White House news

• Republican 2016 hopefuls see Detroit as punching bag and test tube

  13-03-2015 23:43
  
  By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Many potential Republican presidential candidates have yet to lay out detailed plans on issues such as taxes and Iran, but several of them have put forth ideas to fix the struggling city of Detroit. Republicans are highlighting Detroit, which emerged in December from a 17-month bankruptcy, as an example of the perils of big government and a possible testing ground for conservative ideas like tax reductions. "If you want to do something for Detroit, why don
  
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• Eye on 2016, Republicans barnstorm early-voting New Hampshire

  13-03-2015 22:27
  
  There may be 605 days until the US presidential election, but it's never too soon for political pilgrimages to the state of New Hampshire -- and this weekend there will be plenty. Four prospective Republican White House contenders, including Jeb Bush, converge on the well-trodden New England turf from Friday to Monday, in one of the biggest early campaign trail previews for 2016. Bush dropped in Friday for two events, his first political trip to the state in 15 years, while another rising R
  
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• Obama meets parents of slain US hostage

  13-03-2015 22:14
  
  US President Barack Obama on Friday expressed his condolences to the parents of American hostage Kayla Mueller, who died while held by the Islamic State group. The White House said Obama met Carl and Marsha Mueller, parents of Kayla Mueller as well as her brother during a visit to a Phoenix military veterans' hospital. "We understand the policy about not paying ransom," Carl Mueller said after his daughter's death. The White House gave few details about Friday's meeting.
  
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• Here’s what Joe Biden is really doing while he makes phone calls

  13-03-2015 22:11
  
  The White House posted a clip on Vine on Friday that shows what’s really going on behind the scenes when Vice President Joe Biden is on the phone with world leaders.  In the brief video, Biden uses a weight to do bicep curls while making a phone call. “I do a million of these a day,” Biden declares. The clip is part of an effort to promote First Lady Michelle Obama’s “#GimmeFive” campaign, which encourages people to share five things they do to stay healthy. In the clip, Biden urges
  
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• Obama meets parents of slain Islamic State hostage in Arizona

  13-03-2015 22:10
  
  U.S. President Barack Obama met with the parents and brother of deceased U.S. aid worker and Islamic State hostage Kayla Mueller while in Phoenix on Friday, a White House spokesman said. "The president expressed his and the First Lady's condolences for Kayla's death," spokesman Eric Schultz said.
  
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• White House intruder pleads guilty to assault, illegal entry

  13-03-2015 21:32
  
  By Ian Simpson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Iraq War veteran pleaded guilty on Friday to charges of running into the White House armed with a knife before being tackled, a security breach that helped lead to a shake-up in the U.S. Secret Service. Omar Gonzalez was charged with climbing over the White House fence on Sept. 19 and racing across the north lawn. He burst through the front door and reached as far as the executive mansion's East Room before Secret Service agents subdued him. "Ar
  
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• China puts tech bill that concerns West on hold: U.S. official

  13-03-2015 21:31
  
  China has put a hold on a draft counter-terrorism law that would require technology firms to hand over sensitive information to government officials, a senior U.S. official said in a good sign for Western businesses who saw the rule as a major impediment to working in the world's second largest economy. President Barack Obama said in an interview with Reuters on March 2 that he had raised concerns about the law directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "They have decided to suspend the third r
  
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• U.S. VP Biden, Brazil's Rousseff discuss security, trade: White House

  13-03-2015 21:30
  
  U.S. Vice President Joe Biden spoke by phone on Friday with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff to review cooperation on security, energy, trade and other issues, the White House said. "The Vice President reaffirmed the strategic importance of the bilateral relationship, and emphasized President Obama's and his commitment to working with President Rousseff to advance our increasingly common interests as two hemispheric and global partners," the White House said in a statement.
  
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• U.S. Vice President Biden, Brazil's Rousseff discuss security, trade - White House

  13-03-2015 21:23
  
  U.S. Vice President Joe Biden spoke by phone on Friday with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff to review cooperation on security, energy, trade and other issues, the White House said. "The Vice President reaffirmed the strategic importance of the bilateral relationship, and emphasized President Obama's and his commitment to working with President Rousseff to advance our increasingly common interests as two hemispheric and global partners," the White House said in a statement.
  
