Jay Carney

Vice President Biden announced Friday that he was naming Shailagh Murray as his new communications director, choosing one Washington reporter to replace another as his lead spokeswoman. Murray has covered Capitol Hill and politics for the Washington Post since 2005, and the Wall Street Journal for six years before that. She replaces Jay Carney, the former Washington Bureau chief for Time magazine, who left Biden's office after two years to become White House press secretary. "Shailagh's years of experience covering a broad array of issues ranging from domestic policy to foreign affairs make her uniquely positioned to lead our communications team," Biden said in a statement.

A White House official predicted Monday that the weekend shooting of Afghan civilians by an American soldier will not change President Obama's current plans for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. But the president's spokesman also acknowledged that the U.S. and its allies are discussing the timetable for withdrawal and that it will “certainly be a subject of discussion among heads of state at the NATO meeting in Chicago in May.” White House spokesman Jay Carney deplored the killings, but said he doesn't believe it will change plans for withdrawal from the war zone by the end of 2014.

Suffice it to say, Sarah Palin does not agree with President Obama's decision to keep graphic photos of Osama bin Laden's corpse from the eyes of the world. The possible 2012 GOP presidential candidate tweeted her displeasure almost as soon as the announcement came earlier Wednesday from the White House. Photos: Osama bin Laden dead "Show photo as warning to others seeking America's destruction. No pussy-footing around, no politicking, no drama; it's part of the mission," Palin wrote.

WASHINGTON -- The White House cast Vice President Joe Biden's comments on same-sex marriage as being in line with President Obama's views on the matter, saying the administration has not changed its position and both men are “evolving. "  “I have no update on the president's personal views,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters Monday at a lively briefing dominated by questions about Biden's expression of support for gay marriage. “What the vice president said yesterday was to make the same point that the president has made previously, that committed and loving same-sex couples deserve the same rights and protections enjoyed by all Americans and that we oppose any effort to roll back those rights.” But vice president went further than the president has in stating support for gay marriage.

MAUMEE, Ohio - President Obama cranked up his campaign a notch first thing on Thursday, boarding Air Force One with not one but two spokespersons - one to handle politics and the other to talk about government. Jen Psaki, the new traveling press secretary with Obama for America, was the new addition, on board for the two-day trip to handle any election-related questions that might arise. Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, was in his usual position in the president's coterie, available to speak for Obama on all things West Wing.

WASHINGTON - Investigators say there are no signs of a link between the Boston Marathon bombings and potentially poisonous letters sent to the President Obama and a U.S. senator. An FBI statement issued Wednesday said the investigation into the letters continues and more may be received. One letter was addressed to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the other to the president. Both were detected Tuesday at off-site mail-screening centers and did not reach the White House or the Capitol.  The letter addressed to Obama contained a “granular substance that preliminarily tested positive for ricin,” a toxin that can be deadly even in small amounts, the FBI statement said.

Key editors at the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday explained the decision to publish a story and pictures of U.S. soldiers posing with body parts of Afghan suicide bombers, after questions were raised by the White House, the Pentagon and readers. In a live chat on latimes.com, Editor Davan Maharaj explained the decision to publish the material, especially the pictures, even though the events occurred two years ago. The publication comes at an especially sensitive time, with the U.S. and its NATO allies seeking to disengage from the Afghanistan war that began in October 2001.

WASHINGTON - More resignations are expected soon in the Secret Service prostitution scandal. "It is our understanding the resignations could come today or tomorrow," Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said Thursday. He has been briefed by Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan. The Secret Service announced Wednesday that it was seeking to fire one supervisor tied to the alleged misconduct. Another supervisor is retiring, and a third agent will be allowed to retire.

WASHINGTON - Saying his second inauguration should be an "affirmation that we're all in this together," President Obama spent Saturday volunteering at a local school on a National Day of Service meant to honor slain civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. As the capital hummed with final preparations for the quadrennial spectacle of a presidential inaugural, Obama and the first lady helped stain a bookshelf at Burrville Elementary School...

WASHINGTON - In summer 2011, negotiations between President Obama and House Speaker John A. Boehner over raising the debt ceiling featured plenty of drama. There were private grumbles, a very public round of golf, a phone call from the White House that went unreturned and, overall, a lost opportunity to secure a "grand bargain" on spending and taxes. Now, as high-stakes talks between Obama and Boehner rev up again, the lessons of that summer appear to be producing a new steadiness and comfort level between the two men. After weeks of private phone calls and public posturing, the Ohio Republican quietly ducked into the White House on Sunday for his first one-on-one meeting with the president since mid-2011.