WBRZ - Baton Rouge

Tagged News

• Obama's drone rules leave unanswered questions

  May 24, 2013 3:07 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama left plenty of ambiguity in new policy guidelines that he says will restrict how and when the U.S. can launch targeted drone strikes, leaving himself significant power over how and when the weapons can be deployed. National security experts say it's imperative to leave some... more »

• Obama cites new framework for terror war

  May 23, 2013 2:16 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says he has established a new framework to govern U.S. force against terrorists. He says it includes clear guidelines as well as oversight and accountability. Obama says in a speech Thursday he put this framework into a single document by signing on Wednesday what is... more »

• Obama: New guidelines in place for drone strikes

  May 23, 2013 2:02 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says he has signed new policy guidelines to oversee when the U.S. can use drone strikes against suspected terrorists. Obama says clear guidelines, oversight and accountability are spelled out in "policy guidance" he signed Wednesday. He says Thursday in a national security speech that the... more »

• Obama to visit tornado-ravaged Oklahoma town

  May 22, 2013 12:35 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama will travel to tornado-ravaged Moore, Okla., on Sunday. White House spokesman Jay Carney says the president will view the tornado damage first-hand. He also plans to meet with victims and first responders. The monstrous tornado barreled through the Oklahoma City suburb Monday afternoon, demolishing an... more »

• French president signs gay marriage into law

  May 18, 2013 3:32 PM

  PARIS - France will see its first gay weddings within days, after French President Francois Hollande signed a law Saturday authorizing marriage and adoption by same-sex couples and ending months of nationwide protests and wrenching debate. Hollande's office said he signed the bill Saturday morning, a day after the Constitutional... more »

• Obama: Congress must 'fully fund' embassy security

  May 16, 2013 12:28 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is calling on Congress to "fully fund" his administration's budget request for embassy security. The request comes as Obama seeks to get ahead of the controversy over his administration's response to the attack last September in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans. Obama said he... more »

• Obama: IRS acting commissioner has resigned

  May 15, 2013 4:37 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, Steven Miller, has submitted his resignation in the aftermath of an investigation that found the agency improperly targeted conservative groups. Obama says Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew requested Miller's resignation. Obama says he also insists that safeguards... more »

• Obama to meet with Treasury officials over IRS

  May 15, 2013 1:21 PM

  WASHINGTON - The White House says President Barack Obama will meet with Treasury officials Wednesday to discuss the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups for special review. White House press secretary Jay Carney says Obama expects people to be held accountable. The meeting comes in the aftermath of an... more »

• President calls IRS targeting of conservative groups "outrageous"

  May 13, 2013 11:28 AM

  WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Obama is calling the IRS focus on conservative groups 'outrageous,' and says people are 'properly concerned' The IRS apologized Friday for scrutininzing the tax-exempt status of groups with conservative titles such as "Tea Party" or "Patriot" in their applications. The Democratic chairman of the... more »

• Obama: Sexual assault in military is a 'betrayal'

  May 7, 2013 1:37 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says military personnel who engage in sexual assault are betraying the uniform they are wearing. He says he has directed Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to "step up our game exponentially" to halt such assaults. In a tough statement, Obama said he wanted members of the... more »

• Ex-Jefferson Parish president reports to prison

  May 6, 2013 12:55 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - Former Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard has started serving a prison sentence of nearly four years for his role in a bribery plot and payroll fraud scheme. A spokesman for the federal Bureau of Prisons said Broussard reported Monday to the low-security facility at a prison in... more »

• NRA's new president has penchant for bold words

  May 4, 2013 10:41 AM

  HOUSTON - The incoming leader of the National Rifle Association has a penchant for bold statements that are sure to inflame an already explosive national debate over gun control. James Porter assumes the presidency on Monday after the group's national convention wraps up in Houston. The Alabama attorney is currently... more »

• Obama "comfortable" with FDA approach on Plan B

  May 2, 2013 5:36 PM

  MEXICO CITY - President Barack Obama says he's comfortable with his administration's decision to allow over-the-counter purchases of a morning-after pill for anyone 15 and older. The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday had lowered the age at which people can buy the Plan B One-Step morning-after pill without a... more »

• George W. Bush library opening to public

  May 1, 2013 7:58 AM

  DALLAS - The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum is set to open to the public following a brief ceremony. It opens to the public Wednesday morning. The library and museum, along with the 43rd president's policy institute, are housed in the George W. Bush Presidential Center. The... more »

