president

When he's not flying around in a jumbo jet or singing with soul musicians, President Barack Obama can be found curled up on the couch enjoying a 3D movie with his family. And 40 of his closest minders.

He doesn't watch movies in the sound-bar-centric home theater we might be used to, but a plush, dedicated "family theater" inside the East Wing of the White House. The room has been used to show movies for the First Family since 1942, and also doubles as a rehearsal space for State of the Union addresses.… Read more

There don't seem to be too many enjoyable aspects of being president.

However, it must be nice to know you'll always get to the airport on time because you have a Chevy Suburban back and front, ready to clear traffic for your Town Car to glide through.

How lovely, then, that Uber--the nice Germanic-sounding people whom you can just text to get a ride--decided to give a few lucky customers a motorcade to celebrate President's Day today.

All those lucky customers were in Washington, D.C., so its residents must have thought the president was unusually … Read more

There are many reasons that Barack Obama won the 2008 presidential election, and one is because he was seen as being a trend-setter in finding ways to incorporate new technologies in his campaign.

Now, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, Obama is turning to technology's epicenter in a bid to ensure he stays on the cutting edge. The Chronicle reported today that the president's re-election campaign has opened a technology field office in San Francisco, a move that may be unprecedented in politics.

"We learned from 2008 that using the talents and skills of our supporters was … Read more

Mars enthusiasts hoping the United States will soon be exploring the Red Planet will likely get some bad news next week.

According to The Washington Post, President Obama's next budget will slash funding for Mars and Jupiter rovers by as much as 20 percent. The budget is expected to be unveiled on Monday.

The Post reported that the Obama Administration has briefed scientists on its proposed budget, which would slash funding for NASA's Mars program from $1.5 billion to $1.2 billion annually. And further cuts are proposed over the following four years.

The cuts are likely … Read more

Check out this video of a high-powered marshmallow cannon fired by President Obama and eighth grader Joey Hudy at the White House.

The second White House Science Fair yesterday gave 100 student winners of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) competitions from across 45 states the opportunity to show off neat science projects to the president, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and several well-respected educators and leaders from the science and engineering community.

Perhaps the viral star of the expose is 14-year-old Hudy's "Extreme Marshmallow Cannon," a compressed air-powered weapon that can launch the tasty confections more than 170 feet. The president helped Hudy pump the cannon to 30psi, and then shot the marshmallow across the State Dining Room. … Read more

U.S. chief technology officer Aneesh Chopra is leaving his post at the White House.

Chopra, who was sworn in on May 22, 2009, works closely with U.S. Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra. Prior to taking his position in the Obama administration, Chopra was Virginia's Secretary of Technology. In the White House, according to his official bio, his job included "fostering new ideas and encouraging government-wide coordination to help the country meet its goals from job creation, to reducing health care costs, to protecting the homeland."

News of his impending departure was first reported by Fedscoop. (… Read more

U.S. government-backed battery supplier Ener1 has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the third U.S.-backed energy company to file in as many months.

Ener1 posted a notice today stating that it "has reached agreement with its primary investors and lenders on a restructuring plan that will significantly reduce its debt." This action will pave the way for up to $81 million for recapitalization, the company said.

A "pre-packaged" Chapter 11 case was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York. Ener1 is planning to complete the restructuring process within … Read more

McDonald's posted impressive quarterly earnings two days ago, but a scoop from the UK Sun newspaper today exposes the astonishing truth behind McDonald's Chicken McNuggets: you shouldn't eat them everyday for 15 years straight.

The show title today is ripped from a quote from the mother of 17-year-old UK factory worker Stacey Irvine, who's eaten nothing but McDonald's Chicken McNuggets since she was 2 years old. Shockingly, doctors maintain that her diet may have been a factor in her sudden anemia and swollen tongue veins that caused her to collapse yesterday.

Speaking of things getting ripped off, we'll also talk about the Australian Transport Minister that just got caught copying Michael Douglas' speech from the movie "The American President," and the NFL installing computers on the sidelines of the Pro Bowl for players to tweet fans during the game!… Read more

John Doerr has been called the "world's wealthiest and most well-connected venture capitalist" by Forbes. The Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partner has been an early-stage investor in some of the best-known companies in the tech industry, including Google, Amazon, Sun, and Zynga, and he has 109,000 Twitter followers.

I'm a fairly prolific professional journalist writing for a national publication and covering a wide range of topics from startups to Lego to aviation to NASA and more. I have 6,250 followers on Twitter.

I'm happy with my place in life and how my … Read more