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Intelligence and heads of the cia, fbi and National Security agency will brief the President Elect on alleged russian meddling in the president ial election, certainly he has called repeatedly challenged. He said, well, maybe its not the case, maybe even sided with Julian Assange tweeting even last night questioning the validity of the information hes about to receive. Well, we have it all covered for you from every angle. Kristen welker, what do we expect will go down here . Reporter the backdrop to this briefing is very tense, thats for sure. You have the President Elect just last night again questioning the Intelligence Community. He was infuriated after details leaked out about the report and actually whats in the report and intelligence officials telling us that some of the details in the report include intercepts which prove that top russian officials were celebrating President Elect trumps win. We were also learning theyve identified some of the gobetweens who delivered some of that information. The President Elect is saying why is this information leaking out . Hes been questioning these people who are going to brief him for weeks now. So this is tensions that have been building. But were also being told these are career professionals. Theyre not going in to pick a fight. Theyre going to be firm in what they know. If the President Elect pushes, theyre prepared to push back. Will things get heated, thats the other question. Is the President Elect going to actually believe the intelligence that he gets . You have experts who are looking at this situation and saying, look, its critical to National Security that he backs up his Intelligence Community. What we have is this unprecedented moment where a sitting Commander In Chief is creating a huge rift with the Intelligence Community that hes about to leave. Were also learning some new details. This meetings going to take place at 12 30 and Vice President elect mike pence is also going to be in attendance. Were going to be tracking it all, steph, the fireworks and everything else. Its going to be a party over there. I want to bring in hans nichols in washington, d. C. It sound like moments from now were going to be getting The Public Version of this report. What do we expect . Well, The Public Version could come out any moment now. We do expect it today. My colleague is reporting it. Youll have The Public Version and the private briefing that mr. Trump will be receiving at 12 30. Intelligence officials saying both of very powerful saying russia actively intervened to influential the election for donald trump. The question really is at trump tower is whats the standard of proof, The Burden Of Proof and will donald trump sport upport. Joining donald trump will be michael flynn, his incoming National Security adviser, head of the nsc. What was important about mr. Flynn is throughout his career, hes been very skeptical of intel coming in. Look to see if theres any showdown between flynn and some of the folks that theyre briefing, namely john brennan, seen of a Foreign Government trying to interfere with a u. S. Election. John mccain calling this an act of war. I think all of that is putting pressure on donald trump. How does he respond to it . Thats the key question. A lot of people speculating hes going to come out and say, okay, the findings do point to russia, however, this has been overhyped and overpoliticized. Remains an open question, though. Lets bring in republican strategist and member of Trumps National spanish advisory council, steve cortez and strategist david corn. Donald trump has publicly been a skeptic of these Intelligence Agencies and this information. But the fact that theres a lot of pressure there, hes meeting with the intelligence officials, now the public report is coming out. To kristens point, its been called an act of war. Nancy pelosi said the content is stunning. What is donald trump going to do . I dont know but well find out shortly today or in the coming days. I think that skepticism of intelligence reports is okay. Publicly . Yes. Had george w. Bush been skeptical of the cias conclusion, we might never have got i Dont Know Involv gotten involved in that Awful Embroilio in iraq as we did had he taken a skeptical view. Without a doubt thats why someone becomes the president because they are the last word but being a public skeptic, goading, antagonizing, calling it intelligence. Who does that help . How does that make America Great . The reason hes had to go public is because unfortunately there have been so many leaks out of our Intelligence Commute is they chose to go public. It would be wonderful for american National Security if all of this could have been done behind closed doors. So two wrongs make a right . No, no. Hacking is wrong. We cant have it from americans, not from china, russians or anyone, if it jeopardizes our security or our economic security. I think weve been too lax about hacking. Whatever the source of the hacks, what was revealed by all indications of the truth and the truth about the Democratic Party and about Hillary Clinton and her top staffers, the truth once revealed convinced americans the more