WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton formally opened the first direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in nearly two years on Thursday, imploring the parties to ignore the long history of failed negotiations and make needed compromises to forge an agreement.

At a ceremony in the State Department's ornate Benjamin Franklin room, Clinton said the Obama administration was committed to forging a settlement in a year's time. But, she stressed that the heavy lifting must be done by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

"We will be an active and sustained partner," she said. "But we cannot and we will not impose a solution. Only you can make the decisions necessary to reach an agreement and secure a peaceful future for the Israeli and Palestinian people."

Netanyahu and Abbas pledged their seriousness to securing an agreement and overcoming decades of mutual hostility and suspicion.

"This will not be easy," Netanyahu said. "True peace, a lasting peace, will be achieved only with mutual and painful concessions from both sides."

"We do know how hard are the hurdles and obstacles we face during these negotiations – negotiations that within a year should result in an agreement that will bring peace," Abbas said.

Abbas called on Israel to end Jewish settlements in the West Bank and other areas that the Palestinians want to be part off their own state. Netanyahu insisted that any agreement must assure Israel's security.

Thursday's negotiations are the first since the last effort broke down in December 2008 and are fraught with complications, including recent violence in the West Bank and Israeli settlement activity. Expectations are low and U.S. officials have said success may be only an agreement to hold a second round of negotiations.

Officials say they are hoping to arrange that meeting for Sept. 15 in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik and top aides to the leaders are expected to meet later Thursday to iron out final details of the next step.

Sitting at the top of a U-shaped table between Netanyahu and Abbas, Clinton congratulated the two for agreeing to resume negotiations but warned of difficult days to come in the effort to create an independent Palestinian state.

"I know the decision to sit at this table was not easy," Clinton added. "We understand the suspicion and skepticism that so many feel borne out of years of conflict and frustrated hopes."

She noted two recent attacks on Israelis in the West Bank claimed by the militant Hamas movement underscored the difficulties facing the two leaders.

"But, by being here today, you each have taken an important set toward freeing your peoples from the shackles of a history we cannot change and moving toward a future of peace and dignity that only you can create."

Hamas gunmen killed four Israeli residents of a West Bank settlement on Tuesday as Netanyahu, Abbas and the leaders of Egypt and Jordan convened in Washington. And on Wednesday, hours before the leaders ate dinner at the White House, Hamas gunmen wounded two Israelis as they drove in their car in another part of the West Bank.

The talks will face their first test within weeks, at the end of September, when the Israeli government's declared slowdown in settlement construction is slated to end.

Palestinians have said that a renewal of settlement construction will torpedo the talks. The Israeli government is divided over the future of the slowdown, and a decision to extend it could split Netanyahu's hawkish coalition. Netanyahu has given no indication so far that it will continue beyond the deadline.

Direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations broke off nearly two years ago, in December 2008, and the Obama administration spent its first 20 months in office coaxing the two sides back to the bargaining table. Despite the success in launching the talks, gaps between the sides are wide, distrust remains after years of violence and deadlock, and expectations are low.

After listening to the Mideast leaders he convened Wednesday night, Obama pronounced himself carefully optimistic. "I am hopeful, cautiously hopeful, but hopeful," he said.

The author of the blistering Vanity Fair profile on Sarah Palin says he wanted to write a positive piece, but was shocked by what he learned as he researched his story.

“The worst stuff isn’t even in there,” Michael Joseph Gross said on “Morning Joe” Thursday. “I couldn’t believe these stories either when I first heard them, and I started this story with a prejudice in her favor. I have a lot in common with this woman. I’m a small-town person, I’m a Christian, I think that a lot of her criticisms of the media actually have something to them. And I think she got a bum ride, but everybody close to her tells the same story.”

In the profile, Gross paints Palin as an abusive, retaliatory figure with an extreme ability to lie.

“This is a person for whom there is no topic too small to lie about,” he said. “She lies about everything.”

Asked about Palin’s political future, Gross said it depends on what the media lets her get away with.

