President Barack Obama views damage from the tornado that devastated Joplin, Mo., Sunday, May 29, 2011. Obama is joined by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, second from right, and FEMA Director William Fugate,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Face to face with the legions of homeless and the bereaved, President Barack Obama on Sunday toured the apocalyptic landscape left by Missouri's killer tornado, consoled the community and committed the government to helping rebuild shattered lives. 
 
 "We're not going to stop `til Joplin's back on its feet," Obama vowed. A memorial service where Obama spoke punctuated a day of remembrance one week after the disaster, as authorities pressed on with the task of identifying the victims and volunteers combed through wreckage of neighborhoods where nothing was left whole. 
 
 The service erupted in cheers when Obama said, "I promise you your country will be there with you every single step of the way," a pledge he extended to all parts of the nation raked by violent storms this season. 
 
 Air Force One flew over a massive swath of brown _ a land of flattened houses and stripped trees _ on its approach to Joplin. On the ground, the destruction was even more stark and complete. Obama confronted painful sights at every turn and said nothing in his life measured up to what he saw this day. 
 
 Yet he spoke, too, of redemptive moments, the stoicism of the community and tales of plain luck. He told a story of a man he talked to who apparently put a pot pie in the oven, heard the storm was coming, hid in a closet and "came out without a scratch." Obama celebrated the spirit of volunteers who have flocked to Joplin to help, the pickup truck owners who ferried people to the hospital and the citizens who lined up for hours to donate blood to people they don't know. 
 
 "You've demonstrated a simple truth," he told the service, "that amid heartbreak and tragedy no one is a stranger. Everybody is a brother. Everybody is a sister. We can all love one another." 
 
 The crowd of hundreds at the service reflected a community in the midst of rebuilding: people in shorts and baseball caps, and plenty of babies who occasionally burst out crying. The president talked over the screeching until a baby was hurried out by the mother. 
 
 Obama got a notably warm reception in this conservative part of Missouri. His remarks were tailored for a religious service, with quotes from scripture, references to the love that binds people to each other, and comments on the essential goodness of humanity. The stories of the storm lead us to "put aside our petty grievances," the president said. "There are heroes all around us, all the time. So, in the wake of this tragedy, let us live up to their example: to make each day count." 
 
 Known for his cool, even-tempered demeanor, Obama offered his own brand of comforting: eloquent words, plentiful handshakes, some hugs, pats on the heads of children, offers of "God bless you." Not for him the raw emotion Americans saw in his predecessors George W. Bush or Bill Clinton. 
 
 Before the service, Obama's motorcade pulled into a neighborhood where downed trees cleaved open houses, roofs were stripped or blown off, cars were cratered and splintered wood was everywhere. He saw nothing intact, but rather small domestic sights _ a view into a room with a TV still in place, a recliner sitting amid rubble, a washer-dryer standing next to a decimated house. American flags were planted here and there in the mess. 
 
 "Sorry for your loss," Obama told an anguished woman, hugging her twice as they talked. Another woman told him that her uncle lives up the road _ he survived but his house did not. "Tell your uncle we're praying for him," the president said. 
 
 To those working at the scene, the president said: "We appreciate everything you guys are doing. God bless you." One volunteer told him that people were coming in from other states to help in any way they could. 
 
 "This is not just your tragedy," Obama said. "This is a national tragedy, and that means there will be a national response." He said: "We are going to be here long after the cameras leave." 
 
 Obama returned to the U.S. on Saturday from a six-day European tour of Ireland, Britain, France and Poland. After days of focusing on the U.S. relationship with the rest of the world, Sunday was about an even more critical connection: his own, with the American people. The tornado was the worst in decades, leaving more than 120 dead and hundreds more injured. At least 40 remain unaccounted for. 
 
 Consoling his fellow Americans is a task Obama has had to assume with increasing frequency of late: after the mass shooting in Arizona in January in which Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was injured; when tornadoes struck Tuscaloosa, Ala., last month; and, more recently, when flooding from the Mississippi inundated parts of Memphis, Tenn. 
 
 Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and local clergy, some of whose churches were ravaged, spoke at the service. Some people said it will help them grieve and move forward with rebuilding. 
 
 "You need to talk about it," said Dorothy Iwan, 67, whose granddaughter was caught in the storm but uninjured. "You need to process it. You need to know people are behind you." 
 