they knew about them, the less they liked hersh the less they trusted them. David . I pity you, steve, to have to defend donald trump on this matter. He has said so many things that are just outright false. Not that hes a skeptic. Thats a polite way of saying it. He said weeks ago this wasnt an issue during the election, why are we seeing this now . David, dont talk ko condescending to me this way. I know exactly what they are. Gentlemen, were going to end this right now if you cant be respectful to one another. David . He just sort of made it up that this was a postelection issue. He said Julian Assange knows more than the Intelligence Community does. He hasnt prove i dont knn tha. He said he knew Something Special about the hacking he would tell us this past tuesday and wednesday. He didnt do that either. Hes been spinning or fabricating and saying false and misleading statements on this issue for months and it all ties into the mystifying approach he has towards russia and putin and trying to dismiss this intervention. Its what the Mainstream Media has been saying for weeks is that the election was hand. Thats not true. The dnc was hacked. Steve. Steve. Steve. Steve. Steve, im not going to let you before we go, steve, you basically said or as i understand donald trump has done this in response to all the leaks that are out there. But if you could help me understand why is it that donald trump continues this tweet storm, today alone going after Arnold Schwarzenegger and The Apprentice and ratings. This is the President Elect. Doesnt he have anything better to do . Of course. Listen, no one can doubt his work ethic and how hard hes been working at this transition. Yes, you can. The President Elect is a very unique politician, right. Hes our first please answer my question. He didnt come from the military please answer my question. I am. Part of what makes him unique is the way he speaks so candidly and such authenticity to the american people. About trivial matters. And he has an extensive past as a television celebrity. Its important to him and important to his brand. Its part of what made him hes not a grownup. Its part of what made him run for president in the first place. The media thinks he doesnt talk like a politician so going after the ratings of The Apprentice. The guy in charge of our nuclear codes, who is being briefed on whether the russians intervened, he has Nothing Better to do than to sort of go on this sort of im better than you tweet storm against Arnold Schwarzenegger. Hes not speaking to you. Hes speaking to the american people. He needs to grow up. Hes not speaking to washington, d. C. Or new york, hes speaking to the American Worker who has been forgot i dont know forgotten. And if you live in new york, you count, too. Well have Michelle Obamas final speech as first lady. Her last public address before the transition to trump. But first, four africanamericans charged with streaming the attack of a white teenager. Theyre going to appear in court today to face hate crime charges. Doll . Well, the only place you need go. Londons got the best of everything. Cornwalls got the best of everything. Sport Sport Nightlife nightlife both Fashion Adventure im tellin ya, britain is the only place you really need go. Expedia. Everything you need to travel britain better. Start your day with the number one choice of dentists. Philips sonicare removes significantly more plaque versus oralb 7000. Experience this amazing feel of clean. Innovation and you. Philips sonicare. Save now when you buy philips sonicare. It was streamed live on facebook. Heres what President Obama had to say about it. Whether its tensions between communities or tension of the despicable sort that has now arisen on facebook, i take these things very seriously. Blake mccoy is outside the courthouse in chicago right now. What are we expecting . Reporter stephanie, this is a bond hearing, meaning bond will be set and attorneys assigned. Its very much a procedural hearing. Its the first time well be seeing these four individualsin faces outside of that video, accused of committing this cruel and senseless attack. Now, Court Doesnt Go Into take it easy. Reporter they showed their faces on video and today will show their faces in court. Two black women and two black men charged with kidnapping a white teenager with Mental Health issues in what authorities are calling a hate crime. The video shows the 18yearold victim tied up, slashed with a knife and forced to drink toilet water. The ordeal, according to police, went on for hours and it was posted to Facebook Live for all to see. [ bleep ], [ bleep ]. The actions in that video are reprehensible. That, along with racism, have absolutely no place in the city of chicago. Anybody seeing it is both its sickening and sickened by it. But this morning the victims grandmother tells nbc news she hasnt seen it and wont. I dont think i could handle that. I dont want to watch him suffer. I know he did. Reporter investigators confirm the victim went to school with one of his alleged assailants, jordan hill. He met up with hill at a mcdonalds on new years eve. What began as a sleepover lasted for several days. Police found him disoriented tuesday