Ashley Alman: A Boy Who Asked Obama About Stem Cell Research In 2007 Writes To Say It Saved His Life
A young cancer survivor sent President Barack Obama a moving letter thanking him for keeping a promise made during a 2007 campaign stop — a promise the boy says saved his life. Gavin Nore, a teen from Fort Dodge, Iowa, told Obama in a letter shared by the White House Tuesday that he’d had the opportunity to meet the president during his first presidential campaign.
At the time, Nore asked Obama whether he’d continue stem cell research during his presidency, to which the president responded he would. In February 2013, Nore was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. He was 14 years old. Nore said he was “cancer free” by that summer, but was later re-diagnosed. “I had to have a stem cell transplant. I beat the battle once again,” Nore wrote to the president. “I would like to thank you very much for continuing the research. If the research haden’t [sic] continued, I wouldn’t be here today.”
President Barack Obama speaks at a press conference with Vice President Joe Biden in the Rose Garden. President Obama announced that Cuba and the United States would re-establish diplomatic ties, including an exchange of ambassadors and embassies
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Hello from Nashville! I'll be answering your questions on health care and the Affordable Care Act at 3:30pm ET. Tweet yours using #AskPOTUS.
— President Obama (@POTUS) July 01, 2025
Alright, let's do this. Ready to answer your health care questions. Keep 'em coming with #AskPOTUS. http://t.co/wK8RDF2H0i
— President Obama (@POTUS) July 01, 2025
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we need to encourage states to take advantage of medicaid expansion; could insure 4 mil more people in 22 states! twitter.com/TheRealDylanG/…
— President Obama (@POTUS) July 01, 2025
not true - like last year, insurers request premium hikes, but must be approved; expect final increases to be less twitter.com/RaulieGonzo/st…
— President Obama (@POTUS) July 01, 2025
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congratulations! hope you guys are getting sleep. nothing beats babies! twitter.com/nathan210/stat…
— President Obama (@POTUS) July 01, 2025
now's time to encourage states that held off for political reasons to do the right thing; contact state officials! twitter.com/katrobison/sta…
— President Obama (@POTUS) July 01, 2025
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EX-IM bank helps US companies export; that means good paying american jobs. optimistic that congress gets it done. twitter.com/SableSys/statu…
— President Obama (@POTUS) July 01, 2025
have principles and issues you are passionate about, and act; worry more about doing something than being something. twitter.com/fieldemma47/st…
— President Obama (@POTUS) July 01, 2025
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there's a hardship exemption; fine only applies to folks who can afford insurance but choose not to. twitter.com/christinalouck…
Outkast and The Black Keys?!?! President Barack Obama is the greatest president of all time!
was listening to outkast/liberation and the black keys/lonely boy this morning. twitter.com/theonIyreasn/s…
— President Obama (@POTUS) July 01, 2025
“@POTUS: was listening to outkast/liberation and the black keys/lonely boy this morning.” Can we use Air Force One for our upcoming gigs?
— The Black Keys (@theblackkeys) July 01, 2025
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pushing to make 2 yrs comm college free; permit refinancing on student loans; push colleges to keep tuition low twitter.com/ryann1232/stat…
— President Obama (@POTUS) July 01, 2025
people lack info/turned off by political noise. w court case done, let's focus on getting people signed up. twitter.com/jayrocky_vs/st…
— President Obama (@POTUS) July 01, 2025
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butler's a great player on o and d; let's sign him up long term. go bulls! twitter.com/Matt_Rodewald/…
— President Obama (@POTUS) July 01, 2025
Gotta go, but this was fun. Let's keep the health care conversation going - share how the #ACAWorks for you or your family.
— President Obama (@POTUS) July 01, 2025
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We feel you, good people. We feel you
@POTUS I can't ask this officially, but I wish you could stay our leader forever. We love you, sir.
