A Tweet Or Two

Pres Obama just called into WGBH. ID'd as "Barack Obama, formerly of Somerville calling in with a few complaints about the neighborhood"

— Matt Viser (@mviser) December 18, 2014

President Obama was calling in for Deval Patrick's final appearance on @BosPublicRadio's "Ask the Governor" segment.

— Matt Viser (@mviser) December 18, 2014

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Congrats to my son Jahvaris on his graduation from FIU! #ProudMom #ProudParents #FIUgrad #FutureLawyer #NoObstacles pic.twitter.com/e8tIx54LoY

— Sybrina Fulton (@SybrinaFulton) December 17, 2014

Congratulations to #TrayvonMartin's older brother, Jahvaris Fulton for graduating college: http://t.co/B1VMHmZF0l pic.twitter.com/OCwkWfBgKr

— BET (@BET) December 17, 2014

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NEW: U.S. airstrikes killed 3 mid to high-level ISIS leaders in Iraq in recent weeks, senior defense officials confirm - @JimMiklaszewski

— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) December 18, 2014

Breaking: U.S. airstrikes have killed several very senior military leaders of Islamic State forces in Iraq. http://t.co/FP7Vf9KP1K

— WSJ Politics (@WSJPolitics) December 18, 2014

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POLL: 52% of the Cuban-American community in Miami-Dade County OPPOSES continuing the U.S. embargo of #Cuba. http://t.co/zvo21ncc9c

— Doug Foote 🟧 (@FooteSteppes) December 18, 2014

In the 113th Congress, Senate Democrats were able to confirm 132 judicial nominations. This is the most in 33 years. pic.twitter.com/bBBGOwBk43

— Senator Harry Reid (@SenatorReid) December 17, 2014

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Secretary of State Kerry on Cuba: 'I look forward to being the first Secretary of State in 60 years to visit Cuba.' pic.twitter.com/AirT1DVv9k

— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) December 17, 2014

Full transcript of Cuban President Raul Castro's remarks on U.S.-Cuba relations http://t.co/70wWtDLudx

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 17, 2014

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I support President Obama’s decision for the United States to start a new chapter in our relationship with Cuba.

— Senator Harry Reid (@SenatorReid) December 17, 2014

VATICAN STATEMENT: Pope Francis congratulates the U.S. and Cuba on move to re-establish diplomatic relations pic.twitter.com/PmlZN0fYA0

— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) December 17, 2014

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Marco Rubio is mad as hell. Welp. #Cuba http://t.co/RlbY1cN0c5. pic.twitter.com/zZm79uUDas

— April (@ReignOfApril) December 17, 2014

Follow our live coverage: Historic shift in US and Cuba ties http://t.co/lgmaI0l2wZ pic.twitter.com/ig9F4PCr5P

— BBC North America (@BBCNorthAmerica) December 17, 2014

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Would Rubio impose an embargo on China? Would that work? (He doesn't seem to understand difference between sanctions & embargos?)

— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) December 17, 2014

Just going to leave this here pic.twitter.com/vJJcasc7SD

— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) December 17, 2014

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“We as a nation have failed": Eric Holder pulls no punches in blistering new interview http://t.co/VLSf56GaA6 pic.twitter.com/WKZzw8Qrkv

— Salon (@Salon) December 17, 2014

Eric Holder’s parting shot

Police abuse scandals mean the nation has “failed” http://t.co/4W7PrZH20t #PDMFNB #p2 pic.twitter.com/jmchUhZRj8

— Jackie Craig (she, her) (@JackieCraigMN) December 17, 2014

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Even bigger than #AZ02 results: The U.S. plans to open an embassy in Havana and normalize relations with Cuba. Huge. http://t.co/sdz5dcmsye

— Once @senyorreporter, but always Tim Steller 🦉 (@timothysteller) December 17, 2014

"Church bells are ringing throughout Havana. I've never seen anything like it." -- CNN's reporter in Cuba.

