Politics

Chia Obama headed back to shelves

Chicago -- The makers of a Chia pottery plant kit modeled after Barack Obama said the items, which have been in Chicago warehouses since April, are headed back to stores.

Joseph Enterprises Inc. of San Francisco said the pottery plant kits, which are modeled after the U.S. president's head and sprout green plants in the place of hair, were pulled from the shelves by Walgreens in April due to fears they could be seen as offensive, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Monday.

"Everybody was afraid that it might be considered racist," company president Joseph Pedott said.

However, Pedott said the remaining 500,000 Chia Obamas, which are being stored in four Chicago-area warehouses, are bound for Walgreens competitor CVS.

NFL: New Orleans 48, Philadelphia 22

Philadelphia -- The New Orleans Saints bombed the Philadelphia Eagles 48-22 Sunday with Drew Brees tossing three touchdown passes, raising his total to nine in two games.

Brees finished with 25 completions in 34 throws, totaling 311 yards. His touchdown throws were for 15 and 25 yards to Marques Colston and 11 yards to Heath Evans.

A week earlier, Brees threw six touchdown passes in a 45-27 Saints win over Detroit.

Mike Bell ran for 86 yards and a score for New Orleans (2-0).

Kevin Kolb, starting in place of the injured Donovan McNabb, was 31-of-51 for 391 yards and two touchdowns for the Eagles (0-1). The Saints picked off three of Kolb's passes.

Shin leads Samsung World Championship

La Jolla, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Jiyai Shin, who has moved into the second spot in the women's global golf rankings, grabbed the lead Friday after two rounds of the Samsung World Championship.

Shin shot a 3-under 69 on the South Course of the Torrey Pines Golf Club to finish 36 holes at 135.

At age 21, Shin moved up three spots in the world rankings last week with her third victory of the year on the LPGA Tour. The only player in front of Shin in the rankings is one shot behind her at the Samsung Championship.

Lorena Ochoa, who has held the No. 1 position throughout the year, eagled the 18th hole to shoot a 69 and was tied for second place with Ai Miyazato at 136. Ochoa has won twice this year, but not since April.

Patriots LB Mayo sidelined by knee injury

Foxborough, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- New England linebacker Jerod Mayo will be sidelined indefinitely after injuring his right knee in Monday's season opener against Buffalo.

Patriots Coach Bill Belichick addressed Mayo's status during a conference call late Tuesday.

When asked if the injury could put Mayo's season in jeopardy, Belichick responded, "I don't think that's what it is." The coach indicated he would provide details Wednesday when New England releases its first injury report for the week.

President Obama to appear on 'Letterman'

New York -- Barack Obama has agreed to be the first sitting U.S. president to appear on "Late Show with David Letterman," CBS announced Tuesday.

Obama is scheduled to appear on next Monday's edition of the television chat show.

He is to be the sole guest on the broadcast, CBS said.

This will be Obama's first visit back to the show since his election last
Nopvember. He previously appeared on "Letterman" five times. His last show was Sept. 10, 2008 during the height of his 2008 presidential election campaign.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International.

Sarkozy, again, tied to G20 walkout threat

Paris -- The secretary-general of the Elysee said French President Sarkozy could walk out on next week's Group of 20 meeting if leaders fail to act on bank bonuses.

In a radio interview, Secretary-General Claude Gueant -- Nicolas Sarkozy's chief of staff -- said a threat to walk out of the Sept. 24-25 G20 meeting in Pittsburgh should be taken "very seriously," The Times of London reported Monday.

"The head of state is extremely determined as he was at the G20 in London a few months ago when he pushed for his proposals on tax havens to be agreed," Gueant said.

Britain, Germany and France have expressed dismay over bank bonus checks that encourage risky financial deals.

AFL-CIO primed for Obama speech

Pittsburgh, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's speech Tuesday at the AFL-CIO convention comes amid a revival of labor optimism and spirit of empowerment, union officials say.

A grass-roots push of AFL-CIO members representing every congressional district during Obama's 2008 presidential campaign helped him win the election, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

"We recognize that working people are at the edge of a huge wave of change," said John J. Sweeney, AFL-CIO president. "We're ready to mobilize as never before to create an economy that works for everybody.

The convention will bring together 1,000 union delegates, 2,000 guests and 250 visitors from unions throughout the world.

Obama greets NHL champs at White House

Washington -- U.S. President Barack Obama Thursday welcomed the NHL Champion Pittsburgh Penguins to the White House.

Obama congratulated Stanley Cup playoff MVP Evgeni Malkin and teammate Sidney Crosby, the youngest team captain ever on a Stanley Cup-winning team.

"You know, we've had a lot of championship teams visit the White House. I've seen a lot of trophies," Obama said. "There is something special about the Stanley Cup, other than it just being really big. Winning this trophy takes a whole new level of sacrifice."

The NHL champs presented Obama with a Penguins jersey.

Obama apologized for being late to the event.

Obama adamant yet constructive in health care speech

Washington, September 10 -- In a nationally televised address to a joint session of Congress, President Obama tried his best to give another impetus to his health care plan.

Obama to post White House visitor logs on the Web

Washington, September 6: Barack Obama is all set to tread a different path from the previous Presidents of the U.S. Obama has decided that he will not follow the other presidents who kept their White House visitor logs a secret, instead he will post the list on the Internet.