U.S. Senator John Kerry (R), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, speaks with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani at the opening session of the U.S.- Islamic World Forum in Doha February 13, 2010. The forum will focus on ways to improve relations between the Islamic world and the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama. - Reuters

Iran denies entry to Sen. Kerry

By Bridget Johnson - 01/03/10 01:48 PM ET

(The Hill) - Iranian legislators on Sunday decided to not allow a visit from Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.), according to Iranian media.

"Members of the Iranian parliament's Foreign Relations Committee (a subcommittee of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission) voiced opposition to the request after studying the issue," Hassan Ebrahimi, head of the committee, told the semi-official Fars News Agency.

Several Iranian news outlets reported last week that Kerry had submitted an official request to visit Tehran in an emissary role...

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DNC: Day 3

Bush to Let Americans Send Cell Phones to Cuba

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States will allow Americans to send mobile phones to relatives in Cuba under a change in policy that President Bush announced Wednesday.

Bush said he is making the change since President Raúl Castro "is allowing Cubans to own mobile phones for the first time."

"If he is serious about his so-called reforms, he will allow these phones to reach the Cuban people," Bush said.

Bush urged the Cuban government to loosen restrictions further, saying if Cubans can be allowed to own mobile phones, "they should be trusted to speak freely in public."

They should be allowed to watch uncensored movies and have free access to the Internet, he said...

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Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., shoots the ball as President of Elkhart city counsel Rod Roberson, left, looks on at Riverview Elementary School in Elkhart, Ind., Sunday, May 4, 2008.

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) listens to a resident of Elkhart, as he canvasses for votes in the Indiana town May 4, 2008.

Obama in North Carolina

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., second from right, chats with University of North Carolina basketball players while taking a break in their game in Chapel Hill, N.C., Tuesday, April 29, 2008.