“If we decide to let her keep lying and getting away with it, she’s gonna still be around,” he said. “But if we start returning to the standard that a politician has to talk with people, and a politician has to tell the truth, then she’s outta here, because she can’t stand up to that.”

Gross added that he takes exception to criticisms that he wrote a “hit piece” against Palin.

“I started this with every good intention toward her,” he said. “I was just shocked and appalled at every step at what I found. And I wrote this story sort of against my will. It wasn’t what I wanted to write, it wasn’t what I wanted to find. It was what was forced on me by the facts.”

WATCH:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Read the Vanity Fair profile here.

Rachel Fielding, BusinessGreen , Thursday 2 September 2010 at 12:54:00 Canadian firm says new Edmonton plant will process 100,000 tonnes of waste year, creating enough fuel for 400,000 cars Canadian biofuel specialist Enerkem this week announced it has begun construction on what it claims will be the world’s first industrial-sized plant capable of converting non-recyclable municipal waste into …

France’s government will not be pushed into watering down a major overhaul of its loss-making pension system despite the prospect of strong support for a nationwide strike next week, a minister said Thursday.

The author of the blistering Vanity Fair profile on Sarah Palin says he wanted to write a positive piece, but was shocked by what he learned as he researched his story.

"The worst stuff isn't even in there," Michael Joseph Gross said on "Morning Joe" Thursday. "I couldn't believe these stories either when I first heard them, and I started this story with a prejudice in her favor. I have a lot in common with this woman. I'm a small-town person, I'm a Christian, I think that a lot of her criticisms of the media actually have something to them. And I think she got a bum ride, but everybody close to her tells the same story."

In the profile, Gross paints Palin as an abusive, retaliatory figure with an extreme ability to lie.

"This is a person for whom there is no topic too small to lie about," he said. "She lies about everything."

Asked about Palin's political future, Gross said it depends on what the media lets her get away with.

"If we decide to let her keep lying and getting away with it, she's gonna still be around," he said. "But if we start returning to the standard that a politician has to talk with people, and a politician has to tell the truth, then she's outta here, because she can't stand up to that."

Gross added that he takes exception to criticisms that he wrote a "hit piece" against Palin.

"I started this with every good intention toward her," he said. "I was just shocked and appalled at every step at what I found. And I wrote this story sort of against my will. It wasn't what I wanted to write, it wasn't what I wanted to find. It was what was forced on me by the facts."

WATCH:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Read the Vanity Fair profile here.

Thirty women from nursing and retirement homes competed for the title of Arkansas Health Care Association District 1 queen at the Jacksonville Community Center on Thursday.

AP - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Afghanistan's capital Thursday for meetings with President Hamid Karzai and top NATO commander Gen. David Petraeus.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — The Democrats are likely to lose 47 seats and control of the House of Representatives in November's elections, a top political analyst says in a new forecast Thursday.

Reuters - With a diplomatic push from U.S. President Barack Obama, Israeli and the Palestinian leaders will start direct peace talks on Thursday shadowed by skepticism on all sides and fresh violence in the volatile West Bank.

AFP - EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Thursday as she looked to wrap up a visit thought to have included talks on trade, environment and security issues.

AFP - Animal rights activists protested against Japan's dolphin hunts in a rally outside the US embassy in Tokyo Thursday, calling on President Barack Obama to pressure the country over the issue.

(FoxNews) - Arizona Files Legal Brief Hitting Back at Federal Ruling Against State's Immigration Law. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is expected to file a brief Thursday in Arizona's appeal of a federal ruli...

Choosing a health care provider should be a right guaranteed to all Coloradans says a citizens’ initiative approved for the statewide ballot Thursday — but a Colorado lawmaker contends theres potential loopholes that may limit choice should the amendment pass.

News coverage reflects the ways in which employers, employees and unemployed people are confronting health care costs. Employees are resisting state and local government efforts to shift more health costs to workers, The Wall Street Journal reports. “On Thursday, a Michigan judge heard arguments in two of three lawsuits filed by public-school unions and retirees who opposed a new law that for …

Attorney Gregory Reed unveiled some documents, letters and a booklet Thursday at a Detroit mosque, including a rare 1933 signature of Nation of Islam founder W.D. Fard. Reed said the well-preserved documents detail the early structure and teachings of the group founded on the ideals of black nationalism.

