What’s in a name? Obama to welcome leader of ‘Myanmar,’ not ‘Burma’

Myanmar's president, Thein Sein, at the U.N. building in Bangkok on April 29. (Chaiwat Subprasom /Reuters)Straight up: This will only be of interest to foreign policy nerds and people interested in the fate of U.S. relations with this particular Asian country (Shoutout: Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Republican senate minority leader and resident expert in Congress on this issue).

The White House announced Wednesday that President Barack Obama will welcome President Thein Sein of Myanmar next week. It's a historic visit, part of a gradual patching-up of relations after decades of tension and U.S. economic sanctions.

Obama himself became the first sitting president to visit Myanmar in November 2012. But there's one catch: According to the State Department and the CIA, there's doesn't seem to be any such country. According to those agencies, Thein Sein leads "Burma."

It's a notable diplomatic reward. Obama used the name "Myanmar" during his visit there in November. Authorities there have long quested for Washington to recognize the name, but it's still quite rare among U.S. policymakers—and nearly unheard of in Congress.

Here's the State Department's take: "The military government changed the country name to "Myanmar" in 1989. It remains U.S. policy to refer to the country as Burma."

What does the Central Intelligence Agency have to say? This: "Since 1989 the military authorities in Burma, and the current parliamentary government, have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; the US Government has not adopted the name, which is a derivative of the Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw."

So why the change? National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden has the goods:

"The United States government over time has begun limited use of the name 'Myanmar' as a diplomatic courtesy," Hayden told Yahoo News by email. "Our policy remains that Burma is the name of the country."

She confirmed that the use of the other name is, in effect, a symbolic reward.

"Burma has undertaken a number of positive reforms, including releasing over 850 political prisoners; easing media restriction; permitting freedom of speech, assembly, and movement," she said. "We have responded by expanding our engagement with the government, easing a number of sanctions, and as a courtesy in appropriate setting, more frequently using the name 'Myanmar.'"

Obama believes "that showing respect for a government that is pursuing an ambitious reform agenda is an important signal of support for its efforts and our desire to help the transformation succeed," Hayden said.

Here is the full statement from White House press secretary Jay Carney:

Statement by the Press Secretary on the visit of President Thein Sein of Myanmar to the White House

President Obama will welcome His Excellency President Thein Sein to the White House on Monday, May 20, 2013. Since President Obama’s historic trip to Rangoon last November, the United States has continued to advocate for continued progress on reform by President Thein Sein’s government, in close cooperation with Aung San Suu Kyi, civil society leaders, and the international community. The President looks forward to discussing with President Thein Sein the many remaining challenges to efforts to develop democracy, address communal and ethnic tensions, and bring economic opportunity to the people of his country, and to exploring how the United States can help.

President Thein Sein’s visit underscores President Obama’s commitment to supporting and assisting those governments that make the important decision to embrace reform, and highlights the dedication of the United States to helping the Burmese people realize the full potential of their extraordinary country.

View the original article here

‘Angry’ Obama says acting IRS chief fired over conservative targeting

President Barack Obama will make previously unannounced remarks on the IRS scandal at 6 p.m. Wednesday, his press office said. The president's statement from the East Room of the White House will come a little more than an hour after a meeting with senior Treasury Department officials to discuss the controversy, which centers on the IRS' acknowledgement that it improperly targeted conservative groups for scrutiny.

In a written statement late Tuesday, Obama called the IRS' behavior "intolerable and inexcusable," and said that he had directed Treasury Secretary Jack Lew "to hold those responsible for these failures accountable."

On Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder promised angry lawmakers that the Justice Department will undertake a national investigation into the IRS wrongdoing.

"We will take a dispassionate view of this," said Holder, who faced tough questioning from the House Judiciary Committee. "This will not be about parties ... anyone who has broken the law will be held accountable."

Holder said he had launched an investigation last Friday into why the IRS subjected conservative groups to more review when they applied for tax-exempt status. The IRS inspector general's report said that a group of low-level staffers in an Ohio office were responsible, and a top IRS official has apologized on their behalf.

But Holder promised that the investigation will look well beyond Ohio, and suggested that civil rights laws could have been violated.

Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., asked Holder at the hearing whether an "apology" from the IRS protected them from criminal prosecution. Holder answered, "No."

The Obama Administration is under fire over the IRS, the president's handling of the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, and the Department of Justice's secret collection of telephone records of Associated Press reporters and editors.

Republicans have been hammering Obama on all three matters. While Democrats have largely defended him—and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton—on Benghazi, they have joined their GOP colleagues in denouncing the IRS and in expressing deep concerns about the AP phone records.

On Monday, Obama dismissed Republican charges of a cover-up in the Benghazi situation as a "sideshow" lacking any merit. He has yet to comment directly on the AP issue.

