President Obama to host Oscar Selma screening at WhiteHouse

David Oyelowo portrays Martin Luther King in Selma

BBC
President Obama is hosting a special screening of the Oscar-nominated film Selma at the White House.

The film depicts the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama led by Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

It is a contender for best picture at next month's Academy Awards, alongside seven other films including Birdman, Boyhood and Grand Budapest Hotel.

Cast and crew, including director Ava DuVernay, are expected to attend the screening on Friday.

The film picked up just two nominations for the Oscars, the second being a nomination for best original song, Glory, by John Legend and Common.

US Frees 5 Guantanamo Prisoners

The Pentagon on Thursday said five men from Yemen have been released from the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the latest move in efforts by the Obama administration to close the military prison.

The Pentagon announced that one man has been sent to Estonia and four to Oman.

“The U.S. is grateful to the Government of Oman for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

“There are now 122 detainees held at Guantanamo,’’ the Pentagon said.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

WhiteHouse says Obama will veto Keystone XL bill

Some of about 500 miles worth of coated steel pipe manufactured for the Keystone XL pipeline is seen in a file photo. Danny Johnston/The Canadian Press

The Associated Press
The White House says President Barack Obama would veto legislation approving construction of the long-stalled Keystone XL oil pipeline.

A bill that would have forced Obama’s hand on the issue failed to clear Congress in its final days last year.

But the Congress that convened Tuesday is Republican-controlled and new Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said the pipeline bill will be among the first issues voted on.

Republican rep apologizes after calling out Malia and Sasha Obama on facebook

A GOP staffer has apologized after calls were made for her to be sacked following a post she made on Facebook on Thursday November 27th calling president Obama's 16 year old Malia and 13 year old Sasha 'classless teenagers with no good role models' because of the outfits they wore to accompany their dad to the the turkey pardoning ceremony at the White House(her post left) .

After heavy backlash yesterday, with many asking for her to be sacked, Elizabeth Lauten, the communications director for U.S. Rep. Stephen Fincher apologized for her comments (right)
 

 Elizabeth Lauten

President Obama Speech after Ferguson Grand Jury Decision

Excerpts-
“Either way it was going to be the subject of intense disagreement,” the 53-year-old president shared during his speech to the country. “We need to accept that this decision was the grand jury’s to make.”

He added, “There are Americans who agree with it, and there are Americans who are deeply disappointed — even angry. It’s an understandable reaction.”

He continued, “We have made enormous progress in race relations over the course of the past several decades. I have witnessed that in my own life, and to deny that progress, I think is to deny America’s capacity for change. But what is also true is that there are still problems — and communities of color aren’t just making these problems up. Separating that from this particular decision, there are issues in which the law too often feels as if it is being applied in a discriminatory fashion.”

Obama to Rescue 4 Million Illegal Immigrants from Deportation

United States President, Barack Obama, has unveiled a new immigration plan that will protect over four million undocumented immigrants from deportation. However, the plan is causing causing controversy, because he plans to implement it without consent from the Congress, and despite opposition from many including Republicans.

Here’s what the new immigration plan entails, as reported by CNN:

• Offering papers and work authorization to up to four million people who are undocumented parents of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, as long as they have lived in the U.S. for five years or longer
• The changes will offer those who qualify the chance to stay temporarily in the country for three years, as long as they pass background checks and pay back taxes
• Those who qualify will not be offered a path to eventual citizenship or be eligible for federal benefits or health care programs

Michelle Obamas' Whitehouse garden harvests sweet potatoes for the first time

For people who don't know, some American presidents have had the opportunity to have their own gardens within the White House though some didn't grow gardens, but Eleanor Roosevelt, Clinton and now, the Obama's have their gardens in the White House.

Michelle Obama started her own garden, which is the biggest White House kitchen garden so far, when her daughters Malia and Sasha were not receiving nutritious meals. They had been eating out a lot and the family's pediatrician recommended a diet change. This was revealed in Michelle Obama's book entitled "American Grown: The story of the White House Kitchen Garden".