White House news

• Joe Biden to skip Netanyahu speech, raising stakes in US-Israel drama

  06-02-2015 23:52
  
  Vice President Joe Biden will be out of the country when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint session of Congress next month. The breach of protocol has roiled already tense relations between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu. Just a day earlier, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said that the vice president’s schedule for the first week of March, when Netanyahu is due to visit, was “not yet set.” But he confirmed that Biden would attend Pope Franci
  
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• Kayla Mueller, held captive by IS, vowed to not let 'suffering be normal'

  06-02-2015 23:13
  
  The Islamic State claimed Friday that a humanitarian aid worker being held captive by the militants was killed during a Jordanian air strike against the group in Syria. The White House and US intelligence officials have expressed skepticism about the statement, suggesting that it may have been a public relations ploy to deter Western nations from launching additional attacks on the group’s strongholds in the region. Kayla Mueller had traveled to Syria to help children caught in the middle of t
  
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• JPMorgan under scrutiny over hiring of Chinese minister's son-WSJ

  06-02-2015 22:53
  
  JPMorgan Chase & Co is under federal scrutiny over hiring the son of China's current commerce minister, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing internal emails. The investment bank hired Gao Jue, son of Gao Hucheng, despite several issues including his poor performance in job interviews, the Journal reported. JPMorgan's decision to hire Gao was "widely understood" within the company to have been supported by William Daley, a senior executive at the time and a former U.S. commerce secretary and
  
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• Biden will not attend Netanyahu speech to US Congress: official

  06-02-2015 21:09
  
  US Vice President Joe Biden will not attend a controversial speech Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to make to Congress next month, in a new White House snub of the Israeli prime minister. "The Vice President's office expects that the Vice President will be traveling abroad during the joint session of Congress," an official said. As president of the Senate, Biden would be expected to attend any joint meeting.
  
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• Obama’s Muted Response to the ISIS and Ukraine Crises

  06-02-2015 20:47
  
  Congress is still waiting for President Obama to spell out the new war powers he needs to defeat ISIS in the Middle East. Anxious lawmakers, however, must settle for a far more general overview of his national security strategy – one containing more platitudes than military prescriptions. The White House plans to release its second and final blueprint of American global leadership Friday in what one official described as a “compass” for how Obama will lead in a volatile world. The report�
  
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• US invites China's Xi, Japan's Abe for state visits

  06-02-2015 20:01
  
  Washington (AFP) - The United States has invited the leaders of China and Japan for prestigious state visits, President Barack Obama's top security adviser said Friday, signalling a deepening of the White House's "pivot to Asia."
  
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• Obama lays out security strategy, cautions against 'overreach'

  06-02-2015 19:37
  
  By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama released an updated national security strategy on Friday committing the United States to a leading world role while also highlighting a cautious foreign policy doctrine that has been shorthanded as "don't do stupid stuff." In a 29-page memo to Congress required under law that will be closely parsed by foreign policy experts and Obama's Republican critics, the White House broadly outlined Obama's foreign pol
  
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• US 'deeply concerned' by Shiite rebel takeover in Yemen

  06-02-2015 19:30
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says it's "deeply concerned" by the takeover of Yemen by Shiite rebels who have announced that they've dissolved parliament.
  
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• ISIS Says Female US Hostage Killed In Airstrike

  06-02-2015 19:15
  
  The Islamic State has said one of its hostages, a 26-year-old American female aid worker, is dead, according to the Site Intelligence Group, which monitors extremists. "The crusader criminal coalition bombed the location just outside of Raqqa as people were at prayers for more than one hour" said the Islamic State. The White House, State Department and Pentagon said they could not confirm the claim. "We are obviously deeply concerned by these reports," said Bernadette Meehan,
  
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• White House - no evidence yet American hostage killed in air strike

  06-02-2015 19:02
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Friday that it could not confirm reports that an American hostage had been killed in an air strike in Syria as claimed by Islamic State. "We are obviously deeply concerned by these reports. We have not at this time seen any evidence that corroborates ISIL’s claim," said Bernadette Meehan, spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, in a statement. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Susan Heavey)
  
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• US: No evidence backing up IS claim of American's death

  06-02-2015 18:59
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says it hasn't seen any evidence at this time to corroborate the Islamic State group's claims that an American female hostage has been killed in a Jordanian airstrike.
  
