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Reuters - President Barack Obama, concerned by voter anxiety over high unemployment, said on Monday he would use his State of the Union speech on Wednesday to reassure Americans worried about jobs and the economy.

AP - Bolstered by a White House lobbying effort that included the president, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's chances at a second four-year term improved Monday, calming a stock market that had grown anxious over the uncertainty of his support.

AFP - US President Barack Obama will Wednesday unveil a plan for a three-year freeze on non-security optional government spending, taking aim at the huge deficit in a bid to save 250 billion dollars in 10 years, a senior official said.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — Looking to signal at least one step toward reining in huge federal budget deficits, President Barack Obama will propose a three-year freeze in non-security discretionary spending, senior administration officials said Monday.

Reuters - President Barack Obama plans to ask Congress for another $14.2 billion to train Afghanistan's army and police over the next two years, a move a key lawmaker welcomed on Monday as part of a long-term U.S. commitment to that country's military.

AP - Fears about President Barack Obama's health care overhaul increased significantly in December, according to a new poll released as the legislation's future hangs in doubt. The monthly poll out Monday from the nonpartisan Robert Wood Johnson Foundation measured consumers' views of how a remake would affect their own finances and access to care, among other things.

AFP - US President Barack Obama said in an interview Monday that he would rather be a good one-term president than a mediocre leader who served a full eight years.

Jan. 25: Msnbc’s Dylan Ratigan and panel talk about President Barack Obama’s new agenda to help the struggling middle class. (Other)

Jan. 25: The White House said that President Barack Obama will show his “feisty” side when he delivers the State of the Union on Wednesday. A political panel debates whether this will be the president’s opportunity to restart his agenda. (Other)

AP - A White House official says President Barack Obama will be skipping jury duty after being summoned in Illinois.