The executive board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced today that Chicago is one of four finalists to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. The city’s three remaining competitors are Madrid (Spain), Tokyo (Japan), and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
The most recent evaluation report put Chicago third behind Madrid and Tokyo. But early rankings don’t necessarily [...]

Illinois Senator Barack Obama is the 2008 Democratic nominee for president.
Everyone knew when today began where it would end up; it was just a matter of how we’d get there.
The Associated Press tally, which included 11 delegates Senator Barack Obama was guaranteed as long as he gained 30 percent of the vote in South Dakota [...]

Clinton campaign officials are confirming that Hillary Clinton will concede in a speech tonight that Barack Obama has enough delegates to win the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. According to the officials, Clinton won’t formally suspend her campaign so that she may maintain leverage to negotiate with Obama, including the possibility of securing a VP spot. [...]

According to Political Radar, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) said today that the Democratic primary “will be ended a couple days after June 3rd.” Reid, who is himself an uncommitted superdelegate, told KGO Radio in San Francisco this morning that he spoke to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and DNC Chairman Howard Dean and all [...]

May has been a great month for gay rights. New York Governor David Paterson’s spokewoman announced yesterday that the governor sent a memo on May 14 ordering New York state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages performed in states and countries where they are legal. The memo was sent the day before the California Supreme Court [...]

In a book titled “What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception,” former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan writes that the current Bush administration relied on an aggressive “political propaganda campaign” instead of the truth to sell the American people on the Iraq war. While this isn’t exactly news to [...]

Former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr is the Libertarian candidate for president.

Former Georgia Rep. Bob Barr was chosen today as the Libertarian Party’s candidate for president. The former Republican won in the sixth ballot round at the Libertarian Party convention in Denver, beating out research scientist Mary Ruwart.
Barr was elected to the U.S. House as a [...]

The Associated Press, among others, is reporting this morning that Barack Obama has asked former Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson to begin vetting potential vice presidential picks. The Senator hasn’t confirmed these reports; in fact he has repeatedly declined to discuss possible running mates before the end of primary season.
But with just 60 delegates needed [...]

Some big things happened across the country today, and we at the Breaking News Blog aim to keep you up to date. It’s like the local nightly news, but minus the big hair and flag pin chatter. Here’s a breakdown of today’s top stories:
Senator Ted Kennedy, the second-longest serving current U.S. senator, was diagnosed today [...]

The Democratic National Committee announced in a press release today the launch of McCainpedia.com, an “electronic encyclopedia” containing “raw facts and research of John McCain’s record” compiled by the DNC. Unlike many other wikis, McCainpedia is run by the DNC’s Research, Communications, and Internet teams, and only DNC staff will be able to edit the [...]

Osama bin Laden could be entering the sad, lonely world of the has-been. He has reportedly released two audio tapes this week, both of which urge Muslims to “liberate” Palestine and incite resistance to the existence of the Jewish state. Bin Laden is quoted as saying that there is “no way to liberate Palestinian territories [...]

Rumors have been flying since before McCain had the nomination clinched that he might choose former candidate and social conservative favorite Mike Huckabee as his running mate. McCain hasn’t made a move to choose a running mate, but that hasn’t stopped the whispers in the media.
ABC News has reportedly assigned a slew of reporters to [...]

In California, marriages are no longer defined as a union between a man and a woman. Today in a 4-3 ruling, the California Supreme Court struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional, citing discrimination against same-sex couples. The ruling makes California the second state to legalize gay marriage; same-sex couples have been [...]

This is starting to get ugly, folks. Despite all hopes for a Clinton-Obama dream ticket, neither candidate has made a move in that direction. Both candidates have said that it’s too early to discuss possible VP picks, though the closer we get to the Democratic Convention without a clear winner, the bigger the rift in [...]

At about 4:37 a.m. this morning, starting from its epicenter in West Salem, Ill., an earthquake rattled through the Midwest, but fortunately did not cause much damage. Tremors were felt in Chicago early on Friday.
The earthquake was measured to be a 5.2 on the Richter Scale, which typically can induce “moderate damage in well-built structures.” [...]