Barack Obama, White House | featured news

The White House announced Sunday that President Barack Obama will be meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu during the Israeli prime minister's trip to Washington, ending days of uncertainty.

The Obama administration says spending aimed at boosting the economy has created or saved 250,000 teaching or other education jobs this year.

While Obama believes a gov't-run health care would best meet his reform goals, aides say he's not demanding it.

The White House says President Barack Obama has signed a bill that gives $7 billion in aid to Pakistan over five years, a measure that the nuclear-armed U.S. ally's military had claimed was an intrusion into the Asian nation's internal affairs.

As Obama's team works on its plans, McChrystal and other advisors are asked to keep the process more private. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Monday that President Obama's advisors should keep their guidance private, in effect admonishing the top commander in Afghanistan for publicly advocating an approach requiring more troops even as the White House reassesses its strategy.

The White House session yields no announcements. It comes as the top U.S. official at the U.N. mission in Afghanistan is dismissed in a dispute over the handling of Afghan vote fraud allegations.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday will announce a plan to spend $5 billion to create new jobs during a visit to the National Institutes of Health, the White House said.

The White House on Monday fired back after former Vice President Dick Cheney called the Obama administration's decision to open a probe into alleged CIA abuses an "outrageous political act." White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs broadly dismissed Cheney's comments on "FOX News Sunday" as typical and unfounded.

The Obama administration has accused Pakistan of illegally modifying U.S.-made missiles to expand its ability to hit land-based targets, which would constitute a threat to India, The New York Times reported in Sunday editions.

Republicans charge that the administration's 'Reality Check' is part of an online enemies list, but Obama officials say the website is very popular. The White House is blaming "political groups" for distributing its e-mails about healthcare to people who complained that they never asked for any White House e-mail, while suggesting that its online healthcare "Reality Check" site has become quite popular.