White House news

• Obama tells Israel's Netanyahu that U.S. to 'reassess' options - official

  19-03-2015 23:51
  
  President Barack Obama told Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday the United States would "reassess" its policy options after the Israeli prime minister took a position against Palestinian statehood during the Israeli election campaign, a White House official said. The White House earlier issued a statement saying Obama had called Netanyahu to congratulate him on his election win and used the opportunity to reaffirm U.S. commitment to a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.
  
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• Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy Insists No Crash at White House, No Videos 'Erased'

  19-03-2015 23:47
  
  The new chief of the Secret Service today insisted recent reports of a “crash” at the White House by potentially intoxicated agents driving a government vehicle “are inaccurate,” and he pushed back on any suggestion that his agency deliberately "erased" surveillance video showing the incident. Indeed, the video of the March 4 incident he has reviewed shows the vehicle driving at a speed of about 2 mph before “pushing aside a plastic barrel” standing outside of a White House
  
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• Britain's Prince Charles meets Obama on U.S. goodwill tour

  19-03-2015 23:41
  
  Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Camilla met with President Barack Obama at the White House on Thursday as part of a goodwill tour of the United States. Obama and the Prince of Wales chatted amiably in front of reporters and television cameras while the Duchess of Cornwall sat smiling on a couch nearby. "I think it’s fair to say that the American people are quite fond of the royal family," Obama told the prince. It was the first White House visit by Charles since May 2011.
  
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• Video erased in latest US Secret Service incident

  19-03-2015 22:44
  
  The director of the US Secret Service said Thursday that some surveillance footage of an incident in which two senior agents drove into White House barricades after a night of boozing had been erased. Joseph Clancy, the new head of the elite presidential security agency that has suffered a string of embarrassing scandals, spoke to lawmakers investigating the latest case of alleged misconduct. Clancy acknowledged this was "too short" but said his agency was working with the manufacturer
  
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• Obama Backs Two-State Plan In Netanyahu Call

  19-03-2015 22:31
  
  President Barack Obama has reaffirmed US support for a two-state solution in the Middle East, in a call to congratulate Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on his election win. The White House said that in the telephone call, the President had backed a plan "that results in a secure Israel alongside a sovereign and viable Palestine". In pre-election comments, Mr Netanyahu ruled out a Palestinian state and pledged to continue building settlements on occupied land. But on Thursday the Israeli
  
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• Watch America's Students Turn a Spotlight on the Spirit of Public Service

  19-03-2015 22:25
  
  More than 1,700 submissions from K–12 filmmakers were received for the second annual White House Student Film Festival—all on the theme of “The Impact of Giving Back.” On Friday, March 20, the 15 official selections are set to make their world premiere at the residence of the leader of the free world. The 15 official selections that'll be screened in the East Room of the White House represent the best of public service and volunteering. To that end, along with the American Film Institute
  
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• Obama congratulates Netanyahu on election win

  19-03-2015 22:22
  
  US President Barack Obama on Thursday called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to congratulate him on his recent election win, after a campaign that soured relations between the two allies. Obama spoke to the Israeli leader "to congratulate him on his party's success in winning a plurality of Knesset seats," the White House said. Ties have been tested by Netanyahu's pledge on the campaign trail to oppose the creation of a Palestinian state, which had been the starting
  
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• Obama, Netanyahu talk by phone after election spat

  19-03-2015 22:18
  
  WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama spoke by telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, and the two leaders agreed to continue discussing the "difficult path forward" on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the White House said. "The president reaffirmed the United States' long-standing commitment to a two-state solution that results in a secure Israel alongside a sovereign and viable Palestine," the White House said in a statement. (Reporting by Rober
  
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• Obama congratulates Netanyahu on election win: White House

  19-03-2015 22:10
  
  Washington (AFP) - US President Barack Obama on Thursday called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to congratulate him on his recent election win, after a campaign that soured relations between the two allies.
  
