Politics. On Point.

The Easter Egg Roll will take place Monday, April 1st, on the South Lawn of the White House and is focused on promoting health and wellness with the theme, “Be Healthy, Be Active, Be You!” The event will feature live music, sports courts, cooking stations, storytelling and, of course, Easter egg rolling. The entire Easter Egg Roll event, including all of the headliner music acts and Storytime Stage readers, will be broadcast live on www.whitehouse.gov/eastereggroll . Be Healthy! Be You! Talent Line-up This year’s special guest is Robby Novak, better known as Kid President. Jordin Sparks, Austin Mahone, Coco Jones, Sesame Street, and The Wanted will perform on the Rockin’ Egg Roll Stage. Jessica Sanchez will sing the National Anthem. The Official Emcee of the 2013 White House Easter Egg Roll is Tommy McFly, who will introduce acts on the music stage on the ellipse. The United States Marine Corps Band will perform American classics. Readers on the Storytime Stage will be NASCAR...

Lots of 'jovial' moments during today's Supreme Court hearing on gay marriage. "I suspect there''ll be no children out that union." - Justice Sotomayer Listen live now via CSPAN  radio.

Action Will Generate Tourism and Economic Benefits for Local Economies, Honor African-American History, Mark Delaware’s first National Park Site President Obama today signed proclamations establishing five new national monuments, using his authority under the Antiquities Act, which celebrate our nation’s rich history and natural heritage. The monuments, located in Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, Ohio and Washington, help tell the story of significant people and extraordinary events in American history, as well as protect unique natural resources for the benefit of all Americans. The designations were made with bi-partisan support from congressional, state and local officials, local businesses and other stakeholders and are expected to promote economic growth in the local communities through tourism and outdoor recreation. “These sites honor the pioneering heroes, spectacular landscapes and rich history that have shaped our extraordinary country,” said President Obama.  “By desi...

General Lloyd Austin made history, yet again, by becoming the first African American to lead the U.S. Central Command, breaking another barrier for African Americans in the U.S. military. Op Ed by Valerie Jarrett, Advisor to President Obama Today, General Lloyd Austin became the first African-American to lead the U.S. Central Command, which has a wide-ranging area of responsibility for 20 countries in the Middle East and southwest Asia. His appointment is effective immediately. During the change of command ceremony today, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said, “General Austin brings to this position combat experience gained on the unforgiving battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. He has commanded some of the Army’s most storied formations, including the 82nd Airborne and 10th Mountain Divisions, as well as the 18th Airborne Corps...With his calm demeanor, strategic vision, regional experience and knowledge, and proven judgment – and with the love and support of Charlene and ...

Approaching the 10-year mark on the war in Iraq we find some harsh words, and discoveries, from those that lived it. As Congressman woman Barbara Lee said this morning on C-SPAN about the war on Iraq (which she opposed), "We bombed the heck out of them". Lee and others now want to begin the healing process of the war-torn nation just as the people and families whose lives have been destroyed by it. The people of Iraq also want to hold the US military accountable for their actions and the destruction of their land, families and nation. Watch this revealing video below as an Iraqi woman talks about the aftermath of the war and havoc it wrecked. The video also contains an interview with a former US soldier, stationed in Iraq, as she shares what her life was like living on the 'enemy' lines. Result of the Iraq war: Birth defects of children. Watch this video as victims of the Iraq war share light on the growing epidemic of babies being born with birth defe...

As Vice President Biden continues his visit in Rome, we are afforded this beautiful view of the installation Mass of Pope Francis, just before the start of the ceremony. The US delegation to Rome were the Honorable Susana Martinez , Governor of the State of New Mexico; the Honorable Nancy Pelosi , Democratic Leader of the United States House of Representatives and U.S. Representative from California; and Dr. John DeGioia , President of Georgetown University. Vice President Biden will depart Rome after the Mass, returning to Washington. In case you missed the ceremony, watch it below. Video streaming by Ustream

Is it no surprise that the Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Reibus Prince, picked today, March 18th, to launch the Reibus Report ? (At least that's what we're calling it here). It's his birthday. So, the 37 year old releases a report titled the GOP ( G rowth and O pportunity P roject), nonetheless - to explain why the Republican Party lost the election, and to also see how best the party can repair its self from its own collateral damage of not being able to connect with the American people. "At our core, Republicans have comfortably remained the Party of Reagan without figuring out what comes next', states the report. "Ronald Reagan is a Republican hero and role model who was first elected 33 years ago — meaning no one under the age of 51 today was old enough to vote for Reagan when he first ran for President. Our Party knows how to appeal to older voters, but we have lost our way with younger ones. We sound increasingly out of touch....

