‘Promise Zones’: Obama Announces New Plan To Help Ailing Locales

Obama unveils first 5 'Promise Zones' (Yahoo!)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Invoking his own personal story, President Barack Obama made a plea for bipartisan work to combat poverty and declared, after a 2013 marked by struggles and disappointments, that "this is going to be a year of action."

Obama on Thursday offered a glimpse at his coming State of the Union address and its expected emphasis on economic disparities while announcing five communities that will be targeted for tax incentives and federal grants under a government "Promise Zone" program.

"We've got to make sure this recovery — which is real — leaves nobody behind," he said. "And that's going to be my focus throughout the year."