President Obama's Memorial Day Complicated by Storms at Home and Abroad

Standing at the presidential podium this afternoon on the stage of a Memorial Day ceremony at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, a rain-drenched President Obama raised his left hand in a show of authority, while his right hand held a wind-buffeted black umbrella, and issued an order.

"Excuse me, everybody listen up," the commander in chief told the crowd huddled under umbrellas and plastic bags amid a torrential downpour outside Chicago. "We are a little bit concerned about lightning. This may not be safe. So I know that all of you are here to commemorate the fallen and that's why we're here. What we'd like to do is, if possible, have people move back to their cars."

The president, already facing scrutiny for his decision to skip Memorial Day ceremonies at Washington's Arlington National Cemetery, promised to wait out the storm for 15 minutes before deciding whether to continue, leaving hundreds of onlookers to trudge across flooded fields and muddy parking lots to take shelter in their vehicles in the meantime.

Obama to keep drilling moratorium for 6 months-aide

President Barack Obama will announce a six month extension on a deepwater oil drilling moratorium on Thursday while a special commission studies the reasons for the Gulf of Mexico spill, a White House aide said.

"(Obama) will announce standards to strengthen oversight of the industry and enhance safety, a first step in a process that the independent Presidential Commission will continue," the aide said on Thursday.

"While the commission performs its work to determine how to prevent this from ever happening again, the moratorium on permits to drill new deepwater wells will continue for a period of six months."

The extended moratorium represents a further setback for offshore drilling expansion, a key plank of Obama's proposed energy policy overhaul, which is currently languishing in the U.S. Senate.

Democrats hoped increased drilling would attract Republican support for the bill, which also ramps up domestic production of renewable fuel sources and sets limits on greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar briefed Obama and his advisers about the contents of a report about the spill and the deadly blast aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig, which was leased by BP, on Wednesday night, the aide said.

The president is expected to discuss details of the report and his administration's response to the spill at a 12:45 p.m. EDT (1645 GMT) White House news conference.

Obama will announce delays or cancellations of planned exploration in certain areas around the country, the aide said.

Planned exploration off the coast of Alaska in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas will be put off pending the presidential commission's review, he said, while an August lease sale in the western Gulf will be canceled.

"The lease sale off the coast of Virginia will also be canceled due to environmental concerns and concerns raised by the Defense Department," he said.

Obama has come under increasing pressure to stop the spill and halt its environmental and economic consequences for Gulf states. BP, which has been publicly scolded by the president, was working on Thursday to plug the leaking well in a procedure known as "top kill."

Obama's bipartisan presidential commission is modeled after previous panels that looked into the 1986 explosion of the space shuttle Challenger and the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in 1979.

Obama tours Fremont's Solyndra

President Obama looks at a solar panel as he is given a tour of Solyndra by Executive Vice President Ben Bierman, left, and Chief Executive Officer Chris Gronet, Wednesday, May 26, 2010, at Solyndra Inc. in Fremont, Calif. Solyndra is a solar panel manufacturing facility.

President Obama shakes hands with workers as Solyndra Inc. Chief Executive Officer Chris Gronet, third from left in blue shirt, watches during a tour of Solyndra Inc. in Fremont, Calif., Wednesday, May 26, 2010. Solyndra is a solar panel manufacturing facility.

In a trip designed to highlight green jobs created by the Recovery Act and the need for renewable alternatives to oil, President Barack Obama toured solar manufacturer Solyndra on Wednesday morning before speaking to a crowd of about 200 in the Fremont company's new factory.

Obama arrived at Solyndra shortly before 9:30 a.m., making a point of shaking hands with workers in white lab coats and hard hats before a tour with Chris Gronet, Solyndra's CEO, and Ben Bierman, executive vice president of operations and engineering.

Their conversation during the tour was largely drowned out by the noise of the factory, but at one point the president could be heard saying, "This is impressive. It really is."

Obama to lunch with Republican senators, dine with Democratic donors

Good morning. A busy President Obama will start his long day on Eastern time and end it on Pacific time. On tap: a Rose Garden ceremony to honor small businessowners, lunch with GOP senators, a meeting with Giorgio Napolitano, the president of Italy, and a fundraiser for California Sen. Barbara Boxer.

Late yesterday, the White House signed off on a deal to repeal -- albeit slowly -- the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military. That sets up votes later this week in the House and in the Senate Armed Services Committee that would permit gays to serve openly in the armed services once a review has been completed. Currently gays are permitted to serve only if they conceal their sexual preference. You can read the White House letter agreeing to the deal here.

This morning the president will celebrate National Small Business Week by hosting a White House reception for award-winning business owners. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says it's to recognize "the important role small business plays in our economy" -- and not a moment too soon, as USA TODAY's own Dennis Cauchon points out today in an eye-popping story about the decline in private sector wages.