• Obama: Boston review designed to prevent attacks

  April 30, 2013 10:48 AM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says a national security review following the Boston Marathon bombings will look at whether there is more the government can do to stop people within the United States who might become radicalized and plan terror attacks. One of the dangers the U.S. faces now, Obama... more »

• LSU not releasing presidential candidates' names

  April 26, 2013 4:55 PM

  BATON ROUGE - LSU intends to appeal a judge's ruling that required the university system to turn over the names of about three dozen candidates considered during its presidential search. And the Board of Supervisors doesn't plan to immediately release the names. Board Chairman Hank Danos released a statement Friday... more »

• Miss. man in ricin case: 'I love my country'

  April 23, 2013 5:45 PM

  TUPELO, Miss. - A Mississippi man is speaking out now that charges have been dropped against him in an investigation of ricin-laced letters. Paul Kevin Curtis says he respects President Barack Obama, loves his country and that he "would never do anything to pose a threat." Curtis says this week... more »

• Family of man accused of sending ricin letters speaks

  April 19, 2013 11:38 AM

  OXFORD - The family of a man accused of mailing ricin-tainted letters to the president and a U.S. senator says they have tried for years to get him help for his mental illness. Jack Curtis issued a statement on behalf of the family of his brother, Paul Kevin Curtis, on... more »

• Attorney: Miss. man denies mailing suspected ricin

  April 18, 2013 1:23 PM

  OXFORD, Miss. - The man charged with mailing letters with suspected ricin to the president and others was surprised by his arrest and maintains he is innocent, according to his attorney. Paul Kevin Curtis appeared in a federal courtroom Thursday in Oxford, Miss., wearing shackles and a Johnny Cash T-shirt.... more »

• FBI: Miss. man arrested, accused in ricin letters

  April 17, 2013 7:03 PM

  OXFORD, Miss. - A man in Mississippi has been arrested and accused of sending letters with suspected ricin poison to President Barack Obama and other leaders. FBI Special Agent in Charge Daniel McMullen said Paul Kevin Curtis, 45, was arrested Wednesday. Authorities still waited for definitive tests on the letters... more »

• FBI: Early test shows ricin in Obama letter

  April 17, 2013 10:23 AM

  WASHINGTON - The FBI says the letters sent to President Barack Obama and Sen. Roger Wicker are related and are both postmarked out of Memphis, Tenn., dated April 8. In an intelligence bulletin obtained by The Associated Press, the FBI says the letters both say: "To see a wrong and... more »

• Obama to visit Boston on Thursday

  April 16, 2013 4:27 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama will visit Boston on Thursday, three days after a pair of deadly bombings at the Boston Marathon. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick says Obama will be attending an interfaith service. Three people were killed at the marathon's finish line, including an 8-year-old boy. More than 170... more »

• Obama: Boston explosions investigated as terrorism

  April 16, 2013 10:41 AM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says the explosions at the Boston Marathon are being investigated as an act of terror, although authorities still don't know who is responsible. He called the bombing "a heinous and cowardly act" used to target innocent civilians. Obama spoke to reporters at the White House... more »

• President to address nation after Boston explosions

  April 15, 2013 4:52 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Obama scheduled a press conference to address the nation after a pair of explosions killed two and injured dozens at the Boston Marathon today. The president is scheduled to speak at 5:10 Central Time, according to the White House. Obama was briefed on Monday's explosions... more »

• Obama pays $112k in 2012 taxes on $609k of income

  April 12, 2013 1:12 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's 2012 tax returns show he and first lady Michelle Obama paid $112,214 in taxes last year on $608,611 in adjusted gross income. They paid an effective rate of 18.4 percent for their federal income taxes. The adjusted gross income figure is down from 2011, when... more »

• Obama: Budget shrinks deficits and expands economy

  April 10, 2013 10:18 AM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is sending Congress a $3.8 trillion spending blueprint that strives to achieve a "grand bargain" to tame runaway deficits. It would raise taxes on the wealthy and trim popular benefit programs including as Social Security and Medicare. The president's budget projects deficit reductions of $1.8... more »

• Moniz backs natural gas 'revolution'

