Politics. On Point.

USDA Offers Familiar Grilling Advice For This 4th of July The Fourth of July is nearly upon us, and many Americans will celebrate our Nation's birthday by grilling or attending cookouts. USDA is reminding consumers that following safe food handling steps are the key to making your cookout safe and healthy for your guests. "Barbecuing is a great way to celebrate Independence Day, and it's important to take a few seconds to measure your food temperature to help protect your family and friends this summer," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "Make a food thermometer your most important grilling tool." USDA has four basic steps to help you Be Food Safe and declare independence from foodborne illness any time of year: 1. Clean : First things first – start with clean surfaces and clean hands. You and your guests should wash your hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds before and after handling food. Equally important are the surfaces that come in...

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved counselors, 13 mortgage lenders, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac provided one-on-one services to 765 homeowners at the Saving Homes, Foreclosure Prevention Day sponsored by the Obama Administration and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC). Norton said, "It was clear that Saturday's Foreclosure Prevention Day served a crying need in this town. With the loan modification rate in D.C. at less than two percent, we have begun to make sure that the Making Homes Affordable program lives up to its promise by helping hundreds of people receive loan adjustments." Paula McMillan, a Ward 5 resident, said she saw Norton's public service announcement (PSA) on TV about the free event after receiving calls from two different people saying they could help modify her home loan, one for a fee of $2,500 and the other for $3,000. After watching Norton's PSA, McMillan called her bank to put a stop payment on her checks ...

First Lady Michelle Obama with DESA principle Rory Pullens and Russia's First Lady Svetlana Medvedeva . First Lady Obama invited Russia's First Lady Svetlana Medvedeva to a performance at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts after Russia hosted President and Mrs. Obama in Moscow last summer. While there, the First Family was treated to a performance by the Moiseyev Dance Company . "That’s why I’m so pleased to have this opportunity to return the hospitality that my family received, and to showcase the extraordinary young people that are here at this school and in this city", said First Lady Obama. "It’s important for the world to see." Important it is.  Especially to the students and alumni of the famed establishment that has garnered several local talents such as keyboardist  Cherie Mitchel-Agurs , Tony Terry , actor Lamman Rucker , and vocalist Sylver Logan Sharp . "First of all I'm just proud", said Sharp .  "It means the wor...

A pool reporter is providing updates on Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Louisiana where he is there to assess the damages from the BP oil spill. Here's the most recent update (as of 1:01 pm EST). The motorcade arrived at 10 a.m. at the unified command center in downtown New Orleans, where a half-dozen protestors stood outside in a light rain carrying signs that said, "Oil kills." Vice President Biden went to the 14th floor of the 24-story Poydras Plaza , where more than 100 BP, government and military offcials were seated at rows of tables working on laptop computers in a cavernous office dubbed "the bullpen." The workers were arranged in various groupings, such as "Critical Resources Unit," "Documentation Unit," and "Technical Specialists." A large projection TV flashed weather updates and the latest track for Tropical Storm Alex. The offices are the same ones used by FEMA after Hurricane Katrina. Sitting at the h...

Senator Robert Byrd (D- WVA) died Monday.  At 92, he was the longest serving member of Congress in U.S. history. President Obama and Vice President Biden share their thoughts on the passing of Senator Robert Byrd .  President Obama :  Throughout his 51 years, the longest tenure of any member in Congress in the history of the United States, Robert C. Byrd was a tough, compassionate, and outspoken leader and dedicated above all else to making life better for the people of the mountain state -- his state, the state of West Virginia. He never lost sight of home. He may have spent half a century in Washington. But there’s a guy -- if anybody wondered -- he never, never, never, never took his eye of his beloved mountain state. And we shall not -- to paraphrase the poet -- we shall not see his like again. And the Senate is a lesser place for his going." Vice President Biden : "As we used to say in my years in the Senate, if you’ll excuse a point of personal privilege here for...

Today, First Lady Michelle Obama joined students from Bell Multicultural High School  to launch the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition and introduce the 2010 Council co-chairs and members. In conjunction with the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative, this year President Obama has broadened the scope of the Council, formerly known as the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, to include a focus on healthy eating as well as active lifestyles. Yesterday, the President signed an Executive Order outlining the Council’s new emphasis on both good nutrition and physical fitness. The President has named Drew Brees , quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, and Dominique Dawes , three-time Olympian and former U.S. national champion in women’s gymnastics, 2010 Council Co-Chairs. Dawes delivered remarks at the event and Brees recorded a video message that was shown at the launch. Joining Dawes were 2010 Council Members Dan Barber , Tedy Bru schi, Allyso...

