Politics. On Point.

Akin to filibustering, House Democrats today staged a sit-in on the House floor in an effort to get Congress to act on gun violence legislation.  The sit-in, initiated by Congressman John Lewis (D-GA), includes 40 other democratic representatives who have taken to Twitter with the hashtag # NoBillNoBreak . When asked for order on the floor, Rep. John Larsen (D-CT) bounded the House lectern saying, "We will NOT come to order. We want a vote." Democrats, acting in response to this month's Orlando nightclub massacre , demanded that Congress, at the very least, discuss measures to enact commonsense gun legislation, to include background checks.  Congress, as it has been reported, favors gun lobbyists and the NRA. Republicans shut down C-SPAN cameras covering the event, leaving Democrats to take matters into their own hands, in an unprecedented move, by  Periscoping  and live-tweeting the event. Rep. John Larsen on the house floor today.  h/t: Heral...

First Lady Michelle Obama plans to use the social media platform Snap Chat to give viewers access to her upcoming trip to Africa and the Kingdom of Spain. Follow FLOTUS on Snap Chat here . Mrs. Obama, who is adamant about supporting the right of girls - everywhere - to get an education will be taking her message to Liberia, Morocco and Spain June 27-July 1, along with First Grandma Marian Robinson. The first lady's Let Girls Learn initiative focuses on ensuring adolescent girls get the necessary education and training needed to cultivate their futures, as opposed to adolescent marriages and starting families at very young ages. "I've had the opportunity to travel all around the world and I meet these amazing young women and they impress me with how bright and how hungry they are no matter what their circumstances are; they risk their lives for an education", said the first lady in a recent MAKERS interview . It has been reported that worldwide more th...

THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 4, 2016 Statement from President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama on the Passing of Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali was The Greatest.  Period.  If you just asked him, he’d tell you.  He’d tell you he was the double greatest; that he’d “handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder into jail.”  But what made The Champ the greatest – what truly separated him from everyone else – is that everyone else would tell you pretty much the same thing.  Like everyone else on the planet, Michelle and I mourn his passing.  But we’re also grateful to God for how fortunate we are to have known him, if just for a while; for how fortunate we all are that The Greatest chose to grace our time.  In my private study, just off the Oval Office, I keep a pair of his gloves on display, just under that iconic photograph of him – the young champ, just 22 years old, roaring like a lio...

Michelle Obama gave the commencement address at The City College in New York on Friday. It was her last as First Lady of the United States. "Let me just take it all in", she said. The first lady gave some very poignant remarks, and great advice, to the 2016 graduating class.   First Lady Obama has made 23 commencement addresses during her tenure, since 2009, per the White House: In 2009, Mrs. Obama addressed the first full graduating class at the University of California, Merced and spoke at the Washington Math and Science Tech Public Charter High School Graduation in Washington, DC. In 2010, Mrs. Obama addressed graduates of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, the George Washington University, and the Anacostia Senior High School. In 2011, Mrs. Obama addressed graduates of the University of Northern Iowa, Spelman College, and Quantico Middle High School. In 2012, Mrs. Obama addressed graduates of Virginia Tech, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical S...

President Obama visited Flint, Michigan Thursday to speak to the residents who have been plagued with the consequences stemming from lead in their drinking water.   The crisis was uncovered , in part, by scientists at Virginia Tech in early 2016 and made national headlines shortly after.  Flint residents, however, have complained about the water for nearly two years. President Obama speaks to Flint residents on Flint's water crisis.  (Photo/CNN) Flint's pipes were found to be corroded as a result of a money-saving decision not to use anti-corrosive chemicals to treat the water.  That decision backfired terribly. Flint residents have reported different reactions after drinking the water that include  skin rashes ,  legions  and headaches.  At least one Michigan resident reportedly was diagnosed with  5 times  normal lead levels, causing him excruciating pain and suffering. SEE: The Flint 100   “The Flint water crisis has...

Two items that made the news a bit worthwhile over the weekend. Malia Obama, 17, will be going to Harvard according to a statement from the Office of the First Lady, following in the footsteps of her parents. The press release also states that, "Malia will take a gap year before beginning school." The Obamas are both Harvard law school graduates; the first lady in 1988, the president in 1991. Read : Harvard and slavery . America has watched the Obama girls, Malia Ann and her sister Natasha (Sasha), grow up in the White House since they were the wee ages of 9 and 6, and look at them now.  The Obama girls, whenever they're asked, 'So, where did you grow up, can say 'I grew up in the White House.' Both young ladies made Makers.com's 31 Most Influential Women under 30  back in March. The girls have been scrutinized by more than a few mean people since they graced the White House with their presence; however, despite what these mean people say  th...

Today at the White House, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett, and other White House officials hosted 19 companies from across the American economy who are standing with the Obama Administration as founding pledge takers to launch the Fair Chance Business Pledge. The pledge represents a call-to-action for all members of the private sector to improve their communities by eliminating barriers for those with a criminal record and creating a pathway for a second chance. Companies signing the pledge today include: American Airlines, Busboys and Poets, The Coca-Cola Company, Facebook, Georgia Pacific, Google, Greyston Bakery, The Hershey Company, The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System, Koch Industries, Libra Group, PepsiCo, Prudential, Starbucks, Uber, Under Amour/Plank Industries, Unilever and Xerox. Right now, there are approximately 2.2 million Americans behind bars. The United States accounts for 5 percent of the world’s population, ...