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• WORLD VIDEO MULTIMEDIA MASS. CATHOLICS HOLD VIGIL IN ENDANGERED CHURCHES CONVENT SHUTS AFTER HELPING GENERATIONS 'OVERCOME' INSIDE A VOODOO GEDE CEREMONY RELIGION NEWS VATICAN PREPARES TO OPEN SHOWERS, BARBER SHOP FOR HOMELESS ARCHBISHOP LISTS EXPECTATION

  06-02-2015 18:17
  BEIRUT (AP) -- A purported statement by the Islamic State group claims that an American female hostage has been killed in Jordanian airstrikes on the outskirts of the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the group's main stronghold.
  
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• Purported IS claim: Jordan airstrike kills female US hostage

  06-02-2015 18:17
  BEIRUT (AP) -- A purported statement by the Islamic State group claims that an American female hostage has been killed in Jordanian airstrikes on the outskirts of the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the group's main stronghold.
  
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• Downton Congressman's Senior Aide Resigns

  06-02-2015 16:32
  
  A senior aide to Representative Aaron Schock has stepped down after reportedly posting racially charged comments on social media. The liberal website Think Progress this week published posts from Benjamin Cole's personal Facebook page that included comments mocking two black people outside his Washington apartment. The posts also had Mr Cole saying a mosque should be built on the White House grounds for President Barack Obama, Politico reported. Benjamin Cole had served as the congressman&#
  
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• THE TECH ‘TITANIC’: How Fab, a fast-growing billion-dollar startup, raised $330 million, then went bust

  06-02-2015 16:04
  Business Insider On Friday, Oct. 11, 2013, Fab CEO Jason Goldberg gathered a dozen executives in the eighth-floor conference room of the company’s New York City headquarters. When the executives filed in, they were handed a five-page document. Goldberg sat at the head of the table, his expression somber beneath his salt-and-pepper scruff. He explained that Fab, a company that had been valued at $900 million just three months previously, was about to change drastically. Two-thirds of the compan
  
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• Meet the woman trying to turn the White House green

  06-02-2015 14:55
  
  Green Party candidate Jill Stein on why she plans to run for president in 2016
  
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• Obama to seek congressional approval for war against IS

  06-02-2015 14:52
  
  Washington, Feb 6 (IANS) President Barack Obama will send the US Congress a proposal to authorise the use of force against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group shortly, both the White House and the House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said, setting up what is sure to be a fierce political fight on Capitol Hill. White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the administration would send "specific language" of an Authorisation for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) to Congress "relatively
  
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• Israeli official suggests Boehner misled Netanyahu on Congress speech

  06-02-2015 13:35
  
  By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A senior Israeli official suggested on Friday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been misled into thinking an invitation to address the U.S. Congress on Iran next month was fully supported by the Democrats. Netanyahu was invited by the Republican speaker of the house, John Boehner, to address Congress on March 3, an invitation Boehner originally described as bipartisan. The move angered the White House, which is upset about the event coming two weeks
  
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• Underfunded IRS Begins Crucial Obamacare Test

  06-02-2015 12:00
  
  The White House is gearing up for what’s likely to be the most headache-inducing tax season yet as the struggling Internal Revenue Service begins enforcing the more than 40 new Affordable Care Act tax provisions. Many are crucial to the success of the health care law. The IRS is responsible for enforcing the individual mandate, which requires everyone to have health coverage or pay a penalty. It’s also in charge of the premium tax credit, which is given to people who get federal subsidies un
  
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• Obama's national security strategy: Version 2.0

  06-02-2015 06:10
  
  By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House is slated to release President Barack Obama's national security strategy on Friday, giving a broad outline for how he views his foreign policy priorities for the rest of his time in office. The release of the document, followed by a speech from Obama's top national security adviser, Susan Rice, will be closely parsed by foreign policy experts and the Republican-controlled Congress. Since then, Obama has been frequently criticize
  
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• 'Scandal' Tweet-cap: If Her Boyfriends Can't Save Her, Olivia Has to Do It Herself (Again)

  06-02-2015 05:45
  
  This week, we see what the White House and the Gladiators have been up to while Olivia is still being held captive.
  
