District of Columbia

WASHINGTON – Grassroots activists will converge on McPherson Square Thursday and provide “Occupy D.C.” campers with employment opportunities, giving them an alternative to public protest.

The event – titled “Employ the 99%. Handing out job apps to the Occupiers” – is being organized on Facebook and is scheduled for noon. Participants will hand out job applications, college enrollment forms and military recruitment brochures to “Occupy D.C.” protesters. They’ll also provide a resume workshop and job search advice. The group’s goal is to “make the 1% a little bigger,” according to their Facebook page.

Local college students and recent graduates created the initiative in response to “Occupy D.C.,” a demonstration that took over downtown’s McPherson Square starting earlier this month. The District sit-in is an offshoot of New York’s “Occupy Wall Street,” a similar protest advocating social and economic equality that began Sept. 17. more >>

Herman Cain took a firm stance against abortion in all cases on MSNBC's Meet the Press on Sunday.

The candidate, who recently overtook Mitt Romney as the GOP favorite, has promised to reverse the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision which legalized abortion.

"I do not agree with abortion under any circumstances," Cain said in an interview with David Gregory. more >>

Correction Appended

President Barack Obama met leaders of the National Association of Evangelicals at the White House Wednesday, according to a White House aide.

Obama met with the Executive Committee of the National Association of Evangelicals, which represents 45,000 churches from 40 denominations across the United States, in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. more >>

WASHINGTON – Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain defended his 999 tax plan against growing criticism Friday at the Values Voter Summit, telling naysayers to address him directly rather than make calculations of their own.

Cain said his 999 plan – 9 percent corporate tax, 9 percent personal income tax and 9 percent national sales tax – is a "bold" solution to the nation's weak economy and those who didn't agree had likely tampered with the plan's formula.

He stressed the plan is revenue neutral and would generate more income as businesses grow. It will also save the nation $430 billion dollars, he asserted. more >>

WASHINGTON – Newly energized Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich asked values voters for their support and offered Constitution-abiding justices in return.

A rejuvenated Gingrich took the stage Friday night, touting his comeback in the polls. He said the pundits and "elite media" were right that it is now a two-man race for the next GOP nominee. However, those two men, Gingrich joked, may be him and Herman Cain.

A CBS News poll this week put Gingrich in third place – a vast improvement from his previous last place showing among seven candidates. more >>

WASHINGTON – House Majority Leader Eric Cantor urged Americans on Friday to stand for persecuted Christians such as Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, the country of Israel and religious liberty.

Cantor (R-Va.) used the Values Voter Summit stage to spotlight the plight of the jailed Iranian pastor.

"As we sit here today, Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani is literally fighting for his life in Iran simply for his Christianity," he said. more >>