  April 9, 2013 12:07 PM

  WASHINGTON- Ernest Moniz, chosen by President Barack Obama to lead the Energy Department, says he will push to increase use of natural gas as a way to combat climate change even as the nation seeks to boost domestic energy production. Moniz, a physics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,... more »

• Resolution seeking president's removal going forward

  April 8, 2013 11:41 AM

  THIBODAUX - A Lafourche Parish councilman says he will not pull a resolution seeking Parish President Charlotte Randolph's resignation over ethics violations. The Courier reports the parish council will debate the resolution Tuesday. Randolph has asked state ethics authorities to reconsider the $60,000 she's been ordered to pay because she... more »

• Some Colo. sheriffs oppose more gun control

  April 3, 2013 10:21 AM

  DENVER - Some Colorado sheriffs are speaking out against any more gun control measures as President Barack Obama visits the state. Sixteen sheriffs, including Larimer County's Justin Smith and John Cooke of Weld County, plan to hold a news conference Wednesday in Denver. They'll gather in a park near where... more »

• Student newspaper editor sues LSU governing board

  April 1, 2013 5:42 PM

  BATON ROUGE - The editor of LSU's student newspaper is suing the university system's Board of Supervisors for refusing to provide information about the candidates considered to be LSU president. Andrea Gallo, editor of The Daily Reveille, filed her lawsuit Monday. The Board of Supervisors hired F. King Alexander last... more »

• Alexander unanimously voted as new LSU president

  March 27, 2013 10:29 AM

  BATON ROUGE - The LSU Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to appoint Dr. King Alexander the new president of the university and chancellor of its flagship campus. Alexander has been president of Cal State at Long Beach since 2006, and visited the LSU campus last week to meet with... more »

• LSU president prospect visits campus

  March 21, 2013 10:25 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Dr. King Alexander, the finalist selected for LSU's vacant president's office, started his tour of the university campus today. Alexander is currently president of California State University at Long Beach. A search committee announced him as their finalist for the LSU president's job earlier this week.... more »

• CSULB president named finalist for LSU post Play Video

  March 18, 2013 1:37 PM

  BATON ROUGE - LSU's search committee named Dr. Fieldon King Alexander, the president of California State University, Long Beach, as their pick to be the school's next president. The decision was announced at the Board of Supervisors meeting this afternoon, and came at the end of an extensive nationwide... more »

• Finalist for LSU President to be named today

  March 18, 2013 12:02 PM

  BATON ROUGE - The search committee organized to vet candidates for the LSU president's position will recommend a finalist this afternoon at the Board of Supervisors meeting. Whomever the committee names will go before the full board for consideration and vote. No official action on the recommendation is... more »

• Obama signs order to begin spending cuts

  March 1, 2013 9:50 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has signed an order authorizing the government to begin cutting $85 billion from federal accounts, officially enacting across-the-board reductions that he opposed but failed to avert. Obama acted Friday, the deadline for the president and Congress to avoid the steep, one-year cuts. Obama has insisted... more »

• Obama: may take weeks, months to fix budget mess

  March 1, 2013 11:07 AM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says it may take a couple of weeks or a couple of months to reach a deal to end Washington's battle over spending cuts. The president spoke after meeting with congressional leaders at the White House on $85 billion in automatic spending cuts that go... more »

• Obama: We will get through cuts

  March 1, 2013 10:52 AM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says Americans will get through the automatic spending cuts kicking in Friday. Obama says the nation shouldn't be making "dumb and arbitrary" cuts. He says Republicans have allowed the cuts to happen. Obama stays he still believes the cuts can be replaced, but he wants... more »

• Holman retires as BR General president, CEO

  February 26, 2013 4:20 PM

  BATON ROUGE - The head of Baton Rouge General's hospital system, Bill Holman, announced today he's retiring from the network. Holman, 66, spent 48 years in the health care industry, including more than 12 with General Health System. During that time the system received numerous awards and recognitions, and... more »

• Landrieu: Jindal an obstructionist on Medicaid

  February 26, 2013 11:53 AM

  BATON ROUGE- U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu says Gov. Bobby Jindal's refusal to expand Louisiana's Medicaid program is tied to his presidential ambitions at the expense of benefits for Louisiana. The Democratic senator accused the Republican governor of obstructionism. Landrieu said Jindal seems adamant about putting his political future ahead of... more »

• President Obama signs disaster declaration for La.