 ___ 
 
 AP writer Nomaan Merchant contributed to this report. ||||| Text of President Barack Obama's speech Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention, as provided by the White House. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Hello, America. 
 
 Twelve years ago tonight, I addressed this convention for the very first time. 
 
 You met my two little girls, Malia and Sasha - now two amazing young women who just fill me with pride. You fell for my brilliant wife and partner Michelle, who's made me a better father and a better man; who's gone on to inspire our nation as First Lady; and who somehow hasn't aged a day. 
 
 I know the same can't be said for me. My girls remind me all the time. Wow, you've changed so much, daddy. 
 
 And it's true - I was so young that first time in Boston. Maybe a little nervous addressing such a big crowd. But I was filled with faith; faith in America - the generous, bighearted, hopeful country that made my story - indeed, all of our stories - possible. 
 
 A lot's happened over the years. And while this nation has been tested by war and recession and all manner of challenge - I stand before you again tonight, after almost two terms as your President, to tell you I am even more optimistic about the future of America. 
 
 How could I not be - after all we've achieved together? 
 
 After the worst recession in 80 years, we've fought our way back. We've seen deficits come down, 401(k)s recover, an auto industry set new records, unemployment reach eight-year lows, and our businesses create 15 million new jobs. 
 
 After a century of trying, we declared that health care in America is not a privilege for a few, but a right for everybody. After decades of talk, we finally began to wean ourselves off foreign oil, and doubled our production of clean energy. 
 
 We brought more of our troops home to their families, and delivered justice to Osama bin Laden. Through diplomacy, we shut down Iran's nuclear weapons program, opened up a new chapter with the people of Cuba, and brought nearly 200 nations together around a climate agreement that could save this planet for our kids. 
 
 We put policies in place to help students with loans; protect consumers from fraud; and cut veteran homelessness almost in half. And through countless acts of quiet courage, America learned that love has no limits, and marriage equality is now a reality across the land. 
 
 By so many measures, our country is stronger and more prosperous than it was when we started. 
 
 And through every victory and every setback, I've insisted that change is never easy, and never quick; that we wouldn't meet all of our challenges in one term, or one presidency, or even in one lifetime. 
 
 So tonight, I'm here to tell you that yes, we still have more work to do. More work to do for every American still in need of a good job or a raise, paid leave or a decent retirement; for every child who needs a sturdier ladder out of poverty or a world-class education; for everyone who hasn't yet felt the progress of these past seven and a half years. We need to keep making our streets safer and our criminal justice system fairer; our homeland more secure, and our world more peaceful and sustainable for the next generation. We're not done perfecting our union, or living up to our founding creed - that all of us are created equal and free in the eyes of God. 
 
 That work involves a big choice this November. Fair to say, this is not your typical election. It's not just a choice between parties or policies; the usual debates between left and right. This is a more fundamental choice - about who we are as a people, and whether we stay true to this great American experiment in self-government. 
 
 Look, we Democrats have always had plenty of differences with the Republican Party, and there's nothing wrong with that; it's precisely this contest of ideas that pushes our country forward. 
 
 But what we heard in Cleveland last week wasn't particularly Republican - and it sure wasn't conservative. What we heard was a deeply pessimistic vision of a country where we turn against each other, and turn away from the rest of the world. There were no serious solutions to pressing problems - just the fanning of resentment, and blame, and anger, and hate. 
 
 And that is not the America I know. 
 
 The America I know is full of courage, and optimism, and ingenuity. The America I know is decent and generous. Sure, we have real anxieties - about paying the bills, protecting our kids, caring for a sick parent. We get frustrated with political gridlock, worry about racial divisions; are shocked and saddened by the madness of Orlando or Nice. There are pockets of America that never recovered from factory closures; men who took pride in hard work and providing for their families who now feel forgotten; parents who wonder whether their kids will have the same opportunities we had. 
 
 All that is real. We're challenged to do better; to be better. But as I've traveled this country, through all fifty states; as I've rejoiced with you and mourned with you, what I've also seen, more than anything, is what is right with America. I see people working hard and starting businesses; people teaching kids and serving our country. I see engineers inventing stuff, and doctors coming up with new cures. I see a younger generation full of energy and new ideas, not constrained by what is, ready to seize what ought to be. 
 
