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Barack Obamas style journey started withpleated khakisandshoes with holesin the soles. Its paved withcontroversial tan suits, infamousdad jeansand, most recently, coolleather jackets.

The former president, whohas always had a keen sense of swagger, went from fur-collared jackets to business suits, and from presidential suits to swimsuits. These days, even his professional wear is a bit less buttoned-up (literally and figuratively).

Former first lady Michelle Obama and super stylish daughters Malia and Sasha get most of the attention in the family when it comes to style, but its time we give Obama credit for the fashion icon hes become in his own right. (He had so far to go!)

In honor of his 56th birthday on August 4, were taking a look back at the former head of states sartorial evolution over the years.

Sigh. The nostalgia is real.

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Barack Obama's Swaggiest Outfits, From Suits To Swimsuits - HuffPost

One day after 16 states sued, the Trump administrationreversed its effort to delay Obama administration regulations to curb air pollution that forms smog.

With no mention of the challenges from states such as California, New York, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, who previously said he would delay the Oct. 1 implementation date of a rule to lower the level of ozone emissions from fossil-fuel burning, said in a statement late Wednesday that he would now work with the states through the complex designation process.

In the statement, Pruitt asserted that the Clean Air Act gave his agency the flexibility to allow one additional year for sufficient information to support ozone designations, and said he might take future action to use its delay authority.

With President Trump doubling down on his anti-climate views, California's governor, Jerry Brown, vows to aggressively battle climate change. (Alice Li/The Washington Post)

Pruitt claimed that it became evident early this summer that underlying complexities, methodological and information questions would cause workers to miss the deadline. It was not clear whether any of those challenges existed under the previous administration.

One of the attorneys general who joined the lawsuit against the EPA claimed victory on Thursday.

On Tuesday, we sued the EPA for blocking vital clean air protections. Last night, the EPA reversed course, withdrawing Administrator Pruitts year-long delay of these critical smog regulations, said New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman.One in three New Yorkers breathe dangerous smog levels. The EPAs reversal following our lawsuits is an important win for the health and safety of the 6.7 million New Yorkers, and the over 115 million Americans, directly impacted by smog pouring into their communities.

Since entering office, President Trump has sought to roll back rules created by the Obama administration. Congressional Republicans are currently trying to rewrite those rules. House conservatives recently pushed a bill that would delay the implementation of Obamas ozone rule, finalized in 2015, for eight years on behalf of smokestack industries such as power plants that called it burdensome.

The rule would limit the amount of ground-level ozone produced when pollutants from cars, oil refineries and other industrial plants react chemically in sunlight to 70 parts per billion from 75. State health departments, health-care groups such as the American Lung Association and conservation groups link ozone to asthma and other disease that leads to hospitalization and death. The EPA estimated that a drop in the cost of ambulance services, emergency room visits and hospital stays would more than offset the $1.5 billion cost of the rule.

Conservation groups that blasted Pruitts decision to delay say they were somewhat relieved.As he has before, Administrator Pruitt took an action that presented a clear and present danger to public health, and he did it without public input and without consideration of the consequences, said Peter Zalzal, an attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund. While we welcome this corrective action, we are deeply concerned about the threat that Pruitts actions present to the fundamental right to clean healthy air.

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Reversing course, Trump administration will not delay an Obama ozone rule - Washington Post

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday unanimously confirmed two nominees to serve on the Federal Communications Commission as the Trump administration looks to reverse many Obama-era telecommunications regulations.

Brendan Carr, a Republican who is general counsel at the FCC and Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, were both confirmed by voice vote, bringing the five-member FCC to full strength and giving Republicans a 3-2 majority.

Rosenworcel served as a commissioner for the regulator until the end of 2016 when lawmakers failed to take up her renomination under former President Barack Obama.

The FCC, which since January has been controlled by Republicans by a 2-1 margin, is working to reverse a number of Obama-era telecommunications regulations, including the landmark 2015 net-neutrality rules prohibiting broadband providers from giving or selling access to certain internet services over others.

The Senate did not immediately vote to reconfirm FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to another term, even though he appeared at a confirmation hearing in July with the other nominees. Pai would need to leave the commission by the end of the year if he were not reconfirmed.

In a statement, Pai praised Rosenworcel and Carr's confirmations and said they have "distinguished records of public service and will be valuable assets to the FCC in the years to come.Their experience at the FCC makes them particularly well-suited to hit the ground running."

