President Obama names pick for Libya ambassador
(CNN) -- President Barack Obama intends to nominate longtime diplomat Deborah K.
Should Wisconsin's minimum wage be increased?
MADISON (WITI) -- President Obama started the "minimum wage debate," and now it's coming to Wisconsin.
Wisconsin politicians discuss meetings with President Obama
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WITI) -- Wisconsin politicians took center stage on the Sunday talk shows on Sunday, March 10th.Congressman Paul Ryan appeared on FOX News Sunday -- previewing this week's release of his budget proposal.Last Thursday, he had lunch with President Obama."This is the first time I've had a conversation with the President lasting longer than two minutes or televised exchanges, so I've never really had conversation with him on these issues before.
Republicans, while skeptical, welcome Obama outreach
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Whatever you choose to call it -- a charm offensive, an olive branch or just dinner -- President Barack Obama's outreach to congressional Republicans is certainly a change of pace.And on Sunday, those Republicans seemed guardedly optimistic the new approach from the White House could work, though they were quick to acknowledge that no amount of broiled sea bass could produce the kind of compromise that's eluded the two sides since Republicans took control of the House in 2010."This is the first time I've ever had a conversation with the president lasting more than, say, two minutes or televised exchanges," said Rep.
President signs Violence Against Women Act
(CNN) -- Saying it was a "day of the advocates, a day of the survivors," President Obama signed an expanded Violence Against Women Act on Thursday in Washington."This is your victory," Obama said. "And this victory shows that when the American people make their voices heard, Washington listens."Originally passed in 1994 and reauthorized since, the act provides support for organizations that serve domestic violence victims.
Pres. Obama signs order activating deep spending cuts
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Politics trumped progress on Friday as President Barack Obama and Republican leaders traded blame for $85 billion in forced spending cuts after they failed to come up with a compromise to avert the harshest impacts.The president signed an order required by law that set in motion the automatic, government-wide cuts.Obama and congressional leaders from both parties met for about 45 minutes at the White House, but no agreement emerged to avert the cuts that both sides oppose.After weeks of campaign-style events intended to inspire public outrage over the cuts, Obama sought to temper his description of their impact while making clear he thinks Republican intransigence prevented a deal to avoid the economic harm they'll cause."We will get through this," he told reporters. "This is not going to be an apocalypse as some people have said.
No deal done, deep spending cuts set to take effect
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Politics trumped progress on Friday as President Barack Obama and Republican leaders traded blame for $85 billion in forced spending cuts after they failed to come up with a compromise to avert the harshest impacts.The mandatory, across-the-board cuts were set to begin taking effect once Obama signed an order required by law before midnight.Obama and congressional leaders from both parties met for about 45 minutes at the White House, but no agreement emerged to avert the cuts that both sides oppose.After weeks of campaign-style events intended to inspire public outrage over the cuts, Obama sought to temper his description of their impact while making clear he thinks Republican intransigence prevented a deal to avoid the economic harm they'll cause."We will get through this," he told reporters. "This is not going to be an apocalypse as some people have said.
Obama urges court to overturn California same-sex marriage ban
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In a bold political and legal move, the Obama administration formally expressed its support for same-sex marriage in California, setting up a high stakes political and constitutional showdown at the U.S. Supreme Court over a fast-evolving and contentious issue.In a broadly worded legal brief on Thursday that senior government sources said had President Barack Obama's personal input and blessing, the Justice Department asserted gay and lesbian couples in the nation's most populous state have the same "equal protection" right to wed and that voters there were not empowered to ban it."Use of a voter initiative to promote democratic self-governance cannot save a law like Proposition 8 that would otherwise violate equal protection," said the brief. "Prejudice may not however be the basis for differential treatment under the law."California's 2008 Proposition 8 referendum revoked the right of same-sex couples to wed after lawmakers and the state courts previously allowed it.While the administration weighed in on the situation in California, it specifically refused to argue the constitutional right for same-sex couples to wed there should be extended to the 41 states that currently define marriage as between one man and one woman.The justices will hear the case in March."The government seeks to vindicate the defining constitutional ideal of equal treatment under the law," said Attorney General Eric Holder. "Throughout history, we have seen the unjust consequences of decisions and policies rooted in discrimination.""The issues before the Supreme Court in this case and the Defense of Marriage Act case are not just important to the tens of thousands Americans who are being denied equal benefits and rights under our laws, but to our nation as a whole," Holder added.The White House was not expected to issue a separate statement.The California matter and another appeal over the federal Defense of Marriage Act will produce blockbuster rulings from the justices in coming months.Same-sex marriage could be a defining moment in Obama's presidency, similar to the political impact last year when the Supreme Court upheld the health care reform law he spearheaded.He must decide how much political capital to expend in coming months when expressing his views and those of the executive branch.Gay rights groups had privately urged Obama and his top aides to go beyond his previous personal rhetoric in support of the right to marry and come down "on the side of history."Obama has already faced strong opposition on the issue from many Republican state and congressional lawmakers, as well as social conservatives.The justices will hear oral arguments in the Proposition 8 case March 26, with a ruling due by the last week of June.The separate case over the Defense of Marriage Act involves a 1996 law that says for federal purposes, marriage is defined as only between one man and one woman.That means federal tax, Social Security, pension, and bankruptcy benefits, and family medical leave protections do not apply to gay and lesbian couples.That case will be argued March 27.But it is the California case where the high court is being asked to establish the constitutional "equal protection" right.The administration is not a party in the appeal and was not required to weigh in, but it decided to file an amicus or "friend of the court" brief.It is rare for a president to be personally involved in the legal and political considerations in a high court appeal, and sources say he spent a good deal of time reading up on the issue and articulating his views privately.Much of the legal reasoning in any government brief would reflect in large part his personal thinking, gained from his years as a former constitutional law professor.There are about approximately 120,000 legally married same-sex couples in the United States.The administration, in its brief, also hinted that so-called "civil union" laws in California and seven other states may be unconstitutional.In what some have labeled the "eight-state strategy," the Justice Department argues civil union and domestic partnership laws in California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, and Rhode Island may be unconstitutional and that they should go all the way and grant them full marriage rights."The object of California's establishment of the legal relationship of domestic partnership is to grant committed same-sex couples rights equivalent to those accorded a married couple.
