White House news

• The President Of A Financial Firm Slammed An 'Offensive' Leaked White House Memo

  29-01-2015 23:51
  
  FA Insights is a daily newsletter from Business...
  
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• Obama budget seeks boost for military, domestic programs

  29-01-2015 23:36
  
  By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will call for a 7 percent rise in U.S. domestic and military spending in his budget that would end caps known as 'sequestration,' the White House said on Thursday, setting up a new source of conflict with Republicans in Congress. Obama intends to announce his budget plans during a meeting with congressional Democrats in Philadelphia later in the day. The fiscal 2016 budget, which the administration plans to unveil on Monday, would fund
  
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• Taliban Are Not Terrorists, or So Says the White House

  29-01-2015 23:09
  
  Semantics aside, the Taliban is suspected in multiple attacks over just the last 48 hours that have killed more than 30 people, including a suicide bombing attack on a funeral in Afghanistan today that killed 16 and wounded 39. The issue has come up because the White House insisted on Wednesday that a prisoner exchange between Jordan and ISIS would be different than the prisoner exchange the United States made last year with the Taliban to gain the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. We don'
  
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• Keystone passes in U.S. Senate, faces Obama veto

  29-01-2015 22:40
  
  Republicans in the U.S. Senate made good on a pledge to pass the long-pending Keystone XL oil pipeline on Thursday, a measure the White House said President Barack Obama would veto. Senators voted 62-36 on the bill to bypass the Obama administration's review of Keystone, five short of the number needed to overturn a potential rejection by the president. All Republicans present voted for the bill as did nine Democrats. Approving Keystone has been the top priority of Republicans in the new Congres
  
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• Keystone XL bill passes in Senate, faces Obama veto

  29-01-2015 22:29
  
  The U.S. Senate passed a bill on Thursday to approve the long-pending Keystone XL oil pipeline, despite the White House saying earlier in the day that President Barack Obama would veto the measure. The Republican-led Senate passed the bill that would approve TransCanada Corp's project to carry 800,000 barrels per day of heavy Canadian crude to Nebraska on the way to Gulf Coast refineries and ports. The House has passed its own pipeline bill and will work with the Senate to send the bill to
  
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• Senate passes bill approving Keystone XL oil pipeline

  29-01-2015 22:22
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-controlled Senate on Thursday approved a bipartisan bill to construct the Keystone XL oil pipeline, defying a presidential veto threat and setting up the first of many battles with the White House over energy and the environment.
  
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• Iowa man gets year on probation for arrest near White House

  29-01-2015 22:15
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — An Iowa man who had a hunting rifle, ammunition and a knife in his car when he approached a Secret Service post near the White House and said he had an appointment with the president will spend a year on probation.
  
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• White House declines to call Taliban 'terrorists'

  29-01-2015 21:58
  
  The White House on Thursday declined to describe Afghanistan's Taliban as a terrorist group, prompting consternation from the right, which accused President Barack Obama's administration of being out of touch. "They do carry out tactics that are akin to terrorism, they do pursue terror attacks in an effort to advance their agenda," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. "What's also true though is that it is important to draw a distinction between the Taliban and
  
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• Dartmouth College bans hard liquor: Can booze limits improve student safety?

  29-01-2015 21:54
  
  On Thursday, school President Philip Hanlon announced that starting March 30, all students, regardless of age, will be prohibited from possessing hard alcohol on campus. The school’s Greek societies have also been warned that they need to improve their behavior or risk being banned. The White House says the behavior has led to an “epidemic” of sexual assault on school campuses. According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 1,825 college students between the ages of 1
  
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• U.S. Congress questions plan to admit Syrian refugees

  29-01-2015 21:43
  
  By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - The Republican-led House Committee on Homeland Security is challenging an Obama administration plan to admit Syrian refugees to the United States, saying it could allow potential terrorists to sneak into the country. In a letter sent to the White House, Michael McCaul, who chairs the Homeland Security Committee and Peter King and Candice Miller, who chair subcommittees, said the administration's plan "raises serious national security concerns." Th
  
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• Obama budget to include $1 billion for Central America: congressional aide

  29-01-2015 21:19
  
  President Barack Obama's budget will include $1 billion in new aid for Central America as part of a broad effort to address the unaccompanied child migration crisis, Democratic congressional aides told Reuters on Thursday. The White House is due to unveil its fiscal 2016 budget on Monday. The arrival in the United States last year of tens of thousands of illegal migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador - including more than 60,000 children traveling without their parents - cause
  