View the original article here

White House: Obama is no Nixon

President Barack Obama at a May 13 press conference. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)The Department of Justice seizing reporters' phone records? The IRS apologizing for targeting conservatives?

The Richard Nixon comparisons seem to write themselves—much to the joy of Republicans working to cement the association between President Barack Obama and the former scandal-plagued president.

But when asked at Tuesday's press briefing about the White House's reaction to the recent Nixon comparisons, press secretary Jay Carney suggested those who made them were wrong.

"People who make those kinds of comparisons need to check their history," he said.

He then pivoted to the Benghazi "scandal," chalking it up to politics. "What we have here," Carney said, referencing controversy over the administration's handling of the 2012 attack, "is so clearly—as we're learning—more and more a political sideshow, a deliberate effort to politicize a tragedy."

View the original article here

Obama denounces Benghazi cover-up charges as ‘political circus’

President Barack Obama gestures during a joint news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron, Monday, …
President Barack Obama on Monday furiously dismissed as a "political circus" Republican charges that his administration had misled Americans about the Benghazi, Libya. Obama said the suggestion dishonors the memory of the four U.S. citizens killed last September.

"There’s no there there,” Obama said during a joint question-and-answer session with British Prime Minister David Cameraon at the White House. "And the fact that this keeps on getting churned out, frankly, has a lot to do with political motivations."

The president’s angry words came after news reports surfaced Friday that the White House had overseen a process that repeatedly watered down Administration talking points on the attack, removing references to possible involvement by al-Qaida and to prior warnings about threats in Benghazi. Republicans have charged that the White House was worried about the potential political fallout from the spectacular terrorist attack in Obama's re-election campaign. The White House has repeatedly denied that it deliberately misled the public.

"The whole issue of talking points frankly throughout this process has been a sideshow," Obama said.

The talking points, which portrayed the attack as evolving from a demonstration of anger at an Internet video that mocked Islam, "pretty much matched the assessments that I was receiving at that time in my presidential daily briefing," he added, referring to his top-secret morning intelligence review with the CIA.

While protests against the video in Egypt led to an assault on the American embassy in Cairo, officials in Libya never reported a demonstration outside the compound in Benghazi before the assault that claimed the lives of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

Obama aides have said that the decision to scrub references in the talking points to al-Qaida and another extremist group, Ansar al-Sharia, reflected the intelligence community's uncertainty about the role they played.

"Immediately after this event happened, we were not clear who exactly had carried it out, how it had occurred, what the motivations were," Obama said. "It happened at the same time as we had seen attacks on US embassies in Cairo as a consequence of this film. And nobody understood exactly what was taking place during the course of those first few days."

The president also pointed to his first public remarks on the attack, in the Rose Garden on Sept. 12, 2012, when he lumped the events in Benghazi in with the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist strikes as "acts of terror."

But he and other senior officials declined in subsequent days to label the attack the work of terrorists. And U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice linked the Benghazi assault to the Internet video when she appeared on morning news shows the first Sunday after the attack.

"I’ve just got to say, here’s what we know: Americans died in Benghazi," Obama said. "What we also know is clearly they were not in a position where they were adequately protected.

"The day after it happened, I acknowledged that this was an act of terrorism and what I pledged to the American people was we would find out what happened we would make sure that it did not happen again and we would make sure that we held accountable those who had perpetrated this terrible crime. And that’s exactly what we’ve been trying to do," he said.

Obama praised the work of envoys like Stevens and diplomats and other personnel serving overseas today, and declared: "We dishonor them when we turn things like this into a political circus."

View the original article here

Obama rallies women around Obamacare ahead of Mother’s Day

President Barack Obama on Friday planned to deliver remarks touting his health care law's benefits for women, whose response to the program the White House believes will be key to its success.

Obama's remarks, to be delivered in the White House East Room, are being tied to Mother's Day. But the event represents the beginning of a campaign White House will undertake to get mothers to encourage their adult children to enroll in health care "exchanges."

Hispanics and African-Americans will be major target groups for Obamacare enrollment, which is set to begin in October, a White House senior administration official said Friday. But the White House believes young people are the single most important group for the success of the health care exchanges, which will be established by states and the federal government, the official said.

Stability for the program and the cost of insurance premiums is dependent upon young people: 2.7 million healthy 18-35 years olds not currently covered, to be exact, according to the official. Participation by these young people will offset the higher costs of covering seniors. But the challenge is getting young and presumably healthy people to sign up.

That's where the White House says women come in.

Mothers will be the key validators in encouraging their sons and daughters to sign up, officials said Friday.

The White House will conduct outreach at the local level, in part, by using tools from the campaign trail, but will also rely on Centers for Medicaid and Medicaid Services, hospitals, community health centers, local churches and community leaders to get their message out, officials said.