— Fatty Wep (@ithinkmark) July 01, 2025
@POTUS i love you soooooooo much thank you
— Elisabeth (@elisabethjoffe) July 01, 2025
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President Barack Obama receives applause from Kelly Bryant as she introduces him to speak about the Affordable Care Act during a visit to Taylor Stratton Elementary School in Nashville, Tennessee. Bryant is a breast cancer survivor who wrote Obama a letter to tell of her positive experience with the Affordable Care Act
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President Barack Obama speaks about the Affordable Care Act. The president said he wants to refocus on improving health care quality, expanding access and rooting out waste now that the Supreme Court has upheld a key element of his health care law
President Barack Obama walks with Kelly Bryant after arriving at her home to take her to the event where he was to speak about the Affordable Care Act during a visit to Taylor Stratton Elementary School
A woman photographs an autograph left by President Barack Obama on a wall at Taylor Stratton Elementary School
And when I shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night
And pay no worship to the garish sun.
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Statement from Vice President Joe Biden
It is with broken hearts that Hallie, Hunter, Ashley, Jill and I announce the passing of our husband, brother and son, Beau, after he battled brain cancer with the same integrity, courage and strength he demonstrated every day of his life. The entire Biden family is saddened beyond words. We know that Beau’s spirit will live on in all of us—especially through his brave wife, Hallie, and two remarkable children, Natalie and Hunter.
Beau’s life was defined by service to others. As a young lawyer, he worked to establish the rule of law in war-torn Kosovo. A major in the Delaware National Guard, he was an Iraq War veteran and was awarded the Bronze Star. As Delaware’s Attorney General, he fought for the powerless and made it his mission to protect children from abuse.
More than his professional accomplishments, Beau measured himself as a husband, father, son and brother. His absolute honor made him a role model for our family. Beau embodied my father’s saying that a parent knows success when his child turns out better than he did.
In the words of the Biden family: Beau Biden was, quite simply, the finest man any of us have ever known.
If tears could build a stairway
and thoughts a memory lane
VP Joe would walk right up to heaven
and bring you home again
You were gone before they knew it
And only God knows why.
You were the best of all of them
And the twinkle in your families eye
With heart’s still active in sadness
And secret tears still flow
What it meant to lose you
No one can ever know.
And now they know you’d want them
To mourn for you no more
To remember all the happy times
Life still has so much in store.
Since you’ll never be forgotten
Your family pledges today
A hallowed place within their hearts
Is where you’ll always stay.
Author Unknown
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If you would like to leave some words of condolences for the Biden family, the White House has graciously provided a way to do so here
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by Meta
I went back and found some notes I wrote to a friend when I saw Beau Biden and Kamala Harris give a talk on gun reform in July 2013. I want to share them with you because the overwhelming feeling I got from him was that he was such a great human being:
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The first thing that comes to your mind when you see Beau Biden is how much he looks like his father. I mean, really, really looks like his father, and with some of the same mannerisms. Then you listen to him speak and what comes across is just how smart, compassionate and dedicated he is when he talks about his work and his family. He talked about his Dad a lot.
He and Kamala are long-time friends and they spoke about the challenge of working on common sense gun reform. Beau talked about his experience with this issue in particular as AG for Delaware. He spoke for about 20 minutes or so and then took questions for at least another hour. He was very, very generous with his time and did his best to address questions that were very challenging. Kamala Harris is also gorgeous and crazy smart. She projects strength and courage in so many, many ways, I’m just thrilled that she is my AG. SO, these are two very distinguished rising stars in our party and we should be very proud of them. I want to encourage all of us to keep track and support them both in any way we can.
