WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress was not told tea party groups were being inappropriately targeted by the Internal Revenue Service, even after acting agency Chief Steven Miller had been briefed on the matter.

2. Gov't probe obtains wide swath of AP phone records - Friday, May 10, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative's top executive called a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into how news organizations gather the news.

3. Obama says he won't tolerate political bias at IRS - Friday, May 10, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — When members of Congress repeatedly raised concerns with the Internal Revenue Service about complaints that Tea Party groups were being harassed last year, a deputy IRS commissioner took the lead in assuring lawmakers that the additional scrutiny was a legitimate part of the screening process.

4. Senator: Obama should 'condemn' IRS targeting - Friday, May 10, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans say the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative political groups was "chilling", and at least one Republican senator called on President Barack Obama to "personally condemn" the actions.

5. GOP boycotts health care advisory board - Friday, May 10, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — House and Senate Republican leaders told President Barack Obama Thursday that they will refuse to nominate candidates to serve on an advisory board that is to play a role in holding down Medicare costs under the new health care act.

6. White House willing to consider budget flexibility - Friday, April 19, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House now says it's willing to consider legislation that would give the administration the budget-cutting flexibility to avoid furloughs of air traffic controllers.

Those furloughs could result in widespread air traffic delays.

7. GOP sends mixed signals on Obama's outreach effort - Friday, March 08, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are sending mixed signals in agreeing to meet with President Barack Obama for talks over the budget impasse, while Obama is conceding that a political accommodation may be impossible.

8. GOP budget takes aim again at Obamacare, Medicaid - Friday, March 08, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans unveiled their latest budget outline on Tuesday, sticking to their plans to try to repeal so-called Obamacare, cut domestic programs ranging from Medicaid to college grants and require future Medicare patients to bear more of the program's cost.

9. Obama presses on with GOP charm offensive - Friday, March 08, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama pressed on with his Republican charm offensive Thursday, holding a White House lunch with House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan in an effort to soften the ground for potential talks on a long-term deficit reduction deal.

10. Automatic cuts will have to wait until midnight - Friday, March 01, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says automatic spending reductions set to kick in will be put off until as close to midnight Friday as possible.

The law, passed by Congress on Jan. 2 simply says that "on March 1, 2013, the president shall order a sequestration for fiscal year 2013." That's budget talk for an $85 billion reduction in defense and domestic spending between now and Oct. 1.

11. Obama, top lawmakers to meet as cuts kick in - Friday, February 22, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House conceded Wednesday that efforts to avoid automatic budget cuts are unlikely to succeed before they kick in and is initiating new talks with congressional leaders to confront seemingly intractable tax-and-spend issues.

12. Obama urges Congress to compromise on cuts - Friday, February 22, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing an end of the week deadline, President Barack Obama said Monday that Congress can avert sweeping across-the-board cuts with "just a little bit of compromise," as he sought to stick lawmakers with the blame if the budget ax falls.

13. Obama calls Boehner, McConnell as budget cuts loom - Friday, February 22, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has called House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell about the looming spending cuts set to kick in on March 1.

The calls are Obama's first in weeks to top Republicans in Congress. They come as both parties remain in a stalemate over how to avoid across-the-board automatic cuts that would trim $85 billion from most government accounts.

14. Labor, business agree to principles on immigration - Friday, February 22, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — Business and labor groups announced agreement Thursday on the principles of a key priority for a comprehensive immigration bill: a new system to bring lower-skilled workers to the U.S.

15. Obama to stress jobs; audience's message is guns - Friday, February 08, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — The American public will get a competing mix of rhetoric and imagery in President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday, a speech that offers a heavy dose on the economy even as it plays out against a visual backdrop dominated by the current national debate over guns.

16. Business, unions negotiating guest worker program - Friday, February 01, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — Business leaders and labor union officials are delving into high-stakes negotiations over a particularly contentious element of immigration reform — a guest worker program to ensure future immigrants come here legally.

