Politics
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On second thought: DeMint: Why didn't I shout 'you lie'?
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
12/03/09 9:00 PM
Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., is not apologetic for colleague Rep. Joe Wilson's "you lie" September shout down to President Obama. In fact, he said he wished he would have thought of it himself.
Wilson's yell came several days after DeMint got grief from the administration for telling conservative activists that killing health care reform would be Obama's "Waterloo" moment. And, the two Republicans were sitting especially close to each other the night Wilson interrupted the president's speech.
"When I heard this 'you lie' comment, the president turned and looked at me, and I thought, 'Oh no, they think it's me," DeMint told those who attended the D.C. premiere of "Tea Party: The Documentary" on Wednesday.
But then DeMint changed his tune: "And a couple of days later I was saying, after [Wilson] raised a few million dollars off of it, I was thinking, 'Why didn't I say that?' "
In addition to fundraising gains, Wilson has become a household name since the outburst. That showed at Wednesday's event, as attendees asked the South Carolina congressman for pictures and handshakes.
Also on hand was former House Majority Leader and FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey and Republican Reps. Tom Price and Marsha Blackburn.
Speakeasy
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
12/03/09 9:00 PM
"She's obviously afraid of something. Either that, or they just don't want to take any heat."
- Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., on why White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers won't testify about how Tareq and Michaele Salahi managed to slip into last week's state dinner
By the Numbers: War on Christmas edition
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
12/03/09 9:00 PM
Throughout the last few decades, "Happy holidays" has sometimes replaced "Merry Christmas" as a holiday greeting. According to a recent Rasmussen survey, "Happy holidays" isn't doing as well with the Republicans.
91
The percentage of Republicans who prefer store signs that say "Merry Christmas"
70
The percentage of adults not affiliated with either major political party who prefer "Merry Christmas"
58
The percentage of Democrats who prefer "Merry Christmas" signs
Sightings: 'Jersey Boy' favors Calif. on Capitol Hill
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
12/03/09 9:00 PM
His show may be all Jersey, but actor Joseph Bwarie, who plays Frankie Valli in Broadway's "Jersey Boys" at Washington's National Theatre, was spotted in a California Senate office Wednesday.
Bwarie, a native Californian, visited with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, bringing her a signed poster for the show. "I thought it would be nice to talk to a fellow Californian removed from home," Bwarie told Yeas & Nays.
Bwarie's next stop on Capitol Hill? The office of another California girl: Sen. Barbara Boxer.
Secret Service spotted crashers via Facebook
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
12/03/09 9:00 PM
The Secret Service admitted Thursday to doing a little detective work via Facebook when Director Mark Sullivan told the Homeland Security Committee exactly how they found out about the party crash heard 'round the world.
"Was it your own discovery that some interlopers had entered?" questioned Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C.
"We did not discover that on our own," Sullivan replied. "We were advised of it the following day."
"Advised by who, sir?" Norton inquired.
"Facebook."
It was the infamous Facebook photos of Michaele and Tareq Salahi cozied up to Vice President Biden and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel that tipped off the Secret Service the day after the dinner. Washington Post gossip gal Roxanne Roberts, however, was mentioned at the hearing for being the first to identify the crashers to White House staffers.
Not only did the Secret Service have to own up to its, um, unconventional methods of investigation, it also took a hit from Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., who suggested it could learn a thing or two from ticketing and entering procedures at a Bruce Springsteen show.
Harman called the concert "a very smooth security experience."
"I'm not suggesting that Christmas at the White House is a Bruce Springsteen concert," Harman told Sullivan. "But what I am suggesting is there may be more modern techniques for sc...
Secret Service identified crashers via Facebook
By: Tara Palmeri and Nikki Schwab
12/03/09 1:37 PM
Who said social networking sites are a waste of time?
It was the infamous Facebook photo album featuring Michaele and Tareq Salahi cozied up to Vice President Joe Biden and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel that tipped off the Secret Service of its breach in security at the White House State Dinner.
At the Committee on Homeland Security hearing Thursday, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., asked Secret Service Head Mark Sullivan how he discovered that the Salahis crashed the dinner.
