Obama seeks to delay immigration review
WASHINGTON – Senior White House officials say President Barack Obama asked his Homeland Security chief to hold off on completing a review of U.S. deportation policies until the end of the summer.
The move is aimed at salvaging any hopes for Congress to act on immigration this year.
Obama in March directed the government to examine whether deportation practices can be made more humane. That emboldened House Republicans to argue that they can’t trust Obama to enforce laws and that Obama is undermining prospects for a broader immigration overhaul in Congress.
The White House sees a narrow window this summer for Congress to act before the midterm elections consume Washington. So Obama is directing Homeland Security Jeh Johnson not to release the results of the review until that window closes.
North Dakota twister had winds of 120 mph
WATFORD CITY, N.D. - A rare North Dakota tornado that critically injured a 15-year-old girl and hurt eight other people at a workers’ camp in the heart of the state’s booming oil patch packed winds that peaked at 120 mph, the National Weather Service said Tuesday.
The twister touched down Monday night at a camp just south of Watford City, about 50 miles southeast of Williston, and damaged or destroyed 15 trailers. The 15-year-old, who was from out of state and visiting an aunt and uncle, was flown to a Minot hospital. She was in an intensive-care unit with a head injury but is expected to survive, McKenzie County Emergency Manager Jerry Samuelson said Tuesday.
Samuelson did not release the girl’s name or the community in which she lives.
Tornadoes are rarely reported in McKenzie County, with only 14 since 1950 and no fatalities, according to weather service data.
White House reviewing leak of agent’s name
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama’s top lawyer will look into how the name of the CIA’s top official in Afghanistan was accidently revealed to thousands of journalists, the White House said Tuesday.
White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden says chief counsel Neil Eggleston will also make recommendations for how to ensure such a disclosure doesn’t happen again.
The officer’s name was included by U.S. Embassy staff on a list of American officials who met with Obama Sunday during a surprise visit to Afghanistan.
The White House provided the list to a Washington Post reporter who was representing the news media on the trip. The reporter, as is typical under those circumstances, then sent the list to the White House “press pool” list. An estimated 6,000 email addresses are on that distribution list.
Detroit blight plan could cost $850 million
DETROIT – Removing blighted residential properties and small commercial structures that have plagued Detroit neighborhoods for decades would cost $850 million, with perhaps $1 billion more needed to tackle the bankrupt city’s larger commercial and industrial property, a task force said Tuesday.
Nearly one in three structures need some form of “intervention,” including demolition or rehabilitation, the task force said. Overall, it found nearly 85,000 blighted parcels, of which 73,000 are residential structures.
The study is part of efforts announced last year by President Barack Obama’s administration to help Detroit, which cited $18 billion in long-term debt when it filed for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. The report was drawn up to help determine which houses and buildings can be saved and which will be torn down.
Young scientists win presidential praise
WASHINGTON -- President Obama told winners of the White House Science Fair on Tuesday that their work is more valuable than that of any sports champion.
“What’s happening here is more important,” Obama said, saying science can help society cure diseases, forge new sources of energy and create new jobs for the 21st century.
Obama, who noted that he hosted the football champion Seattle Seahawks just last week, called the science fair “one of my favorite things all year long,” and he announced new initiatives in STEM education devoted to science, technology, energy, and math.
Saying that administration programs are designed to help more young girls pursue careers in science and math, Obama highlighted a young woman from Oklahoma who developed a “concussion cushion” for football helmets.
USA TODAY and Associated Press