  February 22, 2013 10:43 AM

  WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Barak Obama signed a major disaster declaration today for the state of Louisiana, freeing up federal funds to help pay for damage caused by flooding and storms last month. The funding will be available to state and eligible local governments, as well as certain nonprofit... more »

• Obama considers weighing in on gay marriage case

  February 20, 2013 4:36 PM

  WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is quietly considering urging the Supreme Court to overturn California's ban on gay marriage, a step that would mark a political victory for advocates of same-sex unions. President Barack Obama raised expectations among opponents of the Proposition 8 ban when he declared last month in... more »

• White House seeks 'balanced way' to budget fix

  February 17, 2013 10:15 AM

  WASHINGTON - The new White House chief of staff says President Barack Obama is concerned about the effect the automatic budget cuts scheduled for next month will have on America's middle class. Denis McDonough tells ABC's "This Week" that the economy has been getting stronger over the past few months.... more »

• Obama says gun violence killing too many children

  February 15, 2013 5:25 PM

  CHICAGO - President Barack Obama says that every four months, his hometown of Chicago suffers the loss of as many children as were killed in the Connecticut elementary school shooting. Obama says gun violence is taking too many children's lives, not just in mass shootings like the one in Newtown,... more »

• LSU rebuffs public records request from newspaper

  February 14, 2013 8:54 AM

  BATON ROUGE - LSU will continue to keep secret the names and qualifications of candidates in the running to become the university's next president after rejecting a public records request from The Advocate. The Advocate formally requested access last week to the applications, background materials and other information related to... more »

• Voters, area lawmakers react to State of the Union Play Video

  February 12, 2013 10:39 PM

  BATON ROUGE- The president urged Congress to strengthen the middle class, boost job creation and promised to cut the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan in half within a year. "It is our unfinished task to restore the basic bargain that built this country - the idea that... more »

• Energy Secretary Chu to step down

  February 1, 2013 10:58 AM

  WASHINGTON- Energy Secretary Steven Chu is stepping down. The Energy Department said Friday Chu has offered his resignation to President Barack Obama. Chu won a Nobel Prize in physics but came under questioning for his handling of a solar energy loan. Chu is a former director of the Lawrence Berkeley... more »

• Obama signs $50.5B Superstorm Sandy aid bill

  January 29, 2013 8:01 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has signed into law a $50.5 billion emergency measure for Superstorm Sandy victims. Congress gave the measure its final approval late Monday. Obama signed it Tuesday night, minutes after returning to the White House from a visit to Nevada. It took Congress three months after... more »

• Biden to promote gun control in pro-gun Virginia

  January 23, 2013 3:58 PM

  WASHINGTON - Vice President Joe Biden is launching a White House campaign of road trips to promote gun control with a visit to the heart of avidly pro-gun Virginia. The White House announced Wednesday that Biden would travel to Richmond on Friday along with other Obama administration officials and Democratic... more »

• Band backs off statement that Beyonce lip synced

  January 22, 2013 4:18 PM

  WASHINGTON - The U.S. Marine Corps is backing off statements that Beyonce lip-synced the national anthem during her performance at President Barack Obama's inauguration. The Marine Corps issued a statement Tuesday saying it determined that a live performance by the Marine Band was ill advised because there was no opportunity... more »

• Biden meets with Democrats, stoking 2016 chatter

  January 22, 2013 12:01 PM

  WASHINGTON - Joe Biden in 2016? The vice president is stoking speculation that he may be laying groundwork for a presidential campaign with a series of meetings with Democratic supporters throughout the long weekend of inauguration festivities. Biden was meeting with delegates from the Democratic National Committee during a private... more »

• Obama joins inaugural parade as he begins 2nd term

  January 21, 2013 2:42 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has joined the inaugural parade from Capitol Hill to the White House celebrating the start of his second term. Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and their families were among more than 8,800 people, floats and marching bands participating in the late-starting parade that passed before... more »

• Civil rights activist reflects on King, Obama Play Video

  January 21, 2013 1:42 PM

  BATON ROUGE- Rev. Betty Claiborne has lived through the best and worst times of the civil rights movement in America. As a 19-year old girl she was arrested when she and her sister entered a 'whites-only' swimming pool. Claiborne spent two weeks in jail, and was pardoned decades later.... more »

• Clinton, Carter join Obama inaugural gathering

  January 21, 2013 10:31 AM

  WASHINGTON - Former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter joined lawmakers and other dignitaries at the Capitol for President Barack Obama's ceremonial swearing-in Monday to a second term. The two men are the only living Democrats who have occupied the White House. Clinton was accompanied by his wife, Secretary of... more »

• Obama speaks of 'limitless' possibilities for U.S.

