President Obama received an award for his transparency in government on Monday, but you'd never know it because the press wasn't there to witness the meeting.

The award was originally supposed to be given to the president two weeks ago, but the White House cancelled the event that day. Not that there was going to be extensive coverage of that meeting either. The small number of reporters who cover the president daily -- known as the travel pool -- were only going to be allowed in for a brief part of the meeting.

But that's certainly more access than what happened on Monday.

According to the White House, the meeting was the first time open government advocates could remember sitting with a president and discussing government transparency.

Monday's event was also buried in a busy news day for the President where taped a Univision townhall and gave a major speech on the conflict in Libya. The rescheduled event was also not on his official schedule, but the original one was.

Lucy Dalglish, of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press said her group made it clear to Obama that while his efforts have been strong, there remains more that has to be done at all levels of the administration. (read more)

President Obama will announce his proposal Wednesday on how to lower gas prices in the United States, with a plan to cut U.S. dependence on foreign oil by about one-third in the next 10 years. But critics say that trimming reliance on foreign oil won't actually pay off for consumers - in the short or long run.

Senior Administration officials say Wednesday's speech will mark a new "concerted focus" on overall energy policy and that while the president will be paying close attention to Libya and the ongoing situation in the Middle East, energy consumption and how it affects Americans will be on the front burner.

In a phone call with reporters on Tuesday, Senior Administration officials said the speech on energy will not be like speeches in the past by other presidents - with solutions that were more politically motivated, and instead will focus on energy and improving jobs and the U.S. economy, but critics say the goal of cutting foreign oil won't do anything to help the economic situation in the U.S. (read more)

President Obama's five-day visit to South America was dominated by the on-going issues in Libya - and on Tuesday, the president said the no-fly zone and other military action was in the United States' best interest, a message he has not yet stated during the lead-up the action in the North African nation.

"The American people and the United States have an interest, first of all, in making sure that where a brutal dictator is threatening his people, and saying he will show no mercy and go door-to-door and hunt people down and we have the capacity under international sanction to do something about that, I think it's in America's national interest to do something about that," Obama said in a press conference with Salvadorian President Mauricio Funes. (read more)

President Obama's trip to El Salvador may be ending early, but not before he had an opportunity to discuss immigration reform in the Central American nation - a nation which has over two million people living and working in the United States, and some 30 percent of that illegally.

While Obama did not say anything he hasn't said in the past, including the idea that any immigration reform has to come in the form of bi-partisan legislation, he did say something needs to be done for those already in the United States illegally.

"We also have to make sure that those who are in the United States illegally at this point, but in some cases have been there for a long time, in some cases have children that were born in the United States and are United States citizens, that they have a pathway to get right by the law," Obama said.

The president placed the blame of the failure of immigration reform legislation squarely on the shoulders of Republicans in Congress, saying a broad comprehensive approach is what is needed and that it's been more difficult in the past two years to gain GOP support on the effort.

And in talking about immigration, he seemed to play to the home-town crowd in San Salvador, saying immigration reform is the "right thing" to do.

"This is the time to do it and I will continue to push hard to make it happen. The politics of this are difficult. But I am confident that ultimately we are going to get it done."

Members of Congress have been complaining that the actions taken by the president on the Libyan No-Fly Zone were unilateral, and conducted without any Congressional input.

But the White House insists a consultation process was in place and all members were briefed before any action was taken.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney and Senior Adviser Ben Rhodes both assert that not only were members of Congress consulted, but they were also called about the imminent action at the United Nations regarding the No-Fly Zone and there was an ‘all members' briefing by Undersecretary of State Bill Burns on March 17 explaining what actions were being pursued at the U.N.

"[W]e take very seriously the need to consult with Congress and we have been doing that. " Carney said.

Rhodes pushed back even further telling reporters the actions taken were within the rights of the president and that Congressional support of the no-fly zone doesn't mean the two sides should stop speaking. (read more)

President Obama spoke about his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, Sunday in Rio remembering a movie she took her young son to about Brazil - almost choking up when talking about her death.

