The President just wrapped up the third solo press conference of his presidency.    It lasted just under 60 minutes and he took 13 questions.  Not much news though.  

And that concludes the 100th day.

President Obama, usually lauded for his eloquence and oratory style, stumbled over his words today during his remarks at the National Academy of Sciences. But don’t blame him – the teleprompter operator seemed to be asleep at the wheel.

The President, often criticized for his overuse of the teleprompter, had decided to adlib the portion of his speech where he introduced his designates to the Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.  The problem with not sticking to the script? The teleprompter operator didn’t seem to catch on.  After noticing the same names he had just uttered on his teleprompter screen, President Obama stopped midsentence, paused awkwardly and told the crowd “I just noticed I jumped the gun here.”  Then after a second, Obama spoke directly to the unseen teleprompter operator,” Go ahead move it up.  I already introduced those guys.” 

It still took a second or two before the operator caught on but the rest of the speech appeared error free.

President Barack Obama has done something his predecessor had refused to do in recent years, shake Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez' hand.  The two leaders met outside the main hall on Friday evening at the Summit of the Americas in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad before leaders were ushered in for remarks.  The Venezuelan government released a photo of the two men grasping hands and smiling.    According to Venezuelan officials, Chavez told President Obama, "Eight years ago I greeted President Bush with this same hand.  I'd like to be your friend."

Relations between the United States and Venezuela have deteriorated during the last administration.  U.S. officials believe Chavez stands in the way of freedom for his countrymen and others in Latin America while Chavez believes the U.S. should respect his country's sovereignty. 

President Chavez in a speech before the United Nations once referred to President George W. Bush while he was in office as "diablo" or the devil.  

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Captain Richard Phillips will soon get the opportunity to personally thank the man who was instrumental in saving his life, President Barack Obama.  The White House wants to bring together released captive Captain Phillips, Maersk crew members and the military members who saved the captain's life.  President Obama authorized U.S. forces to engage in "potential emergency actions" if the captain's life was in imminent danger.  As a result Navy Seal sharpshooters shot and killed the three Somali pirates holding Phillips hostage.  

Captain Phillips has just arrived home in Vermont and President Obama is currently in Port of Spain, Trinidad meeting with Latin American leaders for the Summit of the Americas.  White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says the meeting has not been scheduled as of yet.   

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 Vice President Joe Biden announced plans Thursday that the Obama administration will spend $4 billion from the stimulus package to update the nation's electrical grid. 

Most of the money will be spent on projects to develop "a smart strong and secure electrical grid," which he said will also "create new jobs and help deliver reliable power more effectively with less impact on environment."

 Biden announced power company leaders will meet in Washington in early May to begin talks about developing "industry wide standards" for the grid.    Their staffs will meet later in the month to make progress on the standards' agreement.

 The government wants demonstration projects in three areas:  one to quantify smart grid costs and benefits; one to demonstrate energy storage methods and one that allows electricity flows in real time. 

 The Vice President made the announcement will visiting the ABB Transformer Factory in Jefferson City, Missouri. 

It wasn't quite a dog day afternoon at the White House but it was close. Bo, the highly anticipated Portuguese water dog, made his debut on the South Lawn of the White House today to a throng of media.

Bo, a gift to the Obama children, Malia and Sasha, is black and white and furry all over. And he's a typical puppy. He walked up and down the South Lawn, smelling the press corps, panting, chasing and happily wagging his tail.

More pics after the jump.

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In this technological age, everybody at the White House has a blackberry. Some probably have personal and work ones. Digital cameras, check. Cell Phones, check. Fax? Yes even now the White House still uses fax machines. Remember when fax machines were a cool fangled new toy? You could immediately transmit pages to friends across the country. Kind of like that old antiquated machine "the mojo". Except here we are in 2009 and the White House still wants us to use a fax machine! Why? We have to fax in our requests for White House photos. They don't do email for the requests, although they do send out the photos over email, and a phone call just doesn't suffice. So fire up that fax machine -- it's still in use at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Obama administration announced during today's White House briefing that restrictions on family member travel to Cuba will be lifted.   Family members are being defined as those persons within three degrees of family relationship (e.g. second counsins).   Restrictions have also been lifted on the frequency and duration of those visits as well as the amount of money families transfer to Cuba.   Family members will be allowed to travel with up to $3,000 in cash with them twhen they enter the country.  

Florida Senator Mel Martinez (R) criticized the administration's actions by saying these new changes will only benefit the Cuban regime and "reasonable limits" should be placed on the unlimited travel and monetary transfers. 

President Obama leaves mid-week to travel to the region for the Summit of the America's. 

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Although Captain Phillips' recent ordeal with Somali Pirates captured the nation's attention, this is hardly the first instance of piracy on the high seas in recent years. The International Maritime Bureau reports that in 2008, piracy resulted in 889 crew members being taken hostage, 32 crew members being injured and 11 crew members being killed.

In a Sunday statement, President Obama highlighted the rise of piracy in the region and asked the international community to work with the United States to combat the threat, saying, "We remain resolved to halt the rise of piracy in this region. To achieve that goal, we must continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks, be prepared to interdict acts of piracy and ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes."

After staying mum for days regarding the hostage situation off the coast of Somalia, President Obama used Captain Richard Phillips' release today as an opportunity to make his first public comments about the situation, calling the Captain's courage "a model for all Americans." Keep Reading ...