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Obama Lays Out Plan For Wireless Internet Expansion
Reuters reports: “President Barack Obama will outline his plan on Thursday for expanding high speed wireless Internet service to 98 percent of Americans while reducing the U.S. deficit by $9.6 billion over the next ten years. During a trip to Marquette, Michigan — a politically important state that has been especially hard hit by the rough U.S. economy — the president will propose investing $5 billion into a fund that will ensure fast wireless technology is made available to rural areas across the country.”

Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama will depart the White House at 9:30 a.m. ET, and depart from Andrews Air Force Base at 9:35 a.m. ET, arriving at 11:40 a.m. ET in Marquette, Michigan. At 1:15 p.m. ET he will view Northern Michigan University’s WiMAX demonstration, and deliver remarks at 1:30 p.m. ET on the National Wireless initiative. He will depart from Marquette at 3 p.m. ET, arrive at Andrews Air Force Base at 4:55 p.m. ET, and arrive at the White House at 5:10 p.m. ET.

Biden’s Day Ahead
Vice President Biden will meet in the morning with senior advisers. At 2 p.m. ET, he will meet with police chiefs from around the country to discuss law enforcement issues. At 4:30 p.m. ET, he will met with Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO).

House Republican Leaders Poised To Give In To Conservative Demands For More Spending Cuts
CNN reports: “House Republican leaders under fire from fellow conservatives for backtracking on a promise to cut $100 billion in spending this year are suddenly trying to meet that goal, according to a senior House GOP aide. ‘Right now there are a lot of moving parts but the leadership is working with the RSC (Republican Study Committee), the freshmen and the (House) Appropriations Committee to coalesce around a unified strategy to cut $100 billion,’ the senior House GOP aide tells CNN.”

Republicans In House Battle Turmoil In Their Ranks
The New York Times reports: “Under pressure to make deeper spending cuts and blindsided by embarrassing floor defeats, House Republican leaders are quickly discovering the limits of control over their ideologically driven and independent-minded new majority. For the second consecutive day, House Republicans on Wednesday lost a floor vote due to a mini-revolt, this time over a plan to demand a repayment from the United Nations.”

Boehner Faces First Defections
Roll Call reports on the early revolts by conservative freshmen Republicans against Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and the GOP leadership: “It was an early reminder that party unity isn’t a given and that the Ohio Republican has some work to do to keep his Members in line. He doesn’t have much time. Divisions are already surfacing over the forthcoming continuing resolution, set to come to the floor next week, which would cut federal spending by $32 billion, far less than the $100 billion that conservatives claim leaders promised during the campaign.”

Fight For Gays In The Military Isn’t Ending Anytime Soon
The Washington Post reports: “Plans to end the enforcement of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ are moving along with the goal of ending the ban on gays in the military this year, but the debate sparked by last year’s repeal of the policy won’t end once President Obama and Pentagon leaders officially end it. Gay rights activists who pushed lawmakers to end the policy now want Obama to sign an executive order extending non-discriminatory protections to gay and lesbian troops and they’re pushing the Pentagon to extend further benefits to their same-sex partners.”

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