As if America’s debate over abortion weren’t contentious enough, it’s lately been stirred by the addition of another hot-button issue: race.

Yesterday, Arizona became the first state in the nation to outlaw abortions performed on the basis of the race or gender of the fetus. And an anti-abortion billboard that uses an image of President Obama to target Chicago’s black community has sparked a furor.

The Arizona bill, signed into law on Tuesday by Governor Jan Brewer, a Republican, makes it a felony for doctors or other medical professionals to perform an abortion in order to help parents choose their offspring on the basis of race or gender. The law does not punish the woman having the abortion.

“Governor Brewer believes society has a responsibility to protect its most vulnerable — the unborn — and this legislation is consistent with her strong pro-life track record,” a spokesman for Brewer told Reuters.

But opponents of the unusual measure contend there’s little evidence that fetuses in Arizona are being aborted on the basis of gender or race. And they say the law could lead doctors to ask women about their reasons for having an abortion–something supporters of abortion rights view as a private decision.

About 1,700 miles away, in Chicago, a Texas-based anti-abortion group unveiled a billboard in the predominantly black neighborhood of Englewood. Next to a picture of Obama, it reads: “Every 21 minutes, our next possible leader is aborted.”

The Chicago Abortion Fund, a pro-choice group, denounced the billboard. “The ongoing anti-choice movement to target women of color in cities across the country is both despicable and deplorable,” it said in a statement. “Not only is the ad attempting to shame black women but placing a picture of the President Obama alongside the message is cynical and misleading.”

The group behind the billboard, Life Always, says it plans 30 similar ones for the Chicago area. It recently placed a billboard in New York City’s Soho neighborhood, reading: “The most dangerous place for African Americans is in the womb.” It was taken down after protests.

Studies have shown abortion rates are higher among African-American women than among women of other races. That has prompted anti-abortion groups to target African-Americans with the argument that abortion is hurting the black community, with some even referring to its “genocidal impact.” Pro-choice groups counter that the disparity means African-American women would be disproportionately harmed by further restrictions on abortion.

A Florida court has struck down President Barack Obama’s historic healthcare reforms, citing that the requirement for individuals to purchase insurance is unconstitutional and is too central to making the law function.

The White House termed it as judicial activism.

Giving a major blow to the historic Health Care Reform Act which was signed by Obama last year, the US District Judge Roger Vinson in his judgement ruled that the so-called individual mandate exceeds congressional power.

The whole law cannot stand as the law depends on the mandate to work. “I must conclude that the individual mandate and the remaining provisions are all inextricably bound together in purpose and must stand or fall as a single unit,” said Vinson, who on Monday became the second federal judge in two months to rule against the individual mandate.

The court cited opposition to a British mandate giving the then East India Company a monopoly and imposing a nominal tax on all tea sold in America, which was the beginning of the country’s freedom struggle.

The Congress does not have the power to compel an individual to purchase insurance, he said.

“It is difficult to imagine that a nation which began, at least in part, as the result of opposition to a British mandate giving the East India Company a monopoly and imposing a nominal tax on all tea sold in America would have set out to create a government with the power to force people to buy tea in the first place,” Vinson wrote.

“If Congress can penalise a passive individual for failing to engage in commerce, the enumeration of powers in the Constitution would have been in vain for it would be “difficult to perceive any limitation on federal power” and we would have a Constitution in name only.

Surely this is not what the founding fathers could have intended,” he wrote.

The judgement, which was immediately opposed by the White House was cheered by the opposition Republican party, which after gaining majority in the House of Representatives repealed the bill from the House this year.

“Today’s ruling – issued by Judge Vinson in the Northern District of Florida – is a plain case of judicial overreaching,” wrote the White House healthcare messaging guru Stephanie Cutter in a blog post.

“We don’t believe this kind of judicial activism will be upheld and we are confident that the Affordable Care Act will ultimately be declared constitutional by the courts,” he said.

“This ruling is well out of the mainstream of judicial opinion. Twelve federal judges have already dismissed challenges to the constitutionality of the health reform law, and two judges – in the Eastern District of Michigan and Western District of Virginia – have upheld the law.

In one other case, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia issued a very narrow ruling on the constitutionality of the health reform law’s “individual responsibility” provision and upheld the rest of the law, he said.

First, Woodson took a page out of Obama’s “One America” campaign, telling the Packers to remain unified—”Let’s be one mind, let’s be one heartbeat, one goal, one more game. One.”

Then the cornerback called out the president to motivate his team.

