Obama administration

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Wall St. Braces for Lower Pay, Less Risk-Taking

Gov't, public pressure forces shift in expectations

(Newser) - With the new president joining the chorus of outrage against bonuses for bailed-out Wall Street firms, bankers are grappling with the notion that long-held pay expectations will have to change, the Wall Street Journal reports. Eager to avert government crackdown, firms are expected to shrink and perhaps defer bonuses, to...

Biden to Head Middle-Class Task Force

Obama calls it an 'American moment'

(Newser) - President Obama today announced a new task force on the middle class, to be led by none other than onetime "working class kid from Scranton" Joe Biden, the Chicago Tribune reports. “This is a difficult moment,” Obama said, referring in part to the day’s dire GDP...

Obama Mulls Republican for Commerce
Obama Mulls Republican for Commerce
Jan 30, 2009 10:40 AM CST

Obama Mulls Republican for Commerce

Tapping NH's Gregg could give Democrats 60 seats in Senate

(Newser) - Democrats may get their 60-seat Senate majority after all. President Obama is considering New Hampshire Republican Judd Gregg for the Commerce Secretary post Bill Richardson declined, sources tell Politico. New Hampshire’s Democratic governor would then get to appoint Gregg’s successor. Asked if he’d been offered the job,...

Team Obama Mulls 2-Part Bank Bailout

Plan would have feds buy up some toxic assets, insure others

(Newser) - The bank stabilization plan the White House is cooking up may mix two competing strategies, the Wall Street Journal reports, setting up a “bad bank” to buy portions of banks’ toxic assets while offering guarantees against future losses on part of the remainder. The goal is to bolster banks...

Senate Passes Children's Health Insurance Bill

Expansion of health insurance for low-income kids passes over GOP objections

(Newser) - The Senate has passed a $32.8 billion bill to dramatically expand children's health insurance, the Washington Post reports. The State Children's Health Insurance Program will now cover 11 million low-income children, up from 7 million. The bill, which will be funded by an extra 61-cent tax on every packet...

Fidel Demands Gitmo Back
 Fidel Demands Gitmo Back 




Jan 30, 2009 4:00 AM CST

Fidel Demands Gitmo Back

Former Cuban prez slams Obama over naval base, Mideast policy on web site

(Newser) - Fidel Castro is demanding that Barack Obama serve up a Guantanamo libre once the last US prisoner leaves, Reuters reports. Castro, posting on a Cuban government website, slammed as an "act of arrogance" Obama's comment that a giveback of Guantanamo would depend on US defense needs and might require...

Caucus Pushes for Black Commerce Secretary

Obama considering Symantec CEO—and a GOP senator

(Newser) - The Congressional Black Caucus is lobbying President Obama to name a black commerce secretary. The caucus is pushing for technology executive John Thompson, CEO of software security company Symantec and an Obama contributor, to fill the post, reports the Hill. Obama has so far appointed only four African Americans to...

Obama Girls' Media Coverage Stays Sane—So Far

Paparazzi anticipate friendly relations with First Family

(Newser) - The paparazzi love Sasha and Malia Obama—their dad is the world’s biggest celeb, and they’re adorable. This can only mean trouble, right? Maybe not, writes Belinda Luscombe in Time. Tabloids seem to stepping gingerly around privacy concerns so far. And what's more, the media-savvy first family seems...

Michelle Obama's Brother Will Pen Memoir

Craig Robinson hopes to inspire with book due next year

(Newser) - Craig Robinson, brother of First Lady Michelle Obama, is working on a book to be published next year, the AP reports. Robinson, who coaches the men’s basketball team at Oregon State, hopes the book—entitled A Game of Character—will be part memoir, part inspirational guide.

Obama: $18B in Wall Street Bonuses 'Shameful'

President says he, Geithner will press executives on issue

(Newser) - President Obama denounced huge bonuses to Wall Street executives as “the height of irresponsibility” given the country’s economic hardship, the AP reports. Responding to news that financial firms paid out $18 billion in bonuses last year, Obama described the firms’ actions as “shameful” and vowed that he...

