A number of rock stars will join a veterans group on Thursday in calling for the closure of the United States's military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Former Senator and 2004 Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards (D-N.C.) admitted in a statement to NBC News Thursday morning that he is the father of Quinn Hunter, the now two-year-old child of filmmaker Rielle Hunter, with whom Edwards had an extramarital affair.

The statement reads:

“I am Quinn’s father. I will do everything in my power to provide her with the love and support she deserves. I have been able to spend time with her during the past year and trust that future efforts to show her the love and affection she deserves can be done privately and in peace.

It was wrong for me ever to deny she was my daughter and hopefully one day, when she understands, she will forgive me. I have been providing financial support for Quinn and have reached an agreement with her mother to continue providing support in the future.

To all those I have disappointed and hurt these words will never be enough, but I am truly sorry.”

Little surprise to many in political circles, the news comes more than two years after the affair with Hunter was first reported by The National Enquirer. Since admitting the affair in 2008, Edwards has repeatedly denied paternity of the child, telling news outlets that the "timing" was impossible.

A spokesperson for Edwards's wife, Elizabeth told NBC that she has known the paternity of the child since last summer, and friends said the couple is separated, but they are in frequent contact. Elizabeth Edwards opened a furniture shop in Chapel Hill, N.C. in 2009.

The timing of the statement falls in between the release of two books, both of which paint unflattering portraits of Edwards and his marriage.

The first, "Game Change," released earlier this month, describes vicious fights between the couple during the 2008 presidential campaign. The second, "The Politician," by longtime Edwards aide Andrew Young, will be released in February, and is expected to contain even more details about attempts to cover up the affair. Young claimed at one point  that he was the father of Rielle Hunter's child, ostensibly to cover for Edwards.

Edwards is also undergoing an investigation into whether he used campaign funds to help keep the affair a secret. As the videographer of his presidential campaign, Hunter frequently accompanied Edwards on campaign trips.

Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) is apparently fed up with congratulating collegiate sports teams.

On Tuesday he refused to vote for two resolutions recognizing college athletic champions, one for the UVA Men's soccer team and the other for the Penn State women's volleyball team.

Instead of voting yes to the congressional pat-on-the-back, Oberstar voted "present," first alone, and then accompanied by Rep. John Boccieri (D-Ohio).

Asked why the lawmaker wasn't feeling the love for these teams, spokesman told ITK that Oberstar "felt that these athletes had already earned the respect of their peers and the nation on the playing field."

When it comes to how much respect is enough for a winning team, Oberstar appears to have a bit of a double standard: In June of last year he co-sponsored a resolution to congratulate his alma mater, St. Thomas University's baseball team on their Division III national title.

The alleged White House gate crashers didn't have much to say on Capitol Hill Wednesday, but just one day earlier they didn't hold back, dishing a bizarre accusation at The Washington Post.

Tareq Salahi accused the Post of reporting his and his wife Michaele's attendance at the White House state dinner as a form of retaliation against the couple for unpaid advertising bills.

"If you look at our bankruptcy filing, you'll see that we owed The Washington Post $24,000 for advertising," Salahi told the Loudon Times Mirror. "Because of the bad economy, we could not pay it. The Post retaliated against us by putting that story out there."

Washington Post spokeswoman Kris Coratti told ITK that Salahi's assertion is "not even worthy of a response," although she confirmed that the Post is owed $24,000 by the couple.

Salahi also said he plans to sue the Post for libel, but Coratti was unaware of any contact between Salahi and The Washington Post on this matter.

If Salahi does choose to sue, at least he's got some practice: The Salahis are currently involved in 16 other civil suits, according to CNN.

Comedian and actor Bill Cosby has been spotted around town Tuesday and Wednesday. Cosby was spotted in Friendship Heights this morning while making an appearance at Fox-5 News studios on Wisconsin Ave. He also dined at Georgetown’s Citronelle Tuesday evening.