“Did you discover it through their Facebook, or was it your own discovery that some interlopers had entered?”
“We did not discover that on our own.” Sullivan replied. “We were advised of it the following day.”
“Advised by who, sir?” Norton inquired.
“Facebook.”
But it wasn’t just Facebook that helped the Secret Service and the White House piece together the uninvited duo. Gossip gal Roxanne Roberts from the Washington Post was mentioned at the hearing as the first person to inform the White House staff that the Salahis were not on the list.
Speakeasy
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
12/02/09 6:00 PM
"I'm 51-years-old, I majored in being black."
-- Georgetown sociology professor Michael Eric Dyson supporting his theories on racial disparities at the USA Network's town hall event, "Characters Unite."
Young@Heart 'Alive & Well' at D.C.'s Warner Theatre
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
12/02/09 6:00 PM
They can barely walk, they have arthritis and they can't remember your name -- but boy can they rock.
A group of geriatric rockers from the international musical sensation Young@Heart will bring down the house at the Warner Theatre Saturday, proving to D.C. that rock 'n' roll never dies.
Lineups from previous performances include covers of the Ramones' "I Wanna be Sedated," Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive," James Brown's "I Feel Good" and the Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go."
"There's a lot of life in us," chorus member Steve Martin, 80, told Yeas & Nays.
Chorus director Bob Cilman founded the group in 1982 when he was working at a low-income senior high-rise in Northampton, Mass.
"I had always been interested in music," Cilman told Yeas & Nays. "I had a job working with old people, so those two things combined made it sort of a no-brainer."
And since Cilman devised this unlikely pairing of old school with new, he's seen his group transform into an international craze.
"The Europeans went nuts for it, and we went to Europe 16 times with three different theater pieces," Cilman said.
Working with a troupe that averages 80 years old, Cilman deals with the joys of flying to places like Australia, Europe and Canada with his graying crowd.
"One of the first things we do when we arrive to where we are p...
Down with the Twits: Cokie Roberts calls Twitter 'just rude'
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
12/02/09 6:00 PM
It's been about a year since Washington's love affair with Twitter began, but not everyone is so enamored.
"I don't pay attention to it whatsoever," said old school journalist Cokie Roberts when asked if she followed blogs, Twitter and Facebook. "Life is too short, and I really don't see any use."
Her response received a burst of applause from the oldish crowd gathered at the Newseum Tuesday for a screening of the 1940 newspaper flick, "His Girl Friday." The event and discussion were part of American University's Reel Journalism series, hosted by veteran newsman and AU professor Nick Clooney.
Out of all the social media Web sites, Roberts, a senior analyst for National Public Radio and an ABC News political contributor, found Twitter to be the biggest offender.
"Twitter is just rude," she said. "The idea that people are sitting in a presidential speech in Congress, members of Congress are sitting there Twittering and we're putting it on the air, I just find that appalling."
Rock on: Bon Jovi sees himself as ambassador of optimism
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
12/02/09 6:00 PM
Rockers tend to be "blue state" singers, country-western artists are "red state" singers, and rappers handle our urban regions, according to veteran anchorman Tom Brokaw.
At USA Network's national town hall "Characters Unite" Wednesday, moderator Brokaw asked Jon Bon Jovi where the artist stood on his responsibility when promoting cultural divides in pop culture.
"I've taken a certain point of view that I've always taken on ... this unbridled optimism in a strange way," Bon Jovi said before a diverse panel including Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., Politico's Mike Allen, Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker, Rep. Anh Cao, R-La., Georgetown professor Michael Eric Dyson, the Washington Post's Kathleen Parker and D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee.
Bon Jovi said he saw himself as an ambassador for American pop culture when he traveled abroad, and he said he believed anti-American sentiment has come back again in the past decade.
His "unbridled optimism" defies borders and cultures, he said.
"They don't see color, and I find that very interesting," he said, reflecting on his four children. "Maybe my kids are unique, but what I'm hoping for is that the next generation are going to be much more understanding of the racial divide of the economic divide that we are living right now."
Also spotted: former "West Wing" star Dule Hill, who is best known for his role as the president's personal...
