Ousted Ukraine President: #39;I Was Wrong to Invite Russia #39;
Congress Sends Obama $1B Ukraine Loan Package.
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Ousted Ukraine President: 'I Was Wrong to Invite Russia' - Video
WASHINGTON President Obama said Wednesday that Republicans were "not necessarily coldhearted" in their policies but then devoted much of his speech at the University of Michigan to lampooning GOP opposition to his views on economic issues, including his proposal to raise the federal minimum wage.
As Congress gears up for a debate on his proposal to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, Obama said lawmakers would have to decide between sticking with him or sticking it to working Americans.
"They've got to make a clear choice talk the talk about valuing hard work and families, or walk the walk and actually value hard-working families," Obama said. "You've got a choice. You can give America the shaft, or you can give it a raise."
The address in Ann Arbor featured Obama in a feisty mood, a day after he announced that 7.1 million people had signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, exceeding the administration's target.
Obama said that if Republicans tried to sell their economic plans at the deli where he had just ordered a Reuben, "they'd have to call it the Stinkburger or the Meanwich." And he said opponents to a minimum-wage increase complain it will primarily help young people, which he suggested was not much different than yelling, "Get off my lawn!"
The edgy message opened a new phase for Obama. With the rollout of his 2010 health law nearly complete, the president is now focusing on the congressional elections and on keeping the Senate in Democratic hands, a task his advisors think depends in part on his ability to draw a sharp contrast with the GOP's economic proposals.
For starters, Obama is leading off with the fight to raise the $7.25 minimum wage, an idea that polls have shown is favored by a strong majority of Americans.
But even as Obama used the minimum wage to highlight a difference with Republicans, Democrats on Capitol Hill are preparing for the politics of the issue to grow more complicated.
Democrats concede that they are unlikely to get enough support from Republicans to overcome a 60-vote procedural hurdle to advance the measure. But there is also some concern that an effort by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) to support a smaller increase perhaps to $9 an hour could siphon off some Democratic support. Collins is the only Republican senator running for reelection this year in a state that Obama won in 2012.
A Collins aide said the senator has had discussions over the last three weeks with a number of Democrats about packaging a wage increase with other economic measures, including tax credits for small businesses.
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President Barack Obama vowed that investigators will get to the bottom of a shooting incident Wednesday at Fort Hood, Texas, seeking to reassure the nation whose sense of security once again has been shaken by mass violence.
In a hastily arranged statement, Obama said he and his team were following the situation closely but that details about what happened at the sprawling Army post were still fluid. He said the shooting brought back painful memories of 2009, when 13 were killed at the same post in the deadliest attack on a domestic military installation in history.
"We're heartbroken that something like this might have happened again," Obama said.
Offering thoughts and prayers to the entire Texas community, Obama pledged to do everything possible to ensure Fort Hood had everything it needed to weather a difficult situation and its aftermath. Standing in front of a black curtain, with an American flag nearby, Obama reflected on the sacrifices that troops stationed at Fort Hood have made including during multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"They serve with valor, they serve with distinction and when they're at their home base, they need to feel safe," Obama said. "We don't yet know what happened tonight, but obviously that sense of safety has been broken once again."
Authorities said four people were dead, including the shooter, and 16 were wounded or injured at the Army base.
"Any shooting is trouble," Obama said.
During his flight back to Washington late Wednesday, the president convened a call with members of his national security team from the White House, the Defense Department and the FBI to discuss the shooting, presidential spokesman Josh Earnest said.
The White House later said Obama directed his team to utilize every resource available to fully investigate the shooting.
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President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks about his proposal to raise the national minimum wage, Wednesday, April 2, 2014, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., . (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) Pressing his economic case in an election year, President Barack Obama came to Michigan on Wednesday to praise the state's ongoing effort to raise the minimum wage and to accuse Republicans who oppose that step in Michigan and in Congress of standing in the way of prosperity for millions of Americans.
An upbeat Obama struck a distinctly partisan tone at the University of Michigan, a day after his administration received an unexpected burst of good news when his health care law beat expectations for its first year of enrollment. Addressing a crowd of about 1,400 in a stadium crowd that included many students, Obama cracked jokes about his GOP foes as he touted his plan to raise federal wages to $10.10 per hour.
"You've got a choice. You can give America the shaft, or you can give it a raise," Obama said.
At Obama's side for his three-hour visit to this Midwest battleground state was Rep. Gary Peters, a Senate candidate embracing the chance to appear with the president before voters this year. Some other Democrats have shied away from Obama amid controversy over his health care plan, but Peters opted to appear with Obama as the president echoed his State of the Union affirmation that no American working full time should live in poverty.
"It would lift millions of people out of poverty right away," the president said of his proposal. "It would help millions more work their way out of poverty right away."
Michigan also has an effort to put a measure on the November ballot to increase the state minimum wage $7.40 to $10.10 an hour, an initiative that polling shows is popular among voters who have been hit hard by the economic downturn in recent years.
Nationally, Obama wants to increase the hourly minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 as part of an election-year economic agenda focused on working families. The White House says that would benefit more than 970,000 workers in Michigan.
The Senate could vote on a bill to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 as early as next week. The Senate's second-ranking Democrat, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, said Wednesday that if Republicans block Democrats' efforts he would be open to negotiating a compromise.
One potential compromise could involve moderate GOP Sen. Susan Collins. The Maine lawmaker, who is facing re-election this year, said she's talked to senators of both parties about a smaller minimum wage increase plus renewing tax breaks for small businesses that buy new equipment or hire veterans. She declined to provide details and said her plan could change.
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Obama in Arabia: US President meets Saudi King Abdullah in bid to ease tensions
United States President Barack Obama #39;s visit to Saudi Arabia has been viewed as a temporary solution to their tense relationship. Obama met with Saudi King A...
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Obama in Arabia: US President meets Saudi King Abdullah in bid to ease tensions - Video