Refocusing on economy, Obama sets Midwest job tour

WASHINGTON — The bruising debt fight behind him for now, President Barack Obama is planning a Midwest bus tour later this month that will focus on jobs.

The White House on Wednesday confirmed plans for the trip the week of Aug. 15 but didn't release details.

As he signed the compromise legislation raising the U.S. debt ceiling, Obama complained that Washington has been "absorbed" by the crisis of a looming default, but American families are still facing a "quiet crisis" of persistently high unemployment. He promised to make job-creating measures his top priority when Congress returns from vacation -- including pending trade deals, extending payroll tax cuts and overhauling patent laws.