Dining in the dark raises awareness for blindness
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
12/02/09 6:00 PM
It's pitch black. You can't see your plate, your silverware or the person next to you.
Oh, and the waiter is blind.
Guests dining in the dark Tuesday night at the Foundation Fighting Blindness' dinner at the Tysons Corner Ritz Carlton were feeling for food, eating with their hands, yelling to compensate for their loss in vision and starting to realize what it's like to dine without sight.
"You were presented directly in your face at your table with the adversity of dining in the dark," said Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas. "I thank you for going out of your comfort zone."
Sessions mentioned the adversity his family faced with health-related issues including his father, William Sessions', fight with polio, the loss of a younger brother to heart disease, raising a son with down syndrome and a family member's recent diagnosis with Retinitis pigmentosa.
Honored guests at the event were dinner co-chairwomen Jody Kelly and Donna Burke Tehaan; former Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va.; Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va.; and William Sessions, a former director of the FBI. Also spotted: Georgetown socialite Missy Janes and financial analyst Karen Petrou.
As for the swag bag? You'll have to bid on eBay for an authentic harmonica signed by Stevie Wonder that he donated in support of the foundation.
MIA: Where in the world was Desiree Rogers?
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
12/01/09 9:00 PM
As the Secret Service gets thrown under the bus for letting Tareq and Michaele Salahi waltz into last Tuesday's White House state dinner, two former White House social secretaries wonder why their former office is getting wholly off the hook.
"If there was a screw-up, it would be our problem," Laurie Firestone, who was President George H.W. Bush's social secretary, told Yeas & Nays. She expressed surprise the Secret Service was taking the hit for Salahigate.
"If you've got somebody you know shouldn't be there, you make sure they don't get in and don't get close to the president and first lady," added Maria Downs, who served as President Ford's social secretary.
Newsweek reported earlier this week that a holdover from the George W. Bush administration, Cathy Hargraves, whose job duties included physically -- yes, physically -- standing at the gate as guests arrived, left her post in June after being stripped of many of her duties by the Obama administration's social secretary's office.
Obama Social Secretary Desiree Rogers said nobody from her office was at the gate Tuesday night, which has prompted congressional Republicans to ask Rogers to testify about the security lapse Thursday on Capitol Hill. No word yet from the White House on whether she will.
Downs and Firestone also said it was standard for social secretaries to work the event.
"You work -- you ...
Ho, ho, ho: Post gets in the holiday spirit with open house, prize wheel
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
12/01/09 9:00 PM
It was billed as an opportunity to meet your favorite Washington Post columnists, reporters and editors. But about 300 guests coming to attend "The Post Points Spirit of the Holiday Celebration" Tuesday night first had to weave through a room of advertisers' tables before getting to meet the likes of Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli, Publisher Katherine Weymouth and columnist Dana Milbank.
Readers visiting the newly renovated Washington Post building were instructed to stop at each of the advertisers' tables -- including Ford's Theatre and Wolf Trap -- to fill out a "spirit of the holidays advertiser passport," a questionnaire. If they filled out answers to all the questions they were able to spin the "mighty prize wheel" and could win prizes like pens, keychains, Post Points gift certificates -- and, if you were one of the lucky ones, books.
Those not distracted by the prize wheel made their way to a back room to mingle with Post bigwigs.
According to Weymouth, the annual event is a way to reach out to the community.
"We do it for our readers," she told Yeas & Nays, adding she had received a lot of positive feedback about the paper.
Brauchli, on the other side of the room, was fielding complaints from several readers.
"I reply to all the letters I get," he said. "Most of them are angry," he told Yeas & Nays, and then changed his tune. "Some of them are angry," he said.
Milba...
Stay classy, D.C.: Top 10 Men of Style honored
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
12/01/09 9:00 PM
Every city has a flavor, with certain gents who show off that swagger and their barbers who maintain it.
Rolling Out magazine with Gillette Fusion honored D.C.'s top 10 Men of Style on Monday night at Lux Lounge, giving a shout-out to those men they consider to be arbiters of good taste and style.