After his teammates listened quietly to the beginning of his speech, Woodson changed the tone and pumped up the volume: “The president don’t wanna come watch us go to the Super Bowl? Guess what?” We’ll go see him!”

After winning the championship, professional teams usually are invited to the White House to meet the president. The Packers made it clear they intend on receiving that invitation. Watch below:

Daniel Hernandez, the openly gay hero of, the Arizona shootings will be attending Tuesday’s State Of The Union address given by President Obama.  He and his father will be sitting with First Lady Michelle Obama.  Tuesday is going to be quite a day for Hernandez because it is also his 21^st birthday.  His thoughts on attending The State Of The Union address are: “I’m both honored and excited to have the opportunity to travel to our nation’s Capitol for a once in a lifetime event. Also the chance to bring my father along for his first trip to Washington, D.C. The State of the Union is a pivotal moment because it is our opportunity to find where we are and where we will be going as a nation in this upcoming year,”

President Obama arose in a crowd of melancholy to somberly call for an end to the political blame game that erupted in the wake of the tragedy and urged Americans not to use it as “one more occasion to turn on each other.”

The president told an overflow crowd of more than 14,000 people at the University of Arizona the moment should prompt Americans to step back and reflect on how they lead their own lives and how they deal with one another.

“At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized–at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who happen to think differently than we do–it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds,” Obama said.

Referencing the finger-pointing that has taken place over the last several days, Obama warned of trying to find “simple explanations” in the aftermath. “Scripture tells us that there is evil in the world, and that terrible things happen for reasons that defy human understanding,” the president said.

The truth, he said, is that “none of us can know with any certainty what might have stopped these shots from being fired or what thoughts lurked in the inner recesses of a violent man’s mind.”

The emotional high point came early in the speech, as the president drew an exultant cheer from the crowd by breaking from his prepared remarks to announce that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, shot in the attack on Saturday, had opened her eyes for the first time.

“Gabby opened her eyes. So I can tell you, she knows we are here,” Obama said. “And she knows that we love her and she knows that we are rooting for her through what is undoubtedly going to be a difficult journey.” The president spoke shortly after visiting the bedside of  Giffords, who was shot and critically injured while meeting constituents at a Tucson grocery.

Obama also used the speech to return the nation’s focus to the six people who lost their lives last Saturday, noting that they were fulfilling “a central tenet of the democracy envisioned by our founders” by attending the Giffords event.

“The loss of these wonderful people should make every one of us strive to be better in our private lives — to be better friends and neighbors, co-workers and parents,” Obama said. “And if… their deaths help usher in more civility in our public discourse, let’s remember that it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy, but rather because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to our challenges as a nation, in a way that would make them proud.”

In particular, Obama focused on the life of 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green, who was killed at the event. Green, who is the same age as Obama’s youngest daughter, Sasha, attended the event out of her growing curiosity about democracy, the president noted, at times becoming emotional.

He urged Americans to view democracy and their role in the country as Green did in her final days.

“She saw all of this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often take for granted,” Obama said. “I want us to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as she imagined it.”

A White House spokespers announced that President Barack Obama has commended the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles for giving quarterback Michael Vick a second chance after his release from prison.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton says the president told owner Jeffrey Lurie that while he condemns the crimes Vick was convicted of, he believes people who have paid for their crimes should have the opportunity to contribute to society again.

The Eagles signed Vick last year after he served an 18-month prison sentence on charges related to a dog-fighting ring. Vick has led the Eagles to the playoffs this year after assuming the starting job.

The White House says Obama also applauded the Eagles’ plan to install wind turbines and solar panels at their stadium to reduce energy consumption.

 Fulfilling a campaign pledge, cheering his party’s downcast liberals and striking a blow for what he sees as basic human rights, President Barack Obama signed a landmark law Wednesday that tells America’s armed services to let homosexuals serve openly for the first time.

The president said at a press conference preceding the signing that the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” will strengthen security and uphold ideals. He also said the government will not be “dragging its feet” to enforce the repeal and encouraged those discharged under the ban to rejoin the military.

So many gay rights and Democratic activists were expected at the signing ceremony that the White House booked a large auditorium at the Interior Department.

“This day has come!” said an elated Mike Almy, an Air Force major discharged four years ago when his sexual orientation became known. “‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ is over, and you no longer have to sacrifice your integrity.”

While the elation is real, Pentagon officials caution it could be premature, since the bill requires service chiefs to complete implementation plans before lifting the old policy — and certify to lawmakers that it won’t damage combat readiness, as critics charge.

