Politics - Barack Obama

WASHINGTON - At a critical time, the uproar over stolen e-mails suggesting scientists suppressed contrary views about climate change has emboldened skeptics — including congressional Republicans looking to scuttle President Barack Obama's push for mandatory reductions in greenhouse gases. Full Story »

Barack Obama began his presidency with an open hand toward the man he had just defeated in a race that was at times bitter. Full Story »

Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- States should rewrite laws that impede Obama administration priorities such as tying teacher pay to student performance and lengthening the school year, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said. Full Story »

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - The FBI has questioned a group of young Americans arrested in Pakistan for alleged Al-Qaeda links, as US President Barack Obama vowed an investigation into the men accused of plotting terror strikes. Full Story »

OSLO - Newly enshrined among the world's great peacemakers, President Barack Obama offered a striking defense of war. Eleven months into his presidency, a fresh Obama doctrine. Evil must be vigorously opposed, he declared as he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on Thursday. At the same time, he made an impassioned case for building a "just and lasting peace." Full Story »

OSLO (AFP) - A humble President Barack Obama joined a list of revered Nobel peace laureates, but in a steely speech he warned he would not hesitate to wage war if it was "morally justified." Full Story »

WASHINGTON - Black lawmakers who have largely held their tongues during President Barack Obama's first year in office are stepping up their demands that the nation's first black president do more for minority communities hit hardest by the recession. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - Internet users looking for gift cards and other free merchandise are being steered to Web pages inviting them to send e-mails to Congress expressing their views on President Barack Obama's push to reshape the country's health system. Full Story »

BEIJING - North Korea announced Friday that it will work with Washington to resolve "differences" over restarting nuclear disarmament talks, but observers said it was too early to declare a U.S. diplomat's mission to Pyongyang a success. Full Story »

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - President Barack Obama said Thursday he planned to nominate to the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors a professor who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Full Story »

Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. is turning to local militias in Afghanistan and expanding support of provincial authorities to overcome weaknesses in President Hamid Karzai’s government in Kabul, officials said at hearings on the war that ended yesterday in Washington. Full Story »

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 9 (New America Media) - Malalai Joya has been called "Afghanistan's bravest woman." When the Taliban ruled her country, she braved death, running an underground girls school. When the U.S. military overthrew the Taliban, she ran for parliament. Full Story »

1 Days after declaring he'll dispatch 30,000 more troops to fight in Afghanistan, Pres. Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway, defending war as key to securing peace. "To say that force is sometimes necessary ... is a recognition of history," he said. Obama, who won the honor barely 8 months into his presidency, also noted "my accomplishments are slight" vs. previous winners. Full Story »

OSLO (Reuters) - There will be no "precipitous drawdown" of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and U.S. troops could still be in the country for years to come, President Barack Obama said on Thursday. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Senators Thursday unveiled a framework for US action on climate change in line with President Barack Obama, hoping to show US commitment to the success of the global summit in Copenhagen. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration's embattled mortgage relief plan has provided permanent help to only 4 percent of borrowers who have signed up, weak results that could threaten the housing market's recovery. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats are considering changing a proposed expansion of Medicare to address complaints from doctors and hospitals and defray costs for consumers, officials said Thursday, two days after party leaders hailed it as part of a breakthrough for health care. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Barack Obama told lawmakers in private talks this week that he supported moving forward on stalled free trade deals with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea, one participant said Thursday. Full Story »