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• US says 'no' to handing Guantanamo back to Cuba

  29-01-2015 21:19
  
  Efforts to improve ties with Cuba will not extend to handing control of Guantanamo Bay back to Havana, the White House said on Thursday. "The president does believe that the prison at Guantanamo Bay should be closed down," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. The base, on Cuba's southeastern tip, is currently the site of a large naval base as well as a deeply controversial prison used to detain terror suspects without trial. Cuban President Raul Castro on Wednesday said handin
  
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• U.S. funding impasse blocks Secret Service hires: Homeland Security chief

  29-01-2015 20:58
  
  By Doina Chiacu and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Secret Service cannot hire new agents for the next presidential election or make improvements at the agency until Congress settles a dispute over funding, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said on Thursday. Johnson said in a speech in Washington that uncertainty over the budget for the Department of Homeland Security, which secures U.S. borders, airports and coastal waters and protects the president, had put security initia
  
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• Obama would veto bill for congressional approval of Iran deal: spokesman

  29-01-2015 20:16
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama would veto a bill crafted by U.S. Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Bob Corker that would require the administration to receive congressional approval for any deal it strikes with Iran over Tehran's nuclear program, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Thursday. The bill would set a "harmful precedent" that would "negatively impact" negotiations with Iran, Earnest said at a news briefing. (Reporting By Amanda
  
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• Keystone XL advances in U.S. Senate, faces Obama veto

  29-01-2015 20:03
  
  By Timothy Gardner and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate will likely pass a bill approving the long-pending Keystone XL oil pipeline on Thursday, a measure the White House said President Barack Obama would veto. Republicans have made approving Keystone their top priority of the new Congress after winning control of the Senate in November. The Senate will vote after 2:30 p.m. EST on the final bill that would bypass the Obama administration's review of Keystone. Majority L
  
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• U.S. still disagrees with Cuba on human rights: White House spokesman

  29-01-2015 19:53
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States still disagrees with Cuban President Raul Castro on a number of issues, including human rights issues in the country, a White House spokesman said Thursday. Press Secretary Josh Earnest was speaking during a daily briefing with reporters at the White House. (Reporting By Amanda Becker; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
  
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• Obama bids to thwart automatic spending cuts

  29-01-2015 19:34
  
  US President Barack Obama will on Thursday unveil plans to forestall automatic budget cuts, increasing spending $74 billion above a cap for 2016. Rolling out budget proposals for the coming year, White House officials said that Obama will seek to freeze the so-called sequester, which would automatically trim spending by about $1 trillion by 2021. The sequester came into effect in 2013 after Democrats and Republicans were unable to reach a deal on cutting the deficit. A White House official said
  
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• Obama bids to reverse automatic spending cuts

  29-01-2015 19:01
  
  US President Barack Obama will on Thursday unveil plans to reverse automatic cuts in military and other spending, as he rolls out budget proposals for the coming year. Automatic cuts -- the so-called sequester -- began entering into effect in 2013 after Democrats and Republicans were unable to reach a deal on cutting the deficit. "The president will propose to end the across-the-board sequester cuts that threaten our economy and our military," a White House official said. Republicans h
  
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• US Senate panel advances Iran sanctions bill

  29-01-2015 18:57
  
  The US Senate Banking Committee approved a controversial measure Thursday that would ratchet up sanctions on Iran, a legislative weapon Congress could wield after March if international nuclear talks hit an impasse. Senators voted 18 to 4 to advance the so-called Kirk-Menendez bill, which is steadfastly opposed by the White House. "It is clear that further action is necessary to compel Iran to reach an acceptable agreement, which is why I strongly support this critical bill," committee
  
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• Obama to seek to bust spending limits by $74 billion

  29-01-2015 18:43
  
  The White House says President Barack Obama's budget will propose spending $74 billion more than current spending caps. That would be an increase of about 7 percent. Obama plans to release his budget for ...
  
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• Obama 2016 budget proposes 7 percent spending increase over caps

  29-01-2015 18:38
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's fiscal 2016 budget proposes a roughly 7 percent increase in spending over mandatory levels set in spending caps known as "sequestration," a White House official said on Thursday. The budget proposes $530 billion in non-defense discretionary spending, which is $37 billion above the caps, and $561 billion in defense outlays, which is $38 billion above the limits, the official said. (Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Susan Heavey)
  
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• Obama 2016 budget proposes 7 pct spending increase over caps

  29-01-2015 18:35
  
  U.S. President Barack Obama's fiscal 2016 budget proposes a roughly 7 percent increase in spending over mandatory levels set in spending caps known as "sequestration," a White House official ...
  
