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.

Cast members from MTV’s “Jersey Shore” will be at McFadden’s on Pennsylvania Ave. this evening at 9 p.m. “Pauly D.” and “JWoww” will be appearing at the event. The reality show centers around Italian Americans spending a summer at the Jersey Shore and has been protested by Italian American organizations. Advertiser Domino's pizza dropped the show in December.
 
The show is a guilty pleasure among some. Even NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams has admitted he watches the program, the AOL News Web site popeater.com reported.

Former Senator (D-N.C.) and 2004 Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards's popularity has now fallen to 15% in his home state of North Carolina in a new Public Policy Polling survey, marking the lowest finding for Edwards of any PPP poll ever, four points lower than his 19% favorable opinion in May.

Edwards fell from political grace in late 2008, after a news broke of an affair and possible child out of wedlock with filmmaker Rielle Hunter. But a new book on the 2008 campaign reveals more nasty details about his turbulent marriage, and may have further damaged his popularity. The book, "Game Change," is by authors Mark Halperin and John Heilemann.

The poll also notes that Edwards is more unpopular with men (75%) than women (68%).  25% of Democrats still hold a favorable view of him, but only 9% of independents and 3% of Republicans do.

The survey also found a steep drop in Elizabeth Edwards's popularity, who now garners 46% approval, down from 58% in May. THis may also be attributable to "Game Change:" the book portrays Elizabeth Edwards in an unflattering light.

Jay Carney, Vice President Joe Biden’s spokesman, celebrated the success of Mark Halperin and John Heilemann's new book "Game Change" on Monday night, only hours after he said the book left a "gross misimpression" of Biden's working relationship in the White House with President Barack Obama.

Carney was one of about 75 guests at a party at the W Hotel for the best-selling book, which has stirred up numerous controversies with its colorful, behind-the-scenes account of the 2008 presidential campaign.

Carney's statement to The Washington Post was in response to claims made in the book that then-Sen. Obama (D-Ill.) and his team excluded then-Sen. Biden (D-Del.) from conference calls out of frustration with his many gaffes.  At one point, the authors wrote, "Obama phoned Biden and laid into him."

Speaking in his capacity as the veep's spokesman, Carney questioned the book's sources, all of whom were interviewed on deep background.

"If the authors were concerned with accuracy, they might have checked their reporting with members of the vice president's staff or sought to check it with the vice president himself. They did not," said Carney.

As for why he attended the party, Carney told The Hill that he has known both authors for more than 15 years, and wanted to "congratulate them on the success of their book."

Carney added, "We disagree about how they handled some of their reporting in it, and I can't say we resolved that disagreement last night."

Author John Heilemann said the former Time Washington bureau chief was "magnanimous" when he arrived at the fete. "Carney was great."

As of Tuesday morning, "Game Change" is the best-selling book on Amazon.com.

The White House just released photos of President Barack Obama and FIrst Lady Michelle Obama serving lunch to the hungry at So Others Might Eat on Monday.

Michelle Obama serves refills of coffee.

President Obama serves fried chicken.