Who made the cut? D.C. Councilman Kwame Brown, Fox News anchor Kelly Wright, entrepreneur Michael Melton, event planner Andre Wells, CNN contributor Roland Martin, W Hotel General Manager Edward D. Baten, radio jock Big Tigger, fashion designer Everett Hall, Willis McGahee of the Baltimore Ravens and Fred Smoot of the Redskins.
Now who actually showed? We got a glimpse of Wright, Brown, Melton, Wells, Baten, Tigger and Smoot on the red carpet.
Other special guests included hip-hop artist Don Juan, former Miss D.C. Rashida Jolley, and, of course, the barbers who keep this city classy.
Speakeasy
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
12/01/09 9:00 PM
"I was asked by somebody yesterday, and I frankly said if somebody had said to me, 'Hey, some Virginians tried to crash your party, there's 7 and a half million Virginians, who do you think it might be?' I think I might have been able to guess it within about five seconds. Because he's such a promoter, and I'll just kind of leave it there."
- Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine on the state's most famous party crashers, Tareq and Michaele Salahi
C'est fantastique!: Michelle Obama topples Carla Bruni on French Elle's best dressed list
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
11/30/09 9:00 PM
Even the fashion-forward French seem to be saying "ooh la la" to first lady Michelle Obama's sense of style.
In this year's best dressed list by French Elle, Madame Obama grabbed top honors in the "politique chic" category, beating out France's own first lady, Carla Bruni.
This is the second year a foreign first lady topped the former model, who is married to French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Last year Syria's first lady, Asma Assad, got the nod.
Prince of Monaco talks green at Nat'l Press Club
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
11/30/09 9:00 PM
The bespectacled and soft-spoken Prince Albert II of Monaco may not necessarily look the part of a Prince Charming ("Where are those glass slippers?" he joked while visiting the National Press Club), but it's obvious whom he views as his damsel in distress: Mother Nature.
Monaco's head of state visited with reporters Monday to talk about his great passion, the environment, in advance of the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.
"It is our survival that is at stake," he stated quietly and convincingly, as he noted the visible changes of the Earth on his expeditions into the Arctic and the Antarctic.
Prince Albert is the first head of state in history to voyage to both the North and South poles.
"One thing for sure -- it is happening," he said, again citing his own explorations and dismissing any notions that climate change science could be unsound. He made note that he was visiting the club 96 years after his great-great-grandfather did the same, but journalists and their guests today were much more interested in hearing about his famous American mother, actress Grace Kelly.
"Which one of your mother's movies was your favorite?" he was asked.
"I would have to go with 'Rear Window,' " he said. "I like all of them."
Twitter, Obama, King of Pop tops in 2009
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
11/30/09 9:00 PM
As 2009 winds to a close, the Global Language Monitor announced Sunday the top word of the year, the top phrase of the year and the top name of the year.
Here are the top terms of 2009:
» Top Word: Twitter -- The ability to encapsulate human thought in 140 characters.
» Top Phrase: King of Pop -- Elvis was "The King"; Michael Jackson had to settle for "King of Pop."
» Top Name: Obama -- It was President Obama's year, though MJ nearly eclipsed
Chelsea Clinton Officially off the market
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
11/30/09 9:00 PM
During the Thanksgiving holiday, the Clintons were presented with some exciting news: only child Chelsea is engaged.
Chelsea Clinton decided to tie the knot with longtime beau Marc Mezvinsky, a childhood pal from Washington, D.C., and a classmate at Stanford. As first reported by ABC News, Clinton and Mezvinsky sent out an e-mail to friends Friday morning announcing their plans.
"We're sorry for the mass e-mail but we wanted to wish everyone a belated Happy Thanksgiving!" the e-mail began. "We also wanted to share that we are engaged!"
The happy couple also revealed they planned to wed next summer. A Clinton representative told ABC the proposal occurred "before Thanksgiving."
There were rumors throughout last summer that the couple were set to wed in Martha's Vineyard, but those turned out to be false.
W.H. party crashers in big trouble, debt
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
11/30/09 9:00 PM
Tareq Salahi had grand visions for reality stardom. At a recent dinner, before becoming infamous as half of the White House Party Crashers, Salahi told Yeas & Nays he envisioned the cast of the "Real Housewives of D.C.," including his former model wife, Michaele, stomping grapes with their feet at their Virginia Oasis winery while being filmed by Bravo's cameras.