 Most of all, I see Americans of every party, every background, every faith who believe that we are stronger together - black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American; young and old; gay, straight, men, women, folks with disabilities, all pledging allegiance, under the same proud flag, to this big, bold country that we love. 
 
 That's the America I know. And there is only one candidate in this race who believes in that future, and has devoted her life to it; a mother and grandmother who'd do anything to help our children thrive; a leader with real plans to break down barriers, blast through glass ceilings, and widen the circle of opportunity to every single American - the next President of the United States, Hillary Clinton. 
 
 Now, eight years ago, Hillary and I were rivals for the Democratic nomination. We battled for a year and a half. Let me tell you, it was tough, because Hillary's tough. Every time I thought I might have that race won, Hillary just came back stronger. 
 
 But after it was all over, I asked Hillary to join my team. She was a little surprised, but ultimately said yes - because she knew that what was at stake was bigger than either of us. And for four years, I had a front-row seat to her intelligence, her judgment, and her discipline. I came to realize that her unbelievable work ethic wasn't for praise or attention - that she was in this for everyone who needs a champion. I understood that after all these years, she has never forgotten just who she's fighting for. 
 
 Hillary's still got the tenacity she had as a young woman working at the Children's Defense Fund, going door to door to ultimately make sure kids with disabilities could get a quality education. 
 
 She's still got the heart she showed as our First Lady, working with Congress to help push through a Children's Health Insurance Program that to this day protects millions of kids. 
 
 She's still seared with the memory of every American she met who lost loved ones on 9/11, which is why, as a Senator from New York, she fought so hard for funding to help first responders; why, as Secretary of State, she sat with me in the Situation Room and forcefully argued in favor of the mission that took out bin Laden. 
 
 You know, nothing truly prepares you for the demands of the Oval Office. Until you've sat at that desk, you don't know what it's like to manage a global crisis, or send young people to war. But Hillary's been in the room; she's been part of those decisions. She knows what's at stake in the decisions our government makes for the working family, the senior citizen, the small business owner, the soldier, and the veteran. Even in the middle of crisis, she listens to people, and keeps her cool, and treats everybody with respect. And no matter how daunting the odds; no matter how much people try to knock her down, she never, ever quits. 
 
 That's the Hillary I know. That's the Hillary I've come to admire. And that's why I can say with confidence there has never been a man or a woman more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as President of the United States of America. 
 
 And, by the way, in case you were wondering about her judgment, look at her choice of running mate. Tim Kaine is as good a man, as humble and committed a public servant, as anyone I know. He will be a great Vice President, and he'll make Hillary a better President. Just like my dear friend and brother Joe Biden has made me a better President. 
 
 Now, Hillary has real plans to address the concerns she's heard from you on the campaign trail. She's got specific ideas to invest in new jobs, to help workers share in their company's profits, to help put kids in preschool, and put students through college without taking on a ton of debt. That's what leaders do. 
 
 And then there's Donald Trump. He's not really a plans guy. Not really a facts guy, either. He calls himself a business guy, which is true, but I have to say, I know plenty of businessmen and women who've achieved success without leaving a trail of lawsuits, and unpaid workers, and people feeling like they got cheated. 
 
 Does anyone really believe that a guy who's spent his 70 years on this Earth showing no regard for working people is suddenly going to be your champion? Your voice? If so, you should vote for him. But if you're someone who's truly concerned about paying your bills, and seeing the economy grow, and creating more opportunity for everybody, then the choice isn't even close. If you want someone with a lifelong track record of fighting for higher wages, better benefits, a fairer tax code, a bigger voice for workers, and stronger regulations on Wall Street, then you should vote for Hillary Clinton. 
 
 And if you're concerned about who's going to keep you and your family safe in a dangerous world - well, the choice is even clearer. Hillary Clinton is respected around the world not just by leaders, but by the people they serve. She's worked closely with our intelligence teams, our diplomats, our military. And she has the judgment, the experience, and the temperament to meet the threat from terrorism. It's not new to her. Our troops have pounded ISIL without mercy, taking out leaders, taking back territory. I know Hillary won't relent until ISIL is destroyed. She'll finish the job - and she'll do it without resorting to torture, or banning entire religions from entering our country. She is fit to be the next Commander-in-Chief. 
 
