Blog Posts by Rachel Rose Hartman, Yahoo! News

The White House on Friday afternoon announced the withdrawal of lawyer Caitlin Halligan's nomination for circuit judge for the District of Columbia, a move that will be cheered by Senate Republicans who have worked for years to block her nomination.

"Today, I accepted Caitlin Halligan’s request to withdraw as a nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. I am deeply disappointed that even after nearly two and a half years, a minority of senators continued to block a simple up-or-down vote on her nomination. This unjustified filibuster obstructed the majority of senators from expressing their support. I am confident that with Caitlin’s impressive qualifications and reputation, she would have served with distinction," President Barack Obama said in a statement.

Yoani Sanchez, an internationally recognized Cuban blogger, capped off a day of visits with lawmakers in Washington with a trip to the White House.

"The United States looks forward to the day when all Cubans will have the opportunity to express themselves in public without fear, and we will continue to support policies that encourage the free flow of information to, from and within Cuba," National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement.

Sanchez is taking advantage of the recent easing of travel restrictions to travel the world to promote greater freedom of expression in Cuba, which she currently writes about on her "Generation Y" blog and on social media.

Fresh off his trip to the Vatican, Vice President Joe Biden joked on Wednesday that the United States narrowly missed an opportunity to have the first American pope.

Speaking to an Irish delegation gathered at his residence for a St. Patrick's Day breakfast honoring Prime Minister Enda Kenny, Biden joshed that Boston's archbishop, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, narrowly missed being chosen as the next pope.

“We almost made it big. ... We almost had a chance at power. We came that close, that close,” Biden said, according to the White House pool report.

He then jokingly blamed Terry Donilon, O'Malley's communications director and brother of White House National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, because Donilon “said something wrong.”

Democrats on Tuesday confirmed that a proposed ban on assault weapons will not be included in a package of gun reform legislation yet to be introduced in the Senate, suggesting the measure does not have broad support in Congress.

The bill's sponsor, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, confirmed to reporters Tuesday that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will remove an assault weapons ban from a package of gun reform legislation, and offer it separately as an amendment.

"I very much regret it," Feinstein said of Reid's decision. "I tried my best."

Reid's decision signals how politically volatile the issue of an assault weapons ban remains and suggests that any gun reform measure would die in the Senate if it included such a ban—something many political observers have long suggested.

Political observers take note: Rand Paul will headline the Iowa Republican Party's annual Lincoln Day dinner this spring, the party announced Tuesday.

"Rand Paul is one of the most talked about Republican Leaders in the country," the state's party event website boasts of the Kentucky senator, who recently waged a 13-hour filibuster of John Brennan's nomination to head the CIA over the administration's use of unmanned drone strikes.

Much speculation surrounds Paul's future political aspirations and whether he will follow in the footsteps of his father, Ron Paul (who most recently ran for president in 2012) and seek the presidency in 2016. Heading up a Lincoln Day dinner in Iowa—the first-in-the-nation caucus state—is likely to boost speculation Paul is considering a bid since potential candidates often test their appeal in Iowa long before committing to a campaign.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday publicly endorsed gay marriage in a new video released by the gay rights advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign.

Clinton, who resigned Feb. 1 after four years of service, says in the video that she was eager to share her views on gay rights and gay marriage after the end of her time in public office.

"LGBT Americans are our colleagues, our teachers, our soldiers, our friends, our loved ones. And they are full and equal citizens and deserve the rights of citizenship—that includes marriage. That's why I support marriage for lesbian and gay couples. I support it personally and as a matter of policy and law," Clinton says in the video.

President Barack Obama applauds his nominee for labor secretary, Tom Perez. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)UPDATE 12:09 p.m. ET

President Barack Obama on Monday highlighted the professional experience as well as the background of Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, as he announced Perez's nomination as the next secretary of labor.

Obama noted that Perez, son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, learned early on in life that it "doesn't matter who you are or where you come from," you can succeed in America. Perez fought to "open pathways for all hardworking Americans," the president said.

A longtime public servant, Perez joined the Justice Department in 2009 after serving as secretary of Maryland's Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, which works to protect consumers and employees.

Obama noted on Monday some of the myriad issues that Perez faces should he be confirmed, including the raising of the federal minimum wage, the need to assist veterans and the reforming of the country's immigration system.

President Barack Obama speaks at Argonne National Lab on Friday. (Jason Reed/Reuters)(Updated at 3:40 p.m. ET)

President Barack Obama argued in a speech in Illinois on Friday that investing $2 billion over the next 10 years to research alternative energy sources and technologies is the most effective way to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil.

Having all cars and trucks run on electricity and domestic fuels instead of gas is "the only way to break that cycle for good," Obama told an audience at Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Ill. He stressed what he referred to as a bipartisan desire to "free our families and our business from painful spikes in gas once and for all," drawing applause from the crowd.

He claimed that "by the middle of the next decade, our cars will go twice as far on a gallon of gas" due to greater fuel efficiency.

The idea behind the energy trust, which Obama first announced during his State of the Union address on Feb. 13, was based on proposals released by Securing America's Future Energy (SAFE), a nonpartisan group made up of CEOs and military veterans seeking to combat the country's dependence on foreign oil.