The president then heads up to Capitol Hill, where he will join Republican senators for their weekly luncheon.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's spokesman, Don Stewart, says the president requested the invitation, which his boss was happy to issue. "The Republican Conference welcomes his visit ,where they will have a wide-ranging discussion on the year ahead," Stewart said.

Later in the afternoon, the president will be heading to California in an effort to prevent McConnell from having to lay an extra plate at his luncheons next year. Obama is working overtime to keep California's Senate seat Democratic, headlining his second fundraiser for Boxer in a little more than one month. Tonight's event is in San Francisco; in April Obama joined the senator at a Los Angeles fundraiser.

Obama to raise cash in California for Boxer

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is helping raise money for Sen. Barbara Boxer's re-election campaign, his second trip to California in as many months to assist the imperiled incumbent.

Obama was to appear at two fundraisers Tuesday night in San Francisco with the liberal Boxer, who is seeking her fourth-term. Though she easily won her last election, the economic woes that have hit California particularly hard have left Boxer facing her strongest challenge since she joined Congress.

Complicating matters for Boxer is an anti-Washington electorate that's been dismissing long-serving politicians with ease in this midterm election year. Veteran Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, who switched from the Republican to Democratic Party, was ousted in his primary contest last week. Utah's three-term Sen. Bob Bennett failed to make it out of his state's Republican nominating convention earlier this month.

During a trip to Los Angeles last month to headline three fundraisers for Boxer, Obama warned supporters that she could suffer the same fate.

"I don't want anyone here taking this for granted," he said at an April 19th event.

Boxer's opponent will be decided in a June 8 GOP primary that pits former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina against former Rep. Tom Campbell and California Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, who has the backing of the tea party movement.

Proceeds from Tuesday's events will be split between Boxer's campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Obama will spend Tuesday night in San Francisco, then head to nearby Fremont, Calif., on Wednesday to tour a solar facility and make remarks on the economy.

President to propose new scheme for cutting congressional spending

President Obama's budget director, Peter Orszag, will be holding a telephone press conference later this morning to discuss a new plan to trim federal spending.

According to a sneak preview issued by the White House, the president plans to send legislation to Congress that would essentially allow him to excise parts of spending bills he doesn't like before signing them. The lawmakers would then vote on whether to accept the president's cuts -- but it would be a take-it-or-leave-it deal; no amendments or changes allowed.

It's the latest chapter in an age-old power struggle between the executive and legislative branches. Members of Congress love to tack pet projects onto "must-pass" bills required to keep the federal budget running, essentially daring the chief executive to veto the measures in order to get rid of the pork. Guess what? It usually doesn't happen.

Presidents have been trying for years to get a so-called "line-item veto" which would allow them to zero in on objectionable provisions without killing an entire bill. But so far, they haven't been successful.

Leading the opposition has been the Senate's senior Democrat, Robert C. Byrd, who argues that it upsets the constitutional balance of powers.

We'll be bringing you more about what the administration has to say in favor of its proposal after this morning's call.

Obama Mandates Rules to Raise Fuel Standards

WASHINGTON — President Obama ordered the government on Friday to develop tougher fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks, advancing the fight against climate change without waiting for Congress.

Mr. Obama announced the creation of a national policy that will result in less greenhouse gas pollution from medium- and heavy-duty trucks for the first time, and will further reduce exhaust from cars and light-duty trucks beyond the requirements he had already put in place.

“Today’s announcement is an essential part of our energy strategy, but it’s not a substitute for other necessary steps,” Mr. Obama said in a Rose Garden ceremony on Friday, flanked by auto and truck manufacturers. He repeated his hope that Congress would pass an energy bill by the end of the year. “In the meantime,” he added, “I’m going to take every sensible, responsible action that I can take using my authority as president.”

Mr. Obama said that reducing fuel use would save money for businesses and consumers, and he linked his new policy to the enormous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. “The disaster in the gulf only underscores that, even as we pursue domestic reduction to reduce our reliance on imported oil, our long-term security depends on the development of alternative sources of fuel and new transportation technologies,” he said.

The executive memorandum the president signed on Friday orders the Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department to develop new fuel and emissions standards more strict than those formalized last month, but the memorandum did not propose specific fuel-economy figures.

Under last month’s rules, new cars must get at least 35.5 miles to a gallon of fuel, on average, by 2016, in combined city and highway driving. The president’s new plan would order further improvements in fuel efficiency for cars and light trucks made in 2017 and beyond, and in medium and heavy trucks made in 2014 through 2018.

In addition, Mr. Obama’s directive orders more federal support for the development of new vehicles like advanced electric cars, and it instructs the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce emissions of other kinds of pollutants by motor vehicles, besides greenhouse gases.

