First Lady

First Lady Catherine Curran O'Malley issued an apology this morning for saying that delegates who'd switched their votes on same-sex marriage last session were "cowards. " In a statement issued a few minutes ago, the First Lady said she let her "feelings get the better of me. " “I regret my recent choice of words," O'Malley said in the statement. The Associated Press reported Thursday night that the First Lady, speaking at the 24th annual Conference on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality in Baltimore, said “there were some cowards that prevented it from passing.” Last year a same-sex marriage bill passed in the Senate, but was pulled from the House floor when leaders found they were a few votes short of passage.

WEATHER Today's forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies, with a high temperature near 45 degrees. Tonight's forecast calls for mostly clear skies and a low temperature around 30 degrees. TRAFFIC Check our traffic map for this morning's issues as you plan your commute. FROM THE WEEKEND... Girl, 13, found dead in Darley Park section of Baltimore : A 13-year-old girl was found slain Sunday evening in the Darley Park neighborhood of northeast Baltimore, police reported.

Michelle Obama seems to have found her mission as first lady, and it grew out of the planting the most famous vegetable garden in the world. She hinted at what might become her cause last summer when she celebrated the garden's first harvest with the schoolchildren who helped her plant it. She declared that poor eating habits are a root cause of obesity, and obesity is a root cause of health problems that are taxing this country's resources: heart...

Catherine Curran O'Malley grew up with a swirl of history at her doorstep. Daughter of a powerful Maryland senator, her dad's positions led white supremacists to picket her home. The neighborhood priest once denounced him from the pulpit. Young Katie didn't always understand why her family — especially her father, J. Joseph Curran Jr. — was the target of vitriol. "I knew there was this hatred out there," O'Malley, 49, said. "I knew whatever he was doing was the right thing.

It's difficult to fathom the real purpose or intent of the scathing critiques of Michelle Obama's health initiative to lower the rate of childhood obesity. We know that this country has a significantly greater obesity problem than other industrialized nations and that this health problem increases morbidity and mortality rates, decreases productivity and significantly increases the cost of health care. Any effort to stem this tide is appreciated. Ms. Obama is attempting to persuade people to develop better eating and exercise habits.

The first family is America's egalitarian version of royalty (if you are too young to remember the sprawling Kennedy clan), and thanks to our People magazine sensibilities, we know as much about their family life and fashion as the Brits do about Kate and William's. For example, the latest news is that 13-year-old Malia Obama is beginning to spread her social wings, and it is giving President Barack Obama hives to see his oldest daughter leave the White House all dolled up for a dance or a party.

The only GOP lawmaker to support same-sex marriage so far is Sen. Allan Kittleman, of Howard County, but some influential Republican Marylanders are beginning to weigh in. Joe Steffen, the longtime political operative to Republican former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., wrote a post on his Global Rhetoric blog defending First Lady Catherine Curran O'Malley for calling the some of lawmakers who switched their vote on same-sex marriage "cowards" and...

I don't get it ...the United States is in extreme debt and getting higher every second. Yet Michelle Obama and daughters are apparently enjoying their travels in Africa. ( "Aids Activists Share Plight With First Lady" June 24.) The plight of AIDS will long be with us. Talking about it solves absolutely nothing. Question: Does the First Lady have to get approval from anyone for her trips? When will our government realize we cannot fix other countries' problems? We cannot fix our own!

Ellen Ingram Fretterd, who was known as the "first lady" of the Maryland National Guard, died of cancer Dec. 3 at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. The Federalsburg resident was 75. Born Ellen Ingram in Pike, W.Va., and raised in Seaford, Del., she was a graduate of Seaford High School. She earned an associate's degree from Chesapeake College and a bachelor of arts from what was then Salisbury State College. In 1988 then-Gov. William Donald Schaefer appointed her to the school's board of visitors.