afternoon. They then located the house they believe he was being tortured in about a block away. It has caused condemnation by black leaders. Our community is embarrassed by the actions of these young men. Their actions are very barbaric and we are outraged. Reporter as for the victim his siblings say hes doing as well as can be expected. Some of the charges these four are facing here today are hate crime charges. Theyre also facing unlawful restraint, battery with a Deadly Weapon and kidnapping charges. If theyre convicted on kidnapping, they could serve up to 30 years in prison. Joining me is a criminal and civil tone. Eric, that video is awful, awful. Were completely shocked by it. We havent seen anything like this. How common is this type of thing . Its common. And i hate saying that and giving the world the information because so many of these children are doing crimes, committing crimes for attention. They do it on Facebook Live, they record it, they take pictures of themselves, whether its a jewel thief or a burglar or a robber, theyre trying to get attention and likes and that is the fuel behind Something Like this. The fact that it was recorded, that theres a 28minute video, does that make it a Slam Dunk Case . It does in certain aspects. The only potential issue is the hate crime statute. You have to prove that it was because of race or his disability at that it was a hate crime. On the surface it definitely appears that way, which i do expect the prosecution to start making offers and deals, this is almost a race to the Prosecutors Office for them to get their client a deal before the others. Is there where theyll turn on one another and point the finger at the ring leader . Absolutely. The canaries are going to start singing very shortly. You may be my best friend but if were going to prison, i need to get the best deal for me. Could this video get thrown out . I doubt it. Of course the Defense Lawyers are going to challenge the video except they are the ones that put the video out there. They are. I believe this would be admissible in court. I dont see a reason why it would not be admissible. But the Defense Attorneys will try to keep it out, benefit their client and get them the best deal. This is a Slam Dunk Case because these Young Children were on camera doing this crime. Can i say one thing . They dont get to be called children. Theyre adults. Theyre 18. Theyre 18. Old enough to know better. And i agree with that. This is the type of thing that society one of them is 24 years old. I think the others are 17. If youre 17 or 18 years old, i hope to heaven that you know better than that kind of behavior. Absolutely. Thats where we have to get to the home values and the things we teach these children. This is not acceptable by anyone regardless of where youre from or what you do. This is sick. This is sick, this is what it is. Were going to take a break. Just in, a brand new interview with donald trump answering questions about the u. S. Intelligence assessment of russias hacking. He is calling it a political witch hunt. What else did he have to say . Plus my colleague Andrea Mitchell just sat down with outgoing Secretary Of State john kerry. Shell join me live with highlights of their oneonone. On the outside you have to feel healthy at your core. Trubiotics a probiotic from one a day. Naturally helps support both your digestive and immune health. Feel a difference in two weeks or your money back. Take the trubiotics 2 week challenge. Will your business be ready when growth presents itself . American express open cards can help you take on a new job, or fill a big order or expand your office and take on whatever comes next. Find out how American Express cards and services can help prepare you for growth at open. Com. If this intelligent report is indeed unimpeachable. Its him showing you what hes going to say. Hes telling the times he thinks this is a political witch hunt. This is donald trump, the next president of the United States basically saying hes an Assignment Editor here upset about the amount of coverage that News Organizations are giving to this, basically saying its sour grapes. In that interview with my friend over there at the new york times, michael sheer, great job getting donald trump on the phone saying the chinese hacked the white house, there wasnt that much attention there. It says two times in the interview this is a political witch hunt. We are going to get this report, The Public Version of it within the hour we thing. Weve already heard from nancy pelosi. And pelosi seemed a little upset the Report Didnt Go farther. Going forward i think well have two conversations, one, what trump wants it to be and that is is there too much information on this and how unassailable is the information prevented in the public side of this report. As we always reveal, our roaring tactics, we need to find michael sheer, get his cell phone and he likes to play poker, maybe we can get his cell phone. Sheers a great guy. I love that, hans nichols always working i want to stay on donald trump but Something Else that he is up to, all of this very, very serious business, hes in a different kind of twitter battlea twitter war with former california governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. I cant even believe were talking about this, the Terminator Versus the donald with the President Elect about to be briefed on the potential russian hacking. What is he doing . These tweets went down as the gang of eight were briefed on this on the hill. So here you go. This was about four hours ago. President elect donald trump also by the way executive producer of the show currently. While the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got swamped, look drain the swamped or destroying the Ratings Machine by himself. Now compare him to my season one, well do that in a second. But who cares . Great question. So arnold comes right back at him and writes theres nothing more important than the peoples work. Keep in mind movie superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger former governor of california. Please study this quote from lincolns inaugural, it inspired me every day as governor and i hope it inspires you. He posted a video. Im not sure i want to hear me read lincoln speeches in my accent. Here we go we are not enemies but friends. We must not be enemies. We are not enemies, we are neighbors and most importantly we are all americans. This is the famous Inaugural Address where lincoln said the better angels of our nature, stephanie. What do the ratings look like . Hes not wrong but hes not right, which is kind of tich ca typical of the twitter thing. If you compare it to the First Episode of 2004, yes but that was novel. If you compared it to the last time donald trump debuted a season, its 6. 5 versus almost 5, so not a big difference. But again, hes the boss. Hes the Executive Producer of the show, which makes you wonder why the whole thing is going on anyway. Or maybe theyre all playing us. Guess what were all doing today . Talking about The Apprentice. Thats what donald trump wants to us do, talk about The Apprentice. Were going to talk to you more about this planet and another one. A live look outside the international Space Station right this moment, i love these videos two astronauts are upgrading the Space Stations electrical power system by swapping out batteries that have been in place for a decade or longer. The walk began at 7 00 this morning and is expected to last until 2 p. M. And back on earth, more than 90 million americans are bracing for a winter storm over the next two days. Part of 29 states from the south into new england will be hit with snow, sleet or ice. North carolina could see up to a foot of snow. And just moments from now, Michelle Obama will give her last speech as first lady. Her goodbye speech coming up. Were going to bring that to you live. Please stay with us. Cheesy chipotle pork quesadillas . Mmmm. Ravioli lasagna bake . Yeah, i dont know. Grilled white chicken. Grab something rich, sharp and creamy. Triple cheddar stuffed sliders. Sold we aim to cheese Kraft Natural Cheese we make cheese for how you love cheese. Ive got a nice long life ahead. Big plans. So when i found out medicare doesnt pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. Then i got a Medicare Supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if youre eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80 of your part b medical expenses. The rest is up to you. Call now and find out about an aarp Medicare Supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. 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Remember, all Medicare Supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesnt pay. And could save you in outofpocket medical costs. Call now to request your free Decision Guide. And learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now and down the road. I have a lifetime of experience. So i know how important that is. I wanted to know where i did my ancestrydna. The most shocking result was that im 26 native american. I had no idea. Its opened up a whole new world for me. Historically we would have considered anything below 5 pretty good. The problem is that weve got a low Unemployment Rate relatively but havent seen wages push up all that much. In President Obamas eight years in office, the tally per year has averaged to 1,419,000 jobs created every year of the eight years. Heres how that stands. This is the 1. 4 million in relation to the last six presidencies. Jimmy carter created an environment in which the most jobs were produced, 2. 5 million, reagan 2 million, george bush the first, 659,000, clinton 2. 8 million. Stephanie, as you know very well and our viewers know, president s dont create jobs and sometimes they dont even create the environment. It could be something that happened before them but this is what the tally looks like. We shouldnt forget, its not just the unemployment number. Its the underemployment number. All of those people who arent even looking anymore. Thats why normally this would be good, the 4. 