WASHINGTON (AP) - While in office, former President George H. W. Bush once asked, "What is it about August?" This month usually associated with the doldrums of summer has burdened modern presidents with crises.
For President Barack Obama, who returned to Washington Sunday from a two-week Martha's Vineyard vacation, what remains of August looks perhaps more daunting than when he left.
Islamic militants personalized their fight in Iraq and Syria by executing American journalist James Foley. Russia escalated tensions in Europe by pushing a convoy into the former Soviet republic of Ukraine without Kiev's approval. And a Chinese fighter jet buzzed a Navy plane in international air space.
Racial tensions remain in Ferguson, Missouri. And Obama faces his own self-imposed end-of-summer deadline for how to sidestep Congress on changes to immigration policies.
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8/25/2014 3:39:11 AM (GMT -4:00)