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• US may lift diplomatic shield for Israel at UN

  19-03-2015 22:06
  
  The White House on Thursday warned it may withdraw crucial diplomatic cover for Israel at the United Nations, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied he had ruled out the creation of a Palestinian state. Despite Netanyahu's backtracking over his campaign promise, skeptical American officials said the veteran Israeli leader would have to prove his commitment to negotiations for a two-state solution. Responding to Netanyahu's last-minute campaign pledge not to allow a Palestinia
  
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• Netanyahu backs away from rejection of Palestinian state; White House unmoved

  19-03-2015 21:35
  
  By Matt Spetalnick and Doina Chiacu WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied on Thursday abandoning his commitment to the eventual creation of a Palestinian state, backing away from pre-election comments that deepened a rift with Israel's ally the United States. I never retracted my speech in Bar-Ilan University six years ago calling for a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state," Netanyahu said in an interview with MSNBC two days
  
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• Obama welcomes Prince Charles, Camilla to White House

  19-03-2015 21:33
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says the American people are "quite fond" of the British royal family and like them more than their own politicians.
  
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• Obama jokes British royals more popular than US politicians

  19-03-2015 21:27
  
  US President Barack Obama welcomed Prince Charles and his wife Camilla to the White House on Thursday, joking that Americans liked the British royals more than local politicians. "I think it's fair to say that the American people are quite fond of the royal family," Obama told the Prince of Wales and heir to the British crown in the Oval Office. The royals are on a four-day visit to the United States designed to underscore "the special relationship" between the two natio
  
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• Charles Gladdened By Obama's Royal Thumbs-Up

  19-03-2015 21:15
  
  President Barack Obama had some reassuring news for the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall as he welcomed them to the White House. During a chat in the Oval Office, Mr Obama told Charles that Americans are "quite fond" of the British royal family and much prefer them to US politicians. The two men last met almost four years ago when Charles flew to America a few days after the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Prince Charles and Mr Obama could be heard chatting on Thur
  
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• U.S. Secret Service director pledges to get tough on possible hush-ups

  19-03-2015 20:58
  
  By Lisa Lambert WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy pledged on Thursday to get tough on his agency for keeping quiet about officers allegedly driving drunk on White House grounds, but he also knocked down reports that the incident involved a collision or that agents purposely deleted surveillance video of it. President Barack Obama chose Clancy, who took office last month, to clean up the security service's problems. On March 4, two Secret Service officers drov
  
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• This guy did a dad dance on a treadmill, and the Web loves it

  19-03-2015 20:53
  
  The Internet’s obsession with dad dance moves has gone as far as the White House (do we need to remind you of Obama’s moves?)
  
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• Monica Lewinsky says cyberbullying almost drove her to suicide

  19-03-2015 20:24
  
  Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky told the TED conference in Vancouver today that it was time for her to speak up and stop "tiptoeing" around her past. In a deeply personal speech that caused her to pause to hold back tears more than once, Lewinsky described the global humiliation she suffered as the result of her relationship in the '90s with President Bill Clinton.
  
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• Charles meets Obama in Oval Office

  19-03-2015 20:24
  
  US President Barack Obama and the Prince of Wales met in the famous White House's Oval Office today - and caught up on lost time.
  
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• Secret Service: Video of recent incident taped over

  19-03-2015 20:14
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy says some video footage of a March 4 incident at the White House involving two senior agents has been recorded over.
  
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• 'Bill for First Lady' campaign puts 'va-voom' in U.S. election

  19-03-2015 20:10
  
  By Lisa Lambert WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A political group pushing Democrat Hillary Clinton to run for U.S. president has taken a novel approach: rallying people around making her husband the country's First Lady. The BillforFirstLady2016.com Political Action Committee is releasing videos, sponsoring social media accounts and hosting events that all feature a man decked out in a bobble-head mask of former President Bill Clinton, a red dress and high heels. "Put Hillary in the White House. The Bill
  
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• White House: US 'to reevaluate' backing for Israel at UN

  19-03-2015 20:09
  
  Washington (AFP) - The White House on Thursday pointedly raised the prospect of withdrawing crucial diplomatic cover for Israel at the United Nations, following Benjamin Netanyahu's divisive election victory.
  