Environmentalists hailed the move. “President Obama’s oil savings proposal will reduce our dependence on oil,” said Daniel J. Weiss, director of climate strategy at the Center for American Progress, a liberal research organization. “More efficient cars and trucks will help to protect families’ budgets as well as America’s shores.”

Senate passes U.S. financial reform bill

The U.S. Senate passed landmark legislation on Thursday night to further regulate banks and Wall Street in what is considered the largest attempt to overhaul the U.S. financial system since the 1930s. The bill, which passed by a 59-39 vote, must now be merged with a House of Representatives version.

Earlier, U.S. President Barack Obama said financial industry lobbyists failed in their attempt to block the vote. Obama said there is more work ahead but he will ensure the final bill will be effective and responsive.

"Our goal is not to punish the banks but to protect the larger economy and the American people from the kind of upheavals that we've seen in the past few years," Obama said.

The bill is seen a major victory for Obama, coming two months after his health-care overhaul was signed into law.

The legislation is the most sweeping tightening of the rules for Wall Street since the Great Depression. It calls for new ways to watch for risks in the financial system and makes it easier to liquidate large, failing financial firms.

It also writes new rules for complex securities blamed for helping precipitate the economic crisis in 2008 and creates a new agency assigned to protect consumers from potentially dodgy financial products, including mortgages.

Only two Democrats voted against the bill. Four Republicans broke ranks with their party to support it. Twice the Senate had to beat back efforts by Republicans to delay the bill before achieving final passage.

"The decisions we've made will have an impact on the lives of Americans for decades to come," said Alabama Republican Sen. Richard Shelby, who voted against the legislation.

"Judgment will not be rendered by self-congratulatory press releases, but rather by the marketplace. And the marketplace does not give credit for good intentions."

Kagan known for openness, assertiveness at Harvard

Elena Kagan, President Barack Obama's pick for the Supreme Court, gets high marks as a peacemaker for the fractious faculty of Harvard Law School while she was dean. But even her supporters here say she also has a temper.

Professor Charles Fried, while calling Kagan "masterful" for her ability to work well with the diverse faculty at Harvard, recalled how she once blew up at him after some students said there were pages missing from a constitutional law exam.

Fried said he sent an e-mail to students explaining a resolution he thought had been approved. But, in fact, Kagan had worked out a different resolution.

"She came steaming into my office and said, 'Why have you done that? It's a confusing situation and you've made it worse.' She screamed and shouted at me and slammed the door and stormed out," Fried said.

"Two minutes later, she came back and said, 'I'm sorry I shouted.' I said, 'Elena, don't apologize, you were right.' "

"She was dynamic, aggressive, sometimes abrasive," said Detlev Vagts, a professor who clashed with Kagan over the appointment of Jack Goldsmith, a former assistant attorney general in the Bush administration. "There was quite a turnover of her top management group when she was named dean," he said.

Critics initially balked at Goldsmith's appointment, questioning whether he had helped write memos authorizing the torture of suspected terrorists. In a book published in 2007, Goldsmith said he had rescinded two memos — written by attorneys who previously ran the Office of Legal Counsel — that gave the military and the CIA broad latitude in interrogating prisoners.

Kagan was able to win strong support for Goldsmith and the faculty easily approved his appointment.

Vagts said Kagan, 50, was "dismissive" of him when he tried to express his concern over Goldsmith's appointment and later when he objected to Kagan's plan to group retiring professors near one another in a set of offices.

Mexico's President Blasts Arizona Immigration Law During White House Visit

Mexican President Felipe Calderon seized the opportunity to blast Arizona's controversial immigration law on Wednesday after President Obama welcomed him to the White House.

Arizona's law, which takes effect in July, will call for state and local police to determine if people are in the country illegally.

At the start of Wednesday's state visit to Washington, Calderon said the law discriminated against Mexicans and called for the two countries to work together to develop an immigration policy that did not force people to live in the shadows "with such laws as the Arizona law, which is forcing our people to face discrimination."

Calderon, whose remarks were translated from Spanish, said "We can do so if we create a safer border -- a border that will unite us instead of dividing us.

"We can do so with a community that will promote a dignified life in an orderly way for both our countries, who are some of them still living here in the shadows," he said. "If we are divided we cannot overcome these problems. We can only do this if we actually face our mutual problems."

Sprinkling in a bit of Spanish, Obama went to great lengths to greet Calderon, who is fighting an escalating, bloody battle against drug cartels in his country and facing pressure to get results on immigration reform. Around the White House grounds, Mexican and U.S. flags waved together, while cheering school children and military in their finest dress uniforms gathered on the South Lawn to embrace the pageantry.