DAILY SNAPSHOT
Monday, August 15, 2015

Weekly Address: Continuing Work to Improve Community Policing

In this week's address, the President spoke about the work the Administration is doing to enhance trust between communities and law enforcement in the year since the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson.

In May, the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing released their final report setting out concrete proposals to build trust and enhance public safety. And across America, local leaders are working to put these ideas into action in their communities.

The President noted that while progress is being made, these issues go beyond policing, which is why the Administration is committed to achieving broader reforms to the criminal justice system and to making new investments in our children and their future.

Watch the President's Weekly Address here.

Re-opening Our Embassy in Havana, Cuba

The last time we had an embassy in Cuba was in January of 1961, when we severed diplomatic relations at the height of the Cold War.

Yesterday, after more than 54 years, Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Havana to re-open our embassy and take a historic step forward in our efforts to normalize relations with the Cuban government and people.

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Listen to the President's Summer Playlists

Yesterday, the White House joined Spotify -- and our inaugural playlists were hand-picked by none other than President Obama.

When asked to pick a few of his favorite songs for the summer, the President grabbed a pen and paper and drafted up not one, but two separate summer playlists: one for the daytime, and one for the evening.

LISTEN HERE

How We Changed the White House Blog

There's been real progress in this administration towards a more transparent, attentive, and responsive government for the American people -- and we think the White House brand and web platforms should be emblematic of that progress.

That's why we just released a brand-new version of the White House blog.

Find out more about the steps we took to improve the blog experience this week, and tell us what you think should be next.

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To see more highlights from the week, watch the latest edition of West Wing Week.