Politics - Barack Obama

Obama, congressional leaders sit down to talk jobs
AP – 7 mins ago

AFP/Getty Images/File

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is meeting with a bipartisan delegation from Congress, following up on his call for additional government action to improve the nation's employment numbers. Full Story »
Obama nominates former Palin aide to pipeline job
Reuters – 11 mins ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama nominated Larry Persily, a former aide to ex-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, on Wednesday to be federal coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, the White House said. Full Story »
TSA places employees on leave over online posting
AP – 32 mins ago

WASHINGTON - An Obama administration official says some Transportation Security Administration employees have been placed on administrative leave after it was discovered that sensitive guidelines about airport passenger screening were posted on the Internet. Full Story »
Democratic health care coalition survives deal
AP – 34 mins ago

AP

WASHINGTON - After agreeing tentatively to jettison a key liberal priority — a full-blown government-run insurance option — Senate Democrats woke up Wednesday to find that the fragile coalition backing President Barack Obama's health care bill is still together. Full Story »
Obama rights record questioned ahead of Nobel prize
Reuters – 38 mins ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two leading international human rights groups gave U.S. President Barack Obama mixed reviews on his human rights record on Wednesday, a day before he is slated to accept the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. Full Story »
Support down for Obama's handling of economy: poll
AFP – 1 hr 12 mins ago

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A growing number of Americans have lost confidence in President Barack Obama's handling of the economy, despite the apparent beginnings of a recovery, according to a poll out Wednesday. Full Story »
Drug-import backers worry Obama may scuttle plan
AP – 1 hr 19 mins ago

AP

WASHINGTON - A long-running effort to allow the import of lower-cost prescription drugs faces a new twist — President Barack Obama's administration is raising safety concerns that could effectively scuttle it, even though Obama backed the plan as a senator. Full Story »
Obama using grab-bag approach to fight recession
AP – 1 hr 23 mins ago

AP

WASHINGTON - Franklin Roosevelt, confronted with the worst economic crisis in the nation's history, wrote the book on government jobs programs. Since FDR, presidents have been less ambitious because the economic challenges they faced were less severe. Full Story »
FACT CHECK: Obama likes both sides of an argument
AP – 1 hr 40 mins ago

AP

WASHINGTON - In President Barack Obama's hands, the $700 billion financial rescue fund offers a bit of bookkeeping magic: an opportunity to pay down the deficit while also spending more — thereby adding to it. Full Story »
Lawmakers slam office overseeing Afghan rebuilding
AP – 1 hr 58 mins ago

AP

WASHINGTON - The U.S. inspector general's office overseeing Afghanistan's reconstruction has failed to hire enough staff and issued too few audits and investigative reports, three senators are warning President Barack Obama. Full Story »
Police and protesters gear up for Obama visit
AP – 2 hrs 19 mins ago

AP

OSLO - Although he doesn't show up at the Copenhagen climate talks until next week, U.S. President Barack Obama won't be far from global warming issues when he lands in Oslo Thursday to collect his contentious Nobel Peace Prize. Full Story »
U.S. rejects biological weapons checks
Reuters – 2 hrs 34 mins ago

GENEVA (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is sticking to the U.S. refusal to negotiate monitoring of biological weapons, the top U.S. arms official said Wednesday. Full Story »
Obama to extend bailout fund
Reuters – 2 hrs 37 mins ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration plans to announce on Wednesday that it intends to extend the life of the $700 billion financial bailout fund until next October, administration officials said on Tuesday. Full Story »
Obama keeps focus on economy
AP – 2 hrs 42 mins ago

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama keeps his focus on economic issues Wednesday before an evening departure for Europe. Full Story »
Petraeus warns new surge progress will be slow
AP – 31 mins ago

AP

WASHINGTON - Progress against the insurgency in Afghanistan probably will be slower than seen during the buildup of U.S. forces in Iraq two years ago, but the Afghan campaign "is not hopeless," a top U.S. general said Wednesday. Full Story »
Congress readies huge year-end spending bill
AP – Wed Dec 9, 8:30 am ET

AP

WASHINGTON - Congressional negotiators sealed agreement Tuesday night on sweeping spending legislation that boosts housing and heating subsidies but curbs President Barack Obama's requests for aid to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Full Story »
Obama to urge banks to lend more
Politico – Wed Dec 9, 8:19 am ET

President Barack Obama will meet with chief executives of major banks on Monday and is expected to urge them face-to-face to lend more money to help promote economic recovery, banking sources tell POLITICO. Full Story »
Statue of Obama as boy erected in Indonesian park
AP – Wed Dec 9, 8:10 am ET

AP

JAKARTA, Indonesia - A statue of President Barack Obama as a 10-year-old wearing shorts and a T-shirt has been erected in a Jakarta park to inspire children in the country where he lived as a boy, officials said Wednesday. Full Story »