After the event I walked up to him just to thank him. I waited patiently as he was mobbed with people wanting to give him their card and introduce themselves and have a photo taken. Then Christine Pelosi walked up next to me and when Beau was free, I told her to go ahead and get in there and meet him. He was very glad to meet her and they talked for a few minutes about the work she’s doing now and some of the stuff that’s happening now with PBO and VPB on gun reform. They both talked about how much they loved PBO’s remarks on Trayvon in the WH briefing room and Beau said he thought PBO should do more of that because he’s so good at it. Then when the moment came, he turned toward me and I shook his hand and thanked him for his service and just said I want to wish him the best in this very tough fight. He was soooooo sweet and thanked me. I told him I love his father very much and he seemed very touched by that. He looked at me and said, you know, my father is really, in real life, really a very nice man, a very good man. I said, I know! That is why I love him! And your mother, too. He said, yes, my mother, too. I thanked all three of them for their service to our nation. He seemed very sincerely touched by that. He said he’s going to need a lot of help when the legislature looks at his gun reform bill again in Delaware in January and I said if I can help, I will. He smiled and thanked me and said, please stay in touch with me. Please join my Facebook page. I smiled and said, OK.
Honestly, Beau is just a very warm, honest man and one of the most sincere guys you’ll ever meet. Just a wonderful man. And again, OMG, just very, very handsome in person, incredibly fit. Anyway, I so wish you could have been there with me. It was very, very special. My admiration for them both for taking on this incredibly important issue is truly boundless.
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I’m know that VP Joe must be inconsolable. I cannot imagine losing a son, losing such a bright star. I hope in the days to come he will find a measure of comfort from the outpouring of love and respect the world over. He and Jill are so beloved.
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The world remembers a beautiful soul
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Robert Burns
An honest man here lies at rest,
The friend of man, the friend of truth,
The friend of age, and guide of youth:
Few hearts like his, with virtue warm’d,
Few heads with knowledge so inform’d;
If there’s another world, he lives in bliss;
If there is none, he made the best of this.
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Beau Biden made every life he touched better. Please hold his family in your hearts.
— Jay Carney (@JayCarney) May 31, 2025
It breaks my heart knowing Beau Biden has passed.
I can honestly say, from experience, that Beau was a nice, kind man.
God bless
— HillarMeme Clinton (@bxanden) May 31, 2025
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This reads like glossy, phony political legend, but it is actually true. And I've learned so in private from others: http://t.co/0X5gvuxHys
— Jeff B@AoSHQDD (@EsotericCD) May 31, 2025
Incidentally, excerpt here is from @JohnAvlon's article in @thedailybeast: thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/…
— Jeff B@AoSHQDD (@EsotericCD) May 31, 2025
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Beau Biden was a throughly admirable man. Great husband, father, son, veteran and public servant. My heart aches for the Biden family.
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) May 31, 2025
It is with great sorrow and heavy hearts that we share the news of the loss of a great leader, Maj. Beau Biden. fb.me/3OVjkJbzs
— Del National Guard (@DelawareNG) May 31, 2025
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So crushed to hear of the loss of Beau Biden. What a great man. Iraq vet, AG, father and son. Example of American hero.
— Jim Messina (@Messina2012) May 31, 2025
When you think of what Joe Biden's endured and what he's like, he seems to get something right about life that most of us don't.
— Michael Grunwald (@MikeGrunwald) May 31, 2025
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An immeasurably devoted father has lost an intensely devoted son. Our nation has lost one of its brightest stars & most honorable men.
— Ronald Klain (@RonaldKlain) May 31, 2025
President Obama on Beau Biden's Death: He "Believed the Best of Us All" thr.cm/BxbCD1 http://t.co/T7ITdYklAR
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) May 31, 2025
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Robert Louis Stevenson
Under the wide and starry sky
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you grave for me;
“Here he lies where he longed to be,
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.”