Pai, chosen by Trump in January to head the agency, also has said he wants to dismantle other significant regulations as part of a sweeping review he said would remove barriers to business and modernize rules.

Pai also plans significant changes to local TV ownership limits and plans other changes to media regulations.

Democrats insisted Republicans had agreed in 2015 to reconfirm Rosenworcel as part of a deal to confirm FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly. Republicans denied there was a deal but the standoff had delayed consideration of telecommunications legislation in the Senate.

Under Pai, the FCC chose not to review AT&T Inc's planned $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc.

The FCC is currently reviewing Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc's proposed $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media Co, one of the largest U.S. TV station operators.

Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker

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Senate approves two FCC nominees as it reviews Obama rules - Reuters

President Donald Trump is set to go on a 17-day golf vacation, despite having criticized his predecessor for taking time off and playing golf.

According to reports from the Associated Press, the Republican will be taking a break from Washington, D.C., on Friday. Hell be heading to his New Jersey golf course for a 17-day trip in what appears to be a contradiction of his previous statements about vacations.

During his presidential election campaign, Trump told voters: I would rarely leave the White House because theres so much work to be done. I would not be a president who took vacations. I would not be a president that takes time off.

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On another occasion, the president tweeted a quote from his book that suggested people who loved their jobs should not be taking vacations.

His suggestion followed a number of tweets critical of President Barack Obama for taking holidays or playing golf, while lamenting the amount of taxpayer dollars it cost for Obama to take a vacation.

When will Obama next go on vacation if he wins the election? The day after, Trump tweeted back in 2012.

President Obama has a major meeting on the N.Y.C. Ebola outbreak, with people flying in from all over the country, but decided to play golf! he said on Twitter in 2014.

Trump also hit the Obamas for wasting taxpayer money with their vacations, tweeting in 2012: The Obamas Spain vacation cost taxpayers over $476K. They love to spend money.

However, Trumps own vacations, coupled with weekend trips to his Mar-a-Lago resort, which he has dubbed the Winter White House, have seen him spend far more than Obama did on holidays.

Indeed, according to a report from CNN, Trump was estimated to have spent more than $20 million during his first 80 days as president on trips to his Florida resort. This puts Trump on track to have spent more on travel during his first years as president than Obama did during his eight years in the role.

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Trump Slammed Obama for Taking Vacation, but He Just Booked 17-Day Golf Retreat - Newsweek

The Obama administration misled Americans into thinking signing up for Obamacare would be cheaper than it really was, according to an inspector generals report Thursday that said the IRS dramatically understated the actual cost of enrolling.

IRS officials sent the letters to try to prod Americans to comply with the 2010 health laws individual mandate that penalizes them for not holding coverage.

But as part of the letters, the IRS said most people could find plans for $75 a month or less, once government subsidies were figured in.

That was untrue in fact, the average cost was more than twice that figure, at $168 a month, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said.

Many of the nearly 7.5 million taxpayers who receive letters and seek insurance may feel misled if the actual cost of their insurance is much higher than the $75 per month detailed in their notification letter, the inspector general concluded.

The IRS said it was only using numbers provided by Health and Human Services, and verified by the Treasury Department. They said the $75 figure was true for some taxpayers.

The inspector general said it asked for that documentation but never received it.

Auditors said their own analysis found the HHS studies were based on a smaller sample and was limited to those who chose lower-coverage plans with fewer benefits.

According to the new audit, federal regulations require agencies to present accurate information.

Investigators uncovered the misleading information as part of a broader audit about how the IRS was handling its role in alerting Americans who arent complying with Obamacares mandate to hold insurance.

Some 19.3 million Americans ducked the Obamacare mandate in 2016, with 12.8 million claiming an exemption and 6.5 million paying the tax penalty.

The IRS was supposed to begin sending letters in June 2015 to encourage those who ducked the mandate to sign up, but the agency declined, saying it wanted to instead study behavior from Obamacares first full year of operations in 2014.

The agency also missed the deadline in 2016, but did send notices beginning at the end of the year.

Officials said they figured theyd get better reception if they sent them close to the time of enrollment for 2017.

Some 7.5 million letters were sent about half in English and half in Spanish.

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Obama's IRS 'misled' Obamacare customers: Audit - Washington Times