Nedra Pickler Posts

President Barack Obama on Monday gave employment protection to gay and transgender workers in the federal government and its contracting agencies, after being convinced by advocates of what he called the "irrefutable rightness of your cause." He said it's unacceptable that being gay is still a firing offense in most places in the United States.

The Obama administration plans to join an international treaty against the proliferation of land mines by first banning the production and purchase of them here in the US.

Vice President Joe Biden traveled to Ukraine to meet with the government leaders installed after national protests ousted Russia-friendly Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. Violence and tensions escalated after Russian reclaimed the Crimean peninsula in the southeast part of the country.

Responding to frustratingly long lines in the last national election, a presidential commission on Wednesday encouraged expansion of early voting and said no American should have to wait more than half an hour to cast a ballot. The commission also warned of an "impending crisis in voting technology" as machines across the country purchased after the 2000 election recount wear out with no federal funds on the horizon to replace them.

Administration officials say a Senate defense policy bill coming up for debate within days would allow them to move out prisoners who have long been cleared for transfer overseas but are still held, in part because of a complicated Pentagon certification process. The bill would ease those restrictions and lift a ban on bringing suspected terrorist prisoners from Guantanamo to the United States for detention, trial or emergency medical treatment.

The White House is considering a proposal to split the work of the single military commander who now oversees both the National Security Agency and cybersecurity operations, presenting an opportunity to reshape the spy agency in the wake of harsh criticism of its sweeping surveillance programs.

President Barack Obama, seeking to break Washington's fiscal stalemate, is proposing cutting corporate tax rates in exchange for more spending on jobs programs. But his offer was immediately panned by congressional Republicans, casting doubts about its prospects.

President Barack Obama on Thursday praised the Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage as a "victory for American democracy" but clashed with his African host over gay rights in a sign of how far the movement has to go internationally.

Penny Pritzker, a Hyatt hotel heiress, businesswoman and philanthropist, is Obama's pick to fill a Cabinet post that has been vacant since former Secretary John Bryson resigned after he said he suffered a seizure that led to a series of traffic collisions.

Michael Froman is one of Obama's law school classmates and senior economic advisers who previously worked as an executive at Citigroup. The Cabinet-level trade post performs as the administration's top adviser and negotiator on international trade. If confirmed by the Senate, Froman would replace Ron Kirk, a former Dallas mayor who stepped down as trade representative in February after serving in the post throughout Obama's first term.

President Barack Obama on Tuesday asked Congress to spend $100 million next year on a new project to map the human brain in hopes of eventually finding cures for disorders like Alzheimer's, epilepsy and traumatic injuries.