(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

by Frank James

You have to give it to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. He may be one of the nation's most powerful men but no fancy shmancy Mont Blanc pen for him, at least not at today's Senate hearing on the economy.

The head of the nation's central bank reached into his pocket and pulled out one of those complimetary stick pens that hotels make available to their guests. His was stamped "Westin."

Maybe it was a signal to the senators that he's a frugal man who's not about to waste his money or anyone else's, a good thing perhaps since some senators were clearly concerned today that the Fed and Treasury Department might be way too ready to put taxpayers' money at risk as part of their plan to serve as a backstop to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Or maybe it was just the first pen he laid his hands on this morning as he readied himself for his Capitol Hill appearance.

Wonder if he's the kind of guy who takes the little bars of soap too.

by Matthew Hay Brown

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has made a dramatic return to the Senate, his first visit since suffering a seizure in May that led to a brain cancer diagnosis and surgery, to cast the 60th vote Democrats needed on a Medicare bill that failed last month without him.

The Senate chamber erupted in bipartisan applause moments ago as Kennedy entered, escorted by presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, fellow Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry, best Senate friend Chris Dodd and his son, Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island. Wife Vicki Kennedy and niece Caroline Kennedy watched from the front row of the gallery.

A grin spread across Kennedy's face as he appoached the dais and cast his vote with a loud "Aye."

The Medicare Improvement for Patients and Providers Act of 2008, already passed by the House, would delay a 10.6% reduction in Medicare physician fees. It failed to achieve cloture by one vote last month.

As it turned out, it passed today by a 69-30 vote.

by Andrew Zajac

The shadow of 9-11 in Washington lightens with each year that passes without an attack. But on holidays like the 4th of July, the fingers still tighten ever so slightly on the armrests.

The Department of Homeland Security typically issues statements about low threat levels intended to reassure, but their effect is disquieting. Consider DHS's holiday assessment in yesterday's Congressional Quarterly:

"The Homeland Security Department reported that as of Thursday afternoon, it has received no credible threats to suggest a terrorist attack for the July Fourth holiday. However, the department is continuing to monitor for problems.

"Due to the symbolic importance of the holiday, the large number of mass gatherings and special events and increased travel associated with the celebrations, DHS and the

Kudwa said local authorities and security personnel may increase their security precautions. She encouraged the public to report anything suspicious, including unattended bags, unattended vehicles in restricted areas or the use of cameras and recording devices at large public gatherings... "

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by John Kennedy

Florida's best-known bachelor, Gov. Charlie Crist, is getting married.

Crist on Thursday popped the question to his girlfriend of nine months, New York socialite Carole Rome, presenting her with a blue sapphire and diamond ring in his gulf-side condo in St. Petersburg.

"I'm very happy," Crist said Thursday evening. "I had a nice ring. It was very romantic. And she said `yes.'

No date has been set for the wedding. But Crist said the fall was the likely time -- in St. Petersburg, where he is a member of a Methodist church. A reception will probably also be held in Tallahassee, he said.

Crist, 51, said he managed to get down on one knee to propose, but it wasn't easy after his recent knee surgery. He's off crutches only a few days.

Rome, 38, is president of her family's century-old costume business. She has two children, ages 11 and 9, with former husband, New Yorker Todd Rome who is chief executive officer of Bluestar Jets. She lives in Miami, but will likely soon begin dividing her time between St. Petersburg and Tallahassee, Crist said.

Read the full story at Central Florida Political Pulse, the Orlando Sentinel's political blog. For more on Crist as a possible McCain veep, read Kennedy's article here.

(Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Carole Rome photo by Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)

by John Crewdson

The Swamp watches the Sunday talk shows, so you don't have to:

The issues this first week of summer: Democratic unity (meaning can Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton stand to be in the same room together? And will Hillary or Bill speak at the Democratic convention?). Can Obama win over the critical Western states and the Hispanic vote he needs to defeat John McCain? Are U.S. commandos operating secretly in Iran? And, why is Ralph Nader running for president--again?

Nader famously cost Al Gore the presidential election in 2000, an election in which Gore garnered a half-milllion more popular votes than George Bush but lost by five electoral votes when the Supreme Court accorded Bush the state of Florida. Nader won only 2,883,105 votes, or 2.7% of all votes cast nationwide. But post-election research showed that 60% of Florida voters who voted for Nader would have voted for Gore, had Nader not been on the ballot.