Overall, the Congressional Budget Office projects 7 million enrollees in 2014.

But many Republicans have issued dire predictions about implementation of the health care law, and some Democrats have added their voices to those expressions of concern.

The White House believes they will have the upper hand in Republican attacks on Obamacare after people enroll. Then, Republicans will look like they are trying to take health care insurance away from Americans, the official said, instead of an abstract concept.

Republicans are continuing their assault on the controversial program with House Republicans planning a vote next week on whether to fully repeal the law.

“The president’s health care law is a train wreck for men and women alike, and that’s why a majority of Americans support Republican efforts to repeal it to protect their health care-- and their jobs," House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement Friday. "Next week, the House will act to repeal the law that is increasing health care costs, reducing access to quality health care, and making it harder for small businesses to hire workers. The entire law should be repealed so we can enact a step-by-step, common-sense approach to health care that starts with lowering costs and protecting American jobs.”

The vote is largely political theater.

Republicans have staged dozens of votes to repeal the law in whole or in part in the three years since the measure passed into law. And additionally, if a repeal measure did pass the Republican-controlled House, the Democratic-controlled Senate would kill the effort.

View the original article here

Top Senate Republican opposes Obama labor nominee Perez

By Rachelle Younglai and Roberta Rampton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate's top Republican on Wednesday came out strongly against President Barack Obama's nominee for labor secretary, accusing Thomas Perez of being a crusading ideologue who would bend the laws to advance his agenda.

Perez's nomination must be confirmed by the Senate and the speech from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell suggests that Republicans will throw up procedural hurdles to prevent him from serving as the Obama administration's next labor secretary.

"Unbound by the rules that apply to everyone else, Mr. Perez seems to view himself as free to employ whatever means at his disposal, legal or otherwise, to achieve his ideological goals," McConnell said on the Senate floor.

Perez, 51, is currently head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and has worked on civil rights issues in a series of government positions during his career.

McConnell's speech was designed to rally his members to oppose the nomination, and it provides cover for other Republicans who may be thinking about opposing Obama's pick, said George Washington University's Sarah Binder, an expert on Congress.

"I think it matters that it is Mitch McConnell here, laying the marker down on why he's opposing the nominee," Binder said.

The Oversight Committee in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives also has issues with Perez and has subpoenaed private emails he used to conduct government business.

Democratic Representative Elijah Cummings joined Republicans on Wednesday in asking Perez to turn over the documents. A spokeswoman for Cummings was not immediately available to explain the lawmaker's reasons.

LATINO SUCCESS STORY

Obama has described Perez's career as exemplifying the American success story. Perez, the son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, helped pay for college by working as a garbage collector and in a warehouse.

The nomination was championed by Hispanic groups, which have pushed for more representation in the Cabinet.

As labor secretary, he would have a key role in Obama's efforts to raise the minimum wage and overhaul immigration laws.

Republicans allege that Perez entered into a quid pro quo deal with St. Paul, Minnesota, in which he got the city to withdraw a Supreme Court appeal in exchange for the department not filing charges alleging St. Paul had filed false claims in a government funding application.

Perez denies the allegation.

On Wednesday, Republican Senator Marco Rubio - a Hispanic often touted as a potential presidential candidate in 2016 - also said he thought Perez would be a "disastrous" choice.

"Many Americans, especially those of us of Hispanic descent, celebrate his success and his personal story," Rubio said in a statement. "Unfortunately, intellect and work ethic are not sufficient qualifications for a cabinet secretary."

SECOND DELAY FOR VOTE

The Senate Health and Labor Committee had been scheduled to vote on Perez's nomination on Wednesday. But Republicans invoked an obscure rule that prevents committees from meeting when the Senate is in session.

The committee is expected to hold the vote on May 16, marking the second time the panel has had to reschedule the vote due to Republican maneuvers. Although Obama's Democrats control the Senate 55-45, they would need 60 votes to clear a procedural roadblock.

The Health and Labor Committee chairman, Democratic Senator Tom Harkin, said he has given Republicans ample time to vet Perez and said his colleagues were now delaying the vote for "delay's sake."

The White House accused Republicans of "politicizing" the nomination but brushed off concerns Perez would be blocked.

"He's enormously qualified and there has not been a case made that is not political and partisan against his nomination, and we hope and expect the Senate will move forward," spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.

Two of Obama's other Cabinet picks, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan, had tough confirmations but eventually succeeded.

Obama has had a difficult time getting Senate approval for his Cabinet choices compared to his predecessors, Binder said. Previous presidents have rarely had to meet a 60-vote threshold to secure a confirmation, whereas Republicans have made that "the new norm" for Obama.

