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An agency-by-agency guide to Obama's budget
President Barack Obama has proposed a $3.8 trillion budget for fiscal 2013 that aims to slash the deficit by $4 trillion over 10 years but still envisions growth in the government's major health benefit programs. The agency-by-agency breakdown: (AP, 3:30 a.m.)
A glance at Obama's budget totals
A glance at President Barack Obama's estimate of total revenues, outlays, deficit and debt in the budget he submitted to Congress on Monday for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. All totals are in trillions of dollars. 2012 2013 % Change Revenues 2.5 2.9 16 Outlays 3.8 3.8 0 Deficit 1.3 0.9 -30.8 Debt Held by Public 11.6 12.6 8.6 ... (AP, 3:30 a.m.)
Highlights of Obama's $3.8 trillion budget
Highlights of the 2013 budget that President Barack Obama sent to Congress on Monday: ------ (AP, 3:30 a.m.)
A glance at Obama's economic assumptions
A glance at the economic assumptions underlying the budget President Barack Obama submitted to Congress for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. Gross Domestic Product is in trillions of dollars. 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Gross Domestic Product 14.5 15.1 15.8 16.5 17.4 18.4 GDP % Change, Year to Year 4.2 4 4.5 4.7 5.3 6 GDP % Change, ... (AP, 3:30 a.m.)
Obama's proposed tax hikes at odds with GOP rivals
President Barack Obama proposed tax increases on wealthy individuals and some corporations Monday, setting the stage for an ideological battle that won't be resolved until after the November election -- if then. (Associated Press, 3:30 a.m.)
FACT CHECK: There are budget phantoms in the room
When a president introduces a budget, there are always phantoms flitting around the room. President Barack Obama's spending plan sets loose a number of them. (Associated Press, 3:30 a.m.)
China's next leader Xi Jinping visits White House
Washington is getting its first hard look at the man destined to be China's next leader. (Associated Press, 3:30 a.m.)
A trillion dollars: easy to say, hard to imagine
Remember when a billion used to be a lot? Now we talk trillions. That's a thousand times more. (AP, 3:30 a.m.)
Transportation boosted to top of political agenda
After years of procrastination, the White House and Congress have suddenly boosted a long-term plan to improve the nation's roads, bridges and transit systems to the top of the political agenda. (Associated Press, 3:30 a.m.)
GOP critics hit Obama's $3.8 trillion budget
President Barack Obama feels he has struck just the right budget balance between providing more short-term support for the economy while putting forth a long-term plan to get control of the government's soaring budget deficits. (AP Economics Writer, 3:30 a.m.)
Panetta defends military budget plan
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is defending his department's slimmed-down, $614 billion budget plan, telling senators it's time to step up and show they are serious about reducing the deficit. (Associated Press, 3:30 a.m.)
Capitol Hill weighs GOP payroll tax gambit
House lawmakers are returning to Capitol Hill to weigh a proposal by GOP leaders to extend the 2-percentage-point cut in the payroll tax through the end of the year and add the approximately $100 billion cost to the nation's $15 trillion-plus debt instead of scrounging around the budget for ways to pay for it. (Associated Press, 3:30 a.m.)
