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President Bush will arrive in Jerusalem January 9 to promote a Middle Eastern peace initiative begun at the November 2007 Annapolis Conference that seeks to bring the long-standing Arab-Israeli conflict to a peaceful resolution and create a democratic Palestinian state. But the trip also will serve to reassure allies and friends of the United States of its full commitment to regional security.

Iowa caucusgoers, turning out in record numbers, award victories to Republican Mike Huckabee and Democrat Barack Obama. Attention now shifts to the January 8 New Hampshire primaries, where the candidates, minus Democrats Joe Biden and Christopher Dodd, will continue to vie for voter support.

Iowa caucusgoers, turning out in record numbers, award victories to Republican Mike Huckabee and Democrat Barack Obama. Attention now shifts to the January 8 New Hampshire primaries, where the candidates, minus Democrats Joe Biden and Christopher Dodd, will continue to vie for voter support.

Setting out for the Middle East, President Bush hopes to build on the success of the November 2007 Annapolis Conference to keep up momentum toward a two-state solution for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by the end of 2008. “What you see in the Middle East right now is a struggle between extremists and those who have a more hopeful vision for the future of the Middle East,” National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley says. During his trip, Bush will make his first official visits to Israel and the West Bank, with stops in Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Setting out for the Middle East, President Bush hopes to build on the success of the November 2007 Annapolis Conference to keep up momentum toward a two-state solution for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by the end of 2008. “What you see in the Middle East right now is a struggle between extremists and those who have a more hopeful vision for the future of the Middle East,” National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley says. During his trip, Bush will make his first official visits to Israel and the West Bank, with stops in Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

A team of U.S. specialists is lending its expertise to the Republic of Korea after a crane barge collided with the motor tanker Hebei Spirit, releasing nearly 11.4 million liters of crude oil into the Yellow Sea 10 kilometers off the nation’s west coast. Although the spill happened December 7, 2007, the cleanup effort, which could take a year or more, is just beginning. The spill is the largest in the East Asian country’s history, affecting more than 160 kilometers of beaches, rocky shoreline and aquaculture sites bordering Taean County and points north, 150 kilometers southwest of Seoul.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband jointly cite the need for “a sustained call from Kenya's political leaders for the cessation of violence by their followers” and call for the country’s leaders to engage “in a spirit of compromise that puts the democratic interests of Kenya first.” Their joint statement comes after days of violence across the country left as many as 300 people dead and caused tens of thousands to flee their homes to escape looters and armed mobs.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband jointly cite the need for “a sustained call from Kenya's political leaders for the cessation of violence by their followers” and call for the country’s leaders to engage “in a spirit of compromise that puts the democratic interests of Kenya first.” Their joint statement comes after days of violence across the country left as many as 300 people dead and caused tens of thousands to flee their homes to escape looters and armed mobs.

In a series of recent interviews, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice discusses several U.S. foreign policy priorities for 2008, the Bush administration's final year in office.  These include keeping up momentum in the Mideast peace process, continuing support for democracy in Lebanon, building on the surge in Iraq, halting controversial nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea, promoting stability in Afghanistan and Pakistan, resolving the status of Kosovo and addressing Russia's concerns over a proposed missile defense system based in Europe.

The United States is reaching out to political leaders across Pakistan in the wake of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination, urging them to move forward with the democratic process. "She was a champion for democracy," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says of Bhutto after signing a condolence book at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington. "The way to honor her memory is to continue the democratic process in Pakistan so that the democracy that she so hoped for can emerge."

The United States is reaching out to political leaders across Pakistan in the wake of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination, urging them to move forward with the democratic process.  "She was a champion for democracy," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says of Bhutto after signing a condolence book at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington.  "The way to honor her memory is to continue the democratic process in Pakistan so that the democracy that she so hoped for can emerge."

U.S. Founding Fathers George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and John Adams all made contributions of a practical kind to the infant American society, but it was Benjamin Franklin who embodied the inventiveness and sheer creative energy that would mark the American character. Franklin (1706-1790) was a self-made man who rose to international prominence in equal parts as inventor, scientist, revolutionary and statesman. The remarkable course of Franklin’s life, from his humble upbringing as the 10th son of a Puritan soapmaker in Colonial New England to his place as the era’s most celebrated scientist and diplomat, revealed quite a bit about the opportunity and promise for advancement the young American nation offered its enterprising sons (and, a bit later, also its daughters).

President Bush joins world leaders in shocked condemnation of the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and urges continued progress toward democratic reforms in Pakistan. “The United States strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan's democracy,” Bush tells reporters at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.  “Those who committed this crime must be brought to justice.”

President Bush joins world leaders in shocked condemnation of the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and urges continued progress toward democratic reforms in Pakistan. “The United States strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan's democracy,” Bush tells reporters at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. “Those who committed this crime must be brought to justice.”

A Victorian-era house that served as a refuge from the bustle of White House life for President Abraham Lincoln and his family now offers an intimate look at the presidency of a man whose leadership during the U.S. Civil War helped keep his nation intact. President Lincoln’s Cottage, situated on the 112-hectare compound of the federally owned Soldiers’ Home in Washington, will open to the public in February 2008 following a seven-year restoration project.

Paula King had a problem. Diagnosed with cancer in 2003, King was inundated with goodwill gift food baskets from her friends. But her digestive system had an intolerance for corn products, commonly used in foods but sometimes omitted from ingredient lists, leaving her afraid to eat the well-intentioned gifts. Nor could she just give the baskets to her friend Susan Lawens, who had her own allergy to wheat, another frequent ingredient. King and Lawens turned a problem into a thriving business: they started HealthyGoodiesGifts.com, marketing customized gift baskets to those, like themselves, with special dietary needs. Two years later, their business received a Stevie Award for Women in Business as the most innovative company of 2005. Their success illustrates several points about the role of small business in innovation.

A Victorian-era house that served as a refuge from the bustle of White House life for President Abraham Lincoln and his family now offers an intimate look at the presidency of a man whose leadership during the U.S. Civil War helped keep his nation intact. President Lincoln’s Cottage, situated on the 112-hectare compound of the federally owned Soldiers’ Home in Washington, will open to the public in February 2008 following a seven-year restoration project.

America is changing in big ways.  It’s getting older, and it’s getting more racially and ethnically diverse, the U.S. Census Bureau says in its annual Statistical Abstract of the United States.  The publication, a compendium of data on American life, includes everything from how much Americans volunteer (27 percent of the population volunteers an hour per week) to which U.S. cities are most popular with travelers from abroad (New York wins by far).

To an outsider, the caucus may seem as nonsensical as a passage in a children’s tale, but caucuses are all about doing: giving up personal time, talking, deciding and realigning loyalties when a favored candidate fails to win enough support to be “viable.” Essentially a neighborhood meeting, the name “caucus” derives from an American Indian word for a conference of tribal leaders.

To an outsider, the caucus may seem as nonsensical as a passage in a children’s tale, but caucuses are all about doing: giving up personal time, talking, deciding and realigning loyalties when a favored candidate fails to win enough support to be “viable.” Essentially a neighborhood meeting, the name “caucus” derives from an American Indian word for a conference of tribal leaders.