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Posts tagged as “White House”

President Obama Helps Catch Fainting Woman During White House Speech on Obamacare (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on October 21, 2013

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zLJe0JGN4M&w=420&h=315]
GOOD CATCH MR. PRESIDENT! Obama Catches Fainting Woman During White House Speech! (Video)
During a speech this morning by President Barack Obama on Obamacare, a woman standing directly behind the president began to wobble back and forth as if she was about to faint.  Luckily, Obama realized there was something going on behind him and immediately turned around to catch the woman, making sure she remained steady on her feet.
Good catch Mr. President!  Apparently the woman was attending the speech as a guest who was a beneficiary of the Affordable Care Act.

“I got you. You’re OK,” the President said.  “This is what happens when I talk too long,” the president said after helping her get escorted off the stage.

article by aattp.org

Obama Shifts on National Security Programs, Calls for Greater Accountability

By goodblacknews on August 9, 2013
President Barack Obama answers questions during a press conference in the East Room of the White House August 9, 2013 in Washington, DC. Obama answered questions on national security issues and related matters during the press conferece. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
President Barack Obama answers questions during a press conference in the East Room of the White House August 9, 2013 in Washington, DC. Obama answered questions on national security issues and related matters during the press conferece. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

When President Obama was first asked about controversial National Security agencies programs two months ago, he struck a defiant tone, rejecting the notion that what Edward Snowden had revealed constituted any kind of controversy.  “Congress is continually briefed on how these (programs) are conducted. There are a whole range of safeguards involved. And federal judges are overseeing the entire program throughout. And we’re also setting up — we’ve also set up an audit process when I came into office to make sure that we’re, after the fact, making absolutely certain that all the safeguards are being properly observed,” he said then.

Now, his tone has changed. Obama still defends these programs as being both necessary for national security and not violating the civil liberties of Americans. But his announcements at a press conference Friday illustrate he was eager to quiet strong  criticism from even liberals and long-time supporters about the collection of phone records of Americans by the NSA.
The president said he would appoint a panel of outside experts to review U.S. intelligence gathering, appoint a “full-time civil liberties and privacy officer” at the NSA, review provisions in the Patriot Act that authorize the collection of phone records and create a system in which the government’s position is challenged by an adversary in cases that go to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
Obama did not apologize for the NSA programs. But he also acknowledged the need for greater public debate and oversight of them, as his critics have repeatedly called for.  “We’re going to resolve our differences in the United States, through vigorous public debate, guided by our Constitution, with reverence for our history as a nation of laws and with respect for the facts,” he said.

Oprah Winfrey, Ernie Banks and Bayard Rustin to Receive Presidential Medal of Freedom

By goodblacknews on August 8, 2013

barack_obama-1According to ABC News, Oprah Winfrey, baseball great Ernie Banks and 1960s civil rights leader Bayard Rustin are among the 16 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom that President Obama will honor at the White House later this year.
“The Presidential Medal of Freedom goes to men and women who have dedicated their own lives to enriching ours,” the president said in a written statement. “This year’s honorees have been blessed with extraordinary talent, but what sets them apart is their gift for sharing that talent with the world.”
Fifty years ago, President John F. Kennedy established the Medal of Freedom as the nation’s highest civilian honor. Since then, more than 500 people have been recognized with the award for their contributions to all corners of society.  This year’s recipients include musicians, athletes, journalists, lawmakers, advocates and scientists.
In addition to Winfrey, Banks and Rustin (who is receiving his award posthumously), Obama will honor former President Bill Clinton as well as the Washington Post’s former executive editor, Ben Bradlee, who oversaw the newspaper’s coverage of Watergate and the end of the Nixon presidency, former University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith, feminist pioneer and political activist Gloria Steinem, country music legend Loretta Lynn, and Sally Ride, the first American female astronaut to travel to space, among others.
Below is the full list of recipients from the White House:

Michelle Obama's Newest Initiative: Using Hip-Hop to Fight Obesity (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on August 6, 2013

First lady Michelle Obama is distributing a hip-hop album, complete with music videos, to fight obesity at schools across the country.

First lady Michelle Obama is distributing a hip-hop album, complete with music videos, to fight obesity at schools across the country.  In June, first lady Michelle Obama appeared in a hip-hop music video that featured rapper Doug E. Fresh, singer-songwriter Jordin Sparks and TV medical personality Dr. Oz. The catchy song urged kids to “work hard/eat right” and “tell somebody/it’s your body/c’mon.” The song was just the first of a 19-track album, the majority of which are hip-hop, to be released by the Partnership for a Healthier America, the anti-obesity nonprofit that launched in conjunction with Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! anti-obesity campaign, and a New York-based group called Hip Hop Public Health.  
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvm7Fqbpqcg&w=560&h=315]