7 . Because we have so many people who either have two jobs or are not satisfied in the job theyve got or not working enough hours, this is not giving you the answer you actually want. Not giving us the picture we want. Thank you, ali. Next to the white house. Michelle obama about to give her last speech as first lady. A look at her legacy next. It worked better than plavix. Dont stop taking brilinta without talking to your doctor since stopping it too soon increases your risk of clots in your stent, heart attack, stroke, and even death. Brilinta may cause bruising or bleeding more easily, or serious, sometimes fatal bleeding. Dont take brilinta if you have bleeding, like stomach ulcers, a history of bleeding in the brain, or severe liver problems. Tell your doctor about bleeding, new or unexpected shortness of breath, any planned surgery, and all medicines you take. Talk to your doctor about brilinta. Im doing all i can. That includes brilinta. If you cant afford your medication, astra zeneca may be able to help. East room of the white house where Michelle Obama is about to deliver what will be her final speech as first lady. It follows a series of powerful and highly praised speeches over the last six to seven months. The first ladys remarks today will be at an event honoring the 2017 School Counselor of the year. Its a tradition she started two years ago as part of her reach higher initiative. As we wait for the first lady, im joined by nbc news chief washington correspondent Chris Jansing and amanda turkle. People on the stage right now are the finalist for the School Counselor of the year. Clearly this is a big day, a big moment for them. Chris, you want to start with you. This is also a big moment for Michelle Obama. What do we expect to hear from her . Expect passion. We saw it on the speeches she did on behalf of Hillary Clinton, particularly one where she answered some of the things that had been said by President Elect donald trump. She minced no words. Remember, politics is not her first love, far from it. She is somebody who in fact has always loved working in a different kind of process, in Community Leadership and education is a big deal for her. So we shouldnt be surprised that the last event that she does in a public forum le this is honoring School Counselors, is going to honor the counselor of the year. And were also listening very closely for some clues about her postwhite house plans. Shes talked very little about them, but i do know from talking to people close to her, she will focus heavily on women and girls. Its been a passion for her, even from the time that she was very young, and for her its very personal as someone who grew up on the south side of chicago in a onebedroom house, within a stones throw of one of the best universities in the country but she felt as a young girl of color the opportunities were not there for her. She was wait listed at harvard law school. Of course she got in and graduated. Everything that she could possibly want to do is out there for her, one of the things she will clearly focus on is education, stephanie. So were waiting to hear some of those details today. Amanda, do we think that passion could be paired at all with pessimism . In her last interview where she sat down with oprah winfrey, she talked about a feeling of hopelessness as she talked about the new administration. That may be true but especially recently her speeches have been incredibly optimistic. You look at the speech at Democratic National convention, her main line has been when they go low, we go high. That has encapsulated especially how she has approached especially the end of her tenure. She gave another remarkable speech during the campaign when she talked about what a strong man actually looks like and that they dont need to put down women, obviously responding to some of the remarks that donald trump made and she has really tried to be out there, be a role model for children because education is such an important issue to her. You know, i think we will see more of that tone perhaps. Ron, what does this mean to Michelle Obama . We know shes spent a lot of time in the last few months on the Campaign Trail for Hillary Clinton, something she didnt want to do. Politics isnt something she likes. But at the time she thought it was so important, specifically the messaging, what she needed to do for women and girls and Hillary Clinton was not elected to be the next president. So what does this speech today mean to michele . The program retire is about inspiring young people, especially young girls to do that, retirach higher, aspire beyond high schools, two year colleges, trade schools. Its her position that to succeed in society these days, you need more than a high school diploma. I think she has a lot to say, the first lady does. She has a lot to get off her chest. I think shell be a fascinating person to talk to once the obamas leave the white house because she has played this role of first lady, which i think has restrained her in some ways. I think it will be a lot of optimism, a lot of positivity. I think some of the most Enduring Aspt of the obama legacy is the role model that they have been to so many young people of color in this country, who see them in the white house, who see them as the first family, who see them as a family with two very accomplished Young Children, who are now older of course. But i think thats what this event is. She likes to be in this kind of an environment where there are young people