Catherine Curran O'Malley grew up with a swirl of history at her doorstep. Daughter of a powerful Maryland senator, her dad's positions led white supremacists to picket her home. The neighborhood priest once denounced him from the pulpit. Young Katie didn't always understand why her family — especially her father, J. Joseph Curran Jr. — was the target of vitriol. "I knew there was this hatred out there," O'Malley, 49, said. "I knew whatever he was doing was the right thing.

The first family is America's egalitarian version of royalty (if you are too young to remember the sprawling Kennedy clan), and thanks to our People magazine sensibilities, we know as much about their family life and fashion as the Brits do about Kate and William's. For example, the latest news is that 13-year-old Malia Obama is beginning to spread her social wings, and it is giving President Barack Obama hives to see his oldest daughter leave the White House all dolled up for a dance or a party.

The only GOP lawmaker to support same-sex marriage so far is Sen. Allan Kittleman, of Howard County, but some influential Republican Marylanders are beginning to weigh in. Joe Steffen, the longtime political operative to Republican former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., wrote a post on his Global Rhetoric blog defending First Lady Catherine Curran O'Malley for calling the some of lawmakers who switched their vote on same-sex marriage "cowards" and...

I always thought Governor O'Malley was willing to sell his soul for votes, but now is seems his wife is willing to do so as well (First lady apologizes for 'coward' remark," Jan. 27). Joan Smith

Gov. Martin O'Malley told a national gathering of gays and lesbians in Baltimore on Sunday that he would fight to make Maryland the seventh state in the country to allow same-sex marriage, but he expressed regret for his wife's choice of words in endorsing the cause last week. Appearing before some 3,000 people at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force "Creating Change" conference at the Convention Center Hilton, the governor vowed to press for passage of a marriage equality bill in the General Assembly this year.

First Lady Catherine Curran O'Malley issued an apology this morning for saying that delegates who'd switched their votes on same-sex marriage last session were "cowards. " In a statement issued a few minutes ago, the First Lady said she let her "feelings get the better of me. " “I regret my recent choice of words," O'Malley said in the statement. The Associated Press reported Thursday night that the First Lady, speaking at the 24th annual Conference on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality in Baltimore, said “there were some cowards that prevented it from passing.” Last year a same-sex marriage bill passed in the Senate, but was pulled from the House floor when leaders found they were a few votes short of passage.

Ruth L. Thomas, whose philanthropic interests ranged from medical and educational institutions to helping newly arrived immigrants, died Wednesday of complications from a stroke at Springhouse Assisted-Living in Pikesville. Mrs. Thomas would have celebrated her 98th birthday this coming week. The daughter of Jacob Legum, founder of Park Circle Motor Co., and Rose l. Legum, a homemaker, Ruth Legum was born in Norfolk, Va., and moved with her family to Fairview Avenue in Forest Park in 1917.

The wife of former Gov. Harry Hughes died in Denton early Wednesday morning after suffering for years from Parkinson's disease, according to the governor's campaign manager. Patricia Hughes was 79. Joseph Coale, who worked on Mr. Hughes' staff in the 1980s and served as his campaign manager in 1978 and 1982, called Mrs. Hughes a strong-willed woman who counseled the governor on a variety of topics. "She was always willing to provide" advice, Mr. Coale said. "Her standards were high, and she strove for perfection."

It is hard to believe, considering our national fondness for the White House and its history, but new presidents used to sell off the furnishings from the previous administration in something like a garage sale. In an attempt to make "the people's house" their own, first families would get rid of the old to make room for the new, or the newest fashion. Incoming administrations could simply do away with what they didn't want and no one batted an eye until years later when first lady Jacqueline Kennedy asked for it all back.

— First Lady Michelle Obama applauded the parent company of Olive Garden and Red Lobster Thursday for pledging to cut calories and sodium at its restaurants over the next 10 years. Speaking at the Olive Garden, a restaurant known for its all-you-can eat pastas and breadsticks, Obama called the move by Darden Restaurants, the world's largest full-service restaurant company, an industry "breakthrough" and a key step in her campaign against childhood obesity. "What's good for kids and families can also be good for business," she said.