Members of the Senate Commerce Committee expressed outrage Tuesday over the recent safety problems in a variety of Toyota models. But Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) wasn't one of them. On the contrary, Begich said that his Toyota is "a good car," and he's, "very happy about it."

During a hearing on the Toyota vehicle recalls, Begich told his colleagues that he drove his Toyota Highlander hybrid from Alaska to the nation's capital last summer, a distance of more than 5,000 miles which took him 19 days to complete.

Begich said that despite the recently discovered problems with a variety of Toyota models, "I'm here in one piece, and that's great. It's a good car, and I'm very happy about it."

According to Begich's press secretary, Julie Hasquet, there's more to this story. Hasquet told ITK that Begich was accompanied on the three-week road trip by his wife and their seven year-old son, Jacob. The family stopped at national parks along the way, but as any parent knows, three weeks in the car with your kid could try even the most patient mom and dad.

The trip had special family significance for the senator, whose father, former Rep. Nick Begich (D-Alaska), served in the House in 1971 and '72 before his plane crashed in Alaska in 1972. Every summer, Mark Begich's parents would load their six kids into a station wagon and drive around the lower 48 states, visiting national parks. 

Begich isn't the only member of the upper chamber to have made a road trip recently: Newly-elected Sen. Scott Brown's (R-Mass.) drove his truck 400 miles from Boston to Washington, D.C. last month before he was sworn in.

After an extensive meeting with Argentine President Christina de Kirchner, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took time during a press conference to go over one issue they hadn't covered: the upcoming World Cup of soccer, which will be played this summer in South Africa.

Clinton wished the soccer-crazy country good luck in the quadrennial tournament, but she had to watch her words. The United States will field a team, as well.

"Argentina doesn't need it, but we wish your team good luck," Clinton said, acknowledging her South American host's traditional strength in the sport. But there was a caveat.

"Unless, of course," she quipped "you play the United States."

The most widely viewed sporting event in the world, the FIFA World Cup begins June 11. Celebrations were held Tuesday in Durban, South Africa, to mark the start of a 100-day countdown to the tournament.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs lost another bet on Sunday with Canada over Olympic hockey. The question is, when's he going to pay up?

Gibbs showed up for the daily press briefing Monday in a suit and a purple tie, notably not the Canadian hockey sweater he promised his Canadian counterpart he would wear to a briefing should Team USA men's hockey lose to Team Canada, which they did, 3-2 in overtime.

Gibbs said he is in the process of acquiring the sweater, following what he called a "fabulous game."

Gibbs had better hurry: he has two weeks to wear the jersey, which he has to keep on for at least the first 15 minutes of a daily briefing in front of the cameras.

Apparently our neighbors to the North are watching closely. "Trust me, the Canadians have kept in close contact," Gibbs joked.

When asked what size jersey he might be wearing, Gibbs deadpanned: "Im definitely a medium. Can't you tell?"

H/T: Sam Youngman

Being from New Mexico, Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D) loves green chiles, the state's most famous culinary export. Now, thanks to his efforts, the rest of the Senate can enjoy them, too.

March will be "Green Chile Month" in the Senate cafeteria, and according to the Albuquerque Journal, Bingaman (pictured at left here, with a constituent) has been working with Senate chefs and the Department of Agriculture to develop two dozen green chile recipes that will be served throughout the month.

Congressional staffers should be on the lookout for grilled salmon with green chile rub, green chile chicken enchiladas, and grilled corn with green chile butter. Those who prefer the more mature (and hotter) version of the green chile should be sure to try the red chile barbecue ribs.

President Barack Obama's photo is being used to promote a marijuana gala in Los Angeles, and according to the gossip site TMZ.com, organizers have photo-shopped Obama's image to make it look like he's smoking pot. 

The poster features a person with dreadlocks lighting a joint that's been superimposed into the president's mouth. The words "Get Medicated California" and the number "420" are also written on the image, which looks nothing like Obama's official portrait, shown here, but which you check out on TMZ's website.