around, where she can be inspiring, where people will look up to her and where she can tell them essentially you can be me, you can do this. You just have to get past all these obstacles that are in your way. And the obamas are some of the first to say that there are in fact obstacles, that it is different for young people of color to get ahead in this society and theyre very proud as well of some of the policies and education space, like the High School Graduation rate of being the highest in the nation. The president set a goal of trying to increase the number of americans in college to a higher level than its been in the past. Again, i think this is an vant for the first lady really to just be the inspiring person that shes been, to set the example, to fill the room with optimism, with hope, with a positive vibe as we go through yet another of these last and final moments here at the white house for the past week or so. It seems like every day theres been a last farewell, final moment. Its a very emotional time here for a lot of people, for the staff, for the obamas im sure. I think youll see some of that come throughs well. The Christmas Event a month ago, she was very, very emotional when talking to military families. Military families are another cause, another group shes really tried to support wholeheartedly in her time at the white house. If i can tell you a personal story, at the christmas parties, you have your picture taken with the president and first lady and last year i brought one of my brothers with me as my date. Youre moving through fairly quickly, you dont have a time for real conversation. As we were walking away, she was thanking my brother. And i said for 30 years he was a school teacher. She stopped everything and spoke with him. That tells you a little bit how education is a priority for her. And she talked about the privacy of her daughters as much as she could. And we dont see a tremendous amount of her children. They are children of privilege and i need to stop you. Michelle obama, the first lady, giving her last public speech. [ cheers and applause ] Whats Going On . Thank you all so much. You guys, thats a command. Rest yourselves. Were almost at the end. Hello, everyone, and may i say for the last time officially welcome to the white house. [ applause ] yes. Well, we are beyond thrilled to have you all here to celebrate the 20 National School counlor of the year, as well as all of our Sta Counselors of the year. These are the fine women and A Few Good Men one good man who are on the stage and they represent schools from across this country and i want to start by Thanking Terry for that wonderful introduction and her rightonthespot remarks. Im going to say more about terry in a few minutes. First i want to introduce our outstanding secretary of education, john king. [ applause ] as well as our former education secretary arnie duncan. [ applause ] i want to take this time to thank you both publicly for your dedication and leadership and friendship. We couldnt do this without the support of the Department Of Education under both of your leadership. So im grateful to you personally and very proud of all that youve done for this country. I also want to acknowledge a few other special guests we have in the audience. Weve got a pretty awesome crew. As one of my staff said, you roll pretty few good friends. We have with us today ted allen, lala anthony, cony britton, andy cohen, yeah, andy cohen is here. Karla hall, coach jim harbaugh and his beautiful wife who is a lot better looking than him. Lana pariya, my buddy jay farrow, kelly roland, usher. Keep it down. Keep it together, ladies, waleh is here and of course Allison Williams and her mom are here and all these folks are here because theyre using their star power to inspire our young people and im grateful for you for stepping up in so many ways on so many occasions. I feel like ive pestered you over these years asking time and time again where are you going to be . Ill be in new york. Can you come here, can you do this, take that, ask for that, can you come . Can we rap . Can we sing . So thank you all so much. It really means the world to this initiative to have such powerful respected and admired individuals speaking on behalf of this issue. So congratulations on the work that youve done and were going to keep working. And today, i especially want to recognize all the extraordinary Leadership Team that was behind reach hire from day one and this isnt on the script so they dont know this. Iant to take time to personally acknowledge a couple people, executive director eric waldo. [ cheers and applause ] where is eric . He was in the you got to step out. [ cheers and applause ] step out there. There we go for eric. Eric acting like hes a ham but he likes the spotlight. Hes acting a little shy. I want to recognize our deputy director, stephanie sprouse. Stephanie. [ cheers and applause ] stephanie. Back there. And hes really not going to like this because he tries to pretend like he doesnt exist at all but our Senior Adviser greg darneter. [ cheers and applause ] there you go. Greg has been a leader in education his entire life. Ive known him since i was a little organizer