Barack Obama

Read the latest post-presidency news about President Barack Obama on Newser.com

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Obama Will Ban Torture— But Considers a Loophole

(Newser) - Barack Obama is set to prohibit waterboarding and other enhanced interrogation techniques by mandating the CIA follow the US Army Field Manual when questioning suspects, the AP reports. But as the president-elect debates whether to make the changes through legislation or presidential fiat, the incoming administration is also considering a...

Inaugural TV Deals Bring Big Bucks, Controversy

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s inaugural organizing team has struck the most lucrative series of TV deals ever seen for its slate of inaugural events, raking in more than $5 million from various networks, the Washington Post reports. HBO landed the juiciest prize, paying $2.5 million for exclusive rights to tomorrow’...

Obama Embarks on Symbolic Train Ride to DC

(Newser) - Barack Obama undertook the final leg of his inaugural journey today, embarking on a whistle-stop train tour from Philadelphia that retraces Lincoln's journey to Washington a century and a half ago. Big crowds are expected along the way, and VP-elect Joe Biden comes aboard in Wilmington, Del. "Only a...

Obamas Urged to Turn the White House Green

Advocates push for new first family to take up organic farming

(Newser) - Advocates for all kinds of green causes are hoping to find newly fertile ground for their ideas at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the Wall Street Journal reports. Several groups are pushing for the president-elect to lead by example and plant an organic garden on the White House's ample grounds. Others urge...

Fear of Crowds, Cold Deter Inauguration-Goers

Organizers scale back crowd estimations as Obama supporters heed warnings

(Newser) - The biggest gathering in Washington DC's history may be a little smaller than expected, the New York Times reports. Would-be visitors for Inauguration Day are starting to take heed of warning about crowds and cold, and many have decided to celebrate in their hometown instead. Officials still expect a logistical...

Man Nabbed in Mississippi for Obama Threats

Wisc. native faces 5 years in prison for online posts

(Newser) - A Wisconsin man was arrested in Mississippi yesterday after posting online threats to kill Barack Obama, the Daily Leader reports. Steven Joseph Christopher, 43, had written “ok we have 9 days until my Presidential Assasination” in an expletive-filled, anti-Semitic posting on the website alien-earth.org. He referred to Obama...

Obama Builds Even More Bridges to GOP

(Newser) - Barack Obama's courting of conservatives is well-known, but he's done even more quiet outreach behind the scenes, Politico reports. Obama has publicly extended an olive branch to the likes of John McCain, Rick Warren, and George Will—but he's also contacted prominent Republicans on Capitol Hill and organizations such as...

At Obama Swearing-In, Watchers Will Swear at Cold

Though temps could be in the 30s, officials warn of long exposure

(Newser) - The presidential inauguration is shaping up to be a trying event, what with huge crowds, restrictive security measures, and now, a chilly forecast, USA Today reports. Contingency plans range from the prudent—heated tents for the unwell—to the desperate. Organizers are trying to have "as many tour buses...

Obama Pitches Public Service—On the Net

USAService.org connects volunteers to projects

(Newser) - Barack Obama, like John F. Kennedy before him, has issued a call to service in a novel medium. For Kennedy it was television, and Obama, unsurprisingly, is using the Internet to drum up volunteerism, Time reports. USAService.org allows willing citizens to find projects, or even organize them, and capitalizes...

Inaugural Balls Can Be a Pain
 Inaugural Balls Can Be a Pain 
OPINION
Jan 16, 2009 2:53 PM CST

Inaugural Balls Can Be a Pain

Mystique gives way to sardine-can ballrooms and endless coat-check lines

(Newser) - Inaugural balls aren't the fairytale occasions people imagine, jaded Washington vet Carla Hall writes in the Los Angeles Times. Instead of a sea of couples gliding past the newly sworn-in president on the dance floor, the galas tend to be a bunch of tired people crammed into a ballroom straining...