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Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) finished up a campaign tour by shooting off some assault rifle rounds Thursday, a few days before the Congresswoman is set to head off to Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally in Washington D.C.

While making an appearance at Federal Ammunition ATK in Anoka, Minnesota, Bachmann took to the shooting range with an M4 carbine after shedding her media tail -- CNN reports that journalists were taken aside and only provided information on the visit by the Bachmann campaign after some persistence.

According to CNN:

Two employees said Bachmann fired off several rounds on a semi-automatic (single shot per trigger pull) before switching over to an automatic (multi-shot per pull) for a few minutes. She was shooting at printed human profile targets that, according to the employees, she kept as a souvenir. The employees said they were a little too far away to see how good her aim was.

The Bachmann campaign later gave an account of the congresswoman's appearance by email:

"Congresswoman Bachmann today toured Federal Ammunition ATK, and met with dozens of employees that have worked at the factory for many years," Bachmann spokesman Sergio Gor wrote, according to CNN. "Federal Ammunition ATK is a significant employer in the district and Congresswoman Bachmann considers these jobs very important for the district. Congresswoman Bachmann is a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment and was able to fire several rounds of bullets produced in this factory. The Congresswoman has a great shot and did well!"

Rep. Bachmann is a well-known gun rights activist, and, according to her original election campaign website, has been shooting firearms since she was 12 years old.

As a United States congresswoman, she co-sponsored legislation to force the District of Columbia to loosen gun registration & trigger lock laws in 2007.

Bachmann's affinity for assault rifles is also not completely revelatory. In 2008, she was introduced at a Family Research Value Voters Conference with a 2nd Amendment anecdote that conveyed her proud ownership of a concealed carry permit. Bachmann, the presenter said, however, had told him that she really wanted an AR-15 assault rifle, but thought that it was too cumbersome.

WASHINGTON, D.C. : President Barack Obama proclaimed Women’s Equality Day on Thursday, which marks 90 years of the ratification of the 19th Amendment that guarantees women the right to vote.

CHILLICOTHE — Health care was high on the agenda when U.S. Senate candidate Rob Portman stopped in Chillicothe Thursday with current Sen. George Voinovich, whose seat Portman hopes to win this fall.

Under Secretary of the Army Joseph Westphal visited the U.S. Army Detroit Arsenal in Warren on Thursday afternoon, along with U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, to highlight the Detroit Three's continued collaboration with the U.S. military to design and develop new military vehicles.

VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. (AP) — With his Oval Office speech Tuesday night, President Barack Obama will signal a shift in America’s focus from the Iraq War to the war in Afghanistan, his spokesman said Thursday.

Administration officials have portrayed the 8 p.m. EDT speech as an important pivot point from a war that candidate Obama said should never have been fought to a conflict that President Obama sees as vital to the nation’s security.

Previewing the speech as Obama vacationed on Martha’s Vineyard, Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton said Obama also wants to thank U.S. troops who’ve fought bravely in Iraq. With the formal U.S. combat mission at an end, troop strength in Iraq this week dropped below 50,000 for the first time since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Many of those troops will remain in a backup and training role.

Before his White House speech, Obama will fly to Fort Bliss in Texas on Tuesday to deliver his thanks in person to troops returned from Iraq.

Burton said the Oval Office address “commemorates an important milepost in American history.” He said Obama will use the occasion to speak “directly with the American people about what our mission is in Afghanistan (and) the fact that more of our efforts and focus are now on fighting al-Qaida in Afghanistan.”

Iraq has long been a partisan flashpoint, and the run-up to the fall congressional campaign continued the pattern.

Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell said Obama had essentially adopted George W. Bush’s strategy for gradually winding down the conflict.

McConnell said “the president (Obama) should be commended for ignoring his own campaign rhetoric.”