President Obama Praises General Who Scouffed At His Administration As we reported last evening U.S. military bad boy, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the former top U.S. commander in Afghanistan resigned over his remarks made about the Obama administration and civilian officials. In an address today in the Rose Garden President Obama stated, "Mr. McChrystal's conduct does not meet the standard that should be set by a commanding general. It undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system. And it erodes the trust that’s necessary for our team to work together to achieve our objectives in Afghanistan." As such, President Obama accepted McChrystal's resignation earlier today, replacing the loose-lipped military top-brass with General David H. Petraeus .   The decision to accept the resignation was not an easy one for the president and he commended Petraeus on making a great personal sacrifice to himself and to his family...

The White House yesterday unveiled its plan to eradicate, and prevent, homelessness in America within the next five to ten years through its Opening Doors initiative. (L to R) HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, with Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Veterans Affairs Secretary Erick K. Shinseki, with Domestic Policy Council Directory, Melody Barnes. Photo/CD Brown. The initiative, in collaboration with the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness   and under the guise of HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan ,  Labor Secretary Hilda Solis , HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius , and Veterans Affairs Secretary Erick K. Shinseki , seeks to end chronic homelessness in five years; prevent and end homelessness among Veterans; and prevent and end homelessness for families, youth, and children in ten years.  The Opening Doors initiative also seeks to align with mainstream housing, health, education, and human services while strengthening exi...

President Obama comforts a teary-eyed Amy Wilhite at yesterday's briefing marking the Three Month  Anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act.  Photo/CD Brown. Today the president remarked on the 90 Day Anniversary of his signing of the Affordable Care Act into law, and the New Patient's Bill of Rights. Speaking from the East Room the president spoke on ways his administration is planning to put into affect provisions of the new law and also announced the release of new regulations implementing the Patient's Bill of Rights protections included in the Affordable Care Act. "This law will cut costs and make coverage more affordable for families and small businesses. It’s reform that begins to bring down our government’s long-term structural deficit. It’s reform that finally extends the opportunity to purchase coverage to the millions who currently don’t have it and includes tough new consumer protections to guarantee great...

CNN is reporting that Gen. Stanley McChrystal has submitted his resignation.   His resignation comes after comments McChrystal , a ranking U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, made in an upcoming June 25th Rolling Magazine article began surfacing on the Internet. The article details McChrystal criticizing senior White House aides, while his assistants make fun at administration officials overseeing the war.  It is reported that McChrystalmade fun of White House National Security Adviser Jim Jones -- a retired four-star general -- calling him a "clown stuck in 1985."  The Rolling Stone article also became evident on a Facebook page owned by one Michael Yon .  Yon has snippets of the RS article that shows more evidence of McChrystal's sentiments about his job, and President Obama, saying Obama didn't really know much about him before hiring him for the Afghanistan job. "Their first one-on-one meeting took plac...

MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. - The Kendrick Meek campaign reacted to Kendrick winning today's debate with Jeff Greene: "Kendrick proved what we knew all along -- he is the only candidate who will fight for middle-class Florida families. Today, he showed that he is the lone progressive in this race running against three men who have each run for office as a Republican. From the oil spill to job creation, Kendrick displayed a command of the issues facing Florida and proved that he is the only candidate who middle-class Floridians can trust to reign big business run amuck," said Abe Dyk, Kendrick Meek for Florida campaign manager. "In the debate, we saw that Florida families simply can't trust Jeff Greene to fight for them. It was Jeff Greene who helped wreck the economy and housing market by betting against middle class homeowners -- nothing Jeff Greene said today could change that fact. Using risky investments Warren Buffett called 'financial weapons for mass destr...

The Art Of Communication “ Read My Pins: The Madeleine Albright Collection ” opened at the Smithsonian Castle on June 18 and it will be on view through Oct. 11, 2010. This exhibition features more than 200 pins, many of which Secretary Albright wore to communicate messages during her diplomatic tenure. Blue Bird Pin. Albright, explaining the story behind her Blue Bird pin said, “Until the twenty-fourth of February 1996, I wore the pin with the bird's head soaring upward. On the afternoon of that tragic day, Cuban fighter pilots shot down two unarmed civilian aircraft over international waters between Cuba and Florida. To illustrate my feelings, I wore the bird pin with its head pointing down, in mourning for the free spirited Cuban-American fliers.” During her service as ambassador to the United Nations, and then as U.S. Secretary of State, Albright came to understand how powerful a symbol an item of jewelry could be, and chose pins to reflect her diplomatic mission, reinfo...

