Sheryl Gay Stolberg New York Times

• White House works to allay Muslims' fears on terror hearings

  As a Republican congressman prepares to open hearings on the threat of home-grown Islamic terrorism, President Obama's deputy national security adviser visited a mosque here on Sunday to reassure Muslims that "we will not stigmatize or demonize entire communities because of the actions of a few."The White House billed the speech by the adviser, Den...

• Obama has quit smoking, says proud Michelle

  President Obama has quit smoking and has not had a cigarette in almost a year, his wife, Michelle Obama, said Tuesday."I'm very proud of him,'' the first lady said.Mrs. Obama was asked about her husband's cigarette habit during a wide-ranging luncheon interview with a round table of reporters to mark the first anniversary of her "Let's Move!" campa...

• Obama sees global fight for US jobs

  US President Obama challenged Americans on Tuesday night to unleash their creative spirit, set aside their partisan differences and come together around a common goal of outcompeting other nations in a rapidly shifting global economy.In a State of the Union address to a newly divided Congress, Mr. Obama outlined what he called a plan to "win the fu...

• How Michelle Obama is changing Wal-Mart strategy

  Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, will announce a five-year plan on Thursday to make thousands of its packaged foods lower in unhealthy salts, fats and sugars, and to drop prices on fruits and vegetables.The initiative came out of discussions the company has been having with Michelle Obama, the first lady, who will attend the announcement in...

• Barack Obama welcomes Hu Jintao with 21-gun salute

  Declaring that China and the United States have ''an enormous stake in each other's success,'' President Obama welcomed President Hu Jintao of China to the White House on Wednesday with an elaborate color-guard ceremony that included a colonial fife and drum band and a 21-gun salute.The formal White House arrival ceremony - the 21-gun salute is res...

• Why Obama dinner for President Hu is complicated

  It has been more than 13 years since a Chinese president has been the guest of honor at the most lavish party any White House can give, a state dinner. As host of such an affair Wednesday night for his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, President Obama is walking into a danger zone of protocol and international diplomacy. Visits by Chinese leaders hav...

• A quiet Christmas for Obama

  If there is one thing US President Obama craves during his leisure time, it is privacy.Mr. Obama arrived on the island of Oahu in the middle of the night as Wednesday turned into Thursday and slipped on a green lei as he descended the steps of Air Force One. Then he sped off in an SUV toward this laid-back residential community on the windward side...

• US First Lady Michelle Obama on the trail of Santa

  While US President Barack Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha slipped off to the beach on Christmas Eve, Michelle Obama, the First Lady, took care of a little holiday business: answering telephone calls from children inquiring as to the whereabouts of Santa Claus.The first lady participated in the "Tracks Santa" program, run by the North American A...

• Travelling in Asia, Obama's glow dims

  Foreign leaders couldn't seem to get enough of President Obama when he arrived on the world stage two years ago. They brought copies of his memoir to global conferences seeking his autograph. They angled for handshakes and "bilats" -- diplomatic jargon for a one-on-one meeting, or bilateral. They maneuvered to get next to him in photo opportunities...

• For Indonesia and Obama, fourth time's the charm

  It is the presidential homecoming that wasn't meant to be.The last time President Obama was in this nation of islands, in 1992, he holed up in a rented beachside hut in Bali, where he swam each morning and spent afternoons writing "Dreams From My Father," the memoir that later became a best-seller. In it, he shared memories of his life here as a bo...