While hailing Obama’s Iraq drawdown, Burton denounced militants behind recent attacks on Iraqi security forces there. On Wednesday, a series of bombings and shootings left at least 56 dead.

“The reason for these attacks is people who don’t want Iraq to flourish as a democracy,” the spokesman said. “There are people who are trying to use fear and terror as a tactic to slow down what is not stoppable in that country.”

Burton said Obama is confident the transition to Iraqi control “has been a successful one” and Iraqis are now capable of maintaining their own security.

CHICAGO — The juror who was the lone holdout on some counts at former Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s political corruption trial has said she had a responsibility to follow her conscience and that she stands by her vote.

“I could never live with myself if I went along with the rest of the jury,” JoAnn Chiakulas told the Chicago Tribune in her first media interview since the trial ended. “I didn’t believe it was the correct vote for me.”

The jury last week deadlocked on 23 of 24 counts against Blagojevich and convicted him of lying to the FBI. On Thursday, Judge James Zagel said Blagojevich’s retrial would start the week of Jan. 4. Prosecutors have dropped charges against the former governor’s brother, Robert Blagojevich.

At the first trial, jurors deliberated for 14 days before the judge declared a mistrial on those 23 charges.

Rod Blagojevich is accused of attempting to sell or trade an appointment to President Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat.

Chiakulas said she did not believe Blagojevich committed a crime with regards to the seat. Blagojevich’s recorded statements on the Senate vacancy were so disorganized that his actions did not amount to a criminal conspiracy, she said.

In voting him not guilty, however, Chiakulas stressed that she did not find him innocent.

“I thought he was narcissistic,” she told the Tribune. “I thought he was all over the place. I thought he was just rambling.”

The 67-year-old juror said she also became concerned because some key witnesses against Blagojevich had cut deals with prosecutors before testifying.

“Some people in (the jury room) only saw black and white,” Chiakulas said. “I think I saw, in the transcripts and in the testimony, shades of gray. To me, that means reasonable doubt.”

Being the holdout caused a great deal of stress, and Chiakulas said she suffered headaches and stomach pains.

“I can’t explain how badly I felt,” she said. “I didn’t sleep at night. I thought about it on the train. I wanted to make sure my reasonable doubt was reasonable.”

___

Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com

VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. (AP) -- With his Oval Office speech Tuesday night, President Barack Obama will signal a shift in America's focus from the Iraq War to the war in Afghanistan, his spokesman said Thursday.

Administration officials have portrayed the 8 p.m. EDT speech as an important pivot point from a war that candidate Obama said should never have been fought to a conflict that President Obama sees as vital to the nation's security.

Previewing the speech as Obama vacationed on Martha's Vineyard, Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton said Obama also wants to thank U.S. troops who've fought bravely in Iraq. With the formal U.S. combat mission at an end, troop strength in Iraq this week dropped below 50,000 for the first time since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Many of those troops will remain in a backup and training role.

Before his White House speech, Obama will fly to Fort Bliss in Texas on Tuesday to deliver his thanks in person to troops returned from Iraq.

Burton said the Oval Office address "commemorates an important milepost in American history." He said Obama will use the occasion to speak "directly with the American people about what our mission is in Afghanistan (and) the fact that more of our efforts and focus are now on fighting al-Qaida in Afghanistan."

Iraq has long been a partisan flashpoint, and the run-up to the fall congressional campaign continued the pattern.

Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell said Obama had essentially adopted George W. Bush's strategy for gradually winding down the conflict.

McConnell said "the president (Obama) should be commended for ignoring his own campaign rhetoric."

While hailing Obama's Iraq drawdown, Burton denounced militants behind recent attacks on Iraqi security forces there. On Wednesday, a series of bombings and shootings left at least 56 dead.

"The reason for these attacks is people who don't want Iraq to flourish as a democracy," the spokesman said. "There are people who are trying to use fear and terror as a tactic to slow down what is not stoppable in that country."

Burton said Obama is confident the transition to Iraqi control "has been a successful one" and Iraqis are now capable of maintaining their own security.

