
On This Day: President Obama and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick listen as students from Orchard Gardens K-8 School in Roxbury, Mass., perform Dr. Marin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, Feb. 28, 2012 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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Today (all times EST):
1:0: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney
2:40: The White House Student Film Festival
3:45: President Obama delivers remarks at the White House Student Film Festival; East Room
4:50: Delivers remarks at a DNC meeting, Washington (Open to media)
5:20: Attends a DNC event, Washington (Closed press)
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Gotta smile at #MyBrothersKeeper critics - they just talk the talk, Barack Obama's been walking the walk all his life http://t.co/sNpVALA6SS
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TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) February 27, 2025
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Eugene Robinson: My Brother’s Keeper: A Helping Hand For Young Men Of Color
“My Brother’s Keeper” has a much nicer ring than “stop and frisk.” It also promises to be a more effective, less self-defeating way to address the interlocking social and economic crises afflicting young men of color. I’ll go out on a limb and predict that President Obama gets some heat for launching a program whose benefits are aimed solely at African American and Hispanic men and boys.
The nation’s first black president gets slammed by critics who accuse him of “playing the race card” every time he acknowledges that race and racism still play a role in determining opportunities and outcomes. But obviously they do. My Brother’s Keeper, which Obama announced Thursday, is the kind of targeted public-private initiative that might actually do some good, even without tons of new federal money thrown in.
More here
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Correcting typo: Pres Obama talks to grp of boys & young men who later appeared w him at "My Brother's Keeper" event http://t.co/Pk47CkI0ok
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(@petesouza) February 28, 2025
Pres Obama and Christian Campagne walk into East Room for "My Brother's Keeper" event http://t.co/ax0h1oRH7F
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(@petesouza) February 28, 2025
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LA Times: Obamacare Draws Younger Consumers Online As Deadline Looms, Report Says
The average premium paid for Obamacare coverage on a leading insurance website has dropped by nearly $100 a month since October as more young people sign up, a new industry report shows. The average age of people buying coverage at online broker EHealthInsurance.com dropped from 44 mid-October to 36 in late February, according to the company.
The average premium for 2014 health plans sold through EHealth tumbled from $370 a month to $273 over that period, which the company said reflects a higher proportion of younger applicants. Attracting enough younger and healthier customers is crucial to help offset the higher medical costs of older, sicker policyholders in the overall insurance pool. EHealth said last week when it announced fourth-quarter results that 40% of its applicants in the fall were between the ages 18 to 34.
More here
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AP: Obama Seeks More Federal Spending To Train Doctors
President Barack Obama will ask Congress to approve spending more than $5 billion on medical training to turn out some 13,000 primary care providers over the next 10 years. Obama will include the proposal in the budget he sends to Congress next week. The new funding is aimed at training more doctors who can work in underserved areas, including rural communities.
The president’s budget also will seek to expand the National Health Service Corps, a federal program that connects primary care physicians with communities in need. Obama wants to expand the corps from 8,900 providers to 15,000 over the next six years.
More here
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Bernard-Henri Levy: Ukraine’s Revolutionaries Are Not Fascists thebea.st/1frl3FE #Euromaidan #Євромайдан #революція via @thedailybeast
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Siri Bjoner (@sbjoner) February 27, 2025
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Molly Redden: This Program Is Helping Crush Childhood Obesity. Guess What Republicans Want To Do To It
Researchers are still exploring what factors caused the early childhood obesity rate to plummet43 percent over the last decade. But a group of health experts at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill think that they have found at least part of the answer: changes to the federally funded Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children that gave poor mothers the means to purchase more fresh produce for their children.
This program, which is better known as WIC, provides billions of dollars per year in nutritious food vouchers for low-income pregnant women, breast-feeding women, and children younger than five. WIC was created in the 1970s, but it wasn’t until 2009 that it provided mothers with vouchers for fruits and vegetables. That’s the change that the North Carolina researchers think may have contributed to the stunning decline in obesity rates. Republicans looking to slash federal spending have targeted WIC in recent years. In March 2012, for example, the GOP-controlled House of Representatives tried to cut $243 million from WIC.
