WASHINGTON — A top national security aide to former President Barack Obama is expected to be tapped as U.S. envoy for Iran this week, several people familiar with the matter said Thursday. The appointment of the aide, Rob Malley, would exacerbate an already bitter partisan divide over Iran and Israel...
Obama: Broad Slogans Like “Defund the Police” Lose People
[aggregation-styles] Axios Former President Barack Obama told Peter Hamby on the Snapchat original political show "Good Luck America" that "snappy" slogans such as "defund the police" can alienate people, making the statements less effective than intended. What he's saying: "You lost a big audience the minute you say it, which...
Biden Adds Obama Administration Veterans to Top Staff
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden is adding four Obama-Biden administration veterans to his top ranks as he continues to build out his White House team. Cathy Russell, who was Jill Biden’s chief of staff during the Obama administration, will serve as director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel,...
Democrats Pound Their Message: To Oust Trump, You Must Vote
WILMINGTON, Del. — Former President Barack Obama warned that American democracy could falter if President Donald Trump is reelected, a stunning rebuke of his successor that was echoed by Kamala Harris at the Democratic Convention as she embraced her historic role as the first Black woman on a national political ticket. Obama, himself a...
At Lewis Funeral, Obama Calls for Renewing Voting Rights Act
ATLANTA — Former President Barack Obama used Rep. John Lewis’ funeral on Thursday to issue a stark warning that the voting rights and equal opportunity the late civil rights icon championed are threatened heading into the 2020 election. Speaking from the pulpit of the church that Martin Luther King Jr....
What Would You Name the New Central Unified High School?
Nearly 200 names are on the list of proposed names for the new Central Unified School District high school under construction at Ashlan and Grantland avenues in northwest Fresno. The lengthy list was an information item on the agenda of Tuesday night's board meeting. The board vote could be on...
Biden’s Ties to Obama Could Hamper Appeal to Latino Voters
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden's tenure as Barack Obama's vice president is complicating his efforts to deepen ties with Latinos who could be critical to winning the White House. For many Latinos, Biden's embrace of the Obama years is a frightening reminder of when the former president ejected about 3 million...
AP Source: Obama to Endorse Biden in Video on Tuesday
WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama plans to endorse Joe Biden in a video on Tuesday, giving the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee a boost from the party’s biggest fundraiser and one of its most popular figures. The move was confirmed by two sources familiar with the situation who requested anonymity to discuss...
San Francisco's Beloved Beefeater Doorman to Retire
SAN FRANCISCO — Another bit of old, quirky San Francisco will be no more when Tom Sweeney finally hangs up his white pressed collar and signature Beefeater jacket this weekend after more than four decades of opening doors at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel downtown. Sweeney has taken the luggage...
Powerful Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings has Died
BALTIMORE — Maryland Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, a sharecropper's son who rose to become a civil rights champion and the chairman of one of the U.S. House committees leading an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, died Thursday of complications from longstanding health problems. He was 68. Cummings was a...