17. GOP senators vow to block consumer office nominee - Friday, February 01, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — Renewing a three-year-old fight over bank oversight, Senate Republicans said Friday they will oppose President Barack Obama's nominee to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unless the office created after the 2008 Wall Street financial meltdown is significantly changed.

18. White House: Hagel will win Senate confirmation - Friday, February 01, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Friday dismissed criticism of Chuck Hagel's hesitant congressional testimony and insisted that it expects the Senate to confirm him as defense secretary.

One day after Hagel was roughed up in a grueling confirmation hearing, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Hagel did a "fine job" and the Obama administration would be stunned if Republicans tried to block the nomination of a decorated Vietnam combat veteran and former two-term GOP senator.

19. Obama decides not to extend term of jobs council - Friday, February 01, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is letting his jobs council expire, cutting off one source of input from business leaders while unemployment remains stubbornly high.

Obama formed the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness in January 2011, when unemployment was about 9 percent. It's now 7.8 percent, though more than 12 million people are out of work.

20. 53 senators urge approval of Keystone XL pipeline - Friday, January 18, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than half the Senate on Wednesday urged quick approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, ramping up pressure on President Barack Obama to move ahead with the project just days after he promised in his inaugural address to respond vigorously to the threat of climate change.

21. Obama picks top white-collar crime prosecutor for SEC job - Friday, January 18, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will nominate Mary Jo White to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, tapping an attorney with broad experience in prosecuting white-collar crimes to lead an agency that has a central role in implementing Wall Street reform.

22. Final Keystone pipeline decision still months away - Friday, January 18, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman's approval of a revised route for the Keystone XL oil pipeline puts the long-delayed project back in the hands of the federal government.

But don't look for a quick decision on the $7 billion project, which would carry oil from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast if allowed to move forward.

23. White House: Obama wouldn't block GOP debt bill - Friday, January 18, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says a House Republican bill to extend the government's borrowing authority for three months still faces concerns in Congress but press secretary Jay Carney says that if it reaches President Barack Obama's desk, "he would not stand in the way of the bill becoming law."

24. Top Midstate residential real estate transactions for 2012 - Friday, January 18, 2013

Top 2012 residential real estate transactions for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.

25. In picking Lew, Obama turns a page at Treasury - Friday, January 04, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jack Lew, President Barack Obama's nominee for treasury secretary, is a premier federal budget expert who would take the helm of the government's main agency for economic and fiscal policy just as the administration girds itself for a new confrontation with congressional Republicans over the nation's debt and deficits.

26. House Dems say president can raise debt ceiling - Friday, January 04, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats say President Barack Obama should consider invoking a little-known constitutional provision that they say gives him the power to raise the debt ceiling without going through Congress, where Republicans are demanding that a debt ceiling vote be linked to spending cuts.

27. Biden to meet with gun-safety, victims groups - Friday, January 04, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking to spur fresh action on gun legislation, Vice President Joe Biden is meeting at the White House with victims groups and gun-safety organizations.

Wednesday's meeting is to be part of a series of gatherings Biden is conducting this week at the White House, aimed at building consensus around proposals to curb gun violence following the horrific elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn. The vice president will meet Thursday with the National Rifle Association and other gun-owner groups. Meetings with representatives from the video-game and entertainment industries are also planned.

28. White House ramping up gun violence discussions - Friday, January 04, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing an end-of-the-month deadline, the Obama administration is calling gun owner groups, victims' organizations and representatives from the video-game industry to the White House this week for discussions on potential policy proposals for curbing gun violence.

29. Boehner on averting fiscal cliff: 'God only knows' - Friday, December 21, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker John Boehner signaled on Friday he's still open to negotiations with President Barack Obama on avoiding across-the-board tax increases set to hit taxpayers Jan. 1, but sounded pessimistic about reaching a grand deal with the president.

