The group of protesters who have been camped out in Freedom Plaza since Oct. 6 have been granted a new permit by the National Park Service to continue their protest on the federal park land just blocks from the White House, a spokeswoman for the National Mall said Wednesday. Carol Johnson said that the National Park Service granted a new permit to the protesters, who will be allowed to continue their encampment on the plaza between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28. Read full article > >

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Freedom Plaza protesters receive new permit, allowing them to stay into February

Shots were fired from at least one car about a block away from the White House Friday night, and a loaded AK-47 assault rifle was recovered from the scene, the Secret Service said.

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National Briefing | Washington: Shots Fired Near White House

“For the sake of the Syrian people, the time has come for President Assad to step aside.” In a statement issued by President Barack Obama last Thursday morning, the United States made its first firm call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to make his exit. Pressure for Obama to make a clear and concise declaration that Assad should step down had built across the American political spectrum from quarters as diverse as right-wing hawks to liberal human rights activists. Assad’s rule had already been called “illegitimate,” his actions “criminal” and “heinous,” and his government described as “part of the past.” But the calls for a more robust statement from the White House intensified after the so-called Ramadan massacre, when according to the UN , more than 1,900 Syrians were killed by Syrian troops.

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Obama Says Assad Must Go: But Why Did It Take So Long?

As Americans from the White House to ground zero rejoice over the death of Osama bin Laden, the U.S. State Department sounded a grimmer tone. The department has put embassies on alert and warned Americans abroad of possible reprisal attacks after Osama…

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U.S. Warns of al Qaeda Reprisals

The call from the White House came late in the week. Rep. Paul Ryan was vowing to slash Medicaid in his 2012 budget proposal, the administration strategists explained, and they wanted to have a powerful response ready, complete with poignant stories of Americans who might lose their health coverage under the Republican plan.

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Individual stories are weapon of choice in fight over health-care law

That was fast. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley is stepping down under pressure from the White House after criticizing the treatment of WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning. Speaking at MIT on Friday, Crowley called Manning’s treatment “ridiculous…

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State Dept. Spokesman Forced to Resign

That was fast. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley is stepping down under pressure from the White House after criticizing the treatment of WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning. Speaking at MIT on Friday, Crowley called Manning’s treatment “ridiculous…

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State Dept. Spokesman Forced to Resign

Sarah Palin has endorsed Tom Tancredo, the independent candidate for governor of Colorado who was so anti-immigrant as a congressman that President Bush banned him from the White House. In a robocall, Palin says, “Tom is the right man for the job, and…

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Palin Endorses Tom Tancredo

Barack Obama isn’t the only one who’s sad about Rahm Emanuel’s departure from the White House: The move figures to be bad for his brother Ari Emanuel’s Hollywood business. Ari was known to name drop his brother’s name and wow Hollywood with apparently…

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How Rahm’s Departure is Bad for Ari’s Business

President Obama’s comments on a plan to build a mosque in the shadow of ground zero are not only giving opponents an opportunity to attack him but also reveal a messaging problem from the White House, a communications expert said.

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Obama’s message called ‘incoherent’

An underground transformer fire about two blocks from the White House prompted evacuations of two Washington hotels, fire officials said Saturday night.

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Fire forces evacuation of 2 D.C. hotels

An incumbent U.S. senator with help from the White House held off a tough primary challenge in Colorado, a former wrestling executive easily won the Republican nomination for the Senate in Connecticut, and a dramatic runoff for the Republican governor’s nomination in Georgia was too close to call on a busy primary night Tuesday.

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Georgia runoff too close to call