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The commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division and 700 of his troops will head to Liberia in late October as the military steps up its response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa, the Pentagon announced Tuesday. The "Screaming Eagle" troops from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, will set up a headquarters in Monrovia, the Liberian capital, and will be joined by 700 combat engineers from several commands, the Pentagon said. Once the troops have arrived, Army Maj. Gen. Gary Volesky, commander of the 101st, will replace Maj. Gen. Darryl Williams, as commander of the U.S. military response to the Ebola...

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that too many Israelis were ready to abandon a bid for peace in the region and, in a departure from his prepared remarks, added that this was something Israelis should think about. Related Stories 1. Obama urges Iran not to let opportunity pass for nuclear deal Reuters 2. What Obama Wants From The UN (The Note) ABC News 3. Modi's Power Play - Can Obama Charm Him? Huffington Post 4. Obama says will allow no 'safe haven' for Islamic State militants Reuters 5. Khorasan planned imminent attacks against U.S....

President Obama is scheduled to address the nation this evening to discuss destroying the terrorist army of ISIS. But before hitting the airwaves, he´s asking Democratic donors to "chip in $10 or more right now to help elect Democrats." He made the ask in an email to supporters of the Democratic party. "There are just 55 days left in this election, Daniel," writes Obama in the email. "That´s 55 days left for Democrats in tight races across the country to build the organization they need to win -- and if we don´t step up right now, it´s going to be...

The White House gave this summary to reporters of President Obama's activities last night: From Principal Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz: Tonight, the President and First Lady attended the birthday celebration for Mrs. Ann Jordan at an event at the Farm Neck Golf Club. There were approximately 150 guests in attendance. Among the attendees seated with the Jordans and the President and First Lady were former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Valerie Jarrett and her mother Mrs. Barbara Bowman, Ursula Burns, Kenneth Chenault and his wife Kathy, along with other friends and family of Mrs....

Over the weekend, a headline from the Daily Caller caught my eye: “Conservatives Are Greatest Threat To Nation, Obama Suggests.” It was a look at some comments Barack Obama (or whatever his name is) made in an interview with New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. So, I pulled up the Times column, “Obama on the World,” and braced myself for the usual outrage that accompanies reading most anything that comes out of Obama’s mouth. I wasn’t disappointed. Most of the column was Obama’s deflecting, blaming and making excuses for his disastrous foreign policy and declaring that Israel should learn to...

Jonathan Alter at the Daily Beast has an idea that will infuse the president’s “economic patriotism” rhetoric with some bite: Compel companies to take “loyalty oaths” to prove their patriotism. You may find this suggestion a little creepy, maybe even a little fascistic; but Alter says that “it’s time for red-blooded Americans to take matters into our own hands.” And by taking the matter into “our” hands, Alter means that President Obama would unilaterally bar any company that practices “inversion” – corporate merging with foreign firms to save on U.S. tax bills – from doing business with the federal government....

President Obama says he has been “friendly” to business, but understands why they are “frustrated” with many of his regulations in a new interview published in The Economist. “They always complain about regulation,” Obama says of business leaders. “That's their job. “I would take the complaints of the corporate community with a grain of salt,” he adds. “If you look at what our policies have been, they have generally been friendly towards business.” Speaking of the Dodd-Frank financial reforms, Obama says his regulations helped hold the global economy together at a time of crisis. Obama explained that there are “core”...

As if to say, "don't let the door hit you on your way out," President Obama -- on the eve of the August Congressional recess -- decided to take a big swat at Republican lawmakers today. It was clear the president was in the mood for a summer scolding. Here are seven ways the president basically called Republicans bums today: 1. 'They're Not Even Trying' 2. So Sue Me? 3. Diplomatic Delay 4. ‘A Little More Extreme' 5. They Can't Even Agree With Themselves 6. ‘Congress Is Failing' 7. Problem Solving? Not So Much

At his press conference today Barack Obama accused the United States of torture. Obama drops drone bombs instead. In his mind, it’s more ethical. The AP reported, via Free Republic: President Barack Obama says in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the United States did things that were wrong and crossed the line. He says, quote, “we tortured some folks.” Obama is commenting on a Senate investigation into the CIA’s interrogation techniques. A report on that investigation’s results is expected to be released in the coming weeks. Obama says it’s important to remember how horrified Americans were after 9/11. But he...