The full album, which includes songs with names like “Veggie Luv,” by Monifah and J Rome, “Hip Hop LEAN,” by Artie Green, and “Give Myself a Try,” by Ryan Beatty, will be released on Sept. 30.  Let’s Move! Executive Director and White House assistant chef Sam Kass says the White House is fully behind the initiative to use hip-hop – and other genres of music – as a tool to get kids to live healthier lives.
“Cultural leaders and visionaries in our country can give these messages to kids in a way that’s not preachy. Kids are going to be dancing and listening to the music,” he says. “I think hip-hop in particular – so many kids love hip-hop. It’s such a core part of our culture …and particularly in the African-American community and the Latino community which is being disproportionately affected by those health issues.”
African-American children are more than 50 percent more likely to be overweight or obese compared with white children, and Hispanic children are nearly 30 percent more likely, according to a 2008 studypublished in Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine
If all goes according to plan, some 10 of the 19 songs on the new album will be made into music videos, much like the hip-hop video in which Michelle Obama appeared. Those music videos will then be distributed to schools across the nation – starting with 40 schools in New York City, and then to schools in San Antonio, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. The hope is that teachers will use the videos during recess, physical education classes or even passing periods to encourage kids to get moving.

President Barack Obama Honors Negro League Players at White House

By goodblacknews on August 6, 2013
NegroLeaguePlayers
Former baseball players in the Negro League, from left to right, Pedro Sierra, Minnie Minoso, Ron Teasley, and the last living owner of a Negro League team, Minnie Forbes, of the Detroit Stars, far right, talk outside the West Wing of the White House following their meeting with President Barack Obama, Monday, Aug. 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama on Monday honored former baseball players in the Negro League, a haven for African-American players who for decades were prevented from competing with white players in professional baseball.  The White House said Obama invited about a dozen players to the White House to mark their contributions to American history, civil rights and athletics. The players competed for teams like the Philadelphia Stars, New York Black Yankees, Indianapolis Clowns and Boston Blues.

The Negro League thrived in the early part of the 20th century. Its decline started after Jackie Robinson in 1947 became the first African-American to play Major League Baseball in modern times, clearing the way for other black players to compete in the major leagues. The league disbanded a few years later.

Copyright The Associated Press via krmg.com

White House Recognizes Tech Leaders As ‘Champions of Change for Tech Inclusion’

By goodblacknews on August 3, 2013

BQh2fIYCMAAL-UvThe White House gathered a group of non-profit workers, educators, and startup founders to be honored on Wednesday as “Champions of Change for Tech Inclusion.” As part of the White House Tech Inclusion initiative, the event recognized tech leaders working to expand opportunities within the tech field for young innovators, specifically minorities, women and girls, and individuals underserved or underrepresented.
Kimberly Bryant, founder and executive director of Black Girls Code, Kathryn Finney, founder and managing director of digitalundivided, and founder and executive director at iUrbanTeen Deena Pierott are among the 11 change-agents that were honored during the event.  President Obama and his administration are committed to expanding opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), vowing to increase the number of STEM graduates by one million over the next ten years. That prompted the chief executive to launch White House Tech Inclusion efforts, which are geared toward providing tech skills and opportunities to the next generation of innovators in the United States. Comedian and author of New York Times bestseller How To Be Black Baratunde Thurston served as moderator for the Champions of Change discussion.
In January, the Obama administration organized the White House Tech Inclusion Summit where five new programs were announced.
article by Janel Martinez via blackenterprise.com

Attorney General Eric Holder Opens New Front in Voting Rights Battle

By goodblacknews on July 25, 2013

eric holderWASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced on Thursday that the Justice Department would ask a court to require Texas to get permission from the federal government before making voting changes in that state. The move opens a new chapter in the political struggle over election rules after the Supreme Court struck down a portion of the Voting Rights Act last month.  His statements come as states across the South, from Texas to North Carolina, have been rushing to enforce or enact new restrictions on voting eligibility after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Shelby County v. Holder.

“This is the department’s first action to protect voting rights following the Shelby County decision, but it will not be our last,” Mr. Holder said. “Even as Congress considers updates to the Voting Rights Act in light of the court’s ruling, we plan, in the meantime, to fully utilize the law’s remaining sections to subject states to preclearance as necessary. My colleagues and I are determined to use every tool at our disposal to stand against such discrimination wherever it is found.”

The move relies on a part of the Voting Rights Act that the Supreme Court left untouched in the Shelby County case. The court struck down the coverage formula in Section 4 of the law, which had subjected Texas and eight other mostly Southern states to federal oversight based on 40-year-old data. The court suggested that Congress remained free to enact a new coverage formula based on contemporary data, but most analysts say that is unlikely.

Striking down the law’s coverage formula effectively guts Section 5 of the law, which requires permission from federal authorities before covered jurisdictions may change voting procedures.  The move by the Justice Department on Thursday relies on a different part of the law, Section 3, which allows the federal government to get to largely the same place by a different route, called “bail-in.” If the department can show that given jurisdictions have committed constitutional violations, federal courts may impose federal oversight on those places in piecemeal fashion.

