Doing an end-run around sluggish Congress, Obama takes health care pitch to the people _ again

WASHINGTON — His health care vision and political clout on the line, President Barack Obama is using virtually every tool available in a publicity campaign to pressure Congress for swift legislative approval and to rally a public wary of the ongoing Washington tussle over his top domestic priority.

Just three guys having beers _ and a president trying to move away from a racial uproar

WASHINGTON — Three guys, sitting around a picnic table, having a cold one.

Stimulus money for cops is blessing for some US cities; others curse their luck

PHILADELPHIA — A $1 billion stimulus program to keep cops on the streets was praised Tuesday as a heavenly blessing in places like tiny Anguilla, Miss. — while New York City and other places that got nothing cursed their luck.

White House issues veto threats as House fights loom on fighter jets, presidential helicopters

WASHINGTON — The White House threatened Tuesday to veto a $636 billion spending bill for the Pentagon, citing funding for F-22 fighters and a much-criticized replacement presidential helicopter. President Barack Obama wants to terminate both programs.

Stimulus aid to keep police on the beat going to just 1 in 7 agencies seeking it

PHILADELPHIA — The Obama administration on Tuesday announced $1 billion in grants to help keep police officers on the beat during the economic downturn — and tried to assure cities not getting aid that they won’t be stiffed.

AP source: Obama to host professor and police officer at center of racial dispute over arrest

WASHINGTON — The professor, the policeman and the president are ready to share a beer — and maybe a few thoughts about race and law enforcement in America.

Obama hopes police officer, scholar in racial controversy drop by the White House for a beer

WASHINGTON — The professor, the policeman and the president hope to share a beer at the White House this week.

US Vice President Biden’s comments on a weakened Russia are front-page news in Moscow

MOSCOW — An interview U.S. Vice President Joe Biden gave to an American newspaper was front-page news Monday in Moscow, where his characterization of Russia as a weakened nation hit a raw nerve.

White House hopes police officer, scholar in racial controversy visit DC for beer with Obama

WASHINGTON — The White House says plans are under way for the police officer and professor at the center of a racial controversy to join President Barack Obama for a beer.

Obama’s Day: Obama engages in diplomacy on Monday and greets WNBA champs, FIFA president

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will address the opening session of the first U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Washington.

Hillary Clinton says ‘no, never’ to another White House bid, then leaves tiny crack in door

WASHINGTON — There is apparently no such thing as a simple yes or no when it comes to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and questions about another run for the White House.

Black scholar says he’ll have a beer with Obama, white police officer, wants to ‘move on’

BOSTON — Black Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. says he’s ready to move on from his arrest by a white police officer, hoping to use the encounter to improve fairness in the criminal justice system and saying “in the end, this is not about me at all.”

Black Harvard scholar accepts White House meeting offer with Mass. officer who arrested him

BOSTON — Black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. says he will accept President Barack Obama’s invitation to visit him at the White House along with the white police officer who arrested the Harvard professor.

Obama calls for end to disparity in health costs between small and big companies

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, citing a new White House study suggesting that small businesses pay far more per employee for health insurance than big companies, said Saturday the disparity is “unsustainable — it’s unacceptable.”

SPIN METER: Few health CEO visits to White House involved photo ops, contradicting Obama

WASHINGTON — Despite President Barack Obama’s promise of transparency on his health care overhaul, few White House meetings with medical industry representatives on a list recently released by his administration were made public at the time, an Associated Press review found.

After his comment about black professor’s arrest, Obama seeks to dampen uproar and move on

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama concedes his words — that a white police officer “acted stupidly” when he arrested a black university scholar in his own home — were ill-chosen. But, while he invited both men to visit him at the White House, Obama stopped short of publicly apologizing for his remark.

Hillary Clinton’s ‘defense umbrella’ remarks echo her campaign and Washington think tanks

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton set off tremors in the Middle East this week when she said a nuclear Iran could be contained by a U.S. “defense umbrella” — an offhand remark that appears to have emerged from obscure Washington policy debates and her own presidential campaign rhetoric.