30. Obama vows to press ahead on fiscal cliff solution - Friday, December 21, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says he'll press ahead with Congress in hopes of preventing across-the-board tax increases set to strike taxpayers Jan. 1 after House GOP leaders unexpectedly put off a vote on legislation calling for higher rates on million-dollar earners Thursday evening.

31. House pushes to complete $633 billion defense bill - Friday, December 21, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House pushed to complete a $633 billion defense bill for next year despite Pentagon complaints that it spares outdated but politically popular weapons at the expense of the military's ability to fight.

32. Obama Social Security offer at odds with top Dems - Friday, December 14, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's offer to limit the growth of Social Security benefits would cost the average retiree less than $50 in the first year. But the cuts would grow over time, and that has advocates for seniors worried that Democrats in Congress will break their promise to shield the massive retirement and disability program from cuts in deficit reduction talks.

33. Fiscal cliff efforts ongoing, Boehner offers plan - Friday, December 14, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner pushed ahead on negotiating a broad deal to avert the "fiscal cliff," even as the GOP leader readied a backup plan Tuesday to pressure the White House with little time left to avoid a double hit on the economy.

34. Dems signal Obama flexibility on spending in talks - Friday, December 14, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican House Speaker John Boehner is offering to let taxes rise on wealthy Americans' investment income and dividends as part of a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff," officials said Monday amid signs that President Barack Obama is ready to make a key concession of his own in urgent, high-level negotiations.

35. Kerry, Hagel front-runners to lead State, Defense - Friday, December 14, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. John Kerry, who unsuccessfully sought the presidency in 2004 and has pined for the job of top diplomat, vaulted to the head of President Barack Obama's short list of secretary of state candidates after U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice suddenly withdrew from consideration to avoid a contentious confirmation fight with emboldened Republicans.

36. Narrow 'fiscal cliff' bargain gains currency - Friday, December 14, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hopes dimming for a wide-ranging bargain, the White House and many congressional Republicans are setting their sights on a more modest deal that would extend current tax rates for most Americans, raise rates for top earners and leave other, vexing issues for the new year.

37. Top Midstate residential real estate transactions for November 2012 - Friday, December 14, 2012

November 2012 residential real estate transactions for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.

38. Obama's fiscal cliff strategy is tricky balance - Friday, December 07, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — Playing both sides, President Barack Obama is trying to balance his public pressure campaign on Republicans over the looming "fiscal cliff" with his private negotiations with GOP leaders.

39. No one retreating; cliff talks seem at standstill - Friday, December 07, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — A year-end deadline approaching, quiet negotiations to avoid an economy-rattling "fiscal cliff" yielded no tangible signs of progress on Monday as Republicans pressed President Barack Obama to volunteer spending cuts he will support while the White House insisted the GOP endorse higher tax rates on upper incomes.

40. Debt limit gives GOP leverage, Obama demands fix - Friday, December 07, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — The political fight that took the nation to the verge of defaulting on its debts last year is back, overshadowed by "fiscal cliff" disputes but with consequences far graver than looming tax hikes and steep spending cuts.

41. Grammys spread the love with 6 top nominees - Friday, November 30, 2012

NASHVILLE (AP) - The Grammy Awards celebrated the diversity of music as six different artists tied for lead nominee - Kanye West, Jay-Z, Frank Ocean, Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, Mumford & Sons and fun.

42. Makings of a fiscal deal behind the hot rhetoric - Friday, November 30, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bluster and hot rhetoric aside, the White House and House Republicans have identified areas of significant overlap that could form the basis for a final agreement after "fiscal cliff" posturing gives way to hard bargaining.

43. Pressuring GOP, Obama takes his fiscal plan to Pa. - Friday, November 30, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is taking his case for avoiding a potentially unsettling "fiscal cliff" to the Philadelphia suburbs, employing campaign-style tactics in hopes of mobilizing public support. The trip comes amid signs of impatience in the negotiations between Republican leaders and the White House.

44. Bickering trumps bargaining on looming 'cliff' - Friday, November 30, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time since the Nov. 6 election, partisan bickering trumped bargaining Thursday as Democrats and Republicans vied for the political high ground in talks to avoid year-end tax increases and spending cuts that threaten harm to millions of middle class pocketbooks.

