Obama administration

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NSA Doesn't Actually Know What Snowden Stole: Sources

Gov't officials say Snowden covered his digital tracks, leaving agency in the dark

(Newser) - Edward Snowden didn't just take a bunch of documents and run, anonymous government officials tell the AP —he first covered his digital footprints, bypassing the NSA's own safeguards and electronic logs so the agency has no record of what he's seen or downloaded. That's a...

Obama Weighing Strike on Syria

President calls alleged chemical strike 'a big event of grave concern'

(Newser) - Top Obama administration officials met yesterday to discuss potential military responses to what may have been the worst chemical weapons attack in decades. Officials were "sharply divided" and emerged from three-and-a-half hours of discussions about Syria without reaching a decision, the New York Times reports; options on the table...

US Secretly Halts Egypt Aid; Saudis Publicly Fill Void

US ally steps up as major donor of $12B package

(Newser) - Amid reports that the White House is quietly halting US military aid to Egypt—at least temporarily—Saudi Arabia is taking the bold step of announcing it will fill any financial void. Gulf countries are planning a $12 billion package for Egypt, and Saudi Arabia is the biggest donor, the...

Obama: Apple Can Keep Selling iPhone 4

Vetoes ban on import and sale of some older iPhones and iPads

(Newser) - The Obama administration has vetoed a ban on the import and sale of some older iPhone and iPad models, overturning a decision by the International Trade Commission for the first time since 1987, Politico reports. The ITC issued an import ban and cease-and-desist on sales for some models of the...

Obama's Plan: Drag Your Attention Back to Economy

He'll give new series of speeches starting tomorrow

(Newser) - Natural disasters, political scandals, and stories ranging from the Middle East to Trayvon Martin have diverted the national conversation away from the economy, and President Obama is launching an effort to bring it back. The administration is planning a new batch of speeches—up to six, with the first one...

Case Against Zimmerman No Piece of Cake for DOJ

Feds would have to prove shooting was racially motivated

(Newser) - Amid protests and a push from the NAACP , the Justice Department is looking into the prosecution of George Zimmerman on criminal civil rights grounds—but that would be a genuinely tough case to win, the AP explains. Says a former US attorney: "They'd have to show not only...

White House's New Leak Villain: Former Top General

James Cartwright faces investigation over Stuxnet worm story

(Newser) - The Obama White House has prosecuted or charged eight people under the Espionage Act thus far—and another one is under investigation. Retired four-star Marine Gen. James "Hoss" Cartwright, former deputy chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, got a letter saying he was facing an inquiry over the...

Obama to Nominate Top Bush Official for FBI Chief

James Comey was key to warrantless wiretapping program

(Newser) - President Obama today plans to nominate George W. Bush's former No. 2 at the Justice Department, James Comey , to lead the FBI as the agency grapples with privacy debates over a host of recently exposed investigative tactics. Comey is perhaps best known for a remarkable 2004 standoff over a...

US Wants Talks With Iran's New President— and Soon

But Hasan Rowhani says he won't halt nuclear enrichment

(Newser) - The US is hoping the election of Iran's most moderate presidential candidate will be a step forward in nuclear negotiations as he calls for a "new era" in Iran. It's time for the country to "follow the path of moderation and justice, not extremism," Hasan...

NSA Is Seizing Millions of Verizon Phone Records

White House defends 'ongoing, daily' surveillance as a 'critical tool'

(Newser) - A new report in the Guardian suggests the Obama administration isn't so different from its predecessor when it comes to domestic phone surveillance: The National Security Agency has been gathering the phone records of millions of US Verizon users thanks to a secret court order . The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance...

CIA Classified 25% of Drone Victims as 'Other'

Agency often didn't know who it was targeting in Pakistan: report

(Newser) - As it pursued suspected terrorists in Pakistan, the CIA wasn't always certain of the identity of those it was killing: Some 25% of those taken out by drones over a span of 14 months beginning in September 2010 were categorized as "other militants," NBC News finds after...

Panetta Leaked bin Laden Raid Details: Report

Zero Dark Thirty writer heard classified info at event

(Newser) - If the Justice Department is worried about leaks, it might want to place a call to a certain former CIA director/secretary of defense. Leon Panetta revealed a variety of classified info about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden—including the names of the ground commanders involved—at an event...

Security Adviser Quits, Susan Rice Gets the Job

Tom Donilon resigns as national security adviser

(Newser) - National Security Adviser Tom Donilon will announce his resignation today, multiple outlets are reporting, and President Obama isn't exactly choosing a politically safe successor. Instead he'll tap Susan Rice , the US ambassador to the UN who's become a lightning rod thanks to the Benghazi controversy. The job...

Can Obama 'Stop the Bleeding'?

White House gets aggressive on scandals

(Newser) - Enter the new narrative from the DC press corps: The White House is shifting from offense to defense on scandals, or as Politico puts it, "President Obama tries to stop the bleeding." Obama fired the IRS chief yesterday, released Benghazi emails , and got a new press-shield law in...

AP Scandal Fallout: Obama Asks for Press Shield Law

Chuck Schumer to introduce bill at White House's behest

(Newser) - Chuck Schumer re-introduced his media-protection bill today at the White House's request, as the administration reels from the AP phone record scandal . The bill, called the Free Flow of Information Act, would make it so that journalists couldn't be compelled to reveal their sources until all other options...

1/3 of House Committees Investigating White House

Congress looking into IRS scandal, Benghazi, ObamaCare ...

(Newser) - If President Obama looks even grayer by the end of summer, this line in Politico might explain it: "All together, roughly one-third of House committees are engaged in investigating some aspect of the Obama administration." That includes two heavyweight panels—Darrell Issa's Oversight and Government Reform, along...

White House: Here's Where Your Taxes Are Going

Website offers spending specifics

(Newser) - As you file your 1040, the White House wants you to know just how those dollars are being spent—so, for the third year in a row, it's offering a website to calculate just that. At the 2012 Federal Taxpayer Receipt , you enter your Social Security, Medicare, and income...

White House to Banks: Loan to Those With So-So Credit

Effort to expand recovery sparks debate on risky lending

(Newser) - The White House is fighting to make it easier for people with less-than-stellar credit to get home loans, a move insiders say will spur recovery. They're joined by housing advocates who say the improving housing market hasn't reached lower-income and young people. But the plan "would open...

Secret Service to Get First Female Director

Julia Pierson picked by Obama to take over scandal-hit agency

(Newser) - The Secret Service is getting a historic change at the top: President Obama has picked the first woman to lead the agency, reports the Washington Post . Julia Pierson, 53, began working as an agent about 30 years ago and eventually moved up to her current post as chief of staff....

Obama to Tap Justice Official for Labor Chief

Thomas Perez leads Justice's Civil Rights Division

(Newser) - Seeking to fill yet another second-term Cabinet vacancy, President Obama is set today to nominate Thomas Perez, an assistant attorney general, to be the next secretary of labor, the White House says. If confirmed by the Senate, Perez, who has been head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division...

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