Panetta defends military budget plan
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is defending his department's slimmed-down, $614 billion budget plan, telling senators that it's time to step up and show they are serious about reducing the deficit. (Associated Press, 2/13/12)
Authorities: Houston was underwater in tub
Whitney Houston was underwater and apparently unconscious when she was pulled from a Beverly Hills hotel bathtub, and she had prescription drugs in her room, authorities said Monday. (AP Entertainment Writer, 2/13/12)
Highlights of Obama's $3.8 trillion budget
Highlights of the budget that President Barack Obama sent to Congress on Monday: ------ (AP, 2/13/12)
A glance at Obama's economic assumptions
A glance at the economic assumptions underlying the budget President Barack Obama submitted to Congress for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. Gross Domestic Product is in trillions of dollars. 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Gross Domestic Product 14.5 15.1 15.8 16.5 17.4 18.4 GDP % Change, Year to Year 4.2 4 4.5 4.7 5.3 6 GDP % Change, ... (AP, 2/13/12)
Justice Breyer robbed at West Indies vacation home
Justice Stephen Breyer was robbed last week by a machete-wielding intruder at his vacation home in the West Indies, a Supreme Court spokeswoman said Monday. (AP, 2/13/12)
US sees 'challenges' for peacekeepers in Syria
The Obama administration said Monday it backs Arab League plans to end ongoing violence in Syria but noted several obstacles to deploying a proposed international peacekeeping force to the country and stopped short of a full endorsement of the idea. (Associated Press, 2/13/12)
White House attacks contraception bills
The White House said Monday legislation in the Senate that would give employers broad leeway to restrict coverage for contraception is "dangerous and wrong." (AP, 2/13/12)
A glance at Obama's budget totals
A glance at President Barack Obama's estimate of total revenues, outlays, deficit and debt in the budget he submitted to Congress on Monday for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. All totals are in trillions of dollars. 2012 2013 % Change Revenues 2.5 2.9 16 Outlays 3.8 3.8 0 Deficit 1.3 0.9 -30.8 Debt Held by Public 11.6 12.6 8.6 ... (AP, 2/13/12)
Obama's proposed tax hikes at odds with GOP rivals
President Barack Obama proposed tax increases on wealthy individuals and some corporations Monday, setting the stage for an ideological battle that won't be resolved until after the November election -- if then. (Associated Press, 2/13/12)
US envoy to hold talks with NKorea in Beijing
A U.S. envoy will hold talks with North Korea on its nuclear program in Beijing next week, the first such negotiations since the death of the nation's longtime leader Kim Jong Il. (Associated Press, 2/13/12)
An agency-by-agency guide to Obama's budget
President Barack Obama proposed a $3.8 trillion budget on Monday for fiscal 2013 that aims to slash the deficit by $4 trillion over 10 years but still envisions growth in the government's major health benefit programs. Here is the agency-by-agency breakdown: (AP, 2/13/12)
Obama promotes job training at community college
President Barack Obama called on Congress Monday to create an $8 billion fund to train community college students for high-growth industries, giving a financial incentive to schools whose graduates are getting jobs. (Associated Press, 2/13/12)
Obama rolls out budget, honors leading artists
President Barack Obama is sending Congress his proposed budget for the new fiscal year and traveling to a community college outside the capital to promote the plan. (AP, 2/13/12)
Obama's budget: Govt still growing, despite cuts
Taking a pass on reining in government growth, President Barack Obama unveiled a record $3.8 trillion election-year budget plan Monday, calling for stimulus-style spending on roads and schools and tax hikes on the wealthy to help pay the costs. The ideas landed with a thud on Capitol Hill. (Associated Press, 2/13/12)
Details emerge on Rep. McKeon's Countrywide loan
Documents detail the terms of a discounted mortgage loan received by U.S. Rep. Howard McKeon from the now-defunct Countrywide Financial Corp. under a VIP program, according to a published report. (AP, 2/12/12)
Details emerge on Rep. McKeon's Countrywide loan
Documents detail the terms of a discounted mortgage loan received by U.S. Rep. Howard McKeon from the now-defunct Countrywide Financial Corp. under a VIP program, according to a published report. (AP, 2/12/12)
Top Republican wants vote on birth control mandate
Conservatives said Sunday the flap surrounding President Barack Obama's birth control mandate was far from over, with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell saying he'll push to overturn the requirement because it was another example of government meddling. (Associated Press, 2/12/12)
USAID contractor case renews debate on tactics
It was part of John F. Kennedy's New Frontier: a government agency to work with developing countries around the world and spread democracy in the process. (AP, 2/12/12)
AP IMPACT: USAID contractor work in Cuba detailed
Piece by piece, in backpacks and carry-on bags, American aid contractor Alan Gross made sure laptops, smartphones, hard drives and networking equipment were secreted into Cuba. The most sensitive item, according to official trip reports, was the last one: a specialized mobile phone chip that experts say is often used by the Pentagon and the CIA to make satellite signals ... (Associated Press, 2/12/12)
White House: Matter of time before Assad falls
President Barack Obama's chief of staff says it's only a matter of time before the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad collapses. (AP, 2/12/12)