The White House torched House Republicans’ plan to vote to block President Barack Obama from granting deportation relief to any new people in the country illegally. Republicans say that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has acted as a magnet for the surge in unaccompanied children across the border, even though recent immigrants are not eligible. And Republicans are demanding that Obama not expand that relief amid reports he’s considering granting “administrative amnesty” and work permits to as many as 5 million more unauthorized immigrants. Here’s Press Secretary Josh Earnest’s statement

KANSAS CITY Mo (Reuters) - President Barack Obama took his criticism of congressional Republicans to a higher pitch on Wednesday, appealing to them to "stop just hatin' all the time" even as Republicans prepared to sue him over charges he has overstepped the bounds of his office. Republicans in the House of Representatives were expected to vote on Wednesday to authorize a lawsuit against the president for exceeding his presidential authority while implementing the Affordable Care Act, his signature health care law.

At almost double the $2 billion that many had expected, The Washington Post reports that The White House will request $3.8 billion from Congress in emergency funding to deal with an influx of unaccompanied minors from Central America. Funds would be allocated to send more immigration judges to the southern border, build additional detention facilities and add border patrol agents, to help stem the recent surge of women and children from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

President Obama vowed to double down on his use of executive action Tuesday, a move that some constitutional experts say spurns the intent of the Founding Fathers to govern by consensus, however difficult. Facing litigation from House Republicans over his repeated use of executive orders to bypass Congress, Mr. Obama nevertheless urged his Cabinet members to “be creative” in looking for more ways for him to exercise his presidential power unilaterally. “If Congress can’t act on core issues that would actually make a difference in helping middle-class families get ahead, then we’re going to have to be creative about how...

resident Barack Obama Tuesday suggested that the U.S. government should follow Australia’s example in dealing with shooting sprees, which involved strict gun bans on semiautomatic and automatic weapons. “Australia had a mass shooting [in 1996] similar to Columbine and Newtown, and just said, ‘That’s it, we’re not seeing that again,’ and basically imposed very severe tough gun laws and they haven’t had a mass shooting since,” Obama said, after he was asked for his reaction to recent shooting episodes in California and Oregon. Those laws included the confiscation of nearly all handguns and rifles. “We can have respect for the...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Did you see how mad Obama was at that... I guess it was a press conference. He had a meeting with Shinseki, and Shinseki told him what was going on at the VA, and Obama was livid. He was so mad. Did you see that? I would not have wanted to be Shinseki. 'Cause Obama didn't know anything about this until today, and he still doesn't believe it. There still has to be an investigation to find out what really went on at the VA, and then if it did go on, they're gonna trace it back...

The White House will be “picking up the pace on executive actions,” as Congress focuses its efforts on the newly formed select committee investigating Benghazi, senior Obama adviser Dan Pfeiffer declared Tuesday. In an op-ed for The Huffington Post, Pfeiffer argued that congressional Republicans are not interested in engaging on the economy, instead spending time “obsessively trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act” and “ginning up politically motivated investigations.” “Given this dynamic, President Obama has only one option — use every ounce of his authority to unilaterally improve economic security,” Pfeiffer said. “Next week, as congressional Republicans spend their energy...

President Obama is preparing to use “the pen and phone” to push more solar power and energy efficiency measures. He wants to deal with global warming but not congressional Republicans. Obama will order executive agencies to push a slew of new programs to promote solar power, green jobs training and subsidize investing in energy efficient appliances and equipment. Obama will also announce a plan to complete solar panel installations on the roof of the White House. The president will make his announcement Friday at a Wal-Mart in Mountain View, California and outline 300 “private and public sector commitments” to reduce...

Even preschoolers are getting suspended from U.S. public schools—and they're disproportionately Black, a trend that continues up through the later grades. Data released March 21 by the Education Department's civil rights arm finds that Black children represent about 18 percent of children enrolled in preschool programs in schools, but almost half of the students were suspended more than once. Six percent of the nation's districts with preschools reported suspending at least one preschool child. Advocates have long said that get-tough suspension and arrest policies in schools have contributed to a "school-to-prison" pipeline that snags minority students, but much of the...

Friend -- On January 1st, our nation turns a corner on health care -- and we're never going back. From here on, no American should have to go broke just because they get sick. You can't be dropped from your plan when you need it most. Pre-existing conditions will never prevent someone from getting coverage, and women can't be charged more than men for their plans. And for millions of Americans, affordable, quality coverage is finally within reach. I am so proud of that. And I have people like you to thank, truly. Fundamental change like this doesn't happen just...