Nancy Pelosi

To a crescendo of clicking cameras, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stepped before a row of shimmering U.S. flags last March to make an announcement Americans had been waiting four months to hear. November's elections had swept Democrats into power on a wave of frustration with the Iraq war. Now, flanked by three committee chairmen in her ceremonial Capitol office, the San Francisco congresswoman prepared to unveil the party's plan to bring the troops home.

The crosstown tensions between the White House and Congress broke into the open Wednesday, threatening new obstacles for President Bush's effort to win approval of a free trade agreement with Colombia. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) moved to undo a timetable that would have forced the House to vote on the measure before adjourning for the fall campaign.

Santa Monica Mayor Herb Katz is lobbying for increased federal funding for a light rail project to connect East and West Los Angeles. The superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, David L. Brewer III, wants more federal dollars for No Child Left Behind Act mandates, financial aid to students and anti-gang programs.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, leading a Congress whose approval ratings have descended to historic lows, has begun a two-week cross-country campaign to promote a memoir on her ascent to the highest position in the House of Representatives. The San Francisco Democrat's first book -- "Know Your Power: A Message to America's Daughters" -- barely addresses her party's struggles to confront the war in Iraq, the energy crisis and the stagnating U.S. economy.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is considering legislation that would permit new offshore drilling as part of a broad energy bill, a response to growing anxiety within her party that Republicans are gaining traction with election-year attacks that Democrats aren't doing enough to address high gasoline prices.

When Nancy Pelosi was sworn in as the first Democratic House speaker in 12 years, she promised to reach across the aisle to Republicans, to be "speaker of the House -- the entire House." In tribute to that spirit, she dressed in purple -- blending the red and blue that are symbols of partisan division. But she did not look like a speaker of the whole House this week, as the financial industry bailout she helped negotiate was unexpectedly defeated.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi took stewardship of the House two years ago with a pledge to "drain the swamp" and clean up ethical abuses in Congress. Now an investigation of one of her party's best-known members is putting her in an uncomfortable spot. Rep. Charles B.

Most Americans still don't know who Nancy Pelosi is, and this was her last chance to script an introduction before Congress convenes today and she becomes the first female speaker of the House. So on Wednesday, Pelosi kicked off a three-day celebration of her ascension packed with more product placement than an infomercial. The cannoli at the reception after the morning Mass were from the bakery on the street in Baltimore's Little Italy where she grew up.

The candlelight in the foyer of the Italian Embassy glittered like stars on the glass domed ceiling. Below, many of the nation's brightest Democratic political lights and their friends and supporters gathered to celebrate Nancy Pelosi's ascent this week to House speaker. The guests sat at round tables that were covered in crisp white linens and decorated with peach-colored roses and lilies, ringed with tea lights.

Returning to power after 12 years, House Democrats on Thursday elected Nancy Pelosi as the first female speaker and moved swiftly to adopt rules to rein in the influence of lobbyists. Pelosi, also the first Californian to lead the House, and new Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) put President Bush on notice that they intend to press for a new policy on Iraq.