Vice President Joe Biden's son, Beau, was hospitalized in
Delaware on Tuesday.
Beau Biden, the Democratic attorney general
of Delaware, was hospitalized for undisclosed reasons.
"Delaware
Attorney General Beau Biden is at Christiana Medical Center undergoing
treatment at present," the vice president's office said in a statement.
"He is alert and awake, and communicating with his parents and his wife,
who are with him. We will provide more details as they become
available."
Vice President Joe Biden Tuesday said he did not replicate the
same well-known verbal gaffe with Elena Kagan that he did with President
Barack Obama.
At the signing ceremony for the then-healthcare
bill in March, Biden whispered in Obama's ear and said "this is a big
f---ing deal."
The comment was picked up by a live mike and
quickly became a political catchphrase.
Biden also whispered
in the ear of Solicitor General Kagan after Obama officially named her
his pick to replace Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court.
"It
was totally appropriate, and I said, 'You did a great job,'" he said on
ABC's "Good Morning America."
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) made a crack about
Arizona's new anti-illegal immigration statutue during a commencement
speech at Emory University in Atlanta Monday.
"I was also going to
give a graduation speech in Arizona this weekend," Schwarzenegger said,
according
to the Sacramento Bee. "But with my accent I was afraid they
would try to deport me."
Baseball fans may want to sit tight before making reservations to attend the 2011 All-Star Game in Phoenix, Ariz.
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) on Monday called on the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) to boycott next year's All-Star Game.
In a letter, Menendez explained that his opposition is in response to Arizona's controversial new immigration law, which he believes is unjust.
"Imagine if MLB fans — many of whom are Hispanic — were subjected to that same type of interrogation if they were to attend the All-Star Game," Menendez said in a statement. "That would truly be an embarrassment and an injustice, not only to MLB, but to the values and ideals we hold as Americans."
The MLB players union opposes the new law, but executive director Michael Weiner has yet to describe what type of action he would take against it. "If the current law goes into effect, the MLBPA will consider additional steps necessary to protect the rights and interests of our members."
Menendez isn't the first lawmaker to protest the location of the 2011 All-Star game in recent weeks: Rep. José Serrano (D-N.Y.) has already called on the league to move the site of the game.
Julian Lennon, son of Beatles legend John Lennon, will perform his new song this week at a dinner honoring Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii).
The Wednesday dinner will benefit the Lupus Foundation of America, and awards will be presented to Inouye, Ted Turner, and Human Genome Sciences/GlaxoSmithKline. Two popular Democratic lawmakers will do the presenting: Reps. Jim Moran (D-Va.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
The new song, “Lucy" will be performed by Julian Lennon and James Scott Cook, who are the co-writers.
"Lucy" was written in memory of one of Julian Lennon's closest childhood friends, Lucy Vodden, who died of Lupus.
But this isn't the first song Lucy Vodden has inspired: The classic Beatles tune "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" was written by Julian's father, John Lennon, after he saw a drawing Julian made of his friend Lucy when they were pre-schoolers.
If you weren't a guest at a politically plugged-in wedding this past weekend, then you might not be as well connected as you think. Eight influential political couples tied the knot. Here's a recap:
Topping the list in the prestige department was White House Deputy Press Secretary Jen Psaki's wedding to Rep. Steve Driehaus's (D-Ohio) chief of staff, Greg Mecher (pictured here with his bride). The ceremony was held on the Chesapeake Bay, and First Lady Michelle Obama's spokeswoman, Katie McCormick-Lelyveld, was among the bridesmaids.
Halfway across the country, but equally A-list, was the wedding of former George W. Bush letter-writer Amanda Aulds, who works for the Barbara Bush Foundation, and David Sherzer, who serves as a spokesman for the 43rd president.
Held at the Dallas Arboretum, the ceremony and reception were attended by a rare set of VIPs: former President George H.W. Bush and his son, former President George W. Bush, as well as both of their spouses.
