Barack Obama

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

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Oprah House-Hunting in DC
 Oprah House-Hunting  
 in DC  
Dec 19, 2008 12:19 PM CST

Oprah House-Hunting in DC

Oprah Winfrey starts housing search in DC.

(Newser) - Call it Chicago on the Potomac—Oprah Winfrey and the Obamas may soon be neighbors again. The multimedia titan, an early and enthusiastic supporter of the president-elect’s campaign, is house-hunting in Washington, the New York Post reports. The hot rumor is that she's leaning toward a $50 million Georgetown...

Retired Admiral Will Be Next Spy Chief

Blair gets national intelligence post; CIA spot still open

(Newser) - Barack Obama will stick with the front-runner and name retired Admiral Dennis Blair to be his go-to guy on spying as director of national intelligence, reports the Washington Post. Blair, the former commander of naval forces in the Pacific, is generally well-regarded. Some in the civilian intelligence community grumbled about...

Obama Picks Physicist as Science Adviser

Harvard energy expert to get key role, cheering scientists

(Newser) - Barack Obama will appoint Harvard physicist John P. Holdren as science adviser this weekend, pointing to an expanded role for science in the next administration, the Boston Globe reports. Holdren is versed in energy, climate change, and nuclear proliferation. Coming on the heels of Nobel laureate Steven Chu’s nomination...

Castro Offers Prisoner Swap, Talks With US

Raul promises to free dissidents in exchange for Cuban 5

(Newser) - In another sign of a potential thaw in US-Cuban relations, Raul Castro offered today to release five political dissidents if the US frees five Cubans jailed on spy charges. Castro says the prisoner swap could precede talks between himself and Barack Obama, Reuters reports. “Give us back our five...

Ex-Dallas Mayor Kirk Will Be Obama's Trade Rep

Free-trade Democrat among few Southerners tabbed for cabinet

(Newser) - Barack Obama will announce former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk as his nominee for trade representative tomorrow, the Dallas Morning News reports. Kirk, who ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 2002, is pro-trade and a staunch supporter of NAFTA. Kirk campaigned extensively for Obama, and is one of the few Southern faces...

Obama Picks Solis for Labor
 Obama Picks Solis for Labor 
Dec 18, 2008 2:17 PM CST

Obama Picks Solis for Labor

Calif. Congresswoman has pushed for creation of 'green jobs'

(Newser) - Barack Obama will nominate Hilda Solis, a daughter of Latin American immigrants who’s currently a California Congresswoman, for secretary of labor, the Washington Post reports. Elected in 2000, Solis currently sits on the House Energy and Commerce committee and the Natural Resources committee, among others. She, like Obama, has...

At 27, Favreau's Writing Speech of a Generation

Obama's top writer puts away videogames for Inaugural address

(Newser) - Writing the inaugural address of an epochal president known for his oratory would be a daunting job for anyone, but 27-year-old Jon Favreau had to ditch his roomies and videogames in Chicago to do it for Barack Obama, reports the Washington Post. “If you start thinking about what's at...

Pix Bare Obama's Cocky College Days
Pix Bare Obama's Cocky College Days
Dec 18, 2008 5:12 AM CST

Pix Bare Obama's Cocky College Days

Long-lost 1980 student photos of debonair freshman emerge

(Newser) - Long-lost photos of college freshman Barry Obama smoking and posing with a hat have emerged with Time magazine's "Man of the Year" story. Photographer Lisa Jack says the 1980 photo shoot of her fellow student at Occidental College in Los Angeles reveals a "spirit of fun and thoughtfulness"...

Bush: 'I Never Sold My Soul'
 Bush: 'I Never Sold My Soul' 
Dec 18, 2008 4:43 AM CST

Bush: 'I Never Sold My Soul'

Says he knows he's unpopular

(Newser) - President Bush knows he doesn't have a lot of fans, but is proud that he didn't "compromise my soul to be a popular guy," he tells Fox News. It's particularly tough to like him given the current economic situation, he concedes. "What do you expect? We've got...

