NPR News

President Obama held his first full dress press conference since his reelection last week and since March of this year on Wednesday.

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

After President Obama's news conference today, he moved on to a meeting with the CEOs of a number of big corporations to talk about avoiding the fiscal cliff. We're going to talk now with one business leader who has advised the White House in the past, although he was not at today's meeting. Gary Loveman is the CEO of Caesars Entertainment, the worldwide casino company. He's been a member of President Obama's export council, and he's also part of the Fix the Debt campaign. Welcome to the program.

Israel launched a new wave of air strikes in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. The commander of Hamas' military wing was among the first casualties.

Anti-austerity demonstrations took place across southern Europe today, from Portugal to Greece. Large crowds voiced anger over budget cuts imposed by their governments or by multinational financial institutions. This is the first time that austerity protests have been coordinated across European borders.

Buyers are coming back into the housing market after losing their homes during the financial crisis — returning to homeownership more quickly than lenders have typically allowed.

With millions of families with recent foreclosures on their records, some report that they are having luck buying a house — in some cases within three years.