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Since we first posted this story, former President Barack Obama's chief photographer, Pete Souza, the man who documented almost every impactful moment of the Obama presidency, continues to post images to his Instagram account, and its 738,000 followers, in response to President Donald Trump's actions and policies. A silent, social media, shade-throwing protest told in visuals from the millions of images in Souza's archive, the photos appear to be Souza's expression of opposition to the recent moves of the Trump administration.

In the past few days, as the world processed Trump's temporary ban on new refugees to the US, Souza has posted on his Instagram account pictures of refugees, from a project he shot in Kosovo:

On Thursday, s headlines about Trump's confrontational phone call with Australian leader Malcolm Turnbull continued to swirl on Thursday, Souza chose to put up a photo of a laughing Obama, being chummy with New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key, and Turnbull, at last September's ASEAN Summit.

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President Barack Obama's former White House photographer is taking to Instagram to show frustration with the new administration.

Pete Souza was responsible for documenting the Obama administration, capturing images of the official duties of the West Wing and more personal, intimate peeks into White House life, snaps he often shared on Flickr and Instagram.

After eight years capturing Obama's every move, Souza is taking some time off -- his new Instagram account biography reading: "TBD."

But he's taken to the visual platform in the last few days, posting a series of photos subtly knocking President Donald Trump.

As the chaotic roll out of the President's executive order on immigration captured headlines and spurred protests over the weekend, Souza posted a photo of Obama and a young refugee in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2015:

On Monday, he posted an image of Obama in the Oval Office with Alex, the 6-year-old boy who wrote to the former president about the Syrian boy photographed in the ambulance.

"Remember Alex," he wrote.

He shared an image of the former president in the East Room during a military naturalization ceremony for active-duty service members:

As Trump prepared to unveil his Supreme Court nominee Tuesday, Souza posted a photo of Obama with his own Supreme Court nominee who never received a vote.

"Merrick Garland. Just saying," he simply wrote.

He also posted a photo of the former president drinking tequila with Mexican President Enrique Pea Nieto, who cancelled his meeting with Trump last week.

Souza got his start in West Wing photography as official White House photographer for President Ronald Reagan, spent part of his career teaching photojournalism and shooting for the Chicago Tribune and National Geographic.

While it's unusual for former presidents to weigh in on current events so soon after leaving office, Souza's former subject has also spoken up.

Obama, who was spotted by TMZ sporting a backwards cap in the British Virgin Islands on Tuesday, weighed in on Trump's executive action through spokesman Kevin Lewis over the weekend, saying he was "heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country."

Souza most recently posted a photo of Obama alongside a young boy at an elementary school with a stethoscope.

"Take a deep breath," he wrote.

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Obama WH photographer throws more shade at Trump - CNN

New York Times

Trump Moves to Roll Back Obama-Era Financial Regulations New York Times President Trump on Friday moved to chisel away at the Obama administration's legacy on financial reform, announcing a series of steps to revisit the rules enacted after the 2008 financial crisis and setting the stage for a showdown with Democrats over ... Dodd-Frank will survive Trump, Obama official saysMarketWatch Trump to sign executive actions targeting Obama financial regulationsThe Hill Trump to Order Dodd-Frank Review, Halt Obama Fiduciary RuleBloomberg RT all 382 news articles »

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Trump Moves to Roll Back Obama-Era Financial Regulations - New York Times

That last major grade on the performance of the economy under former President Barack Obama is in. Lets call it a B.

The jobs report for January, based on surveys conducted during Obamas last month in office, shows that employers created 227,000 jobs during the month, which was well above economists forecasts. The unemployment rate is now 4.8%, a level just about any president would love to claim as a legacy. During Obamas 96 months in office, the economy added 11.5million jobs, for a monthly average of 120,000. Thats low, but it includes Obamas first 14 months, when the recession he inherited killed about 4.3 million jobs, a hole the Obama economy didnt climb out of until 2012.

Theres one glaring weakness to the Obama recovery: Wages fell for many Americans during the last 8 years, and new jobs created after the recession didnt pay as well as the jobs lost during the downturn. Data from Sentier Research shows that median household income, adjusted for inflation, was almost the same at the end of 2016 as when Obama took office in January 2009. That means the typical family has made no financial progress during the last 8 years. And Januarys data shows the average hourly paycheck rosejust 3 cents from December and 2.5% duringthe past year. Many ordinary people feel like they cant get ahead, and the numbers prove theyre right.

These charts tell the story of the Obama recovery. First, heres total employment:

Manufacturing employment:

Annual percentage growth in hourly earnings:

Source for all three charts: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Obama supporters give him credit for steering the country out of a grueling recession, while critics blame him for an unusually weak recovery. Both sides overstate their case. Like George W. Bush before him and Trump after him, Obama had to deal with profound economic changes that are hard for any president to control, such as an aging population and a technology revolution making many types of jobs obsolete. Besides, for six of his eight years in office, Obama faced a Republican-controlled Congress determined to thwart his economic priorities.

Trump begins his first term with strong momentum on jobs, with most economists predicting a continued recovery. And wage growth is picking up slightly, which could foretell better gains during the next couple of years, as labor markets tighten and employers have to pay more to get the workers they want.

But the Trump economy could stumble, too. Some of his big proposals, such as tax breaks and regulatory reform, could boost growth, at least for a year or two after they go into effect. But if tax cuts add substantially to the national debt, it could push inflation higher than desired and depress growth.