— Tim Shorrock (@TimothyS) December 17, 2014

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GOP bashing Obama's Cuba deal b/c of their human rights abuses? You guys were just defending the torture and rape of detainees LAST WEEK.

— Greg 👻 (@waltisfrozen) December 17, 2014

Dept. of Justice: Transfer of 3 Cuban intel agents from US to Cuba is complete, "carried out without incident" by US Marshals - @PierreTABC

— ABC News (@ABC) December 17, 2014

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https://twitter.com/AdamWeinstein/status/545266672949788674

US announcement on #Cuba:

- New US embassy
- Fewer travel limits
- Better communications
- Easier to import goodshttp://t.co/M7C4IE3PhW

— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) December 17, 2014

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Welcome home, Alan! pic.twitter.com/rO7G6EHlPs

— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) December 17, 2014

Cuban Americans also support lifting travel restrictions and more people-to-people travel: pic.twitter.com/vYaCY1TuLa

— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) December 17, 2014

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Watch Bill Nye explain evolution using emoji http://t.co/pgK9ouToEa pic.twitter.com/JALjug6A8G

— Vox (@voxdotcom) December 17, 2014

If George Bush Sr. was a drama and Jr. was a tragedy, then Jeb Bush is a farce http://t.co/gsLMMIimsT pic.twitter.com/24rY83ddKO

— Salon (@Salon) December 17, 2014

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Reproductive Rights Groups Sue Wisconsin For Throwing Pregnant Women In Jail http://t.co/ciywRruM7P

— ~*~ f O x X i -*~ (@foxxi_loxxi) December 17, 2014

President Obama's Call to Australia PM Tony Abbott pic.twitter.com/KjKVdQcWuT

— Jon-Christopher Bua 🎬🎤 🎓 (@JCBua) December 17, 2014

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PA cop fatally shot his ex-girlfriend and wounded her daughter http://t.co/PRV8q8WIvh #MomsDemand #GunSense pic.twitter.com/5CjJUB1ZLH

— Khary Penebaker (@kharyp) December 17, 2014

https://twitter.com/KhaledBeydoun/status/545031007477317632

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BREAKING: Justice Department Announces Reversal On Litigating Transgender Discrimination Claims - http://t.co/ArBTfnxBMh

— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) December 18, 2014

Alan Gross's release paves the way for a potential thaw in decades of tense relations between the U.S. & Cuba http://t.co/LzLIUxNbIm

— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) December 17, 2014

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Honored to be America’s Doctor and the 19th #SurgeonGeneral. –VM pic.twitter.com/6jdBAUYN6I

— Dr. Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) December 18, 2014

Pres Obama on phone w/ Alan Gross, who was en route to US from Cuba- Dec. 17, 2014. ~WH Photo by Pete Souza pic.twitter.com/fQKtXKm4bf

— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) December 18, 2014

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As Stephen Colbert says goodbye to one chapter tonight, we remember that beautiful moment he shed a tear on November 4, 2008 when Senator Obama became President Obama.

After nine years, the best source of "truthiness" is coming to an end. Congratulations @StephenAtHome. pic.twitter.com/JXAj5ATaxz

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 18, 2014

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https://twitter.com/Kyrondo/status/545268950263939072

What a successful president looks like! pic.twitter.com/nqqjBIYokt

— Eric Darcman🇦🇬🇺🇸 (@Darcman) December 17, 2014

ObamaCare Is Reducing The Number Of Uninsured. Cue The GOP Tears

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David Nather: The Verdict Is In: Obamacare Lowers Uninsured

The evidence is piling up now: Obamacare really does seem to be helping the uninsured. Survey after survey is showing that the number of uninsured people has been going down since the start of enrollment last fall. the trend is unmistakable: Millions of people who didn’t have health insurance before the Affordable Care Act have gained it since last fall. The law is not just covering people who already had health coverage, but adding new people to the ranks of the insured — which was the point of the law all along. even health care analysts who think the law is a bad idea acknowledge that the evidence suggests the uninsured are being helped. Given the predictions of doom that accompanied the law’s passage and launch, that’s a sweet bit of vindication for the president and ACA supporters. “It will be better when we’ve got a whole year behind us, so we can tell how much [in the surveys] was noise and how much was reality,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin of the conservative American Action Forum, a frequent critic of the law. “Having said that, it sure looks like there are more people covered, and that’s a good thing.”