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Biden family: "Beau Biden was, quite simply, the finest man any of us have ever known.” nyti.ms/1PVIzNq http://t.co/0jhODDocB8
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 31, 2025
Those who knew Beau Biden did not know a finer person. Our hearts w/his parents, family
— Antony Blinken (@ABlinken) May 31, 2025
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Stephen O’Brien
I will wait for you…
Though we never had a chance to say goodbye,
Remember me…
When winter snows are falling through a quiet sky
I’ll remember you
When, in our darkest hour,
You held my hand and prayed I wouldn’t go,
But a silent voice called out to me;
My time had come, and I had to travel Home…
Since then, I know your life has never been the same,
For I visit you each day:
So many times I’ve felt your pain:
I’ve watched you cry:
And I’ve heard you call my name…
But now, further along life’s road I stand
In a timeless world, just beyond your sight,
Waiting for the day when I can take your hand and bring you across
to this land of Golden Light…
Till then, remember me, you understand-and try not to cry.
But if you do:
Let your tears fall
For the happiness and joy we knew,
And for the special love we shared,
For love can never die.
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Beau Biden was 46 years old, a husband, and the father of two children buzzfeed.com/jimdalrympleii… http://t.co/fvmPdeT9uq
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) May 31, 2025
Tributes pour in for passing of Beau Biden: abcn.ws/1RAh35s
— ABC News (@ABC) May 31, 2025
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Joe Biden's 2012 advice to grieving families is all the more poignant today vox.com/e/8457366?utm_… http://t.co/EI2vHD5QRy
— Vox (@voxdotcom) May 31, 2025
Joe Biden: "The real reason I went home every night was that I needed my children more than they needed me." whitehouse.gov/the-press-offi…
— jennifer bendery (@jbendery) May 31, 2025
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President Obama: "Beau Biden believed the best of us all." trib.al/xHZTPnL http://t.co/zbJ1U3YlGX
— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) May 31, 2025
Beau spent his entire career in the service of his country & his state. He was an outstanding Attorney General, lawyer, soldier, and father.
— Gov. Jack Markell (@GovernorMarkell) May 31, 2025
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Author Unknown
Don’t cry for me now I have died, for I’m still here I’m by your side,
My body’s gone but my soul’s is here, please don’t shed another tear,
I am still here I’m all around, only my body lies in the ground.
I am the snowflake that kisses your nose,
I am the frost, that nips your toes.
I am the sun ,bringing you light,
I am the star, shining so bright.
I am the rain, refreshing the earth,
I am the laughter, I am the mirth.
I am the bird, up in the sky,
I am the cloud, that’s drifting by.
I am the thoughts, inside your head,
While I’m still there, I can’t be dead.
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Heartbroken at Beau Biden's passing. Every time I saw him he was gracious, kind, & true. In short: He was a Biden. http://t.co/K3U44yQrn0
— chris dilts (@chrisdilts) May 31, 2025
Few more eloquent in grief than @VP over the years. As he'd say: http://t.co/0QPlh8LqHh
Noam N. Levey: Obamacare’s Guaranteed Health Coverage Changes Lives In First Year
Like many working Americans, Lisa Gray thought she had good health insurance. That was until she was diagnosed with leukemia in mid-2013, and the self-employed businesswoman made a startling discovery: Her health plan didn’t cover the chemotherapy she needed. “I thought I was going to die,” Gray, 62, said recently, recalling her desperate scramble to get lifesaving drugs. it was a new health plan through the Affordable Care Act that Gray credits with saving her life. The plan, which started Jan. 1, 2014, gave her access to the recommended chemotherapy. Her cancer went into remission in the fall. It is now one year since the federal law began guaranteeing coverage to most Americans for the first time, even if they are sick.
For many Americans like Gray — who were stuck in plans that didn’t cover vital services or who couldn’t get insurance because of a preexisting medical condition — the law has had a personal, even life-changing impact. “A couple years earlier, I think I would have been done,” Gray said. But the insurance guarantee — which includes billions of dollars in aid to low- and middle-income Americans — has extended coverage to about 10 million people who previously had no insurance, surveys indicate. That cut the nation’s uninsured rate more than 20% last year, the largest drop in half a century. The law also changed coverage for millions more people who were in plans like Gray’s that capped or excluded benefits, a once-common feature of health insurance that is now banned.