45. 'Cliff': Boehner, White House chide each other - Friday, November 23, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker John Boehner met with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner on Thursday and accused Democrats afterward of failing to outline specific cuts to avert the "fiscal cliff" that threatens to send the economy into recession.

46. Senate Dems divided over cuts to benefit programs - Friday, November 23, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — Deep divisions among Senate Democrats over whether cuts to popular benefit programs like Medicare and Medicaid should be part of a plan to slow the government's mushrooming debt pose a big obstacle to a deal for avoiding a potentially economy-crushing "fiscal cliff," even if Republicans agree to raise taxes.

47. Corker offers 'fiscal cliff' solution - Friday, November 23, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — A freshman GOP senator is jumping into the debate on how to avoid a "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and automatic spending cuts, advocating a mix of tax increases with curbs on Social Security and Medicare benefits.

48. Obama pressing business and labor on fiscal cliff - Friday, November 09, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is lobbying business and labor groups to support $1.6 trillion in new revenue to avoid an impending fiscal cliff, telling the two sides he remains committed to requiring the wealthy to pay more in taxes.

49. White House says it thwarted cyberattack - Friday, September 28, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is acknowledging an attempt to infiltrate its computer system, but says it thwarted the effort and that no classified networks were threatened.

White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters the White House is equipped with mitigation measures that identified the attack, isolated it and prevented its spread.

50. Obama boosted by upbeat housing reports, new polls - Friday, September 14, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fresh signs of a national housing rebound and growing support in public opinion polls boosted President Barack Obama's bid for a new term in the White House on Wednesday as Republican rival Mitt Romney struggled to quell his video controversy.

51. Top residential real estate transactions for August 2012 - Friday, September 21, 2012

August 2012 residential real estate transactions for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.

52. Administration warns of 'destructive' budget cuts - Friday, September 14, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — A White House report issued Friday warns that $109 billion in across-the-board spending cuts at the start of the new year would be "deeply destructive" to the military and core government responsibilities like patrolling U.S. borders and air traffic control.

53. Top residential sales for July, 2012 - Friday, August 10, 2012

July 2012 real estate trends for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford and Wilson counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.

Chandler Reports has been publishing Real Estate Market Data since 1968. That year, Chandler began collecting residential sales information for the Chandler Residential Report, considered the authoritative source for residential real estate sales information. Over the next three decades, the publications have been continually refined, enhanced and expanded, growing to include lot sales data, new residential construction and absorption information, and commercial sales. In 1987, Chandler Reports began one of the first on–line real estate market data services in the country, and is a nationally recognized leader in the industry. In 2004, Chandler Reports was purchased by The Daily News Publishing Co. In 2007, Chandler introduced RegionPlus, including property research for Nashville and Middle Tennessee. Visit online at chandlerreports.com.

54. Senate fails to approve cybersecurity legislation - Friday, August 03, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate failed Thursday to pass legislation to protect the U.S. electrical grid, water supplies and other critical industries from cyberattack and electronic espionage, despite dire warnings from top national security officials about the potential for devastating assaults on American computer networks.

55. Senate fails to approve cybersecurity legislation - Friday, July 27, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate failed Thursday to pass legislation to protect the U.S. electrical grid, water supplies and other critical industries from cyberattack and electronic espionage despite dire warnings from top national security officials about the potential for devastating assaults on American computer networks.

56. Reid, Boehner announce stopgap spending pact - Friday, July 27, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — The top Republican and Democrat on Capitol Hill have announced an agreement to keep the government running on autopilot for six months when the current budget year ends on Sept. 30.

57. Obama urges tax cuts for families under $250,000 - Friday, July 06, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama, eager to shift election-year attention away from the nation's lackluster jobs market, called on Congress Monday to extend tax cuts for families earning less than $250,000 a year while allowing taxes to rise for households making more.

