The White House is defending President Obama's upcoming trip to three African countries despite the hefty price tag, saying that the U.S. would be "ceding its leadership position in the world" by not engaging in Africa.

Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said that Obama has not traveled to Africa "in the same way that we've traveled to other regions in the world," noting that Obama has traveled "significantly" in Asia, has taken several trips to Latin America and to Europe and will have taken several trips to Russia by the end of the year.

"Africa's a critically important region of the world," Rhodes said, contending the U.S. has "huge interests there." He noted some of the world's fastest growing economies are in Africa, along with a fast growing youth population.

He said there are democratic institutions on the upswing in the three countries Obama is visiting: Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania, and that some of the U.S.'s biggest development efforts on issues like global health and combating HIV and AIDS have focused on Africa.

"So for the United States to say, 'We're a world leader except in this continent' doesn't make any sense," Rhodes said. "Just as we put a premium on developing our ties in emerging regions like southeast Asia and Latin America, we need to be present in Africa."

He noted other economies are "quite present" in Africa, including China, Brazil and Turkey.

"The U.S. would be ceding its leadership position in the world if the president of the United States was not deeply engaged in Africa," Rhodes said, adding that the trip has been "highly anticipated on the continent" and that there's "grave disappointment" that Obama hasn't traveled to Africa other than a  stop in Ghana.

The White House cancelled President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama's plans for an African safari after the Washington Post began asking about the trip's expenses, the newspaper says.

The story says "hundreds of U.S. Secret Service agents will be dispatched to secure facilities in Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania. A Navy aircraft carrier or amphibious ship, with a fully staffed medical trauma center, will be stationed offshore in case of an emergency."

The story says the pesident and first lady had planned to take a Tanzanian safari as part of the trip, "which would have required the president’s special counterassault team to carry sniper rifles with high-caliber rounds that could neutralize cheetahs, lions or other animals if they became a threat, according to the planning document. But the White House canceled the safari Wednesday after inquiries from The Post about the trip’s purpose and expense, according to a person familiar with the decision."

The story says that while the "preparations appear to be in line with similar travels in the past, the document offers an unusual glimpse into the colossal efforts to protect the U.S. commander-in-chief on trips abroad."

President Barack Obama will travel to Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania next month.

"The president will reinforce the importance that the United States places on our deep and growing ties with countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including through expanding economic growth, investment, and trade; strengthening democratic institutions; and investing in the next generation of African leaders," White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement. "The president will meet with a wide array of leaders from government, business, and civil society, including youth, to discuss our strategic partnerships on bilateral and global issues. The trip will underscore the President’s commitment to broadening and deepening cooperation between the United States and the people of sub-Saharan Africa to advance regional and global peace and prosperity."

First Lady Michelle Obama will accompany her husband, June 26 to July 3.

The Internal Revenue Service and Benghazi stories may be consuming Washington, but in the rest of America, not so much.

"The amount of attention Americans are paying to the IRS and the Benghazi situations is well below the average for news stories Gallup has tracked over the years," a new Gallup poll found.

Democrats are not paying much attention, nor are independents, said the survey released Friday--though Republicans are paying a lot of attention.

"Republicans are also much more likely than Democrats to strongly agree that both situations are serious enough to require investigation," according to a Gallup analaysis.

Meeting with the leaders of four African countries, President Obama paid tribute to the ailing former South African president and anti-aparthaid leader, Nelson Mandela, calling him a "hero."

Obama said he and the leaders would be keeping Mandela and his family "in our thoughts and prayers.

"He is as strong physically as he's been in character and in leadership over so many decades, and hopefully he will come out of this latest challenge," Obama said of Mandela, who was hospitalized for a recurring lung infection.

Obama noted that Mandela "has given everything to his people, the people of South Africa, to the people of the continent, and he's ended up being an inspiration to all of us. 

"When you think of a single individual that embodies the kind of leadership qualities that I think we all aspire to, the first name that comes up is Nelson Mandela, and so we wish him all the very best," Obama said.

Obama's remarks came as he met with President Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone, President Macky Sall of Senegal, President Joyce Banda of Malawi, and Prime Minister José Maria Pereira Neves of Cape Verde. He said the four "exemplify the progress that we're seeing in Africa" and noted that all of them have had to deal with "extraordinary challenges."

The government of Kenya is taking exception to President Obama's remarks at the weekend's Gridiron dinner in which he saluted reporters for working in dangerous places -- including Syria and Kenya.

