How official do you have to be with president Barack Obama? Carla Bruni, France president’s wife doesn’t seem to know the answer to this question. Otherwise she wouldn’t have been such business-like in her greeting when she welcomed US president to Strasbourg's majestic 18th-century Rohan Palace.

While his husband, President Nicolas Sarkozy gave Michelle Obama a hug and a continental double kiss, the former model Carla Bruni held out a frosty hand to welcome Barack Obama.

The meeting in Strasbourg was being held before the start of the NATO alliance’s 60th anniversary summit. And of course, France’s president wanted everything to be just perfect. So the guests were welcomed with a red carpet arrival and full military honors from a company of soldiers dressed in camouflage.

During the national anthems the two couples lined up, but unfortunately and despite his trademark stacked heels, Mr Sarkozy was visibly the shortest one.

With the occasion of his visit in France, President Obama gave a speech about his goal of “a world without nuclear weapons” and added that he would outline details in Prague in the coming days.

He also touched the crisis subject saying that US has its fault for this situation, but that “every nation bears responsibility for what lies ahead - especially now.” Diplomatic as always he added: " I’ve come to Europe this week to renew our partnership. America is changing but it cannot be America alone that changes.”

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When you are the president’s wife, no matter what country he runs, you become one of the most important woman in that state. Even rumors about his wife being pregnant who seems to be far from the truth, becomes very spicy.

It is very well known that the Obama family has a very healthy diet and that Michelle her self is taking care of it. She told Oprah Winfrey in April's "O" that "my big concern was making sure we ate well on the road. So we started looking at our diet, trying to eliminate junk, getting seasonal fruits and vegetables that were grown locally."

They are also used to making a lot of physical effort: "There's a small gym here that has everything we need," she says. "I work out about four or five days a week -- and Barack does six.”

About the rumor that she is pregnant, the president’s wife said that when she found out the rumors "I was like, 'Baby bump'?" she says. "Here's the scoop: Not pregnant. And not planning on it."

So according to Michelle, there is no room in their life for another child, specially when they are already preoccupied in raising the other two children: Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, who are in the age of big questions and they need a lot of attention.

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Documentarian Michael Moore, apparently shooting a new film in New York on Saturday, came to the offices of American International Group Inc, demanding that the embattled insurer give up the billions of dollars in bailout loans it has received and put it in an armored truck to take down to the U.S. Treasury in Washington D.C.

 

In the video he holds up what seems to be a cloth bag with a large black dollar sign on one side, surrounded by what appear to be his videographers and a small crowd behind him.

 

“Just drop it from the window. Go ahead, I can get it,” he shouts, wearing his familiar baseball cap while looking up at the multi story building on Water St. in Manhattan. The video was posted to the YouTube website.

 

He tries to push his way into the building through a pair of revolving doors, but is unsuccessful as they are being held by security guards.

 

Moore, as a director, is also heard telling videographers to capture the right angles.

 

“Go ahead, just drop it. I’ll catch it. $170 billion dollars, I got extra bags,” he bellows.

 

He then peers into the lobby through glass walls. Behind him is a backed up armored car.

 

“Load the money up. $170 billion and I'm going to drive it to the Treasury in Washington D.C.I'm going to return the money to the U.S. Treasury,” he says as the video ends.

President Obama found a new way to answer to the questions that people have to ask him. So he held a “virtual townhall” in which people could write in questions and he would answer them online. He was asked many questions, and one of the most important was about the legalization of marijuana. Obama was very discreet about it.

This is the question that he was asked: "With over 1 out of 30 Americans controlled by the penal system, why not legalize, control, and tax marijuana to change the failed war on drugs into a money making, money saving boost to the economy? Do we really need that many victimless criminals?”

The president’s answer was a strategical one. He started by quoting the question he was asked which was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation. And he answered : "The answer is no, I don’t think that’s a good strategy to grow our economy.”

One of the questions that was about health care policy made the president talk about his daughter, Sasha , and her life-threatening case of meningitis when she was a baby. He said that when his daughter was three months old she was hospitalized with life-threatening meningitis. Obama gave this unknown news at an unprecedented White House Internet town-hall meeting. “The doctors did a terrific job, but frankly it was the nurses that were there with us when she had to get a spinal tap, and all sorts of things that were just bringing me to tears,” he said.

Now Sasha is seven years old and feels much better. That is why president Obama will always appreciate RNs.

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Eliot Spitzer stands next to wife Silda Wall Spitzer. (Photo:Reuters)

Former New York governor Eliot Spitzer, who resigned from the office after it was discovered he hired prostitution services, told CNN Fareed Zakaria in an interview he has failed in a "very important way" and has paid for that.

"I would say to [critics] that I never held myself out as being anything other than human,...I have flaws as we all do, arguably. I failed in a very important way in my personal life. And I have paid a price for that," Spitzer said in the interview, which airs Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

In the interview Spitzer showed his concern for the current economic crisis and added "I am where I am because of my own conduct. And as I say, I make no excuses."

During his interview Spitzer addressed the topic of American International Group saying he felt his need to speak about this company and reminded everyone that the company was at the "center of the web."