  January 21, 2013 10:27 AM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has begun his second term by declaring that the nation's "possibilities are limitless." Speaking before a flag-waving crowd of hundreds of thousands on the National Mall, Obama said a decade of war is ending, and the nation's economy is recovering. Moments after taking the oath... more »

• Inauguration Day marks rare intersection with King

  January 18, 2013 10:26 AM

  ATLANTA - This year, the memory of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the life of President Barack Obama will overlap significantly for a day. For only the second time, the presidential inauguration falls on the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Some King commemorations are being shuffled while... more »

• Will Obama's order lead to surge in gun research?

  January 17, 2013 3:46 PM

  MILWAUKEE - Researchers say that President Barack Obama's order to encourage use of federal money to study gun violence may help lead to more knowledge about how to prevent firearm injuries and deaths. About 30,000 Americans die from gun violence each year, nearly the same number as from car crashes.... more »

• Obama taking 23 actions aimed at gun violence

  January 16, 2013 11:18 AM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is taking 23 executive actions aimed at curbing gun violence that don't require congressional action, including measures to encourage schools to hire police officers, increase research on gun violence and improve efforts to prosecute gun crime. The executive actions are part of an overarching... more »

• Obama unveils $500 million gun violence package

  January 16, 2013 11:03 AM

  WASHINGTON - Even as he uses his executive powers to enact 23 measures that don't require the approval of Congress, President Barack Obama says there's only so much he can do to reduce gun violence unless lawmakers act. He says that's what it will take to make a "real and... more »

• Newtown families invited to Obama gun control event

  January 16, 2013 10:20 AM

  WASHINGTON - Families of the victims of last month's shooting attack at a Connecticut elementary school have been invited to the White House today to see President Barack Obama outline an effort aimed at reducing gun violence. Obama's ideas include bans on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines --... more »

• Obama to outline action against gun violence tomorrow

  January 15, 2013 1:05 PM

  WASHINGTON - Just a little more than a month since the Connecticut school massacre, President Barack Obama tomorrow will be unveiling his proposals to fight gun violence. The White House says he and Vice President Joe Biden will be joined by children who wrote the president letters after the Newtown... more »

• Obama: Debt limit increase can't be tied to spending cuts

  January 14, 2013 12:50 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is demanding that Congress quickly raise the nation's $16.4 trillion debt limit, telling reporters, "we are not a deadbeat nation." At a White House news conference less than a week before he takes the oath of office for a second term, Obama warned that if... more »

• Obama: Gun control specifics to come within days

  January 14, 2013 12:20 PM

  WASHINGTON - He's acknowledging an uphill fight in Congress -- so President Barack Obama says he's looking at actions he can take on his own to confront gun violence. He told reporters today that he will present a plan within days. Obama says the ideas that are on the table... more »

• Ex-President George H.W. Bush leaves the hospital

  January 14, 2013 10:35 AM

  HOUSTON - Former President George H.W. Bush has left a Houston hospital where he spent nearly two months recovering from an illness that began with a bronchitis-related cough. Bush spokesman Jim McGrath says the 88-year-old Bush was released Monday from Methodist Hospital. He was admitted Nov. 23, the day after... more »

• Obama, Karzai agree to speed military transition

  January 11, 2013 4:08 PM

  WASHINGTON - Within a few months, U.S. troops in Afghanistan will be shifting to a support role, letting Afghanistan's own troops take the lead in providing for the security of their country. The accelerated timetable was announced today by President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai after a meeting... more »

• Biden voices interest in new technology for guns

  January 11, 2013 4:06 PM

  WASHINGTON - Vice President Joe Biden says he's interested in technology that would keep a gun from being fired by anyone other than the person who bought it. He says evidence shows such technology may have curtailed what happened last month in Connecticut when 20 youngsters and six teachers were... more »

• Biden says consensus emerging on gun safety

  January 10, 2013 11:52 AM

  WASHINGTON - Vice President Joe Biden says he will deliver recommendations to President Barack Obama on steps to curb violence by Tuesday. Biden says a consensus is emerging over proposals such as tightening background checks and banning high-capacity ammunition magazines. Biden told a group of sportsmen and wildlife interest groups... more »