Also, guidelines must be finalized that cover a host of practical questions, from how to educate troops to how sexual orientation should be handled in making barracks assignments.

While officials have avoided timetables, the process will probably take months.

Still, for gay and lesbian Americans, Wednesday is a watershed. And for Obama, it is a day to revel in the achievement of a goal he’s long championed.

The woman who told President Barack Obama that she was “exhausted” from defending him and his economic policies and waiting for the change she expected after voting for him has another reason to be put out: She’s lost her job.

Velma Hart, the chief financial officer for Am Vets, a veteran services organization based in Maryland, said Monday in an interview with CNBC that she was laid off as part of the nonprofit’s effort to cut expenses.

“I want to focus on the positive and be optimistic,” said Hart, who lives in Upper Marlboro, Md. “And assume that somehow things will work out, that there’s an opportunity out there with Velma’s name on it that’s right around the corner.”

Am Vets executive director Jim King told The Washington Post that the nonprofit was looking for ways to survive financially.

“It’s not anything she did,” King told the Post for a story that appeared online Monday. “She got bit by the same snake that has bit a lot of people. It was a move to cut our bottom line.”

In September, during a town hall-style meeting on the economy televised by CNBC, Hart told Obama: “Quite frankly, I’m exhausted. Exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the man for change I voted for, and deeply disappointed with where we are right now.”

Hart said that the recession had taken an enormous toll on her family and left her and her husband worried about their finances. “And quite frankly, Mr. President, I need you to answer honestly,” she said, “Is this my new reality?”

Obama responded, in part: “As I said before, times are tough for everybody right now. So I understand your frustration.” He went on to cite examples of administration policies that he argued were helping families cope financially.Hart told CNBC that she still supports Obama and noted that the economy is improving, though she finds the prospect of unemployment “scary.”

War veteran and Senator John McCain’s daughter, Meghan McCain, has a new mission in life.  To avenge her father’s 2008 presidential loss by becoming a GOP strategist next election season in order to “kick Obama’s ass” in 2012.

“I’ve already had people interested in me working, which is unbelievably flattering,” McCain said at the Miami Book Fair International while promoting her book, “Dirty Sexy Politics,” Politico reports. “I want to go out and do it all over again with somebody else — I want to go get a Republican elected. I want to kick Obama’s ass the next election and get a Republican elected.”

While McCain has been a somewhat divisive figure during her ascent to the forefront of the young, new brand of conservatism, she accused Obama over the weekend of having “done little to nothing with his administration.”

Earlier this year McCain shed some light on the dramatic internal struggles of her father’s 2008 campaign, saying that the unrefined Sarah Palin caused “panic” in the candidate’s ranks. She later admitted in her book that her father’s choice of Sarah Palin as vice president made her cry.

Meghan McCain has also repeatedly dodged questions about potentially supporting or voting for Palin if she were to win the Republican nomination in 2012, saying in September that she was a member of “Team Romney.”

She also expressed some concern about Palin’s ability to win the general election in a recent interview with Fox News, saying that she was “overwhelmingly polarizing” and “maybe the most polarizing figure of our time.”

In an appearance on “The Tonight Show,” McCain took a swipe at Sarah Palin’s “unpresidential” reality TV show and even went after the former Alaska Governor’s daughter, Bristol Palin.

Not only is Sarah Palin considering a run for president in 2012, she’s confident she can win.

The former Alaska governor told ABC News’  Barbara Walters for a profile airing next month that she’s trying to determine whether throwing her hat into the ring is a “good thing for the country, for the discourse, for my family.”

The 2008 vice presidential nominee also told The New York Times for a profile running in this weekend’s magazine that she’s “engaged in the internal deliberations” of mounting a campaign.

“If you ran for president, could you beat Barack Obama?” asked Walters.

“I believe so,” Palin responded. The interview will air Dec. 9.

Palin told the Times that her biggest job would be to prove her record to voters.

“That’s the most frustrating thing for me — the warped and perverted description of my record and what I’ve accomplished over the last two decades,” Palin said. “It’s been much more perplexing to me than where the lamestream media has wanted to go about my personal life. And other candidates haven’t faced these criticisms the way I have.”

A Gallup survey released last week found Palin might have a good chance of capturing the GOP nomination in 2012: fully 80 percent of Republicans polled had a positive opinion of her. But the poll showed she might have a harder time in the general election. Fully 81 percent of Democrats and 53 percent of independents viewed her unfavorably — while fewer than four in 10 viewed her favorably.