Trick-or-Treat ... Mr President

'Accommodation' for religious employers will likely be announced today

(NEWSER) - The White House yesterday signaled a compromise over its contentious birth control decision, and the Wall Street Journal confirms that an attempt to accommodate the Catholic Church will likely be announced today. Details remain hazy, but one source tells the Journal that insurance companies, not religious employers, will become the ones who pay for contraception coverage. ABC News notes the move would be cheaper for health insurance companies than having to cover unwanted pregnancies and complications. But since the "accommodation" will still allow female employees access to birth control, Jake Tapper notes, it will likely not satisfy religious leaders. More»

First lady dishes on husband's skills with Jay Leno

(NEWSER) - If you thought the recent clip of President Obama singing was a fluke, think again: "He does have a beautiful voice, and he sings to me all the time," Michelle Obama told Jay Leno last night. Her husband often sings that very same song (Al Green's "Let's Stay Together"), she said, adding, "He sings a lot of Al Green, Marvin Gaye, a little Stevie [Wonder]. He likes the classics." More»

Tim Thomas skips out on White House visit

(NEWSER) - All-star goalie Tim Thomas skipped out on a visit to the White House with the rest of his Stanley Cup-winning Boston Bruins yesterday, snubbing President Obama's offer of congratulations because he's not happy with the size of the federal government. "I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People," he wrote in a statement posted on Facebook and the Bruins website . "This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government." More»

Protesters also hold rallies against Voter ID laws

(NEWSER) - Martin Luther King day inspired an Occupy march on New York and more traditional remembrances across the US today. Among the events:

• Hundreds of Occupiers staged an "Occupy the Dream" march on Manhattan, stopping to chant, "The banks got bailed out, we got sold out." At least two protesters were arrested, MSNBC reports. "Dr. King dedicated the last months of his life to planning a campaign for the right of all to a decent-paying job," Occupy said in a statement.

First lady responds to claims made in Jodi Kantor's book

(NEWSER) - Michelle Obama says she hasn't read Jodi Kantor's new—and, at times, unflattering—book on the Obamas, but she does take offense to what's in it. Speaking to CBS co-anchor/long-time pal Gayle King, Obama explains that she has grown weary of people portraying her as "some kind of angry black woman." Kantor's book sets a scene in which tension (and, on one occasion, profanities) ran rampant between the first lady and Rahm Emanuel and Robert Gibbs ; the New York Times reporter also depicts Michelle Obama as a somewhat unwilling participant who felt wary of and constrained by life in the White House. More»