CHICAGO — The juror who was the lone holdout on some counts at former Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich's political corruption trial has said she had a responsibility to follow her conscience and that she stands by her vote.

"I could never live with myself if I went along with the rest of the jury," JoAnn Chiakulas told the Chicago Tribune in her first media interview since the trial ended. "I didn't believe it was the correct vote for me."

The jury last week deadlocked on 23 of 24 counts against Blagojevich and convicted him of lying to the FBI. On Thursday, Judge James Zagel said Blagojevich's retrial would start the week of Jan. 4. Prosecutors have dropped charges against the former governor's brother, Robert Blagojevich.

At the first trial, jurors deliberated for 14 days before the judge declared a mistrial on those 23 charges.

Rod Blagojevich is accused of attempting to sell or trade an appointment to President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat.

Chiakulas said she did not believe Blagojevich committed a crime with regards to the seat. Blagojevich's recorded statements on the Senate vacancy were so disorganized that his actions did not amount to a criminal conspiracy, she said.

In voting him not guilty, however, Chiakulas stressed that she did not find him innocent.

"I thought he was narcissistic," she told the Tribune. "I thought he was all over the place. I thought he was just rambling."

The 67-year-old juror said she also became concerned because some key witnesses against Blagojevich had cut deals with prosecutors before testifying.

"Some people in (the jury room) only saw black and white," Chiakulas said. "I think I saw, in the transcripts and in the testimony, shades of gray. To me, that means reasonable doubt."

Being the holdout caused a great deal of stress, and Chiakulas said she suffered headaches and stomach pains.

"I can't explain how badly I felt," she said. "I didn't sleep at night. I thought about it on the train. I wanted to make sure my reasonable doubt was reasonable."

___

Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Sarah Palin called President Barack Obama the most pro-abortion president ever Thursday and mocked Florida's governor for claiming to be pro-life after vetoing a bill that would have required women to get ultrasounds before having the procedure.

In a speech that only ventured into politics on abortion issues, Palin criticized Obama's health care overhaul as a plan that will lead to more abortions.

"The biggest advance of the abortion industry in America is the passage of Obamacare," Palin said. "Elective abortions have nothing to do with health care. It's about ending lives, not saving lives."

The former Alaska governor and Republican presidential nominee John McCain's running mate in 2008 also drew boos and laughter when she talked about Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who left the Republican Party and is now running for Senate as an independent.

"Unfortunately your Republican governor," Palin began before pausing. "I don't know if he wants to be one or is a Republican anymore."

After the crowd booed, she continued.

"Your governor, he decided to veto this pro-life bill," she said before drawing laughs by sarcastically pointing out that Crist still calls himself pro-life. "He forgot that when to comes protecting the sanctity of life actions speak louder than words."

Crist didn't immediately return a message left on his cell phone seeking comment.

Palin spoke to a crowd of about 500 at a fundraiser for Heroic Media, a group that uses billboards, television ads and the internet to try direct women to crisis pregnancy centers instead of opting for abortions. The event raised about $50,000.

Other than attacking Crist and Obama and urging the crowd to pick congressional candidates that will seek to overturn the health care plan, she kept her remarks to the issue of preventing abortions. She touched on personal subjects, like her doubt in God when an ultrasound showed her son, Trig, would be born with Down syndrome and when her daughter Bristol told Palin and her husband Todd that she was pregnant.

She told the crowd that before learning about Trig, she often told people "God will never give you anything you can't handle."

Her thought after the ultrasound: "God, I think you've overestimated us this time."

"How in the world is this going to work? Does God really know what he's doing?" she said.

She said she cried out for a miracle and her prayer was answered when her son was born.

"God does know what he's doing," she said.

When her then 17-year-old daughter announced she was pregnant, she said she wasn't pleased. But neither experience made her rethink her anti-abortion stance.

"What Bristol and I have been through has not changed my opinion, but it has changed my perspective," she said. "I understand what goes through a woman's mind when she is presented with less-than-perfect circumstances."