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• Obama names Delhite Ajay Banga to trade policy body

  06-02-2015 05:36
  
  Washington, Feb 6 (IANS) President Barack Obama intends to appoint Ajay Banga, the Indian-American President and CEO of MasterCard, as a member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. The White House Thursday announced Obama's intent to appoint Banga, who is also the current chairman of the US-India Business Council (USIBC) representing more than 300 of the largest global companies investing in India, with 5 other key Administration posts. Banga, who received a BA from St. S
  
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• Suspended Six Times More Often? Nope, Some Kids Aren't All Right

  06-02-2015 02:27
  
  Last February, President Obama announced My Brother's Keeper, a new initiative designed to improve the lives of boys of color. The program is geared toward empowering young men of color, and Department of Education officials rolled out a slew of troubling statistics on black male suspensions, expulsions, juvenile arrest, and youth incarceration to accompany its launch. Last June over 1,000 female scholars and activists signed an open letter written by the African American Policy Forum, which ask
  
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• White House chooses VMware’s Tony Scott to be next U.S. CIO

  06-02-2015 02:07
  
  VMWare’s Tony Scott has been chosen to become the next U.S. chief information officer, according to a White House announcement on Thursday. Scott will follow in the footsteps of previous U.S. CIOs Vivek ...
  
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• U.S. businesses ask White House to help on China cybersecurity rules

  06-02-2015 00:38
  
  U.S. business lobbies called on the White House this week for help to overturn new Chinese cybersecurity regulations they say would hurt market opportunities abroad and jobs in the U.S. In a letter sent to officials including Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on Feb. 4, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and 16 other U.S. business lobbies said the new rules raised questions about China's international trade commitments. "(We) request your immediate ac
  
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• Clean-up at fiery ethanol train derailment site in Iowa starts

  06-02-2015 00:28
  
  Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd on Thursday started clearing the site of a train derailment in a remote location north of Dubuque, Iowa, that spilled ethanol from carriages and set three cars on fire, a spokesman for the railway said. On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Transportation asked the White House to review a proposal that would set new standards for tank car design as officials aim to prevent fiery derailments. The U.S. ethanol industry has pushed back on the new rules, saying regulators
  
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• Exclusive - U.S. pressing Cuba to restore diplomatic ties before April: officials

  06-02-2015 00:20
  
  By Lesley Wroughton and Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is pressing Cuba to allow the opening of its embassy in Havana by April, U.S. officials told Reuters, despite the Communist island's demand that it first be removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. A refusal by Cuba to allow the United States to quickly establish an official embassy for the first time in half a century could complicate talks between the Cold War foes, reflecting enduring mistru
  
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• U.S. pressing Cuba to restore diplomatic ties before April: officials

  06-02-2015 00:15
  
  By Lesley Wroughton and Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is pressing Cuba to allow the opening of its embassy in Havana by April, U.S. officials told Reuters, despite the Communist island's demand that it first be removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. A refusal by Cuba to allow the United States to quickly establish an official embassy for the first time in half a century could complicate talks between the Cold War foes, reflecting enduring mistru
  
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• Obama budget request for hi-tech energy office 'timid': Republican

  06-02-2015 00:03
  
  By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate energy committee's head on Thursday said President Barack Obama's budget request for an agency that funds projects that could revolutionize energy markets - like long-range car batteries and turning bacteria into fuel - was too "timid." The White House's budget for fiscal 2016, released on Monday, includes $325 million for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E. That represented an increase of $45 mill
  
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• U.S. tech groups ask White House for help with China policies

  06-02-2015 00:02
  
  U.S. business lobbies have called on the White House for help to overturn new Chinese cyber security regulations they say would hurt market opportunities and U.S jobs. In a letter sent to officials including Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on Feb. 4, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and 16 other U.S. business lobbies said the new rules raised questions about China's international trade commitments. "(We) request your immediate action to work with
  
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