person, and its just been just a joy to work with you all. These individuals, they are brilliant. They are creative. They have worked miracles with hardly any staff or budget to speak of, which is how we roll in the first ladys office. And i am so proud and so grateful to you all for everything that youve done so lets give them a round of applause. And finally i want to recognize all of you who are here in this audience. We have our educators, our lead leaders, our young people who have been with us since we launched reach hire back in 2014. When we first came up with this idea, we had one clear goal in mind. We wanted to make Higher Education cool. We wanted to change the conversation around what it means and what it takes to be a success in this country. Because lets be honest, if were always shining the spotlight on professional athletes or recording artists or hollywood celebrities, if those are the only achievements we celebrate, then why would we ever think kids would see clem as a p college as a priority so we decided to flip the script and shine a big bright spotlight on all things educational. For example, we made College Signing day a national event. We wanted to mimic all that drama and excitement traditionally reserved for those few amazing football and basketball players choosing their college and university teams. We wanted to focus that same level of energy and attention on kids going to college because of their academic achievements, because as a nation, thats where the spotlight should also be, on kids who work hard in school and do the right thing when no ones watching. Many beating daunting odds. Next, we launched better make room. It a social Media Campaign to give young people the support and inspiration they need to actually complete Higher Education, and to really drive that message home, you may recall that i debuted my music Career Rapping with jay about getting some knowledge by going to college. [ cheers and applause ] we are also very proud of all that this administration has done to make Higher Education more affordable. We doubled investments in pell grants and college tax credits. We expanded incomebased Loan Repayment Options for tens of millions of students. We made it easier to apply for Financial Aid. We created a college scorecard to help students make good decisions about Higher Education and we provided new funding and support for School Counselors. [ cheers and applause ] thank you. Youre welcome. All together we made in this administration the largest investment in Higher Education since the gi bill. [ cheers and applause ] and today the High School Graduation rate is at a record high, and more young people than ever before are going to college, and we know that School Counselors like all of the folks standing with me on this stage have played a Critical Role in lping get there. In fact a recent study showed students who met with a School Counselor to talk about Financial Aid or college were three times more likely to attend college, and they were nearly seven times more likely to apply for Financial Aid. So our School Counselors are truly among the heroes of the reach higher story, and thats why we created this event two years ago, because we thought that they should finally get some recognition. We wanted everyone to know about the difference that these phenomenal men and women have been making in the lives of our young people every day, and our 2017 School Counselor of the year, Terry Trcyzinskcy a perfect example. Terry works at the calhoun area career center, career and Technical Education school in michigan, and heres what terrys principal said about her in his letter of recommendation. He said once she identifies a systemic need, she works tirelessly to address it. So when students at terrys school reported feeling unprepared to apply for Higher Education, terry sprang into action to create a schoolwide toptobottom College Readiness effort. Under terrys leadership students attended workshops on resume completion, fasfa completion, and ierview preparation, i can barely say it. They did career and personal personality assessments, they helped plan a special college week and organized a military day, hosting recruiters from all branches of our armed forces, and because of these efforts today, 75 of calhouns seniors now complete key College Application steps and terrys school has one state and national recognition, and all of this is just one small part of what terry does for her students each day. I can go on and on about all the time she spends one on one with students helping them figure out their life path. Terry told us, as you heard, she told us about one of those students. We reached out to kyra, and heres what kyra had to say in her own words. Kyra wrote that mrs. Trcyzinski has helped me grow to love myself. She helped me with my doubts and insecurities. She said, my life has changed for the better in all aspects. Kyra said she held my hand through my hardest times. She said mrs. Trcyzinski is my life saver. Thats what kyra said. And this is what each of you do. Every single day. You see the promise in each of your students. You believe in them even when

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