"There's no doubt that many nominations are killed by being drawn out and wearing down the nominee," Binder said, explaining that the longer the delay until a vote, the more time opposition can "fester and grow."

(Reporting by Rachelle Younglai and Roberta Rampton; Additional reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, Eric Walsh and Eric Beech)

View the original article here

North Korea has gained nothing from recent threats, Obama says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and South Korea agree on maintaining a deterrent posture towards North Korea and on not rewarding that provocative behavior from Pyongyang, President Barack Obama said.

"President Park and myself very much share the view that we are going to maintain a strong deterrent, we're not going to reward provocative behavior, but we remain open to the prospect of North Korea taking a peaceful path," Obama said at a joint press conference with South Korean president Park Geun-hye.

"So far, at least, we haven't seen actions on the part of the North Koreans that would indicate they're prepared to move in a different direction," he added.

(Reporting By Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Sandra Maler)

View the original article here

Obama to Host Dinner for Top House Democrats

Continuing his Capitol Hill outreach, President Obama is set have dinner with the House Democratic leadership on Wednesday at the Jefferson Hotel, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, according to a White House official.

Most of the legislative focus early in Obama’s second term has been in the Senate. But as the president pursues a comprehensive immigration overhaul and a grand bargain on the budget, it is critical that the Democratic Party’s left flank does not abandon him.

The attendees of the dinner include Democratic Reps. Steny Hoyer, James Clyburn, Xavier Becerra, Joe Crowley, Chris Van Hollen, Rosa DeLauro, Rob Andrews, Steve Israel, and Mike Thompson, the official said.

Already, many House Democrats have agitated about the president’s willingness to cut entitlement spending in exchange for additional tax revenues. There is also growing concern about the immigration package getting tugged too far right, as Republicans are pushing for tighter border security.

The dinner is the latest in a months-long series of outreach efforts that Obama has made to lawmakers. The meal comes days after the president played golf with three senators, Democrat Mark Udall of Colorado, Republican Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and Republican Bob Corker of Tennessee.

View the original article here

Obama: Bin Laden, Gadhafi show I’m serious about Syria

President Barack Obama faces a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, May 7, …President Barack Obama defiantly defended his handling of Syria’s civil war on Tuesday, warning that Iraq showed the danger of acting on “perceived” evidence of weapons of mass destruction. And for those who doubt his determination to see Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad ousted from power, Obama bluntly pointed to the fate of Osama bin Laden and slain Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi.

"I don’t make decisions based on 'perceived' and I can’t organized international coalitions around 'perceived,'" Obama said during a joint press conference with South Korean President Park Geun-hye. "We tried that in the past, by the way and it didn’t work out well," he added, in a reference to Iraq.

Obama's comments came amid a chorus of questions and criticisms in response to the apparent use of chemical weapons by Assad's regime. The president last August labeled that kind of action a "red line" that could lead him to escalate America's role in the conflict, which the United Nations estimates has claimed the lives of at least 70,000 people. Republicans in Congress have pushed him to consider air strikes or the creation of a U.S.-enforced "no-fly zone" off limits to Syrian air power and warned that White House is sending a message of weakness to Assad.

"I would just point out that there have been several instances during the course of my presidency where I said I was going to do something, and it ended up getting done," Obama countered. "And there were times when folks on the sidelines wondering 'why hasn’t it happened yet?', and 'what’s going on?,' and 'why didn’t it go on tomorrow?'."

But in the end, Obama said, "whether it’s bin Laden or Gadhafi, if we say we’re taking a position, I would think at this point the international community has a pretty good sense that we typically follow through on our commitments." Elite U.S. commandos killed bin Laden in a May 2011 raid. And (after prodding from Congress) Obama made Gadhafi's removal a key part of the NATO-led campaign in Libya. Gadhafi was killed, apparently by Libyan rebels. Obama has provided rebels fighting to oust Assad with humanitarian aid. There have been news reports that American agents in Syria have been helping to train opposition forces and vet them to receive weapons from other countries -- a sign of caution from Washington at a time when some of the best fighters against the regime have ties to al-Qaida. But administration officials say Obama also takes a pragmatic view of what America's core interests are and a skeptical view of calls to escalate America's role.

"We have both a moral obligation and a national security interest in a) ending the slaughter in Syria but b) also ensuring that we’ve got a stable Syria that is representative of all the Syrian people, and is not creating chaos for its neighbors," Obama said Tuesday.

"Understandably, there’s a desire for easy answers. That’s not the situation there," he said. "And my job is to constantly measure our very real and legitimate humanitarian and national security interests in Syria, but measuring those against my bottom line which is what’s in the best interests of America’s security and making sure that I’m making decisions not based on a hope and a prayer but on hard-headed analysis in terms of what will actually make us safer and stabilize the region."

