The President And First Lady’s Day

President Barack Obama stands with Helen Loring Ensign, 85, from Palm Desert, Calif., after awarding the Medal of Honor posthumously to Army First Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing for conspicuous gallantry during a ceremony in the Roosevelt Room of the White House

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President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive at a ceremony to present the Medal of Honor posthumously to Army First Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing for conspicuous gallantry in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. First Lieutenant Cushing received the Medal of Honor for his actions during combat operations in the vicinity of Cemetery Ridge, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on July 3, 1863

President Barack Obama stands with Helen Loring Ensign, 85, from Palm Desert, Calif., after awarding the Medal of Honor posthumously to Army First Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing for conspicuous gallantry during a ceremony in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. With them, from left to right, are Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., Army Secretary John McHugh and Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald.

U.S. Army First Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing is pictured in a military academy graduation photograph dated 1861, obtained on October 28, 2014. President Barack Obama posthumously awarded the Civil War artillery officer the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. award for bravery, 151 years after Cushing was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg.

President Barack Obama stands with Helen Loring Ensign, as the citation for her relative, U.S. Army First Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing is read

Margaret Zerwekh of Delafield, Wis. raises her hand as she is acknowledged by President Barack Obama during a ceremony awarding the Medal of Honor posthumously to Army First Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing for conspicuous gallantry. President Obama acknowledged the work of Zerwekh, a 94-year-old amateur historian from Cushing’s hometown who painstakingly researched his story and lobbied Wisconsin’s congressional delegation for decades

First Lady Michelle Obama speaks during a special daytime workshop for high school students from military communities in the greater Washington area

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Willie Nelson, right, and fellow panelist, songwriter Ted Peterson, left, hip hop recording artist Common, second from right, listen as Army Sgt. Christiana Ball responds to a question

Farewell, Madiba

A man waves a South African flag as he looks out toward the grave of former South African President Nelson Mandela in Qunu, December 15

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Forward to 24 minutes

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Mourners watch a broadcast of the state funeral of Nelson Mandela at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg

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Morning everyone

Live Streaming: Nelson Mandela’s Funeral

From 1:0 AM EST

Tomorrow, He Rests In Peace

Cover by Kadir Nelson – see here. Thank you Alycee (@jazziz2)

West Wing Week: “Madiba, Farewell”

Chat on!

Rise and Shine

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Today (all times Eastern):

11:0: VP Biden attends and delivers remarks at a Nelson Mandela service at Washington National Cathedral

12:30: Josh Earnest briefs the press

3:45: VP Biden and Cecilia Muñoz answer questions about immigration reform in an online event

5:0: VP Biden delivers remarks at the 12th Annual George McGovern Leadership Award Ceremony of World Food Program USA

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Aboard Air Force One, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes begins the editing process on the President’s speech that he will deliver at the Nelson Mandela memorial service

Hillary Clinton talks with the Obamas, Ben Rhodes and Capricia Marshall aboard Air Force One, Dec. 9

President Obama greets security personnel from South Africa as he waits to take the stage at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela

President Obama and President Bush talk as they get ready to have dinner aboard Air Force One with their wives and Valerie Jarrett, Tina Tchen and Susan Rice

All photos by Pete Souza – lots more here

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USA Today: Obama applauds congressional budget deal

Don’t be surprised if President Obama addresses the proposed congressional budget deal on Wednesday, and to say good things about it.

In a written statement late Tuesday, Obama called the deal “a good first step” toward a “balanced” budget approach that combines prudent cuts with investments in job-generating programs.

“This agreement doesn’t include everything I’d like — and I know many Republicans feel the same way,” Obama said. “That’s the nature of compromise. But it’s a good sign that Democrats and Republicans in Congress were able to come together and break the cycle of short-sighted, crisis-driven decision-making to get this done.”

More here

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Obama shakes hands with Castro. Ryan shakes hands with Murray. Can’t get much better for the conservative outrage machine.

— Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) December 10, 2013

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Steve Benen: What’s next for the budget deal

That Congress’ budget chairs – Republican Paul Ryan and Democrat Patty Murray – were able to reach a budget agreement at all is a minor miracle. There was ample reason to believe the negotiations were a fool’s errand and that failure was an inevitability. The assumptions, however, were wrong, and the two leaders last night unveiled their deal to fund the government for the next two years.

Broadly speaking, there are two overarching questions to consider: is the budget agreement any good and can it pass Congress. Neither is easy to answer.

More here

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See, how it works is Republican presidents get to sell arms to dictatorial govts and support apartheid-practicing ones. Dems? No handshakes!

— Joy Reid (@TheReidReport) December 11, 2013

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BBC: ‘Volcker rule’ ban on risky trades passed by regulators

All five US financial regulators have approved the Volcker rule, designed to restrict the finance industry in the wake of the 2008-09 financial collapse.

Named after former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, it bans banks from using their own funds for trading activities.

It is considered the centrepiece of the 2010 banking reform legislation known as Dodd-Frank. Banks will have until 21 July 2015 to comply with the rules.

…. US President Barack Obama applauded the passage of a rule proposed more than three years ago.

He said in a statement: “The Volcker Rule will make it illegal for firms to use government-insured money to make speculative bets that threaten the entire financial system, and demand a new era of accountability from CEOs who must sign off on their firm’s practices.”

More here

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#ObamaCare private insurance sign-ups cross half a million. Medicaid/SCHIP at 1.6 million. http://t.co/QtvhuGHYnF

— amk4obama (@amk4obama) December 11, 2013

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Kentucky.com: Health enrollment climbs during holiday period

Enrollment through Kentucky’s health benefits website has grown by more than 11,000 in a 10-day period starting Thanksgiving week.

Gov. Steve Beshear’s office says the technology team for the state’s online health insurance marketplace was expecting an increase in traffic, applications and enrollments after Thanksgiving and increased capacity to prepare.

A news release from Beshear’s office says the site enrolls about 1,000 Kentuckians a day.

More here

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Pope Francis is Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2013. Go Pope and Change. http://t.co/OfGRvcazKZ pic.twitter.com/9knCCjocG1

— amk4obama (@amk4obama) December 11, 2013

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On This Day:

President Obama with first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Malia and Sasha walk out from the White House to attend Sunday service at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Dec 11, 2011

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MoooOOOooorning! A bit of a rush job again, I’m sure I’m missing lots of news but we’ll catch up through the day.

Chat On, Night Owls

A man holds the official programme ahead of the memorial service for Nelson Mandela at the FNB Stadium in Soweto

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Just want to thank UT again for her completely wonderful posts on the Nelson Mandela Memorial Service this morning, utterly unrivaled anywhere. By 10:0 EST there were 30,000 hits on the blog, all to see UT’s work. That’s amazing. Thank you legend, even if you’re a Blue 🙄

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So proud of President Obama today, what a wonderful ambassador for United States of America. Thank you @BarackObama. pic.twitter.com/4IoXnUllSy

— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) December 11, 2013

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Chat Away – South Africa Music Edition

A post to soothe the nerves as another momentous day passes into the rearview mirror.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo – Rain

Miriam Makeba – Soweto Blues

Chat Away

‏@petesouza: Pres Obama in tunnel of soccer stadium before taking stage at Nelson Mandela memorial service in South Africa

@petesouza: President Obama greets Graca Machel, Nelson Mandela’s widow, after his speech at the memorial service.

Chat Away

A boy with “Rest In Peace Nelson Mandela” painted on his face looks up to the skies during the memorial service for former South African president Nelson Mandela at the FNB Stadium in Soweto, near Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday Dec. 10

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Endless thanks to UT for all of today’s wonderful posts