Signs of worry in Wisconsin with sequester looming
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The deadline to stop massive federal spending cuts is Friday, March 1st.
President Obama hosts meeting with governors to discuss sequester
MADISON (WITI) -- Gov.
Pres. Obama: 'These cuts do not have to happen'
(CNN) -- In his latest push to pressure Congress before a series of massive, across-the-board forced spending cuts kick in on Friday, President Barack Obama is bringing state governors into the conversation.The president spoke Monday morning before the National Governors Association at the White House, where he urged the state executives to weigh in on the matter."While you are in town, I hope that you speak with your congressional delegation and remind them in no uncertain terms exactly what is at stake and exactly who is at risk," Obama told the room full of governors gathered in Washington for their winter meeting.He continued: "Because here's the thing.
Preschoolers to discover what budget cuts mean
WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) -- Come March 1, Head Start stands to lose more than $400 million of its nationwide funding.For 20 toddlers hoping to enroll in pre-kindergarten programs run by Kids Central in southwest Virginia, it means no preschool.
Fighter jet chases down small plane near Obama's Florida resort
(CNN) -- Fighter jets intercepted three small planes that violated flight restrictions set up in Florida for President Barack Obama's visit.The first, a Cessna 152, entered the restricted airspace just before noon Saturday near the Palm City resort where the president is staying, according to Army Lt.
CNN Fact Check: Wind energy breezes into the record books
CNN) -- The statement:"Last year, wind energy added nearly half of all new power capacity in America.
SOTU: Obama challenges Republicans to help middle class grow
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama challenged Congress to join him in taking on "our generation's task" to ignite the growth of a "rising, thriving middle class," using the first State of the Union speech of his second term to prod Republicans to compromise on the major challenges facing the nation."It is our unfinished task to restore the basic bargain that built this country -- the idea that if you work hard and meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or who you love," Obama said Tuesday night, sounding familiar themes from his re-election campaign last year.The president emphasized economic growth and job creation, and insisted that his proposals would not increase the nation's federal deficit.He also made an emotional plea for Congress to hold votes on controversial proposals for tougher gun laws after the Newtown, Connecticut, shootings in December that killed 20 schoolchildren.At the same time, Obama called for legislators to work together for the good of the nation, saying Americans "expect us to put the nation's interests before party.""They do expect us to forge reasonable compromise where we can," he said. "For they know that America moves forward only when we do so together, and that the responsibility of improving this union remains the task of us all."It was his fourth State of the Union address and seventh speech to a joint sitting of Congress, and analysts considered it a crucial moment for setting the tone for the political dialogue after four years of partisan division and congressional dysfunction.With the government facing deep spending cuts mandated by a previous agreement between Obama and Congress to raise the federal debt ceiling, Obama renewed his call for a comprehensive deficit-reduction plan that includes new tax revenue coupled with spending cuts.Taking aim at the bitter partisanship of his first term, Obama said "let's set party interests aside, and work to pass a budget that replaces reckless cuts with smart savings and wise investments in our future.""And let's do it without the brinksmanship that stresses consumers and scares off investors," he continued to applause, mainly from Democrats. "The greatest nation on Earth cannot keep conducting its business by drifting from one manufactured crisis to the next.
Officials, residents in Oak Creek watch SOTU, praise Lt. Murphy
OAK CREEK (WITI) -- On Tuesday evening, February 12th, city of Oak Creek officials and residents were keeping a close eye on President Barack Obama's State of the Union address -- backing Oak Creek Police Lieutenant Brian Murphy, who was on hand in Washington, D.C. for the speech.In August, Brian Murphy was one of the first on the scene during the Sikh Temple shooting in Oak Creek.
New Glarus Brewing Company owner attending SOTU address
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WITI) -- President Barack Obama will deliver his State of the Union address Tuesday night, February 12th -- the first in his second term.President Obama talked a lot about the economy in his first State of the Union address, and White House officials said he would address this issue again Thursday evening.It's the reason the owner of New Glarus Brewing Company think she's invited.
Gov. Walker appears to have made decision regarding expanding BadgerCare
MADISON (WITI) -- Expanding BadgerCare could mean nearly 200,000 of the poor and disabled would get health insurance in Wisconsin.
President Obama to announce 34,000 troops to come home
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In his State of the Union speech Tuesday, President Obama will announce that by this time next year, 34,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan will have returned home, according to sources with knowledge of the president's speech.The move will reduce the number of U.S. forces in the country by more than half.