Obama declared that "there'd be severe costs in doing nothing. That's why we're not doing nothing."

His remarks came as the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Corker of Tennessee, told CBS News on Tuesday that the United States will "shortly" begin arming Syrian rebels, looking to boost moderate factions over al-Qaida-affiliated extremists whose rise would be a national security "nightmare."

"I do think we’ll be arming the opposition shortly," Corker of Tennessee said in an interview. "We’re doing a lot more there on the ground than really is known, but we do have to change the equation."

View the original article here

Obama Tells Mexicans Half A Story On Guns Used In Crime, Says CCRKBA

BELLEVUE, Wash., May 4, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- President Barack Obama was right when he told a Mexican audience Friday that many of the guns used in crime south of the border came from the United States, and he should know since his administration allowed thousands of those firearms to walk during Operation Fast and Furious, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms observed.

"The Obama administration should accept full responsibility for illegally flooding Mexico with guns that are now being used by drug cartel gunmen," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "But he has deliberately told his audience half a story about how many of those guns made it into their country."

The president told a crowd at Mexico's Anthropology Museum that he will "continue to do everything in my power to pass common-sense reforms that keep guns out of the hands of criminals and dangerous people."

"Mr. Obama talks a good game," Gottlieb said, "but once again he may be hitting only two of 22 tries to score. If he were really interested in keeping guns out of the wrong hands, he would instruct the Justice Department to enforce existing laws.

"One thing to keep in perspective," he continued, "is that all of these guns were purchased at retail and the gun traffickers passed background checks, and retailers were instructed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to allow the sales to go ahead.

"If there is a loophole in the current background check system," Gottlieb noted, "it should be called the 'administration loophole' because they're the ones responsible, not firearms dealers, gun shows or law-abiding U.S. citizens.

"The measures being proposed by the president will not prevent a single crime in Mexico and he knows it," Gottlieb continued. "The president would have Mexico believe that the reason for their crime is our gun laws and the Second Amendment. It's another blame game approach where Mr. Obama points fingers at everyone but himself and the horrid handling of a disastrous gun trafficking effort in which firearms retailers followed the law and his own people didn't."

With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (www.ccrkba.org) is one of the nation's premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States.

SOURCE Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

View the original article here

Obama to launch series of trips on economic plans

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Barack Obama's trip to Austin, Texas, on Thursday will kick off a series of day trips aimed at highlighting his proposals on jobs and the economy.

While in Texas, Obama will visit a technical high school and meet with entrepreneurs. He'll also drop in on a tech company and talk with blue-collar workers.

The trip show Obama wants to keep Americans focused on his economic proposals even while Congress is busy with an immigration overhaul and confirmation for Obama's second-term Cabinet nominees.

The White House says Obama will travel every few weeks and will emphasize his State of the Union proposals to expand pre-kindergarten and raise the minimum wage.

View the original article here

Obama dares graduates to reject cynical voices

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — President Barack Obama is telling college graduates that only their generation can break the cycle of a political system consumed by "small things" that works for the benefit of a few.

Obama gave his first commencement address of the year at Ohio State University on Sunday.

The president told students that if they engage in democracy, they can make sure they inherit a country that has lived up to its potential.

Obama mentioned that young people in earlier generations helped secure equal rights for women, workers and gays.

He asked them to reject cynics who say government is the root of all problems.

Obama is to give two other commencement speeches later this month — at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and Morehouse College in Atlanta.

View the original article here

Obama urges graduates to blunt special interests by getting involved

By Roberta Rampton

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Sunday urged college graduates to participate in politics and said that without broad public involvement special interest groups can defeat legislation supported by the majority.

Obama, who said he is "obsessed with this issue" of inspiring citizens to engage with the political system, in a commencement address to Ohio State University was indirectly referring to the recent defeat of a proposal to expand background checks for gun purchases.

The measure enjoyed broad support among Americans but was defeated in the U.S. Senate.

Obama told students they need to vote and run for office and said that giving in to cynicism gives room for lobbyists and "the well-connected" to get their way in Washington.

"That's how a small minority of lawmakers get cover to defeat something the vast majority of their constituents want," he told the crowd of more than 57,000 at Ohio State University, including the 10,000 graduates.

Gun rights groups like the National Rifle Association have lobbied heavily against Obama's gun control proposals made in the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut school shooting.

Obama and his supporters have said that it is up to voters to hold their elected representatives accountable for the vote.

"Class of 2013: you can ultimately break that cycle. Only you can make sure the democracy you inherit is as good as we know it can be. But it requires your dedicated, informed and engaged citizenship," he said.

The president said tragedies of the past year have shown how Americans can come together for the common good.

