This week the White House released the much-anticipated official Obama family photo on its Flickr page. The portrait was taken in the Green Room of the White House on September 1 by famed Vanity Fair photographer Annie Leibovitz, notable for her decades of work capturing the images of rock stars and Hollywood's elite as well as for her multimillion-dollar fortune's recent collapse. The seated and beaming first family looks happy and relaxed, with Sasha and Malia Obama each draping an arm over mom and dad. (See the first family's Flickr photostream.) Full Story »

Embattled health insurance companies are taking a page from Goldlilocks. Last week, a 4-month-old child was denied insurance for being too heavy (the company has since changed its mind). Now the Web is buzzing about a toddler who was denied coverage for being too small. Full Story »

The hotly debated "public option"of health care reform plans being considered by Congress seems to be getting revived. The mood is changing both with the public and inside the halls of Congress, where Tuesday night House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told fellow Democrats that she's close to securing the 218 votes she needs to pass the plan. Full Story »

An internal congressional report questioning the ability of the Secret Service to continue fulfilling its duties was leaked to the Boston Globe. The report says the Secret Service is strained by a drastic increase in threats to President Obama, coupled with deep budget cuts. Some are speculating that the agency may need to relinquish all or part of its roles in protecting the country's financial machinery in order to focus resources on the protection of the president and other high-profile leaders. Full Story »

This morning People magazine revealed its new cover featuring a photograph of a beaming Jaycee Dugard. The image of the 29-year-old Dugard is the first to be released to the public since she was was freed after spending the past 18 years in captivity and reunited with her family. A quote from Dugard accompanies the cover photo that says simply, "I'm so happy to be back with my family." Full Story »

For hundreds of years, fully grown adults and very young children have dreamed about flying. People have made wings out of feathers and wood and jumped off buildings and cliffs in order to soar like a bird. And a lot of them have died trying. Full Story »

An incident involving actor/singer Harry Connick Jr. during his appearance as a judge on an Australian variety show is causing an international stir. The evening turned tense when an act performed in blackface, prompting Connick - himself once entangled in the sensitive issue - to give some tough talk on-air. Full Story »

The first sets of H1N1 flu virus vaccines were shipped this week and, according to the Food and Drug Administration, online pharmacies are already trying to cash-in on people trying to get vaccinated. Full Story »

In the past it's been almost a tradition for America's first ladies to catch flack from their husbands' political opponents over the size of their staffs, and Michelle Obama certainly hasn't been exempt from that. Criticism of her "massive" staff has popped up on email chains, blogs, and chat rooms. But what are the facts regarding how many people are under her employ, and how does the size of her staff compare to that of past first ladies? Full Story »

Over the weekend, a British newspaper published an item which claimed that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, perhaps the most vocal anti-Jewish leader of the modern era, was, in fact, Jewish by birth. Unfortunately for those who appreciate irony, it appears as though that that initial report was inaccurate. Full Story »

This weekend "Saturday Night Live" opened with Fred Armisen as President Obama, delivering an address from the Oval Office. Noting up front that he'd failed to secure the 2016 Olympic Games for Chicago, Armisen's Obama said it was just further proof that his detractors' fears are unfounded: How could he transform the country into something resembling the former Soviet Union or Nazi Germany when he's failed to accomplish anything at all? "When you look at my record," he said, "it's very clear what I've done so far, and that is nothing." Full Story »

Kathleen Sebelius is the Secretary of Health and Human Services in President Barack Obama's Cabinet. She was the Democratic governor of the state of Kansas from 2003 to 2009. Full Story »

If it hadn't been for Bernie Madoff, the most famous white collar criminal in America right now would probably be Marc Dreier. If that name is not ringing a bell, it's because Dreier's $400 million Ponzi scheme was blown off the front pages by Madoff's arrest just a few days later. Full Story »

We burn so much coal in this country for electricity that every year that process generates 130 million tons of waste. Most of it is coal ash, and it contains some nasty stuff. Environmental scientists tell us that the concentrations of mercury, arsenic, lead and other toxic metals are considerably higher in coal ash than in ordinary soil. Full Story »

Much of the buzz around David Letterman’s late-night revelation keeps circling back to one question: Why was the studio audience laughing? Viewers who watched it on TV or online immediately took to Twitter to express everything from bewilderment to outrage over the audience's reaction. Shawn Ryan, creator of the FX show "The Shield," opined, "What a fascinating confession/comedy act from Letterman. Audience didn't know how to respond at parts." Another Twitter user going by the handle "Brain" stated, "Letterman audience clapped when he said he had sex with staffers. It's a world gone mad." But maybe the reason the audience’s reaction was so odd is that the "Late Show" staffers who prepped them had no idea about Letterman’s bombshell. Full Story »

If canine sports is your thing, you may want to get to Purina Farms in Gray Summit, Missouri posthaste. That's where the Incredible Dog Challenge 2009 takes place tomorrow with agility, diving, hurdle and pole racing and the crowd-pleasing freestyle flying disc events. Full Story »

Last week, Katie Couric had the tables turned on her. During an interview with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Couric asked about Neda Soltan, the Iranian female who was shot and killed by Iranian security back in June. Full Story »

In the past few months, Fox News' critical coverage of the Obama administration has been the subject of scornful scrutiny by left-leaning pundits and political satirists. But now the White House appears to be willing to get dirt on its own hands, jumping into the fray by blasting the network's "disregard for facts" in a post on the official White House blog. Full Story »