What Did Former President Bush Call 'Weird and Nuts'?

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Al Qaeda Cells?

One of the Muslim imams who was kicked off a U.S. Airways flight out of Minneapolis Monday has links to organizations that have been accused of sponsoring terrorism.

Omar Shahin was head of the Tucson Islamic Center and says the center may have helped Usama bin Laden during the 1990s in his fight against Russia. Shahin was also a representative of the Kind Hearts Organization, which the government says coordinated with Hamas leaders and made contributions to Hamas-affiliated organizations.

Kind Hearts also was associated with The Holy Land Foundation — which the government says supported terrorism — a connection Shahin denies. Shortly after the 9/11 attacks Shahin publicly expressed doubts that Muslims were responsible and denied the existence of Al Qaeda cells in the U.S.

Proud Papa

Former President George Herbert Walker Bush came to his son's defense Tuesday during a question-and-answer session after a speech in Abu Dhabi.

A woman told Mr. bush — "We do not respect your son. We do not respect what he's doing all over the world." The former president was described as stunned while others whooped and whistled in approval. He then said: "My son is an honest man. He is working hard for peace. And how come everybody wants to go to the United States if the United States is so bad?"

After another student said he believed U.S. wars were aimed at opening markets for American companies – Mr. Bush said that was "weird and nuts"— and told the student — "I think you need to go back to school."

Out-of-Wedlock Births

Government health officials say out-of-wedlock births have climbed to an all-time high — with nearly four in 10 babies born last year to unmarried mothers. The National Center for Health Statistics says that translates to 1.5 million — up about one percent from the previous year.

The increases were seen in all racial groups — but most sharply among Hispanics. And all age groups were affected except the 10-to-17 group. The government says out-of-wedlock births have been on the rise since the late 1990s.

Kicking Back

It appears sitting back in your recliner and taking it easy can actually save your life. Police in Walnut Creek, California say 57-year-old Norman Kamp was sitting in his chair Sunday night when his wife came up behind him and fired a gun at the back of his head. But because she fired through the recliner, Mr. Kamp was only slightly wounded.

There's no word on the condition of the chair — or whether Mr. Kamp was sitting in a La-Z-Boy or a Barcalounger.

—FOX News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.