A survey by the Commonwealth Fund found that 9.5 million fewer adults are uninsured now than at the beginning of the Obamacare enrollment season. The Urban Institute’s Health Reform Monitoring Survey found a similar drop, with 8 million adults gaining coverage. And Gallup-Healthways survey reported that the uninsured rate has fallen to 13.4 percent of adults, the lowest level since it began tracking health coverage in 2008. the Commonwealth Fund survey also suggested that most of the people who have signed up for the Affordable Care Act are happy with their coverage — and aren’t just disgruntled people who were already insured and liked their own coverage better. According to the survey, 58 percent of the Obamacare customers said they were better off under their new health coverage, and only 9 percent said they were worse off than they were before. Even among people who previously had health insurance — the ones who might resent having to switch — 52 percent liked the new coverage, while 16 percent said they were worse off.

More here

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Early Bird Chat

Pete Souza: “Call him the baby soother. At the Congressional picnic on the South Lawn, the First Lady held a young baby who began crying (top photo). The President then came over to hold the same baby and was able to quiet her down as the First Lady reacted in astonishment in the background of the bottom photo.” June 15, 2011

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Pete Souza: “We had just arrived at the helicopter landing zone in Chicago and instead of walking right to the motorcade, the President and First Lady walked past their vehicle to the edge of Lake Michigan to view the skyline of their home town.” June 15, 2012

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MoooOOOooorning – Happy Sunday!

Rise and Shine

April 1, 2013 (Photo by Pete Souza)

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Today:

9:55: President Obama Speaks on the BRAIN Initiative

12:0: Open for Questions: Brain Initiative (WH live)

12:05: First Lady Michelle Obama Speaks at the “42” Film Workshop (WH live)

12:30: Jay Carney briefs the press

2:10: President Obama holds a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore

5:35: President Obama hosts cast and crew members of the movie ’42’, a biographical film about Jackie Robinson, for a screening at the White House

8:45: Vice President Biden Speaks at the 2013 Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards

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NYT: President Obama on Tuesday will announce a broad new research initiative, starting with $100 million in 2014, to invent and refine new technologies to understand the human brain….

A senior administration scientist compared the new initiative to the Human Genome Project, in that it is directed at a problem that has seemed insoluble up to now: the recording and mapping of brain circuits in action in an effort to “show how millions of brain cells interact.”

More here

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Washington Post: Gun-control measures that seemed destined to become law after the school shootings in Newtown, Conn., are in jeopardy amid a fierce lobbying campaign by firearms advocates.

Despite months of negotiations, key senators have been unable to find a workable plan for near-universal background checks on gun purchases — an idea that polls show nine in 10 Americans support.

Another provision that garnered bipartisan support — making gun trafficking a federal crime — could be gutted if Republican lawmakers accept new language being circulated by the National Rifle Association.

More here

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Jonathan Capehart: Dana Milbank, like so many of my other fellow pundits, is placing blame on President Obama for the “congressional inertia” that has stymied advancement of proposals to stem gun violence. What more Obama could do than he’s already done is beyond me. One look at the House of Representatives and you know that anything he wants to do or is in favor of doing is dead on arrival over there.

…. Imagine how much could get done if Obama’s consistent calls for help from the American people on gun violence were backed up by a consistent flood of calls to congressional district and Capitol Hill offices. The president has done as much as he can possibly do. With the Senate set to consider anti-gun-violence bills next week, where’s his backup?

