Politics. On Point.

Oh, what a week in politics it has been! President Biden addressed the nation Wednesday in what will likely be his last public television address of his administration, just days before the inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump. President Biden addressed the Hamas conflict and shared concerns for the nation as the new U.S. presidential regime prepares to lead the country. Biden elected to step back to allow Vice President Kamala Harris to run for president in his stead, with just 90 days until the 2025 election, amid concerns for his health and mental capacity. In his speech, he warned that the country being run by "ultra wealthy people", could have "dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked." (See the seven-minute mark). X owner Elon Musk, who some see as already serving in an  unofficial capacity  in the Trump administration, is a concern of which President Biden speaks. Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon creator Jeff Bezos als...

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....

It isn't out of the ordinary for a student's science fair project to go awry at some point while a young scientist-in-training tries to perfect his or her project. What is definitely unusual, unheard of, and definitely out of the ordinary is possibly getting a felony charge when it does. Kiera Wilmot.  Expelled high school science student. Enter Kiera Wilmot , a sixteen year-old budding science student with plans to further pursue courses in Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM).  While attending Florida's Bartow High School, Wilmot's science project exploded and law enforcement officials were brought into the picture.  While no one was injured, Wilmot was charged with 'detonating a bottle of explosive materials on the school grounds'. News sources reported that Wilmot was charged with a felony, a charge that could ruin her young career as a student trying to get into college. Attorney for Wilmot, Larry Hardaway , claims th...

First Lady Michelle Obama invited military families and their children to the White House today to marvel at the White House Christmas decorations, while their children engaged in ornament making in the State Dining room with the First Lady. Photo by Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCT. Four-year-old Gerald Hogan, Jr. was the star of the day, all smiles, with his ornament of White House dog, Bo.   Gerald tied a green ribbon on his ornament and lifted it up for photographers to see.  When asked if he was going to put the ornament of Bo on his tree at home, he replied, “We don’t have a tree.”   A cute four year-old talks about his White House Christmas ornament. Video/Politics. On Point. It may be a bit early yet for the Hogan family Christmas tree, but the White House was decked with boughs of holly, Christmas trees, and more.   Thirty-seven Christmas trees to be exact, to include 30 natural trees, seven made from paper, felt or aluminum. “It jus...

AT Hyattsville, MD Olive Garden:  First Lady Michelle Obama, accompanied by Darden chef Julie Elkinton, second from right, talks to Charisse McElroy, right, and her daughter Jacqueline McElroy, 9.  Photo by AP's Manuel Balce Ceneta First Lady Michelle Obama was at the Hyattsville, MD Olive Garden restaurant today to announce that Darden Restaurants , the world’s largest full service restaurant company, would modify its kids' menus to include healthier sides and drink options. "Often, parents assume that when a restaurant offers a separate kids’ menu that the food on that menu will actually be good for their kids", said the First Lady. "They assume that the potion sizes will be reasonable. They assume that the food will be just as nutritious as food that they prepare for their kids at home."  It's considered that one of every two dollars spent on food is spent in restaurants, and over one-third of calories consumed in America are eaten at restau...

"We've Come A Long Way, Ladies!" It's been one year to the day since we started covering the First Lady here on Politics On Point .  Our very first moment with the First Lady was March 9th, 2010 when the First Lady donated her inaugural gown to the  Smithsonian 's First Ladies Collection.  ( Click here  for our coverage). Over the past year, we have been honored to continue to follow our First Lady and watch the magnificent strides she has taken - from her Let's Move ! campaign (which we are so happy about), to her work with military families, to her work with students in our area, to honoring women around the world during this year's Women's History Month . "These are women who work tirelessly, all of you, every day, to make not just countries more fair, more equal and more free, but often many of these women risk themselves and their families to get this work done", said Mrs. Obama. "And tonight, I just want to say to all of y...

The following op-ed, penned by Dr. Jill Biden, was published today in the Philadelphia Inquirer: Harnessing Community Colleges I have been a teacher for more than 30 years and a community college instructor for the last 18 of them. Every day in my classroom, I see the power of community colleges to change lives and put students on the path to opportunity and success. Community colleges are uniquely American institutions, in which anyone who walks through the door is one step closer to realizing the American dream. And they will play a vital role in the nation's economic recovery. President Obama understands the critical role community colleges will play in getting the economy back on track. They are the key to meeting his goal of making America's workforce the best educated and most competitive in the world by 2020. Last October, the president asked me to convene a summit of community college leaders at the White House, where students, faculty, administrators, and bu...

Yesterday at the White House, media and students from around the country were treated to a workshop and forum on Motown Legends as part of the White House's celebration of Black History Month . In attendance:  Smokey Robinson, Motown founder Barry Gordy, and artist John Legend.  Mrs. Obama speaks to high school students during Motown student workshop. The event was not only an oral history lesson for the students, but for the media as well.  Where else could you learn that Smokey Robinson credits shows like American Idol for helping today's talented individuals live their dreams?  "When I was starting out, we didn't have that.  Thankfully, I had Berry Gordy", said Robinson.  "He was a man that I could trust." Gordy, who created Motown because he "wanted to be heard, wanted to make money, and wanted to get girls", created his empire with a $800 loan from family members that helped catapult the universally indelible Motown sound....

Meet all 44 presidents this President's Day weekend at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in our Nation's Capital. It seems that former DC Mayor, Adrian Fenty, was partly responsible for the $2M exhibit which will open February 17, 2011.  DC is the only place in the world to feature the exhibit. From the Madam Tussaud web site: Mayor Fenty helped unveil artist renderings of the new gallery and spoke briefly while attendees admired the nine new wax figures of U.S. presidents that were on display: John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, James Garfield, Chester Alan Arthur, Grover Cleveland and Gerald Ford. Additionally, 30 first grade students were on-hand from D.C. Public School Cleveland Elementary to “meet” the new wax figure of the U.S. president for whom their school is named, Grover Cleveland. “Among the many museums and entertainment options in Washington, Madame Tussauds uniquely combines art, popular cul...