WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama
pressed Europe on Friday to shift toward a more pro-growth
policy and away from austerity to tackle a crisis that threatens
to push Greece out of the euro zone and send economic shockwaves
worldwide.

Setting the tone for a weekend G8 summit, Obama made clear
he was aligning himself with the new French president’s drive
for more economic stimulus in the recession-plagued euro zone
instead of emphasizing belt-tightening programs spearheaded by
Germany.

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – President Barack Obama’s campaign released a video on Monday calling Mitt Romney’s private equity firm a job-killing “vampire” that ran a steel mill into the ground, signaling a new effort to carve into Romney’s image of corporate success.

The Obama campaign’s six-minute video – a shorter version of which will air on TV stations in the key states of Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Colorado – came on a day in which the president’s team sought to draw dramatic contrasts between Obama and Romney, the presumed Republican nominee for president.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Kathleen and Brett Sache are building a six-bedroom, six-bathroom home of their dreams in a sought-after corner of northern Virginia after taking encouragement from a robust local market.

Their confidence was rewarded when their old house sold in just five weeks, allowing them to purchase a plot of almost two acres (0.8 hectare) in Vienna, Virginia, where they are breaking ground this month on a property they hope to live in for the next 30 years.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has pulled out of this month’s Group of Eight summit in Maryland and will send Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in his place, the White House said on Wednesday.

Putin, who took the oath as Russia’s president on Monday, informed President Barack Obama of his decision during a telephone call, citing the need to stay in Moscow to finalize appointments to his cabinet. Instead, the two leaders agreed to meet in Mexico in June.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Monday reminded Americans that his likely Republican opponent in the November election had been lukewarm about targeting Osama bin Laden, seeking to gain political advantage from the killing of the al Qaeda leader.

Obama accused Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, of being inconsistent on whether he would have ordered bin Laden’s killing had he been president.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A simmering dispute between Iraq’s central government and the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan is an internal affair, a top Baghdad official said on Thursday, in an implicit rebuff of U.S. efforts to broker a compromise between the two sides.

“Of course there is American interest and goodwill to facilitate an understanding,” said Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama has reviewed potential threats to the United States ahead of the anniversary next week of the killing of Osama bin Laden, but there is no concrete evidence that al Qaeda is plotting any revenge attacks, the White House said on Thursday.

Bin Laden’s killing last year by U.S. commandos is touted by the Obama administration as one of his top accomplishments and it may help inoculate the president from Republican election-year claims that he is weak on national security.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – It was a triumphant moment a year ago for the United States and President Barack Obama, but now the anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s killing presents an election-year challenge for him and his Republican opponents.

Obama is expected to acknowledge the May 1 anniversary of the daring Navy SEAL raid on bin Laden’s Pakistan compound.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New signs of lower U.S. gas prices could give a boost to President Barack Obama’s re-election hopes and blunt a potent weapon that Republicans have used to attack him.

News on Monday of a month long delay in the planned closure of the largest refinery on the U.S. East Coast was the latest indication sky-rocketing gasoline prices may have peaked.

WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama,
facing a damaging election-year problem if Iraq’s political
crisis worsens, has launched an urgent behind-the-scenes push to
ease tensions between the Baghdad central government and the
Kurds.

Masoud Barzani, president of the Kurds’ semi-autonomous
regional government, paid a quiet visit to the White House on
April 4 and left with backing for two long-standing requests
that could help build the worried Kurds’ confidence in U.S.
support.