President Obama

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

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Obama Gives 46 Non-Violent Offenders a Break

President commutes sentences, mostly for drug offenders

(Newser) - President Obama is cutting the prison sentences of 46 convicts as part of a broader effort to make the criminal justice system fairer and ease the punishment of those serving more time than their crimes warranted. The president has now issued nearly 90 commutations, most of them to non-violent offenders...

Obama to Visit Prison, First Time for a President

It's for an HBO documentary

(Newser) - President Obama will visit the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution in Oklahoma next week, which will make him the first sitting president to visit a federal prison, reports CNN . While there on Thursday, he'll meet with inmates and be interviewed by Vice for a documentary about the criminal justice...

What Led Obama to Sing 'Amazing Grace'

Michelle, Valerie Jarrett were a bit skeptical at first

(Newser) - President Obama's rendition of "Amazing Grace" at the end of his eulogy for the Rev. Clementa Pinckney has been viewed more than 2 million times on YouTube . Had he listened to the gut reaction of those around him, it might not have happened at all. The New York ...

Obama: We'll Do These 4 Things to Beat ISIS

But recent successes expose flaws in US strategy

(Newser) - President Obama made a rare visit to the Pentagon yesterday and delivered an update on the mission against ISIS and an outline of US strategy in what Obama stresses will be a long-term fight. The four key points, per the Pentagon conference and the White House , which uses the ISIL...

Obama to Make History for Federal Prisoners

President ready to commute record number of sentences

(Newser) - President Obama appears ready to make history by commuting sentences for nearly 80 federal prisoners this month—more than any president has in decades, the New York Times reports. His expected clemency will free prisoners put away on non-violent drug charges, and reflects a bigger effort by the Obama administration...

Obama: Last Week Actually Wasn't 'Best' of My Life

They involved Michelle, daughters, basketball

(Newser) - President Obama had what some commentators are calling the greatest week of his presidency last week—with victories on ObamaCare , gay marriage , and trade , along with a stirring eulogy in Charleston —but he says he has had even better weeks. "Now my best week, I will tell you,...

Obama Wants 5M More Americans to Get Overtime

His proposal would more than double current salary threshold to $50,440

(Newser) - "Right now, too many Americans are working long days for less pay than they deserve." Those are President Obama's words in a Huffington Post op-ed about a proposal he predicts would help up to 5 million workers in 2016: increasing the overtime salary threshold from $23,660...

SCOTUS Smacks Down Obama Emissions Plan

Says EPA jumped gun on regulations on mercury, other pollutants

(Newser) - In a 2014 ruling , an appeals court decided that the Environmental Protection Agency "properly [put] the horse before the cart" in coming up with mandates to limit power-plant emissions of mercury and other pollutants. The Supreme Court today overturned that ruling, blocking a key White House environmental initiative because...

Obama Breaks Out Into 'Amazing Grace' at End of SC Eulogy

President eulogizes pastor killed in church massacre

(Newser) - President Obama today delivered a 40-minute eulogy for Clementa Pinckney , the pastor and state senator killed in the Charleston church massacre, ending by leading the 5,000-strong crowd in a moving rendition of "Amazing Grace." Gawker has the video and declares, "You should watch the entire thing,...

Obama: 'We've Made Our Union a Little More Perfect'

President hails the Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage

(Newser) - Yesterday, President Obama said the Supreme Court created a "good day for America" because of its ObamaCare ruling. Well, now he thinks the justices are two for two. Speaking in the Rose Garden, Obama hailed today's decision in support of gay marriage , saying the court "reaffirmed that...

Obama Hails SCOTUS: A 'Good Day for America'

A victorious president says ObamaCare 'here to stay'

(Newser) - President Obama emerged victorious in the Rose Garden this morning to applaud the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling to uphold federal subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. In a speech that ran just over 10 minutes long, the president praised the decision, saying that "after multiple challenges before the...

Obama to Heckler: 'You're in My House'

President gets a little upset at White House guest

(Newser) - President Obama is used to hecklers by now, but one at the White House today seemed to irritate him—in part because the heckling occurred at the White House. “No, no, no, no. Listen, you’re in my house,” Obama told the heckler, reports the Hill . “Shame...

America Has a New Ransom Policy

President outlines new policies for hostage situations

(Newser) - As expected , President Obama said today that the US government had let down the families of Americans held hostage by terrorists, and he outlined new policies that could make it easier for those families to pay ransom to free their loved ones. "These families have already suffered enough...

Senate Gives Obama His 60 Votes

Fast-track trade measure will almost certainly pass tomorrow

(Newser) - President Obama's trade agenda lives to fight another day. The Senate this morning handed him the 60 votes he needed, voting 60-37 to end debate on his request for fast-track negotiating authority. It'll vote on final passage for fast-track tomorrow, which the New York Times sees as "...

Obama Faces a Really, Really Huge Vote Today

Senate to hold procedural vote that would grant him fast-track authority

(Newser) - It's phoenix-from-the-ashes time for President Obama: The Senate will today hold a key procedural vote that would grant the president "fast track" authority to negotiate a trade deal with 11 Pacific Rim nations. For the measure to clear a procedural hurdle, at least 60 senators need to support...

Israel Politician's Wife Posts Racist Obama Tweet

'Black and weak' joke does not go down well

(Newser) - As a well-known media personality in Israel and the wife of one of the country's most powerful politicians, Judy Shalom Nir-Mozes has a lot of Twitter followers—and a lot of people to offend when she does something like tweet a racist joke about another country's leader. "...

Obama Is Recruiting Tech Geniuses to Save America

The goal: hire 500 by the end of 2016

(Newser) - Maybe still smarting over the embarrassment of the HealthCare.gov launch, President Obama has since snatched up about 140 of the nation’s brightest minds to redo its technological infrastructure. The recruits came from Amazon, Twitter, Google, and other companies at the forefront of the Silicon Valley, and all were...

Obama: Michelle and I Knew Pastor Killed in SC

President complains that suspect had 'no trouble' getting a gun

(Newser) - President Obama found himself in an all-too familiar position today, addressing the nation after mass violence. "I've had to make statements like this too many times," he said in reference to the church massacre in Charleston . "We don't have all of the facts, but we...

House GOP Resuscitates Obama's Fast Track

But hark, ahead lies the Senate

(Newser) - The House has revived President Obama's embattled trade agenda , but a potentially tough Senate battle awaits. The House voted 218 to 208 today to grant Obama "fast track" authority to send Congress trade agreements it can reject or ratify but not change. The Republican-driven vote—the breakdown, per...

Obama's Trade Deal Isn't Dead Yet

But it's basically on life support, with few options left

(Newser) - President Obama's humiliating defeat by his own party hasn't killed the Trans-Pacific Partnership just yet, but as Politico puts it, it's in "critical condition." Though House Democrats rejected his attempt to gain fast-track authority to negotiate the trade deal, Obama and House Republicans are exploring...

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