Six Months Later, Good Medical News
Who didn't gasp last November when Elizabeth Edwards , energetic mother of three and wife of Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards , capped the 2004 race by revealing she had breast cancer? Well, half a year later, we've got news to report: The treatment is over, and her doctors feel hopeful about the future.
"She feels great," says spokeswoman Kim Rubey , "and her doctors are optimistic. It's all very positive." Which, as cancer doctors told us, is about as good as it gets since they just don't like to use the word cured.
Her ordeal started right after the Kerry-Edwards team lost to the Bush-Cheney machine, when she told her husband she'd found a lump in her right breast a week and a half earlier. First came chemotherapy to shrink the mass, then a lumpectomy, and finally radiation, which ended late last month. And despite the treatment and loss of hair, now growing back, "she's been in great spirits," Rubey tells us, "through the whole process."
It's a good thing. Work beckons. The Edwardses are selling their Georgetown mansion--price $6.5 million--and moving home to North Carolina to build a new house. And don't forget: maybe a presidential race in 2008.
Edwards's speedy recovery has cheered many she knows, not the least of whom is Sen. John Kerry . "She's a courageous soul," says Kerry, "and a fighter to the core."
The Top Diplomat's New French 'Do'
The most famous flip in Washington since Jackie Kennedy 's is getting a sophisticated, maybe even presidential, remake. We hear that Secretary of State Condi Rice is ditching her trademark flip and moving to a more elegant French twist and other upswept designs. "I'm surprised nobody's noticed," said one pal about the media's obsession with Rice's fashion. "People kept thinking she'd cut it. But then she came in one day with a whole new do. It's like a big blowout of the hair." The insider's assessment was that the change is for the best. "She was mocked on Saturday Night Live for her hair, so it's a good thing."
The Last Secrets of Sergeant Presley
Believe it or not, there are still revelations to come about Elvis Presley, JFK, actors Steve McQueen, Humphrey Bogart, and Clark Gable , even author Jack Kerouac . But they won't hold long. This week, the National Archives and Records Administration plans to release its military files for public viewing in Washington and St. Louis. NARA insiders tell us the military planned to trash the files of 1.2 million servicemen and women, thinking them of little value. But thanks to a new deal, the files of famed servicemen, including tennis great Arthur Ashe and boxer Joe Louis, are being preserved.
This Battlefield Goes Beyond Bush
History wasn't just a high school course for Karl Rove , the deputy White House chief of staff. Friends say he's nuts about the subject, especially American history and the Civil War. Which explains why Rove likes to spend time at Civil War battlefields, often rummaging through the gift stores for new books about the clash. But we hear that despite his lofty government job, he never calls ahead for special treatment and often goes unrecognized. And when he finds a good book, we're told, he sometimes buys lots of copies to give to his friends.
Getting It First, Getting It Right
Enough already about who first whispered that former FBI big shot W. Mark Felt was the Washington Post 's "Deep Throat" source for the Watergate story. There's only one guy who outlined in detail why Felt was the one, right down to how the G-man was mad that former President Nixon didn't pick him to replace J. Edgar Hoover. The winner: longtime reporter James Mann , who wrote a piece in the May 1992 Atlantic Monthly explaining why the source had to be from the FBI and why Felt was very likely No. 1 on the Most Wanted list. So it's not bragging when he tells us: "I believe I'm the first person who laid out the institutional nature of this."
It's All in How You Count the Numbers
Remember the hullabaloo when the administration released its annual terrorism report in April showing that international terrorist attacks nearly tripled to 651 in 2004? No worries, calmed the feds, who blamed the surge on changes in how events are counted. Well, it's happening again. We hear that the new National Counterterrorism Center later this month is likely to report a boost to "several thousand incidents." Runaway terrorism? No, no, no, officials are saying, again blaming the methodology.
Hey, W, It's Birthday Week
Reminder to President Bush : Your mom turns 80 on June 8, and your dad is 81 on June 12. And if you haven't already sent a present to Texas, forget it. They're leaving town for an annual cruise. In fact, they gave orders at the Bush library to tone down the celebration, though a party will be held in their absence June 10 with punch and cake. But here's a way you can mark the occasion. Library officials tell us they've created a virtual birthday card for friends to send Poppy and Bar. It's at http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu .
Governor's Vice: Netflix and Popcorn
He's the incoming chairman of the National Governors Association, he's penned a hit fitness book after losing 100 pounds, and he's been dubbed "skinny" by President Bush. He's also eyeing a 2008 presidential bid. So how does Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee veg out? He E-mails orders to Netflix for movies and makes popcorn in his own machine. The guv says he loves Netflix: If a movie stinks, just put in another. Bad movies and high prices pushed him to the subscription service. The tipping point: I [heart] Huckabees . For obvious reasons, the guv says he felt compelled to go, but he thought the film was a dud. "I can't remember seeing a dog that barked louder than that."
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With Suzi Parker and Kevin Whitelaw
This story appears in the June 13, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.