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Heres what you need to know about the future of marijuana legalization in the United States, from its racist beginnings to today. USA TODAY

A marijuana-themed meme page hasresurfaced an old rumorthatformer President Barack Obama's college nickname was "Barack Oganja." However, there is no evidence the cannabis-focused play on Obama's name was hiscollege-era moniker.

Barack Obamas nickname at college was Barack Oganja due to his heavy marijuana use, reads thememewhichcontainsan image of a young Obama smoking.

While the photo is authentic, it is unclear what Obama was smoking.

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The meme has garnered more than 114,000 likes since the meme page Four Twenty shared it to Instagram on April 13.

In this file photo taken on August 3, 2016, then-President Barack Obama speaks at the Presidential Summit of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.(Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, AFP/Getty Images)

As with any claim, the burden of proof is on the speaker. Four Twenty did not provide any evidence Obama used this nickname in college or respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.

USA TODAY could find no reputable reports that Barack Oganja was a nickname for the former president during his youth, although documentation of nicknames is inherently limited.

Our research did find thatthis rumor has circulated on social media for years.A Google Trend searchfor the "Barack Oganja" starting from2004 shows the termgained traction around April 2012.

Skeptics on Skeptic Stack Exchange, an online message board, investigated the purported nickname in 2013 and found no proof it was authentic.

Tim Fullerton, former state/regional email manager for Obamas 2008 campaign,rejected the claim on Twitterin March 2018.He replied to another tweet about theclaimed nicknamethat there was no evidence that was his nickname.

Thereare several accounts named "Barack Oganja,"or something similar,onTwitter, Facebook, Instagram and SoundCloud, but there's no evidence those accounts are connected to the former president.

Obama's office did not respond to USA TODAY's requests for comment.

According to a 2009New York Times article, Lisa Jack photographed the future president in 1980 as part of a photographic portrait project. At the time Obama was a student at Occidental College in California. Another studentrecommended Jack ask Obama, then known as Barry," to model for her.

Obamas 2008 election to the White House inspired Jack to dig through her belongings and find the negatives from the shoot. The pictures were exhibited at M+B Gallery in Los Angeles in summer 2009.

TIME magazine published the photos online after it named Obama its 2008 Person of the Year.

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Neither the article nor the image descriptions specify whether Obama was smoking tobacco or marijuana when Jack took the photo.

Then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., appears at a campaign stop in Springfield, Ill. on Aug. 23, 2008.(Photo: M. Spencer Green, AP)

Obamahas said he smoked marijuanain his younger days.

When I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point, he said when asked about his past drug use at a 2006 event.

In his 1995 memoir, Dreams From My Father, Obama described his experiences with marijuana in college and as a high school student in Hawaii.

We rate the claim that Obama was nicknamed "Barack Oganja" while in college FALSE, because it is not supported by our research. The online claim provided no evidence, and we also found no proof this is accurate. While Obama has said he smoked marijuana in his youth, there is no evidence to support the claim that it inspired that nickname.

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

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Fact check: No evidence Obama was called 'Barack Oganja ...

I was watching CNN just before 10 p.m. Sunday, May 1, 2011, when a newsbreak announcedPresident Obamawould be addressing the nation. A newsbreak this late on Sunday made it evident to me that this was going to be something big, but I didn't imagine how big.Osama bin Laden,53,Al Qaeda leader and chief architect of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the United States was shot in the head, killed and his body buried in the ocean.It was a great plan, over many months, carried out by a handful ofNavy Seals.President Obamaauthorized the operation that took place in a compound inAbbottabad, Pakistan.Osamahad been there for years defying belief that the Pakistani people didn't know of his whereabouts. Breaux had stated in his column that if we ever gotbin Ladenit would be inPakistan. History records this as a leadership moment in our country. It was a gutsy call by the President. If the operation would have failed and our men killed at that compound,Obamawould have been done. It worked and justice was served. It took nearly 10 years to do it but thehead of the snake has been cut off.A rich man, from a very wealthy Saudi family,Osamacould have spent his life in luxury. Instead he chose to kill. In the end he got what he sowed and the world is better off today. Many words have been written and spoken about this event. President Obamaand aides followed the raid by video while it unfolded. The raid finished in 40 minutes. I know their hearts must have skipped a beat when theBlackhawk helicoptermalfunctioned.It is said that Vice-President Joe Biden kept his Rosary ring out and silently recited it throughout the operation. President Bush, Cheney and RovesayObamadeserves the credit, however some congressmen still can't being themselves to praise him, giving credit only to the raiders. Five plans were presented to the President. He made the call after several months of secret meetings and training at a replica facility in the U.S. The government has shot down the spin that water boarding led toBid Laden. Not so they say. It was a textbook operation, pulled off by brave youngNavy Seals.The Seal who fired the shots,once though the left eye and then the chest, will be revered for the rest of his life. There is no question this was a critical accomplishment of theObama administration. We have had some terrible things happen in our country over the last 10 years, things we are not proud of that will also go down in history. That's how I remember the events. I also recall every minute of 911 that bin Ladin caused and I won't soon forget the insurrection on our nation's capital, led by a provoked mob, on Jan. 6, 2021.

Originally posted here:
Obama got Osama - The Record Newspapers - TheRecordLive.com

Former President Obama is going on TikTok to urge young Americans to get the vaccine as soon as you can.