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• White House fence jumper pleads guilty to 2 charges

  13-03-2015 20:17
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A knife-carrying Army veteran who scaled a White House fence and dashed into the executive mansion before being caught pleaded guilty Friday in connection with the case.
  
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• Army veteran who scaled White House fence, made it inside pleads guilty to 2 charges

  13-03-2015 20:04
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Army veteran who scaled White House fence, made it inside pleads guilty to 2 charges.
  
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• First Lady, Ellen DeGeneres Get Groove on to 'Uptown Funk'

  13-03-2015 19:58
  
  Michelle Obama has brought the “funk” to Ellen DeGeneres’ daytime talk show. In a taped appearance scheduled to air Monday, the first lady announced that she and dancers from the “So You Think You Can Dance” All Stars will team up at the April 6 White House Easter Egg Roll to teach everyone the “GimmeFive” dance.
  
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• Accused White House intruder pleads guilty to illegal entry and assault

  13-03-2015 19:54
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iraq War veteran Omar Gonzalez, charged with running into the White House armed with a knife last September, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Friday to charges of illegal entry with a dangerous weapon and assault on a federal officer. Gonzalez was accused of having climbed over the White House fence on Sept. 19 and burst through the front door before being stopped in the executive mansion's East Room. (Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Sandra Maler)
  
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• U.S. to send $70 million in non-lethal aid to Syrian opposition

  13-03-2015 19:35
  
  The U.S. State Department said on Friday it was working with Congress to provide about $70 million in new non-lethal assistance to the Syrian opposition fighting President Bashar al-Assad. The aid comes as the U.S. military separately prepares to train and equip Syrian rebels to fight Islamic State militants in Syria. The non-lethal aid will go towards basic community services, supporting "vetted units of the armed opposition," digital security training, and documentation of war crimes and other
  
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• Did President Obama Meet With ‘Between Two Ferns’ Host?

  13-03-2015 19:26
  
  President Obama departed Los Angeles on Friday morning, but a White House pool report hints of what may have been on his agenda before he left the Intercontinental Hotel in Century City. Spotted in the lobby of the hotel was Zach Galifianakis, the actor, comic and host of Funny or Die’s “Between Two Ferns.” That... Read more »
  
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• U.S. to send $70 mln in non-lethal aid to Syrian opposition

  13-03-2015 19:22
  
  (Adds details and background) WASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Friday it was working with Congress to provide about $70 million in new non-lethal assistance to the Syrian opposition fighting President Bashar al-Assad. The aid comes as the U.S. military separately prepares to train and equip Syrian rebels to fight Islamic State militants in Syria. The non-lethal aid will go toward basic community services, supporting "vetted units of the armed opposition," digita
  
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• China puts draft counter-terrorism law on hold - U.S. official

  13-03-2015 19:10
  
  China has effectively put a hold on a draft counter-terrorism law that would require technology firms to hand over sensitive information to government officials, a senior U.S. official said. Tensions over cybersecurity and technology policy are a major irritant in U.S.-China relations and President Barack Obama said in an interview with Reuters on March 2 that he had raised concerns about the law directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "They have decided to suspend the third reading of that
  
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• China delays next stage of draft counterterrorism law - U.S. official

  13-03-2015 17:27
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China has effectively put a hold on a draft counterterrorism law that would require technology firms to hand over encryption keys and install security "backdoors," a senior U.S. official said this week. "They have decided to suspend the third reading of that particular law, which has sort of put that on hiatus for the moment," White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Michael Daniel said on Thursday during a discussion at the Information Technology and Inno
  
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• Obama 'embarrassed' for Iran letter signatories

  13-03-2015 16:12
  
  US President Barack Obama said he was "embarrassed" for Republicans who signed a controversial letter warning Iran's leaders about reaching a nuclear deal with the White House. "I am embarrassed for them," Obama said in an interview with Vice media, which is expected to be released Monday. Forty-seven Senate Republicans -- including several potential 2016 presidential candidates -- signed the open letter to Iran's supreme leader published earlier this month. With a
  