 Meanwhile, Donald Trump calls our military a disaster. Apparently, he doesn't know the men and women who make up the strongest fighting force the world has ever known. He suggests America is weak. He must not hear the billions of men, women, and children, from the Baltics to Burma, who still look to America to be the light of freedom, dignity, and human rights. He cozies up to Putin, praises Saddam Hussein, and tells the NATO allies that stood by our side after 9/11 that they have to pay up if they want our protection. Well, America's promises do not come with a price tag. We meet our commitments. And that's one reason why almost every country on Earth sees America as stronger and more respected today than they did eight years ago. 
 
 America is already great. America is already strong. And I promise you, our strength, our greatness, does not depend on Donald Trump. 
 
 In fact, it doesn't depend on any one person. And that, in the end, may be the biggest difference in this election - the meaning of our democracy. 
 
 Ronald Reagan called America "a shining city on a hill." Donald Trump calls it "a divided crime scene" that only he can fix. It doesn't matter to him that illegal immigration and the crime rate are as low as they've been in decades, because he's not offering any real solutions to those issues. He's just offering slogans, and he's offering fear. He's betting that if he scares enough people, he might score just enough votes to win this election. 
 
 That is another bet that Donald Trump will lose. Because he's selling the American people short. We are not a fragile or frightful people. Our power doesn't come from some self-declared savior promising that he alone can restore order. We don't look to be ruled. Our power comes from those immortal declarations first put to paper right here in Philadelphia all those years ago; We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that together, We, the People, can form a more perfect union. 
 
 That's who we are. That's our birthright - the capacity to shape our own destiny. That's what drove patriots to choose revolution over tyranny and our GIs to liberate a continent. It's what gave women the courage to reach for the ballot, and marchers to cross a bridge in Selma, and workers to organize and fight for better wages. 
 
 America has never been about what one person says he'll do for us. It's always been about what can be achieved by us, together, through the hard, slow, sometimes frustrating, but ultimately enduring work of self-government. 
 
 And that's what Hillary Clinton understands. She knows that this is a big, diverse country, and that most issues are rarely black and white. That even when you're 100 percent right, getting things done requires compromise. That democracy doesn't work if we constantly demonize each other. She knows that for progress to happen, we have to listen to each other, see ourselves in each other, fight for our principles but also fight to find common ground, no matter how elusive that may seem. 
 
 Hillary knows we can work through racial divides in this country when we realize the worry black parents feel when their son leaves the house isn't so different than what a brave cop's family feels when he puts on the blue and goes to work; that we can honor police and treat every community fairly. She knows that acknowledging problems that have festered for decades isn't making race relations worse - it's creating the possibility for people of good will to join and make things better. 
 
 Hillary knows we can insist on a lawful and orderly immigration system while still seeing striving students and their toiling parents as loving families, not criminals or rapists; families that came here for the same reasons our forebears came - to work, and study, and make a better life, in a place where we can talk and worship and love as we please. She knows their dream is quintessentially American, and the American Dream is something no wall will ever contain. 
 
 It can be frustrating, this business of democracy. Trust me, I know. Hillary knows, too. When the other side refuses to compromise, progress can stall. Supporters can grow impatient, and worry that you're not trying hard enough; that you've maybe sold out. 
 
 But I promise you, when we keep at it; when we change enough minds; when we deliver enough votes, then progress does happen. Just ask the twenty million more people who have health care today. Just ask the Marine who proudly serves his country without hiding the husband he loves. Democracy works, but we gotta want it - not just during an election year, but all the days in between. 
 
 So if you agree that there's too much inequality in our economy, and too much money in our politics, we all need to be as vocal and as organized and as persistent as Bernie Sanders' supporters have been. We all need to get out and vote for Democrats up and down the ticket, and then hold them accountable until they get the job done. 
 
 If you want more justice in the justice system, then we've all got to vote - not just for a President, but for mayors, and sheriffs, and state's attorneys, and state legislators. And we've got to work with police and protesters until laws and practices are changed. 
 
 If you want to fight climate change, we've got to engage not only young people on college campuses, but reach out to the coal miner who's worried about taking care of his family, the single mom worried about gas prices. 
 