Obama said Americans have shown how citizens can help communities recover from disaster like Hurricane Sandy last year, the recent Boston Marathon bombings and the December school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

"In the aftermath of darkest tragedy, we have seen the American spirit at its brightest," Obama said.

"We've seen courage and compassion, a sense of civic duty, and a recognition that we are not a collection of strangers."

Obama's remarks come as polls by the Harvard University Institute of Politics show that the "millennial" crop of students - an age bracket that supported him in his election campaigns - is becoming fed up with politics.

Obama usually delivers a few commencement addresses each spring. The Ohio State University address is his first.

He will also speak at Morehouse College in Atlanta on May 19, and at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland on May 24.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

View the original article here

Obama heads out on new jobs tour - first stop: Austin, Texas

By Roberta Rampton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will travel on Thursday to Austin, Texas, the first stop in a new series of day trips designed to draw attention to policies and programs that help spur the economy, and build support for his economic policies, the White House said on Sunday.

In Austin, Obama will visit a high school and a technology company, and will talk with entrepreneurs and workers about proposals he made earlier this year to boost jobs and training.

Despite often saying that his top priority is creating more jobs, Obama's proposals have been overshadowed by debates over reforms to gun and immigration laws as well as efforts to reduce the deficit.

Unemployment in the United States fell to 7.5 percent last month, the lowest level since Obama took office.

"Things are getting better, but our economic recovery is not as strong as it could be and far too many middle class families are still struggling," said Josh Earnest, Obama's deputy press secretary.

"There are things Washington could be doing right now to help American businesses, schools and workers," he said, explaining the tours are designed to engage Americans and push Congress to act.

In February, Obama said he wanted to invest in manufacturing "hubs" around the country, spend $50 billion on roads, bridges and other infrastructure, and raise the minimum wage to $9 per hour from the current $7.25.

Most of the proposals require Congressional approval, but there have been few signs of broad support for the measures on Capitol Hill.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Sandra Maler)

View the original article here

Obama blesses Mexican security plan, eyes deeper business ties

By Mark Felsenthal and Steve Holland

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama gave his blessing on Thursday to a new security arrangement with Mexican leader Enrique Pena Nieto, in which Mexico will make reducing violence a priority over hunting drug cartel kingpins in the war against organized crime.

The two presidents said they also want to step up trade and business ties that have been overshadowed by the battle against drug trafficking.

"It is obviously up to the Mexican people to determine their security structures and how it engages with other nations including the United States," Obama said at a joint press conference with Pena Nieto.

At the start of a two-day visit to Mexico, Obama sought to draw attention to the emerging might of Latin America's No.2 economy, even as worries about containing drug-trafficking and related violence remained an inescapable subtext.

The two leaders pledged to begin holding cabinet level meetings focused on boosting business between the two countries and to expand educational changes. The first high-level meeting is set for the fall.

The U.S. president pledged support for Pena Nieto's new policy of restricting contacts with the United States on drugs and drug-related violence to a single point, Mexico's Ministry of the Interior. He acknowledged that the United States can play a role with its own domestic policies.

"We look forward to continuing our good cooperation in any way," he said. "I also reaffirmed our determination in the United States to meet our responsibilities to reduce the demand for illegal drugs and to combat the southbound flow of illegal guns and cash."

Mexico's new "single-door" policy would be an abrupt change from the wide latitude the U.S. government enjoyed in working with Mexican officials across agencies under Pena Nieto's predecessor, Felipe Calderon.

The change has raised questions about Mexico's commitment to combating drug trafficking and drug-related violence.

Pena Nieto plans to shift the weight of combating organized crime from the military onto a new militarized police force, but has made few concrete changes so far, instead seeking to focus public attention on the economy rather than violence.

The Mexican government has said that killings linked to organized crime fell 14 percent in the first four months of Pena Nieto's presidency, but 4,249 people still were killed during that period.

More than 70,000 people are estimated to have been killed in drug violence in Mexico since 2007, and gang-style murders continue to provide lurid headlines.

Some question whether Calderon's aggressive policies, which focused on eradicating gang leaders, has been successful or whether it has generated additional violence as rival factions vie for control of turf.

Pena Nieto said his approach will emphasize reducing bloodshed and will operate more smoothly.

"Under this new strategy, what we are trying to do is put in order, institutionalize the security cooperation we have today with the United States, and establish clear and singular channels to help us be more efficient and achieve better results," Pena Nieto said in Spanish.

RIGHTS WORRIES

In a letter to Obama ahead of his visit, rights group Human Rights Watch urged him to review the United States' public security approach with Mexico, rapping his administration for offering "uncritical support" for Calderon's policies and citing a "dramatic increase" in rights abuses.

Both Obama and Pena Nieto have said they want the visit to focus on economic issues rather than security. Pena Nieto is eager to underscore Mexico's recent run of solid economic growth, fueled in part by its increasing attractiveness as a manufacturing hub.

