Obama says stimulus bill is working

Obama vowed the stimulus would save or create 3 million to 4 million jobs over the next two years when he pushed it through Congress in February.

Republicans, who fought hard to block the stimulus bill, asserted that it was not having the intended effect, and that billions of dollars were being wasted. House GOP leader John Boehner's office accused Obama of "pulling out all the stops to put a positive spin on the legislation."

Obama seeks to review how secrets are classified

WASHINGTON - President Obama yesterday ordered a review of how the nation keeps and classifies its secrets and instructed his top administration officials to lean toward disclosure when they can.

Obama said he didn't want to keep documents secret without a clear national security-based reason.

"While the government must be able to prevent the public disclosure of information where such disclosure would compromise the privacy of American citizens, national security, or other legitimate interests, a democratic government accountable to the people must be as transparent as possible and must not withhold information for self-serving reasons or simply to avoid embarrassment," Obama said in a memo released from the White House.