Sen.-elect Scott Brown’s (R-Mass.) daughters had a very typical “Daaaaad!” moment Tuesday evening during his acceptance speech.
 
The New York Daily News reported Brown, who after accepting office, thanked his wife Gail and daughters Ayla and Arianna for their love and support. Ayla, 21, was an American Idol finalist. Brown, in true fatherly fashion then exclaimed, “Just in case anyone who’s watching throughout the country, they’re both available!”
 

The Virgina couple accused of crashing the White House state dinner last November invoked their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination and refused to answer questions on Wednesday.

Tareq and Michaele Salahi — the so-called "gatecrashers" — refused to answer questions during an appearance before the House Homeland Security Committee amid a criminal investigation of the incident.

"We reiterate that, on advice of counsel, we respectfully invoke our right to remain silent and will decline to answer any questions surrounding the circumstances around the events of Nov. 24, 2009," Tareq Salahi said in his opening statement before a packed committee room full of media and onlookers.

The gatecrashing incident has sparked some partisan infighting among the committee's members. Republicans have argued that White House social secretary Desiree Rogers should come before the panel to testify about changes to protocol that may have allowed the Salahis to gain access to the White House.

GOPers on the committee have said that the White House is blocking Rogers from testifying in order to hide what may have been a gaffe on its part.

"I don't know what the White House is trying to hide. I don't know why they won't allow Desiree Rogers to testify," said the panel's ranking Republican, Rep. Pete King (N.Y.). "It sets the wrong climate and the wrong tone and it is inexcusable."

While most Democrats on the panel stayed mum about Rogers, one centrist Democrat joined Republican calls for Rogers to testify.

"I agree with my Republican colleagues; Ms. Rogers should come and tell the third side of the story," said Rep. Chris Carney (D-Pa.).

U.S. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan previously testified before the panel and took responsibility for the incident on behalf of his agency.

Republican lawmakers counter that a protocol change that made it no longer mandatory for a Secret Service officer to verify the security list at the front gate during official functions could have led to the gatecrashing.

Several lawmakers spent their time taking shots at the Salahis after they refused to answer questions.

Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) took issue with a portion of the Salahis' opening statement in which they said they support law enforcement personnel.

"To have engaged in conduct that undercut the seriousness of our role to protect the president as some some sort of reality TV stunt is an affront to the seriousness of the issues that are before us today," Lungren said.

While most members of the panel who asked questions said they respected the Salahis' right to take the fifth, Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) said otherwise.

"I don't respect your right to take the Fifth Amendment. Not at all," he said. 

Pascrell, who was visibly angry, proceeded to ask Tareq Salahi a series of off-beat questions.

"Did you order a tuxedo?" Pascrell asked. "Were you at the White House?"

After Mr. Salahi refused to answer the questions, Pascrell shot back "Are you here today, Mr. Salahi?"

"You made a mockery of this country," said Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas), who repeatedly referred to the couple as the "Salahias."

"I would ask you to check your patriotism and would ask you to find out why you would do something of that magnitude."

Alleged White House gate crashers Tareq and Michaele Salahi say there is only one lawmaker responsible for their plan to invoke their Fifth Amendment rights at a House Homeland Security Committee meeting Wednesday: Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.)

Tareq Salahi told the Loudon Times Mirror that the District delegate and committee member already believes they are guilty of crashing the Nov. 24 state dinner, despite their claim that they were invited.

Holmes Norton sent out a press release in November in which she labeled the Salahis "con artists," who "bamboozled" White House
security, and as a result, Salahi says he was advised by his attorneys not to speak during Wednesday's hearing.

The couple plans to hold a news conference Wednesday afternoon at the Capitol where Salahi said they will lay out the evidentiary chain that proves their claim.

Despite his plans to stay mum in front of Congress, Salahi characterized the couple's appearance in front of the committee as
"historic," saying that "Not since the 1950s has Congress held hearings of such a historic nature."

Congress held hearings on White House security in 1950, after two Cuban nationalists stormed the Blair House, where then-President Harry Truman (D) was staying.