White House

Clinton Housing Chief Paved the Way for Risky Loans

Oct 19, 2008 11:27 AM CDT

Clinton Housing Chief Paved the Way for Risky Loans

How American Dream Became Economic Nightmare

(Newser) - The top housing chief of the Clinton administration helped launch a major financing wave that transformed the American dream of homeownership into reality for thousands of people—whether they could afford it or not, reports the New York Times. From his post, Henry Cisneros loosened mortgage restrictions for first-time buyers,...

Afghan Leader's Brother Tied to Drug Trade: US

Oct 4, 2008 3:35 PM CDT

Afghan Leader's Brother Tied to Drug Trade: US

Karzai denies claims, but Washington believes 'he's dirty'

(Newser) - The White House believes that the brother of Afghanistan’s US-backed president has ties to the country’s heroin trade, the New York Times reports. Hamid Karzai insists there is no firm proof against his brother, who calls himself a “victim of vicious politics.” But numerous reports from...

Federal Budget Deficit More Than Doubles, to $407B

Sep 9, 2008 4:27 PM CDT

Federal Budget Deficit More Than Doubles, to $407B

Stimulus package contributed; figure is expected to break record in fiscal '09

(Newser) - The federal deficit will swell to $407 billion in the fiscal year that ends this month, the Washington Post reports, a figure more than twice last year’s total. Congressional budget analysts blamed the surge on weak revenue growth and accelerated spending, including the $168 billion economic stimulus package. They...

White House Lambastes Woodward

Sep 9, 2008 5:22 AM CDT

White House Lambastes Woodward

Denies book's claims; author unveils shocker on death teams

(Newser) - The White House has angrily rejected Bob Woodward's claim that the administration was riven by dissent ahead of the surge in Iraq, CNN reports. Woodward wrote in his new book that President Bush pushed troop levels past the Joint Chiefs, ignoring their worries about over-extending the military. The War Within...

Bush Surveys Gustav Aftermath

Sep 3, 2008 12:59 PM CDT

Bush Surveys Gustav Aftermath

(Newser) - President Bush flew over flooded fields and downed trees today as he kept a close watch on the Hurricane Gustav recovery —in contrast to his administration's bungled response to Katrina 3 years ago. Aboard Air Force One, Bush received a briefing from FEMA director R. David Paulison, who said...

McCain Can't Quite Say How Many Houses
He Owns

Aug 21, 2008 12:40 PM CDT

McCain Can't Quite Say How Many Houses He Owns

Also nixes one-term idea in interview

(Newser) - John McCain isn’t quite sure how many houses he owns, Politico reports. The presumptive Republican nominee responded to the question in yesterday’s interview with “I think—I’ll have my staff get to you.” He and wife Cindy are estimated to own between four and seven...

Clinton: I'm With You, Obama!

Aug 8, 2008 6:00 PM CDT

Clinton: I'm With You, Obama!

Tense week for Democrats ends as Hillary reminds voters to back ex-rival

(Newser) - Hillary Rodham Clinton told an exuberant crowd Friday she wants Barack Obama to win the White House, even though he dashed her own presidential dreams—and she wants her supporters to vote that way, too. "Anyone who voted for me or caucused for me has so much more in...

House Votes to Let FDA
Regulate Tobacco

Jul 31, 2008 3:49 AM CDT

House Votes to Let FDA Regulate Tobacco

Cigarettes would be controlled by FDA

(Newser) - The House passed landmark legislation yesterday to bring the tobacco industry under the regulatory control of the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA wouldn't have the power to ban cigarettes under the bill, but it could order nicotine levels in cigarettes reduced and restrict other harmful ingredients, reports the New ...

Bush Pays Respects to Snow

Jul 17, 2008 12:05 PM CDT

Bush Pays Respects to Snow

President hails late former spokesman's 'record of accomplishment'

(Newser) - President Bush fondly remembered Tony Snow today, telling mourners at his funeral that the conservative commentator-turned-White House press secretary "amassed a rare record of accomplishment." "He knew the job of a reporter was vigorous. He understood the profession and always treated it with respect," Bush said...