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• British royals mingle with retired vets, immigrants in US

  19-03-2015 19:40
  
  Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Camilla chatted with US military veterans on Thursday, then dropped by a school that caters to newcomers to America. The royal couple stopped by the Armed Forces Retirement Home, which includes a cottage where Civil War president Abraham Lincoln spent his summers, and the Carlos Rosario school for adult immigrants ahead of a White House meetup with President Barack Obama. Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation at the hilltop cottage where he lived
  
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• Secret Service chief forcefully denies reports of crash

  19-03-2015 19:32
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The recently installed director of the scandal-plagued Secret Service is going on the offensive on Capitol Hill, pushing back hard against news reports that two senior agents crashed a government vehicle into a security barrier at the White House after a night of drinking earlier this month.
  
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• Exclusive: Facebook's Engineering Director Is Headed to the White House

  19-03-2015 19:29
  The White House just added another Silicon Valley veteran to its growing roster of tech experts. This afternoon, President Obama will announce a newly-created position for David Recordon, who has worked as Facebook’s Engineering director since 2005. Decordon will join the White House as the Director of Information Technology, perhaps the most glorified IT position in history.
  
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• Exclusive: Facebook Engineering Director Is Headed to the White House

  19-03-2015 19:29
  The White House just added another Silicon Valley veteran to its growing roster of tech experts. This afternoon, President Obama will announce a newly-created position for David Recordon, who has worked as Facebook’s Engineering director since 2009. Decordon will join the White House as the Director of Information Technology, perhaps the most glorified IT position in history.
  
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• White House: Obama could call Netanyahu as early as today

  19-03-2015 19:27
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Barack Obama could place a call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as early as Thursday on the occasion of his election victory Tuesday.
  
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• Islamic State says it killed tourists in Tunisia

  19-03-2015 19:11
  
  * Army to deploy to major cities after attack * Twenty foreign tourists among dead * Gunmen identified, nine others arrested (Updates with White House statement) By Tarek Amara TUNIS, March 19 (Reuters) - Tunisia said it would deploy the army to major cities and arrested nine people on Thursday after 20 foreign tourists were shot dead in an attack on a museum which Islamic State militants called "the first drop of the rain". Officials did not confirm the militants' claim of responsibility, but s
  
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• White House says evaluating path forward after Israeli prime minister's comments

  19-03-2015 19:10
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Thursday that it is evaluating its path forward following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comments that he was backing away from a two-state solution. White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters it is clear that Netanyahu during his campaign walked back from his previous commitment to a two-state solution with Palestinians. (Reporting by Julia Edwards; Editing by Eric Beech)
  
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• White House says reports of draft of Iran nuclear deal not accurate

  19-03-2015 19:04
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Thursday that there is no draft document of a nuclear agreement with Iran being circulated. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said reports on the details of such a document are not accurate. (Reporting by Julia Edwards; Editing by Eric Beech)
  
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• White House says Obama could call Netanyahu today

  19-03-2015 19:02
  
  Washington (AFP) - President Barack Obama could call Benjamin Netanyahu "as soon as" today following the Israel prime minister's election victory, the White House said Thursday.
  
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• White House says attacks in Tunisia are 'consistent' with Islamic State violence

  19-03-2015 18:36
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Thursday said it has not been able to confirm reports that Islamic State is responsible for recent attacks in Tunisia, but that the nature of the attacks are consistent with violence the militant group has previously practiced. White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters that counterterrorism adviser Lisa Monaco called her counterpart in Tunisia on Thursday to offer assistance. (Reporting by Julia Edwards; Editing by Eric Beech)
  
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• Humana Sets Three-Year Goal For Carbon Footprint Reduction

  19-03-2015 18:30
  
  Humana Inc. today participated in an event at the White House during which several large federal contractors announced commitments to reduce their carbon footprints in 2015 and beyond.
  