Its the only way were gonna get back to all the things we love from safely spending time with grandparents to going to concerts and watching live sports, the former president said in a TikTok for Yahoo News.

So get the vaccine as soon as you can, Obama added.

The pace of COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States has slowed in recent weeks, sparking worries it may take longer for the nation to reach herd immunity.

That could lead to delays in the full reopening of various features of American life and could also increase the likelihood that COVID-19 variants will find new life.

Obama to the youth in new PSA: Get your COVID-19 vaccine. #news #politics #obama #covid19 #vaccine #psa #health #covidvaccine #yahoonews

In the TikTok video, Obama underscored the fact that all Americans above the age of 16 years old are now eligible for the vaccine.Obama told young people to get vaccinated against the coronavirus as he and former first lady Michelle ObamaMichelle LeVaughn Robinson ObamaMichelle Obama spotted dining out in DC Obama goes on TikTok to urge young people to get vaccinated Obama to Black Americans: 'Keep marching, keep speaking up, keep voting' MORE did.

Now that every American over the age of 16 is eligible to get the vaccine, I want to talk about you getting yours. The vaccine is safe, its effective, its free. I got one, Michelle got one, people you know got one and now you can get one too, Obama stated.

TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms for young people. Because people under 25 are less likely to be hospitalized by COVID-19, there have been fears that young people might be less likely to get vaccinated.

Michelle Obama appeared in an ad on Spotify emphasizing that she and her husband got the vaccine and that it is safe and effective.

Go here to see the original:
Obama goes on TikTok to urge young people to get vaccinated | TheHill - The Hill

Friday marked 10 years to the day since then-President Barack Obama and comedian Seth Meyers roasted then-businessman and reality-TV personality Donald Trump during the 2011 White House Correspondents Association dinner.

Some key Trump allies and commentatorshave suggested the gags angered Trump into running for office in 2016. Trump, though, has dismissed the suggestion.

Obama on April 30, 2011, mocked Trumps rumored White House run (which hed been touting for more than 30 years) and ripped Trumps pushing of the racist birther conspiracy theory with a crack about releasing his official birth video complete with a clip from Disneys The Lion King.

No one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than the Donald, Obama continued. And thats because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter, like: Did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?

Meyers, then the head writer at Saturday Night Live, equally poked fun at Trump with a barrage of gags during his turn as the dinners guest comedian.

Donald Trump has been saying he will run for president as a Republican, which is surprising since I just assumed he was running as a joke, he cracked as one zinger, later adding, Donald Trump owns the Miss USA pageant, which is great for Republicans because it will streamline their search for a vice president.

Trump allies have previously claimed the gags stirred Trump into entering national politics. Meyers himself in 2017 joked about kicking the hornets nest, claiming thats the night he decided to run.

Trump, however, has denied the claim.

The president was making jokes about me, he told The Washington Post. I was having a great time. I was so honored. I was actually so honored. And honestly, he delivered them well.

Meyers routine, though, was too nasty, out of order, said Trump, who before and throughout his presidency used Twitter to lob insults and belittle his political enemies. He was permanently banned from the social media platform in January following his incitement of the deadly U.S. Capitol riot.

There are many reasons Im running, Trump added five years ago. But thats not one of them.

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Its Monday, May 3, and the nations first methane rule is being restored.

Last week, the Senate voted to reinstate an Obama-era rule on methane, a greenhouse gas that is responsible for around one-third of global warming and is 86 times stronger than carbon dioxide over its first 20 years in the atmosphere.

The rule, finalized in 2016, was the first federal limit on methane leaks from oil and gas wells, the largest source of methane emissions in the U.S. The rule required oil and gas companies to prevent methane leaks from new and modified wells and storage tanks, but it was reversed by Republicans in 2020. Democrats are restoring the Obama administrations methane rules using an obscure law that allows Congress to reverse an executive-branch order within 60 days of its enactment.

A 2018 study found that 2.3 percent of all natural gas extracted in the U.S. either leaked or was deliberately released into the atmosphere. Since natural gas is mostly made up of methane, that wasted gas had the same warming power as all carbon dioxide emissions from coal plants in the U.S. that year.

The rule reinstatement, which will be official once it passes the House of Representatives and is approved by President Joe Biden, is being praised as a necessary step to reach Bidens new, stronger climate goals. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Senates majority leader, said the vote was one of the most important votes, not only that this Congress has cast, but has been cast in the last decade, in terms of our fight against global warming.

Jena Brooker

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Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich filed a lawsuit last month against the Biden administration for failing to protect the environment. But Brnovich doesnt blame the usual culprits, like coal-fired power plants or cars. Instead, he wants the Biden administration to conduct environmental reviews on how increased immigration into the U.S. will contribute to climate change in a backhanded attempt to restore the Trump administrations anti-immigration policies.

After one of its offshore wind farms off the coast of England experienced a cable failure, wind developer Orsted discovered that its subsea cables were scraping up against rocks that had been placed on the seafloor to prevent erosion. The company said 10 of its offshore projects throughout the U.K. and Europe could have the same design issue and estimated it could cost $489 million to fix them.

The Amazon rainforest is often thought of as one of the worlds most important carbon sinks. But a new study found that deforestation has made the Brazilian Amazon a net-emitter, releasing almost 20 percent more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the past decade than it absorbed.

Emily Pontecorvo

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And ... we're back (to the Obama methane rule) - Grist - Grist