Obama Sends U.S. Troops To Uganda

President Obama announced Friday that he has deployed American “combat-equipped” troops to Uganda to remove Lord’s Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony from the battlefield.

In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), the president said that the mission to take out Kony serves the national security interests of the United States. An initial team of American forces deployed on Wednesday, and Obama said that more would arrive in the next month.

According to a senior Defense official, 100 military personel, the bulk of which come from U.S. Special Operation Forces, will be sent to regional capitals to assist and advise local militaries and civilian governments. However, they are not tasked with directly combatting LRA forces.

The decision serves as a continuation of ongoing U.S. efforts to help regional governments fight the LRA. Since 2008, the U.S. has contributed $33 million in assistance to the Uganda People’s Defence Force.

Hoyer: GOP Must Put Currency Bill On The Floor

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) called on House Republicans to allow a vote on a bill aimed at cracking down on China’s devaluation of its Yuan.

The bill, which the Washington Post reported allows U.S. monetary agencies to lean on China and other nations to allow their currencies to appreciate, was passed by the Senate earlier this week.

During a press conference on Friday, Hoyer said the bill would help “American businesses…compete against anyone anywhere.”

The House is scheduled to be off next week, but Hoyer urged GOP leaders to immediately take up the bill when lawmakers return to Washington.

White House: Jobs Push Just Beginning

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters Friday that despite setbacks in Congress, the White House’s push for jobs legislation is just beginning.

“The Senate vote was the beginning of the plan, not the end,” Carney said aboard Air Force One en route to Detroit, Michigan. “We aren’t going to stop talking about jobs and the economy until we have the kind of economic growth and jobs creation that this country deserves.”

Added Carney, “You can expect to hear the president making the case that we need to take action until Congress takes action, until it makes a decision on every item in the America Jobs Act.”

The jobs bill failed to clear a procedural hurdle in the Senate earlier this week, coming in with a final tally of 50-49.

Occupy Wall Street Clean Up Postponed

Brookfield Properties, the real estate company that owns the park currently inhabited by members of the Occupy Wall Street movement, have withdrawn their request to remove demonstrators so the park can be cleaned.

“Brookfield believes they can work out an arrangement with the protesters that will ensure the park remains clean, safe, available for public use and that the situation is respectful of residents and businesses downtown,” New York Deputy Mayor Cas Hollway said in a statement Friday. “We will continue to monitor the situation.”

Those occupying the park were resistant to exiting from the park in order for it to be cleaned, citing fears that they would not be able to bring tarps or supplies back in with them or that it could lead to a larger crackdown.

On the movements official website, Occupy Wall Street claimed the decision as a victory.

“We are winning!” a post on the site states.

Labor Leader Gives Blessing To Korean Trade Deal

The head of the United Autoworkers expressed large support Friday for the free trade agreement between the U.S. and South Korea, which Congress voted to pass earlier this week.

In an op-ed that appeared in today’s Detroit Free Press, UAW President Bob King said that the deal “will create significantly greater market access for American auto exports and include strong, auto-specific safeguards to protect our domestic markets from potentially harmful surges of Korean automotive imports.”

When the deal was first introduced back in 2007, labor officials balked over fears that it would cost American jobs and hand Korea an unfair advantage in the auto export sector. King wrote that he was one of those who initially opposed the agreement, but changed his mind after being allowed in on negotiations regarding the context of the pact.

“Unlike the 2007 negotiations with South Korea, the labor movement, and particularly the UAW, had an opportunity to be part of the 2010 discussions on strengthening the trade deal,” King said.

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