Full post here

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Greg Sargent: Every Senator who is refusing to support expanded background checks — Republican or Democrat — needs to be asked a simple question: Do you support the current background system, or do you see it as an infringement on the rights of the law-abiding?

Every one of them will answer with a Yes, because they are taking refuge behind the idea that the current law needs to be strengthened in various ways but not expanded. Once they are on record confirming they don’t view the current system as a threat to Constitutional rights, the arguments against expanding it dissolve into incoherence.

More here

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Steve Benen: There are 55 members of the Senate Democratic caucus …. 47 of them have now publicly declared their support for marriage equality. The latest is Pennsylvania’s Bob Casey.

….with each similar announcement, the pressure rises on the remaining eight Senate Democrats who have not yet endorsed marriage equality: Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Bill Nelson of Florida, Tom Carper of Delaware, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, and Joe Donnelly of Indiana.

More here

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Bloomberg: Chrysler Group LLC, joining U.S. automakers in fielding their most competitive cars in decades, said its March U.S. sales rose 5 percent as the Dodge Dart compact helped extend a streak of monthly gains.

Sales for Chrysler climbed to 171,606 cars and light trucks from 163,381 a year earlier …. The automaker set sales records with its Dodge Dart, Avenger, Challenger and Chrysler 200 cars as well as its Ram pickups.

Chrysler’s U.S. vehicle sales have increased 36 consecutive months, the longest stretch in the company’s records that date back to 1985…

More here

Marketwatch: …. Ford’s newest vehicles – Fusion and Escape – set all-time monthly sales records in March, driving Ford’s best U.S. sales results since May 2007.

“Customers are buying our all-new Fusion and Escape in record numbers, and we are working harder than ever to keep pace with demand for these fuel-efficient vehicles,” said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service. “Full-size pickup demand continues gaining momentum, outperforming the industry for the third consecutive month.”

More here

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Charles Pierce: The Selling Of Rand Paul

The selling of Senator Aqua Buddha continues apace. Time now has joined the parade, explaining that junior is peddling a superior brand of more easily digestible horsepucky than his old man peddled, and that makes all the difference….

…. Seriously, the filibuster failed, and was “electrifying” only to those people who dropped a fan in the bathtub while listening to it….

There is no question that Aqua Buddha is a superior tap-dancer to his father, but ….. you nod along for five minutes and, at the 5:00:01 mark, you hear something that’s so nakedly opportunistic  — Benghazi, BENGHAZI, BENGHAZI! — that you wonder if you’ve accidentally wandered into Sunday dinner at the Romneys…..

Full post here

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Jonathan Chait: Will Obama’s Majority Survive?

Since November, the prospective death of the Republican coalition has hovered over American politics, and the autopsy has gained renewed attention in light of the debates over gay marriage and immigration, both of which split the GOP from rising chunks of the electorate. I’m an advocate of the theory, first put forward a decade ago by Ruy Teixeira and John Judis, that the electorate is forming a natural Democratic majority. The Republican Party appears to be caught in a double bind, in which the electorate is growingly progressively less white, and even younger white voters hold less conservative views than older ones. What’s more, evidence suggests that voters maintain the partisan allegiances they form at a young age. The picture looks grim for the GOP.

More here

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March 3, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)

NYT: Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, is likely to be the next United States ambassador to Japan, according to people familiar with the appointment process.

The vetting of Ms. Kennedy by the White House is almost complete, and an appointment could be announced in the coming weeks, along with the names of several other choices for important diplomatic posts…

More here

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‏@whitehouse

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MoooOOOOoooorning!

Sunny Side Up

President Obama consoles Donovan Frazier, 5, whose egg ran off course during the the Easter Egg Race

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Lots more Easter Egg Roll videos at the White House YouTube channel

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This and That

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Coming up:

Sunday: The President will remain at Camp David and has no public events scheduled.

Monday: The President will travel to Boca Raton, Florida where he will participate in the third Presidential Debate at Lynn University. The First Lady will also attend. The President and the First Lady will stay overnight in Boca Raton, Florida.