Gitmo Judge Refuses Obama's Order to Delay Trials

Delay in USS Cole case 'does not serve the interest of justice,' Army colonel says

(Newser) - The lead judge in the Guantanamo Bay military tribunals has refused President Obama’s order to suspend legal proceedings against one of the terror prison’s detainees, Reuters reports. Army Col. James Pohl said tribunal rules give him sole authority to delay litigation in the case of Abd al Rahim...

Mitchell Calls for Lasting Peace as New Violence Hits Gaza

18 injured in Israeli counterstrike

(Newser) - Fresh violence in Gaza today threatened the fragile ceasefire as George Mitchell called for a lasting truce between Hamas and Israel, AFP reports. An Israeli air strike wounded 18 Palestinians, including 11 children and a pregnant woman. The Israeli army said it was targeting a Hamas policeman responsible for a...

GOP Proposes Alternative Stimulus
GOP Proposes Alternative Stimulus
Jan 29, 2009 10:54 AM CST

GOP Proposes Alternative Stimulus

$478B plan, about half the cost of Obama's, said to create 6.2M jobs

(Newser) - House Republicans, fresh from unanimously opposing President Obama’s stimulus package, have proposed their own rescue bill, even as the White House promises retaliation, Politico reports. GOP leaders say their version would cost $478 billion—just over half the Obama price tag—and create 6.2 million jobs, a third...

Obama Signs Ledbetter Act as His First Bill

Law allows suits for decades-old pay discrimination

(Newser) - President Obama signed his first piece of legislation today, selecting an equal pay bill that makes it easier for women to sue for decades-old discrimination. Lilly Ledbetter—who for 19 years endured a pay discrepancy at Goodyear—stood at his side as the president signed the Fair Pay Act named...

In Obama's White House, Informality Rules

New prez jettisons Bush's insistence on jacket and tie

(Newser) - When George W. Bush was in charge, no one was allowed to enter the Oval Office without a suit and tie—and 43 even demanded business attire on weekends. Barack Obama's White House is a more casual place, where even the president himself works in shirtsleeves, the New York Times...

GOP Stimulus Stonewall Spells Trouble for Prez
GOP Stimulus Stonewall Spells Trouble for Prez
ANALYSIS
Jan 29, 2009 1:43 AM CST

GOP Stimulus Stonewall Spells Trouble for Prez

Obama team surprised by unified Republican opposition in House

(Newser) - Barack Obama's failure to snag a single vote from House Republicans for his economic stimulus package underlines the tough task the president faces in winning bipartisan support for his plan, notes Politico. Obama aides were surprised by the vote but expressed confidence that some Republicans will eventually come around.

US Drafts Letter to Iran to Mend Ties

Development could lead to direct talks between old enemies

(Newser) - Barack Obama is moving his efforts to improve relations with Iran beyond mere speech-making, the Guardian reports. The State Department is drafting a letter to Iranian leaders to assure them the US is not looking to overthrow the curent regime, just change its behavior. The letter—a response to a...

After Stimulus Vote, Happy Hour's at the White House

Obama invites lawmakers for cocktails

(Newser) - A little liquor can buy a lot of goodwill. At least, that’s what President Obama is hoping—he’s invited key lawmakers to the White House for cocktails after the House votes this evening on the stimulus package, the New York Post reports. Keeping with Obama’s keenly diplomatic...

No Way Mitchell Hits Latest Pitch Out of Park
No Way Mitchell Hits Latest Pitch Out of Park
OPINION
Jan 28, 2009 2:23 PM CST

No Way Mitchell Hits Latest Pitch Out of Park

Bungled baseball steroids report bodes ill for Mideast efforts

(Newser) - Those who think George Mitchell will achieve progress in the Middle East point to his record of robust diplomacy in Northern Ireland 10 years ago. One hopes, for the sake of peace, that Mitchell follows his work there and not a more recent example, Will Leitch writes for the New ...

Senate Committee OKs Holder for Attorney General

Cornyn, Coburn dissent in 17-2 vote; full body could confirm tomorrow

(Newser) - Senate Republicans did little to stop the progress of Barack Obama's choice for attorney general, with the Judiciary Committee voting 17-2 today to endorse Eric Holder; John Cornyn of Texas and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Republicans both, were the lone dissenters. The Senate could vote as early as tomorrow to...

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