The Administration's declaration Sunday of a public health emergency in response to the outbreak of swine flu is generating extensive media coverage, with most outlets noting the measure was taken as a precaution, but warning that health officials expect the number of cases to increase in the US. In response to the rising number of cases in the US, Administration officials were seen attempting to contain the outbreak, while also seeking to temper public fears. ABC World News, for example, noted that although the White House declared a public health emergency, "officials said there's no need to panic right now."
The CBS Evening News said Administration officials "outlined a multi-agency response, but seemed determined to project an air of calm," likening "their efforts to planning for a hurricane that may never come." Still, with a "rare Sunday White House briefing," NBC Nightly News said, "it is clear tonight that a highly contagious new strain of swine flu that's killed dozens in Mexico is, in fact, spreading across this country."
And with yesterday's press conference, reports the AP, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and acting CDC director Dr. Richard Besser "sought to assure Americans that health officials are taking all appropriate steps to minimize the impact of the outbreak." Napolitano called the emergency declaration "standard operating procedure," instead urging "people to think of it as a 'declaration of emergency preparedness.'"
The AP and McClatchy both report that President Obama is getting regular briefings and updates on the outbreak and the steps being taken to address the problem. DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, McClatchy says, "is heading the federal effort to deal with the outbreak, but numerous other departments, including Health and Human Services and Agriculture, are also involved." But Press Secretary Gibbs, The Politico reports, "dismissed any suggestion that administration's response would be hampered by the lack of confirmed appointees at the Department of Health and Human Services, the last Cabinet post to receive a secretary, or the yet to be filled post of surgeon general."
The AP reports Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki "denounced a deadly US raid on Sunday as a 'crime' that violated the security pact with Washington and demanded American commanders hand over those responsible to face possible trial in Iraqi courts." The US military, however, "strongly denied that it overstepped its bounds and said it notified Iraqi authorities in advance -- in accordance with the rules" of the pact. Shortly after the "pre-dawn raid" in Kut "ended with at least one woman dead" and the arrests of "six suspects," efforts "were quickly launched in an attempt to tone down the dispute."
The New York Times reports two Iraqis were killed in the raid that prompted a "pointed complaint" from Maliki. While the raid was "not the first violent episode involving American forces to provoke a public dispute since the security agreement took effect in January," the Times says it "quickly became the most serious test so far of the agreement's carefully negotiated provisions."
The Washington Post notes the incident "marked the first time Iraq's government has called for the prosecution of US soldiers and sets the stage for a showdown between the two countries."
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White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and top Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett defended the President's position on the release of the interrogation memos on NBC's Meet the Press and CNN's State of the Union. The aides, reports the Washington Post, "confronted more questions about President Obama's position on prosecution of former Bush lawyers who drafted memos legalizing harsh interrogation methods used on terrorism suspects." Aides "sought to portray the president as constitutionally removed from the question of whether anyone should be prosecuted for breaking the law."
The Wall Street Journal reports White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said "the Obama administration and senior national-security officials are reviewing whether to release additional Central Intelligence Agency memos on interrogation methods." On Meet the Press, Gibbs said "that the review process would take about three weeks."
On NBC's Meet the Press, Gibbs said, "I don't think the President has shifted his position. I think what the President said on the Thursday on which the memos were released all the way through this, he's been consistent and clear. Those that follow the legal advice...in good faith, those people should not and will not be prosecuted. But the President...doesn't determine who knowingly breaks the law. That's set up and devised by the Justice Department and other legal entities to decide those questions."
The Politico reports that on Meet the Press, Gibbs said "the continued use of Bush-era harsh interrogation tactics threatened the lives of American troops who may face retribution from the country's enemies." The Hill reports Gibbs "reiterated Sunday that the Obama administration is not interested in an independent commission to investigate Bush-era interrogation policies."
The AP reports Sen. Carl Levin "said Sunday independent investigators should determine whether Bush administration officials ought to face charges over the harsh interrogation techniques used against suspected terrorists." The AP reports in another dispatch that Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein "says she hopes the public outrage over Bush-era interrogation methods subsides so Congress can calmly investigate the issue."
The Hill reports Senate Intelligence Committee ranking Republican Kit Bond "warned that the Pentagon's plan to release hundreds of photos documenting the abuse of US military detainees will endanger troops and the American public." Roll Call reports Sen. Bond "charged Sunday that the Obama administration's decision to release photos of harsh interrogations of terrorist suspects will very likely help al-Qaida."
The AP reports Sen. John McCain "says pursuing charges against Bush administration officials who approved harsh interrogations for suspected terrorists might be an effort to settle some old political scores." McCain "says the nation is ready to move on from the controversy and deal with more important issues, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."
The Politico reports McCain "called for the United States to 'move on' from the 'torture' memos released this month." Sen. John McCain, on CBS's Face The Nation, asked, "Are you going to prosecute people for giving bad legal advice? Are you going to keep on down this road in order, frankly, to...maybe there's an element of settling old political scores here."
The Financial Times reports the Obama's Administration "will on Monday push Congress to pass a budget resolution that would let the president chalk up a big legislative milestone before the completion on Wednesday of his first 100 days in office." The White House, which "had played down the 100-day landmark as a journalistic conceit, decided on Friday to swim with the tide and announced that Mr Obama would hold a prime-time press conference tomorrow evening to mark his first 100 days."
The Politico, meanwhile, reports White House press secretary Robert Gibbs "downplayed the coming milestone of President Obama's first 100 days in office, dismissing it as a 'Hallmark Holiday.'" On Meet the Press, Gibbs said, "He would want the American people to spend a good eight or 10 seconds reflecting on those 100 days."