• White House official: AG, HHS, VA heads to stay

  January 9, 2013 3:48 PM

  WASHINGTON - A White House official says Attorney General Eric Holder and the secretaries of Health and Human Services and Veterans Affairs will remain with the Obama administration as it enters a second term. The official said Holder, who leads the Justice Department, and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and VA... more »

• Biden meets with gun-safety, victims groups

  January 9, 2013 10:55 AM

  WASHINGTON - Vice President Joe Biden is hearing personal stories of gun violence from representatives of victims groups and gun-safety organizations as he works on the Obama administration's response to the shooting at a Connecticut elementary school. Biden's meeting Wednesday is part of a series he's holding this week to... more »

• Obama, Karzai to meet in Washington on Friday

  January 7, 2013 6:25 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama will host Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the White House on Friday. It's the first in-person meeting for the two leaders since Obama won re-election. His victory meant the continuation of his administration's plans to bring the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan to a close by... more »

• Obama taps homeland security aide to head CIA

  January 7, 2013 5:47 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has tapped White House homeland security adviser John Brennan as his nominee to lead the Central Intelligence Agency. Obama on Monday appeared with Brennan in the East Room of the White House to name him as his pick to succeed former CIA chief David Petraeus,... more »

• Obama: Hagel 'leader our troops deserve'

  January 7, 2013 5:44 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says Chuck Hagel, his choice as the new secretary of defense, is "the leader that our troops deserve." Obama formally announced his choice of Hagel in the White House East Room on Monday even as critics questioned the pick over issues including Hagel's views on... more »

• Obama '08 campaign fined $375,000 by FEC

  January 4, 2013 4:32 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign has been fined $375,000 by the Federal Election Commission for reporting violations related to a set of donations received during the final days of the campaign. The fines are among the largest ever levied on a presidential campaign by the FEC and stem... more »

• Lawyer re-nominated for federal judgeship in B.R.

  January 4, 2013 10:45 AM

  BATON ROUGE - President Barack Obama has re-nominated Shelly Deckert Dick to fill a vacancy on the federal bench in Baton Rouge. Dick, a Baton Rouge attorney, originally was nominated in April 2012. She is one of 33 candidates for federal judgeships who were re-nominated Thursday by Obama. Obama said... more »

• Kerry prepping for secretary of state confirmation

  January 3, 2013 1:25 PM

  WASHINGTON - The State Department says Sen. John Kerry, who President Barack Obama has nominated to be the next secretary of state, has started meeting with diplomatic staff to prepare for his confirmation. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland says Kerry was at the department's Foggy Bottom headquarters Wednesday. She says... more »

• Obama urges action on Sandy aid

  January 2, 2013 11:04 AM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is calling for House Republicans to vote Wednesday on Hurricane Sandy aid "without delay for our fellow Americans." It comes as New York lawmakers are lashing out at a decision by House GOP leaders not to hold a vote in the current Congress. Obama says... more »

• Obama in Hawaii, fiscal cliff standoff behind him

  January 2, 2013 10:51 AM

  HONOLULU - President Barack Obama is back in Hawaii for vacation after a tense, end-of-the-new-year standoff with Congress over the fiscal cliff. The president arrived early Wednesday morning, local time, after an overnight flight aboard Air Force One. He was rejoining his family for a holiday break after having returned... more »

• Congress approves deal to avoid 'fiscal cliff'

  January 1, 2013 10:45 PM

  WASHINGTON - Past its own New Year's deadline, a weary Congress sent President Barack Obama legislation to avoid a national "fiscal cliff" of middle class tax increases and spending cuts late Tuesday night in the culmination of a struggle that strained America's divided government to the limit. The bill's... more »

• Holden sworn in to start EBR's New Year

  January 1, 2013 10:24 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Kip Holden took the oath of office just ten minutes past midnight to begin his next term as East Baton Rouge Mayor-President. Holden did the swearing in at the New Year's Eve celebrations on the renovated North Boulevard Town Square. Local attorney Leo Berggreen administered... more »