 If you want to protect our kids and our cops from gun violence, we've got to get the vast majority of Americans, including gun owners, who agree on background checks to be just as vocal and determined as the gun lobby that blocks change through every funeral we hold. That's how change will happen. 
 
 Look, Hillary's got her share of critics. She's been caricatured by the right and by some folks on the left; accused of everything you can imagine - and some things you can't. But she knows that's what happens when you're under a microscope for 40 years. She knows she's made mistakes, just like I have; just like we all do. That's what happens when we try. That's what happens when you're the kind of citizen Teddy Roosevelt once described - not the timid souls who criticize from the sidelines, but someone "who is actually in the arena.who strives valiantly; who errs.(but) who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement." 
 
 Hillary Clinton is that woman in the arena. She's been there for us - even if we haven't always noticed. And if you're serious about our democracy, you can't afford to stay home just because she might not align with you on every issue. You've got to get in the arena with her, because democracy isn't a spectator sport. America isn't about "yes he will." It's about "yes we can." And we're going to carry Hillary to victory this fall, because that's what the moment demands. 
 
 You know, there's been a lot of talk in this campaign about what America's lost - people who tell us that our way of life is being undermined by pernicious changes and dark forces beyond our control. They tell voters there's a "real America" out there that must be restored. This isn't an idea that started with Donald Trump. It's been peddled by politicians for a long time - probably from the start of our Republic. 
 
 And it's got me thinking about the story I told you twelve years ago tonight, about my Kansas grandparents and the things they taught me when I was growing up. They came from the heartland; their ancestors began settling there about 200 years ago. They were Scotch-Irish mostly, farmers, teachers, ranch hands, pharmacists, oil rig workers. Hardy, small town folks. Some were Democrats, but a lot of them were Republicans. My grandparents explained that they didn't like show-offs. They didn't admire braggarts or bullies. They didn't respect mean-spiritedness, or folks who were always looking for shortcuts in life. Instead, they valued traits like honesty and hard work. Kindness and courtesy. Humility; responsibility; helping each other out. 
 
 That's what they believed in. True things. Things that last. The things we try to teach our kids. 
 
 And what my grandparents understood was that these values weren't limited to Kansas. They weren't limited to small towns. These values could travel to Hawaii; even the other side of the world, where my mother would end up working to help poor women get a better life. They knew these values weren't reserved for one race; they could be passed down to a half-Kenyan grandson, or a half-Asian granddaughter; in fact, they were the same values Michelle's parents, the descendants of slaves, taught their own kids living in a bungalow on the South Side of Chicago. They knew these values were exactly what drew immigrants here, and they believed that the children of those immigrants were just as American as their own, whether they wore a cowboy hat or a yarmulke; a baseball cap or a hijab. 
 
 America has changed over the years. But these values my grandparents taught me - they haven't gone anywhere. They're as strong as ever; still cherished by people of every party, every race, and every faith. They live on in each of us. What makes us American, what makes us patriots, is what's in here. That's what matters. That's why we can take the food and music and holidays and styles of other countries, and blend it into something uniquely our own. That's why we can attract strivers and entrepreneurs from around the globe to build new factories and create new industries here. That's why our military can look the way it does, every shade of humanity, forged into common service. That's why anyone who threatens our values, whether fascists or communists or jihadists or homegrown demagogues, will always fail in the end. 
 
 That's America. Those bonds of affection; that common creed. We don't fear the future; we shape it, embrace it, as one people, stronger together than we are on our own. That's what Hillary Clinton understands - this fighter, this stateswoman, this mother and grandmother, this public servant, this patriot - that's the America she's fighting for. 
 
 And that's why I have confidence, as I leave this stage tonight, that the Democratic Party is in good hands. My time in this office hasn't fixed everything; as much as we've done, there's still so much I want to do. But for all the tough lessons I've had to learn; for all the places I've fallen short; I've told Hillary, and I'll tell you what's picked me back up, every single time. 
 
 It's been you. The American people. 
 
 It's the letter I keep on my wall from a survivor in Ohio who twice almost lost everything to cancer, but urged me to keep fighting for health care reform, even when the battle seemed lost. Do not quit. 
 
 It's the painting I keep in my private office, a big-eyed, green owl, made by a seven year-old girl who was taken from us in Newtown, given to me by her parents so I wouldn't forget - a reminder of all the parents who have turned their grief into action. 
 
