Politics. On Point.

President Obama, in his last few weeks in office,  granted commutation of sentence to 153 individuals and pardons to 78 individual s . To date, under his presidential power, Obama has granted clemency to nearly 1,200 individuals for mostly drug-related offenses. President Obama greets inmates during a visit to El Reno Federal Correctional Institution in El Reno, Okla., July 16, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza). It has been no secret that the United States imprisons more citizens, namely African American and other people of color, with longer sentences than  than any other group (the stain of racism) for the same drug-related offenses.   President Obama has said that his commutations and pardons have been “another step forward in upholding our ideals of justice and fairness.”  White House graphic. White Counsel Neil Eggleston wrote in a White House blog post  that, " Today’s grants signify the President’s continued commit...

The White House convened a summit today highlighting the work of the Obama administration's My Brother's Keeper (MBK) initiative, announcing even more support from community partners, businesses and governmental entities across the nation. In just three short years since its start in 2014 MBK has amassed more programs directed toward providing young boys of color a direct path to success than any other of its kind. During today's summit, the final under the Obama administration, several key successes were recognized including new federal commitments that cover the National Student Attendance, Engagement, and Success Center,  Increasing Data Transparency to Understand and Develop Strategies to Improve Youth Outcomes; and New Federal Investments to Meet the Needs of Current and Former Foster Youth. "It's almost three years ago, we launched the My Brother’s Keeper initiative to give more of our young people the tools and the support that they need to stay on track...

You know it's the Christmas holiday season in Washington when the official White House Christmas tree makes its arrival. On Friday First Lady Michelle Obama, accompanied by her two young nephews Austin and Aaron Robinson, graciously accepted the last Christmas tree of her tenure. The tree made its way up to the North Portico of the White House by a horse-drawn carriage flanked with a sign on the both sides that read, White House Christmas Tree 2016, while a military quartet played, O', Christmas Tree. It isn't an elaborate ceremony by any stretch of the imagination, lasting just under ten minutes, but still delights reporters and guests who get an up close view of the first family and first dogs Bo and Sunny. FLOTUS walks toward White House after accepting this year's Christmas tree with her young nephews Aaron and Austin Robinson. Photo/CD Brown. Past Christmas tree receptions have always featured Obama daughters Sasha and Malia. The girls opted out ...

On Thursday, LeBron James made his third White House appearance as a NBA Champion; twice with the Miami Heat (2012, 2014) and on Thursday with his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers. James joined his team on the South Lawn (previous honors took place in the East Room) of the White House as President Obama honored the 2015 Champions after having won their first-ever NBA title in the franchise’s history. Kevin Love  presents a Cavs jersey to President Obama. Photo/CD Brown. Said President Obama, "They start winning their first 10 games in the playoffs, setting record after record for three-point shooting.  But obviously what this all comes down to is a team that, for the first time in NBA history, comes back from being down 3-1 in the finals -- the first team in history to dig themselves out of a hole like that." Obama gave his synopsis of Game 7 calling the comeback, "remarkable." "The comeback was remarkable, And you learn about people when they’re down ag...

President Obama met Thursday with president-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office, the first time the two men have ever met. The pair spoke for nearly two hours in a meeting that Obama described as "excellent." The president said the pair discussed both foreign and domestic policy and explained  he was looking for a "smooth transition" of political power. Obama said he advised his "team" to ensure that president-elect Trump "has everything he needs to succeed." WATCH: President  Obama meets Trump Said President Obama, "I just had the opportunity to have an excellent conversation with President-elect Trump.  It was wide-ranging.  We talked about some of the organizational issues in setting up the White House.  We talked about foreign policy.  We talked about domestic policy.  And as I said last night, my number-one priority in the coming two months is to try to facilitate a transition that ensures our President-elect is successful....

Thanks to White House pooler Jen Bendery of the Huffington Post for providing this report on the mood of White House staffers after President Obama delivered remarks on president-elect Trump's win. Bendery wrote: "Obama gave remarks in the Rose Garden about Donald Trump winning last night's presidential race. The event was open press, but here's a little color. Obama talked for about 10 minutes about the need to unify the country now that the election is over. Biden stood alongside him." Quoting from President Obama's remarks, Bendery writes, "A lot of Americans are exalted today. A lot of Americans are less so," he said with a slight chuckle. "Don't get cynical. Don't ever think you can't make a difference." At least 150 WH staffers came out to hear Obama speak. They lined up in the garden behind the press, listening intently. When he was done, they applauded for a solid minute, at least. Your pooler saw three staf...

The individual who made it his business to insult Muslims, African Americans,  women , the  disabled , his running mates, stated that he could stand  in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot someone , and has shown an affinity for Russian president  Vladmir Putin  (and Wikileaks) has convinced Americans that he is the better choice to be president of the United States of America. President-elect Donald Trump. Photo/NY Times In a stunning upset Trump, who was endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan,  Tom 'Deflate-Gate' Brady  and Deflate-Gate enabler  Bill Belichick  defeated rivalry (and long-time friend) Hillary Rodham Clinton to become the 45th president. [Listen to  Trump's acceptance speech .] Supporters came out in mass to support the man that opponents said didn't have the temperament to be president, was a lose cannon on Twitter and bragged about groping women's crouches. In the wake of several women coming forth to claim they were i...

THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 26, 2016 FACT SHEET: Announcing Over $80 million in New Federal Investment and a Doubling of Participating Communities in the White House Smart Cities Initiative “If we can reconceive of our government so that the interactions and the interplay between private sector, nonprofits, and government are opened up, and we use technology, data, social media in order to join forces around problems, then there’s no problem that we face in this country that is not soluble.”  –  President Barack Obama With nearly two-thirds of Americans living in urban settings, many of our fundamental challenges—from climate change to equitable growth to improved health—will require our cities to be laboratories for innovation. The rapid pace of technological change, from the rise of data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and ubiquitous sensor networks to autonomous vehicles, holds signif...