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• U.S. State Department still reviewing Keystone pipeline -White House

  19-03-2015 18:24
  
  The U.S. State Department is still reviewing TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline project, White House senior adviser Brian Deese told reporters on Thursday. Deese declined to give a timeline on when the ...
  
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• U.S. House votes to block rule to speed up unionizing workers

  19-03-2015 18:23
  
  Defying the threat of a veto from the White House, the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives Thursday voted to block a government labor agency from adopting rules that would speed up the time it takes to unionize workers. The National Labor Relations Board adopted the rules last year and they are set to take effect April 14. The NLRB and Democrats who support the new process say it was designed to rein in misconduct by a minority of employers who draw out the union election process
  
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• Little League Phenom Mo’Ne Davis Inspires Disney Channel Original Movie

  19-03-2015 18:17
  Disney Channel is developing an original movie based on the life of 13-year-old baseball player Mo’Ne Davis, who made history in 2014 by becoming the first female to pitch a shutout in the Little League World Series. “Throw Like Mo,” written by Sheldon Candis and Justin Wilson (“LUV,” “A Slave in the White House”), will be executive produced by Debra Martin Chase (“The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” Disney Channel’s “The Cheetah Girls” series). “A year ago, I never
  
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• Congress sends Obama bill to kill a labor board rule

  19-03-2015 18:14
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-controlled Congress has sent the White House a bill repealing a National Labor Relations Board rule intended to streamline union elections, defying a threat by President Barack Obama to veto the measure.
  
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• Monica Lewinsky TED Talk to bring personal story of Clinton sex scandal

  19-03-2015 18:03
  
  Monica Lewinsky, the White House intern who rose to notoriety for having an affair with sitting U.S. President Bill Clinton, is giving the headline address at the TED2015 conference in Vancouver today — speaking about how that event 17 years ago has haunted her ever since. Lewinsky was 24 years old when the scandal broke, and retreated to silence for more than a decade before writing a piece in Vanity Fair magazine last year about the humiliation and harassment that followed revelations of th
  
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• US, Israel have no choice but to work together: Netanyahu

  19-03-2015 16:59
  
  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed Thursday that the United States and Israel are each other's greatest allies and have no choice but to work together. Ties between Israel and the United States have plunged to an all-time low, after Netanyahu angered the Obama administration by giving a passionate speech to Congress blasting an Iran nuclear deal under negotiation. The White House has been further exasperated by Netanyahu's last-minute campaign promises. The news that Ne
  
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• Costumed 'goose' thanks Prince Charles in front of White House

  19-03-2015 16:50
  
  An animal rights activist wearing a goose costume thanked Britain's Prince Charles in front of the White House on Thursday for his opposition to foie gras. "Charlie is my darling for banning foie gras from royal menus," read a placard held up by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals activist. "We wanted to thank him for his kindness and for setting a good example," the activist, Ashley Byrne, told AFP. In 2008, Prince Charles said he had ordered his personal ch
  
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• Obama to sign order cutting U.S. gov't greenhouse gas emissions

  19-03-2015 16:28
  
  U.S. President Barack Obama will sign an executive order on Thursday that sets a goal for the U.S. government to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2025, the White House said on Thursday. The federal government is the single largest energy consumer in the United States, the White House said in a statement. Meeting the goal would cut 21 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from 2008 levels, it said.
  
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• Netanyahu says Israel has 'no greater ally' than U.S. - NBC

  19-03-2015 16:00
  
  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed his country's strong ties with the United Stated on Thursday after tensions in the run-up to his election victory, saying Israel has "no greater ally." "There are so many areas where we must work together with the United States," Netanyahu said in an interview with NBC. "America has no greater ally than Israel and Israel has no greater ally than the United States." Netanyahu won a bitterly contested Israeli election this week after shifting to t
  
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• 'Bill Clinton' in Drag Pushes Hillary Clinton for President

  19-03-2015 15:43
  
  An ad campaign gaining traction online aims to send Bill Clinton back to the White House -- as his wife Hillary Clinton???s ???first lady.???
  