The April event is being billed as a celebration of the president's first year in office and the Justice Department's decision not to raid medical marijuana stores, which are legal under California state law.

And while it's not technically illegal to use the president's image for commercial purposes, the White House strongly disapproves of the practice, and this case is no exception.

Last month, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals took down billboards featuring an unauthorized photo of First Lady Michelle Obama after the White House complained. 

(Image courtesy of TMZ.com)

President Barack Obama's recent physical revealed two weak spots, his cholesterol level and his ongoing "smoking cessation efforts."
 
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs pointed to the campaign diet and too many desserts from the White House kitchen as likely triggers for the high cholesterol. "Look, those guys make good desserts over there [in the White House kitchen]," he said, and "if it's available, you're more likely to eat it."

Gibbs said he joked with Obama aboard Marine One while returning from the physical that the president should probably "push away from the table when the pie [comes]" more than he has in the past year.
 
Gibbs also ribbed the White House press corps, which has he said overestimated how healthy Obama's diet is. "You guys thought he walked around carrying arugula in his pocket to snack on."

Whether he's eating lettuce or lemon meringue pie, one thing's certain, Obama has remained slender, which may have something to do with his second weak spot: smoking. Obama is still struggling to quit, said Gibbs, and while he chews nicotine gum to help ease cravings, the president "occasionally falls off the wagon."

Asked whether the stress of how his first year in office might be hindering Obama's efforts to quit, Gibbs said, "I can't imagine that helps."

H/T: Sam Youngman

Momentum was growing Monday afternoon on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to roast GOP Sen. Jim Bunning (Ky.) for his decision to filibuster an extension of unemployment benefits that enjoyed bipartisan support.

On Twitter, the barbs were usually framed as clever quips, all fewer than 140 characters, portraying Bunning as a villainous character unsympathetic to the plight of the unemployed.

One frequently re-tweeted message reads, "I wonder if Bunning is going to get a nap tonight. He's sleeping on a pillow of shredded unemployment checks."

Another suggests, "Local supermarkets should start renaming Ramen noodles 'Bunning Soup.'"

By 7 p.m. Monday night, "Sen. Jim Bunning" was ranked the #8 most popular (or unpopular, depending on how you look at it) topic in America among Twitter's tens of millions of daily users. In the time it took to write this, he had moved up to #7.

It appeared the frustration was expanding beyond the web and into Bunning's Senate office. A 6:45 p.m. call to Bunning's main office telephone line resulted in a voice mail message informing the caller that, "The mailbox belonging to Sen. Jim Bunning is full. Goodbye."

It didn't take a psychic to tell ITK that Dionne Warwick would appear on Capitol Hill Tuesday. Just a press release.

The Grammy-winning artist and host of the popular "Psychic Friends Network" infomercials in the 1990s will be lobbying in support of the Performance Rights Act (PRA), which seeks to guarantee that musicians get paid when their songs are played on the radio.

The issue is understandably important to Warwick, who recorded dozens of Billboard chart hits during a musical career that spanned more than three decades, including classics like "Walk on By," which still gets plenty of radio airplay today.

This is Warwick's second visit to Capitol Hill on behalf of the PRA, and she'll help kick-off the performers' rights group MusicFIRST's 2010 campaign.

"Dionne has been involved with MusicFIRST since the beginning, and she came to Washington more than a year ago to raise awareness [of the issue]," a MusicFIRST spokesman told ITK. "Now that we've moved the Performance Rights Act through both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, we're gearing up to take things to the next level."

MusicFIRST will also launch a new TV ad at the event, but the details are hush-hush. There were, unfortunately, no psychics available at press time.

On Tuesday evening in Rayburn, listen for the sounds of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington as they sing a proverbial "Hallelujah!" to celebrate the official enactment of D.C.'s equal marriage law, part of the entertainment at a reception hosted by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.).
 
On a more somber note, after a week of moving eulogies and personal recollections by his House colleagues, there will be a final tribute to the late Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) at 11 a.m. Wednesday in Statuary Hall.