But behind the facade of successful wine entrepreneurs and Washington polo socialites, the Salahis were hiding years of legal and financial sour grapes.
The winery business had created rifts in the Salahi family, pitting Tareq against his parents, Dirgham Salahi and Corinne Salahi, who founded the Hume, Va., vineyard in 1977.
They slapped each other with civil suits throughout 2006 and 2007, which were then voluntarily dismissed by the parties. Both the parents' company, Oasis Vineyards Inc. (in which Tareq Salahi owns a 5 percent share), and Oasis Enterprise Inc. (owned entirely by Tareq Salahi), have filed for bankruptcy.
Both entities are valued at about $300,000. Oasis Vineyards, which operates the vineyard, is close to $2 million in debt, while Tareq's baby, Oasis Enterprise, owes about $1 million, including a $65 parking ticket to Montgomery County. On top of that, Oasis Enterprise's revenue dropped from $1.7 million in 2007 to $35,000 in 2008.
Adam Levitin, an associate law professor at Georgetown Unive...
Recommended reading: Obama's campaign manager lists his favorite political books
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
11/29/09 9:00 PM
Even though he's touring with his new book, "The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory," President Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, said last week he didn't learn much about running a campaign from reading.
That said, he recommended his top three political books for campaign junkies.
1. "What It Takes: The Way to the White House," by Richard Ben Cramer. Plouffe said this book, which details the 1988 election, was helpful in learning about the role of primaries and caucuses.
2. "The Making of the President 1960," by Theodore H. White. Teddy White's book is still relevant today, Plouffe noted.
3. "Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72" by Hunter S. Thompson. And, because not all political reading should be serious, Plouffe recommended this classic by gonzo journalist Thompson.
Welcome back: Former DC101 jock back on the air at The Edge
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
11/29/09 9:00 PM
Radio personality Kirk McEwen is back in town.
The former DC101 jock will lend his voice to the lineup of classic rock station 105.9 The Edge. He starts his drive-time gig Monday, hosting weekdays from 2 to 7 p.m.
McEwen hosted Baltimore's 98 Rock morning show for 10 years. The last time he graced our airwaves was his stint at the D.C. rock station in the 1990s.
"I can't wait to rock D.C. again," McEwen said.
The real test will be if he can keep us sane during rush hour.
Messy matters: Washington Times may settle, former editor's lawyer says
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
11/29/09 9:00 PM
After viewing the affidavit and draft complaint of a lawsuit being filed by former editorial page editor Richard Miniter, The Washington Times is expected to make a settlement offer Wednesday, according to Miniter's attorney Larry Klayman.
Miniter said he was still weighing his options, but, "I would prefer to settle now."
Wednesday marks the day that will decide whether Miniter's grievances against his former employer -- including that he was forced to attend a Unification Church religious ceremony -- will be aired out in court, Klayman said.
Klayman said he and his client were demanding Preston Moon, son of Times founder the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, and the chairman of Times parent company News World Communications, attend any meeting in which an offer were made.
Miniter and Klayman prepared the lawsuit and were to file it Friday, but delayed the filing at the request of the Times. Miniter had previously filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that made headlines because it came on the heels of the ousting of the paper's top three executives and the resignation of top editor John Solomon.
The Washington Times' spokesman did not return a call for comment.
Rep says dinner crashers don't want money to speak
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
11/29/09 9:00 PM
Despite reports that White House dinner crashers and reality wannabes Tareq and Michaele Salahi are shopping for paid network appearances, their representative says it's just not true.
Speaking for the Salahis, Mahogany Jones told Yeas & Nays the couple denied any rumors of peddling interviews and demanding compensation.
"We are not making any formal comments or arrangement with any media at this time," Jones said in an e-mail.
CNN confirmed the couple postponed their appearance on "Larry King Live," originally scheduled for Monday, without giving the network a new date and time. A representative said CNN did not pay for interviews.
Yeas & Nays asked crisis guru Jason Miller of Dezenhall Resources how he thought the Salahis' alleged media manipulation would pan out.