Santorum says he'll be in 2-man race with Romney
Rick Santorum says he expects to do well in the next GOP presidential contests and will be in a two-man race with Mitt Romney. (AP, 2/12/12)
The fight begins: Obama's budget going to Congress
The new budget that President Barack Obama is sending to Congress aims to achieve $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade by restraining government spending and raising taxes on the wealthy. To help a weak economy, Obama's proposal Monday requests increases in transportation, education and other areas. (AP Economics Writer, 2/12/12)
Obama budget: New spending with recycled tax ideas
The White House is focusing on re-election themes such as jobs and public works projects in President Barack Obama's new budget blueprint while relying on familiar but never enacted tax increases on the wealthy and corporations to reduce future deficits after four years of trillion dollar-plus shortfalls. (Associated Press, 2/11/12)
Obama budget seeks to boost trade enforcement
President Barack Obama's new budget proposal will ask Congress to devote millions for a new trade enforcement center and more U.S. inspectors in China as the administration takes aim at unfair trade practices. (Associated Press, 2/11/12)
First lady walks 'the platypus walk'
Add another dance move to Michelle Obama's repertoire. This one has to do with a certain celebrity platypus. (AP, 2/11/12)
White House didn't foresee birth control backlash
It's not like he wasn't warned. As President Barack Obama considered a decision on birth control that would turn into an unexpected political nightmare, he heard it from inside and outside his White House: He risked a fierce backlash if he required religious employers to provide insurance coverage for contraception in violation of their beliefs. (Associated Press, 2/11/12)
First lady fixes on must-dos prior to election run
Gearing up for a tough political season ahead, Michelle Obama said Saturday she's trying to get as much done as possible before the general election campaign starts to drown out everything else. (Associated Press, 2/11/12)
Deadline nears, Obama wants payroll tax cut action
President Barack Obama is pressuring Congress to extend a payroll tax cut for the rest of the year as another deadline nears for Congress to act or see taxes go up for millions of working people. (AP, 2/11/12)
Q&A: Obama and the birth control controversy
What birth control debate? A half-century after the introduction of the pill, acceptance of birth control by American women is virtually universal. (Associated Press, 2/11/12)
Navy names ship for former congresswoman Giffords
Gabrielle Giffords, the recently retired congresswoman from Arizona who was shot in an assassination attempt 13 months ago, returned to Washington Friday for double honors. The Navy named a ship after her and she saw President Barack Obama sign the last piece of legislation she authored into law. (Associated Press, 2/11/12)
Under fire, Obama adjusts his birth control policy
Under fierce election-year fire, President Barack Obama on Friday abruptly abandoned his stand that religious organizations must pay for birth control for workers, scrambling to end a furor raging from the Catholic Church to Congress to his re-election foes. He demanded that insurance companies step in to provide the coverage instead. (AP White House Correspondent, 2/11/12)
US to raise human rights when China's Xi visits
The White House said Friday it won't recoil from raising grave human rights concerns during a getting-acquainted visit next week by China's likely future leader. (Associated Press, 2/10/12)
First lady: Girls can choose to have campaign role
Michelle Obama says her daughters' main concern about the coming presidential election is all about them. (AP, 2/10/12)
Judges: Texas should work to keep primary in April
A federal court sent a message Friday that the Texas primaries shouldn't be pushed past April because of bitterly disputed voting maps and ordered the state and minority rights groups to spend the weekend back at the bargaining table. (Associated Press, 2/10/12)
Navy names ship for former congresswoman Giffords
Gabrielle Giffords, the recently retired congresswoman from Arizona who was shot in an assassination attempt 13 months ago, returned to Washington Friday for double honors. The Navy named a ship after her and she saw President Barack Obama sign the last piece of legislation she authored into law. (Associated Press, 2/10/12)
Court ruling could prompt more deportation reviews
A federal appeals court's decision to delay the deportation of seven illegal immigrants until the Obama administration re-evaluates their cases could encourage thousands of other illegal immigrants to seek similar rulings and could open the door to uncomfortable questions about the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S, experts said. (Associated Press, 2/10/12)
US bishops voice objections to birth control rule
The nation's Roman Catholic bishops are expressing grave doubts about President Barack Obama's revamped health care rule on birth control. They say it raises serious moral concerns and lacks clear protections for certain employers, insurers and individuals. (AP, 2/10/12)
Obama budget predicts $1.3T deficit for 2012
President Barack Obama's new budget predicts a $1.3 trillion deficit for the ongoing fiscal year but that would drop to $575 billion in 2018 if the president gets his wish to raise taxes and if policymakers can live within tight restraints on the Pentagon and other Cabinet agency budgets, the White House said Friday. (Associated Press, 2/10/12)