Nader never accepted responsibility for making Bush's victory possible, blaming what he sees as the corporate conservatism of the Democratic Party, and asserting his responsibility to offer voters a third choice.

Many of Nader's former adherents didn't agree. Public Citizen, the group he founded in 1971, but with which he currently has no connection, reportedly lost 20 percent of its membership after the 2000 election.

Now Nader is back, confidently predicting on ABC's "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos that his name, which is currently on the ballot in only five states, will be on 45 state ballots--one more than in 2000--by election day.

by Matthew Hay Brown

Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty expressed disappointment with the Supreme Court decision today to overturn the three-decade-old District of Columbia handgun ban, but said officials would move quickly to comply with the ruling.

"I have already directed the Metropolitan Police Department to implement an orderly process for allowing citizens to register handguns for lawful possession in their homes," Fenty told reporters this afternoon.

He went on to stress that the ruling would be limited in its impact on district statutes.

"This case is about a very narrow issue, and that is about the legal possession of handguns in the homes," he said. "It leaves intact various other laws that apply to private citizens who would purchase handguns or other firearms for home possession."

All firearms still must be registered with the police, Fenty said. Automatic and semi-automatic handguns generally remain illegal and no handguns can be carried outside of the home.

The mayor appeared with district Police Chief Cathy Lanier and Attorney General Peter Nickles.

"Now, let me be very clear," Nickles said. "You cannot go out today, if you have a handgun, and carry it around. This is not open season with handguns."

by Katie Fretland

Who do you like better Hillary Clinton or Bill Clinton?

A new national poll by the Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg says that 52 percent of registered voters feel positively about Bill Clinton compared to 49 percent for Hillary Clinton.

As for negative opinions, 36 percent don't like Bill Clinton while 39 percent feel negatively for Hillary Clinton.

Our colleague Don Frederick at Top of the Ticket the rest of the story including how the public likes the candidates for the White House here.

by Katie Fretland

This just in from ABC News. At a Capitol Hill Club breakfast today, former Bush senior aide Karl Rove called Sen. Barack Obama "cooly arrogant."

"Even if you never met him, you know this guy," Rove said, Christianne Klein reports.

"He's the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette that stands against the wall and makes snide comments about everyone who passes by."

Rove also said he was heading to the White House for a chat with the president, Klein reports.

To read more, visit Political Punch, ABC News' political blog.

by Katie Fretland

The governor of Florida, who pundits have mentioned as a potential running mate for John McCain on the presidential ticket, talks about the veepstakes, tanning (or lack therof) and love in a new interview with The New York Times magazine.

Thanks to Scott Maxwell at the Orlando Sentinel for drawing our attention to the article in his blog Taking Names.

(Scott points out the snazzy photograph of Republican Gov. Charlie Crist looking like a male magazine model.)

Here is a look at the Q&A with Deborah Solomon:

by Mark Silva

Sen. Barack Obama drove Ethel Kennedy's golf cart last night from the hilltop to the main house at Hickory Hill in McClean, Va., where supporters contributed $28,500 per person to a party fundraiser. And Obama fielded a few questions.

A golden retriever frolicked in the front yard of the Kennedy homestead, guests arrived by Lincoln Town Car, by Lexus and by Subaru (with one Hillary '08 bumper sticker spotted on a Subaru. A duo of pre-teen Kennedy cousins carted a large cardboard cutout image of Obama from the poolhouse and carried it to the main house for the cocktail "meet and greet.'' A discussion of Miley Cyrus ensued.

Max Kennedy, offering a lively toast, said the event would produce "more money ever raised for any candidate in the history of this household."

He said that his mother -- widow of the senator and former attorney general who lost his life running for president -- Robert F. Kennedy, had told her son at the 2004 Democratic National Convention: "The man who just spoke is going to be president of the United States, and he is going to change this country.'' That would be Obama.

Noting that most of the people in the room under 40 had never had a chance to vote for "anyone but a Bush or Clinton for president of the United States,'' he said, wrily: "There is nothing that ticks me off more in politics than someone trying to get by on the basis of their family name."

Telling tales of growing up at Hickory Hill, he spoke of meeting John Lennon, Coretta Scott King, Amy Carter and every serious candidate for president as a child there; and said that Obama was the candidate he had always sought. "This is the kind of candidate that I've been waiting for my entire life," Max Kennedy said.

