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Articles written by Erica Werner


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  • Schumer sees deal this week on immigration

    ERICA WERNER, Associated Press

    WASHINGTON — Sen. Chuck Schumer said Sunday he's hoping for a bipartisan deal by the end of this week on a sweeping immigration bill to secure the border and allow eventual citizenship to the estimated 11 million people living here illegally. "All of us have said that there will be no agreement until the eight of us agree to a big, specific bill, but hopefully we can get that done by the end of the week," said Schumer, D-N.Y., who's leading efforts by eight senators to craft the legislation. "That's what we're on track to d...

  • Obama tours twister-ravaged neighborhood in Joplin

    ERICA WERNER, Associated Press

    JOPLIN, Mo. — Face to face with the legions of homeless and the bereaved, President Barack Obama on Sunday toured the apocalyptic landscape left by Missouri's killer tornado, consoled the community and committed the government to helping rebuild shattered lives. "We're not going to stop 'til Joplin's back on its feet," Obama vowed. A memorial service where Obama spoke punctuated a day of remembrance one week after the disaster, as authorities pressed on with the task of identifying the victims and volunteers combed through w...

  • Obama defends push to raise taxes on rich

    ERICA WERNER, Associated Press

    AP Photo/Paul Sakuma President Obama gestures during a LinkedIn Town Hall Meeting at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif., Monday as he participates in "Putting America Back to Work: LinkedIn Presents a Town Hall with President Obama." MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Inviting questions, President Barack Obama got one he was happy to answer. "Would you please raise my taxes?" one man asked the president at a town hall here Monday, hosted by the social networking company LinkedIn. The questioner described himself as une...

  • Economic inequality an issue for US 2012 campaign

    ERICA WERNER, Associated Press

    WASHINGTON — Fighting to win over unhappy American voters, President Barack Obama and his Republican challengers are seizing on one of the most potent issues this election season: the struggling middle class and the widening gap between rich and poor. Highlighted by the Occupy movement and fanned by record profits on Wall Street at a time of stubborn unemployment, economic inequality is now taking center stage in the 2012 presidential campaign, emphasized by Obama and offering opportunities and risks for him and his GOP oppon...

  • Obama marking end of Iraq war

    ERICA WERNER, Associated Press

    FORT BRAGG, North Carolina — President Barack Obama saluted returning troops Wednesday, applauding their "extraordinary achievement" and declaring that the nearly nine-year conflict in Iraq is ending "not with a final battle, but with a final march toward home." Marking the conclusion of the war at this military redoubt that's seen more than 200 deaths during the Iraq war, Obama and first lady Michelle Obama addressed several thousand troops and several hundred military families. AP Photo/Cliff Owen President Barack Obama a...

  • Obama urges national unity on 9/11 anniversary

    ERICA WERNER, Associated Press

    WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is calling for national unity ahead of Sunday's anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks and reflecting on a decade that tested America's character. "The terrorists who attacked us that September morning are no match for the character of our people, the resilience of our nation or the endurance of our values," the president said Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address a day ahead of the 10th anniversary of the attacks. "We're doing everything in our power to protect our people," he s...

  • Obama to send condolence letters on troop suicides

    ERICA WERNER, PAULINE JELINEK - Associated Press Writers

    WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he's decided to reverse a long-standing policy of not sending condolence letters to the families of service members who commit suicide while in a combat zone. Mental health and troop advocacy groups welcomed the change as a step in the right direction, but said those who die outside the war zones also should be recognized and more should be done to combat suicides among service members. The president said the decision was made after an exhaustive review of the p...

  • Obama supports India on UN Security Council

    ERICA WERNER Associated Press

    NEW DELHI (AP) — President Barack Obama backed India for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council Monday, a dramatic diplomatic gesture to his hosts as he wrapped up his first visit to this burgeoning nation. Obama made the announcement in a speech to India's parliament on the third and final day of his visit. In doing so, he fulfilled what was perhaps India's dearest wish for Obama's trip here. India has been pushing for permanent Security Council membership for years. "The just and sustainable international order t...

  • Obama's message to voters: Things could be worse

    ERICA WERNER Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON

    President Barack Obama, who rocketed to the White House promising "change you can believe in," is now telling voters they shouldn't change a thing. His message for the fall elections, which are looking ominous for his Democrats, is that Republicans caused the nation's economic troubles, but he and the Democrats are starting to fix them. So stick with the Democrats and don't go back to the GOP. "This is a choice between the policies that led us into the mess or the policies that are leading out of the mess," Obama said...

  • Obama to sign health bill, take it on the road

    ERICA WERNER Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON

    President Barack Obama is preparing to sign a transformative health care bill ushering in near-universal medical coverage for the first time in the nation's history — and then hit the road to sell it to a reluctant public. Obama will travel to Iowa City, Iowa on Thursday, the White House said, as he now turns to seeing a companion bill through the Senate and selling the health care overhaul's benefits on behalf of House members who cast risky votes. It is most likely that he will sign the bill on Tuesday, but plans are not y...