President Obama with daughter, Sasha, getting ice cream Saturday at The Dairy Godmother . While the President was taking care of his own Father's Day responsibilities that included taking the First Daughters out for an ice cream treat this past Saturday, the president also shared what it means to be a father with young men and father's today at The Arc . In his address President Obama said that fathers are "our mentors, our role models who show us by the example they set the kind of people they want us to become." It is fitting for Obama to make these remarks in a community that needs the mentoring and leadership of men (and fathers) more than ever.   Too many of our nation's children, especially in urban communities, are without fathers. "But we also know that what too many fathers missing from too many homes, missing from too many lives. We know that when fathers abandon their responsibilities, there’s harm done to those kids. We know that chil...

Tariq and Michaele Salahi talk to Carol Joynt of the Q&A Cafe With Carol at the Georgetown Ritz Carlton.  Photo/CD Brown. After crashing the White House State Dinner (they still claim it never happened), and pleading the Fifth on Capitol Hill about crashing the White House State Dinner, the Salahis did talk about their upcoming roles in The Real Housewives of DC . The Salahis were guests on the DC 50 talk show, Q & A Cafe with Carol Joynt, the former Nathan's of Georgetown restaurant owner. Among other topics discussed were the status of the Oasis winery the couple owns in Fauquier County, the State Dinner, and of course Bravo's reality show. On the White House State Dinner ... "We've moved on from it.  The President and the Vice President laughed about it, and we're just ready to move on from it." Carol gently reminded the couple that the state's attorney has not "moved on from it" and they could still be prosecuted. ...

Watch all the latest developments in the BP Executives' Capitol Hill hearings  here. The President and the Vice President met with BP executives this week in the Roosevelt Room. Attendees for the meeting included: Adm. Thad Allen, National Incident Commander, Carol Browner, Office of Energy and Climate, Larry Summers, National Economic Council, Bob Bauer, White House Counsel, Don Verrilli, White House Counsel’s Office, Melody Barnes, Domestic Policy Council, Tom Perrelli, Department of Justice, Carl-Henric Svanberg, Chairman, BP, Tony Hayward, CEO, BP, Bob Dudley, Managing Director, BP; Lamar McKay, CEO, BP America, Rupert Bondy, General Counsel, BP, and Jamie Gorelick, WilmerHale. The remarks of the President after the meeting follow. "Good afternoon, everybody. I just concluded a constructive meeting with BP’s chairman, Carl-Henric Svanberg, and I raised two issues at the meeting. First was the containment of the oil that is still spewing into the Gulf. As I mentioned...

Vice President Joe Biden today delivered a report, “ Summer of Recovery: Project Activity Increases in Summer 2010 ,” to the President detailing the surge in Recovery Act infrastructure projects that will be underway this summer – and the jobs those projects will create into the fall and through the end of 2010. The White House reports that the Summer of 2010 is "poised to be the most active Recovery Act season yet, with tens of thousands of projects underway across the country that will help to create jobs for American workers and economic growth for businesses, large and small."   Highlighing that thousands of road, bridge, water and other infrastructure projects will breaking ground this summer. Biden says the American people will get to see first-hand the Recovery Act dollars being put to work in their communities making long-overdue infrastructure improvements, creating new opportunities for local economic growth and supporting well-paid jobs. While most of us ...

As oil continues to permeate the Gulf, and photos of wildlife ( and apparently people ) drenched in oil continue to show the devastation of the spill, the White House continues to give Americans an update on what they say is being done to contain the spill. While we get the details, the people of Louisiana wait.  And wait. For a full timeline of the Administration-wide response, visit the White House Blog . Past 24 Hours : Admiral Allen Meets with BP Claims Officials; Asserts Oversight of Claims Process At the President’s direction, Admiral Thad Allen today met with top BP claims officials to assert the administration's oversight of BP's claims process in order to ensure that every legitimate claim is honored and paid in an efficient manner. He expressed the American people’s urgent need for additional transparency into BP's claims process, including how the process works, and how quickly claims are being processed for both individuals and businesses impacted by the...