Category: Barack Obama

Jennifer Holliday backs out of Trump inauguration gig

Broadway star Jennifer Holliday has backed out as a performer at next week’s presidential inaugural following protests from her gay and black fans, further dimming the event’s already low celebrity wattage. Holliday, best known for her Tony-winning role in Broadway’s “Dreamgirls,” said in an interview Saturday she hadn’t considered that singing at a Thursday concert by Washington’s Lincoln Memorial would be judged a statement of support for President-elect Donald Trump.

National View: Economic brinkmanship

On March 4, 1933, at the bottom of the worst financial and economic crisis to afflict the United States since the Civil War, Franklin D. Roosevelt took office as president. Two days later, Roosevelt acted to stanch the collapse by suspending gold payments, imposing a four-day “bank holiday” and arranging emergency assistance for banks when they reopened.

As vice presidency winds down, Biden’s comeback is complete

Vice President Biden’s receipt of the Medal of Freedom capped a long career comeback from an embarrassing and unsuccessful presidential run, as he now leaves office as a national Democratic icon. “We believe he is more than deserving of the honor and are happy for Joe and his family,” said Travis Williams, communications director for the Democratic Party in Delaware, Biden’s home state.

Trump’s tough talk unlikely to redefine U.S. relationship with China

Donald Trump talked tough on China during his presidential run, blaming the country for the loss of American jobs, lobbing accusations of unfair currency manipulation or hostile trade practices, and suggesting that the United States levy enormous tariffs on Chinese goods. “Look at what China is doing to our country,” Mr.Trump said in September, during a presidential debate with Democrat Hillary Clinton.

To understand Obama’s legacy, walk in his shoes on the day it all began

To understand Obama’s legacy, walk in his shoes on the day it all began We assess Obama’s legacy by squinting into the future. Why not also look to the past? Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/2iA3euJ WASHINGTON – We try to assess Barack Obama’s legacy by squinting into the murky future – debating the durability of his policies and programs, wondering what the new president will do to them.

We Were Warned About Barack Obama-By Obama

In the fall of 2014, I attended a meeting of Iowa City progressives called to discuss the possibility of trying to enlist Bernie Sanders to enter the 2016 presidential race as a Democrat. When the 30 or so attendees went around the table introducing themselves, all but two expressed “disappointment” with Barack Obama-a president in whom they’d invested considerable betrayed hope for progressive- and left-leaning change.

Sewell voices opposition to Obamacare repeal efforts

With a near party-line 227-198 House vote, Congress gave final approval Friday to a budget that will ease passage of a still-unwritten bill replacing President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul with a GOP edition. The budget – the Senate approved it Thursday – bars Democratic senators from blocking that future legislation with a filibuster.

Democrats already are trying to get out the vote for 2020

Even before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, top Democrats — including President Barack Obama — are already launching efforts to reshape the electoral landscape. Faced with a stinging loss at the polls, a conservative-leaning Supreme Court and an incoming attorney general who testified this week about the dangers of voter fraud, Democrats are starting early to change the legal terrain in four years.

Trump team struggles for cohesion on tougher China policy

The incoming U.S. administration’s tough talk against China has set the stage for showdowns on everything from security to trade and cyberspace, but contradictory signals are sowing uncertainty over how far President-elect Donald Trump is prepared to go in confronting Beijing. Highlighting the contested South China Sea as a potential flashpoint, Trump’s Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson threw out an explosive challenge to Beijing on Wednesday by calling for it be denied access to artificial islands it is building in the strategic waterway.

.com | Obama urges public to embrace the ‘work of citizenship’

Washington President Barack Obama is calling on all Americans to “throw ourselves into the work of citizenship”, regardless of party. In the final radio and Internet address of his presidency, Obama says the country’s success depends on everyone participating not just at election time, but during the course of one’s lifetime.

‘This experiment has failed’: House charts course to repeal health law

The House cleared the way Friday for speedy action to repeal the Affordable Care Act, putting Congress on track to undo the most significant health care law in a half-century. With a near party-line vote of 227-198, the House overcame the opposition of Democrats and the anxieties of some Republicans to approve a budget blueprint that allows Republicans to end major provisions of President Barack Obama’s health care law without the threat of a Democratic filibuster in the Senate.

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Off President Obama is urging Americans to “reject a politics” that seeks to create divisions along religious lines. In a presidential proclamation Friday, declaring Jan. 16 Religious Freedom Day – an annual designation – Obama explained that the federal government does not favor one religion over any others.

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A story widely shared online that claims President Barack Obama’s mother-in-law will receive a lifetime government pension is false. The post published by The Boston Tribune, a satire website that mimics an actual news publication, is headlined “First Grandma Marian Robinson to Receive Lifetime $160K Government Pension.”

For Trump, the enemy within is US intelligence

Being obliged to no-one, the president-elect can shake up the spooks, the ‘bogeyman’ of all presidents, writes Stuart Alan Becker Outgoing CIA director John Brennan at a forum at the University of Chicago last week. President-elect Donald Trump has been widely critical of US intelligence services.a If you look at the fireworks between President-elect Donald Trump and the American intelligence community under Barack Obama — about whether the Russians hacked the US election in favour of Mr Trump — it’s helpful to research history for clues that may explain how a president-elect could have become so hostile to America’s own spy agency.

Congress approves budget

Ascendant Republicans drove a budget through Congress on Friday that gives them an early but critical victory in their crusade to scrap President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.

Top Trump aide in frequent contact with Russia’s ambassador

President-elect Donald Trump’s national security adviser and Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. have been in frequent contact in recent weeks, including on the day the Obama administration hit Moscow with sanctions in retaliation for election-related hacking, a senior official said Friday. Trump spokesman Sean Spicer acknowledged contacts between Michael Flynn and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, but said a phone conversation occurred on Dec. 28, one day before the sanctions were levied.

Report says Chicago police violated civil rights for years

The Justice Department on Friday laid bare years of civil rights violations by Chicago police, blasting the nation’s second-largest department for using excessive force that included shooting at people who did not pose a threat and using stun guns on others only because they refused to follow commands. The report was issued after a yearlong investigation sparked by the 2014 death of a black teenager who was shot 16 times by a white officer.

Personalized IRS letters nudge uninsured to get coverage

If you haven’t signed up for health insurance, you may soon be getting a not-too-subtle nudge from the taxman. The IRS is sending personalized letters to millions of taxpayers who might be uninsured, reminding them that they could be on the hook for hundreds of dollars in fines under the federal health care law if they don’t sign up soon.

Vilsack leaving USDA early, no Trump replacement named

Secretary Tom Vilsack left the Agriculture Department a week before his tenure ends and before President-elect Donald Trump has chosen his replacement. Vilsack, who has led USDA for eight years and was President Barack Obama’s longest-serving Cabinet secretary, told employees in an email that Friday is his final day.

Trump Acosta by rude reporter, fake news CNN, liberal media

For eight years, the elite members of our national news media treated Barack Obama as a conquering hero, a political superstar who overcame racism and intolerance to become our first African American President. The vast majority of our media heavyweights idolize the President and agree with his liberal policies.

UpFront special: What is Obama’s legacy?

In an UpFront special, we ask his former policy adviser and his personal aide about the man and his policies. In this week’s UpFront, we speak to former US President Barack Obama adviser Derek Chollet on the legacy of the outgoing president’s foreign and security policies.