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WASHINGTON — With a Nobel Peace Prize in hand, President Barack Obama returned to the grind of governing, refocusing on his top domestic priority as the Senate moves toward a pivotal moment on legislation to remake the nation's health care system. Obama arrived Friday from Norway after becoming the first chief executive to collect the storied award so early in his tenure. He blitzed through his Nobel itinerary, then met privately with U.S. embassy staff at his hotel in Oslo before returning to a huge agenda hanging in the balance, including health care and another European trip next week for...

US President Barack Obama has confronted the paradox of receiving the Nobel Peace Prize while serving as a war president. Accepting the speech in the Norwegian capital Oslo overnight, Mr Obama said war is sometimes needed to pursue security and peace and that violent conflicts will not end in our lifetime. He told his audience that he was obligated to protect and defend the United States and that the use of force was sometimes not only necessary, but morally justified. Mr Obama also tackled head-on the critics who say that he has been prematurely awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. "I...

US President Barack Obama has received the gold Nobel Peace Prize medal and diploma in a lavish ceremony in Norway. Mr Obama accepted the prize with "deep gratitude and great humility" but warned that war was sometimes necessary despite its "acute" human tragedy. In his speech at the ceremony, Mr Obama said the United States must uphold moral standards when waging wars that are necessary and justified. He said violent conflict would not be eradicated "in our lifetimes", there would be times when nations would need to fight just wars and he would not stand idle in the face of...

OSLO — One judge noted with surprise that President Barack Obama "didn't look particularly happy" at being named the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Another marveled at how critics could be so patronizing. In a rare public defense of a process normally shrouded in secrecy, four of the Nobel jury's five judges spoke out Tuesday about a selection they said was both merited and unanimous. To those who say a Nobel is too much too soon in Obama's young presidency, "We simply disagree ... He got the prize for what he has done," committee chairman Thorbjorn Jagland told The Associated Press...

(Caracas) -- Venezuela's leader is criticizing the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama. Hugo Chavez said, quote, "for the first time we are witnessing an award with the nominee having done nothing to deserve it." Although in the past, the socialist leader has praised Obama personally, Chavez has also criticized what he has described as the "imperialist" policies of the U.S. In a column, the leader took the Nobel committee to task for overlooking Obama's role in "perpetuating his battalions in Iraq and Afghanistan and his decision to install new military bases in Colombia." The remarks from...

Former foreign minister Alexander Downer has taken aim at the Nobel Peace Prize committee over its decision to award the latest prize to US President Barack Obama. Mr Downer described the decision 'a farce' and said Mr Obama should have refused to accept the prize. "He has been in office for less than nine months when it is announced that he has won the prize, so they would have made the decision a few weeks ago I suppose. It does make the whole system a bit of a farce," he said. Mr Downer says it is a pity Mr Obama...

Just took a poll on facebook as to whether or not Obama deserves the Peace prize. I voted no and found that at this time, with 187,000 having voted, almost 82 per cent say... NO. (song parody on the Howie Carr show by a listener, set to Beatles tune) "Who'd give him that prize? I know who could Norwegians would..."

See the video below of the Saturday Night Live (SNL) skit mocking President Obama, fresh off the surprising announcement that he'd received the Nobel Peace Prize. The announcement was met by "shock and awe" by both the Right and Left of the political persuasion.

HAVANA (Reuters) - Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro lauded the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to U.S. President Barack Obama, saying on Saturday it was "a positive measure" that was more a criticism of past U.S. policies than a recognition of Obama's accomplishments. Castro said the prize made up for the blow Obama suffered last week when the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2016 Summer Games to Rio de Janeiro after Obama had flown to Copenhagen to pitch for Chicago, his adoptive hometown. The Nobel Committee announced on Friday that Obama had won the peace price for his "extraordinary...

WASHINGTON — Gee, you'd think a U.S. president who won the Nobel Peace Prize might get rave reviews from his party's activists and polite congrats from top Republicans. But news of Barack Obama's award Friday drew a rebuke from the Republican Party chairman, ridicule from conservative bloggers, and even gripes from some liberals who think he hasn't done enough to wind down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Top Democrats congratulated Obama, of course, but critics abounded. "What has President Obama actually accomplished?" said Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee. "It is unfortunate that the president's star power...