58. Obama offers mixed verdict on immigration ruling - Friday, June 22, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pressing his immigration agenda, President Barack Obama said he is pleased the Supreme Court struck down key parts of Arizona's immigration law Monday but voiced concern about what the high court left intact.

59. White House says bank loss shows need for rules - Friday, May 11, 2012

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — The White House says a $2 billion trading blunder by JPMorgan Chase shows the continued need for rules that protect the taxpayer when Wall Street makes mistakes.

White House press secretary Jay Carney says the loss is a reminder of why controls installed after the 2008 financial crisis are necessary, and why they should not be undermined. He says "Wall Street lobbyists" are trying to gut those protections.

60. Obama's 'to do' list for Congress: jobs, mortgages - Friday, May 04, 2012

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — President Barack Obama said Tuesday that only Congress can take the "bold action" needed to spur job creation, as he unfurled an election year "to do" list for lawmakers.

Obama's action plan for Congress centers on a series of economic initiatives he has already been pushing for months, including eliminating tax incentives for companies that ship jobs overseas and promoting new tax credits for small businesses and for companies to develop clean energy.

61. Gingrich to end presidential campaign next week - Friday, April 20, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — Newt Gingrich began taking steps Wednesday to shut down his debt-laden White House bid, setting the stage to endorse one-time rival Mitt Romney next week and rally Republicans behind their apparent nominee.

62. Mommy Wars give way to Doggy Wars in Twitterverse - Friday, April 20, 2012

NEW YORK (AP) — So let's get all the puns out of the way, shall we? It's the issue with legs — four of them. The doggone thing won't go away. Has the presidential race just gone to the dogs? Or are we simply in those dog days between the primary season and the start of the general election?

63. Obama: End tax breaks for big oil - Friday, March 30, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's plea to Congress to end $4 billion in tax subsidies to oil companies was rebuffed Thursday as the Senate turned back a Democratic bill to repeal the tax breaks.

64. Justices take up heart of health care overhaul law - Friday, March 23, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is taking up the key question in the challenge to President Barack Obama's historic health care overhaul: Can the government force people to carry insurance or pay a penalty?

65. Senate passes small business investment bill - Friday, March 23, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — Legislation to help startup companies raise capital by reducing some federal regulations won easy passage in the Senate Thursday despite warnings from some Democrats that less government oversight would mean more abuse and scams.

66. Senate rejects GOP environment, energy proposals - Friday, March 09, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate killed Republican-backed attempts to overturn several of President Barack Obama's environmental and energy policies Thursday as lawmakers worked against a March 31 deadline to keep aid flowing to more than 100,000 transportation construction projects around the country.

67. Obama welcomes TransCanada plan for new pipeline - Friday, February 24, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Monday welcomed a Canadian company's plan to build an oil pipeline from Oklahoma to Texas after President Barack Obama blocked the larger Keystone XL pipeline from Canada.

68. Higher gas prices cloud Obama's re-election hopes - Friday, February 24, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — Soaring gasoline prices are threatening to undercut President Barack Obama's re-election prospects and offering Republicans an easy target. With prices pushing $4 a gallon and threatening to go even higher, Obama sought Thursday to confront rising public anxiety and strike back at his GOP critics.

69. Capitol Hill weighs GOP payroll tax gambit - Friday, February 10, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — House lawmakers are returning to Capitol Hill to weigh a proposal by GOP leaders to extend the 2-percentage-point cut in the payroll tax through the end of the year and add the approximately $100 billion cost to the nation's $15 trillion-plus debt instead of scrounging around the budget for ways to pay for it.

70. New US sanctions on Iran aim to head off Israel - Friday, February 03, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — Additional U.S. sanctions on Iran are more significant for their timing than their immediate effect on Iran's economy, coming as the United States and its allies are arguing that Israel should hold off on any military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities to allow more time for sanctions to work.

