Scott Horsley http://kcur.org en G-8 Summit To Tackle Trade, Syria, Slow Economic Growth http://kcur.org/post/g-8-summit-tackle-trade-syria-slow-economic-growth Transcript <p>MELISSA BLOCK, HOST: <p>From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Melissa Block.<p>ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: <p>And I'm Robert Siegel. We begin this hour with the annual Group of 8 summit in Northern Ireland. Today, President Obama and the other G8 leaders huddled at a resort there. Among the many topics, the bloody civil war in Syria. President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin sat down to talk about Syria, acknowledging that they have, as Mr. Obama said, differing perspectives.<p>But they share an interest in stopping the violence. Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:03:00 +0000 Scott Horsley 38686 at http://kcur.org Obama Begins European Trip: G-8 Summit Then Stop In Berlin http://kcur.org/post/obama-begins-european-trip-g-8-summit-then-stop-berlin President Obama is in Northern Ireland Monday — the first stop on a three-day European visit that includes a G-8 summit meeting and a side trip to Berlin.<p>The president begins his tour with a speech in Belfast, celebrating Northern Ireland's peace process and urging young people in the country to keep it moving forward.<p>Later, Obama joins leaders of other industrial countries at a remote golf resort in County Fermanagh for talks on Syria, trade and the global economy.<p>The G-8 leaders have a working dinner Monday night, and Syria is likely to dominate the discussion. Mon, 17 Jun 2013 07:26:00 +0000 Scott Horsley 38631 at http://kcur.org Obama Begins European Trip: G-8 Summit Then Stop In Berlin How Rock 'N' Roll Can Explain The U.S. Economy http://kcur.org/post/how-rock-n-roll-can-explain-us-economy White House economic adviser Alan Krueger took some ribbing from his boss this week. President Obama noted that Krueger will soon be leaving Washington to go back to his old job, teaching economics at Princeton.<p>"And now that Alan has some free time, he can return to another burning passion of his: '<a href="http://dataspace.princeton.edu/jspui/handle/88435/dsp01xs55mc05g" target="_blank">Rockanomics</a>,' the economics of rock and roll," the president said. Sat, 15 Jun 2013 09:24:00 +0000 Scott Horsley 38559 at http://kcur.org How Rock 'N' Roll Can Explain The U.S. Economy Obama Urges Congress Not To 'Block' Immigration Bill http://kcur.org/post/obama-urges-congress-not-block-immigration-bill Transcript <p>LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST: <p>It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer.<p>RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: <p>And I'm Renee Montagne. The U.S. Senate has opened debate on a sweeping immigration bill. And President Obama says it's the best chance in years to fix what he calls a broken immigration system. The measure took a step forward yesterday when a big, bipartisan majority of senators voted to take up the bill. Wed, 12 Jun 2013 09:05:00 +0000 Scott Horsley 38354 at http://kcur.org Obama's D.C. Court Nominations Heat Up Battle With Senate http://kcur.org/post/obamas-dc-court-nominations-heat-battle-senate President Obama fired a warning shot Tuesday in the battle over Senate confirmations: He nominated three new judges to the powerful federal appeals court in Washington, and he challenged Senate Republicans not to stand in their way.<p>Obama complained about procedural roadblocks that have tied up many of his previous nominees — <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2013/02/25/172884587/would-be-federal-judges-caught-in-washington-waiting-game">sometimes for years</a>.<p>But Republicans are looking to sidestep the confirmation fight by downsizing the appeals court itself.<p><strong>T Tue, 04 Jun 2013 21:38:00 +0000 Scott Horsley 37930 at http://kcur.org Obama's D.C. Court Nominations Heat Up Battle With Senate Obama To Challenge GOP With 3 Federal Appeals Court Picks http://kcur.org/post/obama-challenge-gop-3-federal-appeals-court-picks Transcript <p>RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: <p>President Obama will nominate three new judges this morning to the powerful Federal Appeals Court in Washington D.C. The announcement is expected to come in the White House Rose Garden, and as NPR's Scott Horsley reports, there could be a few thorns.<p>SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE: On their face, none of the nominees is particularly controversial. Patricia Millett is a veteran appellate lawyer who worked in both the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. Tue, 04 Jun 2013 09:30:00 +0000 Scott Horsley 37875 at http://kcur.org Obama To Press Congress On Student Loan Rates http://kcur.org/post/obama-press-congress-student-loan-rates President Obama surrounded himself with college students at the White House on Friday and warned that the cost of student loans is about to go up.