White House news

• Cricket Media Honored as One of Nine Publishers to Participate in ConnectED's eBooks Commitment

  30-04-2015 20:35
  
  WASHINGTON, DC, April 30th, 2015 /CNW/ - Cricket Media, an education media company and global learning network, today announced their participation in the ConnectEd initiative, President Obama's signature initiative focused on transforming teaching and learning through digital connectivity and content. Cricket Media is one of nine media companies participating in today's launch and the leading short form content provider donating content to be made available to low-income students as a part of
  
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• Obama taps Africa hand as USAID chief

  30-04-2015 19:47
  
  President Barack Obama on Thursday tapped veteran Africa expert Gayle Smith to head the US Agency for International Development, which manages $20 billion of taxpayer money. Since 2009 Smith has been a senior adviser on Obama's National Security Council, heading up international development, humanitarian crisis response and democracy issues. Before working at the White House, Smith lived and worked in Africa for almost 20 years as a journalist.
  
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• Former journalist, Obama adviser nominated to run aid agency

  30-04-2015 19:34
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama tapped White House adviser Gayle Smith on Thursday to run the U.S. Agency for International Development, putting a former journalist and longtime Africa expert in charge of his global development agenda for the final years of his presidency.
  
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• US Senator Bernie Sanders launches presidential run

  30-04-2015 19:15
  
  US Senator Bernie Sanders launched his populist, liberal campaign for the White House on Thursday, savaging an American economic system that creates "immoral" and unsustainable disparities between rich and poor. "We're in this race to win," the 73-year-old Sanders, an independent lawmaker who is little known outside political circles and his home state of Vermont, told reporters at a low-key, rushed announcement on the lawn outside the US Capitol, where he has served in
  
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• Obama taps White House adviser to run aid agency

  30-04-2015 19:04
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is tapping one of his top aides at the White House's National Security Council to run the U.S. Agency for International Development.
  
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• Obama taps Gayle Smith to lead U.S. Agency for International Development

  30-04-2015 18:58
  
  President Barack Obama on Thursday said he would nominate Gayle Smith, a long-time White House adviser on development issues, as the next administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). "Gayle’s energy and passion have been instrumental in guiding America’s international development policy, responding to a record number of humanitarian crises worldwide, and ensuring that development remains at the forefront of the national security agenda," Obama said in a statement,
  
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• Obama launches e-book initiative: Will kids in need be able to access them?

  30-04-2015 18:41
  
  President Obama announced Thursday that a string of major book publishers have pledged $250 million in donations to help low-income kids access electronic versions of around 10,000 of the most popular titles in children’s literature. The president is also seeking commitment from local schools and governments to ensure that every student has a library card. "We're going to provide millions of e-books online so that they're available for young people who maybe don't have as many books at home or
  
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• TRICARE revamp rejected, other benefit changes backed

  30-04-2015 18:04
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials say the White House is rejecting a proposal to largely replace the military's TRICARE health care system but has agreed to further study a proposal that would let service members participate in retirement savings plans like a 401(k).
  
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• U.S. lawmaker optimistic on fast track trade bill vote

  30-04-2015 17:40
  
  A key U.S. lawmaker said on Thursday he is optimistic Congress will pass legislation key to a Pacific trade pact and said he is open to considering stronger rules against currency manipulation in a separate bill. The Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, Paul Ryan, said he thought Republicans were in a "very good place" on a bill granting the White House authority to seal trade deals and submit them to Congress for a yes-or-no vote, without amendments.
  
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• Sony Earnings Improve; Pictures Division Jumps In Full-Year Results

  30-04-2015 13:20
  
  Sony Pictures Entertainment saw operating income increase 13.4% to $488M, the parent company said while reporting its full fiscal year results this moring in Tokyo. The jump was due to the favorable impact of the depreciation of the yen against the greenback. The period also benefitted from the stronger performance of the film slate including hits like The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and 22 Jump Street, as compared to the under-performance of White House Down and After Earth…
  
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• Obama to announce free e-books for low-income kids

  30-04-2015 12:04
  
  President Barack Obama will go to a public library in one of Washington's poorest neighborhoods on Thursday to talk about a plan to give low-income children access to 10,000 e-books. Working with publishers and libraries, the White House sees the modest plan as part of a strategy to address inner city problems by increasing educational opportunities for kids - woes brought into focus with recent riots in nearby Baltimore. "If we're serious about living up to what our country is about, then we ha
  
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• Obama pushes reading through eBook, library initiatives

  30-04-2015 12:02
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is marshaling major book publishers to provide more than $250 million in free eBooks to low-income students and is seeking commitments from local governments and schools to ensure every student has a library card.
  
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• What to Watch Tonight: The Vampire Diaries, a McDreamy-Less Grey's Anatomy, and the Season Finales of Mom and Backstrom

  30-04-2015 10:04
  What to watch on Thursday, April 30... 7:30pm, Cartoon Network Adventure Time The treehouse welcomes some new occupants in "Chips & Ice Cream," possibly because Airbnb has expanded even into the Land of Ooo. Then "Jermaine" finds Finn and Jake hoping to reconnect with their brother. MINISERIES CONCLUSION, 8pm, HBO The Casual Vacancy The votes are in, and Pagford will never be the same after the newest member of its parish council is revealed. Or, I dunno, maybe it'll
  
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• Relief teams face five-day trek to deliver Nepal quake aid

  30-04-2015 06:51
  
  The UN launched a $415 million appeal for survivors of Nepal's massive earthquake as coordinators warned Thursday that it might take a five-day trek to deliver relief supplies to some of the worst-hit rural areas. After desperate Nepalis clashed with riot police and seized supplies of bottled water in the capital Kathmandu, the government acknowledged that it had been overwhelmed by the scale of the crisis. President Barack Obama promised the United States will do "all it can" to
  
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• Can Congress help Obama get a stronger Iran deal?

  30-04-2015 00:28
  
  Congress's ability to have a say on an Iran deal – and even to be a constructive force in negotiations with Tehran – depends on its ability to stay united on a bipartisan Iran bill on the Senate floor this week, supporters say. Not only do supporters want guaranteed congressional review of any final deal with Iran, which is the purpose of the bill. They also believe that overwhelming support for the bill can help United States negotiators reach a better nuclear deal with Iran, particularly w
  
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