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• Keystone XL likely to pass Senate Thursday, faces Obama veto

  29-01-2015 18:05
  
  By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate will likely pass a bill approving the long-pending Keystone XL oil pipeline on Thursday, a measure the White House has said President Barack Obama would veto. Republicans have made approving Keystone their top priority of the new Congress after winning control of the Senate in November's elections, but they are four votes shy of the 67 needed in the 100-member chamber to override any veto. Senators are scheduled to vote after 2:30 p.
  
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• Keystone XL likely to pass U.S. Senate Thursday, faces Obama veto

  29-01-2015 18:01
  
  The U.S. Senate will likely pass a bill approving the long-pending Keystone XL oil pipeline on Thursday, a measure the White House has said President Barack Obama would veto. Republicans have made approving Keystone their top priority of the new Congress after winning control of the Senate in November's elections, but they are four votes shy of the 67 needed in the 100-member chamber to override any veto. Senators are scheduled to vote after 2:30 p.m. EST (1930 GMT) following debate on more amen
  
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• Should Boehner Cancel the Netanyahu Show in Congress?

  29-01-2015 18:00
  
  The White House and congressional Democrats are beginning to put more heat on House Speaker John Boehner to rescind his invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress on Iran while the administration is in talks with Tehran over a deal to limit its nuclear program. Boehner has drawn sharp criticism from administration officials and some pro-Israel groups for meddling in the highly sensitive negotiations by inviting Netanyahu — an arch opponent of
  
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• Should Boehner Cancel the Netanhayu Show in Congress?

  29-01-2015 18:00
  
  The White House and congressional Democrats are beginning to put more heat on House Speaker John Boehner to rescind his invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress on Iran while the administration is in talks with Tehran over a deal to limit its nuclear program. Boehner has drawn sharp criticism from administration officials and some pro-Israel groups for meddling in the highly sensitive negotiations by inviting Netanyahu — an arch opponent of
  
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• Senate heads toward approval of Keystone XL pipeline bill

  29-01-2015 17:25
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-controlled Senate moved Thursday toward passage of a bipartisan bill approving the Keystone XL oil pipeline, defying a presidential veto threat and setting up the first of many expected battles with the White House over energy and the environment.
  
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• The Rich, the Poor, and Whether Tax Policies Live or Die

  29-01-2015 17:17
  
  Last week, President Obama gave American politicians of both parties exactly what they say they want: a tax reform proposal that would lower taxes overall, shift tax breaks from the rich to the middle class, simplify the tax code, and increase money for education. This week, in response to a storm of protest from politicians of both parties, the White House withdrew the proposal. All it takes is a few crumbs for the “middle class” to provide symbolic cover for policies that largely benefit t
  
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• Dartmouth College to ban hard alcohol on campus

  29-01-2015 16:39
  
  (Reuters) - Dartmouth College will ban hard alcohol on campus as it seeks to cut down on binge drinking among students, the Ivy League school's president said on Thursday. The ban, which applies to students and all college-sponsored events, comes at a time when universities across the United States are trying to fight what the White House has described as an "epidemic" of sexual assault. The Hanover, New Hampshire, college is among the more than 50 elite U.S. learning institutions that the Depar
  
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• White House highlights Obama trip with pics and fun video

  29-01-2015 15:06
  
  "America and India are true global partners in the work of strengthening economies and strong democracies.
  
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• Kerry Butler to join 'Clinton: The Musical' off-Broadway

  29-01-2015 14:29
  NEW YORK (AP) — Kerry Butler's next role will take her to the White House — the Clinton White House, that is.
  
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• Pelosi says Netanyahu speech to Congress could hurt Iran talks

  29-01-2015 12:14
  
  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's scheduled speech to the U.S. Congress in March could damage the Obama administration's attempts to broker a deal with Iran on nuclear weapons development, the senior U.S. House of Representatives Democrat said on Wednesday. "Such a presentation could send the wrong message in terms of giving diplomacy a chance," said Representative Nancy Pelosi during a news conference on the sidelines of an annual retreat for Democratic lawmakers.
  