71. Obama to take on economy in State of the Union - Friday, January 20, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — Addressing a divided nation amid a determined GOP campaign to take his job, President Barack Obama is preparing to issue a populist cry for economic fairness as he aims to corral the sympathies of middle-class voters 10 months before Election Day.

72. GOP hopefuls assail Obama labor board appointments - Friday, January 06, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — With an eye on the upcoming South Carolina primary, Republican presidential candidates on Thursday assailed President Barack Obama for bypassing the Senate to name three new members to the National Labor Relations Board.

73. Defense bill nears passage in Congress - Friday, December 09, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — A massive defense bill is on the brink of final passage after the Obama administration and Congress resolved a fierce struggle over the president's ability to prosecute terrorist suspects in the civilian justice system.

74. High court to look at state immigration laws - Friday, December 09, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed Monday to rule on Arizona's controversial law targeting illegal immigrants, setting the stage for an election-year decision on an issue that is already shaping presidential politics.

75. FAA chief on leave after drunken driving arrest - Friday, December 02, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — Transportation Department officials are deciding how to handle Federal Aviation Administration chief Randy Babbitt's weekend arrest on charges of drunken driving in suburban northern Virginia.

76. Economy could suffer if tax cut, jobless aid end - Friday, November 18, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — A tax cut that reaches 160 million Americans and government aid for the long-term unemployed will expire at the end of the year — sucking $165 billion out of the economy next year — unless Congress takes action.

77. Congress may try blocking cuts if debt panel fails - Friday, November 18, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — Failure by Congress' debt-cutting supercommittee to recommend $1.2 trillion in savings by Wednesday is supposed to automatically trigger spending cuts in the same amount to accomplish that job.

78. Ohio victory shows unions still a political force - Friday, November 04, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — Labor unions are celebrating one of their biggest victories in decades after turning back an Ohio law that curbed collective bargaining rights for the state's public workers. The vote showed unions are still a potent political force that can't be ignored.

79. Gadhafi death another victory for Obama doctrine - Friday, October 21, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — The death of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi expands the growing string of security victories on President Barack Obama's watch and reinforces his own style of dealing with enemies without immersing the United States in war. Even skeptics offered congratulations.

80. Obama, GOP push and pull on economic plans - Friday, September 30, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking to gain political advantage, President Barack Obama insisted Monday that Congress vote on his entire $447 billion economic plan this month, a step promptly rejected by Republicans who called for both sides to find common ground in their competing proposals to stimulate growth.

81. Congressional debt reduction panel kicks off work - Friday, September 02, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans and Democrats on the special supercommittee warned of a financial crisis threatening future generations as the congressional debt reduction panel kicked off its work Thursday with an imperative to slash the deficit and lift the sluggish economy.

82. Democrats want debt-cutting panel to address jobs - Friday, September 02, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats on a special congressional debt-reduction supercommittee want it to include jobs creation as part of its work, a task that would complicate the newly created panel's already formidable assignment.

83. Timing clash settled, Obama sets sights on speech - Friday, August 26, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will a deliver rare address to a joint session of Congress next week to introduce a long-awaited plan for jobs and economic growth, but not before being forced to yield in a test of wills with House Speaker John Boehner over when he would speak.

84. Debt panel members face conflicting pressures - Friday, August 05, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — Before even getting down to work, members of Congress' new debt-reduction supercommittee face pressures to rally behind partisan principles and to find even more savings than planned.

85. House nears vote on GOP debt bill; Dems oppose - Friday, July 29, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — Partisan to the core, Congress groped uncertainly Friday for a way to avoid a government default threatened for early next week. "We are almost out of time," warned President Barack Obama as U.S. financial markets trembled.

86. House voting on GOP bill _ key step in debt fight - Friday, July 22, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — As a crucial vote neared, Republican leaders pleaded with their fractious rank and file Thursday to support a House plan to stave off an unprecedented government default. Many of the chamber's GOP freshmen, crucial to passage, were climbing aboard, but leaders weren't ready to claim victory.