<p>Interest rates on government-backed college loans are set to double July 1 — unless Congress agrees on a fix before then. Obama has threatened to veto a House-passed bill that would let the cost of student loans go up and down with the market.<p>If the alarm bells over rising student loan rates sound familiar, that's because the same thing happened last year. Fri, 31 May 2013 07:23:00 +0000 Scott Horsley 37666 at http://kcur.org Obama To Press Congress On Student Loan Rates White House Economic Advisers To Leave http://kcur.org/post/white-house-economic-advisers-leave Transcript <p>RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: <p>One of President Obama's top economic advisers is leaving the White House later this year, to return to his teaching job at Princeton. Wed, 29 May 2013 09:24:00 +0000 Scott Horsley 37534 at http://kcur.org Unclear Laws May Have Contributed to Tax-Exempt Controversy http://kcur.org/post/unclear-laws-may-have-contributed-tax-exempt-controversy Transcript <p>DAVID GREENE, HOST: <p>Let's turn to another story for now: The acting head of the IRS has resigned, but is still facing questions about the agency. Lawmakers continue their probe into the federal tax agency targeting Tea Party groups seeking tax exemption.<p>Late last week, the House Ways and Means Committee demanded answers from top IRS officials to find out why the agency singled out conservative groups for scrutiny. Well, now, the Senate Finance Committee gets its chance to grill the outgoing commissioner. Tue, 21 May 2013 09:52:00 +0000 Scott Horsley 37102 at http://kcur.org Why Congress Has Reasons Not To Be Bipartsan http://kcur.org/post/why-congress-has-reasons-not-be-bipartsan Transcript <p>STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: <p>Now let's look little more deeply at this narrative of scandal. NPR's Scott Horsley has more.<p>SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE: When President Obama gets frustrated with the gridlock in Washington, he sometimes looks back wistfully to the decades after World War II. Mon, 20 May 2013 09:19:00 +0000 Scott Horsley 37037 at http://kcur.org White House Addresses Benghazi Emails, IRS Audits http://kcur.org/post/white-house-addresses-benghazi-emails-irs-audits Transcript <p>MELISSA BLOCK, BYLINE: This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Melissa Block.<p>AUDIE CORNISH, BYLINE: And I'm Audie Cornish.<p>The Obama administration is doing some intensive damage control this evening. Tonight, the president announced that the acting commissioner of the IRS, Steven Miller, is being pushed out over heightened scrutiny given to Tea Party groups and other conservative organizations.<p>Earlier today, the White House also released 100 pages of emails in hopes of quieting a lingering controversy over last year's deadly attack at the U.S. Wed, 15 May 2013 21:57:00 +0000 Scott Horsley 36829 at http://kcur.org IRS Inspector General Faults 'Ineffective Management' http://kcur.org/post/irs-inspector-general-faults-ineffective-management Audie Cornish talks to Scott Horsley about the IRS Inspector General's report on the agency's audit of conservative groups. Wed, 15 May 2013 00:02:00 +0000 Scott Horsley 36762 at http://kcur.org President Asks Moms For Help Promoting Obamacare http://kcur.org/post/president-asks-moms-help-promoting-obamacare Transcript <p>ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: <p>From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.<p>AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: <p>And I'm Audie Cornish. At the White House this afternoon, President Obama enlisted a new ally in his campaign to promote health insurance: moms. Starting this fall, Americans who don't have insurance or who've been buying costly individual policies will be able to shop for coverage through new government exchanges. The White House plans an aggressive campaign to encourage people to sign up. Fri, 10 May 2013 21:38:00 +0000 Scott Horsley 36552 at http://kcur.org Democrats Hope For A Bright Future In The Lone Star State http://kcur.org/post/democrats-hope-bright-future-lone-star-state President Obama travels to Texas on Thursday for the second time in as many weeks. He will talk about job training and economic opportunity, but he may have a political opportunity on his mind as well.<p>Obama lost Texas by more than 1 million votes last year. Thu, 09 May 2013 07:32:00 +0000 Scott Horsley 36423 at http://kcur.org Democrats Hope For A Bright Future In The Lone Star State The Federal Deficit Is Actually Shrinking http://kcur.org/post/federal-deficit-actually-shrinking During the housing bust, taxpayers were forced to bail out mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But thanks to the real estate recovery, Fannie Mae could end up paying tens of billions of dollars back to the Treasury this summer.<p>That's just one of the factors behind a better bottom line for the federal government. Wed, 01 May 2013 20:19:00 +0000 Scott Horsley 36031 at http://kcur.org The Federal Deficit Is Actually Shrinking