Obama Triples Size of AmeriCorps Program

USAService.org connects volunteers to projects

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama, like John F. Kennedy before him, has issued a call to service in a novel medium. For Kennedy it was television, and Obama, unsurprisingly, is using the Internet to drum up volunteerism, Time reports. USAService.org allows willing citizens to find projects, or even organize them, and capitalizes on the successes of the plugged-in campaign. More»

Ted Kennedy's son calls successor's candidacy a 'joke'

(NEWSER) - Scott Brown sped up his swearing-in because despite having touted his independence during his Senate campaign, "he's in the tank for the Republicans," says Patrick Kennedy, predecessor Ted Kennedy's son. Patrick Kennedy, a Rhode Island congressman, says Brown suddenly demanded to be seated a week earlier than previously arranged because he plans to support a Republican filibuster of an Obama nominee's appointment. "His “whole candidacy was shown to be a joke,” Kennedy said. More»

Republican upset puts Dems' national agenda at risk

(NEWSER) - Scott Brown scored an enormous Republican upset today, winning the Massachusetts US Senate seat long held by the late Ted Kennedy by a 52%-47% margin over Democrat Martha Coakley. The loss sunders the Democrats’ filibuster-proof, 60-vote supermajority in the Senate, and throws into doubt the future of health-care reform—along with much of President Obama’s yet-unfinished business. More»

New video urges support for Coakley, president's agenda

(NEWSER) - With less than a week to go before the special election for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat and Democratic nominee Martha Coakley slipping in the polls, President Obama is appealing directly to voters. In a video released today, Obama ties his agenda to Coakley's prospects, saying the Massachusetts AG will "be your voice, and my ally." More»

(NEWSER) - A bipartisan call for public service got a warm reception today at Texas A&M, where George HW Bush welcomed President Obama and 44 hailed 41 as "an inspiration to us all." At a forum celebrating the 20th anniversary of the former president's Points of Light Institute, Obama—who was met by protesters opposing health care reform—called on young people to get involved in their communities, the Eagle of Bryan-College Station reports. More»