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Obama takes on college costs, eyes young voters
President Barack Obama is on a blitz to keep the cost of college loans from soaring for millions of students. He is wooing young voters and taking his message to three states strategically important to his re-election bid.
Before Obama got his road trip under way, his Republican opponent Mitt Romney found a way to steal some thunder from the president’s campaign argument: He agreed with it.
The competitors are now on record for freezing the current interest rates on a popular federal loan for poorer and middle-class students.
The president speaks Tuesday at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Colorado at Boulder, and then the University of Iowa on Wednesday.
All three universities are in states considered competitive in the election.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Obama signs temporary extension of Patriot Act – AP
President Barack Obama has signed a three-month extension of key surveillance provisions of the Patriot Act.
The law extends two areas of the 2001 act. One provision allows law enforcement officials to set roving wiretaps to monitor multiple communication devices. The other allows them to ask a special court for access to business and library records that could be relevant to a terrorist threat.
A third provision gives the FBI court-approved rights for surveillance of non-American “lone wolf” suspects — those not known to be tied to specific terrorist groups.
Obama signed the three-month extension of the provisions Friday. They were to expire Monday.
Lawmakers will soon start debating a multiple-year extension of the provisions, which have drawn fire from defenders of privacy rights.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Libyans have lost faith in Gadhafi – AP
The White House says Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has lost the confidence of his people following brutal attacks by his supporters on protesters demanding his ouster.
Obama spokesman Jay Carney stopped short of calling for Gadhafi to step down. But he says it’s clear that Gadhafi’s legitimacy has been “reduced to zero.”
Carney’s strong words were a shift for the White House, which has thus far refrained from naming Gadhafi personally. The ramped up rhetoric came as the last U.S. citizens in Libya were evacuated Friday.
The U.S. also announced Friday that it was suspending embassy operations in Tripoli and moving forward on plans to implement sanctions against Libya.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Orioles say Scott’s comments are his alone – AP
A spokesman for the Baltimore Orioles says outfielder Luke Scott’s interview with Yahoo! Sports does not reflect the opinion of the organization. Scott told the website’s baseball blog on Tuesday that he believes President Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States and Obama “does not represent America.”
Team spokesman Greg Bader says Wednesday in an e-mail: “The fact is that Barack Obama is our President, duly elected by the people of the United States. End of story.”
So-called “birthers” have contended since the 2008 presidential campaign that Obama is ineligible to be president because, they argue, he was actually born in Kenya, his father’s homeland. Hawaii officials have repeatedly confirmed Obama’s U.S. citizenship.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Obama defends willingness to compromise on taxes – AP
President Barack Obama says his willingness to compromise with Republicans on tax policy doesn’t mean he’s reluctant to stand behind core principles.
Asked at his news conference if he’s too easily given to deal-making, Obama said, “Look, I’ve got a whole bunch of lines in the sand.” He called making tax cuts permanent for the middle-class “a line in the sand.”
Obama said his job is “to make sure we have a North Star out there” for the American people. He said that at any given time, he may not be able to get “my preferred option.” Obama likened criticism of the new tax compromise to the second-guessing he heard because the massive health care overhaul failed to include a public option.
He said, “Somehow, that was a sign of weakness and compromise.”
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
White House pushes tax credits, jobless benefits – AP
The White House is pressing Congress to extend jobless benefits and tax credits for middle- and low-income people, a package of economic assistance totaling about $150 billion for one year.
The White House campaign comes amid negotiations with Congress over extending 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for all taxpayers.
Obama administration officials say the combined effect of such spending would be eight times better for the economy than continuing expiring tax rates cuts for wealthier taxpayers.
Beyond unemployment insurance, the White House made the case Thursday for extending tax provisions in the 2009 economic stimulus. They include the Make Work Pay tax credit for individuals, a tuition tax credit and a provision that rewards employers who hire unemployed workers. All expire at the end of the year.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Gibbs: Obama backs Pentagon report on gay troops – AP
The White House says President Barack Obama agrees with a Pentagon survey that overturning the military’s ban on gay service members would not disrupt unit cohesion. Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama continues to believe that the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is divisive and should be overturned through the legislative process.
Gibbs says the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” was discussed during Obama’s meeting with bipartisan lawmakers Tuesday. Gibbs says Obama believes the ban on gays in the military can be repealed in the lame-duck session of Congress.
The White House is expected to release a statement from Obama on the Pentagon report later Tuesday.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