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• Obama orders cut in US government greenhouse gases

  19-03-2015 15:42
  
  US President Barack Obama on Thursday will order the government to cut its own greenhouse gas emissions and use more renewable energy, the latest drive to bypass a hostile Congress. Obama will sign an executive order to cut government emissions by 40 percent over 2008 levels in the next decade and source 30 percent of electricity from renewables, the White House said. The federal government operates an estimated 360,000 buildings and 650,000 vehicles, making it the country's largest single
  
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• U.S. says to impose more sanctions if no Iran nuclear deal

  19-03-2015 14:20
  
  The Obama administration will work with Congress to impose further sanctions on Iran if a nuclear deal is not reached, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Thursday, just weeks before a deadline for a political accord. Iran and six world powers are seeking an agreement ahead of an end-March deadline to curb Iran's most sensitive nuclear activities for at least 10 years in exchange for a gradual end to sanctions on Tehran. U.S. lawmakers have been concerned the White House would cut Congress o
  
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• Some video of Secret Service scandal may have been erased: CNN

  19-03-2015 13:57
  
  Surveillance video of two U.S. Secret Service agents drunk driving at the White House may have been erased as part of the agency's policy of deleting recordings every 72 hours, CNN reported on Thursday. Two videos of the incident, where the agents slowly pulled onto White House grounds and into an active bomb investigation, exist, but the chairman of the House of Representatives Oversight Committee, Jason Chaffetz, told CNN that he learned other recordings may have been deleted. The director of
  
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• Could a Cyanide-Laced Letter Have Harmed Obama?

  19-03-2015 12:10
  
  A package that was sent to the White House and tested positive for traces of cyanide likely would not have harmed anyone, scientists say. Though cyanide is a deadly poison, this particular attack was unlikely to have sickened anyone, said Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a chemical-weapons expert with SecureBio, a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) security firm based in the United Kingdom. That's because the form the cyanide likely came in — a white, powdery substance called sodiu
  
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• Obama to sign order cutting U.S. government greenhouse gas emissions

  19-03-2015 11:02
  
  President Barack Obama will sign an executive order on Thursday that will cut the U.S. government's greenhouse gas emissions, the White House said in a statement. After signing the order, Obama will visit the Department of Energy to tour the building's rooftop solar panels. While there, he will attend a meeting of some of the federal suppliers, which will discuss their reduction targets, including initial commitments to disclose emission targets or set new reduction goals, the statemen
  
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• Obama, Merkel discuss Ukraine, Greek crises

  19-03-2015 10:08
  
  Washington, March 19 (IANS) US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have discussed the Ukrainian crisis and the Greek situation in a telephone conversation, Efe news agency reported. "The two leaders agreed on the need for full and prompt implementation of the three Minsk agreements in order to reach a lasting and peaceful resolution to the conflict," said a White House statement on Wednesday in reference to the crisis in Ukraine. "They reiterated their agreement that there
  
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• Should have closed Guantanamo on my first day: Obama

  19-03-2015 09:46
  
  Washington, March 19 (IANS) US President Barack Obama has said that he should have closed the Guantanamo Bay prison on his first day at the White House back in 2009 when there was consensus with Republicans on its shutting down, Efe news agency reported. Asked at an event in Cleveland, Ohio, on Wednesday what he would do if he could go back to his first day in the White House, Obama replied, "I would've closed Guantanamo on the first day." "I didn't because at that time we had a bi-partisan agre
  
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• Netanyahu’s actions may make Washington 'reconsider' Israel policy - White House - RT

  19-03-2015 08:00
  Netanyahu’s actions may make Washington 'reconsider' Israel policy - White House  RTThe US is “evaluating” its policy towards Israel in the wake of Benjamin Netanyahu's re-election and campaign statements. This could involve passing a UN ...
  
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