Watch Spitzer's comments on AIG below:

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Attorney General Eric Holder Wednesday said some Guantanamo Bay detainees could be released into the US.

 

President Barack Obama chose Holder, to lead the administration's effort to close Guantanamo prison within a year, said the review of what to do with each of the prisoners had begun.

 

Administration's review, made on a case-by-case basis, would determine whether the prisoners need to be put on trial or whether they can be released said Holder to the reporters at the Justice Department.

 

"For those who are in that second category, who  can be released, there are a variety of options that we have. Among them is the possibility that we could release them into this country," he said.

Michelle Obama Comic from Bluewater Productions. (Image:Bluewater Productions)

A comic of First Lady Michelle Obama from the "Female Force" series produced by Bluewater Productions will be released on April 25.

The series have previously featured Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin which were released this week and sold about 10,000 copies each.

Michelle Obama's comic aims to portray her class, beauty and intelligence, according to Vinnie Tartamella, the artist. Starting from her youth in Chicago to her career success in Princeton and Harvard and her presidential campaign with husband President Barack Obama, the creators will follow the First Lady on a life-journey.

The comic is available at Amazon.com for $3.99 and has pre-sold 40,000 copies already.

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Princess Diana…After 12 years from her death we can still feel the sadness of her loose. Princess Diana remained in people’s hearts by being the standard of one of a kind royalty who cares about others. One of those who is also suffering but, as he said, never talked about it, is her son, Prince William. He was 15 years old when his mother died in Paris in a terrible car accident.

Now he is volunteering for the Child Bereavement Charity, which helps youngsters cope with the deaths of loved ones. In this way he continues the job that her mother did before she passed away.

“What my mother recognized then, and what I understand now, is that losing a close family member is one of the hardest experiences that anyone can endure”, declared the 26 year old royalty. It seems that even though he never admitted in public, he was very affected by his mother’s death.

Now, speaking to the other people that lost one member of their family, he was finally able to talk about his repressed feelings. He admitted that Mother’s Day become very hard for him, and that he feels a big emptiness in his heart on that special day.

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Convicted swindler Bernard Madoff (C) enters his plea of guilty in Manhattan Federal Court in this courtroom drawing March 12, 2009. REUTERS/Shirley Shepard (UNITED STATES CONFLICT SOCIETY BUSINESS)

Bernard Madoff was jailed after he pleaded guilty on Thursday of 11 felony counts that stated he cheated about 5,000 clients and made a fraud as big as $65 billion, according to Federal prosecutors. 

Madoff, 70, appeared Thursday morning at the Federal court in New York City and said he was "sorry" and "ashamed." Authorities lifted his bail and Madoff was imprisoned today. His sentence will be arranged in June 16.

"I am actually grateful for this opportunity to publicly comment about my crimes, for which I am deeply sorry and ashamed," Madoff said, the L.A. Times reported. "As the years went by, I realized my risk and this day would inevitably come. I cannot adequately express how sorry I am for my crimes," he continued. According to reports, Madoff did not even look at his victims when they testified in court.

Madoff who once was chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange made one of the biggest Ponzi scheme frauds ever. He is likely to spend the rest of his life in jail.

Below is the full list of the 11 felony charges to which Madoff pleaded guilty, according to an Associated Press summary report:

 Count 1: Securities fraud. Maximum penalty: 20 years in prison; fine of the greatest of $5 million or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense; restitution.

Count 2: Investment adviser fraud. Maximum penalty: Five years in prison, fine and restitution.

Count 3: Mail fraud. Maximum penalty: 20 years in prison, fine and restitution.

Count 4: Wire fraud. Maximum penalty: 20 years in prison, fine and restitution.

Count 5: International money laundering, related to transfer of funds between New York-based brokerage operation and London trading desk. Maximum penalty: 20 years in prison, fine and restitution.

Count 6: International money laundering. Maximum penalty: 20 years in prison, fine and restitution.

Count 7: Money laundering. Maximum penalty: 10 years in prison, fine and restitution.

Count 8: False statements. Maximum penalty: Five years in prison, fine and restitution.

Count 9: Perjury. Maximum penalty: Five years in prison, fine and restitution.

Count 10: Making a false filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Maximum Penalty: 20 years in prison, fine and restitution.

Count 11: Theft from an employee benefit plan, for failing to invest pension fund assets on behalf of about 35 labor union pension plans. Maximum penalty: Five years in prison, fine and restitution.

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New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine delivered his annual budget address, today. Proposing a $29.8 billion  fiscal 2010 budget filling up what he calls "staggering" $7 billion deficit in part by raising taxes on people earning more than $500,000 a year.

 

New budget is $3 billion less than that of fiscal 2009, that represents the largest one-year spending cut in state history in an effort to offset the impact of plunging tax receipts and higher benefits spending in the recession.

 

The budget begins July 1, the deficit will be filled by $4 billion in cuts, $2 billion in federal stimulus funds, and $1 billion in extra revenue from higher taxes on people making more than $500,000 a year, who will be asked to pay an extra 0.75 percent on their income taxes for one year only.

 

The governor's budget speech will re-broadcast it at 10 o'clock tonight. It also will be Webcast live at njn.net.