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• Obama budget to propose spending lift for military, domestic programs

  29-01-2015 12:03
  
  By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's budget will call for an increase in domestic and military spending that would end spending caps known as "sequestration," a White House official said, setting up a new source of conflict with Republicans in Congress. Obama intends to announce his plans during a meeting with congressional Democrats in Philadelphia on Thursday. The fiscal 2016 budget, which the White House intends to unveil on Monday, would fund a host of
  
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• Obama to seek to bust limits on domestic, defense spending

  29-01-2015 12:01
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will seek to bust through spending limits for both domestic and defense programs, the White House said Thursday, negating the effects of across-the-board cuts agreed to by both Democrats and Republicans and signed by Obama into law.
  
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• Republican bills take aim at EPA science, rulemaking

  29-01-2015 11:00
  
  Already limited in its ability to evaluate toxic chemicals, the agency is targeted by Republican legislation the White House pledges to veto
  
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• New IS propaganda video threatens to behead Obama, convert US into Muslim state

  29-01-2015 09:01
  
  London, Jan 29 (ANI): A new beheading video released by the Islamic State (IS) has reportedly threatened to behead United States President Barack Obama "in the White House and transform America into a Muslim province." The video clip, titled "Bombardment of Peaceful Muslims in the City of Mosul," showed the damage caused by shelling allegedly carried out by Peshmerga troops in the Iraqi city earlier this month before beheading a captive Kurdish soldier in retaliation, reported The Independent. H
  
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• White House spokesman says Taliban not a terrorist group

  29-01-2015 07:53
  
  Washington, Jan 29 (ANI): White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz has said that the Taliban is not a terrorist group. According to the Washington Times, Schultz argued during Wednesday's briefing that the United States can negotiate prisoner swaps with Taliban members, because the Taliban is not considered a terrorist group. When asked by an ABC News reporter whether the Jordanian government's trade with the Islamic State was similar to the United States trading five Taliban members for
  
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• Romney, mulling 2016 run, jabs Clinton and Obama

  29-01-2015 05:50
  
  Mitt Romney, considering another presidential run, took swipes at potential 2016 rival Hillary Clinton on Wednesday for "cluelessly" conducting foreign policy, and said Barack Obama's brand of economics is hurting Americans. The 2012 Republican nominee, who lost to Obama, has returned to the political spotlight this month after telling donors he remains interested in a third shot at the White House. The former secretary of state "cluelessly pressed a reset button for Russia,
  
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• Firms may face new $16,500 privacy fines under White House bill

  29-01-2015 03:14
  
  Many consumers have grown resigned to the parade of privacy breaches that occur when apps or big tech companies like Facebook or Google misuse their personal data. These incidents typically result in a ...
  
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• Pelosi says Netanyahu speech to U.S. Congress could hurt Iran talks

  29-01-2015 01:54
  
  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's scheduled speech to the U.S. Congress in March could damage the Obama administration's attempts to broker a deal with Iran on nuclear weapons development, the senior U.S. House of Representatives Democrat said on Wednesday. "Such a presentation could send the wrong message in terms of giving diplomacy a chance," said Representative Nancy Pelosi during a news conference on the sidelines of an annual retreat for Democratic lawmakers.
  
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• US warns cost of Russian actions in Ukraine will 'rise'

  29-01-2015 00:55
  
  The United States gave a clear signal Wednesday that Russia will face further sanctions for what the White House says is Moscow's role in fueling violence in eastern Ukraine. "As long as Russia continues its blatant disregard of its obligations... the costs for Russia will continue to rise," Biden was reported to have told the Ukrainian leader.
  
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• US 'monitoring closely' as new Greek PM shakes up policies

  29-01-2015 00:44
  
  The White House said Wednesday it was "monitoring closely" events in Greece, where a new hard-left government has vowed to reopen the terms of a massive financial bailout and stated opposition to more sanctions against Russia. US President Barack Obama rang Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to congratulate him on his recent election victory, a win that has put Athens on a potential collision course with its European neighbors and with Washington. Tsipras's promise to renegotiate the t
  
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• Romney, mulling 2016 run, blasts Clinton and Obama

  29-01-2015 00:36
  
  Republican Mitt Romney, considering another presidential run, slammed potential 2016 rival Hillary Clinton on Wednesday for "cluelessly" conducting foreign policy and said Americans are suffering under Barack Obama's brand of economics. The 2012 Republican nominee -- who lost to Obama -- has returned to the political spotlight this month after telling donors he remains interested in a third shot at the White House. The former Massachusetts governor and wealthy businessman will rec
  
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