Michelle Obama says children need exposure to the arts _ jokes about her kids’ laptops

WASHINGTON — If you think your kids spend a little too much time on their laptops, take heart: Michelle Obama has the same problem.

Obama hastens to tamp down racial uproar over his comments about black professor’s arrest

WASHINGTON — Knocked off stride by a racial uproar he helped stoke, President Barack Obama hastened Friday to tamp down the controversy. Obama, who had said Cambridge, Mass., police “acted stupidly” in arresting black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., declared the white arresting officer was a good man and invited him and the professor to the White House for a beer.

House Democrats clear one obstacle to health care bill, but others loom

WASHINGTON — House Democrats announced agreement Friday on far-reaching steps designed to rein in the relentless growth of Medicare, part of a concerted effort to counter the impression that President Barack Obama’s health care legislation is in deep trouble.

Michelle Obama fetes nation’s most innovative designers _ and jokes about her kids’ laptops

WASHINGTON — If you think your kids spend a little too much time on their laptops, take heart: Michelle Obama has the same problem.

House Democrats agree on steps to cut Medicare growth, clearing one hurdle in health care bill

WASHINGTON — Key House Democrats agreed Friday on steps designed to cut the growth of Medicare, clearing one of numerous obstacles blocking an early vote on health care legislation. But even as Speaker Nancy Pelosi hailed the agreement as a “giant step forward” on President Barack Obama’s top domestic legislation, leaders struggled without success to ease the concerns of moderate to conservative Democrats who have held up progress on the bill for a week.

SEC charges Kuwaiti trader with Citigroup connection in scheme to make millions off hoaxes

WASHINGTON D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday charged a Kuwaiti trader connected with Citigroup with scheming to make millions off fake offers to acquire U.S. companies.

Obama: It’s ‘OK’ that Senate missing deadline for health care bill, says ‘keep on working’

SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio — President Barack Obama stepped up his us-against-them pitch for overhauling health care Thursday, saying the American people need it and must overcome resistance from opponents in Washington, whom he described vaguely as naysayers and skeptics.

White House: Obama wasn’t calling police officer stupid in arrest of black scholar Gates

CLEVELAND — President Barack Obama said Thursday he was surprised by all the hubbub over his comments that a white police officer in Cambridge, Mass., had acted “stupidly” in arresting a prominent black scholar for disorderly conduct. The president didn’t take back his words, but he allowed that he understood the sergeant who made the arrest is an “outstanding police officer.”

US backtracks on Georgian president’s request for US weapons in talks with Biden

TBILISI, Georgia — U.S. officials are now saying Georgia’s president did not ask U.S. Vice President Joe Biden for advanced U.S. weaponry and unarmed observers to help monitor a cease-fire along the boundaries of two Moscow-backed breakaway regions.

AP Enterprise: National Mall neglected after Congress spends extra money on projects back home

WASHINGTON — Crumbling sidewalks near the Jefferson Memorial are sinking into the Tidal Basin. Reflecting pools are filled with green, smelly water. And millions of visitors have trampled the soil into virtual concrete where grass can’t grow.

Georgia asks Biden for advanced US weapons, observers; US makes no promises on military aid

TBILISI, Georgia — Georgia’s president asked U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday for advanced U.S. weaponry, military aid and unarmed observers to monitor a cease-fire along the boundaries of two Moscow-backed breakaway regions, a senior U.S. official said.

National Mall neglected after Congress spends extra money on projects back home

WASHINGTON — Crumbling sidewalks near the Jefferson Memorial are sinking into the Tidal Basin. Reflecting pools are filled with green, smelly water. And millions of visitors have trampled the soil into virtual concrete where grass can’t grow.

White House gave early invitations to medical industry execs to discuss health care overhaul

WASHINGTON — Administration officials began talking privately to major players in the health care industry within a few weeks of President Barack Obama’s inauguration, a newly released list of White House visitors shows.