With the Boston skyline a sparkling backdrop framed in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library's enormous windows, 13 of Kennedy's closest friends, colleagues and family members shared their favorite personal, poignant and sometimes bawdy memories of Rose and Joseph's youngest son, Edward M. Kennedy. "Captain Ahab," former Senator John Culver pronounced Kennedy after recounting a college-years tale of the first time Kennedy had taken him sailing — an episode where Culver coughed up two partially digested salmon ...

Their families were longtime friends, and she had once interned in the mailroom of his Senate office. Still, Ted Kennedy and Vicki Reggie were a most unlikely match. When their paths crossed in June 1991, he was a hard-partying politician whose indiscretions and appetites had become a national joke. She was a whip-smart single mom, more than 20 years his junior, who had little time for a social life as she balanced the needs of her two small children ...

Michigan's Supreme Court issued an order Tuesday allowing lower state courts to "exercise reasonable control" over the appearance of witnesses and parties, a rule change proposed after a Muslim woman refused to remove an Islamic garment in a small claims court. The order allows courts "reasonable control over the appearance of parties and witnesses" so as to "ensure that the demeanor of such persons may be observed and assessed by the fact-finder and ensure the accurate identification of such person." ...

A delegation of foreign ministers led by the Organization of American States' secretary-general arrived Monday in Honduras in an effort to restore ousted President Jose Manuel Zelaya to office. The delegation represents seven countries, including Canada, Mexico and Argentina. The organization has demanded that Zelaya, who was ousted June 28 in a military-led coup, be allowed to return to Honduras and resume his presidency. The United Nations and European Union also have condemned the coup and refused to recognize ...

The man who founded and ran the online sports gambling operation BetOnSports pleaded guilty and agreed to forfeit more than $43 million in proceeds, prosecutors announced Friday. Now, I know that's a strong opening statement, but consider this: The government decides where your kids go to school; what curriculum they'll study; and even develops long-term educational plans just like the Communists devised five-year plans. This kind of "one-size-fits-all" approach really punishes kids. And zero tolerance policies are a symptom of ...

An Australian high court ruled Friday that a quadriplegic man has the right to refuse food and water and can be allowed to die, a rare legal finding that some see as a major victory for right-to-die campaigners. The ruling means that the nursing facility in which Christian Rossiter has lived since November 2008 cannot be held criminally liable for allowing the patient to die, the Supreme Court of Western Australia said. "I'm happy that I won my right to ...

Impairing Education American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch Aug. 11, 2009 62 pages The Gist: It seems like a scene from Oliver Twist — a young pupil being beaten by a 300-lb man wielding an inch-thick wooden paddle — but according to a new report by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union, nearly a quarter of a million children were subjected to corporal punishment in public schools in the U.S. during the 2006-2007 academic year. Based on 202 ...

In a country built on a system of checks and balances, it's intriguing to have an award that allows the President to reveal some personal preferences. Since February 1963, when John F. Kennedy's executive order made bestowing the Medal of Freedom a Presidential privilege the highest civilian honor in the nation has offered unique insight into the elite group of people who inspire our Commanders-in-Chief. Officially, the award, which President Obama is scheduled to present to 16 people on ...

It's never been easy to be part of the huddled masses. The Statue of Liberty may not be choosy about which wretched refuse she allows in the door, but Americans themselves haven't always been so hospitable. Immigrants from Ireland landed in the U.S. in the 1850s only to find shop windows festooned with signs reading "No Irish Need Apply." The Chinese toiled to build our transcontinental railroad in the 1860s, only to see the infamous Chinese Exclusion Act signed ...

While his Republican party has been flailing and losing and dwindling to its base, Florida Governor Charlie Crist has remained extremely popular by governing from the middle. He's stocked his administration with Democrats, appointed a fairly liberal African-American Democrat to the state Supreme Court, expanded voting rights for felons, crusaded against global warming, and enthusiastically supported President Obama's stimulus package. Crist's crossover appeal — along with his powerhouse skills as a fundraiser and campaigner — has made him a ...