Jay Carney

It's not another commission, the White House has said. But Vice President Biden will host a May 5 -- Cinco de Mayo, if you will -- meeting with lawmakers from both parties at Blair House to begin working on a deficit reduction plan, the White House announced Monday afternoon. President Obama had said in his speech last Wednesday that Biden, a 36-year veteran of the Senate, would be heading up talks with legislative leaders when Congress returns from its spring recess. "The reality is that for anything to pass Congress, you need 60 votes in the Senate and 218 votes in the House.

To no surprise, among the throng of basketball fans enamored by the Knicks' Jeremy Lin is the one in the White House. President Obama was talking about the NBA's newest sensation on Marine One Wednesday morning, his spokesman Jay Carney confirmed, after the Knicks point guard led his team to another victory Tuesday night on a last-second three-pointer. Carney said the president, like the rest of Americans and much of the Chinese, is taken by the story. "It's just a great story and the president was saying as much this morning.

As Augusta National faces new questions about its lack of female membership, the White House said Thursday that President Obama believes women should be admitted. "It's obviously up to the club to decide. But his personal opinion is that women should be admitted to the club," spokesman Jay Carney told reporters at his daily briefing. Driving the renewed attention to the renowned golf club's membership profile was the elevation of Virginia Rometty to chief executive of IBM, a title sponsor of the Masters tournament.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said Monday that she welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to hear arguments about the state's controversial illegal immigration law. "I am confident the high court will uphold Arizona's constitutional authority and obligation to protect the safety and welfare of its citizens," she said in a statement. "This case is not just about Arizona. It's about every state grappling with the costs of illegal immigration. And it's about the fundamental principle of federalism, under which these states have a right to defend their people.

Did Jay-Z and Beyonce really get White House clearance to go to Cuba, as Hova rapped in his "Open Letter" that dropped last week, shortly after the trip raised some official eyebrows? White House spokesman Jay Carney said no, and now we have the answer straight from President Obama's mouth. And it's still, well, "no. " "I done turned Havana into Atlanta ... ," Jay-Z raps in the track. "Boy from the hood, but got White House clearance ... " However, the leader of the free world apparently has a few things on his plate other than helping megastars plan an anniversary trip.

WASHINGTON - Three days after his reelection, President Obama said he was ready to reach a long-delayed budget deal with Republican congressional leaders, but reiterated that the wealthy must pay more in taxes, a stance he argued was validated by voters. "This was a central question during the election," Obama said. "It was debated over and over again. And on Tuesday night, we found out that the majority of Americans agree with my approach. " Obama struck a conciliatory tone in his appearance Friday in the White House's East Room, saying that he was ready to start building consensus and that he would meet with congressional leaders next week.

President Obama will hold his first news conference in more than three months on Tuesday, the latest curious bit of counterprogramming by the White House tied to the Republican race for president. Tuesday, of course, is Super Tuesday in the GOP's nomination fight -- the biggest day of voting yet. Ten states hold caucuses and primaries with more than 400 delegates at stake, or more than a third of the total a candidate needs to clinch the nomination. Last week when Michigan Republicans were casting their votes, Obama spoke to a United Auto Workers gathering in Washington.

President Obama will follow up his State of the Union address next week with a three-day, five-city swing through electoral battleground states. The White House announced Wednesday that Obama will make stops in Iowa, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Michigan next week to sell his election-year agenda, which likely will focus on jobs. White House spokesman Jay Carney declined to offer more details on Obama's speech to Congress so as not to get ahead of the president. But administration officials have identified just one major priority for the president in dealing with lawmakers this year -- an extension of the payroll tax holiday through the end of 2012.

ATLANTA -- President Obama has no interest in re-fighting a battle over healthcare reform. The Supreme Court, of course, may force his hand. Days before the high court is set to rule on his signature first-term accomplishment, the president sidestepped what the justices might decide and instead underlined the consequences if Republicans followed through on a pledge to repeal the Affordable Care Act. He fit his argument into the one-word slogan...