Obama/Spider-Man Comic Gets Third Printing

'Unprecedented demand' moves Marvel to bring more to market

(Newser) - Barack Obama loves Spider-Man, Spider-Man loves Obama—and the public apparently loves both of them. Amazing Spider-Man #583, which sees the web-slinger come face-to-mask with the president-elect, is already going back to press for a third printing, MTV reports. Marvel Comics’ announcement yesterday came just 24 hours after the first...

Noonan: Set Aside Cynicism, and Soak It In

Forget past, partisanship and absorb inaugural magic

(Newser) - The sights and sounds of a presidential inauguration are enough to inspire the most jaded of observers, if they’re so willing, writes Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal. Sure, presidencies come and go, with victories and failures. But at the majestic ceremony, the best option is to forget...

Inauguration Announcer Been at Mic Since Ike

Brotman, 81, thinks Obama's may be most spectacular

(Newser) - Charlie Brotman, the octogenarian MC stationed closest to the presidential reviewing stand during Tuesday’s Inaugural Parade, has had a front-row seat to history since 1957, when he was chosen to announce President Eisenhower’s, USA Today reports. Brotman expects Barack Obama’s inauguration will be the most spectacular ever....

Speechwriter Obama Gets Competitive
Speechwriter Obama Gets Competitive
Jan 16, 2009 12:50 PM CST

Speechwriter Obama Gets Competitive

Inaugural address pressure is on, but Lincoln may help

(Newser) - Barack Obama has nearly completed his inaugural address, and he's uniquely qualified to take on a seemingly insurmountable challenge: living up to the example set by the likes of Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy. "I would think we would hear the most eloquent speech since JFK’s 48...

Beyoncé Will Sing for Obamas' Inaugural Dance

Sing will also join many other performers for inauguration's Neighborhood Ball

(Newser) - Beyoncé will sing for the Obamas' first dance on inauguration night, the AP reports. The inaugural committee is tight-lipped about the specifics—"It is our hope that we can keep the song secret until the moment,” a rep said—but it's a good bet the singer/actress will be...

Rehabilitation of Bush Legacy Well Under Way
Rehabilitation
of Bush Legacy Well Under Way
OPINION
Jan 16, 2009 10:08 AM CST

Rehabilitation of Bush Legacy Well Under Way

Need proof? See Obama's early moves, writes Krauthammer

(Newser) - Nixon aside, no president since Truman has left office as unpopular as George W. Bush, writes Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer. But while it took decades for Truman's reputation to be restored, "Bush's rehabilitation will come sooner—in fact, it has already begun." The proof? Barack Obama...

Obama Vows Social Security, Medicare Reform
Obama Vows Social Security, Medicare Reform
Interview
Jan 16, 2009 8:05 AM CST

Obama Vows Social Security, Medicare Reform

Will hold summit to hash out ways to rein in spending

(Newser) - Barack Obama promised major overhauls for the country’s ever-growing entitlement programs yesterday in a wide-ranging interview with the Washington Post. We have “kicked this can down the road,” Obama said. “We are now at the end of the road.” Obama will hold a “fiscal...

Obama Plans Mideast Diplomatic Offensive

President-elect plans to tackle Gaza crisis from first day in Oval Office

(Newser) - Barack Obama will launch a diplomatic offensive to tackle the Gaza crisis and other troubles in the Mideast his very first day in office, he tells USA Today. He plans a more cohesive approach to the region than President Bush, and may appoint special envoys. The challenges in Iran, Afghanistan,...

Nate Silver: Win the Cities, Win America

Fast-growing urban demographic handed Obama election victory

(Newser) - Barack Obama's strength in cities won him the election, meaning he "might be America's first urban" president, statistics whiz Nate Silver writes in Esquire. Obama's "pragmatic, superior, hip, stubborn, multicultural" ways make him unmistakably urban, Silver writes, and America's changing demographics mean that urban voters matter now more...

Senate Releases TARP Funds
 Senate Releases TARP Funds  
Jan 15, 2009 5:14 PM CST

Senate Releases TARP Funds

(Newser) - The Senate agreed to let loose the remaining TARP funds today by a relatively slim margin, the Hill reports. The 52-42 vote means Obama should have access to the $350 billion about a week after he takes office. The House hasn't voted yet, but the TARP legislation requires only one...

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