• Obama says immediate action needed on fiscal cliff

  December 28, 2012 5:10 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says "the hour for immediate action is here" on a deal to avert the fiscal cliff. The president says he remains "optimistic" that an agreement can be reached in Congress before a looming year-end deadline to avoid tax increases and spending cuts. If Congress can't... more »

• Senate leaders in last-ditch fiscal cliff talks

  December 28, 2012 4:36 PM

  WASHINGTON - The Senate's top Democrat and Republican say they're entering last-minute talks with the White House aimed at avoiding the fiscal cliff. Majority Leader Harry Reid and GOP leader Mitch McConnell gave the relatively upbeat assessment after the duo and top House leaders had what McConnell called a "good"... more »

• Bush spokesman says ex-president's fever rising

  December 26, 2012 1:53 PM

  HOUSTON- A spokesman says the fever that kept former President George H.W. Bush in a Houston hospital over Christmas has worsened, and doctors have put him on a liquids-only diet. Jim McGrath had said earlier Wednesday that the fever had gone away. He later corrected himself and said the fever... more »

• Obama's 2nd inauguration to draw smaller crowds

  December 26, 2012 6:09 AM

  WASHINGTON - With second inaugurations tending to draw fewer spectators, finding a place to stay in Washington this year won't be nearly as difficult as in 2009. Inauguration-goers have a range of lodging options, from reasonably priced rooms to ones that cost thousands of dollars a night. City... more »

• Former President George H.W. Bush still hospitalized

  December 23, 2012 10:18 AM

  HOUSTON - Doctors say former President George H.W. Bush needs to "build up his energy" before he can be released from a Houston hospital. Methodist Hospital spokesman George Kovacik said in an email statement Sunday that doctors are still optimistic that the 88-year-old Bush will make a full recovery. He... more »

• 'Fiscal cliff' leaves Boehner a wounded speaker

  December 22, 2012 10:14 AM

  WASHINGTON - John Boehner is a bloodied House speaker following the startling setback his own Republican troops dealt him in their "fiscal cliff" struggle with President Barack Obama. There's plenty of internal grumbling about the Ohio Republican, especially among conservatives, and lots of buzzing about whether his leadership post is... more »

• Obama and family arrive in Hawaii for Christmas

  December 22, 2012 9:59 AM

  HONOLULU - President Barack Obama and his family have arrived in Honolulu to spend Christmas in Hawaii, where the president was born and raised. Air Force One touched down in Honolulu minutes after midnight local time on Saturday. The first family departed the plane and left quickly for their vacation... more »

• Obama says he is 'ready and willing' to get deal

  December 21, 2012 10:20 PM

  WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says he is "ready and willing" to get a big package done to deal with the "fiscal cliff" and says there's no reason not to protect middle-class Americans from tax increases. Obama says he spoke Friday with House Speaker John Boehner and met with... more »

• Obama pressing for policy changes after shooting

  December 19, 2012 11:22 AM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is asking a team led by Vice President Joe Biden to offer "concrete proposals" to curb gun violence no later than January, in the aftermath of the horrific massacre at a Connecticut elementary school. Obama says after he receives recommendations from Biden's group, he will... more »

• Sources: New Obama offer moves toward Boehner

  December 17, 2012 6:37 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has proposed a deficit-reduction package to House Speaker John Boehner that would increase the top tax rates on taxpayers earning more than $400,000, cut more spending from health care programs and add $200 billion more in spending cuts over 10 years to his earlier offer.... more »

• Electoral College set to affirm Obama re-election

  December 17, 2012 1:54 PM

  ST. PAUL, Minn. - Tradition trumped suspense Monday as members of the Electoral College cast the official, final votes in the 2012 presidential election, a constitutional formality on President Barack Obama's march to a second term. The rite playing in state capitols involved party luminaries and tireless activists carrying out... more »

• Obama, Boehner meeting at the White House

  December 17, 2012 10:46 AM

  WASHINGTON - A White House official says President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner are meeting at the White House to discuss the pending fiscal cliff and deficit reduction. The meeting comes as Boehner is offering $1 trillion in higher tax revenue over 10 years and an increase in... more »

• Tearful Obama calls for action after shooting

  December 14, 2012 2:40 PM

  WASHINGTON - As a father, President Barack Obama says, he's grieving for the victims of today's school shooting in Connecticut. His remarks to the nation from the White House today were emotional ones, as Obama wiped his eyes and had to pause for several seconds to keep his composure. He... more »