 It's the small business owner in Colorado who cut most of his own salary so he wouldn't have to lay off any of his workers in the recession - because, he said, "that wouldn't have been in the spirit of America." 
 
 It's the conservative in Texas who said he disagreed with me on everything, but appreciated that, like him, I try to be a good dad. 
 
 It's the courage of the young soldier from Arizona who nearly died on the battlefield in Afghanistan, but who's learned to speak and walk again - and earlier this year, stepped through the door of the Oval Office on his own power, to salute and shake my hand. 
 
 It's every American who believed we could change this country for the better, so many of you who'd never been involved in politics, who picked up phones, and hit the streets, and used the internet in amazing new ways to make change happen. You are the best organizers on the planet, and I'm so proud of all the change you've made possible. 
 
 Time and again, you've picked me up. I hope, sometimes, I picked you up, too. Tonight, I ask you to do for Hillary Clinton what you did for me. I ask you to carry her the same way you carried me. Because you're who I was talking about twelve years ago, when I talked about hope - it's been you who've fueled my dogged faith in our future, even when the odds are great; even when the road is long. Hope in the face of difficulty; hope in the face of uncertainty; the audacity of hope! 
 
 America, you have vindicated that hope these past eight years. And now I'm ready to pass the baton and do my part as a private citizen. This year, in this election, I'm asking you to join me - to reject cynicism, reject fear, to summon what's best in us; to elect Hillary Clinton as the next President of the United States, and show the world we still believe in the promise of this great nation. 
 
 Thank you for this incredible journey. Let's keep it going. God bless the United States of America. ||||| Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers Cathy McMorris RodgersHillicon Valley: Republicans demand answers from mobile carriers on data practices | Top carriers to stop selling location data | DOJ probing Huawei | T-Mobile execs stayed at Trump hotel as merger awaited approval House Republicans question mobile carriers on data practices Washington governor announces killer whale recovery plan MORE (R-Wash.) delivered an assured performance Tuesday night as she contrasted President Obama's State of the Union address with the GOP's “hopeful” vision for the nation. 
 
 
 
 "Tonight I'd like to share a more hopeful, Republican vision — one that empowers you, not the government," said Rodgers, the chairwoman of the House Republican Conference. "It's one that champions free markets and trusts people to make their own decisions, not a government that decides for you." 
 
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 The speech, which was billed as the formal GOP response to Obama's address, served as a national introduction of sorts for McMorris Rodgers, the highest-ranking female Republican lawmaker in Congress and a rising star in the party. 
 
 Speaking from a couch in a softly lit room, she gave a confident address that emphasized her three children and hit on broad themes to strike a contrast with Obama. 
 
 "Tonight the president made more promises that sound good, but won't actually solve the problems actually facing Americans," she said. "We want you to have a better life. The president wants that too. But we part ways when it comes to how to make that happen." 
 
 The GOP rebuttal has been a fraught assignment in recent years. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) famously lunged for a drink of water during his rebuttal last year, and it became the enduring image of his speech. 
 
 But there was nothing awkward about the performance of McMorris Rodgers, who is emerging as an important surrogate for House Republicans as they battle back against Democratic charges that they are waging a "war on women." 
 
 The congresswoman downplayed Obama's speech as one filled with promises of what the government can deliver to its citizens and said it’s a mindset that Republicans don't share. 
 
 
 
 "The president talks a lot about income inequality," she said. "But the real gap we face today is one of opportunity inequality. And with this administration's policies, that gap has become far too wide." 
 
 
 
 She added that the GOP's plans would not involve "more spending, government bailouts and red tape." 
 
 
 
 She highlighted school choice and immigration, but on the latter issue said Republicans are working on a step-by-step solution to secure the border and make sure talented immigrants can continue to find their way to the United States. 
 
 The congresswoman criticized ObamaCare as a one-size-fits-all government solution that has failed to meet its promises of broader coverage and lower costs. 
 
 
 
 "Not long ago I got a letter from Bette in Spokane, [Wash.], who hoped the president's healthcare law would save her money but found out instead that her premiums were going up nearly $700 a month," she said. "No, we shouldn't go back to the way things were, but this law is not working. Republicans believe healthcare choices should be yours, not the government." 
 
