barack obama

Earlier this year, a team of Smithsonian-led 3D digital imaging specialists scanned President Obama and then sculpted his bust using a 3D printer.

It is the first 3D portrait of a United States President.

From Smithsonian:

For the 1:1 bust, in a process called Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), a laser melted nylon powder into a highly accurate and durable print. Given the size of print (the bust stands 19 inches tall, and weighs almost 13 pounds), the printing process took 42 hours, after which the print cooled down for 24 hours.

The White House has now released a behind-the-scenes video of the process, and you can check out the bust in person in the Smithsonian Castle where it is on display for the public Dec. 2-31.

Obama made his first big push in the fight for Net Neutrality Monday, with a statement encouraging the FCC to keep the Internet open and free.

"There are no gatekeepers deciding which sites you get to access. There are no toll roads in the information superhighway," Obama says in the accompanying video, which opens with a playful little "buffering" animation.

FCC chair Tom Wheeler proposed new Internet traffic rules earlier this year, and millions of people commented on the FCC website in protest.

From his statement:

"Net neutrality" has been built into the fabric of the Internet since its creation — but it is also a principle that we cannot take for granted. We cannot allow Internet service providers (ISPs) to restrict the best access or to pick winners and losers in the online marketplace for services and ideas. That is why today, I am asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to answer the call of almost 4 million public comments, and implement the strongest possible rules to protect net neutrality.

Obama also emphasized that ISPs shouldn't block sites that are legal or throttle a user's service.

In case you didn't have cable/internet connection in your homemade quarantine tent or hazmat suit, Ebola was all over the news this weekend:

-The Nurse in Newark does NOT have Ebola (Yay!)... But she is still pissed. [CNN]

-Everyone Loves the Ebola Sign Language Guy [AnimalNY]

-The Hug Seen Round the World [Slate]

-Ebola Themed Halloween Costumes are Probably Not a Good Idea [KTLA]

-Cuomo & Christie vs. The White House on Quarantine Procedure: White House Wins [NYT]

-SNL Slams "Ebola Czar" [NBC]

According to reports, cartoonist Jerry Holbert was asked to change the punchline of the joke from "Watermelon" to "raspberry," which he did, but not before it was sent to the press. He has since issued an apology for what some see as a racially-charged joke.

An admitted pot smoker, President Obama couldn't help flashing a smile after being offered a hit of marijuana during a visit to a bar in Denver. Colorado is one of the two U.S. states (Washington being the other) that now allow recreational pot smoking.

In the President's continued attempts to reach out to young voters, Barack Obama sat down with David Karp of Tumblr to take questions from the microblogging community. The humble "ask" feature has finally made it to American politics! Check out the full video of the event here:

THANKS, OBAMA!

Zach Galifianakis has his most memorable interview yet.

In Time Magazine's article on selecting President Barack Obama as "Person of the Year," a picture was included by White House photographer Pete Souza showing the president pretending to be caught in a web when he is greeted by a Spider-Man costume wearing child.