State officials have celebrated the Shelby County ruling as lifting an obsolete relic of the civil rights era that unfairly treated their states differently from other parts of the country, while civil rights advocates have lamented it as removing a safeguard that is still necessary.  Lawyers for minority groups have already asked a court in Texas to return the state to federal oversight. The Justice Department’s action — filing a “statement of interest” in that case — will bring the weight of the federal government behind those efforts.

"Lee Daniels’ The Butler" Gets New Posters Following Title Change

By goodblacknews on July 23, 2013

The Weinstein Co. has unveiled the first posters for Lee Daniels’ The Butler, four days after it was forced to change the title from The Butler.  Both posters show a white-gloved Forest Whitaker along with the new title (the poster above evoking the famous photo from the 1968 Olympics of Tommie Smith and John Carlos giving the black power salute during their medal ceremony).  TWC is releasing the film on Aug. 16.  The Motion Pictures Assn. of America (MPAA) ruled Friday that TWC could keep The Butler”as part of the title, but would have to change its marketing materials and pay $400,000 in fines for violating a July 2 finding that the use of The Butler as the title had violated MPAA rules because Warner Bros. owns rights to The Butler.
Lee-Daniels-The-Butler-poster__130723170234-275x308The ruling also required that, should TWC use Lee Daniels’ The Butler as the title, the “Lee Daniels” part of title had to be 75% the size of “The Butler.”  Lee Daniels’ The Butler is centered on African-American butler Eugene Allen, who worked in the White House during eight presidencies throughout the civil rights era. The film also stars Oprah Winfrey.  TWC’s fine of $25,000 a day, dating back to July 2, is based on violating the initial ruling. The fine will increase to $50,000 a day if the studio fails to issue new digital materials (trailers, TV ads) by Thursday and new print materials by Aug. 2.
article by Dave McNary via Variety.com; additions by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

Former Foster Child and Morehouse Graduate Derrius Quarles Recognized by White House for Service to Community

By goodblacknews on July 16, 2013
Derrius Quarles (center); Michelle Nunn, the CEO of Points of Light (right); and Washington Post CEO Donald Graham at the 5000th Daily Point of Light Award at the White House on Monday June 15, 2013 (photo credit Jerome Dorn)
Derrius Quarles (center); Michelle Nunn, the CEO of Points of Light (right); and Washington Post CEO Donald Graham at the 5000th Daily Point of Light Award at the White House on Monday June 15, 2013 (photo credit Jerome Dorn)

A former foster child from the south side of Chicago has turned entrepreneur, and been recognized at the White House for his inspiring work.  Derrius Quarles, who is only 22 years old, is best known for winning more than $1 million in financial-aid to attend the prestigious Morehouse College.  He was a recipient of the Daily Point of Light Award in June 2013 for his commitment to help academically gifted yet economically disadvantaged students overcome financial barriers to higher education.

“I feel honored and humbled to be recognized by the White House as a Daily Point of Light awardee,” said Quarles. “I have been recognized for the work I have done with the Million Dollar Scholar, which has advanced economic access to higher education for youth in inner cities across the United States.”  The Million Dollar Scholar initiative has assisted more than 10,000 high school students online and helped students receive more than $950,000 in scholarships and grants.
In fact, Quarles’s drive to see other young people succeed is deeply personal. His father was murdered in Chicago when he was just 4 years old. One year later, he was taken from his mother’s custody and placed in foster care.  It was only when he entered high school that he made a conscious decision to seize opportunities to move on with his life.

First Lady Michelle Obama Hosts ‘State Dinner’ for Top Junior Chefs

By goodblacknews on July 11, 2013
President Barack Obama talks with Makenna Hurd of Mascot, Tenn., right, and Noah Koch, of Waterville, Maine, right, at the second annual White House Kids' "State Dinner" Tuesday, July 9, 2013, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. First lady Michelle Obama welcomed 54 children to the White House for creating winning recipes as part of a healthy lunch contest. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
President Barack Obama talks with Makenna Hurd of Mascot, Tenn., right, and Noah Koch, of Waterville, Maine, right, at the second annual White House Kids’ “State Dinner” Tuesday, July 9, 2013, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. First lady Michelle Obama welcomed 54 children to the White House for creating winning recipes as part of a healthy lunch contest. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michelle Obama says fifty-four kids who earned a trip to the White House by winning a nationwide recipe contest are showing how talented, creative and brilliant young people can be.  It’s the second year the first lady has hosted the kids’ “state dinner.”
The contest for 8-to 12-year-olds is sponsored by the Epicurious food website and the departments of Agriculture and Education. It drew a batch of more than 1,300 entries that were whittled to 54 winners — one from each of the 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia.
Mrs. Obama singled out a few of the champion culinary creations during Tuesday’s meal, including Confetti Peanut Ginger Party Pasta from Missouri, Pan-seared Mississippi Catfish on a Bed of River Rice and Slam Dunk Veggie Burger from Texas.  President Barack Obama also made an unannounced appearance at the dinner in the White House East Room. He told the junior chefs they are showing that food can be both healthy and fun.
Copyright 2013 article by Darlene Superville, The Associated Press via thegrio.com