The biggest downer in Trumps economic plan is the threat of new border taxes on imports. The idea is to make imports more expensive, to encourage more domestic manufacturing. But price hikes on many everyday products subject to the tariffs would come first. If new jobs materialized, it wouldnt happen for months or years, while higher prices ate into living standards, especially for low-income workers. Meanwhile, other nations could impose their own tariffs on US imports, producing trade wars that weaken the overall economy rather than strengthening it.

Trump might just be bluffing about border taxes, as a way to get other concessions. Yet by trying to create more of the manufacturing jobs that might have supported a family 30 years ago, he may be chasing a mirage. Many experts say relatively unskilled workers doing manual labor will never earn decent wages in the future, since theres an oversupply of such workers and machines will replace many of them anyway. So Trump needs a Plan B for the economy, and probably a Plan C to deal with unexpected crises and inevitable disruptions. After a few years tangling with the real-world economy, Trump may think Obama did a pretty good job.

Editors note: This story has been updated to correct a math error; the economy added an average of 96,000 jobs per month under Obama, not 191,000.

Confidential Newman tip line: rickjnewman@yahoo.com

Rick Newman is the author of four books, includingRebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success.Follow him on Twitter:@rickjnewman.

Excerpt from:
Obama's economic recovery has ended. Here's how he did - Yahoo Finance

A media firestormhas developed around the death of one U.S. serviceman who was killed over the weekend by al Qaeda radicals in a raid on Yemen the first casualty on President Donald Trumps watch.

The raid, which also resulted in three wounded U.S. service members and 14 dead militants, was part of a hunt for al Qaeda leaderQassim al-Rimi, according to Yemini rebel forces. In a statement to The Washington Post, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees operations in the Middle East, said a U.S. aircraft went down in a hard landing near where the operation took place and was intentionally destroyed.

In its assessment of the operation, which led to at least 30 civilian deaths, CENTCOM told Reuters that the operation was approved without evidence, ground support or adequate backup operations.

It seems undisputed at this point that Trump signed off on the raid,though White House press secretary Sean Spicer claimed the operation was planned by former President Barack Obamas administration, according to the Post:

[Spicer] said that the plan for the operation was first submitted by U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations across the Middle East, to the Defense Department on Nov. 7, one day before the presidential election. A plan was approved by the Pentagon on Dec. 19 and turned over to the White House. Obama administration officials approved a plan for an operation during an interagency meeting Jan. 6, two weeks before President Trumps inauguration, and decided it would be best to carry it out in the dark of a moonless night, Spicer said. That meant waiting until after Trump took office.

Secretary of Defense James Mattisreviewed the plan on Jan. 24,the Post reported, and Trump was briefed on the matter byretired Gen. Michael Flynn, his national security adviser, the next day. The president then met with Mattis andMarine Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and signed off on the operationone day later.

Butformer Obama staffers didnt remember it the same way, taking issue with Spicers claim that the operation was first organized by the ex-commander in chief. In fact, Colin Kahl, who was a security official in the Obama White House, called Spicers storyB.S.

I was there. No specific raid was discussed. The moonless night thing is B.S., he told the Wall Street Journal, adding that the White House never signed off onthat specific mission.

While the operation had been proposed, it was never green-lighted. Kahl said Obama felt going the missionwould mark a significant escalation in Yemen andshould be left to the next administration to decide.

Obama believed this represented a significant escalation of U.S. involvement in Yemen, and therefore thought the next administration should take a careful look and run a careful process, he told the WSJ.

War broke out in the region in 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels captured the capital city of Sanaa. Since then, a Saudi-led military coalition has been working with the Yemeni government to reclaim the territory from radicals.

An al Qaeda official confirmed the killings, according to Politico, describing the attack as a massacre. He also said the raid killed women and children, but gave no evidence to support the claim.

CENTOM said itconcluded regrettably that civilian non-combatants were likely killed, adding that its assessment of the operation seeks to determine if there were any still-undetected civilian casualties in the ferocious firefight.

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Former Obama staffer: It's 'BS' to say Obama approved Yemen raid - TheBlaze.com

Chance the Rapper is launching a clothing line inspired by the former first family, called Thank U Obama.

Among the items in the online shop that opened this week: a $40 King Obama shirt featuring an illustration of the former president sporting a crown, a $35 tee emblazoned with Malia, the name of Obamas 18-year-old daughter, and a $50 Obamas Wedding Tee featuring the words Barack n Michelle written on the front, with the couples wedding date listed on the back.

The message continues, The night Obama won his first term gave me so much hope, especially & most importantly as a black man. I decided to make a collection saying thank you and give me something to smile at every now and then when I look in the closet.

Chance the Rapper tweeted to his nearly 3 million followers on Thursday:

The site crashed but we back up #ThankUObama https://t.co/VwPC4cYgDi pic.twitter.com/GlDDQwQyQf

The majority of items for sale on the site are on back order. Some, including an $150 Obama All-Star Jersey are sold out.

A scrolling message on the site says, Do not wear. This is art.

Chance the Rapper, who like Obama is from Chicago, attended a state dinner at the White House last October. He revealed to ITK at the time that he had a recurring dance battle going on with the then-president and was looking forward to another dance-off with Obama.

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Chance the Rapper launches 'Thank U Obama' clothing line - The Hill (blog)