The leaders pledged to conclude a trade agreement with Asia-Pacific nations, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, by the end of the year.

By highlighting Mexico's progress in moving up the economic ladder, Obama is also emphasizing that his own domestic goal of reforming U.S. immigration laws will not promote an exodus of Mexicans into the United States.

"Part of what we discussed is the importance of getting it done, precisely because we do so much business between our two countries," he said, referring to immigration reform that has drawn bipartisan support in Washington. "If we're going to get that done, now's the time to do it."

The two presidents at their meeting discussed a much publicized energy agreement that would remove obstacles to expanding deepwater drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico. They said in a joint statement that they looked forward to implementation of the deal.

The United States has yet to finalize the deal, known as the Transboundary Hydrocarbons Agreement, which provides guidelines for drilling in an area of the Gulf that straddles the U.S.-Mexican boundary.

The deal is seen as the key to opening a new era of cooperation on oil production between the two countries. Mexico's state-owned oil company Pemex needs technology and investment to boost its stagnant production, and U.S. companies are eager to help.

(Editing by Simon Gardner and Paul Simao)

View the original article here

Obama comfortable with FDA decision to let 15-year-olds buy morning-after pill

By Steve Holland

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday he is comfortable with a U.S. government agency's decision to allow over-the-counter purchases of a morning-after pill for anyone 15 and older.

Some critics have complained girls that young should not be allowed to purchase the pills without a doctor's approval. But Obama told a news conference in Mexico City that the decision was based on "solid scientific evidence."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday appealed a court order directing the agency to make morning-after emergency contraception pills available without a prescription to all girls of reproductive age.

Lawyers with the Justice Department filed the appeal with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, according to court documents.

The appeal is the latest foray in the years-long legal battle over the pill known as "Plan B," a drug that has also sparked political and religious clashes. If taken up to 120 hours after unprotected sex, it is designed to prevent pregnancy.

The government is seeking to overturn U.S. District Judge Edward Korman's ruling from April 5 that required the FDA to make the emergency contraception available over-the-counter to women of all ages within 30 days.

Obama said it was not his decision to make, that it was up to the FDA and his Health and Human Services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, to decide.

"The rule that's been put forward by the FDA, Secretary Sebelius has reviewed, she's comfortable with. I'm comfortable with it," he said.

(Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

View the original article here

Obama OK with morning-after pill sales at age 15

MEXICO CITY (AP) — President Barack Obama said Thursday he was comfortable with his administration's decision to allow over-the-counter purchases of a morning-after pill for anyone 15 and older.

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday had lowered the age at which people can buy the Plan B One-Step morning-after pill without a prescription to 15 — younger than the current limit of 17. The FDA decided that the pill could be sold on drugstore shelves near condoms, instead of locked behind pharmacy counters.

Obama, speaking at a news conference while in Mexico, said the FDA's decision was based on "solid scientific evidence."

What's still unclear is whether the administration will prevail on its appeal of a court order that would lift all age limits on purchasers of the pill.

That decision to appeal set off a storm of criticism from reproductive rights groups, who denounced it as politically motivated and a step backward for women's health.

"We are profoundly disappointed. This appeal takes away the promise of all women having timely access to emergency contraception," Susannah Baruch, Interim President & CEO of the Reproductive Health Technologies Project, said in a statement late Wednesday.

"It is especially troubling in light of the Food and Drug Administration's move yesterday to continue age restrictions and ID requirements, despite a court order to make emergency contraception accessible for women of all ages. Both announcements, particularly in tandem, highlight the administration's corner-cutting on women's health," Baruch said. "It's a sad day for women's health when politics prevails."

After the appeal was announced late Wednesday, Terry O'Neill, president of the National Organization for Women, said, "The prevention of unwanted pregnancy, particularly in adolescents, should not be obstructed by politicians." She called it a "step backwards for women's health."

Last week, O'Neill noted, Obama was applauded when he addressed members of Planned Parenthood and spoke of the organization's "core principle" that women should be allowed to make their own decisions about their health.

"President Obama should practice what he preaches," O'Neill said.

In appealing the ruling Wednesday, the administration recommitted itself to a position Obama took during his re-election campaign that younger teens shouldn't have unabated access to emergency contraceptives, despite the insistence by physicians groups and much of his Democratic base that the pill should be readily available.

The Justice Department's appeal responded to an order by U.S. District Judge Edward Korman in New York that would allow girls and women of any age to buy not only Plan B but its cheaper generic competition as easily as they can buy aspirin. Korman gave the FDA 30 days to comply, and the Monday deadline was approaching.