 
 
 She repeatedly stressed the role of everyday Americans over what politicians are doing in Washington. 
 
 
 
 "The most important moments right now aren't happening here. They're not in the Oval Office or in the House chamber. 
 
 
 
 "They're in your homes: kissing your kids goodnight, figuring out how to pay the bills, getting ready for tomorrow's doctor's visit, waiting to hear from those you love serving in Afghanistan or searching for that big job interview." 
 
 Rep. Lynn Jenkins, a Republican from Kansas, commended McMorris Rodgers for an "inspiring" speech. 
 
 "Congratulations ... on delivering a truly inspiring personal message this evening that transcended politics," Jenkins wrote on Twitter. ||||| President Barack Obama thanks American service members and pays tribute to six U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan days earlier. Rough cut (no reporter narration). 
 
 The leader of the world's Anglicans, says Islamic State is a 'Herod of Today' who want to exterminate Christians in the Middle East. Rough cut (no reporter narration). 
 
 A suspected suicide bomber kills himself and wounds several other people in an attack on a mosque in north-western Bangladesh. Rough cut (no reporter narration). 
 
 Katie Couric examines the disease behind the new movie “Concussion” starring Will Smith and speaks with those directly impacted by traumatic brain injury. 
 
 Why the NFL doesn't want you to see "Concussion' 
 
 Barron Whited stops by to talk about some resolutions for parents to build better relationships with their kids. 
 
 A longtime relationship between two allies, Amazon and UPS, has recently come under strain. WSJ's Laura Stevens discusses with Tanya Rivero. Photo: Getty 
 
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 A widowed Navy Veteran is told she can’t be buried with her late wife because her home state of Idaho doesn’t recognize same-sex marriages. Jen Markham has the story. 
 
 Madelynn Taylor, 74, served six years in the United States Navy. When she passes away, she says, she wants to be buried with the ashes of her late wife, Jean Mixner, in the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery. 
 
 But there's a problem. Because gay marriage isn't recognized in Idaho, Taylor's wish has been denied, even though the cemetery allows opposite-sex spouses to be buried or interred with veterans, KBOI.com reports. 
 
 "I'm not surprised," Taylor said to KBOI.com. "I've been discriminated against for 70 years, and they might as well discriminate against me in death as well as life. 
 
 "I don't see where the ashes of a couple old lesbians is going to hurt anyone," she continued. The couple were first married in 1995 and then legally married again in California in 2008. Mixner died in 2012. 
 
 "I could take the same documents and get buried in Arlington if I needed to, with no problems," Taylor told KHOU.com. "But here they said it's a state veterans cemetery, not a national cemetery. So we have to go by the state laws. So, we gotta change the state laws." 
 
 Idaho's governor, C.L. "Butch" Otter, confirmed the state law wouldn't allow the couple to be buried together. 
 
 "The veteran’s cemetery rules require a valid marriage certificate in order for a spouse to be buried with a veteran. Idaho’s Constitution does not recognize same-sex marriage," Otter said in a statement released on Thursday. "The voters spoke in 2006 by passing an amendment to our Constitution defining marriage as between a man and a woman. I am defending their decision and the Idaho Constitution in federal court, so I’m not going to comment any further." 
 
 Taylor says she will continue to speak out against the rule. She told KBOI.com that she recently joined the Add the 4 Words protest, a movement that seeks to add the words "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to Idaho's human rights act. 
 
 "Normally I stammer and stutter myself. I'm not a public speaker," Taylor told KHOU.com. "I'm a background person. I work in the background. What's changed is I got mad at the cemetery and decided it's time to do something about it." 
 
 Taylor says she has no intention of being buried in the veterans cemetery without her late spouse. Should she pass away before the state law is changed, she wants her family to hold her ashes and Mixner's until a time in which they are allowed to be together. 
 
 "Eventually I'm going to be there. It'll happen. They might as well give up and let us go now," Taylor told KHOU.com. 
 
 A total of 33 states, including Idaho, prohibits same-sex couples from marrying and does not recognize gay marriages performed elsewhere, according to MSNBC. 
 
 Follow Mike Krumboltz on Twitter (@mikekrumboltz). ||||| Annie Leibovitz is reportedly set to shoot the story. 
 
