Obamas Greet Troops on Christmas

 In what has become a holiday tradition, President Obama and the first lady spent this Christmas afternoon greeting service members at the Marines Corps base near their Hawaiian vacation home.Spreading some holiday cheer, the Obamas wished the troops and their families a Merry Christmas and thanked them for their service."This looks like it was a nice rather than naughty crowd so I'm sure Santa...

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Fiscal Cliff: Obama Returning to DC

With the country barreling towards the "fiscal cliff," President Obama is interrupting his Hawaiian holiday vacation to return to the gridlock in Washington.The president will depart Hawaii for Washington late Wednesday, the White House announced today. The first lady and daughters, Malia and Sasha, will remain on their vacation.Obama told reporters last week that he is a "hopeless optimist" and continues...

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U.S. may expand mortgage refinance program: WSJ

The U.S. government is considering expanding its mortgage refinancing program to include borrowers whose mortgages are not backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the discussions. (http://link.reuters.com/mej84t)The refinancing program now being considered also seeks to include "underwater" borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth,...

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DC hotels less busy for Obama's 2nd inauguration

 Visitors coming to the nation's capital for President Barack Obama's second inauguration can't stay in the one place President Ronald Reagan's family once called an eight-star hotel. That spot is the White House, and it's booked for the next four years. Still, inauguration-goers have a range of lodging options — from crashing on a friend's couch to rooms that cost thousands of dollars a night.With...

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Explosion in Afghan city of Khost, Taliban say target U.S. base

KHOST, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A blast in the eastern Afghan city of Khost on Wednesday wounded three people, and the Taliban said they had sent a suicide bomber in a vehicle to attack an American military base. The area's police chief said the explosion took place near a U.S. base, which is beside a military airport. Hospital officials said three people were wounded and the number of casualties was...

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Bill Clinton: US ambassador to Ireland? Rumors catch fire

Is Ireland big enough for Bill Clinton ? The chatter about what Mr. Clinton might do next has often tended toward the grandiose. In the past, there was talk of making an exception just this once and nominating President Clinton to serve as United Nations secretary-general. (No American has ever served in that post.) More recently, the former president – who served successfully as unofficial explainer-in-chief...

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GOP Senate group aided Akin despite disavowal

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Despite publicly disavowing candidate Todd Akin after his "legitimate rape" remark, the National Republican Senatorial Committee quietly sent $760,000 to Missouri in a last-ditch attempt to aid Akin's unsuccessful bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill. The long-suspected money shuffling, which had never previously been confirmed, is detailed in a postelection campaign...

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Obama to attend PSY performance despite protests

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will attend a charity concert where PSY is scheduled to perform after reports that the South Korean rapper participated in anti-American protests several years ago. A spokesman says Friday that the Obama family will attend the Dec. 21 Christmas in Washington concert, as is custom. News reports cite two instances of the 34-year-old "Gangnam Style" rapper...

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Democrats use jobs report as ammunition in ‘fiscal cliff’ fight

Amid the standoff in Washington, D.C., over a deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff," Democrats received a boost when the November jobs report showed a drop in unemployment. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 146,000 in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report released on Friday, and unemployment dropped from 7.9 percent in October to 7.7 percent in November. The chairman of the president's...

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