Politics. On Point.

President Obama's White House homecoming had comedy, acquaintances, and talk of  The Affordable Care Act (ACA) which, twelve years ago, his administration passed with enough bipartisan support to become the 'most consequential' U.S. healthcare legislation in generations. ADVERTISEMENT CMB BUSINESS SOLUTIONS   His return (aside from jokingly calling President Biden, Vice President) had more to do with appealing to Congress to lower health insurance premiums and extend the ACA. "And today, today, the Biden-Harris administration is going even further by moving to fix a glitch in the regulations that will lower premiums for nearly 1 million people who need it and allow 200,000 more uninsured Americans get access to coverage", said Obama. Yet,  there are states that refuse to extend ACA-supported Medicare benefits and subsidies.  SEE: STATES WITH EXPANSION ACTIVITY Vice President Kamala Harris, women's history maker in her own right, appealed to Congress in this wa...

Former senator Harry (D-NV) Reid passed Tuesday, December 28. He was one of the longest running and most impactful senators Congress had the pleasure of working with, serving from 1987 to 2015. Reid branded himself as a hard worker from Searchlight, NV who "wasn't a genius", nor the "best looking." RELATED: A good read about Reid,  oppositions included. Scores of colleagues, friends, and naturally the Biden administration, shared their thoughts and remembrances of Reid.  Wrote President Biden, " During the two decades we served together in the United States Senate, and the eight years we worked together while I served as Vice President,  Harry  met the marker for what I’ve always believed is the most important thing by which you can measure a person—their action and their word." Vice President Kamala Harris remembered Reid as the person who " made a meaningful difference in people’s lives", recounting how he had worked for working families an...

Today, in what could be seen as his first public forum since leaving office, President Obama reached out to young leaders during a civic engagement event at the University of Chicago to listen to thoughts and ideas on how youth can, and are, working to improve communities through engagement and opportunity. President Obama talks with youth during University of Chicago youth forum. ADVERTISEMENT CMB BUSINESS SOLUTIONS   The panel of youth who have forged ahead in their own lives to make positive differences talked about their own successes while providing ideas on how other youth can get involved to improve the quality of life and opportunity for today's youth. Samuel Figueroa a student from Roosevelt University shared the ideal of making “personal connections” to private situations. He said he believes in providing statistics to show where the need is in communities and said he likes to “connect the facts.” Figueroa also said that “listening” is key. “It’s ...

Making good on one of his campaign promises, President Trump vowed to make changes to NAFTA , also known as the North American Free Trade Agreement. Meeting with business leaders from Ford, Tesla, Dell and others at the White House Monday morning, Trump stated he will impose legislation that will charge tariffs (taxes) on companies that ship their products to the U.S. President Trump meets with business leaders at the White House. Photo/Chicago Tribune. "We're the only ones that make it free to come into the country", he said. Trump said countries like China make it difficult to ship products to their country, but do not pay to ship their products to the U.S. "We want fair trade", Trump said. NAFTA was enacted under former president George H.W. Bush in 1992 and signed into legislation by Bill Clinton in 1994. The president also wants to impose sanctions on U.S. companies who manufacture overseas as he vows to 'bring jobs back to America'...

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...

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...