Model and actress Amber Lee Ettinger became a national sensation when her 2007 YouTube video "Crush on Obama" tallied nearly 25 million hits, eventually landing the 29-year-old New Yorker on "Saturday Night Live." Published October 3, 2012
Davey Johnson's success raises an intriguing question: How does he remain mentally proficient at his age, particularly in a line of work that requires statistical command, stellar memory, quick decision-making and astute emotional judgment? The answer may lie in his brain — and in the emerging scientific concept of neuroplasticity. Published October 2, 2012
While moderating the final 1988 presidential debate, former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw triggered gasps from the press room and national controversy by asking Michael Dukakis, "Governor, if Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?" Published October 2, 2012
Gayle Quinnell, a 75-year-old McCain-Palin volunteer from Minnesota, called Barack Obama "an Arab" during a 2008 campaign event, leaving a flabbergasted John McCain to respond, "No, ma'am. [Mr. Obama is] a decent family man, citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues." Published October 1, 2012
"God damn America!" Those three words were replayed ad nauseam in 2008, when video of a fiery sermon delivered by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright threatened to derail Barack Obama's presidential aspirations. Published September 30, 2012
James Stockdale, the former pilot and bona fide Vietnam War hero, received a Medal of Honor after spending more than seven years in a North Vietnamese prison. None of that mattered in 1992, when his memorable opening line in the vice presidential debate — "Who am I? Why am I here?" — became comedy gold. Published September 25, 2012
A freckle-faced toddler, Monique Corzilius was the face of the most notorious attack ad in campaign history, 1964's "Daisy" spot. Published September 24, 2012
Even today, the photo remains iconic, the snapshot seen 'round the world: a man holding a magnifying glass, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, peering at a disputed punch card ballot, riddled with questionable holes. Published September 23, 2012
The place was packed. The sidewalk, too. On a recent evening, the patrons at Justin's Cafe looked like an extension of the crowd at nearby Nationals Park, where the surging Washington Nationals were playing the Los Angeles Dodgers. Published September 20, 2012
If you want to escape religion at the Democratic National Convention, there is only one place to go: the official Charlotte Convention Center prayer room. Published September 6, 2012
For Democrats, this week's convention is an opportunity to meet, greet and put a collective best foot forward to the national electorate. For Republicans, it's an opportunity to poke and prod, issue rebuttals, and generally make like the snarky Stadler and Waldorf from "The Muppet Show." Published September 5, 2012
Standing atop a creaky wooden platform above a muddy, fenced-in field, protester Bob Kunst gave a dozen or so cardboard rubbish bins near the Democratic National Convention a piece of his mind. Published September 4, 2012
Don't tell Claudia Blakemore that President Obama is bad for small business. Published September 3, 2012
If you want to understand who Mitt Romney really is, go beyond the position papers, stump speeches and preposterously presidential coif, and start with muffins. Published August 26, 2012
The year was 1967, and 23-year-old Syracuse University student Bob Wheeler had been hitchhiking across the country, conducting hundreds of interviews for his master's thesis, an oral history of legendary American Indian athlete and Olympian Jim Thorpe. Published August 16, 2012
For faithful right-wingers, Chief Justice John G. Roberts' switcheroo on Obamacare is basically akin to a romance gone wrong. Yet here's the rub: He isn't going anywhere. The man is 57, has a lifetime appointment and, ironically, a great government health plan. He'll be rocking the black robes for a long, long time to come. Published July 31, 2012
Befitting a game best known for Mad Hatter dimensions and a deep appreciation for all things pirate and/or windmill, the National Building Museum's minigolf exhibit is by turns whimsical and thought-provoking, kitschy and surreal. It's also brutal on visitors' scorecards. Published July 26, 2012
Brett Di Resta teaches students how to find and spread information that can be used as political ammunition. With a presidential campaign gone bitterly negative before the opponents have even tapped gloves, and a new breed of free-spending Super PACS set to pour millions into opposition research, it's a timely skill set. Published July 17, 2012
Rep. Tim Ryan asserts that mindfulness not only can help individuals cope with the pressures of modern life, but also help treat traumatized veterans, raise better-educated children and reduce ballooning health care costs — all while fostering a less divisive, more productive Washington culture in which solving problems takes precedence over scoring political points. Published July 11, 2012
Currently enjoying its bicentennial, the War of 1812 occupies a musty, forgotten junk drawer in America's collective cultural consciousness, stuffed somewhere between the liberation of Grenada and the time Will Smith punched that extraterrestrial fighter pilot in the face. Published July 3, 2012