Tony Snow Was Good at His Job

Appreciation

Jul 12, 2008 2:34 PM CDT

Tony Snow Was Good at His Job

Press secretary won over a hostile press corps with wit, knowledge

(Newser) - When Tony Snow took over as press secretary 2 years ago, the White House press corps wanted blood. Snow’s predecessors, the hostile Ari Fleischer and misinformed Scott McClellan, had left a bad taste in their mouths. But then came Snow, a breath of fresh air who won over the...

Wife Shouldn't Worry
Laura Bush: Dowd

OPINION

Jul 9, 2008 1:11 PM CDT

Wife Shouldn't Worry Laura Bush: Dowd

First lady is sympathetic character in controversial novel

(Newser) - Words like "smear" and "gossip" have flown around American Wife, the novel probing the secret life of Laura Bush, but the book itself is pretty harmless, Maureen Dowd writes in the New York Times. Kings and queens have always inspired art, Dowd notes, and Wife isn’t sensationalist—...

First Kids Are Kids First

Jul 8, 2008 5:23 PM CDT

First Kids Are Kids First

McCain, Obama clans will follow many who've used White House as playground

(Newser) - Whether the Obama girls or the McCain brood move into the White House next, all eyes will be on the new presidential offspring. Saturday Night Live's infamous dig at 13-year-old Chelsea Clinton and Jenna Bush's public underage drinking are reminders that nothing, from braces to boyfriends, escapes the spotlight. Some...

Advisers to Bush: You Asked for It

Jun 21, 2008 3:44 PM CDT

Advisers to Bush: You Asked for It

Lawyers warned him that detainee policy would backfire

(Newser) - President Bush ignored warnings that his detainee policy would spark a Supreme Court backlash, the Washington Post reports. Top lawyers both in and outside Washington said that jailing suspects without Congressional approval would push the court to rule on national security—but the White House either ignored the advice or...

Party Leaders in House Reach Deal on War Funds

Jun 18, 2008 9:58 PM CDT

Party Leaders in House Reach Deal on War Funds

Bipartisan agreement allocates $163B for Iraq, Afghanistan through early 2009

(Newser) - A two-year fight between the White House and Democrats over war funding has been resolved, the New York Times reports. House leaders reached a deal to allocate $163 billion for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through early next year. The measure, expected to be approved by the full House...

Obama Wants Probe of VA Drug Tests

Jun 18, 2008 12:23 PM CDT

Obama Wants Probe of VA Drug Tests

'Outrageous' that suicide-linked drugs were tested on vets

(Newser) - Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John Cornyn are seeking a probe into reports that veterans had been recruited for tests on drugs linked to suicide, ABC News reports. An ABC News/Washington Times story noted that vets were given the anti-smoking drug Chantix in government tests, but for more than three...

White House Emails Can Stay Missing: Judge

Jun 16, 2008 8:08 PM CDT

White House Emails Can Stay Missing: Judge

Watchdog group outraged by ruling about lost missives

(Newser) - Records on millions of missing White House emails can stay secret after all, a federal judge ruled today. US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly rejected a watchdog group's lawsuit, saying the records are kept in an agency exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. A probe, lawsuit, and appeal are all...

Bush to Overhaul
Access for Disabled

Jun 16, 2008 7:19 AM CDT

Bush to Overhaul Access for Disabled

Proposal would vastly expand 1990 disabilities act

(Newser) - With an eye to aging Boomers and Iraq vets, the Bush administration is set to propose wide-ranging new rules to improve disabled access to public spaces from retail stores to golf courses, the New York Times reports. The move, which updates implementation of the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act, would...

More White House Links to Abramoff Revealed

Jun 10, 2008 3:33 AM CDT

Clintons' Dream Has Finally Died

Hillary will now learn from Gore, a man she never liked

(Newser) - Bill and Hillary Clinton will stay on the political scene, but today marked the end of an era for America’s top power couple, John Harris writes in Politico. The Clintons have spent nearly 40 years fixated on the White House—it was the organizing principle of their lives together—...

Bush Mob
Sets Its Sights on McClellan

Opinion

May 30, 2008 3:55 PM CDT

Bush Mob Sets Its Sights on McClellan

Backlash makes Lupica ponder who's 'the real bum here'

(Newser) - The Bush administration's reaction to Scott McClellan's new book should look familiar to anyone with HBO, with one important difference, writes Mike Lupica in the Daily News. "it has become clear by now that even the hoods from The Sopranos would be out of their weight class with George...