On NBC's Meet the Press, Gibbs said, "I think, in all honesty, [the President] would want the American people to spend a good eight or ten seconds reflecting on those 100 days, but understand...they are not grading us for what we did on the 29th or 23rd or 35th day. But what are we doing and what is the President of the United States doing each and every day to make the American people safer, to improve our economy, stabilize our financial system, to make their lives a little bit better, help send their kids to college."
USA Today reports that in his "first 100 days in office, President Obama has not hesitated to chart a different course than his predecessor, George W. Bush." Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution said, "It's Mars and Venus. It's hard to find a more different contrast between the presidents."
The CBS Evening News reported, "While President Obama has not been quite as productive" as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, "with six bills passed and signed, the scope and speed of what he has tackled is rare." McClatchy reports Obama's "first 100 days on the job exploded with activity on many fronts: the $787 billion economic stimulus, the order to close the Guantanamo Bay prison within a year, a withdrawal plan for Iraq, an expansion of US forces in Afghanistan, and outreach to several hostile nations."
The New York Times reports in a front page story that as Obama's Presidency "approaches 100 days, an arbitrary but inescapable milestone for first assessments, he is touching Americans' lives in concrete ways. In the process, he is producing what polls suggest is an improving, if still wary, sense of national optimism despite persistent economic and national security challenges."
On the front page of its Style section the Washington Post Howard Kurtz profiles notes a study to be released by the Center for Media and Public Affairs and Chapman University, which found that the "networks have given President Obama more coverage than George W. Bush and Bill Clinton combined in their first months -- and more positive assessments to boot."
The Politico reports President Obama has "consulted with Vice-President Biden on every major decision during a momentous first three months in office, the vice-president said in an interview broadcast Sunday." Biden said Obama had "'sought my advice' on the full gamut of issues and the president said he had gotten an unvarnished assessment in return."
In an interview on CBS' 60 Minutes, Vice President Joe Biden said, "The President and the entire team close to him has encouraged me not to try all of a sudden to be a different Joe Biden than I was for the past 36 years. Sometimes, maybe I shouldn't be as straightforward as I am. But I'm not gonna change that."
President Barack Obama said on CBS' 60 Minutes, "He's pretty fearless in offering his opinions. He's oftentimes willing to make the contrarian argument, and really forces people to think and defend their positions, and that ends up being very valuable for me. ... Joe's not afraid to tell me what he thinks. And that's exactly what I need and exactly what I want."
When asked about the "displeasure" President Obama has shown for Biden's public "gaffes" on CBS' 60 Minutes, Biden said, "That's true. That had happened in the past, and quite frankly, the President said to me he was sorry it was taken out of context, his body language on one of those cases. ... Does it make me susceptible to being a target? Yeah, it does. ... You know much of the ridicule of me is well deserved."
Biden Worries About Son's Safety In Iraq The AP reports that in a 60 Minutes profiles, Vice President Joe Biden "said he worries about his son who is serving in Iraq, but tries to not look at the ongoing war solely as a father."
In an interview on ABC's This Week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, "We believe the nuclear issue needs to be resolved in the context of the agency and regulations. We are just utilizing our legal rights. I have no reservations when it comes to talking." When asked if he was ready to talk without preconditions, Ahmadinejad said, "No. We should just have a clear-cut framework for talks. The agenda should be clear. But so far, we have only heard this from the media, the newspapers, that they're interested in talking. And obviously, they're going to receive the response from the papers."
The New York Times reports that "an Administration official," responding later on Sunday to Mr. Ahmadinejad's comments on Iran's proposal, said, "I would guess that what we are going to see is something similar to what we saw before, with a few changes here and there."
The AP says Ahmadinejad's comments "highlight the mixed messages Iran has been sending to the Obama administration." Though Ahmadinejad "has expressed a willingness for a new start with the US, the deeply polarizing figure also called Israel a racist country at a UN conference last week and blamed the US-led invasion of Iraq on a Zionist conspiracy."
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The AP reports that on Friday, Jim Tedisco (R) conceded to Scott Murphy (D) in the NY20 special election after the count of absentee ballots showed Murphy up by about 400 votes. The New York Times says the loss is "dashing Republican hopes for the start of a comeback after the party's disastrous November losses." The finger pointing is beginning on the GOP side, which had hoped for a win in a fairly Republican district. The Hill reports, "A fundamental urge for change and a subpar get out the vote program doomed" Tedisco's campaign, "according to sources close to his bid." However, in an editorial, the Wall Street Journal says, "Republicans lost because they fielded a poor candidate who ran a lousy campaign. While Mr. Murphy was a fresh face who could plausibly argue he'd assist President Obama's call for change, Republicans picked an Albany careerist who personified more of the same."
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that a Star Tribune poll shows 64 percent of respondents think Norm Coleman (R) should concede the race to Al Franken (D), while just 28 percent think he should continue to challenge the results of the race in Court.
Roll Call reports ex-Commerce Secretary Bill Daley (D) announced over the weekend that he will not run for Senate in Illinois, which "inevitably makes state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias the frontrunner for the Democratic Senate nod next year" as "party insiders" says Sen. Roland Burris (D) is unlikely to seek a full term.
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David Letterman: "Exxon Mobil atop the Fortune 500 list with a profit last year" of "$45 billion. ... Second place, the company that makes those foreclosure signs."
Jimmy Fallon: "Let's talk about some crazy stuff in the news today. Washington, D.C., the Capitol building was evacuated and the White House was locked down when a small plane flew into restricted air space. Say what you want, but Dick Cheney would have shot that thing down. 'I want to shoot that plane in the face.'"
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