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This and that under the cut.
Medvedev: It's a pleasure to deal with Obama
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told ABC's George Stephanopoulos that President Obama is a "thinker" unlike "other people." The Russian president seemed to be referring to President George W. Bush.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You've now met with President Obama many times. At least 15 meetings and phone calls.
MEDVEDEV: Sixteen times.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Sixteen. Okay, I knew it was 15. I wasn't sure about the 16. What do you make of Barack Obama the man?
MEDVEDEV: He's very comfortable partner, it's very interesting to be with him. The most important thing that distinguishes him from many other people – I won't name anyone by name – he's a thinker, he thinks when he speaks. Which is already pretty good.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You had somebody in your mind, I think. (LAUGHS)
MEDVEDEV: Obviously I do have someone on my mind. I don't want to offend anyone. He's eager to listen to his partner, which is a pretty good quality for a politician. Because any politician is to a certain degree a mentor. They preach something. And the ability to listen to their partner is very important for the politician. And he is pretty deeply emerged in the subject, so he has a good knowledge of what he's talking about. There was no instance in our meetings with Mr. Obama where he wasn't well prepared for the questions. This is very good. And after all, he's simply a very pleasant man with whom it's a pleasure to deal with.
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And here's what the good relationship with Russia begins to trickle:
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Ukraine will to give up its stock of highly enriched uranium
President Obama and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanokovych announced an agreement Monday for Yanukovych's country to give up its stock of highly enriched uranium.
The two leaders released a document detailing "Ukraine’s decision to get rid of all of its stocks of highly-enriched uranium by the time of the next Nuclear Security Summit, while the United States will provide necessary technical and financial assistance to support this effort. Ukraine intends to remove a substantial part of those stocks this year."
The statement continued: "President Obama praised Ukraine’s decision as a historic step and a reaffirmation of Ukraine’s leadership in nuclear security and nonproliferation. Ukraine joins the United States in the international effort to convert civil nuclear research facilities to operate with low enriched uranium fuel, which is becoming the global standard in the 21st century."
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters in a briefing at the Nuclear Security Summit that the deal with Ukraine was "Russian in origin," adding that that country will "play a substantial role."
"This is something that the United States has tried to make happen for more than 10 years," Gibbs said. "This demonstrates Ukraine's continued leadership in nonproliferation."
President Obama and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanokovych (AP).
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The market continue to show a complete lack of trust in the Obama administration, as the Dow completed an amazing decline from 6000 to 11000 in one year. Tsk, Tsk, Tsk...
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March budget deficit shows dramatic decline as Treasury lowers estimate for bailout by $115B
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The budget deficit for March showed a dramatic decline as the Obama administration formally entered a lower ultimate cost for the government's $700 billion financial bailout program.
The Treasury Department said the deficit for March totaled $65.4 billion, compared to a $191.6 billion imbalance a year ago. However, $115 billion of that improvement occurred because the administration lowered its estimate of the total costs for the Troubled Asset Relief Program....
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AP: health care reform kept most of president Obama's camaign promises
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama's big new health care law largely delivers on more than two dozen specific promises he made as a candidate, but that isn't winning him points with the public.
Although Americans are divided over the wisdom of his far-reaching blueprint for expanding coverage they basically got what a majority voted for when they elected Obama in 2008, .
"No one has the right to say they were misled during the campaign," said health care industry consultant Robert Laszewski, a critic of the law. "For all the controversy, what (Obama) has done in health care is consistent with what he promised. It's really very close."...
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Here's a very optimistic Newsweek outlook of America's future: The Comeback Country - How America pulled itself back from the brink—and why it's destined to stay on top
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The Housing Stabilization Program You Haven't Heard About
The Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) isn't something you read a lot about in the news. Most headlines are grabbed by some of the government's more well-known interventions such as the home buyer credit and the Treasury's foreclosure prevention program. But all three are part of Washington's unprecedented effort to prop up the ailing U.S. residential real estate market. The NSP is a smaller endeavor, but its methods could be more effective than any of the others in staunching the housing market's bleeding while also creating jobs.
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How the Program Works
Interim Director Miriam Carrillo and Community Development Specialist Linda Connors of the city's Housing and Urban Development program provided a hypothetical example of how the program works:
* First, city representatives review foreclosed properties and bid accordingly. Imagine they obtain one for $64,000 (which is their average purchase price).
* Next, they need to bring the house up to code. So they put $50,000 into its renovation (again, the average cost). In total, they would have spent $114,000.
* Then, they find a qualifying buyer (for example, a family of four with an annual income of between $56,950 and $85,440).
* That buyer independently obtains pre-qualification from a bank for a mortgage of $84,000 to purchase the home (average sale cost is between $80,000 and $150,000).
* The stimulus funding covers the $30,000 difference (and can cover up to $80,000 per transaction).
* The subsidy is kept as a 2nd lien that disappears after 20-years, but must be paid before that if the house is sold. This is meant to prevent flipping.
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New Barack Obama Green Charter High School In NJ
Plainfield will soon be home to the city’s first charter high school after the zoning Board of Adjustment unanimously approved a variance this week for the educators to set up classrooms at the Plainfield YMCA.
The 120-seat Barack Obama Green Charter High School is slated to open for ninth and tenth graders at the start of the new school year at 530 West Seventh St. It already has approval from the state Department of Education.
The school’s founders tout it as the first charter in New Jersey to implement the philosophy of the nonprofit Green Schools Initiative, which advocates a strategy including a toxin-free campus, sustainable use of resources and a ban on junk food...
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Six public high school reached the finals of the Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge to have President Obama speak at their 2010 graduation. Here's a very cute vid of six happy principals getting the news:
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Warning: 100% complete pure romantic fluff:
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All photos by AP, unless mentioned otherwise. Please don't hot-link (Not hot-link means not use the direct link if you want to share a certain picture. Just save it to your PC and upload it again. Thank you.*
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President Obama with President Hu Jintao of China on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit at the Washington Convention Center April 12. The summit’s focus is keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists, and it is the largest meeting called by an American president since the 1945 gathering that created the United Nations.
PresidentObama with King Abdullah of Jordan:
President Barack Obama talk with India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, during a meeting in advance of the Nuclear Security Summit, at Blair House in Washington, Sunday, April 11, 2010.
President Barack Obama shakes hands with South Africa's President Jacob Zuma during their meeting in advance of the Nuclear Security Summit, at Blair House in Washington, Sunday, April 11, 2010.
President Barack Obama talks with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton following the expanded delegation bilateral meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, April 8, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama talks to Coach Mike Krzyzewski, who led Duke to win the NCAA Men's Division One Basketball Championship, in the Oval Office, April 6, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
During a phone call from the Oval Office, April 7, 2010, President Barack Obama talks with the family of workers who were killed in a West Virginia coal mine explosion on Monday. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama admires a tapestry at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, April 8, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama smiles while talking with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on the phone in the Oval Office, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama talks on the phone with Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, in the Oval Office, after announcing that he would be retiring from the Supreme Court, April 9, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama boards Air Force One as he prepares to depart Prague, Czech Republic, en route back to Washington, D.C., April 09, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
The Mount Ennon Baptist Church Children’s Chorus from Clinton, Md., performs at the Easter Prayer Breakfast in the East Room of the White House , April 6, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)