DAILY SNAPSHOT
Saturday, August 1, 2015

Weekly Address: Celebrating 50 Years of Medicare and Medicaid

In this week's address, the President celebrated the 50th birthdays of Medicare and Medicaid, which together have allowed millions to live longer and better lives. These programs are a promise that if we work hard, and play by the rules, we'll be rewarded with a basic measure of dignity, security, and the freedom to live our lives as we want.

Every American deserves the sense of safety and security that comes with health insurance. That's why the President signed the Affordable Care Act, and that's why he will continue to work to ensure that Medicare and Medicaid, programs that are fundamental to our way of life, stay strong.

Watch the President's Weekly Address here.

President Obama Travels to Kenya and Ethiopia

This past week, President Obama traveled to Kenya and Ethiopia to attend the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit and to meet with leaders from government, business, and civil society.

The trip reinforced the U.S. commitment to expanding economic growth and trade, strengthening democracy on a global scale, and investing in the next generation of African leaders.

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How We're Changing the Way We Respond to Petitions

This week, the White House responded to every petition in our We the People backlog. This means that nearly 2.5 million people who had petitioned us to take action on something heard back this week.

President Barack Obama signs S. 517, Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, in the Oval Office, Aug. 1, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Moving forward, it's our goal to make our responses the start of the conversation, not the final page. Learn more about We the People, and how we're changing the way we respond.

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Our 4 Favorite (Gif) Moments from the Latest Episode of West Wing Week

Every week, a team of White House videographers puts together a short episode encapsulating what the President did that week -- who he met with, where he traveled, and all sort of other fun moments in between.

This week's episode covers the President's trip to Kenya and Ethiopia -- and it's stocked with some pretty breathtaking images. We highlighted four of our favorites, complete with timestamps, but you should really watch the full thing for yourself.

WATCH HERE