Page 7 - 7-1-16 Friday's Edition

White House News
With Help From President Obama, Buzzfeed Launches Get-Out-The-Vote Initiative
For the first time in the company’s history, BuzzFeed is launching an initiative to help its young audience get in- volved in the democratic process.
The media company on Monday launched Turn Up To Vote, a week-long series that encourages its readers and viewers to get registered to vote and to participate in up- coming elections. As part of the initiative, BuzzFeed has partnered with TurboVote, a nonprofit organization that helps voters register and re- minds them of upcoming elec- tions and polling locations.
To kick off the series, Buzz-
Feed has released a video star- ring President Obama called "Five Things That Are Harder Than Registering to Vote." The video, which Buz- zFeed shot within the last week specifically for the launch, fea- tures Pres. Obama attempt- ing to untangle headphones, crafting friendship bracelets and trying to name the num- ber of characters who have died on the popular HBO show, “Game of Thrones." At the end of the segment, he en- courages people to register to vote.
Throughout the week, BuzzFeed will publish a series of quizzes, articles and videos
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
launched “Elect This,” a cam- paign dedicated to getting young people engaged in the election with a series of pro- grams highlighting issues im- portant to young voters. And in February, Univision launched a nationwide cam- paign aimed at helping Latinos register to vote.
For Smith, the initiative hearkens back to “Rock the Vote,” which famously part- nered with MTV in the 1990s to encourage civic engagement among young people.
“Like [“Rock the Vote,’] it’s a way we could really do some- thing positive for our readers who are often going to be thinking about where the country is going to be in 30 or 50 years,” Smith said.
Earlier this month, Buzz- Feed told staffers it would not run ads for presumptive Re- publican presidential nominee Donald Trump, citing his rhetoric on the campaign trail. That decision was made by BuzzFeed’s business side, not its editorial side, which is man- aging the Turn Up To Vote ini- tiative.
aimed at educating young vot- ers and encouraging them to participate in national and local elections. A TurboVote voter registration portal, which is available in both English and Spanish, went live Monday morning.
Smith, who wrote an in- troductory post about Turn Up To Vote, told POLITICO that the idea for the initiative came about this spring in the midst of one of the most contentious
and unpredictable presidential primaries in years.
“I think people are so com- pelled by the political moment, and we were looking for a way to involve our audience around it and give them a positive way to engage,” Smith said.
With Turn Up To Vote, BuzzFeed is joining the ranks of a slate of media companies who have launched initiatives to engage their readers in po- litical activity. MTV in June
President Obama 'Sing' Drake's 'One Dance'
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
President Obama's a well documented hip-hop fan,
so it's always a joy to see the President rap a little -- even when it's fake.
The Youtube channel Baracksdubs has cut together the Leader of the Free World's speeches so that he sings Drake's chart-topping hit "One Dance."
While the flow isn't as good as Drake's own, with some imagination it delivers a glimpse of what we could have got if Pres. Obama's career had taken a drastically differ- ent turn. Or maybe it's just the side only Michelle gets to see.
It's not the first time Baracksdubs has mashed up Pres. Obama and Drake. Last year, POTUS was put on "Hotline Bling."
President Obama Makes Clean Energy Pledge With Canada, Mexico At Summit
President Obama
and leaders from Mexico and Canada pledged that North America will get half of its power from clean energy sources by 2025.
White House officials announced the pledge at the North American Leader Summit in Ot- tawa, also known as the “Three Amigos summit,” which President Obama traveled on Wednesday.
Under the pledge, all
three countries will agree
to obtain energy from
sources including renewable energy sources, nuclear power, power plants that utilize carbon capture and storage, and energy effi- ciency. According to the White House, 37% of North America’s en- ergy was “clean” in 2015—with Canada producing the most clean energy, followed by the U. S. and Mexico. In the U. S., about a third of the energy generated in 2015 was from nuclear and renewable sources, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
President Barack Obama pauses while speaking during an event.
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