying with the idea of challenging Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) (at left) in a Democratic primary last year, her campaign developed an "oppo book" on the appointed senator, filled with potentially damaging research, according to the New York Daily News.
After the congresswoman dropped the idea of a challenge, former Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) considered taking on Gillibrand. Accorrding to the New York Daily News, Maloney gave Ford the book. Ford ultimately decided to forgo a run.
Maloney's campaign spokeswoman Alix Anfang didn't deny the story to the Daily News, but noted: "Congresswoman Maloney fully supports Senator Gillibrand. She has been a remarkable leader, fighter and a strong partner on the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which they have co-sponsored."
On Tuesday, however, Anfang told The Hill that the paper's story is incorrect. "We did not have an oppo book at all," Anfang said. "And nothing was given." The campaign has asked for a correction to the Daily News story, she added.
A source close to Ford also denied an "oppo book" was ever exchanged. "Maybe she put it in the mail. We never got it," the source said.