A few miles away from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Naomi Seller, a lawyer for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, married Eric Columbus, a senior member of the Deputy Attorney General's staff, at the River Farm, Va. Columbus made headlines this year when Liz Cheney revealed that he was one of seven Justice Department lawyers who had represented Guantanamo Bay inmates.
A popular member of the Fourth Estate, ABC News producer Jason Ryan (son of legendary local weatherman Bob Ryan) got hitched to Bechtel manager Catherine Hunt.
Also in Washington, JBG associate Quinn Rounsaville married teacher Megan Lucey. Rounsaville's dad, John Rounsaville, was a longtime partner at WilmerHale.
Former Sen. David Karnes's (R-Neb.) daughter, Kalen, married Chris Strickland, and former Rep. Jim Coyne's (R-Pa.) daughter, Katherine Coyne, became Mrs. Ryan Coyle.
Closer to Capitol Hill were the nuptials of Elizabeth Bellis, the daughter of House Legislative Counsel senior staffer Doug Bellis. Elizabeth married environmental lobbyist Josh Wolfe.
ITK congratulates the newlyweds. Despite a viciously partisan climate, It's nice to see that love still blooms in D.C.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs shared a photo Monday
of President Barack Obama informing Solicitor General Elena Kagan that
he's chosen her to serve on the high court.
Normally it's White House correspondent Helen Thomas who asks all the questions. But the seasoned reporter traded places on Friday with Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) at the lawmaker's annual Ultimate Women's Power Lunch in Chicago, where Thomas was the guest of honor.
Schakowsky, who chairs the Congressional Women's Caucus, interviewed Thomas before a crowd of more than 1,500 supporters, and the lawmaker told ITK that the correspondent, who turns 90 later this year, "outlasted" her all day. Luckily, Thomas shared her secrets.
"I asked her how she does it, what keeps her going every day," Schakowsky said, "and she had the best answer: She told me, 'Being angry keeps me strong.'"
The annual fundraiser was a long day for both women. "Helen showed up at about ten," Shakowksy said, "and pre-signed copies of her book all morning. Then, when it came time for the interview program, I figured she'd want to sit down. But oh, no, she wanted to do the interview standing up."
Thomas's fifth book, "Listen Up Mr. President: Everything You Always Wanted Your President to Know and Do," was released last fall.
Schakowsky recounted a couple of Thomas's memorable responses to her questions: "I asked her about whether she'd ever felt intimidated by a president, and she answered with a firm 'no.' She told me, "They work for us, and it's their job to answer my questions, because I pay their salaries."
As for how Thomas felt about breaking journalism's glass ceiling, Schakowsky recalled, "She said to me, 'My parents were from Lebanon, and illiterate in English, so no one ever told me it was a man's world.'"
Schakowsky left the lunch at about 3:15 p.m., and she said, "Helen was still there, signing books, and I just thought, 'Wow.'" Schakowsky gushed, "She's so awesome!"
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) was uncharacteristically speechless when ITK asked if he had a response to former Vice President Dick Cheney's recent comment that telling Leahy to "go f**k yourself" in 2004 was "kind of the best thing I ever did."
Given the chance to respond to Cheney's April 22 remark on Dennis Miller's radio show, Leahy paused at the ornate front doors to the Senate chamber, sighed, and waved his hand away in a shoo-ing motion. The 35-year senator took a few more steps, paused and swiveled to return, but waved his hand again in a dismissive motion and entered the chamber beyond a point where reporters are allowed.
The Leahy-Cheney incident grabbed headlines in 2004, during a "class photo" event in the Senate, when Cheney made the remark to a surprised Leahy in return for Leahy's criticism at the time of oil firm Halliburton's activities in Iraq. Cheney is a former Halliburton top executive.
Leahy showed a sense of humor about the incident in 2007, telling one senator who was about to be sworn in to office by Cheney that "it's always better to be sworn in than to be sworn at."
