All Trought about politic at Ukraine

WASHINGTON -- President Obama is unlikely to close the much-maligned detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in time to meet the self-imposed deadline of January, as his administration runs into daunting legal and logistical hurdles in moving the more than 220 detainees still being held there.

The difficulties in completing the lengthy review of detainee files and resolving other thorny questions mean the president's promised January deadline may slip, senior administration officials acknowledged for the first time Friday to FOX News.

The White House hopes to regain momentum -- Obama's aides have stepped up their work toward closure and the president remains as committed to closing the facility as he was when, as one of his first acts in office, he pledged to shut it down, officials told FOX News.

The White House in recent months has also shuffled its staffing f ... Read more »

In a 12-minute address on audiotape, al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden spoke to the American people on the 8th anniversary of 9/11. The tape was produced by the as-Sahab propaganda arm of the terror group and posted on various jihadist forums last night.

His address (assuming it is his voice on the tape), directed "to the American people," asserted that the main reason for the al Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001, was U.S. support for Israel as well as "some other injustices." Interestingly, bin Laden claimed the war between the two "nations" (i.e the American nation and the Islamic "Umma") can stop if the White House eliminates what he called the "Israel lobby." He accused Israel of pushing for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Note that in this speech he did not mention the battlefields of Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia or Chechnya; he targeted only U.S.-Isr ... Read more »

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama will tell the nation in a prime-time address precisely how he wants to expand health care, pitching a fresh argument _ but, to liberal disappointment, no demand _ for a government-run insurance option.

"The president's going to speak clearly and directly to the American people about what's in this bill for them," press secretary Robert Gibbs said Wednesday, hours before Obama appeared before a rare joint session of Congress and a live national television audience.

Opening a final push for his top domestic priority, Obama will push for a health care overhaul that provides new and crucial protections for people who already have insurance, affordable access to coverage to those without, and reduced spending for families, businesses and government.

"We do intend to get something done this ... Read more »

Keeping kids at home from school when they get sick is one of the most important ways to stop the spread of swine flu.

But plenty of parents can't skip a day of work to watch their children - and that worries the hero school nurse who first detected the virus in New York.

The head nurse at St. Francis Preparatory - the Queens school that became the epicenter of swine flu in the spring - says New York City needs a law to force all employers to provide paid sick days.

"At a school where the parents have no sick da ... Read more »

They wore feathers on their heads - and almost nothing on their bodies - as revelers from more than a dozen island nations danced up Eastern Parkway on Monday for the annual West Indian American Day Carnival Parade.

"People are shocked to see all the naked ladies but ... it's nothing for me," said Trinidadian native Marilyn Harbin, 56. "This is about freedom and letting loose."

The dancers weren't naked, but there were plenty of sequined bikinis strutting down the Brooklyn parade route to calypso and reggae beats.

"We wine and we gyrate to the pulsating music," said Barbadian-born Susan Dottin, 39, of East New York, Brooklyn, who wore a blue-and-gold feathered bikini and a headdress as she proudly waved her Barbados flag.

"You're getting loose, you're feeling no hangups, nothing, no inhibitions. It's just about having a good time."

The crowds squealed wildly at the passing floats and dancers as they inhaled the succule ... Read more »

To the list of bureaucrats and wonks working at City Hall, now add robots.

The Husqvarna Automower 230 ACX - a foot-high battery-powered lawn-mowing robot that steers itself around the lawn, then returns to its charger when it needs more juice - just joined the City Hall staff as a groundskeeper.

For now, it's just a temporary, non-paying gig.

"It's on loan from the manufacturer for just a few weeks," said city Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe. "We're trying it out to see how it works."

The city has thousands of acres of parklands and ballfields that are now mowed by unionized workers but Benepe says the city's lawn-mowing workforce has no reason to fear they'll b ... Read more »

The awful stench coming from a Queens apartment on Monday was so bad that cops thought they would find a body inside.

But when firefighters busted down the the door, they found tenant Ming Li Sung was very much alive - and living with rotting garbage piled floor to ceiling.

"When they started trying to clear away some of the trash to get in, he popped up inside, yelling, 'Get out! Get out!'" said Ray West, who lives across the hall.

Cops first noticed the horrible smell when they were called to the Ravenswood Houses in Long Island City in the early morning for a domestic dispute.

"They thought he was DOA," said West.

The apartment looked like a landfill, wit ... Read more »