Kenya's Permanent Secretary for Information and Communications Bitange Ndemo called Obama's suggestion that Kenya is unsafe for foreign journalists "only inaccurate, but exceedingly disturbing given the long and warm relations between our two nations."

Obama's remarks came at the close of a speech in which he generally poked fun at himself and Congress, and said that "reporters have exposed corruption here at home and around the world.  They've risked everything to bring us stories from places like Syria and Kenya, stories that need to be told."

But Kenya objects to being named along with civil-war torn Syria and Ndemo said that "like the U.S., Kenya deeply values freedom of the press." He said that there were no cases of "harassment, intimidation, or arrest of foreign journalists operating in Kenya" during the recent election.

And he said the country calls on Obama -- whose father was born there --"to correct his statement, and recognize Kenya’s commitment to ensuring a free and safe environment for both local and foreign journalists and to keeping an unfettered flow of information to the Kenyan public."

From the White House: "As we enter the season of giving and renewal, more than 13.3 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia remain in urgent need of humanitarian assistance amid the worst drought the region has seen in 60 years. The heartbreaking accounts of lives lost and of those struggling to survive remind us of our common humanity and the need to reach out to people in need. I want to thank the many Americans who have reached out in support, and made donations over the last several months to support people in need in the Horn of Africa.

Today, on behalf of the U.S. Government and the American people, I am announcing an additional $113 million in emergency relief assistance for the Horn of Africa. This funding will support urgently needed food, health, shelter, water and assistance needs. To date, the U.S. has provided approximately $870 million for relief purposes. Importantly, and even as we help to meet the emergency needs of the people of this region, we are also investing in their long-term food security http://www.feedthefuture.gov/.

Environmental groups today sent a letter to the inspector general of the State Department asking for an investigation of its review of the Keystone XL pipeline project. The Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth and other groups list examples of what they say were violations of government ethics rules. (See their press release and a link to their letter here). 

The State Department has to decide whether to give a permit to the 1,700-mile pipeline from Canada's oil sands to Texas because it crosses the boundary. The decision ultimately is up to President Obama. The environmental groups say he should reject it.

Climate change alone is enough reason, said Michael Brune, the director of the Sierra Club, speaking in a call with reporters. "The problem is pretty simple, which is we have to quickly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from conventional fossil fuels," he said. The groups also oppose the pipeline because of the risk of spills on the land and into the aquifer under the Great Plains that supplies water to much of American agriculture.

Brune said the groups are waiting to see whether the administration approves new rules to reduce pollution from coal-fired power plants, goes ahead with greenhouse-gas regulations for large plants, and rejects the pipeline. "We don't think we can mobilize our members (to work for Obama's re-election) until the president decides to fight climate change and stand up to big polluters," he said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell ripped into President Obama's bus tour today, saying the $447 billion jobs package would raise taxes on businesses and smother job growth.

"It’s completely preposterous at a time when 14 million Americans are looking for a job in this country for the President to be riding around on a bus saying we should raise taxes — on the very folks who create jobs," McConnell said on the Senate floor.

"Let’s park the campaign bus, put away the talking points, and do something to address this jobs crisis," he said.

Obama strategist David Axelrod defended the jobs push on the CBS/Early Show, citing polls that show a majority of Americans back the jobs bill.

"They want action now to put people back to work and they think that the proposals the president has put forward will work," he said. "What he wants to do is enlist the American people to talk to their lawmakers and to talk to the folks on Capitol Hill and tell them to act."

Left to Right: Republican U.S. Sens. Mark Kirk of Illinois, Marco Rubio of Florida, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and John McCain of Arizona, in Libya.

Fresh off a visit to the newly liberated Libyan capital of Tripoli, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said the new government in the North African nation needs international help with its police force, its prisons and its fledgling democracy.

Rubio, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, traveled Thursday to Libya with fellow Republican Sens. Mark Kirk of Illinois, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona.

Rubio said he told those he met in Tripoli that people who are oppressed in other parts of the world have looked to the Libyan revolution as inspiration. He also said the American role in aiding the transition is vital for the region.

"All in all, we're pleased with the progress they've made," Rubio said. "We're very happy to see the pro-American enthusiasm that we encountered. And we have hope for Libya's future. Five years from now, three years from now, we could have a nation in the northern part of Africa that is Islamic and Arab, and yet pro-American and a democracy. And our ally in confronting the problems of the region and the world. That's the opportunity before us."