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• 'Love him or hate him' Netanyahu seeks third straight term

  13-03-2015 15:43
  
  Adored by some, loathed by others, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking a third straight term in an election Tuesday seen as a referendum on his leadership. Three years ago, Time magazine hailed the burly 65-year-old with his trademark comb-over as "King Bibi". Two weeks ago he played to his strengths by taking his campaign against an emerging nuclear deal with Iran to the heart of the US political establishment, in a move that infuriated the White House. His impassione
  
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• Opinion: Will 2015 be the year we shoot back in cyberspace?

  13-03-2015 15:35
  
  Statements by the White House and military leaders have only become stronger since. Post-Sony, it is likely the White House will feel compelled to support US companies by authorizing the Pentagon to at least disrupt the incoming attack.
  
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• White House fence jumper suspect faces plea hearing

  13-03-2015 15:22
  
  The suspect, Omar Gonzalez, 42, has pleaded not guilty to charges in the Sept. 19 incident. He is alleged to have climbed over the White House fence and burst through the front door before being stopped in the executive mansion's East Room. U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer in October ordered Gonzalez to undergo a mental health evaluation. Gonzalez, who was carrying a folding knife, told a Secret Service agent that he needed to tell President Barack Obama the atmosphere was collapsing, a
  
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• The Secret Service Disaster: A Timeline

  13-03-2015 12:00
  
  The Secret Service may be able to take a bullet for the president or prevent counterfeiting, but the agency can't seem to stop a string of embarrassing missteps and serious lapses. On Wednesday, The Washington Post's Carol Leonnig scored the latest in a series of scoops about the chaos and lack of discipline at the agency, reporting that two senior agents hit a security barrier near the White House in a government car last week. When they reached the White House, their car barreled thr
  
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• US secret service latest embarrassment gets worse: report

  13-03-2015 11:52
  
  Two Secret Service agents being probed for allegedly crashing a car into White House security barriers after a boozy night out drove right through a bomb investigation scene there, The Washington Post reported Friday. As part of the latest embarrassment to the service, the officers drove right past the suspicious package, which turned out to be a book, the Post said, quoting current and former government officials. If the driving under the influence allegation is confirmed, it would be the lates
  
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• Hillary Clinton’s Popularity Slips, But She Still Tops the Field

  13-03-2015 11:30
  
  After more than a year of high-profile political volatility, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has seen her popularity with American voters dip only slightly. A new Gallup poll of 1,522 adults conducted March 2-4 found that 50 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of Clinton – the prohibitive favorite to win the Democratic presidential nomination next year -- compared with a 55 percent favorability rating last July. Moreover, her positive-to-negative rating of +12 percen
  
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• In US response, ex-envoy sees progress in fight for Anwar’s freedom

  13-03-2015 10:32
  
  KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 — The White House’s response to an online petition seeking Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s release is “one step forward”, former US envoy John R. Malott said...
  
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• White House fence jumper expected to take plea deal

  13-03-2015 10:28
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who the Secret Service says scaled a White House fence and dashed into the executive mansion before being caught inside carrying a folding knife is expected to take a plea deal.
  
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• UK-China trade bromance a blow to White House

  13-03-2015 10:16
  
  U.S. efforts to counter China's growing influence in Asia have been dealt a blow following a decision by the U.K. to join a new China-backed financial institution modeled on the World Bank. Chancellor ...
  
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• Scandal's Guillermo Diaz on Huck's Shocking Confession: "It Was the Right Thing to Do"

  13-03-2015 10:03
  
  Scandal S04E15: "The Testimony of Diego Munoz" Huck told the whole (or should we say "hole"?) truth during Thursday's episode of Scandal, but can anyone handle it? After Huck handed over David's spectacularly color-coded B613 files to his estranged wife Kim, she brought them straight to David herself, telling him that her husband Diego Munoz gave them to her, and asked him to expose the black ops group. Freaked out, David ran straight to Huck and (wannabe?) Gladiato
  
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• Kimmel Asks Obama to Shorten CVS Receipts

  13-03-2015 09:52
  When President Obama was on Thursday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, the host asked the leader some questions about practical living in the White House. Things like, “Can you like run down to the kitchen in your underpants?” “Do you ever drive?” and “Do you go to the dentist or does the dentist come to you?”
  
