To translate his vision into a budget, the president needs to create coalitions issue by issue, while holding his party together and curbing Republican attacks.
AP - The government is on the verge of closing a deal to significantly boost its ownership stake in Citigroup. In return, it will demand changes be made on the troubled banking giant's board and other conditions, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.
AP - President Barack Obama told lawmakers on Thursday he plans to withdraw most American troops from Iraq by August 2010 but leave tens of thousands behind to advise Iraqi forces and protect U.S. interests, congressional officials said.
AP - President Barack Obama charted a dramatic new course for the nation Thursday with a bold but contentious budget proposing higher taxes for the wealthy and the first steps toward guaranteed health care for all — accompanied by an astonishing $1.75 trillion federal deficit that would be nearly four times the highest in history.
Chris Shurn walked out of San Quentin Prison in June after serving four years of hard time for possession of crack cocaine and a weapon charge. He joined at least 3,000 men paroled each year in Oakland, California, where the recidivism rate is more than 50 percent. In our Behind the Scenes series, CNN's Soledad O'Brien and Stan Wilson visited San Quentin for "Black in America: The Black Man."
President Obama told congressional leaders Thursday he's planning to pull all combat troops out of Iraq by August 2010, which falls short of his campaign promise of bringing all combat forces home within 16 months, according to three Congressional officials familiar with the meeting.