Tuesday: The President will travel to Delray, Florida and Dayton, Ohio for campaign events. He will return to Washington, DC in the evening.

Later in the week, the President will visit six states in two days. He will make stops in Colorado, Nevada, Florida, Virginia, Illinois and Ohio, sleeping on Air Force One and spending time calling undecided voters and volunteers, the campaign said Sunday.

Adapting the campaign’s “Forward.” motto, the trip is being billed as the “America Forward!” tour.

He will begin Wednesday in Iowa, then travel to Denver for a rally and then on to Las Vegas for a late night grassroots event.

Rather than staying in a hotel, Obama will get back aboard Air Force One for a red eye flight to a Thursday grassroots rally in Tampa, Fla., and an event on the tarmac in Richmond, Va.

Then, he’ll travel west again to Chicago to cast his vote under Illinois early voting rules. The President will wrap up his travels with a grassroots event in Cleveland on Thursday night.

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Cagle

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Thank you Mary

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Helloooooooo everyone! Just a word for all the new people trying to join in on the chat the last while, including a few today – thanks a million, but in an effort to keep out the trolls please read here first: House Rules

Thanks.

Babies for Mitt! (Kidding)

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Meanwhile…

Kent State University, Sept 2012

Bowling Green, Sept 2012

rise and shine

Dec. 14, 2011: “During one of the Christmas Holiday receptions at the White House, I noticed the First Lady’s hands resting on the podium as the President made brief remarks.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Sept. 21, 2011: “The First Lady reacts to something the President whispered to her at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in between events related to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, New York City.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

June 11, 2011: “The top photograph shows the President having a water gun fight with his daughter Sasha on her birthday weekend at Camp David. Unbeknownst to me, David Lienemann captured a similar photo of the Vice President on the very same day.” (Official White House Photos by Pete Souza and David Lienemann)

Feb. 5, 2011: “The two coaches for Sasha Obama’s basketball couldn’t make it to one of her games, so the President and his then personal aide, Reggie Love, filled in as coaches for this game one Saturday. Here they along with Sasha’s teammates react during the game.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

June 15, 2011: “Call him the baby soother. At the Congressional picnic on the South Lawn, the First Lady held a young baby who began crying (top photo). The President then came over to hold the same baby and was able to quiet her down as the First Lady reacted in astonishment in the background of the bottom photo.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

May 1, 2011: “The President was ready to announce the news about the mission against Osama bin Laden and was putting the finishing touches on his statement in the Outer Oval Office. As he did so, the networks broke in with bulletins confirming that bid Laden had been killed and a photograph of him appeared on the television screen in the background near the Vice President and Press Secretary Jay Carney.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Oct. 14, 2011: “The Obama family made an unannounced visit to tour the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial in Washington, D.C. the night before the President made remarks at the official dedication of the memorial.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

“The President reacts jokingly after the First Lady in her remarks called Jill Biden, ‘my favorite person here,’ despite the fact that her husband was standing next to her. All in good fun, the President then spoke at the signing ceremony for the Veterans Opportunity to Work to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Dec. 1, 2011: “The President with Malia and the First Lady with Sasha wait backstage before the lighting of the National Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Dec. 21, 2011: “The President and Bo, the Obama family dog, ride in the presidential motorcade en route to PetSmart in Alexandria, Va. The President bought Bo some Christmas gifts at the pet store then walked nearby to Best Buy to purchase gifts for his daughters. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

More photos at Flickr – thank you Collegekay

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Hoos Left – full post here

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The Reid Report

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Morning everyone 😉

hey! goodnight! see you good people tomorrow ;-)

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Bonus track:

Now up to 1,397,793 views on YouTube 😆

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Thank you for the reminder, Bobfr:

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And …. my most loved:

hey, the president has a message for us: ‘stop your crying, i got this’

See you tomorrow

😉