More here
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At last! "@suprochkaa Switzerland freezes #Yanukovych's accounts #euromaidan @reuters reuters.com/article/2014/0…"
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Jelena Eckstädt (@athletespw) February 27, 2025
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ThinkProgress: Federal Government Expands Access To Healthy Food For Low-Income Moms And Babies
A government program that gives federal food assistance to an estimated 9 million women and children is getting revamped for the first time in more than three decades. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children — more commonly known as WIC — will now provide low-income Americans with more options for culturally specific food, as well as increase funding for some healthy options.
WIC is a nutritional assistance program intended to help women and their babies afford healthy food. It diverges from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps, because it’s specifically targeted at improving healthy pregnancies and birth outcomes. This year, the program marked its 40th anniversary.
More here
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Hanging out at the White House today and look who I ran into, the First Family’s dogs Sunny & Bo! pic.twitter.com/waL4TOAor0
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) February 27, 2025
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Raw Story: US, NATO Warn Russia To Avoid ‘Miscalculation’ In Ukraine
US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel on Thursday joined NATO in warning Russia not to take any action that could lead to “miscalculation” amid rising tensions on Ukraine’s majority-Russian Crimea peninsula. Speaking after pro-Kremlin gunmen seized regional administration buildings in Crimea and Moscow ordered snap combat readiness drills near the border, Hagel warned: “I am closely watching the Russian military exercise.
“I expect them to be transparent about these activities,” he told a press conference at the close of a two-day NATO defence ministers meeting. “I urge them not to take steps that could be misinterpreted or lead to miscalculation.” The crisis in Ukraine dominated the gathering, with an emergency meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission added to the agenda at the last moment. Hagel said Washington was concerned about the latest developments, especially in Crimea, and was continuing “to talk to our Russian counterparts” about their intentions.
More here
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‘George W Bush Paintings To Be Exhibited This Spring’ pic.twitter.com/8X60b9vgJj
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) February 28, 2025
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Read about the White House Film Festival here
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possibly the single greatest picture on the internet pic.twitter.com/Uy2V8gdABe
— Alluring❤️ (@AIIuring) February 28, 2025
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What the……
TPM: Newspaper Says Mysterious Phone Call With Dem Candidate Was Actually Wrong Number
A local Michigan paper on Thursday said a mysterious January interview with a Democratic congressional candidate was actually a misdial.
In January National Review highlighted a peculiar report from The Daily Mining Gazette about Democratic congressional candidate Jerry Cannon, who is running against Rep. Dan Benishek (R-MI).
The original Daily Mining Gazette report quoted Cannon as criticizing Obamacare. The paper later backtracked on the story and National Review suggested that someone else had perhaps answered the phone and been impersonating Cannon.
Now, in a story titled “Gazette Looks To Set The Record Straight,” the Daily Mining Gazette said the call for the complete interview was to a wrong number….
More here
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Only the soulless wouldn’t be touched by this ad | New Bell’s South Africa TV Ad — The Reader: http://t.co/5igTzSrAQd
— Liberal Librarian (@Lib_Librarian) February 28, 2025
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TPM: Jason Collins Visits Matthew Shepard’s Parents, Brings Gifts
Jason Collins had plenty of gifts for Matthew Shepard’s parents: a basket, a blowout, an autographed No. 98 jersey that he wears in honor of their son. They also shared some laughs.
Collins played the final eight minutes of the Brooklyn Nets’ 112-89 romp over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night, and although his three points and four fouls weren’t much to look at in the boxscore, rarely has the 35-year-old center been this proud of a performance.
“I got them a bucket,” the center said.
After his cameo in Brooklyn’s recovery from a 44-point loss against the Trail Blazers 24 hours earlier, Collins, the first openly gay athlete in America’s four major sports, met with the parents of the slain Wyoming college student who was tortured and murdered in 1998 because he was gay.
More here
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On This Day:

President Obama plays basketball with Education Secretary Arne Duncan at the U.S. Department of Interior, Washington, D.C., Feb. 28, 2009 (Photo Pete Souza)
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