Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to visit the White House in early November, a U.S. spokesman said Friday, the first time he's been invited since a fierce row over the Iranian nuclear deal.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said there was an "ongoing effort" to find an exact date for the meeting, but that it would be a chance to deepen cooperation.

President Barack Obama revealed Thursday that an American and an Italian hostage were accidentally killed in a covert U.S. counter-terrorism operation near the Afghan-Pakistan border in January, taking "full responsibility" for the tragedy.

A senior al-Qaida leader, an American, was also killed in the operation and the group's English-language spokesman, U.S. convert Adam Gadahn, died in a separate strike.

President Barack Obama faces a familiar question as he contemplates airstrikes in Syria: Should Congress have a say in his decision?

Obama was barreling toward strikes last summer when he abruptly announced that he first wanted approval from congressional lawmakers. But Congress balked at Obama's request for a vote and the operation was eventually scrapped.

The White House defended its behind-the-scenes work on immigration reform Sunday after a plan leaked to the U.S. media was panned by a key Republican as "half-baked and seriously flawed."

USA Today said the plan being drafted by administration and which is already circulating among various government agencies would allow illegal immigrants to become legal permanent U.S. residents within eight years.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday claimed a mandate to raise taxes on the rich to pay for deficit reductions, firing his first post-election shot in a year-end budget showdown with Republicans.

"We can't just cut our way to prosperity. If we are serious about reducing the deficit, we have to combine spending cuts with revenue, and that means asking the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more in taxes," he said.