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 We popped out of theoffices to run into Safeway at Fourth and King streets this afternoon, when we noticed two overly cheerful young people staffing a Lyndon LaRouche table outside the grocery store.Or, to be more precise, we noticed their sign, which featured President Barack Obama with a Hitler mustache across his upper lip. 
 
 Admittedly, we were curious to why these folks had descended upon a liberal bastion like San Francisco. So we stopped and chatted with the two young distinctly polite LaRouchePAC workers, both of whom didn't want to be named. 
 
 
 
 ​ 
 
 Obama, explained a young woman with tidy braids, was failing to protect us from imminent earthquakes by not preparing us with the needed "infrastructure." And this, she said, was despite repeated warnings from the Russians that an earthquake is on its way. 
 
 "We're shutting down programs to send manned satellites into space," explained her male compatriot. 
 
 
 
 The satellites, he said, could help us predict earthquakes, which was ever more important, "after what happened in Japan." 
 
 Obama, he continued, is "destroying what makes the human species unique from all other forms of life," and "condemning the human species" by failing to adequately prepare California, and the United States, for a large earthquake. 
 
 Building up steam, he said, Obama was failing to invest in research that would shed light on how the solar activity relates to tectonic activity. 
 
 
 
 "We know there's a correlation, but we don't know what," he said. 
 
 
 
 So we had to ask: When is the big earthquake coming? "We don't know the exact date," the man admitted. But we kept pressing him, because, well, we want to know. 
 
 "Everyone thinks it will happen in 2013," he finally said. 
 
 
 
 So then we brought the conversation full-circle and asked why a Hitler stache was scrawled across President Obama's photo? And why the calls to invoke the 25th Amendment, which deals with the succession of a sitting U.S. President? 
 
 
 
 "We don't think Obama should be impeached," the young man explained. "We just think he should be removed." 
 
 While other LaRouche volunteers have reportedly been physically threatened after displaying similar signs comparing Obama to the genocidal German dictator, the young man said he's gotten a positive response from people passing through San Francisco's Mission Bay district. 
 
 "Everyone has been really nice so far," he said cheerfully. "Even people within the city." 
 
 Which makes sense when you think about it. San Francisco has adopted Frank Chu as its unofficial mascot, made the World Famous Bushman a tourist attraction, and bemusedly watches local nudists Lloyd and Rusty strut their stuff through the Castro. 
 
 
 
 If there's one thing we love, it's the blithely bizarre, no matter how offensive it might be. 
 
 Follow us on Twitter at @TheSnitchSF and @SFWeekly.
– With President Obama headed for her tornado-ravaged state, Okla. Gov. Mary Fallin told CNN's State of the Union today that while, "so far, we have had a great response" from the feds, she's also worried about the grinding wheels of bureaucracy in the days ahead. "What I need is the ability to get through red tape," she said, emphasizing the scope of the 17-mile swath of destruction. "This is a massive debris field. It's not just a couple blocks." Added the mayor of Joplin, Mo.: "There is no quick remedy for a disaster of these proportions. It does take time." Elsewhere on your Sunday dial, as per Politico: Lindsey Graham on sex assaults in the military: "I want to salute the women who serve and are putting up with way too much crap. This needs to end. Commanders who allow this to flourish, quite frankly, should be fired. The president spoke well of this problem. It is a disgrace to the United States military." Graham on Obama's speech on counterterror: "We show this lack of resolve, talking about the war being over. What do you think the Iranians are thinking? At the end of the day, this is the most tone-deaf president I ever could imagine, making such a speech at a time when our homeland is trying to be attacked literally every day." Newt Gingrich on Obama's speech: "It's just stunningly, breathtakingly naive. This stuff's going on everywhere, and we will never be in peace in the pre-1941 sense that we are never threatened. No one wants to talk honestly" about the threat. Bob Dole on his chances of making it in the modern GOP: "I doubt it. Reagan couldn't have made it. Certainly, Nixon couldn't have made it, 'cause he had ideas. We might've made it, but I doubt it. They ought to put a sign on the National Committee doors that says 'Closed for repairs,' until New Year's Day next year. And spend that time going over ideas and positive agendas." Dole on the Senate: "It's bent pretty badly. It seems almost unreal that we can't get together on budget or legislation. I mean, we weren't perfect, but at least we got the work done."