In its filing, the Justice Department said Korman exceeded his authority and that his decision should be suspended while that appeal is under way, meaning only Plan B One-Step would appear on drugstore shelves until the case is finally settled. If Korman's order isn't suspended during the appeals process, the result would be "substantial market confusion, harming FDA's and the public's interest" as drugstores receive conflicting orders about who's allowed to buy what, the Justice Department concluded.

Reluctant to get drawn into a messy second-term spat over social issues, White House officials insisted Wednesday that both the FDA and the Justice Department were acting independently of the White House in deciding how to proceed. But the decision to appeal was certain to irk abortion-rights advocates who say they can't understand why a Democratic president is siding with social conservatives in favor of limiting women's reproductive choices.

Current and former White House aides said Obama's approach to the issue has been heavily influenced by his experience as the father of two school-age daughters. Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius have also questioned whether there's enough data available to show the morning-after pill is safe and appropriate for younger girls, even though physicians groups insist that it is.

Rather than take matters into his own hands, the Justice Department argued to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that Korman should have ordered the FDA to reconsider its options for regulating emergency contraception. The court cannot overturn the rules and processes that federal agencies must follow "by instead mandating a particular substantive outcome," the appeal stated.

Social conservatives were outraged by the FDA's move to lower the age limits for Plan B — as well as the possibility that Korman's ruling might take effect and lift age restrictions altogether.

"This decision undermines the right of parents to make important health decisions for their young daughters," said Anna Higgins of the Family Research Council.

If a woman already is pregnant, the morning-after pill has no effect. It prevents ovulation or fertilization of an egg. According to the medical definition, pregnancy doesn't begin until a fertilized egg implants itself into the wall of the uterus. Still, some critics say Plan B is the equivalent of an abortion pill because it may also be able to prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus, a contention that many scientists — and Korman, in his ruling — said has been discredited.

___

Associated Press writers Lauran Neergaard, Josh Lederman and Pete Yost in Washington contributed to this report.

View the original article here

Obama taps Representative Watt as housing regulator

By Margaret Chadbourn

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama plans to nominate Democratic congressman Mel Watt to oversee mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

If confirmed by the Senate, Watt will replace Edward DeMarco, the current career civil servant who has led the Federal Housing Finance Agency in an acting capacity since 2009.

Sources briefed on the matter said the announcement was expected to come from the White House on Wednesday. Watt's nomination must first win confirmation, and Republicans could try to block the North Carolina lawmaker.

A spokesman for Watt declined to comment.

(Reporting by Margaret Chadbourn; writing by Susan Heavey; editing by Jackie Frank)

View the original article here

Obama taps former lobbyist Wheeler as telecoms regulator

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday nominated venture capitalist and former wireless and cable lobbyist Tom Wheeler to be the top media and telecommunications regulator.

If approved by the Senate, Wheeler would become chairman of the Federal Communications Commission at a time when the agency prepares for a major reshuffling of ownership of radio airwaves and tries to catch up to rapidly changing technology.

"For more than 30 years, Tom's been at the forefront of some of the very dramatic changes that we've seen in the way we communicate and how we live our lives," Obama said of Wheeler, who has advised his administration on telecom policy and helped raise large sums for his presidential campaigns.

"Tom knows this stuff inside and out."

Wheeler, who now chairs the FCC's Technology Advisory Council and invests in tech at Core Capital Partners, headed the National Cable Television Association in the 1980s. From 1992 to 2004 he was CEO of the wireless industry group CTIA.

"If anybody's wondering about Tom's qualifications, Tom is the only member of both the cable television and the wireless industry hall of fame," Obama said of Wheeler, who stood next to the president at the nomination announcement.

Wheeler would succeed current FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who plans to leave for the Aspen Institute think tank in coming weeks. Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, a senior Democrat on the panel, will take over as acting chairwoman until the Senate confirms Genachowski's replacement.

(Reporting by Alina Selyukh; Editing by Xavier Briand)

View the original article here

Obama to nominate Anthony Foxx as transportation secretary

By Mark Felsenthal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama plans to nominate on Monday Charlotte, North Carolina, Mayor Anthony Foxx to be his next transportation secretary, a White House official said on Sunday.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Foxx would replace Ray LaHood, who has served as transportation secretary since January 2009.

Foxx is African-American and would add to the Obama Cabinet's racial diversity, something the president's supporters have been urging him to do.

As Charlotte mayor, Foxx is credited with improving the city's transportation systems.

"Foxx's career as a public official, in a rapidly changing urban environment, has been marked by an ability to integrate local, state and federal resources to meet important transportation challenges," the White House official said.

North Carolina has been an important swing state in presidential elections. It voted for Republican Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election, but backed Obama in 2008. Charlotte hosted the Democratic National Convention in 2012.

(Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Stacey Joyce and Mohammad Zargham)

View the original article here