"Max's been making me blush,'' Obama said, taking the mic at close to 8:30 pm EDT. "As you wander through the house, you see American history on display,'' he said of the RFK family homestead. "It's so casually woven.'' One can see "all the inner workings of an American family and an American life....you sometimes forget how extraordinary it is, and what an extraordinary family it is.

by Mark Silva

The commander-in-chief stopped in at his wake.

But "The Boss'' sang at his memorial service.

Or at least the image and music of Bruce Springsteen were piped into the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for the remembrance of Tim Russert, longtime host of Meet the Press and Washington bureau chief for NBC News, who passed away last week at the age of 58.

The long weekend of tributes to a revered newsman is finished. But, thanks to MSNBC, the anthem played by the working-man's working man remains with us.

A young Russert had helped arrange a concert for a young Springsteen at the Cleveland college where the newsman was educated. He remained a lifelong fan of Springsteen and Roy Orbison.Tom Brokaw, the retired NBC news anchor, joined Luke Russert, son of the newsman, for a suprise guest appearance by satellite at Russert's memorial service at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday.

How many times do we get to play Springsteen in The Swamp? We only wish it hadn't taken an occasion such as this.

by Mark Silva

Sooner or later, Washington catches wind of what the rest of the country has been facing -- though in this case it's not flooding, but rather torrential rains that gripped the Capitol and the suburbs of Washington, D.C., for a time this afternoon.

Tornadoes have claimed fatalities in the area in recent weeks.

And tomorrow morning, following his return from an eight-day tour of Europe, President Bush will get a briefing on Midwest flooding in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

The forecast calls for clearing skies here.

Workers at the Eisenhower Executive Building, on the White House campus, sit outside, Friday, June 13, 2008, after losing power because of a major power outage in downtown Washington. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

by Frank James

(Updated at 10:05 am: The electrical power is returning to buildings and traffic lights in downtown Washington. Looks like this problem may happily come to an early end.)

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The nation's capital, which many people believe to be the heart of darkness as it is, has been plunged into darkness because of a downtown power outage.

Actually, it's a partly sunny day here so even though many lights are off in downtown Washington, D.C., it's not exactly dark.

And it's only part of the downtown area. The Capitol building appears to be unaffected -- so far though the White House is said to be operating on emergency power. Here's a story from the city's all-news radio station, WTOP.

Still, across downtown, tourists, office workers and the like are in hotels and office buildings without power, meaning no elevators or air conditioning. Traffic lights and normal power at Metro subway stations are out so the escalators and fare-care machines are out.

The only good news is that PEPCO, the power company that serves Washington D.C. and its Maryland suburbs, has its headquarters right in the area hit by the blackout so this problem definitely has the attention of officials there.

by Matthew Hay Brown

So it turns out that Cuban cigars are only second on the list of contraband seized most often by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.

Topping the chart? Candy.

Toy-filled chocolate eggs made by the Italian confectioners Kinder and Caffarel lead the rankings released today by the Baltimore field office of the Department of Homeland Security agency, which oversees airports and seaports from Northern Virginia to Southern New Jersey.

Also making the list: Counterfeit handbags, watches and clothing; the hallucination-provoking and tourist-inebriating liquor absinthe; and Hell notes, which are burned in Chinese ancestor veneration but may closely resemble U.S. currency.

Also: Drugs.

As the summer travel season approaches, Customs and Border Protection is promoting its Know Before You Go web site.

"We know that travelers plan extensively for international vacations, and we're just asking that they take that one last step and know what they can and can't bring into the United States," said Michael Lovejoy, director of the Baltimore office. "I'd hate to see anyone unnecessarily lose their hard-earned money by purchasing items inadmissible to the U.S., especially in today's economic environment."

CPB's list of the 10 most-seized inadmissible items follows.

by Andrew Zajac

People from Washington go to the beach to get away from the city's hot air, both meteorological and political.

One of the preferred destinations is Ocean City, Maryland, where the mayor, Richard Meehan recently had some fun with the public's increased awareness of global warming.

Meehan filmed a promotional spot inviting tourists to book their vacations "before the ocean evaporates" -- something he says it's expected to do in a billion years.

Check out Meehan's 1950s civil defense-style pitch here and above.