Blog Posts by Rachel Rose Hartman, Yahoo! News

President Barack Obama on Tuesday morning assured residents of Oklahoma that they have both the nation's support and the federal government's assistance as they reel from the aftermath of a deadly tornado.

"Our prayers are with the people of Oklahoma today," Obama said during remarks delivered at the White House after a giant tornado tore through Moore, Okla., on Monday, leaving a path of death and destruction. The exact death toll in Moore remained unclear Tuesday morning, but it reportedly included children.

"The people of Moore should know that their country will remain on the ground there for them, beside them, as long as it takes for their homes and schools to rebuild, businesses and hospitals to reopen, the parents to console, the first responders to comfort and of course frightened children who will need our continued love and attention," Obama said Tuesday.

The president signed a disaster declaration Monday for Oklahoma, directing federal aid to state and local recovery

It seems we didn't know the whole story about what the White House knew when about the Internal Revenue Service's improper targeting of conservatives. And neither did the White House spokesman.

White House press secretary Jay Carney revealed during Monday's briefing that in addition to White House counsel Kathy Ruemmler, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough "and other members of the senior staff" were made aware of the Treasury inspector general's report on the IRS before its release and the president was not.

Ruemmler did not receive a draft of the report but was informed of its contents on April 24, and she informed McDonough and other staff—whom Carney declined to identify. The information was not shared with President Barack Obama, who says he first learned of the IRS conduct from news reports on May 10. The final report was released on May 14.

When pressed to explain why he didn't previously share this information with the press, Carney responded that this also was new information to him.

"I think that I said I didn't know until Friday," Carney said, referring to May 17.

Carney spent the majority of Monday's briefing answering questions about the IRS controversy, which the White House had attempted to tamp down over the weekend by sending senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer on the Sunday morning news shows.

(Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images)Following a rough, scandal-filled week in Washington, President Barack Obama got dressed down by a bunch of kids.

During a visit to Moravia Park Elementary School in Baltimore, Md., Friday, the president was asked to do another challenging task: Draw a tiger.

"I got to help with one of the lessons. We were having to draw zoo animals," Obama said in a speech at Ellicott Dredges, a dredging manufacturing plant he went to after his school tour. "And I’ve got to say, my tiger was not very good."

He added, "The kids were unimpressed. They kind of looked at it, they said, 'That doesn’t look like a tiger.' But they were amazing."

The president sat in with a class of 4- and 5-year-olds while visiting Baltimore Friday as part of his "Middle Class Jobs & Opportunity Tours.”

After a week filled with controversy and criticism, President Barack Obama left town Friday for Baltimore, the second stop on his "Middle Class Jobs & Opportunity Tour." The trip, which was previously scheduled, took him to a dredging manufacturer and an elementary school, with the next stop on the itinerary a community center.

At Ellicott Dredges in Baltimore, Obama announced an effort to reduce infrastructure red tape as a way to boost the economy.

"Sometimes it takes too long to get projects off the ground," Obama said during a speech, citing permits, red tape and planning delays related to infrastructure projects. "Today, I'm directing agencies across the government to do what it takes to cut timelines for breaking ground on major infrastructure projects in half. And what that means is that construction workers get back on the jobs faster, it means more money going back into local economies, and it means more demand for outstanding dredging equipment that is made right here in

President Barack Obama on Thursday appointed Danny Werfel, an official with the Office of Management and Budget, as acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. Werfel replaces Steven Miller, the acting commissioner forced to resign on Wednesday over the IRS having targeted conservative groups for special scrutiny.

Werfel, whose appointment will be effective May 22, "will lead efforts to ensure the IRS implements new safeguards to restore public trust and administers the tax code with fairness and integrity," the White House said in a statement. He will serve through the end of the fiscal year.

“Throughout his career working in both Democratic and Republican administrations, Danny has proven an effective leader who serves with professionalism, integrity and skill," Obama added in the statement. "The American people deserve to have the utmost confidence and trust in their government, and as we work to get to the bottom of what happened and restore confidence in the IRS, Danny

A Marine shields Obama from the rain during Thursday's press conference. (Jason Reed/Reuters)President Barack Obama at a press conference on Thursday strongly defended the Department of Justice's controversial secret seizure of journalists' phone records during an investigation into leaked national security information.

"Leaks related to national security can put people at risk," Obama said in response to a reporter's question as he stood beside visiting Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey at a Rose Garden press conference. "I make no apologies, and I don't think the American people would expect me as commander in chief not to be concerned about information that might compromise their missions or might get them killed. And the flip side of it is, we also live in a democracy where a free press, free expression and the open flow of information helps hold me accountable, helps hold our government accountable and helps our democracy function."

In keeping with the White House's official reaction since news of the seizures broke last Friday, Obama refused to comment

Speaking at the 32nd annual National Peace Officers Memorial Service on Wednesday, President Barack Obama publicly honored, among others, officer Bruce St. Laurent, who died last year assisting Obama's motorcade in Florida.

Laurent, a husband and father of four, was killed Sept. 9 when his police motorcycle was struck by a pickup truck as he was closing access to a highway in Palm Beach County.

"He was, according to a friend, 'just what a cop should be: tough compassionate, caring and brave.' But to his community, he was more than a cop," Obama said, noting that St. Laurent had survived cancer, served as a high school teacher and an unofficial snake wrangler, and enjoyed playing Santa Claus for children at Christmastime.

Obama delivered his remarks as part of a memorial held annually on Capitol Hill for National Police Week in Washington, which began in 1982 as a gathering in Senate Park to honor fallen officers. A total of 143 officers were honored at this year's ceremony.

In addition

President Barack Obama at a May 13 press conference. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)The Department of Justice seizing reporters' phone records? The IRS apologizing for targeting conservatives?

The Richard Nixon comparisons seem to write themselves—much to the joy of Republicans working to cement the association between President Barack Obama and the former scandal-plagued president.

But when asked at Tuesday's press briefing about the White House's reaction to the recent Nixon comparisons, press secretary Jay Carney suggested those who made them were wrong.

"People who make those kinds of comparisons need to check their history," he said.

He then pivoted to the Benghazi "scandal," chalking it up to politics. "What we have here," Carney said, referencing the controversy over the administration's handling of the 2012 attack, "is so clearly—as we're learning—more and more a political sideshow, a deliberate effort to politicize a tragedy."