U.S. News

Today, the President transmitted the FY 2011 Budget to the Congress. In about an hour, he will deliver remarks about the Budget, and after that I will be taking questions from the press with CEA Chair Romer. This post gives readers of OMBlog a brief overview of the document.

President Obama's 2011 education budget signals a bold new direction for federal K-12 education policy with more competitive funding, more flexibility and a focus on the reforms likely to have the greatest impact on student success.

The two-month delay was frustrating to Florida resident Charles Teschke. "We are not broke or anything, but nevertheless we were still counting on getting the tax refund to help pay for the appliances and stuff we needed for our new home," he said. "The IRS told me they estimate it will take four months for me to get my refund!"

Almost 3 million homeowners received at least one foreclosure filing during 2009, setting a new record for the number of people falling behind on their mortgage payments.

Small businesses are still struggling to find financing, but for those seeking government-backed loans, the worst may be over. The Small Business Administration's flagship lending program backed 37% more loans in its latest quarter than it did a year ago, at the height of the financial crisis.

In a move public health and human rights advocates have hailed as a "victory," the so-called HIV travel ban, which barred entry to the U.S. by people living with HIV or AIDS, has been officially revoked, bringing to a close years of work to end the measure.

President Obama convenes a meeting of national security officials in the Situation Room today to look at the events leading to Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab’s attempt to blow up Northwest Flight #253 on Christmas Day.

While Manhattan home prices dropped between 10% and 15% in the last quarter of 2009 compared with a year earlier, the losses have started to slack off, according to a host of markets reports released Tuesday by big New York brokerage firms.

Americans, it seems, still have a love affair with the West. Texas and Wyoming were the big winners in the Census Bureau's annual population estimates, which were released on Wednesday

After four months of gains, home prices flattened in October. Worse yet, industry insiders think that they will soon start to fall. Prices have risen more than 3% since May, according to S&P/Case-Shiller.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it would allow H-2A workers in the sheepherding industry more time to fully transition to the three-year limitation of stay requirements under the agency’s final rule that became effective on Jan. 17, 2009. USCIS is making the one-time accommodation in deference to the industry’s prior exemption from the 3-year limitation.