It's not the first time the president has spoken about his mother on a foreign trip. While mostly reticent about his family when speaking in the United States, the president has begun incorporating childhood memories into speeches abroad highlighting portions of his life to foreign audiences.

In Rio de Janiero at the Teatro Municipal, Obama recalled his "earliest impressions of Brazil" - a movie his mother took him to see called Black Orpheus, set in the favelas (shantytowns) of Rio during the period of Carnival.

"My mother loved that movie, with its singing and dancing against a backdrop of beautiful green hills, and it first premiered as a play right here in the Teatro Municipal. My mother is gone now, but she would've never imagined that her son's first trip to Brazil would be as President of the United States," the president told the 2000 person audience.

This is not the first time Obama has mentioned his mother while travelling abroad. Last November, Obama visited Indonesia where he lived as a young boy and repeatedly spoke about his mother. (read more)

On the first day of President Obama's first trip to South America, it was not relations with Brazil or its president that was front and center, but instead, attention was directly focused on Libya and the start of military action.

Obama, who arrived early Saturday morning, was set to talk about economic partnerships with Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff and planned to speak to a U.S.-Brazil CEO forum. But as events unfolded in the U.S. and in Libya, the president was eventually forced to change direction and address the situation in Libya.

The White House press corps had originally expected the president to take questions and perhaps talk about Libya earlier in the day at a press availability with President Dilma Rousseff. But, Rouseff nixed the questions and the president was only able to address Libya in a few brief lines.

By mid-afternoon, as more and more information leaked out about on-going U.S. operations in Libya, the president - who had concluded most of his events for the day in Brasilia - did address the situation. (read more)

President Obama's trip to Brazil this weekend is happening amidst major international developments in Libya, but the president is still smarting from some other international affairs that hurt his adopted hometown of Chicago.

In October 2009, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama flew to Copenhagen, Denmark for an approximately six hour visit, to take part in the final presentation of Chicago's pitch to host the 2016 Olympics. It was an emotional pitch by the first couple, but ultimately - it didn't work.

Brazil was rewarded the 2016 Summer Olympics and now that Obama is visiting the South American nation - he decided to confront the issue head on.

In remarks with Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff, Obama talked about the partnerships going on between the two nations - and some of the companies working in Brazil to create stronger business ties for upcoming events in Brazil.
"As Brazil prepares to host the World Cup and the Summer Olympics -- which still hurts for me to say -- we're ensuring that American companies can play a role in the many infrastructure projects needed for these games." (read more)

When does an event where the president is supposed to take questions become an event with no questions? In Brasilia, Brazil.

President Obama arrived in the capital city of Brazil on Saturday morning to have his first one-on-one meeting with Brazilian President Rousseff and have what the press corps calls a "joint press availability" implying the two leaders would take questions. But that has been changed - the availability has become "statements" and no questions.

Fox News White House correspondent Mike Emanuel reports that even though there's been a huge amount of speculation from the U.S. and foreign press that the Brazilian President does not want to take questions because of Thursday's vote in the Security Council on a no-fly zone in Libya, the White House does not believe that is the case. At that vote, Brazil, who is campaigning for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council abstained from voting on the issue of a no-fly zone in Libya. (read more)

President Obama begins a five-day trip to South America Friday, his first to the region as president, highlighting countries friendly to the United States and potential economic opportunities for U.S. growth into the southern hemisphere.

But, with an American economy still not fully recovered and various international issues hanging over the head of the president, the trip presents a unique opportunity for him to solidify himself as a leader advancing free trade, U.S. exports and the overall recovery of the economy - something that could potentially boost his popularity with Republicans on Capitol Hill as free trade agreements with other Latin American countries languish.

The president will travel for five days in three countries - Brazil, Chile and El Salvador - nations considered stable, democratic and on the cusp of doing a lot of business with the United States. (read more)