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• The White House is not happy about Britain's trade bromance with China

  13-03-2015 09:14
  
  The White House is steamed over the U.K.'s decision to join a new China-backed financial institution modeled on the World Bank. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said Thursday that the U.K. plans ...
  
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• In New Hampshire, Bush finds a familiar state for his family

  13-03-2015 08:23
  
  CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — When former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush lays the groundwork for an all-but-certain White House bid in the state hosting the nation's first presidential primary, he will be confronting a mixed record of voting for members of his family.
  
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• White House Secret Service agents disrupted bomb investigation

  13-03-2015 04:04
  
  Two senior Secret Service agents who were allegedly drunk are reportedly being investigated after they crashed their car through a White House security barricade.
  
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• Scandal Recap: The Hole Shebang

  13-03-2015 03:39
  
  ABC’s Scandal inched closer to its “classic” formula this Thursday, as Olivia set out to fix a broken heart, the White House swung into spin mode and Huck debated doing a number on B613. THE LAST LAUGH | Virginia senator/VP candidate Susan Ross was poised to sail through the Senate confirmation processes, until at her
  
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• Matt Craven Cast In ‘Unless'; S. Epatha Merkerson Joins ‘Year By The Sea’

  13-03-2015 03:31
  
  Matt Craven has been cast in Unless, a feature adaptation of Carol Shields' best seller. Catherine Keener stars as Reta, a writer whose daughter has run away and is found homeless and panhandling on the streets of Toronto. Craven will play her husband, Tom. The veteran actor stars on the ABC series Resurrection, and his recent TV credits also recurring on Justified and NCIS. His big-screen work includes White House Down and X-Men: First Class. He next appears in Roland…
  
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• After Anwar petition, White House tells Putrajaya to apply rule of law

  13-03-2015 02:46
  
  The White House today expressed its disappointment over Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's guilty conviction for sodomy, and urged Putrajaya to apply the rule of law to promote confidence in the country's democracy, judiciary and economy. In a statement following the close of a petition launched by former US ambassador to Malaysia John Malott to press...
  
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• Obama disappointed by latest Secret Service incident

  13-03-2015 02:19
  
  By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two senior U.S. Secret Service agents are under investigation after driving a government vehicle through an area where their colleagues were investigating a suspicious package, a law enforcement official said on Thursday. The incident comes on the heels of a series of scandals for the agency that protects the president and his family, and President Barack Obama was disappointed to hear the allegations, White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters. T
  
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• LBJ letter to Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow sells for $60,000

  13-03-2015 02:02
  
  By John Clarke FALLS CHURCH, Va. (Reuters) - A condolence letter from President Lyndon Johnson to the widow of slain civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was sold for $60,000 at auction on Thursday after a legal battle over the 47-year-old piece of correspondence. The typed letter from Johnson to Coretta Scott King is dated April 5, 1968, the day after King was gunned down in Memphis, Tennessee, by a white supremacist, triggering riots in cities across the United States. "We
  
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• A School Garden Born in a Food Desert May Change the Way Kids Eat—and Learn

  13-03-2015 01:03
  
  The South Bronx is full of concrete and crime, but in 2003, a box of daffodil bulbs next to a classroom radiator germinated an idea for teacher Stephen Ritz—an idea that has led to national teaching awards, a viral TED talk, and an invitation to the White House garden plot. “Introducing children to healthy fresh food at an early age—I would put my money into that,” he said. In the process, the Green Bronx Machine has morphed from after-school activity to a nationally recognized program t
  
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• From emails to Iran, White House confronts the 2016 world

  13-03-2015 00:12
  
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — President Barack Obama used to say 2012 was his last election. Then, in 2014, he hit the road for some Democrats in friendly states and called it his last campaign. Now, like it or not, he can't shake 2016.
  
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