Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. government has no right to restrict American tourists from traveling to Cuba, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Thursday.

John J. O'Connor III, a lawyer who went to Washington in a historic role, as the husband of the first female U.S. Supreme Court justice, has died. He was 79.

National Security Advisor Gen. James L. Jones suggested Sunday that Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who has eluded capture by U.S. forces since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks he orchestrated, may periodically slip into Afghanistan cont.

The Defense secretary says only some troops will leave in July 2011 and that he's confident of making progress against the Taliban by then.

Reports from The Hill in Washington D.C. are that Democratic Senators are preparing to offer a "compromise" amendment to the healthcare bill as soon as next week that would destroy the public option.

It took 14 weeks for Obama to announce and detail his Afghanistan troop deployment strategy, with many revisions and transitions in the fine-print. However when carefully analyzed, this current exit strategy has been blurred into meaning: "NO EXIT"!

The New York State Senate has voted to block gay marriage legislation by a 38-24 vote. All Senate Republicans voted against the legislation, while eight Democrats also voted against. There were, however, some beautiful speeches.

The reign of California's action-hero governor has so far been a disappointment. But he has one year left in which to improve his legacy.

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Anti-abortion activists are urging Roman Catholic bishops to rebuke Catholic lawmakers if they support publicly financed abortion in the national health care bill.

WARWICK, R.I. -- A federal prosecutor whose traffic stop last week in Warwick triggered questions about whether he received special treatment has pleaded not guilty to drunken driving.