"That largely depends on whether or not the Salahis have something interesting to say," Miller said. "People are interested in finding out what happened to Tiger Woods this weekend, but I don't think anybody cares about the back story of these polo-playing poseurs and their quest for 15 minutes of fame -- they're boring people."
Though Miller did acknowledge that if Washington's version of Speidi (the media moniker for reality television stars Spencer Pratt and his wife, Heidi Montag) got picked up by Bravo's "The Real Housewives of D.C.," it would be a win for them.
"Then again, I never would have thought that a s...
Holiday do-gooder: R Kelly spotted serving dinner to the troops
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
11/29/09 9:00 PM
With the holiday season in full gear, there are tons of opportunities for celebrities to spiff up their image with some strategic community service.
And R. Kelly, an R&B artist who's seen his share of bad press, did just that Wednesday night when he served Thanksgiving dinner to more than 200 troops from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other army facilities.
After dining with troops at Constitution Hall, Kelly invited them to his performance that evening as his guests.
Sierra Club calls out Washington's biggest turkeys
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
11/25/09 6:00 PM
The Sierra Club has asked people to put down the turkey dinner and vote for the biggest turkey in Washington. Six made the list, but three stand out as top contenders.
Former congressman Tom DeLay made the list for claiming in the wake of Hurricane Katrina that there was no pork in the federal budget that could be diverted to disaster relief.
"Stifle your laughter," the Sierra Club said.
Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., was dubbed a turkey for saying global warming was a hoax and then tapping late science fiction writer Michael Crichton to reiterate that before Congress.
And last but not least, Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, made the "list of losers" for his two "Bridges to Nowhere."
No meat? No problem, vegans say
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
11/25/09 6:00 PM
It's not turkey.
No, no ... it's tofurkey.
That's how Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, and his wife, Elizabeth, celebrate the day devoted to the bird -- with some rubbery tofu stuffed to ... tofection.
But wait ... do people actually eat that stuff?
"Well, do you want me to be honest?" Elizabeth Kucinich asked Wednesday. "It's more of a novelty ... but Dennis really likes it, that's why I get the tofurkey."
Although the self-professed vegans will spend the holiday with a close friend in the hospital this year, Elizabeth Kucinich shared some of her homemade meatless Thanksgiving recipes with Yeas & Nays that could please even a carnivorous crowd.
» Want to skip the tofurkey? Kucinich recommends stuffed zucchini as a substitute for the main course. First, remove the seeds and the center of the vegetable. Next, grind up nuts and mix in boiled rice and seasoning. Then choose a moist food like apples or cooked whole grains that will bind the stuffing and mix it with the rice, ground nuts and seasoning. Place the stg in the middle of the zucchini, wrap it in tin foil and place it in the oven on medium heat for 45 minutes to an hour, until the vegetable is tender.
» For a side dish, baked apples stuffed with fresh cranberries are a sweet pairing. Start by coring six cooking apples. Then wash a bag of cranberries and place them in a pan on very low heat, adding sugar, syrup or an...
Speakeasy
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
11/25/09 6:00 PM
"Because they were almost as graceful as Tucker Carlson on 'Dancing With the Stars.' "
-- Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank on why he scored finalists of the newspaper's "America's Next Great Pundit" contest like a figure skating judge.
By the numbers
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
11/25/09 6:00 PM
The Center for Fiscal Accountability wants you to make space for Uncle Sam at your Thanksgiving dinner this year, because he will be biting off a chunk of it with his nasty taxes.
40.91
The percentage of a Thanksgiving meal for 10 that will be eaten up in hidden taxes
Source: The Center for Fiscal Accountability
Sightings: Jennifer Hudson hits the gym before the White House
By: Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
11/25/09 6:00 PM
The Sports Club/LA at the Washington Ritz-Carlton is the creme de la creme of gyms when it comes to celebrity spotting. So it's no surprise that one of our spies spotted Jennifer Hudson working out there Tuesday.
Hudson was there working up a sweat several hours before her big performance at the White House's first state dinner with India. Hudson performed along with A.R. Rahman of "Slumdog Millionaire" fame, Kurt Elling, a Chicago-based jazz artist and the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marvin Hamlisch.