We find this article by the Guardian both interesting and noteworthy with President Obama preparing this Tuesday to head off to Israel to meet with Israeli officials and to speak directly with the Israeli people. Ms. Yityish Aynaw, 18-year old Ehtiopian beauty, is Ms. Israel 2013. During the president's meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu and the new members of the Prime Minister’s governing coalition, the president is also slated to meet, and dine with, Miss Israel, Yityish Aynaw , the first Ethiopian-born pageant winner. The Guardian provides this informative piece on pageant winner below. Yityish Aynaw arrived in Israel from Ethiopia when she was 12 years old and admitted it was initially difficult for her to assimilate into Israeli society. It will be one of the hottest tickets in town. When the US president, Barack Obama, arrives in Israel on an official visit next week, one of the highlights for the country's dignatries will be a dinner hosted a...

12 Cities and Counties Receive Grants as Part of New Evidence-Based Prevention Initiative Riding on last week's presidential signing of the Violence Againist Women Act, Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder announced grants to twelve programs across the country to target the urgent need to reduce domestic violence homicides. On average, three women a day die as a result of domestic violence. In total, the Department of Justice will award $2.3 million to twelve sites across the country as part of the new Domestic Violence Homicide Prevention Demonstration Initiative (DVHP Initiative). The DVHP Initiative, created by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), helps state and local jurisdictions reduce domestic violence homicides by effectively identifying potential victims and monitoring high-risk offenders. The DVHP Initiative is modeled after programs in Massachusetts and Maryland, where the use of coordinated teams of law enforce...

The Department of Justice is seeking to learn how the credit reports and several pieces of personal information belonging to several staff members of the Obama administration, and several celebrity icons, were posted online.  The Atlanta Journal   reported that the Justice Department said the FBI was also investigating how the Social Security number, address and a credit report of FBI Director Robert Mueller ended up on the site. The site also posted information about Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck . doxxing . v. the process of obtaining or deducing information about a person based on a limited set of initial information. In addition to celebrities that include Jay-Z and Mel Gibson , Beyonce , Ashton Kutcher , Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton , info was also posted about  First Lady Michelle Obama , Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton . Although Clinton's information did not include her cre...

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood spoke yesterday at the The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) legislative conference where he encouraged Congress to "be bold", "be brave" when it comes to ideas for building America's infrastructure and rail systems. "We've always been big and had bold ideas", said LaHood. He praised President Obama for his vision of high speed rail and called out Congress for stalling the president's plan to improve the nation's existing railroads and building infrastructure here in America that would rival any foreign country's rail system. "You all have been to China and have seen their railroads.  I'm sure when you return home you're scratching your head asking, "Why can't we do that?" The U.S. ranks near the bottom of countries with sustainable or advanced rail systems. During the conference's Q&A session LaHood, who is retiring this year, was asked ...

On April 11, President Barack Obama will award Chaplain (Captain) Emil J. Kapaun , U.S. Army, the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry. Chaplain Kapaun will receive the Medal of Honor posthumously for his extraordinary heroism while serving with the 3d Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division during combat operations against an armed enemy at Unsan, Korea and as a prisoner of war from November 1-2, 1950. Per the Kapaun web site Chaplain Emil J. Kapaun, while assigned to Headquarters Company, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism, patriotism, and selfless service between Nov. 1, 1950, and May 23, 1951. During the Battle of Unsan, Kapaun was attached to the 3rd Battalion of the 8th Cavalry Regiment. As Chinese Communist forces encircled the battalion, Kapaun moved fearlessly from foxhole to foxhole under direct enemy fire in order to provide comfort and reassurance to the outnumbered Soldiers. He repeatedly crawle...

First Lady Michelle Obama will answer questions about her Let’s Move! initiative using her office’s @FLOTUS twitter account. Twitter users can ask Mrs. Obama questions using the hashtag #AskFLOTUS. The First Lady announced the Q&A session via the following tweet from the @FLOTUS account where she tweeted: "Tomorrow at 11:05ET, I'll answer some questions about @LetsMove & how we can improve the health of our kids. Join with #AskFLOTUS" –mo. The first lady's personal tweets end with her sig, -mo, as above, while her husband's tweets end with his sig, -bo. Let's hope the children don't get in trouble for tweeting while at school.

