Ellen DeGeneres Tapped For HIV/AIDS Awareness Post

By Mike Hothi

Comedian and daytime television host Ellen DeGeneres is the new face for the Obama Administration’s effort to increase awareness of HIV and AIDS.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the announcement today at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. She announced that DeGeneres has been named as a Special Envoy for Global AIDS Awareness.

“Ellen is going to bring not only her sharp wit and her big heart, but her impressive TV audience and more than eight million followers on Twitter, to raise awareness and support for this effort,” Clinton said. “I know we can look forward to many contributions from Ellen and her loyal fans across the globe.”

DeGeneres said she was honored by the offer.

“The fight against AIDS is something that has always been close to my heart. And I’m happy that I can use my platform to educate people and spread hope.”

Cain Says Campaign Is Going Strong

In a fundraising memo released earlier today, GOP White House hopeful Herman Cain said his campaign is doing great despite new allegations that he sexually harassed a fourth woman back during his time as CEO of the National Restuarant Association.

“Despite our opponents’ best efforts to tear me down, my campaign is actually gaining stem,” Cain said in the statement.

Cain, who is expected to address the claims during an appearance later today in Phoenix, also urged his supporters “to stand with him against the Washington D.C. establishment, the liberal media and Barack Obama.”

Obama Announces Educational Funding Changes

President Obama traveled to a suburb of Philadelphia this morning to unveil reforms aimed at boosting accountability levels within a federal school-readiness program administered by the Department of Health and Human Services.

During a speech in Yeadon, Pa, Obama announced new rules designed to strengthen the national Head Start program, which provides early-learning services to children of low-income families. The president told an audience gathered inside the town’s regional Head Start center that the reforms won’t require the blessing of a sharply divided Capitol Hill.

“After trying for months to work with Congress on education, we’ve decided to take matters into our own hands.”

The rules will force recipients of Head Start grants to meet new standards in order to be eligible for federal funding. Programs that fail to meet the new benchmarks will lose out.

Obama also blamed Hill Republicans for blocking his efforts to pass comprehensive education reform.

“Earlier this year, nearly every Republican in the House voted for a budget that would have cut hundreds of thousands of children from Head Start,” he said. “Their argument is that we don’t have the money…what I’ve said is we can make these investments in our children without adding to the deficit simply by asking people who make more than a million dollars a year to pay a little more in taxes.”

Report: Obama Chief Of Staff Handing Off Day-To-Day Duties

White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley is handing off his day-to-day duties, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal Tuesday.

Daley, who joined the West Wing in the beginning of 2011, will reportedly be giving a set of his responsibilities to White House aide Pete Rouse, who assumed the role of interim Chief of Staff for several months following Rahm Emanuel’s departure.

The shift will likely mean giving Rouse, a longtime aide to Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), more authority to work with Congress, a move that will likely help the White House navigate through the looming struggle over the federal budget.

The Journal notes that Daley will be re-focused as the administration’s “ambassador,” primarily to the business community which Daley, a former JP Morgan Executive, is solidly in tune with.

Report: UN Watchdog Details Iran's Growing Nuclear Capabilities

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear power watchdog, believes that Iran’s nuclear capabilities may be more advanced than initially believed, according to a report in the Washington Post.

The news comes the same week that the Agency is set to release a classified report to member nations detailing the extent of Iranian technology. It reportedly found that Iran is now closer than ever before to being able to develop a nuclear weapon.

The revelation comes amid growing tension on the international stage. Rumors have circulated in recent weeks that Israel could attempt a unilateral strike against Iranian targets.

The U.S. has stated that they will continue to pursue the current strategy of pressure and engagement.