Results tagged “presidentbarackobama”

• The T board is dead. Long live the T. [Boston Globe]

• President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. [New York Times]

• A Framingham man, Nathan Brooks, will pilot the Goodyear blimp tonight over the Red Sox-Angels playoff game in Anaheim. Only 146 people nationwide are certified to pilot a blimp. [Boston Globe]

President Barack Obama addressed a Joint Session of Congress on Wednesday on the subject of healthcare reform. He outlined, again, guidelines for reform that include cutting costs, covering the uninsured and preserving existing coverage. The President also confirmed that common excuses that limit or end coverage, like preexisting conditions, will cease to exist.

• Tim Cahill doesn't want to be a Senator. He wants to be Governor, though. [Boston Globe]

• John McCain can't vote in our special election to replace Senator Kennedy. That fact didn't stop him from butting into the Bay State's business by tying to get Curt Schilling to run. [CNN]

In case you hadn't heard, President Barack Obama and family are spending their summer vacation on Martha's Vineyard. The trip is slated to begin a week from yesterday, and today the Herald informed us about one part of his potential itinerary. Obama may visit Senator Ted Kennedy at his Hyannisport home, if the Senator is up to it. Bostonist hopes Teddy feels good enough to host Obama. We're nervous, though, as his battle with a malignant brain tumor seems to be an uphill fight.

The Beer Summit involving President Barack Obama, Henry Louis Gates Jr., and Cambridge police Sergeant James Crowley happened today at the White House. Someone invited Joe Biden, which means he probably made a dumb joke that will prolong GatesGate. They sat, snacked, drank and talked. Great. And then, Sergeant Crowley held a press conference. He said he was focused on moving forward from the past month. Crowley declined to detail specifics from the meeting except to say he and Henry Louis Gates will meet in the future to continue their dialogue.

Lucia Whalen, the woman who called 911 in the Henry Louis Gates Jr. case, spoke to the media on Wednesday. Whalen defended her actions and said the suggestion that race impacted her actions hurt her. Tapes of the call proved that Whalen did not mention race. Despite what transpired after she called the police, she said she would do it again. In other Gates news, Lee Landor, the deputy press secretary to Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, resigned after calling Gates a racist and President Barack Obama "O-dumb-a." Former Secretary of State Colin Powell discussed the Gates situation on CNN last night.

Sergeant James Crowley, the Cambridge police officer who arrested Henry Louis Gates Jr., actually appeared on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan show this morning to give his version of the events. Crowley reportedly was asked about president Barack Obama's comments on the arrest of Gates last week, and was given a chance to apologize. He didn't exactly criticize Obama directly. He did say it was "regrettable" that someone would comment on this incident "without knowing the whole story". Crowley appeared to speak in a very calm, rational manner during his call-in appearance. It's his right to choose to explain or not explain himself in any forum he wishes. Given Dennis & Callahan's history, their show might not be the right choice. Look, Ed Harding is an ex-sports reporter, too. But, he is not controversial.

Martha's Vineyard is always a desireable vacation spot for everyone, even Presidents. That's why the news that president Barack Obama and family will be on vacation on the Vineyard during the last week in August was met without much surprise.

What sounds like a really bad joke came true on Friday when Fox News Channel produced Raymond Flynn - yes, that one - as an expert commentator on the first-ever meeting between President Barack Obama and Pope Benedict XVI that took place at the Vatican this morning. Flynn, Mayor of Boston from 1984-93, served as Ambassador to the the Holy See while Bill Clinton was president, which apparently makes him the voice of American Catholics. The meeting with the Pope is more important to Obama, Flynn said, because he believes Obama has not been open to Catholics as president despite the importance of the Catholic voting bloc. Flynn said the two leaders would seek common ground on issues they agree on, which proves Flynn can observe the obvious. Two really odd comments: Flynn said the Notre Dame issue wouldn't come up, which seemed to disappoint him. Flynn also described the Pontiff as "dogmatic," and appeared to use it as a compliment. No video of Flynn's appearance was available yet.

June 6, 2009 is the 65th Anniversary of D-Day. While President Barack Obama spoke in France at the American cemetary in Colleville-sur-Mer on what was called Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, WWII veterans from the Boston area are commemorating that unforgettable day. D-Day veterans Tom Ruggiero and Bob Forcier of Plymouth and Fall River, respectively, were in France today to receive the French Legion of Honor for their service. James Garabee of Newburyport visited France today as well to be honored as part of the Army's 5th Ranger Battalion. Ten additional local veterans recalled their service as part of a D-Day Remembrances compilation by WickedLocal.

Governor/First BFF Deval Patrick is in Washington, D.C. today as President Barack Obama rolls out new fuel and emission standards. Obama plans for these new standards, which include requiring cars and light trucks to get 35 miles per gallon, to be in practice by 2016. Of course, there is a big bunch of media speculation that Patrick is really there to discuss the looming Supreme Court opening that the President will have to fill.

Though cruelly/constitutionally barred from voting, young citizens can still make their political voices heard. On January 15, the NY Times published letters from students of 826 National, the network of non-profit writing and education centers that was co-founded by Dave Eggers of the McSweeney's empire.

National media outlets covering the ongoing Barack Obama inauguration festivities in Washington, D.C. are reporting that Sen. Ted Kennedy suffered a seizure during the traditional Inauguration Luncheon within the Capitol. Details are still coming in, but Kennedy was taken out of the event by Capitol medical staff. Prior to President Obama's closing remarks at the luncheon, the new president offered his thoughts to Kennedy's family, including wife Vicki Kennedy.

Okay, so this photo is and will be everywhere today, but it deserves to be. Full transcript of the speech if you didn't hear it. We can't even pick a favorite line from it.