First Family To Vacation In Gulf

The White House has just announced that President Barack Obama and the rest of the First Family will spend a weekend in mid-August on the Florida Gulf Coast…

Gibbs: Obama Did Apologize To Sherrod

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters a few minutes ago that President Barack Obama apologized to former Department of Agriculture employee Shirley Sherrod. Gibbs said Mrs. Sherrod accepted the President’s apology.

Pelosi: We're Not Going Back To Bush Policies

During her weekly news conference with reporters on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) promised to take on Republicans wishing to repeal several legislative items passed by Democrats since President Obama took office.

“We’re not going back,” she said.

Obama Calls Sherrod, Expresses "Regret"

The White House just put out the following statement regarding a telephone conversation the President had this afternoon with former Department of Agriculture employee Shirley Sherrod:

“The President reached Ms. Sherrod by telephone at about 12:35. They spoke for seven minutes. The President expressed to Ms. Sherrod his regret about the events of the last several days. He emphasized that Secretary Vilsack was sincere in his apology yesterday, and in his work to rid USDA of discrimination. The President told Ms. Sherrod that this misfortune can present an opportunity for her to continue her hard work on behalf of those in need, and he hopes that she will do so.”

Bernanke: Unwise To Stop Stimulus, Economy Still Quite Weak

By Brandon Kosters - Talk Radio News

Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, said today that the deficit is a “two-pronged element” in the U.S. fiscal policy. He said it is necessary in the short term, given the state of the economy, but efforts to reduce the deficit will need to be made eventually.

“Maintaining the current level of fiscal support is important because the economy is still quite weak,” Bernanke said. “At the same time, in the median and longer term, we have an unsustainable fiscal trajectory and we need to address that in order to maintain the confidence of the public and the markets.”