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Obama’s health care push met with pushback

As President Obama steps up his push for health care reform, there is a growing effort to stop it, and rising doubts about how Obama is handling the issue. The president said from the first day of his administration that health care was a top domestic priority, and some observers say he’s taking a risk in addressing the nation through a primetime news conference Wednesday with little to show after months of wrangling. Obama and top Democrats are seeking an overhaul to ensure that health insurance is available to the 46 million Americans currently without coverage while preventing costs to both the government and individuals from continuing to climb.

Deadline missed for policy on detaining terror suspects

In a move already drawing fire from liberal activists, aides to President Obama acknowledged the administration will miss its own Tuesday deadline to submit a report detailing its policy on detaining terror suspects. The report is a key part of laying out the White House’s plan for shutting down the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay

Obama hails heroism of Apollo 11 astronauts

President Obama on Monday hailed the Apollo 11 astronauts who made it to the moon 40 years ago as "genuine American heroes" and "the touchstone for excellence in exploration and discovery." Welcoming Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin to the White House, Obama said the lunar landing and subsequent walk on the moon by Armstrong and Aldrin continued to inspire young people to study math and science in hopes of becoming astronauts.

Obama on slavery: ‘Capacity for cruelty still exists’

President Obama slowly walked across the grounds of Cape Coast Castle, a slave outpost in Ghana where hundreds of thousands of Africans were shipped as human cargo to a life of bondage in the United States, South America and the Caribbean.

Sept. 11 families: Keep Guantanamo Bay open

Families of September 11 victims visiting Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Thursday urged the Obama administration to drop plans to close the facility and to restart terror trials there. “I am opposed to the closing of this facility because of political reasons,” said Gordon Haberman whose daughter, Andrea, was killed when terrorist planes struck the World Trade Center

Obama to NAACP: Progress made but much still to accomplish

President Obama commended the progress of African-Americans in a speech on the 100th anniversary of the NAACP, but said there was still much work to be done. Speaking at the organization’s annual convention in New York, the city where the organization was founded, Obama evoked symbols of the civil rights movement to describe the NAACP’s influence on race relations in the United States.

Regina Benjamin: Obama’s Surgeon General Pick

When physician and CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta spurned President Obama’s offer to become U.S.

Obama announces surgeon general choice

President Obama announced Monday he has chosen Dr. Regina Benjamin, a family practice doctor from the Gulf Coast, to serve as surgeon general. The rural family physician has long provided medical care on the Gulf Coast

Africans reach out to Obama via text messages

The text messages address various issues and come from all over the African continent. From the personal: “Obama, as a young lady I dream of being the president. U r a huge encouragement.” To cries for help: “Dear president, Darfur firing again…waiting for peace through the change u promised.” To calls for intervention: “Encourage African leaders to improve the quality and access to education for citizens.” The messages, from Ghana, Sudan and South Africa respectively, were among more than 5,000 sent to Barack Obama during his first visit as president to sub-Saharan Africa as president

Ghana buzzes with excitement over Obama visit

President Obama arrived in Ghana on Friday for his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa since taking office, sparking excitement in the west African nation. Obama is expected to address lawmakers in the capital city of Accra on Saturday and tour the Cape Coast Castle, which was used in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.