::THE SLICE REPORT WITH MONA AUSTIN

buzzz worthy. . . By Mona Austin Photos: Getty Basketball legends Kareem Abdul Jabar and Michael Jordan were not the only giants standing tall at the White House on Tuesday, November 27.  President Barack Obama awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to the two athletes and 19 other giants in the fields of entertainment, science, technology, humanitarianism, and music.  Among those who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom: Diana Ross,Tom Hanks, Grace Hopper, Frank Gehry, Cicely Tyson, Newt Minow, Robert De Niro, Dick Garwin, Margaret Heafield Hamilton, Bruce Springsteen, Eloise Cobell, Lorne Michaels, Bill and Melinda Gates, Vin Scully, Grace Murray Hopper, Ellen Degeneres, Eduardo Padron and Robert Redford. Including this final class, Pres. Obama has recognized more people with the Medal of Freedom than any other preseident, presenting a total of 123. After 8 years in office Obama, dubbed the "rock Star"presiden...

buzzz worthy. . . Statement by the Press Secretary on H.R. 34, the 21st Century Cures Act   This critically important legislation will get states the resources they need to fight the heroin and prescription opioid epidemic. It invests the $1 billion the President has repeatedly said is necessary to help communities that have seen far too many overdoses. It also responds to the Vice President’s call for a Moonshot in cancer research by investing $1.8 billion in new resources to transform cancer research and accelerate discoveries. Plus, it invests nearly $3 billion to continue the President’s signature biomedical research initiatives, the BRAIN and Precision Medicine Initiatives, over the next decade to tackle diseases like Alzheimer’s and create new research models to find cures and better target treatments.   H.R. 34 also takes important steps to improve mental health, including provisions that build on the work of the President's Mental Health and Substance Use Diso...

buzzz worthy. . . New York, NY -- Gospel Artist Tonya Lewis Taylor was rushed to the emergency room and has been in the hospital since Tuesday. On Monday night she started to complain of severe head pains. Tonya who insist that she doesn't get headaches mentioned in a Facebook post that she felt like "her head was about to explode." Tonya has a family history of aneurysms and strokes, she is currently undergoing tests to determine the source of the issue.  Please keep her in your prayers!  ABOUT:  Tonya Lewis Taylor    single    "I'm A Winner"    debut top 30 on the Billboard Gospel Charts off her latest project/EP    "I've Got To Win.   With the highly anticipated release of her national debut album   "Delayed But Not Denied"    in 2014 (which she wrote and co-produced all of the songs), Tonya's music has seen incredible momentum, blazing radio airwaves. Her gospel music classic ...

buzzz worthy. . . By Mona Austin First Lady Michell Obama speaks to military families at the final White House Christmas Decor preview in the East Room on November 29, 2016. All photos by Mona Austin. First Lady Michelle Obama delivered emotional remarks at the final White House Christmas preview on Tuesday. Days beforehand she said receiving the offical White House Christmas tree was the "easy part." Saying a final farewell to military families who were a part of the Joining Forces initiative she and Dr. Jill Biden started was clearly the hard part. She got choked up just before announcing the official start of Christmas in Washington.   From the volunteers to the event planner and crew that hung the chandaliers, Mrs. Obama expressed hearfelt gratitute to the people who made the holidays special at the White House over her family's stay. Mrs. Obama said she tried to make the White House a place where people from all walks of life could feel comfortab...

buzzz worthy. . . The Kennedy Center Honors announced  that its honorees for 2016 will be Argentine pianist Martha Argerich, rock band the Eagles, screen and stage actor Al Pacino, gospel and blues singer Mavis Staples and musician James Taylor. They will be recognized during THE 39 TH  ANNUAL KENNEDY CENTER HONORS, to be broadcast  Tuesday, Dec. 27  (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network. CBS has broadcast the special each year since its debut 39 years ago. “The Kennedy Center Honors celebrates the spectacular talents of artists whose brilliance has left a lasting impact on our society,” stated Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein. “These Honorees represent what is possible when creativity is not just cultivated, but unleashed. Martha Argerich’s distinguished performances have spanned the globe and over the last six decades have earned her world recognition as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th and 21st centuries; the Eagles’ ambi...