Obama to Announce Agreement with Drug Companies

Agreement to help close the gap in prescription drug coverage

President Obama will make a formal announcement Monday stating an agreement has been made by the pharmaceutical industry to assist in closing a gap in prescription drug coverage under Medicare.

The president has invited Barry Rand, head of AARP, to appear with him.

The drug companies have promised to spend $80 billion over the next ten years to reduce the cost of drugs for seniors. The money will also pay for part of Obama's health care legislation.

The deal was originally struck with Senator Max Baucus, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, as well as the White House.

North Korea Issues Nuclear Threat

Obama says U.S. is prepared

North Korea is declaring itself a "proud nuclear power" and will strike if provoked. Japan's Coast Guard says it has received notice from North Korea's maritime authority that ships will be banned off the North Korean coast starting Thursday because of "military exercises."

President Obama is telling Americans that his administration is "fully prepared" for any move Pyongyang might make. Obama says he won't reward "belligerence and provocation in the way that's been done in the past."

Meanwhile, a member of South Korean intelligence says a North Korean cargo ship possibly carrying banned weapons appears to be headed towards Myanmar.

New U.N. Security Council sanctions require member states to inspect vessels believed to contain prohibited goods. The sanctions are intended to punish North Korea for conducting a secret nuclear test last month

Obama to Approve Benefits for Same-Sex Partners of Federal Workers

Washington, D.C. - President Obama is expected to sign a memorandum in the Oval Office this afternoon, which gives some health care benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees.

It is unclear as to which benefits will be granted to the couples, however, it is not expected that the President will grant full health coverage.

This comes days after the Justice Department filed a brief supporting the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and appeared to equate gay-marriage with incest.

DOMA was signed into effect by President Bill Clinton in 1996. It effectively prevents the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage.

The law defines marriage as "a legal union between one man and one woman as husband wife" and a spouse as "a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife."

President Obama's expected memorandum signing also comes just over a week after the Supreme Court refused to hear a legal challenge to the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Obama Reverses Bush Immigration Lawyer Rule

Reversal allows immigrants facing deportation a lawyer

WASHINGTON D.C.- The Obama administration today reversed a Bush administration rule that said immigrants facing deportation do not have an automatic right to an effective lawyer.

Attorney General Eric Holder said he is vacating the order, which was issued by predecessor Michael Mukasey. Holder said he is instructing the Justice Department to begin creating a new rule.

Charles Kuck, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said the move is "the beginning of the restoration of due process in the immigration system."

Today, Holder also said Mukasey's decision had not allowed for adequate public comment on the issue.

United States immigration courts currently do not track how many immigrants want to reopen cases due to claims of ineffective counsel.