87. GOP retools plan as Congress seeks debt fix - Friday, July 22, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — Six days away from a potentially calamitous government default, House Republicans appeared to be coalescing Wednesday around a work-in-progress plan by House Speaker John Boehner to increase the U.S. borrowing limit and chop $1 trillion in federal spending. But the White House dismissed the proposal as a waste of time, and it got a thumbs-down from Senate Democrats and tea party activists, too.

88. White House threatens to veto Boehner's House plan - Friday, July 22, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House threatened on Tuesday to veto emergency legislation pending in the House to avert a threatened national default, a pre-emptive strike issued as Republican Speaker John Boehner labored to line up enough votes to pass the measure.

89. WH: Reid plan to solve debt crisis "reasonable" - Friday, July 22, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is getting behind a proposal by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to avert a debt-limit crisis by trimming $2.7 trillion of government spending. The White House stopped short of issuing a veto threat against a competing House Republican plan.

90. Senate rejects House GOP budget-cutting plan - Friday, July 22, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner searched on Friday for an elusive debt-limit compromise as the Senate rejected a House plan containing deep spending cuts and for the moment put aside a last-ditch fallback option.

91. If debt deal near, Obama would OK stopgap measure - Friday, July 15, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — Running out of time, President Barack Obama softened his stand and signaled Wednesday he would back a short-term deal to prevent a disastrous financial default on Aug. 2, but only if a larger and still elusive deficit-cutting agreement was essentially in place. He called lawmakers to the White House in a scramble to find enough votes from both Republicans and his own party.

92. Progress scarce as debt limit impasse continues - Friday, July 15, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — Progress remains elusive as official Washington grapples day after day for a way out of a debt dilemma that has the government sliding toward a first-ever default on its financial obligations.

93. Debt plan nears House vote; other ideas emerge - Friday, July 15, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans pushed ahead Tuesday toward a vote on legislation that would raise the nation's debt limit in exchange for trillions of dollars in federal spending cuts and congressional approval of a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget.

94. Tea party takes its turn in debt battle - Friday, July 15, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House weighed in with a veto threat Monday against a tea party-backed plan to let the government borrow another $2.4 trillion, a measure conditioned on big and immediate spending cuts and adoption by Congress of a constitutional amendment to balance the federal budget.

95. Debt face-off shifts to Congress, bargain in play - Friday, July 15, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — Negotiations to increase the nation's debt ceiling shifted to Congress where Republican and Democratic leaders were assessing the mood of their members even as an intricate but potentially face-saving deal to avoid an unprecedented government default was taking shape in the Senate.

96. GOP adds constitutional amendment to budget fight - Friday, July 15, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Republicans are rallying behind a long-shot bid for a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. But they're divided over conservatives' efforts to demand its passage as their price for backing any increase in the government's borrowing limit.

97. Debt talks: No 'hallelujah moment' in sight - Friday, July 15, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — Testy lawmakers and President Barack Obama headed back for a fifth day of debt-limit negotiations Thursday, pointing fingers at each other while trying to stave off a government financial default. No "hallelujah moment" was likely by day's end, White House spokesman Jay Carney said, with Friday shaping up as an important decision day.

98. Debt talks grind on, clock ticks toward default - Friday, July 08, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — Budget talks between President Barack Obama and his GOP rivals are at a frustrating standstill, leading a top Republican to launch a long-shot proposal to give Obama sweeping new powers to muscle through an increase in the government's debt limit without the approval of a bitterly divided Congress.

99. McConnell, Boehner increase criticism of Obama - Friday, July 08, 2011

ASHINGTON (AP) — The top two Republicans in Congress sought Tuesday to put the onus on President Barack Obama for failure to resolve a fight over how to increase the government's borrowing authority. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said a deal with Obama is "probably unattainable" and House Speaker John Boehner said the specter of default is "his problem."

100. Administration to propose steps on gun safety - Friday, July 08, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — Six months after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot, the White House is preparing to propose some new steps on gun safety, though they're likely to fall short of the bold measures activists would like to see.