Today’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that private sector businesses added 246,000 jobs in February. Total non-farm payroll employment rose by 236,000 jobs last month. The economy has now added private sector jobs every month for three straight years, and a total of 6.35 million jobs have been added over that period. The household survey showed that the unemployment rate fell from 7.9 percent in January to 7.7 percent in February, the lowest since December 2008. The labor force participation rate edged down 0.1 percentage point to 63.5 percent in February. According to the establishment survey, in February employment rose notably in professional and business services (+73,000), construction (+48,000), health care (+32,000), leisure and hospitality (+24,000), and retail trade (+23,700). Manufacturing gained 14,000 jobs in February. The manufacturing sector has added over half a million jobs over the last 37 months, the most for any such period since 1986. I...

Women's History Month is starting off quite nicely. President Obama signed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act making it easier to prosecute individuals who commit violent crimes against women, such as domestic violence.  The "Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013, (S. 47)" reauthorizes several Violence Against Women Act grant programs through FY 2018; and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 through FY 2017 and also protects women on Tribal lands, improves protections for immigrant victims, ensures services for LGBT survivors, and adds important housing protections for victims. "So today is about all the survivors, all the advocates who are standing on this stage", said President Obama, speaking today from the Department of Interior. "But it’s also about the millions more they represent -- that you represent. It’s about our commitment as a country to address this problem -- in every corner of America, every communit...

  Award Allocated for the Development of a National Public Education Campaign on Responsible Gun Ownership Encouraging Safe Storage The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) awarded $1 million to the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) to support the development of a National Public Education Campaign on the subject of responsible gun ownership and safe gun storage. With the award, NCPC will create, produce, and distribute television, radio, and outdoor Public Service Announcements (PSAs) that encourage gun owners to safely store their firearms so that they do not fall into the wrong hands. The campaign will also emphasize the importance of immediately reporting lost or stolen guns to local law enforcement to ensure public safety. “As part of President Obama's comprehensive plan to reduce gun violence, the Administration is committed to working with firearm owners and enthusiasts to prevent tragic accidents and keep guns from falling into the wrong hands,” said Atto...

No winter storm warning could keep a few good friends, or U.S. Senators, from breaking bread. A few senators joined the president last evening for a bit of bi-partisan talks on how to advance the country and work through the affects of the current sequester. Joing the president were Senator Lindsey Graham , Senator Bob Corker , Senator Kelly Ayotte , Senator John McCain (whom he beat in the 2008 presidential election), Senator Dan Coats , Senator Tom Coburn , Senator Richard Burr , Senator Mike Johanns , Senator Pat Toomey , Senator Ron Johnson , Senator John Hoeven , and Senator Saxby Chambliss . The Senators and President Obama dined at a restaurant inside the Jefferson Hotel on the cusp of George Town.  The hotel boasts three restaurants:  The Green House, Plume, and Quill.   It is unclear which restaurant the party dined in, but what we can confirm is the president paid the tab. --- [UPDATE 12:35PM] We are told by the hotel's Marketing M...

Interesting 'pool' report today from Brian Hughes of the Washington Examiner as President Obama meets with members of his revamped, reorganized, and restructured Cabinet (we're waiting for the 2013 photograph).  The president aluded to what remains his top priorities going into his second presidential term. Hughes writes in: President Obama on Monday convened the first Cabinet meeting of his second term, highlighting some “familiar faces,” “new faces” and “familiar faces in new positions.” Pool was ushered in to the meeting at 1:08 p.m. and the president’s remarks at the top of the gathering lasted roughly four minutes. Sitting to the president’s right were Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Education Secretary Arne Duncan . To the president’s left were new Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and (outgoing) Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood . Obama singled out Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and Hagel, who were recently confirmed by the Senate. ...

The president doesn't need the help of Congress, at least, to grant pardons to the following seventeen individuals who were jailed for a series of various malfeasance. A presidential has the unique ability to override the justice system, release anyone he chooses from paying a fine, and return a person to the state of innocence that person had before he ever committed a wrong doing, without providing a reason for his decisions. Unlike the current administration's predecessor,who pardoned Scotter Libby, there are no persons in this year's list who were tried and convicted of perjury, or obstruction of justice. Most of the offenders on this year's list weren't serving serious jail time, and were already on probation.  Some have already asked if much thought went into the selection of the individuals since there are many individuals who sit on death row in several states across the country who may never again see the light of day for a crime they never comm...