Aretha, Rick Warren on Tap for Inauguration Day

John Williams will compose new music for Obama's landmark occasion

(Newser) - Aretha Franklin will participate in Barack Obama’s inauguration next month, the New York Times reports, with the Queen of Soul hitting the stage after evangelical leader Rick Warren gives the invocation. Obama has also commissioned composer John Williams to write a new piece of music for the ceremony—to...

DC Ups Defenses for Inauguration

No specific threat, says general in detailing January plans

(Newser) - The Pentagon plans a dramatic expansion of the military presence in Washington to coincide with Barack Obama’s Jan. 20 inauguration, the Los Angeles Times reports. About 4,000 National Guardsmen and 7,500 active-duty troops will augment local police and security forces, while air patrols will be increased. No...

Obama Team Clogs Inboxes, Elicits Backlash

Mugs to donations, that David Plouffe emails incessantly

(Newser) - Barack Obama and his various Internet organs are hawking everything from civic engagement and disaster relief to coffee mugs and fleece scarves, causing fatigue among supporters, Politico reports. And while some are just tired of incessant emails from the likes of David Plouffe, watchers are concerned about how the president-elect...

Obama Adds Centrists Salazar, Vilsack to Cabinet

Salazar brings centrist cred to the team

(Newser) - Barack Obama added Ken Salazar and Tom Vilsack to his growing list of Cabinet appointments today, tapping the noted centrists as secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture respectively. “It is time for a new kind of leadership in Washington that's committed to using our lands in a responsible way,...

Hillary to Supporters: Lay Off Caroline

Clinton's not holding any primary grudges, and not taking sides

(Newser) - To those Clintonites bashing Caroline Kennedy—the Democratic scion who threw her weight behind Barack Obama in the hard-fought primaries—Hillary Clinton has a message: Pipe down, the New York Daily News reports. Clinton insiders say the soon-to-be secretary of State understands "She's got to be part of the...

Obama Is Time 's Person of the Year
 Obama Is Time's 
 Person of the Year 
Glossies
Dec 17, 2008 9:59 AM CST

Obama Is Time's Person of the Year

Winning election was remarkable, but quick, confident transition seals deal for mag

(Newser) - Barack Obama “hit the American scene like a thunderclap, upended our politics, and shattered decades of conventional wisdom” on his way to the White House, David Von Drehle writes, and those things alone might make him Time’s person of the year. But already Obama has moved into a...

Obama Dials GOP Just to Say Hi
 Obama Dials GOP Just to Say Hi 
Dec 17, 2008 9:10 AM CST

Obama Dials GOP Just to Say Hi

Prez-elect on charm offensive with key Republican legislators

(Newser) - As Barack Obama readies a massive agenda, he’s been keeping key Republicans on speed-dial, the Hill reports. Though he seemed more comfortable with big crowds during the campaign, the prez-elect is reaching out to touch Republicans likely to be both adversaries and collaborators alike. “I think this seems...

Obama Reviews Abortion Rules

Bush's abstinence initiatives, Reagan's 'gag rule' could go way of dodo.

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s transition team is hard at work deciding how and when to undo the Bush administration’s abortion policies, the Wall Street Journal reports. Bush’s ban on federal stem cell research funding will be among the first to go—a move that has broad bipartisan support—along...

Obama Will Face Shuttle Dilemma

NASA to transition team: We have a problem

(Newser) - America's aging space shuttle fleet will pose some tough questions for Barack Obama, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Bush administration has recommended the shuttle be mothballed by 2010. To avoid leaving a potentially crippling 5-year gap in America's manned space flight program, Obama's NASA team will need to decide...

White House Preps Crisis Scenarios for Obama Team

Bush administration strives to stop transition period becoming a security weak spot

(Newser) - The White House has drawn up more than a dozen contingency plans to help Barack Obama if a crisis erupts early in his presidency, the New York Times reports. The briefings go way beyond what other administrations have prepared and deal with potential threats ranging from a North Korean nuclear...

Obama on Ed Pick: Gifted Leader (and Great Jump Shot)

Also promises reform and stuff

(Newser) - Barack Obama introduced Arne Duncan as his secretary of education pick today, lauding the Chicago educator's accomplishments in reforming the country's third-largest school district, and noting that he's also a longtime basketball buddy who has a better jump shot than the president-elect. “I didn't pick Arne because he's a...

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