More here
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Take care of yourself today—#GetCovered for tomorrow: ofa.bo/h2E4
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 05, 2025
"it was a new health plan through the Affordable Care Act that Gray credits with saving her life" latimes.com/nation/la-na-o…
— Lily Adams (@adamslily) January 05, 2025
"Obamacare's guaranteed health coverage changes lives in first year" More from @latimes: ofa.bo/r2Fc
In my 44 years (almost 45), I’ve never seen a President console and uplift as much as Barack Obama. A tribute to our Hugger-in-Chief.
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After a speech on gun violence in Colorado, President Barack Obama hugs Sue Connors and Jane Dougherty, who lost their sister in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings.
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Stephanie Miller of Sandusky Ohio cries on the shoulder of U.S. President Barack Obama at a campaign event at Washington Park in Sandusky, Ohio July 5, 2012. Miller’s sister died of cancer and said that Obama’s healthcare plan would have given her better treatment options.
Dr. Jill Biden: This Is The Affordable Care Act: Giving Women at High Risk for Breast Cancer Access to Free Chemoprevention Medication
More than 20 years ago, my personal involvement in the fight against breast cancer started after four of my friends were diagnosed with the disease in the same year. After one of those friends lost her battle, I saw just what a ruthless adversary breast cancer could be. Far too many of us have lost a loved one to breast cancer or seen a colleague or friend endure painful treatments to fight the disease. That is why I am so pleased that today the Administration is making clear that most health insurance plans must soon cover chemoprevention medications like tamoxifen and raloxifene that can reduce the risk of breast cancer for women who have an increased chance of developing the disease. In addition, these health plans will have to cover the medications at no cost to these women.
Great news: More women facing high #BreastCancer risk won't have co-pays for certain preventive treatments → go.wh.gov/7LTmif
— Dr. Jill Biden (@DrBiden) January 09, 2025
Women who are at high risk of developing breast cancer face many questions. Now, if their doctor recommends that the benefits of this treatment outweigh the risks, one question women across the country won’t have to ask is whether they can afford it. This is just one more way the Affordable Care Act is helping fight breast cancer. Already, the ACA ensures that about 47 million women have access to free mammograms every year or two, that insurance companies can no longer deny coverage or increase premiums due to pre-existing conditions like breast cancer, and new health plans can no longer set an annual or lifetime cap on someone’s health insurance benefits – meaning women diagnosed with breast cancer will not max out their insurance benefits while seeking treatment.
SF Gate: Thousands Of Volunteers To Welcome Batkid To S.F.
Five-year-old Miles already has experience fighting villains - he’s been facing off with acute lymphoblastic leukemia since he was 20 months old. With his cancer in remission and his last bout of chemotherapy finished in June, his biggest wish was to continue living his life heroically. “He wanted to be Batman,” said Patricia Wilson, the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Bay Area executive director. We can do that, Wilson thought, and she began putting the call out to volunteers to help turn San Francisco into Gotham City for a day for the boy from Tulelake (Siskiyou County).
It might as well have been a worldwide Bat-Signal. Word of the foundation’s efforts spread quickly on social media, and soon what started as a small effort to make a 5-year-old boy a hero for the day turned into a citywide extravaganza, with support and volunteers coming in from all over. On Friday, by Make-A-Wish’s count, thousands of volunteers will cheer on “Batkid” as he defeats the Riddler and the Penguin at locations around San Francisco. The mayor will present Miles with a key to the city. Police Chief Greg Suhr will step in as Commissioner Gordon to alert Miles when his heroics are needed.
More here
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Thanks for catching all those bad guys #SFBatKid! You're an inspiration to us all. -mo
— (@FLOTUS) November 15, 2025
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President Obama's message to #SFBatKid —> vine.co/v/htbdjZAPrAX
Robert Louis Stevenson
Under the wide and starry sky
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you grave for me;
“Here he lies where he longed to be,
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.”
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