Topic: The White House

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Opinion 4 ways Obama should work with US business to combat China’s cyberspying

If the US wishes to stop this Chinese economic cyber-espionage, a true public-private partnership is needed. Here are four ways President Obama should work with US business to combat Chinese cyberspying.

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Obamacare rebates? 8.5 million get health care rebates, says Obama (+video)

Obamacare rebates: A provision of Obamacare requires insurers to spend at least 80 cents of every premium dollar on medical care or reimburse the difference. Standing in front of rebate recipients, Obama said rebates are being sent for 8.5 million Americans this summer, averaging $100 each.
JFK’s Last Hundred Days

Biographer Thurston Clarke makes a compelling case that JFK came into his own in the 100 days before Lee Harvey Oswald murdered him in Dallas.
Decoder Wire Hillary who? Joe Biden says he still dreams of becoming president.

Everyone knows Hillary Clinton would be the presumptive Democratic front-runner for president in 2016. But Joe Biden, in a new interview, doesn't sound like he's ready to concede.
House votes to delay two health care mandates: Will it matter?

The U.S. House of Representatives voted to delay two provisions of the 2010 health care reforms on Wednesday. Though the bills are unlikely to pass in the Democratic-run Senate, the votes gave Obamacare opponents a chance to express frustrations with the reforms.
Change Agent Obama, George H.W. Bush celebrate the 5,000th 'point of light'

Mr. Obama will ask federal agencies how they can make better use of volunteers. 'We are a people that serve,' he says while paying 'tribute to the extraordinary example set by President Bush.'
Google and others agree to White House anti-piracy guidelines

AOL, Google, and Yahoo are among the companies that have signed on to a set of best practices guidelines intended to combat piracy.
Decoder Wire How much has Obama influenced public debate on Trayvon Martin? (+video)

President Obama, who for the most part has maintained painstaking caution on topics of race, waded early into the national dialogue on the killing of Trayvon Martin. His statement Sunday was more restrained.
Decoder Wire On immigration reform, more Americans hew to the Democrats' stance

Forty-eight percent of Americans say their views on immigration reform align best with the Democratic Party, compared with 36 percent whose views are closer to the Republican Party, a new poll shows. The gap is much wider for blacks and Hispanics.
What role will Obama play in immigration reform? It's not clear, yet.

The House and Senate appear to have very different opinions of how to achieve an immigration overhaul, however, President Obama has no plans to tour the country to make a case for immigration reform as he did for healthcare. Instead, he is meeting with various groups in Washington.
Decoder Wire Is Hillary Clinton's new hairstyle a 2016 makeover? Or do we need to chill?

Hillary Clinton has a new hairstyle, which can only mean she is absolutely, definitely, positively running for president. Or maybe not. But the move to push her into the White House is gaining steam.
US lethal aid to Syrian rebels: What's the holdup?

Concern in congressional intelligence committees over the prospects of US small arms falling into the wrong hands has delayed the lethal aid to Syrian rebels. Some say it may arrive too late.
Zimmerman trial: Did wall-to-wall media coverage inform, or entertain?

While some say the extensive media coverage of the George Zimmerman trial provided a civics lesson to the US public, others saw a play for ratings that did little to address key issues in the case.
Immigration reform: How is the House approaching it?

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives appeared divided on whether to provide immigrants living in the U.S. illegally a path to citizenship following a closed door meeting Wednesday.
Immigration reform: House GOP consensus is to do something – but later

House Republicans emerged from a strategy session on immigration reform saying something needed to be done but seeming content to shelve the issue until the fall. What to do is still an issue.
Conceal-carry: Heeding court, Illinois becomes 50th state to allow it

Both chambers of the Illinois legislature on Tuesday overrode a veto on the matter by Gov. Pat Quinn. About 300,000 residents could apply for conceal-carry permits, although some details of the law have to be worked out first.
Modern Parenthood Barack Obama's love for broccoli: brave, noble, preposterous

Barack Obama told a child at the White House recently that his favorite food is broccoli. That can't be true. Broccoli is no one's favorite food.
Obamacare: Smokers to get a break? Glitch may limit penalties.

Obamacare glitch benefits smokers: A computer system problem will limit the penalties that Obamacare allows insurance companies to charge smokers. The fix will take over a year.
Stir It Up! Kids' State Dinner celebrates healthy lunches (+video)

Michelle Obama hosted the second Kids' State Dinner at the White House on July 9. The guests were 54 American children who had submitted winning recipes for a healthy recipe contest sponsored by the White House and Epicurious.
Decoder Wire Michelle Obama hosts Kids' State Dinner: Better than the real thing?

Winners of the first lady's healthy lunch recipe contest attended a Kids' State Dinner at the White House on Tuesday. It was a lot like a real state dinner, except it was lunchtime and Michelle Obama let everyone eat with their fingers.
Decoder Wire Poll: Republicans pushing immigration reform could score with Latinos in 2016

Presidential hopefuls Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, and Paul Ryan are well positioned to win over some of the Latino voters who backed Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, according to the new poll.
Obamacare delay? Large businesses get a one-year reprieve

Companies with 50 or more workers were given a one-year delay in providing coverage for their workers or face fines. 'We have heard that [businesses] need the time to get this right,' wrote a senior White House aide in a blog post. 'We are listening.'
Wildlife trafficking: US initiative in Africa 'really about people' (+video)

The US wildlife initiative to stop poaching of elephants and other animals aims to address each level of an expanding illegal global market that is rivaling the global narcotics, arms, and human trafficking markets.
Obama's big Africa push: Let there be light (+video)

President Obama pledged loan guarantees to help expand electrification in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Monitor's View When officials try to ban economic truth

A mandate on Chinese media not to report a credit crunch is the latest example of governments trying to keep bad news under wraps. But the forces for honest financial data are too strong to defy.
Probe of Stuxnet leak said to focus on US general. But why would he blab?

News reports say retired Gen. James Cartwright is the subject of a Justice Department investigation into a leak about the Stuxnet cyberweapon, which took aim at Iran's nuclear program. Here's what he's said in the past about what should and shouldn't be a military secret.